Tag: Pakistan

  • Restaurants sealed in Karachi for violating SOPs

    Restaurants sealed in Karachi for violating SOPs

    The city administration sealed several hotels, restaurants in various areas of Karachi over violation of COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs).

    As per reports, 10 restaurants were sealed in District Central, two in Clifton, three at Boat Basin food street, and two in the Saddar area of District South, Karachi.

    The management of the restaurants were violating SOPs for running the business during the pandemic.

    Meanwhile, the Sindh government on Wednesday imposed a “micro smart lockdown” in several areas to control the spread of coronavirus.

    According to a notification, the government has imposed micro smart lockdown in different localities of District West, Karachi. The district West areas that have been put under micro smart lockdown include Manghopir Union Council 8 and Gadap Town.

    The move came after more than 20 cases were reported from Manghopir Union Council.

    Police officials have been positioned in these areas to impose the lockdown restrictions. The provincial government has asked the deputy commissioner and senior police officials in Karachi to ensure micro smart lockdowns and implementation of SOPs at designated sites.

  • Controversy stirred over picture of PM with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s frontwoman

    Controversy stirred over picture of PM with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s frontwoman

    In what appears to be an attempt to malign Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, a decades-old picture of him with American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s frontwoman Ghislaine Maxwell, has resurfaced over the internet.

    Maxwell, a British socialite, worked for her father, publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell, until his death in 1991 when she moved to the United States (US) and became a close associate of Epstein.

    While the picture doing the rounds on social media seems to be from some social event that then cricketer and British film producer Jemima Goldsmith’s husband, Imran, was usually spotted at, netizens are sharing the same seeking the context.

    During his cricketing career, the now premier acquainted several international celebrities. He also counted no less than Princess Diana as a friend.

    According to the details unearthed by The Current, his picture with Maxwell is from a party at Savoy — a luxury hotel in London — to mark the fall of communism in 1990, which was a year before she even moved to the US.

    Greek journalist Taki Theodoracopulos can also be seen in the background.

    WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MAXWELL & EPSTEIN:

    Maxwell is the alleged recruiter of Epstein’s sex ring of underage girls and awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges. She reportedly met the late financier through her father Robert and he might have been one early source of Epstein’s wealth that catapulted him into the upper echelon of society.

    Epstein began his professional life as a teacher but then switched to the banking and finance sector, working at Bear Stearns before forming his own firm. He developed an elite social circle and procured many women, including underage girls, who were then sexually abused by Epstein and some of his contacts.

    He was arrested in July 2019 on federal charges for the sex trafficking of minors and died in his jail cell less than a month later. The medical examiner ruled the death a suicide, however, Epstein’s lawyers disputed the ruling, and there has been significant public skepticism about the true cause of his death.

    Many believe that he was murdered because of his knowledge of compromising information about famous individuals.

  • Viral Sindhi boy to join TikTok to solve problems of his area

    Viral Sindhi boy to join TikTok to solve problems of his area

    The boy, who became popular after a video of his calling out Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for the miserable conditions in interior Sindh, went viral on social media has now decided to make TikTok videos to solve problems of his area. Ahmed Marri had criticised the Pakistan People’s Party chairman for lack of clean drinking water in his village near Khapro in district Sanghar.

    Talking to Independent Urdu, the boy said that even several weeks after his complaint, the problem has still not been resolved and the contaminated water is still there creating difficulties for the people of his area.

    Read more – TikTok reunites man with family after more than a year

    Bilawal and many other celebrities had sent him chickens as a gift for which he is thankful but the boy asserts that there is no solution to the lack of clean drinking water in his area. He shared that locals have to travel ten kilometers away regularly to get clean drinking water.

  • India vs India: Twitterati blast court for saying no one demolished Babri Mosque

    India vs India: Twitterati blast court for saying no one demolished Babri Mosque

    An Indian court on Wednesday acquitted all 32 accused in the Babri Masjid case after a judge controversially ruled that the demolition was not preplanned.

