Tag: Pakistan

  • Ex-wife trolls Imran for petrol shortage in Pakistan when ‘world is running out of space to store it’

    Ex-wife trolls Imran for petrol shortage in Pakistan when ‘world is running out of space to store it’

    Former wife of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has taken a dig at him, calling him “selected” — a term used by the opposition to raise objections over Imran’s rise to power –, while highlighting the persisting petrol shortage at a time when “the entire world is running out of storage space for the same”.

    “History will remember the selected person in Pakistan who created a shortage of petrol at a time when the world was running out of places to store it,” she tweeted.

    The tweet came as a shortage of petrol and diesel at most fuel stations across the country reportedly due to the limited supply of petroleum products added to the miseries of people amid the coronavirus outbreak.

    The scarcity of petrol across the country turned severe last week, as most petrol pumps remained closed in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and Quetta. Long queues could be seen on those stations that were open.

    Sameer Najmul Hassan, chairman of All Pakistan Petroleum Retailers Association (APPRA), in a statement, said oil companies will likely run out of their oil stocks in the next three days. They have been left with the stock hardly enough to last out more than three days, he added.

    He said a new quota of petroleum products is not being purchased due to a consistent decrease in the oil companies’ quota. No company other than the Pakistan State Oil (PSO) is purchasing oil at present, the APPRA chairman said.

    “The situation seems to be going from bad to worse until Sunday,” he warned. He said 15 oil marketing companies in total, including the PSO, purchase oil in the country.

    It is pertinent to note that in an unprecedented move, Pakistan, which imports 70 per cent of its crude oil from Saudi Arabia and the remaining from the United Arab Emirates (US), had in April canceled import of gasoline, diesel and crude oil to support the domestic refining industry as energy demand sharply declined amid countrywide lockdowns. 

    The decision to halt the import of petroleum products had followed country’s economic meltdown resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter to the Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC), the Energy Ministry had said that the consumption of motor gasoline had dropped significantly due to lockdown by provincial governments to control the spread of COVID-19.

    Meanwhile, the globally plunging demand for oil brought by the coronavirus pandemic combined with a savage price war had left the fossil fuel industry broken and in survival mode, according to analysts. It faced the gravest challenge in its 100-year history, they said, one that will permanently alter the industry.

    While the first few months into the pandemic saw price wars between oil giants as demand plunged, things are getting better as lockdown restrictions are gradually being eased.

  • Sale banned as Punjab govt mulls using Actemra to treat COVID-19

    Sale banned as Punjab govt mulls using Actemra to treat COVID-19

    The provincial authorities in Punjab have imposed a complete ban on the sale of Actemra injection in the open market as they mull treating critical COVID-19 patients with it.

    The Corona Experts Advisory Group has issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) with regard to the use of the Actemra injection.

    According to the SOPs, Actemra injection will be used on trial basis at some hospitals, initially for 500 critically ill patients admitted in ICUs.

    The experts advisory group will approve the hospitals that will treat patients with Actemra injection. The group will witness the trial of the injection in government hospitals.

    The Punjab Healthcare Commission will monitor the use of the injection at private hospitals and a committee of the hospital will approve the use of Actemra injection.

    A private company will issue this injection after approval of a specific profarma, sources said. The needy patients will be issued this injection 24 hours. The hospital and the company will keep the record of the use of injection.

    The data of recoveries and deaths after use of Actemra injection will also be compiled, sources said.

    The Punjab Healthcare Commission will be competent authority to audit the company and the hospital over usage of the injection. And this record will be submitted to the experts advisory group.

    The Punjab government has recently approved the use of Actemra, a life-saving drug, for treating critically ill Covid-19 patients in the wake of a sudden rise in the death rate reported by state-run hospitals across the province.

    The 400mg injectable drug — an interleukin-6 inhibitor which goes by the generic name of tocilizumab — will be prescribed to patients who develop lung complications and an abnormal level of IL-6 in the blood. The IL-6 is an endogenous chemical which causes inflammation.

    Actemra injections had reportedly given encouraging results in highly critical coronavirus patients.

  • Register your VPN with PTA by June 30 or face legal action besides disconnection of services

    Register your VPN with PTA by June 30 or face legal action besides disconnection of services

    In a bid to promote legal information and communications technology (ICT) services in Pakistan and for the safety of telecom users, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is continuing with the long-pending process of registration of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), the use of which has significantly increased across the country over the past few years.

