Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flew its plane from Islamabad to Manchester with only one passenger on board. According to reports, the plane which had a capacity of 371 passengers carried only one passenger to the destination.
While Geo News has reported that the flight took off from Islamabad, journalist Murtaza Ali Shah said that the plane flew from Manchester to Islamabad.
In the video posted by Shah, a PIA’s staffer, while pointing towards other empty 370 passenger seat, remarks that the passenger on board is the “lucky” one. The only passenger on the flight was a native of Gujrat.
Meanwhile prominent aviation journalist Tahir Imran Mian said PIA’s flight was not the only one that flew empty.
Most of the flights these days are dead. On 22nd December only 2 passengers travelled on Virgin Atlantic flight from Manchester VS362. I wonder why they don’t cancel it. https://t.co/yjnWfdyKzc
Amid the second wave of coronavirus, the government has decided to open educational institutions in phases from January 18.
Inter provincial Education Ministers meeting held today. Health situation was carefully considered and it was decided that classes appearing for Board and Cambridge exam that is 9,10,11,12, O and A level, will reopen on Jan 18. Classes pre school to 8 will reopen on Jan 25. 1/2
2/2 All higher education institutions/ universities will reopen on Feb 1. However online classes will start for them on Jan 11. Similarly all schools will reopen in January 11 for Administrators and teachers to prepare for arrival of students.
Soon after the news was announced, memes started doing rounds on social media adding to the popularity of Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood.
Mahmood’s memes also went viral earlier after he announced that educational institutions would be closed till January 11 due to rising COVID-19 cases. In an exclusive interview with The Current, the minister talked about the memes and which ones were his favourite.
Karachi has been listed among the world’s most polluted cities ranking sixth on the global Air Quality Index on Monday.
As per details, the number of polluted particles in the air in the provincial capital was recorded at 186 particulate matter.
The capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek was on the top of the list while India’s Kolkata ranked second among the world’s most polluted cities.
According to the classification, pollution from 151 to 200 degrees is harmful to health, pollution from 201 to 300 degrees is extremely harmful to health, while more than 301 degrees indicates hazardous pollution.
Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mahmood Khan has approved Rs 23.56 million to purchase the ancestral houses of two Bollywood legends Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor in Peshawar.
As per reports, the value of Raj Kapoor house is Rs 15 million, while Kumar’s home is worth Rs 8.56 million. Both houses will be converted into museums after restoration work.
The owner of the Kapoor Haveli Hajji Ali Qadir had earlier demanded at least two billion rupees for the mansion in Qissa Khawani Bazaar from the government. The province’s archaeology department at the time had said that it will use legal powers to purchase the Kapoor Haveli as well as Dilip Kumar’s house if needed.
The department had earlier declared the two houses as national heritage sites that were recognised internationally.
Earlier, Kumar himself took to social media to express his excitement over the government’s decision. The legendary actor asked his fans living in Peshawar to share photos of his ancestral house on Twitter.
A doctor of Pakistani origin in the United States of America Dr Omar Atiq waived of $650,000 in debt for nearly 200 of his patients with cancer. Dr Atiq, an oncologist who founded a cancer treatment centre in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, sent out a holiday greeting to patients before Christmas, announcing that their outstanding payments would be cleared.
“I hope this note finds you well. The Arkansas Cancer Clinic was proud to serve you as a patient. Although various health insurers pay most of the bills for [the] majority of patients, even the deductibles and co-pays can be burdensome,” the card read.
“The clinic has decided to forego all balances owed to the clinic by its patients. Happy Holidays.”
Working on a sweet story tonight.
Around 200 cancer patients in Pine Bluff got this holiday card a few days ago— Dr. Omar Atiq who founded the Arkansas Cancer Clinic is forgiving all outstanding debts owed by patients.
As per details, Dr Atiq’s clinic provided cancer treatments including chemotherapy, radiation therapy and diagnostics. It was closed in late February due to staff shortage.
