The United Kingdom (UK) has not moved Pakistan from its Red List to Amber List. Pakistan is still on its Red List of the travel ban, the UK announced in its latest travel review on Thursday.
As per reports, Pakistan has been kept on the Red List for “failing to meet the requirements on genomic surveillance capability, transmission risk, and variants of concern.”
Genome sequence helps researchers understand how the virus is mutating into variants and how it’s traveling from person to person.
Government officials of Pakistan were hopeful that Pakistan will be moved to the Amber List in the latest review.
According to the latest update, seven countries, namely, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Switzerland, and the Azores will move into the Green List starting 4am on Monday, August 30.
Thailand and Montenegro, on the other hand, will be added to the Red List at the same time, “reflecting the increased case rates in these countries and the higher risk that travel from these countries poses to UK public health”, said the notice.
Earlier, the UK was criticised for removing India from Red List despite the worse Covid-19 situation than Pakistan.
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday presented a charter of his party’s performance so far at the Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad.
Talking about his career as a cricketer, PM Khan explained how his life as a sportsman, “where there are standing ovations one moment and curses the next”, prepared him for a life of struggles.
“Until you go through struggles, you cannot do anything big,” the prime minister said. “No leader became big with a shortcut. Quaid-e-Azam was a big leader. He struggled in his life and people will always remember him [for that].”
Mentioning Pakistan’s clash with India in the aftermath of the Pulwama incident, PM Khan thanked the army for effortlessly protecting the people of Pakistan.
“I appreciate our army and air force. As they (Indian fighter jets) came into our territory and launched an offensive, we realised the [power] of our army,” said the premier.
The premier blamed a “mafia” for defaming state institutions. “I also criticised the army in the past,” he said. “Judiciary and army also make mistakes but it doesn’t mean we should [expect] them to topple the democratic government.”
“We know the Indian lobby is trying hard to defame Pakistan Army. They are implying that the Taliban won because of Pakistan Army.”
“The NCOC (National Command and Operation Center) team comprising Asad Umar and Dr Faisal [Sultan] took great decisions and we survived the worst of Covid.”
“In our tenure, Punjab’s anti-corruption has recovered Rs450bn so far,” he claimed. “NAB (National Accountability Bureau), in its 18 years before we came to power, had recovered Rs290bn and in the last three years, they recovered Rs519bn. All hue and cry are because of this reason.”
The premier reminded his audience of the efforts made to “empower women” in rural areas and stressed the need to educate women, adding that “this is what we are trying to do”.
“We are also working on inheritance laws to ensure women get their due share in the property,” he added.
Five rape cases have been reported in Lahore during the last 24 hours, Geo News reported.
According to the police, all rape cases have been registered at different police stations across the city.
A man named Maqbool allegedly raped his 16-year-old stepdaughter in Johar Town. The complainant, the suspect’s wife, reported the rape and a case has been registered against the suspect.
A mother of four children was allegedly sexually assaulted in the Bhagatpura area within the limits of Shadbagh police station, while a 10-year-old boy was raped by an unidentified person in Manawan, as per the police.
In another incident, an unidentified suspect raped a 17-year-old girl in Lari Ada area after offering her a job. While the Nawankot police arrested a 15-year-old suspect for attempting to rape a seven-year-old girl on Church Road.
Meanwhile, the government has decided to form a committee to protect women from harassment and abuse.
Addressing a press conference after the meeting of the federal cabinet, Fawad Chaudhry said that a committee will be formed in which government officials, religious scholars and civil society would guide the government to help prevent these incidents.
Pakistan responded to a dispatch by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) Associate Asia Director, Patricia Gossman, on the proposed media bill. Pakistan condemned the claims of the organisation and termed the statement “factually incorrect”.
“The statement of Human Rights Watch is factually incorrect as there is no plan to introduce the regulatory body through an ordinance,” read the letter from Pakistan’s Embassy in Washington DC.
The letter further added, “HRW is misled and its statement is based on hearsay and gossip.”