    A VPN extends a private network across a public network and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. It is programming that creates a safe, encrypted connection over a less secure network, using tunneling protocols to encrypt data at the sending end and decrypt it at the receiving end.

    Through a public notice, the PTA has declared the use of any mode of communication such as VPN, by means of which communication becomes hidden or encrypted, a violation of its regulations.

    “Users, which are required to use VPN for their legitimate purposes, must register their VPN with [the] PTA through their respective internet service providers [ISPs] till 30-06-2020,” read the notice.

    On top of interruption of services, legal action may also be initiated against those found in illegal use of unregistered VPNs, it added.

    “The step is being taken to eliminate all grey traffic [the use of illegal telephone exchanges for making international calls bypassing the legal routes and exchanges] from Pakistan. It is the case with many companies running call centre services in the country using VPN or unregistered Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services to make international calls appearing as if they’re located somewhere, in most cases, the United States (US),” sources told The Current.

    The authority wants to eliminate grey traffic after registration of VPNs and has already started to blacklist internet protocol (IP) addresses of corporate clients of several ISPs, they said.

    ‘NOT THE FIRST TIME’:

    “It isn’t the first time that the PTA has directed registering VPNs as the process was long-pending,” an official told The Current on the condition of anonymity.

    “Through a similar public notice in 2014, the authority had announced that all unregistered VPNs will be blocked in its continuous efforts against grey traffic. All such users were required to apply to PTA for registration of their VPN connections through their respective service providers latest by May,” they said, adding that not much had, however, followed the announcement back then.

    Speaking to The Current, Digital Rights Foundation (DRF) founder Nighat Dad also said it wasn’t the first time such an announcement had been made by the PTA, but it was very important for the authority to clarify the notice.

    “They need to make it clear if the notice is only for financial institutions and software companies using VPNs or if it applies to individuals as well,” she said while seeking a better interpretation of the announcement.

    Dad also said the authority should be asked as to which provision was invoked for the process to continue. “There is one regulation on grey traffic from 2010 which included a provision on VPN registration, but the PTA should clarify the law and its provision under which the said notification was issued.”

    ‘VPNS ARE NOT PERMITTED’:

    When contacted, PTA Public Relations Director Khurram Mehran said that under applicable rules and regulations, appropriate registration from the authority was required for any mode of communication in which it becomes hidden or encrypted.

    “The process for registration of VPNs is not new and has been in vogue since 2010. Authorised users can register their VPNs with the authority through a swift process initiated through their service provider,” he said, adding that action would be taken only against unauthorised VPNs for terminating illegal traffic, which causes loss to the national exchequer.

    PTA remains committed to serve as per its vision in ensuring that high quality ICT services are available to telecom users in Pakistan, Mehran said.

    “VPNs are not permitted and so are blocked whenever reported or detected. Whoever wants to use one can do so after registration under regulation,” he said when asked if the announcement also applied to individuals.

  • Police arrest man for posting drunken photos on Facebook

    Police arrest man for posting drunken photos on Facebook

    A man was arrested in Mardan’s Dagai village after he uploaded pictures of himself drinking liquor on social media.

    As per reports, the police apprehended the suspect after tracing his location from social media. Three bottles of alcohol were detained.

    DPO Sajjad said the police will not tolerate any activity where people show off illegal things on social media platforms.

    Alcohol consumption has been banned for Muslims in Pakistan since 1977, the restriction was imposed by then prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

  • Coronavirus: Pakistan out of list of 100 safest countries, Switzerland on top, India 56th safest, worst-hit US 58th

    Coronavirus: Pakistan out of list of 100 safest countries, Switzerland on top, India 56th safest, worst-hit US 58th

    In a detailed study of 200 countries, Switzerland has been found to be the safest place on earth to escape the ongoing coronavirus pandemic while Pakistan is no longer among the 100 safest places, falling down to the 148th rank — amongst the riskiest group of countries.

    India ranks 56th in the COVID-19 ranking by Deep Knowledge Group. The first tier comprises a list of 20 most safe countries while those in the fourth tier are amongst the riskiest lot.

    The study focuses on nations and their safety capability against the pandemic.

    Top 10 safest countries from coronavirus:

    1) Switzerland

    2) Germany

    3) Israel

    4) Singapore

    5) Japan

    6) Austria

    7) China

    8) Australia

    9) New Zealand

    10) South Korea

    The United States (US), which has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the world, was ranked 58th on the list.

