Tag: Top News

  • Water cannons, arrests for Baloch protestors upon reaching Islamabad

    Water cannons, arrests for Baloch protestors upon reaching Islamabad

    An ethnic Baloch activist leader said on Thursday that Islamabad police detained and assaulted several peaceful protesters, demanding the release of all “missing persons” and an end to “extrajudicial killing” in Balochistan under the leadership of activist Dr Mahrang Baloch and Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC).

    The march started in Turbat, Balochistan, on December 6 after the alleged extrajudicial killing of 24-year-old Balach Baloch.

    According to BYC, when the march reached the capital, the city administration didn’t allow them to protest in front of the press club. Maharng Baloch said in her live video from the Facebook page of BYC that Islamabad police arrested 300 male protesters, eight women, and 10 children.

    Dr Baloch also wrote on X (previously Twitter) on Thursday morning that police transferred the arrested protesters to various police stations in the city.

    “At this time they are taking women and children to another station. We are unable to connect to our male fellows, we fear that the state will abduct them.”

    Islamabad police also said in a statement that “Legal action will be taken against those blocking the road.”

    In a voice message sent to Arab News, Mahrang Baloch said that dozens of young Baloch men had been forcefully disappeared, and now a new wave of “extrajudicial” killing has started.

  • JN.1: World Health Organization warns about fastest growing variant of Covid-19

    JN.1: World Health Organization warns about fastest growing variant of Covid-19

    A new sub-variant of the Omicron strain of coronavirus named JN.1 has alerted experts across the global health industry, as it has been classified as a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organisation (WHO) due to its fast-growing spread.

    COVID-19 cases involving the JN.1 variant have been found in many countries across the world, including India, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

    Although WHO has stated that the risk to the public is currently low, it warns that COVID-19 and other infections could rise this winter.

    The virus behind COVID-19 is constantly evolving, with new variants arising, Omicron being the globally dominant one.

    Meanwhile, WHO is closely monitoring several variants linked to Omicron, including JN.1, but none are considered concerning at the moment.
    However, JN.1 is the fastest-growing variant of COVID-19, accounting for 15-29 percent of infections in the US, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

    It is also the fastest-growing in the UK, accounting for around 7 percent of positive coronavirus tests, according to the UK Health Security Agency.
    Therefore, it is important to continue monitoring all available data on this and other variants to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to control the spread of the virus.

    “It is anticipated that this variant may cause an increase in Sars-Cov-2 [coronavirus] cases amid a surge of infections of other viral and bacterial infections, especially in countries entering the winter season,” the WHO’s risk assessment says.

    There is still limited evidence on how capable JN.1 is of getting around the immunity offered by vaccines, the WHO says.

    WHO reports no increased illness rates with this variant compared to previous ones, but more studies are needed to understand its health impact due to a decrease in countries reporting COVID-19 data.

    Meanwhile, WHO has advised people to take precautionary measures to prevent infections and severe disease by wearing a mask in crowded areas, covering up coughs and sneezes, cleaning their hands regularly, and staying up to date with coronavirus and flu vaccinations, especially if vulnerable.
    Additionally, WHO advises people to stay home if they are ill and get tested if they have symptoms.

  • ‘Election will be held on February 8’, says General Asim Munir  

    ‘Election will be held on February 8’, says General Asim Munir  

    The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Asim Munir, said last week while talking to the Pakistani-American business community in the United States that elections in Pakistan “will be held on February 8 next year.”

    The army chief gave the statement a few hours before the Supreme Court’s (SC) verdict suspending the Lahore High Court (LHC) staying the appointment of Returning Officers (ROs) from bureaucracy. conduct a general election on February 8, 2024.

    A Pakistani-American businessman posted a quote from General Asim Munir. Speaking with Geo News, Tanveer Ahmed, a Texas-based Pakistani businessman, quoted the army chief as saying, “As far as I know, general elections will be held on the 8th of February.”

    The businessman also shared the army chief’s words: “If elections get delayed, it won’t be beyond the limit when Senate elections are to be held.”