“In the public interest, like other developed countries, we need to introduce holistic policy responses to the challenges of fake news, disinformation, hate speech, abusive content, privacy issues, copyright violations on the emerging information communication technologies.”
The letter further states, “Hence, as per global best practices and independent regulatory body – Pakistan Media Development Authority is under consideration for addressing challenges and requirements for convergent media of the 21st century to make Pakistan a major global center for multimedia information and content services.”
Patricia Gossman took to Twitter and wrote, “Wow. You have identified no inaccuracies in our article and you have failed to provide a draft of the law. What are you hiding?”
Meanwhile, in its statement, HRW said, “The government claims an ordinance setting up the Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) would replace the ‘fractured’ regulatory environment and fragmented media regulations currently in place. The proposed PMDA would bring all media in Pakistan – print, television, radio, films, and digital media – under one regulator.”
The proposed law would also increase government control by allowing government officials to be appointed to key positions.
With journalists under relentless attack for doing their jobs, the Pakistan government needs to stop trying to control reporters and instead start protecting media freedom, added HRW.
Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, penned down a heartfelt piece reminding the world of her dreadful experience nine years ago, when she was shot by the Taliban for raising her voice for girl’s education.
“In October 2012, a member of the Pakistani Taliban boarded my school bus and shot one bullet into my left temple. The bullet grazed my left eye, skull, and brain – lacerating my facial nerve, shattering my eardrum and breaking my jaw,” wrote Malala.
“The emergency surgeons in Peshawar, Pakistan removed my left temporal skull bone to create space for my brain to swell in response to the injury. Their quick action saved my life.”
Malala at the hospital post her surgery in 2012
“Days later I still couldn’t speak, but I started to write things in a notebook and show them to everyone who came to my room. I had questions: What happened to me? Where is my father? Who is going to pay for this treatment? We don’t have money.”
Remembering her experience nine years ago, Malala wrote, “I tried to stay calm. I told myself, When they discharge me, I will find a job, earn some money, buy a phone, call my family, and work until I pay all the bills I owe to the hospital.”
“I touched my abdomen; it felt hard and stiff. I asked the nurse if there was a problem with my stomach. She informed me that when the Pakistani surgeons removed part of my skull bone, they relocated it in my stomach and that, one day, I would have another surgery to put it back in my head.”
“But the UK doctors eventually decided to fit a titanium plate where my skull bone had been, reducing the risk of infection, in a procedure called a cranioplasty. They took the piece of my skull out of my stomach. Today it sits on my bookshelf,” wrote Malala.
Malala’s skull bone, residing on her bookshelf
“A few months after the nerve surgery and with regular facial massage, my symmetry and movement had improved a little. If I smiled with my lips closed, I could almost see my old face. I covered my mouth with my hands when I laughed – so people wouldn’t see that one side didn’t work as well as the other. I avoided staring in the mirror or watching myself on video. In my own mind, I thought I looked fine. I accepted the reality and was happy with myself,” says Malala.
“On August 9 in Boston, I woke up at 5:00am to go to the hospital for my latest surgery and saw the news that the Taliban had taken Kunduz, the first major city to fall in Afghanistan. Over the next few days, with ice packs and a bandage wrapped around my head, I watched as province after province fell to men with guns, loaded with bullets like the one that shot me,” wrote the activist.
Malala after her recent surgery in Boston
“As soon as I could sit up again, I was making phone calls, writing letters to heads of state around the world, and speaking with women’s rights activists still in Afghanistan. In the last two weeks, we’ve been able to help several of them and their families get to a safe place. But I know we can’t save everyone,” writes Malala.
“Nine years later, I am still recovering from just one bullet. The people of Afghanistan have taken millions of bullets over the last four decades. My heart breaks for those whose names we will forget or never even know, whose cries for help will go unanswered,” wrote Malala Yousafzai.
A man in Faisalabad has allegedly gang-raped his fiancée along with his three friends after intoxicating her inside a vehicle, ARY News reported.
