A female member of the National Assembly was bitten by a rat at the Parliament Lodges, ARY News reported.
National Assembly member from the Pakistan People’s Party, Shahida Rahmani, was reportedly bitten by a rat.
Shahida Rahmani said that she was sleeping when the rat bit her. She has gotten an injection after the rat bite.
After Shahida Rahmani informed the authorities about the incident, the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly said that he would ask the CDA to ensure better arrangements.
Police have arrested a man for wearing a costume mask and frightening citizens.
The Yakatoot police received complaints about a motorcyclist riding around the streets with a scary mask to frighten pedestrians. The police traced and detained the man after complaints
Naila Inayat, a journalist, shared a video of the man behind the bars. “This guy arrested in Peshawar had plans to celebrate Independence Day by scaring people. Apparently, the police wasn’t much impressed. He was caught in his scary mask,” she wrote in a tweet.
Journalist Iftikhar Firdous tweeted, “Peshawar police and masks don’t get along.”
Firdous was referring to a man who was wearing a ‘wolf mask’ in Peshawar on New Year’s Eve and was arrested by the Peshawar police for “trying to scare off people” in the provincial capital.
The investigation officials have found out that a ‘woman manager’ was a mastermind in the Rs750m gold scam at a private bank in Karachi, ARY News reported.
As per reports, the investigators have found more hints while investigating financial fraud at a Karachi private bank after they interrogated the suspects.
They revealed that a woman manager of the bank’s Gulistan-e-Johar branch who had allegedly planned the gold scam divided the shares and gave the money earned from the frauds to the accused bank staffers.
The accused woman kept giving gifts to the staffers. Investigators also found Rs2,400,000 funds in the bank account of the bank’s gold finance executive Adeel.
The woman manager had also gifted expensive mobile phones to the bank employees and invested the remaining money to the stock exchange, as well as bought luxurious vehicles.
The officials said that the mastermind had also given ‘pocket money to the bank staffers in both branches. Police said that 14 arrests have been made in the Rs750 million bank gold scam case so far.
The Pakistan government has responded to the United Kingdom (UK) government’s reasons for keeping the former on its travel Red List in a detailed letter written by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan.
Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari shared the letter on Twitter and said, “The table exposes claims of UK govt, clearly it has been a political decision.”
Mazari further tweeted, “UK’s Conservative govt with a strong Indophiles’ presence playing discriminatory politics against Pakistan on Covid.”
Dr Sultan in his letter writes that Pakistan has “no interest in allowing” its nationals who pose a health risk to other societies to travel abroad. He said this is a shared global objective.
Dr Sultan presented a table comparing key indicators from Pakistan and some other countries in the region, which currently sit on the Amber List, to illustrate what he referred to as “obvious disparities”. He said that when looking at countries’ track record of managing the epidemic, “numbers alone, without context, can be deceptive”.
The SAPM explained how the Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests in Pakistan were being conducted and highlighted that testing is done through “agreed-upon national algorithms”. He explained how it makes for “accurate and timely data inputs”.
“We feel that the number of tests being done is a large enough sample size to be a sensitive and accurate barometer of the epidemic and the number, especially when seen with the percentage positivity rate, has accurately reflected the rise and fall of all the waves seen so far,” Dr Sultan wrote.
SAPM agreed that Pakistan does have limitations in whole-genome sequencing throughput, compared to the UK, which is the current leader in this arena. So far 854 samples have been sequenced during July and August 2021 and the details are shared with the World Health Organisation (WHO) regularly.
Police arrested a schoolteacher for allegedly raping a married woman, recording her videos and blackmailing her to get gold jewellery and cash, Dawn reported.
The suspect is a teacher at the Government High School, Chiniot. The woman’s son, a student of 10th class, was his student at his private academy.
The survivor’s husband filed a complaint with the city police stating that the suspect would call his wife to his academy for discussing matters related to his son’s studies.
He said some weeks ago his wife fell sick and went to a local quack, Shafiq, to take medicines where the suspect also arrived. He said that Shafiq and the teacher gave sedatives to his wife and when she was falling unconscious, the suspect (teacher) accompanied her to their house to drop her there.
The complainant said that finding her alone at the house, the suspect raped her and filmed objectionable videos.
Read More: Nowshera man arrested for trying to rape five-year-old granddaughter
He said later the teacher started blackmailing his wife and asked her to give her gold jewellery to him, or he would post the obscene clip on social media.
He said his wife got blackmailed and gave the suspect nine-tola gold jewellery. Similarly, he said, a few days later the suspect received Rs250,000 cash from her. Then the suspect demanded one million rupees but she could not arrange the amount.
When she refused to pay the amount, the suspect got angry and sent the videos to the in-laws of their daughter, who was divorced by her husband over the issue.
Finally, the blackmailed woman revealed the whole story to her husband, who registered a complaint with the city police.
The police registered a case under sections 376, 382 and 506 of PPC against the suspect and arrested him and his accomplice Shafiq.
District Education Officer Dr Khadim Hussain said the teacher had been suspended from service and a departmental inquiry had been started against him under the Punjab Employees Efficiency and Discipline ACT (PEEDA), 2006.