    The next senate elections will be held in March 2024.

    The notification to requisition returning officers (ROs) from the bureaucracy, important for the electoral process, was temporarily halted by the LHC on December 13, raising concerns about the timely conduct of elections.

  • Nausheen Shah Hits Back at User Who Mocked Her for Being Single

    Nausheen Shah Hits Back at User Who Mocked Her for Being Single

    Famous actress and supermodel Nausheen Shah lashed back at a person who made fun of her for not being married.
    During a recent fashion show in Lahore, Nausheen Shah walked the runway for designer Ali Zeeshan.

    The video of her walking the runway became popular on social media, with many people commenting on it.
    One person expressed sadness that the actress is not married yet.
    Commenting on the viral clip, the user wrote, “I do feel sorry for these actresses, many of them don’t get married and just keep modeling bridal dresses.”

    Nausheen wrote, “When we don’t know each other, please don’t feel sorry for us.”
    Nausheen added, “Whether someone gets married or not is in the hands of Allah. He has created all of us differently.”

  • List of all public holidays in 2024

    List of all public holidays in 2024

    In a notification issued by the Cabinet Division on Wednesday, the Government of Pakistan has officially declared the public holidays for the upcoming year 2024.

    The list encompasses a range of festivals and events significant to both Muslims and minorities across the nation.

    The 2024 public holiday calendar features a total of 11 days, each representing a momentous occasion celebrated widely in Pakistan.
    The notification also includes optional holidays for minorities.

    To avail those they will have to take prior permission from the head of their department.

  • Marriage and employment scam: 500 girls from Lahore sold in Sindh after kidnapping

    Marriage and employment scam: 500 girls from Lahore sold in Sindh after kidnapping

    The recovery of a 15-year-old Sheikhupura girl from Sindh has unearthed a gang that has sold 500 young women by scamming and kidnapping them. Seven arrests have been made so far from Lahore and Jacobabad.

    As per the police report, an abduction case was registered with the Factory Area Police Station in Sheikhupura on June 2 following the disappearance of a teenage girl. An investigation was initiated upon their failure to recover the girl, reported Dunya News on December 12.

    Urdu News has reported the incident in greater detail, including listing the motives of the girl who eloped, and how she got recovered.

    Alisha reached Lahore on the morning of June 2. She got out of the car near a petrol pump near Data Darbar in Lahore. She didn’t have her phone with her which she deliberately left at home, as she looked for someone in the crowd. Alisha got in touch with a man named Nadeem through Facebook. After being in contact online for a long time, she fell in love with him.

    Nadeem promised Alisha that if she came to Lahore, they will marry each other.

    On the morning of June 2, when her mother went to work, Alisha ran away from home to find her unknown love.

    When Alisha did not find Nadeem in Lahore, she broke down. She reached the Data Darbar premises exhausted and sat in the courtyard. A woman came to her and comforted her and said that she would get her a job in a good place or get her married somewhere. Alisha had no choice but to believe this unknown woman and thus they became friends.

    On the other hand, Alisha’s mother registered an FIR of her abduction in Sheikhupura Police Station Factory Area.

    Sheikhupura Police Spokesperson Wajid Abbas told Urdu News that Alisha’s mother received a phone call telling her that her daughter was in Sindh and she had to pay a ransom of Rs 25 lakh to get her daughter back. Alisha’s mother filed a case of kidnapping on June 6.

    Meanwhile, two local politicians in the area advised the woman to file a writ in the High Court, that her daughter was missing.

    Wajid Abbas said that the court reprimanded the SHO of the local police station and said that if the girl is not recovered, he will be suspended.

    He said that DPO Sheikhpura Zahid Marwat took a personal interest in the case and tried his best to solve the case. The police also found a trace of a gang.

    Sheikhupura police reached Lahore in search of Alisha and started searching for her with the help of Safe City Authority cameras, when the police saw some people talking to Alisha in the Data Darbar area.

