Tag: Pakistan

  • Man climbs up electric pole after family fails to get him married

    Man climbs up electric pole after family fails to get him married

    A man in Sukkur climbed up an electric pole after his family failed to get him married. 

    As per details, Hanif hailing from Sukkur, a district of Sindh, climbed a pole of high tension wires after his family refused to get him married.

    The family of the youth is trying to convince him to come down.

    Talking to media, Hanif’s relatives said that he had again climbed the electric pole. Hanif has earlier climbed the pole four months ago.

    In a similar incident that happened in December, last year, a man had climbed up an electric pole to reportedly woo his angry wife in Sindh. Nadeem Jamali, a resident of Kandhkot, had climbed a pole of high-tension wires after his unhappy wife moved the court for Khula.

  • England’s Alex Hales impressed with Pakistani food and hospitality

    England’s Alex Hales impressed with Pakistani food and hospitality

    Alex Hales has appreciated Pakistan’s hospitality and food, referring to it as “excellent”.

    Responding to a tweet by senior sports journalist Saj Sadiq, who said that the English star may not have been happy with the quality of food served to him at breakfast, Hales said: “It was one meal where the order was incorrect…I found it funny, nothing more.”

    “The food and hospitality here has been excellent, hope this clears it up,” he added.

    https://twitter.com/AlexHales1/status/1367485390773436428?s=20

    Controversy erupted after Hales, who was playing for Islamabad United in the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), posted a picture of his breakfast, writing: “Toast, omelette and baked beans.”

    In the photo, two boiled eggs could be seen with a slice of toast and an unopened packet. Fans and social media users thought the cricketer was indirectly trolling the PCB. They also expressed their reservations over the condition of the egg and took shots at PCB for the poor quality of the food.

    However, the right-handed batsman was quick to make things clear, clarifying that there was no issue with the quality and that he posted the photo only because he found it funny.

    Meanwhile, PSL6 has been postponed indefinitely after seven positive cases of COVID-19 were detected in the bio-secure bubble.

  • Health experts suggest excessive consumption of biryani can cause diabetes

    Health experts suggest excessive consumption of biryani can cause diabetes

    Health experts have warned that poor eating habits, especially the excessive consumption of rice in the form of biryani and carbonated drinks can be one of the leading causes of diabetes in Pakistan.

    According to experts, the excessive consumption of rice and carbonated sodas must be stopped to prevent diabetes.

    Speaking at the launching ceremony of the Diabetes Discovering Project, Internal Medicine Specialist and Endocrinologist Professor Tasnim Ahsan said that the country was facing a “diabetes epidemic”.

    Professor Tasnim said, “Everything unhealthy we eat [nowadays] should be avoided, especially rice in the form of biryani, soft drinks and so-called fast food.”

    “More than 50 per cent of people with diabetes are unaware of their health condition and only find out when their eyes, kidneys, heart or brain have been severely damaged,” the Professor said, adding that “precaution is better than cure.”

    Diabetes expert Professor Zaman Sheikh, while talking about the disease said: “The disease is threatening thousands of lives in Pakistan every year but unfortunately most people are ignorant of the causes of the disease and consider it a small problem.”

    “When people come to us with diabetes after living for many years, many of their vital organs have already suffered badly,” he said, asserting that “diabetes causes permanent damage to the eyes and kidneys and  can even lead to heart attacks  and fatal strokes.”

    Professor Javed Iqbal, a laparoscopic surgeon, said that lack of awareness about health issues is no less than a crime, as diseases like diabetes are quietly causing irreparable harm to people.

    He advised Pakistanis to change their eating habits, diet and lifestyle and get tested for diabetes as soon as possible.

    Haroon Qasim, Managing Director, Pharmevo, on the Diabetes Discovering Project, said that a helpline service has been developed under the project so that people can know the nature of diabetes on their own and consult diabetes experts in the country.

    “We believe that the healthy lifestyle should be a part of Pakistan’s school curriculum as more than 26% of the people in the country have diabetes and every child knows it,” he said.

  • ‘Govt does not plan to buy vaccines anytime soon’

    ‘Govt does not plan to buy vaccines anytime soon’

    “The government aims to handle the COVID-19 health challenge through herd immunity and donated vaccines as currently; it has no strategy to buy more vaccines,” National Health Service (NHS) Secretary Amir Ashraf Khawaja has told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

    According to reports, National Institute of Health Executive Director Maj Gen Aamir Ikram has informed that a single dose of Chinese vaccine CanSino costs $13 which is why Pakistan was depending on international donors and friendly countries, like China to fulfil its vaccine requirement.

    Read more – Govt announces free vaccine for all citizens

    The NHS secretary further told PAC that Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm had committed to give one million doses of the virus vaccine [to Pakistan], adding that 0.5m doses had already been handed over. Out of those 0.5 million doses,  around 275,000 doses had been administered to healthcare workers fighting against COVID-19 on the frontlines.