Police said that a man named Saif had intoxicated his 15-year-old fiancée and sexually assaulted her with his three friends in a vehicle in Faisalabad’s Awais Nagar.
The girl’s father reported the case at Batala Colony police station. A case was registered against Saif and his three friends, Bilawal, Zeeshan and Tayyab who were also nominated.
The complainant said that Saif kept raping the girl by threatening her of recording her indecent videos and posting them on social media. Moreover, the prime suspect Saif had also snatched Rs80,000 cash and jewellery from the girl.
Later, they threw the girl outside her aunt’s house after one day, the police added.
In another incident, a woman was allegedly gang-raped by unidentified robbers in front of her family in Sheikhupura district in Punjab.
As per reports, two armed muggers allegedly gang-raped a woman and attempted to rape another woman, who was 8 months pregnant, during the robbery.
The victim’s family have asked for justice from the higher authorities, while the victim has appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan for justice.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Finance and Revenue Dr Waqar Masood resigned on Tuesday over growing differences with Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, reported Geo News.
Reportedly, the differences between the two grew over the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
While Masood wanted the government to implement the IMF conditions as per the money lender’s programme, the finance minister was of the view that Pakistan will not be able to implement these conditions.
Tarin, sources said, is in favour of negotiations with the IMF to obtain some relaxation from the money lender.
It is being said that the dejected Masood is of the view that his recommendations as a special assistant on revenue are being ignored. He sent his resignation to the prime minister Tuesday, and until it is accepted, will continue to work in his official capacity.
Police have arrested a seminary teacher accused of raping and torturing a student in Rawalpindi’s Pirwadhai.
As per reports, the Pirwadhai police registered a first information report (FIR) against Mufti Shahnawaz Ahmed on the complaint of the victim’s father. He has been booked in another case for resisting arrest.
He had gotten pre-arrest interim bail from the relevant court to avoid arrest.
Rawalpindi Police wrote in a tweet that the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Investigation and Superintendent of Police (SP) Rawal will supervise the probe, while merit will be ensured. The victim’s father stated that he had received a phone call from the management of the seminary, asking him to pick up his daughter who had fainted.
پیرودھائی کے علاقہ میں مدرسہ کی طالبہ سے زیادتی اور تشدد کا معاملہ۔
راولپنڈی پولیس نے ملزم مفتی شاہ نواز احمد کو گرفتار کر لیا۔ سی پی او محمد احسن یونس کی ہدایات کے مطابق SSP انویسٹیگیشن اور SP راول تفتیش کی براہ راست نگرانی کریں گے۔ میرٹ پر تفتیش مقدمات کو یقینی بنایا جائے گا۔ pic.twitter.com/udtPaaHx4L
ملزم مفتی شاہ نواز احمد کو مقدمہ نمبر 893/21 بجرم 212/224 ت پ گرفتاری سے بچنے کے لئے مزاحمت کے مقدمہ میں گرفتار کیا گیا ہے، ملزم نے امروز 376/511 کی دفعات کے مقدمہ میں عبوری ضمانت کروائ تھی۔ تاہم تفتیش کے دوران 377 بی اور (II) 506 کا معاملہ سامنے آنے پر دفعات ایزاد کی جا رہی ہیں۔
The young girl told what had happened after she regained her consciousness saying the teacher had been trying to harass her for the past several months.
She said that the teacher tortured her after she resisted his attempts of sexual harassment. She was then given a drug after which she fainted and didn’t remember what happened after that, the complainant said.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said on Monday that the Afghan Taliban had reassured the government that the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) would not be given permission to operate in Afghanistan against Pakistan.
While addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Rashid said that some of the TTP members such as Maulvi Faqir Mohammad had been released by the Taliban after their takeover of Kabul on August 15, further adding that the government was in complete contact with the Taliban on the matter.
“The Afghan Taliban have reassured [us] that Afghanistan’s land will not be allowed to be used in any case by the TTP,” said Rashid.
He said Pakistan desired peace in Afghanistan since peace in one country was related to peace in the other.