    By the time this report was filed, Pakistan had a total number of 113,702 COVID-19 cases with at least 2,255 deaths.

    Punjab had the most number of infections (43,460) with Sindh trailing behind at 41,303 cases. The number of infections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Balochistan and Islamabad stood at 14,527, 7,031 and 5,963, respectively. Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) had a total 974 cases while the number in Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) stood at 444.

  • Cynthia Ritchie denies working for intelligence; adds to allegations, drags PML-N through the mud

    Cynthia Ritchie denies working for intelligence; adds to allegations, drags PML-N through the mud

    American blogger Cynthia Ritchie has doubled down on accusation and claimed that she had been harassed by multiple political leaders during her time in Pakistan.

    In an interview with a local news outlet, she revealed detailed of alleged harassment by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) stalwarts Yousaf Raza Gillani, Makhdoom Shahabuddin and Rehman Malik.

    She said that after Osama bin Laden was killed, Malik, who was the interior minister at the time, asked her to visit the minister’s enclave to discuss her visa. She added that she agreed because some officials told her that “real business is done out of the office”.

    Cynthia said that when she visited the minister’s enclave, she was welcomed with flowers and was offered a drink. “About a drink and a half into my visit, I felt dizzy and the next thing I remember is he getting me to sit down and I was in his bed,” she claimed.

    She also claimed that Malik’s driver helped her dress up and told her that they wanted her to distance herself from the NGO she was working in since it was run by Azam Swati’s daughter and the politician had recently joined the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    She said that the driver put 2,000 pounds into the car with her and made her take it with her. She added that the Malik also gifted her a mobile phone which was used to spy on her.

    She said that she was also harassed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and they stole her ‘Emerging Pakistan’ idea.

    She further said that the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) had been more civil and she has more respect for them than she has for the PPP.

    Responding to a question, Cynthia denied working for intelligence agencies.

    When the interviewer contacted Gillani and Shahabuddin, both denied the allegations.

  • Caged children

    Caged children

    The year is 2020. We have rules. We have laws. Yet we have children who live in cages — who are enslaved. The news of a minor domestic worker’s death after being beaten and tortured by her employers for letting “expensive pet parrots escape from their cage” sent chills down everyone’s spine. It also made one’s blood boil over the callousness of the employers who had employed an eight-year-old girl at their house to ‘take care’ of their infant. And then they killed her over a small mistake. Is the cost of a poor minor ‘housemaid’ worth nothing compared to pet parrots no matter how ‘expensive’ they may be?

    Zohra Shah’s employers – who were arrested soon afterwards – did not just kill the child but also recorded the girl being tortured on cell phones recovered by the authorities. One video reportedly shows the minor girl locked up in a large birdcage as a form of punishment. Did the couple think locking up a child in a cage was okay at some level? Are we human beings or barbarians?

    It shows another side of our society as well: we all know someone who has employed minors at their homes. We usually turn a blind eye to this ‘slavery’ because they are not our own children. They are children of the poor – people who have no choice but to let their children work for strangers just so they can make ends meet. Even if we don’t condone such practices, we don’t condemn them either – at least not vocally. We outrage at the latest incident of a minor domestic worker but soon we will forget her name. Until the next incident. And the cycle continues.

    Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari says that domestic child labour should be declared hazardous under the Employment of Children Act 1991, as this is “the quickest way to protect children in the absence of a proper law to protect domestic labour”. This is a short-term solution. We need proper child labour reforms. Declaring domestic child labour ‘hazardous occupation’ may help to some extent but when the law already says that children under 14 years of age cannot be employed and we see children younger than that working around us, how will it benefit the children? How will it ensure that children are not losing their childhood because the state failed to ensure their rights?

    Pakistan is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child but children from lower-income groups have no rights whatsoever it seems. The impunity with which Zohra Shah was tortured and subsequently killed by her employers shows that the rich and powerful think they can get away with anything, even if it’s taking away someone’s life. How will we ensure justice for an eight-year-old girl who was born to a family so poor that they did not have the money for an ambulance that could take the body back to their village and to arrange a funeral?

    ‘Justice for Zohra’ does not mean punishing the couple who beat her to a pulp, subsequently leading to her death, but it means that we make sure there are no more Zohras in Pakistan. That we make sure an end to the practice of minors being employed in private households, that we ensure children get their basic right to education and do not lose their childhoods enslaved in cages, both literally and metaphorically.