The outstanding amount was nearly $650,000 (Rs 104,645,320). However, the clinic worked with a billing company to cancel the debt.
“We thought there was not a better time to do this than during a pandemic that has decimated homes, people’s lives and businesses and all sorts of stuff,” said Dr Atiq. “We just thought we could do it, and we wanted to, so we went ahead and did it.”
“Being sick is hard, having cancer is harder, and having cancer in this pandemic is devastating. I am just a regular physician—a regular person that they have in the neighbourhood—just so happens to be me standing here. The ones struggling couldn’t pay, so we thought we could just write off the debt.”
“It is really fate,” he said, referring to the decision to move. “We have been very grateful. This has been home for a long time. We are grateful for the opportunity for what has happened to our lives here.”
Atiq said he was happy to give his patients a bit of relief.
“I love them, I care for them and I am glad I was able to do a little bit at this point for them,” he added.
The Arkansas Medical Society President said his clinic, in part, amassed the outstanding debt because “we have never refused to see a patient.”
“Not for lack of health insurance or funds nor for any other reason,” he said. “I’ve always considered it a high honor and privilege to be someone’s physician—more important than anything else.”
Emma Alam from Pakistan has won the 29th World Memory Championship which saw 300 contestants participate from across the globe.
The three-day competition included competitors from China, Canada, UK, South Korea, Vietnam, India, Malaysia, Algeria, the United States, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Libya, Qatar, and Iraq.
Alam and Syeda Kisa Zehra from the Pakistani team also broke multiple World Records in this year’s championship.
World Memory Championships was founded in 1991 by an English author Tony Buzan and English journalist and author Raymond Keene to shine a global spotlight on the power of human memory.
The late Tony Buzan was among world’s top five speakers, as per Forbes Magazine. He was the one who promoted the idea of mental literacy. Raymond Keene is Grandmaster of Chess and an appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire by her majesty Queen Elizabeth.
The participants with the best, fastest and sharpest memory skills competed to show their intellectual power and set new heights of the potential of human memory.
Global President of The World Memory Sports Council Raymond Keene, in an official statement, said: “The field consisted of an impressive 300 competitors from 16 countries and from this extensive field the winner, the world champion from the 29th World Memory Championship, emerged from the Pakistan team, so excellently and expertly trained by Sania Alam.”
He congratulated the winner and said that “one of the great sporting achievers for Pakistan, a unique heroine in the pandemic-stricken 2020 and supreme grand world memory champion for 2020.’’
Meanwhile, Alam said that she was excited to have won.
“I had aimed to give my best in WMC 2020, backed by a lot of daily practice for the past two years with my coach and the institute,” said the winner. “I plan on competing again next year with even better performance. I congratulate all those amazing competitors who competed from across the globe.”
Alam has also competed in many memory championships before including the 3rd Asia Pacific Memory Championship in Malaysia and the 28th World Memory Championship in China and has won several medals and trophies. She is currently completing her studies through homeschooling.
Another member of Team Pakistan, Abeerah Ather, achieved 7th position in the 2020 global rankings.
Emma Alam and Team Pakistan were skilled under the Institute of Human Memory Development International (IHMD).
The Lahore police on Thursday allegedly made a young boy and his sister do sit-ups in front of a police vehicle after they failed to provide their national identity cards to the police.
Speaking to ARY News, the girl said that she was coming back with her brother on a motorcycle from a factory where they both work when police officials stopped them at a check post near Ghalib Market police station and asked them to show their CNICs.
“The police officials forced us to perform sit-ups as we did not have the CNICs,” she said, adding that the policemen were recording a video while they were doing sit-ups.
Her brother said, “After inflicting corporal punishment to us in public, the police officials took us to the Ghalib Market police station where they subjected us to torture.”
The boy alleged that his sister was physically searched by the male police officer at the police station.
Meanwhile police officials have denied all allegations saying that the video shared on social media is fake and is aimed to “malign” the police.