    According to the police, after making inquiries about the wanted persons, they arrested one. When the police interrogated the man, he confessed to his gang kidnapping the girls.

    On investigation, the police found that the main character of this gang is a woman named Latifan Bibi living in Karachi, while her husband Khan Muhammad is also involved in criminal activities.

    The suspect told the police about the modus operandi of his gang. Latifan Bibi is in touch with six people from Karachi to Lahore. Three women and three men operate in Lahore, these six people approach different girls and convince them that they will get them married or get them a good job.

    They then transfer all of them from Lahore to the rural areas of Sindh.

    The spokesperson of Sheikhupura Police said, “When Alisha was seduced by an unknown woman in the Data Darbar area of Lahore, she informed Latifan Bibi in Karachi about it, after which the unknown woman sold Alisha to Latifan Bibi for 20,000. This group commits crimes systematically, two people from Lahore went to leave Alisha to Karachi.”

    He said that Latifan Bibi gave these people 20,000 rupees for traveling expenses. The police soon came to know that these two men also raped fifteen-year-old Alisha on the way.

    According to him, as long as Alisha stayed with Latifan, her husband Khan Muhammad also kept raping her. Then Latifan Bibi sold Alisha in the city of Qamber in Sindh for two lakh rupees, after which she was sold eight times in Sindh.

    The police traced Alisha and had information about the alleged gang, but the police now had the task of catching the entire gang. The police prepared a plan to nab the accused.

    According to the Sheikhupura Police Spokesperson, “We prepared one of our lady constables and told the arrested accused to call Latifan Bibi and tell her that they are bringing another girl to Sindh.” Latifan Bibi did not know anything about this.

    “When our officials reached the Kacha area of Sindh with the accused and the lady constable, Latifan Bibi and later her husband were also arrested from there.”

    Latifan Bibi and other suspects revealed disturbing details during the investigation.

    Latifan Bibi told the police “So far they have abducted around 500 girls from Lahore and sold them in the Kacha area of Sindh and got a huge price for them.”

    “Girls who come to courts or run away from home, we would trap them and kidnap them.”

    According to the Sheikhupura police, this gang has remained safe from being caught by the police until now because whenever the police went to catch them or found a trace of a missing girl, Latifan Bibi would arrange the marriages of these girls, after which these girls would be found by the police. She used to state that she was married, due to which the police action could not be successful.

    When the Sheikhupura police recovered Alisha on the identification of the arrested accused, there were many revelations.

    According to Sheikhupura police, Latifan Bibi revealed that she sold Alisha at nine different places, but finally, police found Alisha from an area called Mehr on the border of Sindh and Balochistan and brought her to Punjab. She is now in police custody.

    Sheikhupura Police Spokesperson Wajid Abbas further said that the police have detained eight accused in this case, including four men and their wives. Alisha and her mother also tried to change their statement, but now we have kept Alisha in safe custody so that this gang can be severely punished.

    The police led by DPO Zahid Marwat produced Alisha in the court and informed her about the entire incident.

    The court, while dealing with Alisha’s recovery request, issued an order that, “This matter should be investigated more deeply and all possible measures should be taken for the recovery of the kidnapped girls.”

  • MARYAM NAWAZ, PML-N’S CANDIDATE FOR CHIEF MINISTER PUNJAB

    MARYAM NAWAZ, PML-N’S CANDIDATE FOR CHIEF MINISTER PUNJAB

    The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader, Captain (r) Muhammad Safdar, said on Wednesday that his wife, vice president of PML-N, Maryam Nawaz, is the party’s candidate for the position of Punjab’s chief minister, Dawn has reported.

    Captain Safdar also said that after getting a clean chit from courts, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif will contest the upcoming elections for a National Assembly (NA) seat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s NA-15 (Mansehra).

    “Nawaz Sharif will be our election candidate from NA-15 (Mansehra-II). He will become the prime minister as an elected representative of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to address the province’s deprivation,” Mr Safdar told reporters outside the deputy commissioner’s office in Mansehra.