Pakistan on Tuesday “categorically rejected” a report published in The Guardian, which alleges that Pakistan was cracking down on dissidents abroad, adding that such accusations were baseless.
Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that the unsubstantiated allegations appeared to be part of the rather “blatant on-going misinformation campaign” against Pakistan to malign the country and its state institutions.
“Pakistan is a parliamentary democracy with a vibrant civil society, free media, and independent judiciary, which remains fully committed to the promotion and protection of human rights for all its citizens without discrimination,” said the FO spokesperson. “Our strong commitment to the right to freedom of opinion and expression is demonstrated by the presence of scores of vibrant media channels and newspapers in the country.”
Chaudhri said it was regrettable that any news outlet provided a “platform for the peddling of unsubstantiated and false narratives against Pakistan”.
British security sources are understood to be concerned that Pakistan might be prepared to target individuals on British soil, said a report published in The Guardian.
According to the report, there are further warnings given by other intelligence services across Europe to Pakistani dissidents, including rights activists from Balochistan, journalists, and members of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM).
“If there is illegal pressure, in particular on journalists in the UK, then I would expect the law enforcement agencies and the British government to take notice of that and to make an appropriate legal and/or diplomatic response,” said Mark Lyall Grant, former UK High Commissioner to Pakistan.
A Lahore court has forbidden the printing of flags in different colours. The printing of flag in various colours, other than its original scheme, and on distorted shaped portraits undermining the national dignity might be considered a defilement, Samaa News reported.
“Our parcham (flag) is not merely a piece of cloth. The white and dark green field represents peace and prosperity, the crescent on the flag [symbolises] progress and the five-ray star signifies light and knowledge, which symbolises the five most Holy personalities (Panjtan-e-Pak A.S),” Justice Ali Baqar Najafi ruled while hearing a petition filed by Advocate Shakeela Rana.
The court observed that according to the National Flags Protocol, people cannot legally do this while celebrating independence day. It must not touch the ground, shoes, feet, or anything unclean.
People who will violate any of these will be imprisoned for three years under Section 123-B (defilement of the national flag) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi asked the Afghan government to avoid pointing fingers at Pakistan for its own failures and look into its governance issues.
In a press briefing at the Foreign Office (FO), he said Pakistan had repeatedly said it had no favourites in Afghanistan and saw all sides of the conflict as Afghans.
“It is unfortunate to scapegoat Pakistan for the failures of others; the issues of governance and meltdown of Afghan National Defence Forces need to be looked into — and not just start pointing fingers at Pakistan.”
“The time has come when the world wants answers to what has been achieved in Afghanistan in these past 20 years. The taxpayer in the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), and Europe wants to know who is responsible for no achievement. Pakistan will not be apologetic, as we are not accountable nor responsible for the trillions spent and nothing to show for it. No capacity building, no arms, where has everything gone?” remarked Qureshi.
“Pakistan is against a forceful takeover of Afghanistan. Pakistan does not want a military takeover, as we do not support one. We speak of a political takeover. A military takeover will result in more bloodshed and the people of Afghanistan have suffered and this suffering should end. Leadership inside Afghanistan should rise to the occasion and avoid a military takeover. We urge all sides to show respect for human rights and international humanitarian laws,” said Qureshi.
“We had made a request to be present there, but unfortunately, it was not accepted,” he said, adding that at the time of India assuming the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) presidency, Pakistan had asked it to operate objectively.
However, India did not behave in a manner that was befitting of that responsibility, the foreign minister said. “India has been, in our view, in breach of its obligation as president of the Security Council.”
Pakistan has been facilitating the peace process, and its role has been and will continue to be of a facilitator, the foreign minister said.
“We cannot guarantee, we can only facilitate,” he said, noting it was up to the Afghans to decide their future, and now the world community was backing Pakistan’s narrative that there is no military solution in Afghanistan.
While on the request of President Ashraf Ghani, intra-Afghan peace talks were postponed in Islamabad, Pakistan now looks forward to the August 11 peace talks of the troika consisting of Pakistan, China, and Russia with an aim of chartering a political way out for an Afghan-led peace process.
“We reiterate the need for the effective use of available peace mechanisms,” Qureshi said, adding Pakistan has always stressed the need for talks.
Pakistanis have to get booster shots of one of the four approved vaccines, i.e. Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson in order to perform Umrah. Saudi Arabia is to begin accepting vaccinated foreign visitors for Umrah, reports Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The Saudi authorities will begin taking travel requests starting today and will increase the number of Umrah performers to two million per month. The Kingdom closed its borders some 18 months ago because of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the official guidelines for travellers to the KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), “Guests who have completed two doses of the Sinopharm or Sinovac vaccines will be accepted if they have received an additional dose of one of the four vaccines approved in the Kingdom.”
“All visitors arriving in the country with a valid tourism visa must provide evidence of a full course of one the four vaccines currently recognised: two doses of the Oxford/Astra Zeneca, Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines or a single dose of the vaccine produced by Johnson and Johnson,” reads the guidelines.