Further reportsreveal that the Ghalib Market police station house officer (SHO) has said that “someone conspired to defame the police [in response to] an operation against the hotel mafia”.
“No official from Ghalib Market police station was involved” in the incident, the SHO said, claiming that the “footage of the boy and girl was made on purpose near the police van”.
The cop added that an investigation is underway and authorities would soon “reveal the facts”.
The Karachi traffic police has announced a traffic plan for New Year’s Eve.
According to the route prepared by the traffic police, no main roads will be closed for traffic this year. However, traffic from Sea View McDonald’s to Village Hotel will be one-way, while parking will be not allowed on Sea View, Shah-Ra-e-Faisal, Abdullah Haroon Road and Ziaud Din Ahmed Road. Parking will also be banned on Mai Kolachi Road, Korangi and MT Khan Road.
The traffic police added that if anyone rides a motorcycle without a silencer, they will be handed over to police. Aerial firing is also banned and people can send video complaints of aerial firing via WhatsApp on 0343 -5142770.
The police will be appointed in all areas of Karachi from 8 pm today to 3am tomorrow.
Earlier, it was reported that a ban will be imposed on aerial firing in the city and restaurants and commercial centers can only remain open till 8 pm on New Year’s Eve.
On December 30, it was reported that Karachi Commissioner Navid Ahmed Shaikh instructed the police to keep Sea View and surrounding areas open for the public on the day with better traffic and security arrangements.
The directives came amid the current pandemic while checking the security and traffic plan and other arrangements for December 31.
A rather tough year has came to an end, surprisingly, in the blink of an eye.
But while it negates the belief that hard times pass slow, here are all the major updates that added to the very happening COVID-19-infected year as most of the world stayed indoors.
Extension for Gen Bajwa
After some drama following earlier reservations, the Supreme Court (SC) on November 28, 2019 approved a short 6-month extension in General Bajwa’s term as the chief of army staff.
Subsequently, on January 7, 2020, the National Assembly passed three bills concerning the tenure of the three services chiefs — chief of army staff, chief of air staff and chief of naval staff — and the chairman of the joint chief of staff committee.
Gen Bajwa was granted extension up to three years till November 29, 2022.
Surprisingly though, the two major opposition parties — PML-N and PPP — were on board for the changes which was why the bills faced no resistance even in the opposition-dominated Senate.
Smooth sailing of the Army Act was also what prompted Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda to bring with him an army boot to a live talkshow.
Coronavirus
After wreaking havoc in China and beginning to do the same in Europe as well as the worst-hit US, the first case of COVID-19 was reported from Karachi on February 26, 2020. Hundreds of thousands of infections and several deaths were reported.
Prominent figures were also on the list of COVID-19 patients.
While Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s smart lockdowns stay in place to deal with the pandemic but not at the cost of livelihoods, it is too early to predict what 2021 would hold for Pakistan with vaccines rolling out but also the discovery of a new strand of the virus.
Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said the pilots of the Karachi-bound PK8308 flight of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) from Lahore were distracted while talking about coronavirus.
The passenger plane came down on houses in Karachi with only two survivors. Subsequent investigations into the licenses of Pakistani pilots led to the grounding of hundreds across the globe and the imposition of a temporary ban on PIA flights to Europe and the United States (US).
While blame games continued as authorities hesitated to take responsibility for the misery of people of the country’s largest city, the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) said it wanted all stakeholders to contribute to ameliorating the situation instead of politicising a “pure natural disaster”.
The situation was improved after the intervention of the federal government and a military-aided rescue operation.
Opposition Alliance
The year also witnessed a rather common sight in Pakistan when opposition parties put their differences aside in an attempt to oust the PTI government.
After a round of meetings, almost all opposition parties, including PPP, PML-N, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl), Awami National Party, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Balochistan National Party among others, launched a series of countrywide protests.
The foremost demand of the 11-party alliance, named Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), is the resignation of “selected” Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan. It has threatened to march to Islamabad if the premier doesn’t resign before midnight on December 31 (today).