  • Racism at home

    Racism at home

    Being away from my country, I am having a difficult time processing world affairs, especially the killing of George Floyd, which has left many around the world, including me, speechless, angry and stunned. To all the black people who have long and continue to suffer the systematic oppression in Western countries, especially in the United States (US), I stand with all of you.

    I don’t understand or can gauge your pain, but in silence, words, and action, I am with you.

    Respecting the suffering of African-Americans, I would like to bring to limelight the racial stigmas related to being black or a dark-toned person in Pakistan.  For hundreds of years, having a dark complexion has been looked down upon in South Asian countries. Pakistanis are no less, where a dark skin shade is culturally wired in our brains as synonymous with poverty, illiteracy, and slavery.

    I won’t be overstating that all of us have been racist at some point in our life, be it casually, unintentionally, or knowingly. To me, it seems that we are in a race to be whiter than white people. For us, our sense of pride is skyrocketed when someone compliments our facial colour and delivery of the English language. As a result, we adopt practices that corrupt society at large and infuses it with just not racism but injustice too.   

    “It is just not the educational system, but this racism is systematic and deep-rooted in our societies, for which we are equally responsible. There are racial slurs pretty standard such as “Kalia,” “Kali,” or “Kalu” to disrespectfully address someone with a dark skin tone. As if their measurement of respect comes with the shade of your body.”

    I am sure, like many others, I had a strange experience of unintentional racism through our education system. We were repeatedly lectured on how Islam treats everyone equally. The guiding example of Prophet Muhammad (PUBH) was quoted now and then, on how despite resistance from Arab society, he (PUBH) appointed Bilal ibn Rabah to call the first prayers, but in the same breath, our very teachers favour kids with a fairer skin tone. Those kids were likely to become your teachers’ favorite students. I also heard remarks such as, “OMG! You are so beautiful because you are white” or rejoining the classes after the summer break; one teacher unforgivingly remarked, “What have you done during your summer break, you have become so black!”

    It is just not the educational system, but this racism is systematic and deep-rooted in our societies, for which we are equally responsible. There are racial slurs pretty standard such as “Kalia,” “Kali,” or “Kalu” to disrespectfully address someone with a dark skin tone. As if their measurement of respect comes with the shade of your body. It doesn’t stop there; brown parents want a fairer daughter-in-law for their son, which helps them boost their societal pride as if she is a commodity or a showpiece.  In the same bid, women are obliged to use fairness creams so that they can wed their prince charming.

    I have always had a difficult time coping with advertisements prescribing color change possibility with-in 20 days of regular use. To add further, I knew someone who went to the US for higher education and wanted to marry an African-American. The family back in Pakistan didn’t approve of the marriage, objecting to her appearance. Similarly, I think of all women in Pakistan whose wedding proposals are causally rejected, on being dark. The amount of trauma and stress it leaves the person with, is unexplainable.

    “I can write a long speech about how I support the black lives movement in the US, but my head continues to bow down in shame because the ones in Pakistan are treated far worse.”

    I, however, am still speaking from a privileged position of being a man and can hardly relate to the suffering of women in Pakistan. 

    We often criticise US authorities for the handling of black people, but it is worse here in Pakistan. From security guards to cab drivers, the initial mental framework of respect is proportional to someone’s fairness. These and many other instances add up to racism at all levels in Pakistan. I can write a long speech about how I support the black lives movement in the US, but my head continues to bow down in shame because the ones in Pakistan are treated far worse. I, therefore, pick to criticise my own country and culture, with an ambition to change myself and the people around me in understanding that somebody’s colour should not be a measurement of their ability, intelligence, worth or respect.

    Please remember when you lash out at white people with #blacklivesmatter hashtags on your digital channels. Use your presence to be the voice of those who are unheard or racially abused in Pakistan. Whatever inspires you in your life, be it religion, science, or culture, let’s reform our vocabulary and lifestyle, and celebrate people beyond their color, ethnicity, race or gender.

  • US blogger accuses PPP leadership of raping her in Islamabad: Here’s what we know so far

    US blogger accuses PPP leadership of raping her in Islamabad: Here’s what we know so far

    In a shocking development, a former prime minister (PM) and two of his cabinet members have been accused of manhandling and sexually assaulting Islamabad-based United States (US) blogger nine years ago.