    Safdar also said that he himself will submit the nomination papers of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

    He further said that PML-N leader Amir Muqam is the party’s candidate for KP’s chief minister.

    Captain Safdar also mentioned that he will not contest the election from NA-15, as he wants to become a senator. “I will never decline the party’s offer for a Senate ticket,” he said.

    PML-N president and former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will submit his nomination papers from Lahore’s NA-123, PP-158, and PP-164 seats.

  • Shiraz Uppal talks about ‘Funkari’ controversy with Aima Baig

    Shiraz Uppal recently gave an interview to a private TV channel and talked about the controversy with singer Aima Baig regarding the song ‘Funkari’ released this year.

    “I resolved the issue because at the stage of my career that I am at now, after creating the music of many famous singers’ famous songs, it should not be tolerated that anyone takes away credit, and people in our industry are very good at denying credit.”

    The singer said, “I wanted to set an example for newcomers in the industry because newcomers are not able to raise their voice for their rights. They fear that they will have trouble getting more work in the future.”
    He said that he was in a position to speak up for his right, adding, “I replied to Aima Baig so that the new people who are coming in the industry also have the confidence to raise their voice for their right. Aima was arguing with me that the song ‘Funkari’ was written by Shakeel Sohail, who was my close friend.”
    Shiraz Uppal said, “I made it clear to Aima that Shakeel Sohail had passed away in June 2020 and that I had written the lyrics for the song ‘Funkari’ in November 2020.”

    Stressing that he would never take his friend’s credit, Uppal emphasized, “I wrote this song 6 months after his death. I have all the proofs which I showed to Aima and she admitted her mistake.”

    Aima Baig had claimed that she wrote Funkari together with Sohail Shakeel.

    At the time, Uppal refuted Aima Baig’s statement, stating, “He had written the song on his own six months after Shakeel Sohail’s passing.”
    Following Shiraz Uppal’s clarification, the disagreement persisted but eventually got resolved when Aima Baig acknowledged her mistake.

  • X restored after being globally down for more than an hour

    X restored after being globally down for more than an hour

    Various complaints of social networking website X (formerly Twitter) being down around the world have been reported in the past hour but it is now restored.

    Reports emerged that complaints of the service being down of both the social media micro-blogging website and mobile application surfaced around 11 am.

    According to X-monitoring website Downdetector, about 70,000 complaints were received from around the world about X’s service being affected.

    Earlier, in March and July of this year, there were complaints about X’s services being affected.

    According to media reports, users visiting X saw ‘WELCOME TO YOUR TIMELINE’ written instead of regular tweets, indicating that there was a major problem on the social networking site.

  • ‘I think your clothes don’t define you as a good or a bad person’; Ushna Shah on wearing hijab

    ‘I think your clothes don’t define you as a good or a bad person’; Ushna Shah on wearing hijab

    Actress and model Ushna Shah shared her thoughts on wearing a hijab in a recent interview. The superstar pointed out that some people believe that wearing a hijab automatically makes someone a good person. However, she emphasized that one’s clothing choices do not determine whether they are a good or bad person.

    Ushna Shah highlighted that wearing a hijab is a personal choice, and during the interview.

    Reminiscing about her Umrah experience two years ago, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she explained that there’s a misconception in society that if you wear a hijab or cover yourself, you are automatically considered a good person. She presented these views to highlight the contrasting perspectives that exist in society: “If you wear lehenga choli or sleeveless in your marriage then you are the opposite of good.”

    “I know many of those who cover themselves but I don’t believe them as good human beings. I think your clothes don’t define you as a good or a bad person,” she said.

    Ushna Shah shared that choosing to wear a hijab is a personal decision, and it’s something between an individual and God, so others shouldn’t interfere.

    She also expressed her belief that modest clothing is both comfortable and stylish. According to her, opting for modest clothes has its advantages, such as freeing us from worries about weight gain and complicated hairstyling.
    She added: “I enjoy wearing hijab and I understand why so many women enjoy this. It freed us from so many problems and in such clothing, you represent your religion.”