    He said the second phase would include the health officials working in hospitals and other health facilities, adding that people aged 65 and above could also register themselves for vaccination via a text message to 1166. According to him, the process of vaccination to aged people was due to start by March 5 but was delayed because the consignment was delayed.

    Khawaja also said that Pakistan plans to vaccinate 70 million people this year.

    Read more – Will Pakistan get enough COVID-19 vaccines?

    According to the NHS secretary, Pakistan will also get 16m free doses of Indian-made Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine through Gavi that would cover upto 20% of the population of Pakistan. The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi) is a public-private global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunisation in poor countries.

    In response to a question by the PAC chairman, the secretary said Pakistan would receive the first batch of AstraZeneca vaccine made by Serum Institute of India by the mid of March and the rest was expected to arrive in the country by June.

    He said that another Chinese company had conducted the phase-three trial of CanSino vaccine in Pakistan, adding that a total of 18,000 people were inoculated and the vaccine’s efficacy stood at 85pc.

    The PAC chairman highlighted that some people had some concerns regarding the side effects of the vaccine and suggested that the top leadership of the country should get vaccinated first to remove doubts in the general public’s mind.

    In response to a question by Hina Rabbani Khar, the NHS secretary said that despite the government’s offer to the private sector to buy the vaccine, no serious buyers had so far shown interest. The government had earlier allowed the private sector to import vaccine to cater to the needs of those people who could afford its price.

    According to him, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan has so far received applications only from three companies for the import of vaccines, but their applications were rejected because they did not give any detail and specification of the vaccines they intended to import.

  • PM announces stepping down if betrayed by party members again

    PM announces stepping down if betrayed by party members again

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said that he is going to seek a vote of confidence from the National Assembly this week, adding that his party would sit on opposition benches if they lose this time.

    He was addressing the national a day after his party’s Abdul Hafeez Shaikh faced defeat on the critical Senate seat from Islamabad despite PTI and its ally parties’ majority in the lower house of the parliament.

    The premier said that that the opposition wanted to threaten him with the no-confidence motion after defeating Shaikh in order to get NRO-like concession. Saying vote of confidence will be held through show-off hand, the premier said that he will have no objection if any member of his party does not trust him.

    Highlighting that some of his party’s lawmakers have sold their votes to ensure the victory of PDM’s joint candidate Yousaf Raza Gillani, he said that such elements should have fear of God.

    PM Imran also questioned the role of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the Senate election. He accused the Commission of damaging the democracy in the country by supporting secret balloting for Senate polls. “The ECP was informed about the horse-trading beforehand but it did not take any action,” he said.

    He said that the ECP provided an opportunity of horse-trading to the opposition, adding that the institution has failed to hold fair and transparent elections.

    Hitting out at opposition parties, the premier said that all the opposition parties in the past were calling for holding Senate polls through an open ballot but they stepped back when the government tried to make legislation in this regard. He said that such moves made the character of opposition parties doubtful.

  • WWF releases rare video of snow leopard hunting ibex

    WWF releases rare video of snow leopard hunting ibex

    Viewer discretion is advised.

    The World Wildlife Fund-Pakistan (WWF-P) released rare footage of a snow leopard hunting a Himalayan ibex in Khunjerab National Park, located at a distance of approximately 15 kilometres from the Pakistan-China border.

    The footage was released on March 3 to mark the annual World Wildlife Day. According to details, the video is aimed to raise awareness about wildlife protection and threats to their survival.

    The gripping video shows a snow leopard silently chasing a herd of Himalayan ibex on steep cliffs. After successfully hunting an ibex, the snow leopard can be seen feasting on it. Two other cats joined the leopard later.

    The video was recorded by wildlife photographer Muhammad Osama.

    According to Osama, he followed the herd of the ibex in severe cold, with the temperature as low as – 18 degrees Celsius, looking for fresh snow leopard pugmarks.

    “Capturing this hunt was once in a lifetime experience as it involved hours of tireless tracking, climbing mountains and withstanding freezing cold temperatures,” he said.

    VIDEO: Himalayan lynx attacks Markhor in Chitral

    WWF-P director general Hammad Naqi Khan also expressed hope that the video would help in raising awareness about wildlife in Pakistan and the need to guard it.

    He said wildlife in Pakistan and in the rest of the world faced increasing threats due to deforestation and human encroachment, which led to habitat degradation, while new threats such as unsustainable infrastructure and climate change were also emerging.

    As a result, the survival of wildlife, such as snow leopards, Indus River dolphins, common leopards, pangolins, brown bear and white-backed vultures, hangs in the balance, he added.

    Khan requested the government to ensure that existing protected areas in the country were restored so that wildlife could flourish in healthy landscapes.