    A special court of India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Lucknow issued the verdict nearly thirty years after a mob of Hindu extremists razed the historic mosque to the ground.

    As expected, the verdict attracted strong reactions not only from around the globe, but Indians too.

    Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) has also strongly reacted to the decision, calling it shameful.

    BABRI MOSQUE:

    Babri Masjid was a mosque in Ayodhya, India. Located in Ayodhya district, at a spot believed by Hindus to be the birthplace of Hindu deity Rama, it has been a bone of contention between the Hindu and Muslim communities since the 18th century.

    The destruction of the mosque in 1992 sparked massive Hindu-Muslim violence that left around 2,000 people dead.

    Hindu hardliners say the mosque was built after a temple dedicated to the Hindu god was destroyed by Muslim invaders. After the demolition of the mosque, Hindus and Muslims took the issue to a lower court, which, in 2010 ruled that the disputed land should be divided into three parts — two for Hindus and one for Muslims.

    Late last year, the Indian Supreme Court (SC) had put to rest the decades-old Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case, deciding in favour of Hindus.

    The Indian top court had allotted Ayodhya land to Ram Janambhoomi Nyas (Ram Birthplace Trust).

    Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas is an organisation to promote and oversee the construction of a temple in Ayodhya at the Ram Janmabhoomi, the reputed site of the birth of Rama, the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Hindu God Vishnu.

  • Islamabad’s education officers asked to visit seven schools daily to monitor SOPs

    Islamabad’s education officers asked to visit seven schools daily to monitor SOPs

    With primary schools set to reopen today (Wednesday) in the twin cities in the third phase of educational institutions reopening after a long break due to coronavirus, the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) has instructed all area education officers to visit at least seven schools daily and ensure that health guidelines and standard operating procedure (SOP) are being followed strictly.

    As per reports, a total of 193 FDE-run primary schools in Islamabad will reopen.

    FDE officials said that a team of FDE directors and officers from the Ministry of Federal Education and the capital administration will also visit schools. They added that teams from the Private Educational Institution Regulatory Authority (Peira) will also visit primary schools.

    Officials further said that imposing social distancing would be more challenging in primary schools compared to high schools, colleges or universities, particularly with students in nursery to third grade, which is why teachers will have to put an extra effort.

    Islamabad-based educational institutions have reported more than 30 cases of COVID-19 out of around 15,000 tests.

    Minister for Federal Education Shafqat Mehmood said that the positivity rate is 0.8pc in educational institutions across the country.

    At a press conference in Islamabad, he said that out of 171,436 tests carried out in educational institutions – not including primary schools – 1,284 have come back positive for the virus.

    He said school administrations, teachers and parents must be more attentive from Wednesday, when primary schools reopen, because young children cannot follow SOPs and practice social distancing on their own.

  • Unexploded 750-pound bomb ‘from Indo-Pak war’ found in Faisalabad

    Unexploded 750-pound bomb ‘from Indo-Pak war’ found in Faisalabad

    Locals in Faisalabad have found a bomb weighing 750 pounds from fields which, according to District Civil Defence, may have been dropped during the 1965 or 1971 Indo-Pak wars, but did not explode. 

    The unexploded ordnance (UXO) was unearthed when locals were digging in agricultural fields near Faisalabad airport.

    The bomb — in rusty and dilapidated condition — was handed over to Civil Defence officials shortly after it was discovered.

    District Civil Defence officer Rana Abbas was quoted as saying that the bomb will be handed over to Pakistan Air Force (PAF).

    UXO:

    UXO of war is an explosive that did not explode when it was employed and still pose a risk of detonation, sometimes many decades after it was used or discarded.

    It does not always originate from wars; areas such as military training grounds can also hold significant numbers, even after the area has been abandoned.