    As per the details, Cynthia Dawn Ritchie has accused some of the top Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders of subjecting her to the treatment during the party’s third tenure in Centre from 2008 to 2013, also alleging that PPP stalwart and then federal minister for interior Rehman Malik raped her — an accusation denied by both Malik and then PM Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani.

    The accusation comes a week after the blogger posted some controversial tweets involving slain former PM Benazir Bhutto which attracted a load of criticism and cyberharassment both from party’s local leadership and its support base.

    READ: PPP writes to ISI chief for action against Pakistan-based US blogger over tweet about Benazir Bhutto

    “In 2011, I was raped by the former interior minister Rehman Malik. That’s right, I’ll say it again. I was raped by the then interior minister Rehman Malik,” Ritchie said in the live video on her Facebook page.

    She also accused former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and former federal minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin of “physically manhandling” her while the former was staying at the “President’s House”.

    Ritchie said she was reserving “some of the more graphic details” because her audience could include children, but added that she would be “happy to go into more detail” with neutral investigative journalists.

    The blogger alleged that she has endured harassment “primarily from the PPP” for a number of years now. “I have received countless threats against my life, rape threats, claims that PPP has my father,” she claimed, adding that she has “evidentiary support” of everything she has been posting.

    Ritchie also said she had informed about the incident to “someone” at the US Embassy in 2011, “but due to ‘fluid’ situation and ‘complex’ relations between US and Pakistan, [the] response was less than adequate”.

    The US embassy in Pakistan has not reacted to the claims as of yet.

    ACCUSED DENY CLAIMS:

    In their responses, both Gillani and Malik strongly denied the accusations.

    Gilani said that he even considered responding to such allegations “humiliation and disgrace”.

    Talking to a private news channel on Friday, the former premier questioned as to what Richie was doing at the Presidency when she was allegedly manhandled, and why she had been staying in Pakistan.

    Interestingly, it was Gillani himself who in 2010, through the Ministry of Interior which was then headed by Malik, empowered then Pakistan ambassador in Washington Hussain Haqqani to directly issue diplomatic visas to Americans without clearance of relevant authorities.

    The former premier further alleged that the blogger had come to Pakistan as part of a campaign to malign politicians.

    Gillani claimed that Ritchie was maligning him because his two sons had filed a defamation case against her for her allegedly defamatory tweet against Benazir.

    The PPP has also lodged a complaint with the cybercrime wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against her for making “extremely derogatory and slanderous remarks” against Benazir.

    Malik, in his response, called the allegations “baseless, shameful, and inappropriate”.

    READ: Imran’s ex-aide called out for showing up at Cynthia’s party uninvited

    In a statement issued by his spokesperson, the former minister said that the purpose behind the allegations was to damage the reputation of the PPP leader.

    While support pours in for the US blogger, a number of people are also engaging in war of words over social media over the validity of her claims.

  • VIDEO: Life-size statue of Ertuğrul erected in Lahore

    VIDEO: Life-size statue of Ertuğrul erected in Lahore

    As fever of hit Turkish series ‘Diriliş: Ertuğrul’ continues to grip Pakistanis ever since it was first aired by PTV on Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s directions, a statue of Ertuğrul, father of Osman I — the founder of the Ottoman dynasty –, has been erected in Lahore.

    According to a report by Independent Urdu, the statue has been installed in the provincial capital of Punjab’s Maraghzar Colony near Thokar Niaz Baig to honour the Muslim hero.

    The statue made of fibre and iron was brought in from Kamalia city of Toba Tek Singh district and other similar sculptures will be erected in other parts of the colony as well, the report said.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    https://twitter.com/nailainayat/status/1268644498877427713?s=09

    Speaking to the media outlet, secretary general of the colony said that they were even planning to name the square, where the statue was installed, after Ertuğrul.

    According to Ottoman tradition, Ertuğrul was the son of Suleyman Shah, leader of the Kayı tribe of Oghuz Turks, who fled from western Central Asia to Anatolia to escape the Mongol conquests, but he may instead have been the son of a Gündüz Alp.

    The hit Turkish historical fiction ‘Diriliş: Ertuğrul’ that revolves around the life of a group of Turkic nomads in the pre-Ottoman era, has led to Ertuğrul — the protagonist of the series — being hailed a hero by Pakistanis.