  • Fans heartbroken after PSL 6 gets postponed

    Fans heartbroken after PSL 6 gets postponed

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has postponed the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) due to a surge in COVID-19 cases among players and officials participating in the tournament.

    As per reports, seven players and one support staff official have tested positive for the virus. Quetta Gladiators’ Tom Banton and Islamabad United’s Fawad Ahmed and Lewis Gregory were among the players who tested positive.

    Soon after the news broke, PSL fans took to social media to express their heartbreak over the decision.

    https://twitter.com/imPakistaniLAD/status/1367383159978008576?s=20

    https://twitter.com/syeda_rukhi/status/1367388008933167106?s=20

    Some took it as an opportunity to make memes that could lighten up the mood of PSL fans.

    https://twitter.com/KinzaAjmal/status/1367394007337365509?s=20

  • ‘Who voted for Gilani?’ – PDM defeats PTI in Senate election

    ‘Who voted for Gilani?’ – PDM defeats PTI in Senate election

    Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday emerged victorious against the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.

    After the result was announced, Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and the former prime minister shook hands and hugged each other.

    The news of Hafeez’s defeat was told to him by Zain Qureshi — who was the minister’s polling agent — following which the two men embraced each other.

    Gilani secured 169 votes while Shaikh received 164 votes. Out of the total number of 341 votes, 6 were rejected and 1 was not polled.

    Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto and Maryam Nawaz celebrated the win in their tweets.

    Nawaz Sharif also tweeted, congratulating Gilani on the win.

    Meanwhile, PTI’s Dr Shahbaz Gill tweeted that the government will challenge this result

    PTI’s Shaukat Yousafzai also called a press conference, asking who voted for Gilani and alleged that money had a role to play. He also questioned the veracity of the results.

    The votes were done by secret ballot and it will be difficult for the government to determine who voted for whom.

  • Swat teacher attacks 3-year-old with blade to postpone student’s sister’s wedding

    Swat teacher attacks 3-year-old with blade to postpone student’s sister’s wedding

    Police in Swat arrested a seminary teacher for attacking her three-year-old student with a blade.

    According to reports, the teacher attacked the student as she wanted her student’s sister’s wedding to be postponed.

    Investigation SP Nazeer told media outlets that the teacher wanted her student’s sister to marry her brother.

    When the teacher got to know that her student’s sister is marrying someone else, she could not tolerate it and took the extreme step.

    The suspect confessed to her crime in court after which she was sent to a jail in Swat.

    Earlier, a girl in Hafizabad hired an assassin to kill her best friend for breaking a promise regarding living and dying together, and not getting married.

  • Indian politician requests Pakistani comic Akbar Chaudhry to mimic Imran Khan

    Indian politician requests Pakistani comic Akbar Chaudhry to mimic Imran Khan

    India’s Shashi Tharoor has requested Pakistani comedian Akbar Chaudhry to mimic Imran Khan after enjoying Chaudhry’s hilarious take on the politician’s oratory English skills.

    Read more – Shashi Tharoor all praise for PM Imran

    Tharoor, a member of the Indian National Congress, is known for using extensive English vocabulary during his speeches and interviews. Chaudhry had made a fun video on that and shared a few tips on how people can also speak fluent English like Tharoor.

    The video shows the comedian making a drink out of the Oxford Dictionary and then drinking it. The second tip is to get a ‘blood transfusion’ with the Oxford Dictionary on one side and Tharoor’s speech on the other.

    In the third step, Akbar crushes a dictionary and snorts it. According to the comedian, if these steps are followed, anyone can speak like Tharoor.

    Soon after the comedian’s video went viral on social media, the politician responded and requested him to mimic PM Khan. Tharoor shared the video with a laughing emoji and wrote: “Next one on Imran Khan please!?”

    Speaking about the video, Akbar told The News that his friends from India have told him that the video is a hit on Indian WhatsApp groups.

    When asked about the idea behind the video, Akbar said that he had earlier done a video on “How to Speak English Like a Burger” and had received a lot of positive response on it.

    Akbar said that when that video did very well, he thought about doing similar stuff.

    He shared that almost two weeks ago, he had seen a tweet which joked that this year’s English exam for the Civil Superior Services (CSS) was set by Shashi Tharoor given the extensive and difficult vocabulary used in it.

    “[That’s when] the idea came to me that I can do a video on ‘How to speak English like Shashi Tharoor’,” said Akbar.

    He shared that he has been a big fan of Shashi Tharoor’s usage of the words in the English language.

    The comedian from the improvisational comedy group ‘Lol Waalay’, said that he had been hopeful that his effort would reach Tharoor.

    “Obviously, I didn’t believe it would happen, but somehow lots of people tagged him [Tharoor] in it and he replied,” said Akbar, adding he was “very happy” with the response.