    UXO from World War I continue to be a hazard, with poisonous gas filled munitions still a problem. When unwanted munitions are found, they are sometimes destroyed in controlled explosions, but accidental detonation of even very old explosives also occurs, sometimes with fatal results.

    Around 80 countries are contaminated by land mines, which kill or maim 15,000–20,000 people every year. Approximately 80% of casualties are civilians, with children the most affected age group. An estimated average of 50% of deaths occurs within hours of the blast.

    In recent years, mines have been used increasingly as weapons of terror against local civilian populations specifically.

    In addition to the obvious danger of explosion, buried UXO can also cause environmental contamination. In some heavily used military training areas, munitions-related chemicals can enter soil and groundwater.

  • Imran Khan paid more tax than US President Donald Trump

    In light of a recent New York Times report and the tax details of parliamentarians revealed by Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), it has emerged that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s mere Rs0.2 million in taxes was more than business tycoon and United States (US) President Donald Trump’s federal taxes during his first year in office.

    The directory, published on the official website of FBR, contains tax details of elected representatives belonging to six different assemblies; National Assembly of Pakistan, Senate of Pakistan, Balochistan Assembly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Sindh Assembly and Punjab Assembly. 

    According to the information released, former PM and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was the highest taxpayer, as he paid a staggering amount of Rs241,329,362 in taxes.

    The premier in 2018 — his first year in office — paid Rs282,449 in taxes whereas President Trump paid just $750 (Rs124,290 as of 2020) in federal income tax during his first year as president.

    Trump, who in 2016 suggested reports of tax avoidance showed he was ‘smart’, denounced the findings as ‘completely fake news’. The New York Times said that of the 18 years its reporters examined, Trump had paid no income tax at all in 11 of them.

    While there is no comparison between the taxes paid by the two leaders from Pakistan and the US, it merits a mention that both were equally criticised for alleged tax evasion.

    As for Abbasi, his paid taxes were twice as much as the entire cabinet of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) paid.

    Industries and Production Minister Hammad Azhar and Petroleum Division Minister Omar Ayub were the top two tax payers in the cabinet, contributing Rs59.4 million and Rs26 million to the exchequer respectively.

  • Nawaz, Maryam go filterless, say ‘nation expected Lt Gen (r) Asim Bajwa to be arrested, not Shehbaz’

    Nawaz, Maryam go filterless, say ‘nation expected Lt Gen (r) Asim Bajwa to be arrested, not Shehbaz’

    Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has said the nation was expecting the arrest of PM’s aide Asim Saleem Bajwa but the authorities instead apprehended his brother Shehbaz Sharif.

    “This is oppression and this is injustice,” Nawaz said, referring to Shehbaz’s arrest in a money laundering case. “This is not acceptable and we will not accept it.”

    The National Assembly opposition leader was arrested Monday morning after the Lahore High Court rejected his bail plea.

    Referring to Bajwa, the former premier told reporters in London that the nation wanted to know how a person made such big properties and assets in just 15 or 20 years.

    Opposition parties have been demanding an investigation against Bajwa after the publishing of a story that claimed that Bajwa’s family had set up 99 companies in four countries, including a pizza franchise with 133 restaurants.

    The website, FactFocus, claimed that his wife is a “shareholder” in at least 86 companies. Of them, 71 were set up in the US, seven in the UAE and four in Canada.

    Bajwa has rejected the story on his family’s assets as “incorrect” and “false”.

    Meanwhile, Maryam Nawaz, who was addressing a press conference in Lahore, said that if there was accountability and justice in country, Bajwa would have been arrested.

    Maryam said the anti-government movement would not stop with the arrest of Shehbaz Sharif, rather the unjust act would add fuel to fire. “This movement will not suffer a setback due to Shehbaz Sharif’s arrest,” she insisted.

    She said even if the entire PML-N leadership, including her, was arrested, the movement would not stop. Terming the arrest extremely unfortunate, Maryam said she had no doubts that the PML-N president had been picked up because he chose not to betray his brother, Nawaz Sharif.