The Kingdom announced on Sunday about reopening their borders for Umrah, a move that will boost an economy hit by the Covid pandemic. Domestic and overseas pilgrims will have to include authorised Covid-19 vaccination certificates along with their Umrah application. “A certificate of immunisation certified by the official authorities in the country of the Umrah performer must be attached within the documents of requesting the performance of Umrah rituals, with the condition that the vaccines be approved in the Kingdom.” Moreover, foreign visitors from Saudi entry-ban list will have to undergo quarantine.
Saudi Arabia has recorded nearly 532,000 coronavirus cases and more than 8,300 deaths.
In an interview with Stephen Sackur on BBC HARDtalk, senior journalist Hamid Mir talked about why he was banned on Geo News, press freedom, censorship under Prime Minister Imran Khan, attacks on journalists, and how he is worried for his own safety in Pakistan.
Stephen Sackur questioned Hamid Mir as to how disappointed he was with his employers [Geo News] and the Jang group who did not stand by him. Sackur also questioned how Mir felt that he had lost his voice and platform as a journalist because he was suspended from his channel.
Mir said he was certainly disappointed but did understand the circumstances under which the decision was taken place.
“Mir Shakil ur Rehman was arrested last year and he remained in the detention of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for more than seven months for a three-decade-old case, which was not a very big case. And I think that he was arrested, he was detained, just because of the freedom he was trying to give us. He got bail from the Supreme Court but his name was placed on the Exit Control List. He cannot leave Pakistan. He is already being held at gunpoint. So, my employers, the gun is already at their head. So when they were asked to ban Hamid Mir, they banned me. So I can understand their problem,” replied Mir.
The BBC host asked Mir that in the past he had a friendly relationship with PM Imran Khan so did he ever think that PM Imran personally wanted to see him taken off-air.
Hamid replied, “It’s a very difficult question for me to respond [to], but I will try to very honestly. Imran Khan stood by me in 2007 when I was banned by General Pervez Musharraf, and yes at that time he was the biggest supporter of media freedom in Pakistan. Yes, I provided him a lot of space on my TV shows because he was in the Opposition, and you can say that I was friendly with him when he was in the Opposition. But when he became PM, I started raising questions. I even met him personally, and I asked him that your government should provide more space to the media because you are the biggest beneficiary of media freedom.”
“One of my interviews with the former president, Asif Ali Zardari, was banned on my show, on my TV channel and some other Opposition leaders were also banned on different TV channels. So we started criticising Imran Khan and so I think he was not happy with my criticism.
“The second part of your question is very important. I think that Imran Khan is not directly responsible for imposing a ban on me. And I don’t think he wants me to be off-air. But like past prime ministers, he is not a very powerful prime minister and I think he is helpless and he can’t help me,” said Mir.
Sackur questioned Mir if he feared the toxic environment in Pakistan and how concerned was he about his personal safety in the country after two assassination attempts on him. Mir answered, “Yes, I am very concerned about my personal security for a long time. I asked my family to leave Pakistan and my family left, my daughter and wife have already left. I was also approached by some people who suggested I leave Pakistan. But I decided not to leave.”
The HARDtalk host asked Hamid Mir if he was ready to face imprisonment for the accusations against him, to which Mir responded, ” Yes, and I am ready to face life imprisonment because if they will be able to convict me at least the whole world will come to know what is going on in Pakistan. The whole world is already aware of what is going on in Pakistan because I am a living example of censorship in Pakistan. Everybody knows what happened to Hamid Mir and why he is banned and everybody knows the names of the people which I have not mentioned, everybody knows who was responsible for imposing a ban on me.”
“The common Pakistanis are very wise, they are very clever. They know each and everything about what’s going on. But you see, there is no rule of law in Pakistan. And we only want justice, we want that the rule of law should be established in Pakistan. And if a journalist is asking questions, don’t try to silence his voice,” added Mir.
Stephen Sackur questioned Mir whether there was a climate of fear in Pakistan when it comes to journalists or journalism.
“Yes, definitely, there is a climate of fear in Pakistan. A lot of young journalists, they are very disappointed and look at the state of media freedom in Pakistan. When Mr Imran Khan became prime minister in 2018 Pakistan was ranked at 139 on the World Press Freedom Index. Today, in 2021, when I am talking to you, it is 145. So Pakistan lost six points in the last three years,” said Mir.
He further added, “According to the International Federation of Journalists, Pakistan is one of the five most dangerous countries for journalists in the whole world. This is not good for Pakistan, for its reputation and credibility in the international community. And yes, there is a climate of fear in Pakistan because Pakistani journalists think journalism is becoming very difficult in this country and this government of Imran Khan [is] now planning some more anti-media laws which is not acceptable to us.”
Commenting on the grave danger to democracy in Pakistan, Hamid Mir said, “I think that the rule of law is the solution to all of our problems. That’s why we want a general democracy in Pakistan because the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a democrat and I am a follower of his.”
“And all those people who are trying to snatch media freedom from us are enemies of Pakistan and are enemies of Muhammad Ali Jinnah,” said Mir.