While the opposition seems satisfied with its anti-government campaign, the government is confident of cracks emerging within PDM ranks before it could pose an actual threat.
Khadim Rizvi’s Death
Renowned cleric and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi passed away on November 19.
Earlier it was reported that he was suffering from high-grade fever for the past couple of days, which had led to speculations if he was suffering from COVID-19.
While the cause of his sudden death was not determined, his funeral prayers in Lahore were attended by hundreds of thousands of supporters from across the globe, adding to COVID-19 superspreader event fears.
Rizvi, who had returned from a sit-in protest against French president’s take on blasphemy a day before his death, was known for his aggressive speeches besides promotion of extremist element in the religio-political landscape of the country.
2020 has been a very strange year for sporting events around the globe due to the coronavirus pandemic. Stadiums, courts and all other sporting activities were suspended as people practised social distancing and stayed away from each other. The Olympics, scheduled to be held in Japan were also cancelled along with a plethora of other events and those which did take place happened behind closed doors in biosecure bubbles. Nonetheless, some major sporting events and incidents took place in Pakistan and here is a round-up of those.
2020 Kabbadi World Cup – February 2020
The 2020 Kabaddi World Cup was the seventh edition of the Kabaddi World Cup (Circle style), held from February 9 to February 16, 2020, with the Opening Ceremony on February 9, 2020, at the Punjab Stadium, Lahore.
This was the first time the Kabaddi World Cup was held in Pakistan. All of the previous six circle-style kabaddi world cups have been hosted by India with the most recent event taking place in 2016. The tournament was eight-day long with matches in Lahore, Faisalabad, Kartarpur and Nankana Sahib.
Other than India, teams from Iran, Canada, Australia, United States, Sierra Leone and Kenya also participated in the event.
Pakistan emerged victorious from a close contest against India in the final of the Kabaddi World Cup in Lahore’s Punjab Stadium. The hosts won 43-41 to become Kabaddi world champions for the first time.
2020 Pakistan Super League – February 2020
The fifth edition of the Pakistan Super League started on February 20, 2020. This was the first time the league was held entirely in Pakistan. A total 34 matches were played in four venues: Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi and Multan.
Days before the season was to conclude, the league was postponed over coronavirus fears.
The playoffs and the final later took place in Karachi in November 2020 with Karachi Kings taking home the trophy for the first time. It was also the first time Lahore Qalandars made it to the final.
Sami Aslam quits Pakistan cricket – December 2020
On December 3, Pakistani test cricketer Sami Aslam announced that he is quitting Pakistan cricket and joining hands with USA Cricket. According to reports, Aslam struck a deal with USA Cricket that will see him spend two years and 10 months playing league cricket in the States and eventually represent the US.
The Lahore-born cricketer was disgruntled after not being selected in the 35-member squad for the New Zealand tour despite his string of solid domestic performances in the previous campaigns.
Mohammad Amir announces retirement – December 2020
Perhaps the most shocking news from the year. Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir announced his retirement from international cricket on December 17 while he was in Sri Lanka, playing the Lanka Premier League (LPL).
Speaking to journalist Shoaib Jatt, Amir said that he cannot continue playing for the country under the current management. Amir said that he will continue to play franchise cricket but has made up his mind not to carry on playing for Pakistan, adding that he has been “mentally tortured”.
Amir had retired from Test cricket last year citing workload issues.
Aaron Summers to play Pakistan domestic cricket
Fast bowler Aaron Summers is set to make history by becoming the first Australian to take part in domestic cricket in Pakistan. The 24-year old will play for Southern Punjab in the 2021 One-Day Cup, which is scheduled to begin on January 8 and will run until the end of the month.
The deal is understood to be in its final stages, with official confirmation from the PCB imminent. While Australia’s borders are currently closed to both departures and arrivals due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Summers has received a travel exemption from the Australian government, clearing the path for him to come to Pakistan.
Summers reached Pakistan on December 28 and is currently in Lahore and has joined the Southern Punjab squad.