    “He [Shehbaz Sharif] not only stood with his brother but his loyalty to his brother’s cause and the party remained unwavering. “His wife has been declared an absconder; his son, my brother Hamza, has been sent to jail, though no case has been proven against him.

    “During the last week, Shehbaz gave two to three statements, saying that if they want to arrest him, they can , but the party will implement 100% of the directions given in Nawaz Sharif’s speech at the APC,” she said, referring to a statement made by the PML-N supremo at the opposition’s multiparty conference last week.

    The PML-N leader said the party had all its options open including resignations from all assemblies as well as launching a long march, and the party was deliberating on all options. “Those who are talking about birth of ‘Sheen’ from ‘Noon’ are now screaming because Sheen and Noon are completely united and can’t be separated,” she said, adding that Shehbaz was arrested though nothing was proved against him.

    Questioning the accountability and justice system, she said those who stood for justice were behind the bars or were submitting their financial details.

  • Dilip Kumar’s wife says ‘MashaAllah’ to Pakistan’s efforts to conserve Kumar’s KP home

    Dilip Kumar’s wife says ‘MashaAllah’ to Pakistan’s efforts to conserve Kumar’s KP home

    The wife of Indian actor Dilip Kumar, Saira Banu, has expressed her delight about recent reports of his ancestral home being purchased by the government for conservation in  Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

    Kumar’s ancestral house is  located at  the Qissa Khwani Bazar and is over 100 years old.

    Saira Banu told the ETimes: “I wish the provincial government success in its efforts and sincerely hope that this time the dream comes true. Mashallah.”

    “My heart fills up with joy each time I receive the same news about the ancestral home of Yousuf Saheb in Peshawar in northwest Frontier province which the provincial government has been repeatedly trying to turn into a monument for posterity. It has come up so many times in the past and I have appreciated the tenacity with which the government is pursuing the mission of turning the house into a museum for the public to visit and feel the vintage charm of the house where Dilip Saheb grew up like any bright boy of the province,” she added

    Also Read: KP govt allots Rs50 million to restore Kapoor Haveli, other historical buildings

    She said that they visited the house some years ago, and that the actor got emotional as he recalled his childhood memories.

    “The house is of great sentimental value to my husband and I have shared his pride and happiness during a visit to the property some years ago. He was so emotional when he saw the house where he spent his lovely childhood in the comfort and security of a large, refined family.”

    Dilip Kumar is an Indian actor, producer and philanthropist. Kumar is 97 years old and is the only living male actor from Bollywood’s golden era of movies. The actor debuted in 1944 in the film ‘Jwar Bhata’ and has won eight Filmfare awards for the best actor so far.

  • VIDEO: ‘Family Guy’ features Lahore Qalandars vs Karachi Kings joke in new episode

    VIDEO: ‘Family Guy’ features Lahore Qalandars vs Karachi Kings joke in new episode

    With the fifth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) approaching, knockouts and the final of which had earlier been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, excitement surrounding the star-studded cricketing tournament is once again on the rise.

    As cricketing fans eagerly wait for the tournament to return in November, it has emerged that its fever has also made its way to mainstream American television.

    The Lahore-Karachi rivalry, which the PSL has taken to a new high with nail-biters between Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings, has been featured on the very popular animated series “Family Guy”.

    The 19th season opener of the sitcom started with a joke about PSL’s Lahore and Karachi, which came as a surprise for many Pakistani fans.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Over the course of five years, the matches between Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings have attracted large crowds, and massive viewership as fans anticipate the same with bated breath.

    Lahore and Karachi are the two biggest cities of the country and are also known globally for nurturing Pakistani cricketers.

    The animated series, which has widely been acclaimed since its premiere nearly two decades ago, centers on the Griffins, a family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children, Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog, Brian.

    The show is set in the fictional city of Quahog, Rhode Island, and exhibits much of its surreal and dark humor in the form of metafictional cutaway gags that often criticise American culture.