Tag: Top News

  • Zainab’s father appointed focal person for child abuse in Kasur

    Zainab’s father appointed focal person for child abuse in Kasur

    Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (CPWB) Punjab Chairperson Sarah Ahmad on Tuesday announced that Zainab Ansari’s father Amin Ansari is being appointed as the focal person for child abuse in the Kasur district. According to details, the father of the six-year-old – who was raped and killed in January 2018 – volunteered himself for the task.

    Zainab’s case had sparked countrywide outrage and protests and her perpetrator Imran Ali was executed nine months after her death.

    The bureau, on the directives of Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, has launched a campaign in Kasur to raise awareness regarding child sexual abuse. According to the chairperson, this is the “first time that the government has started a campaign in Kasur.” Previously only NGOs were the only ones working on the ground to tackle the problem of child abuse in the area.

    Though the bureau had established a small outreach centre at the TMA Hall in early 2018, after Zainab’s case, the centre had not been equipped properly and largely depended on the Lahore head office.

    The development comes days after the remains of three minor boys, whom police suspect were raped and murdered, were found in Kasur’s Chunian Tehsil. According to the police, two children were reported missing in August while a third had gone missing earlier this month. On the indication of a local worker, police found the body of one of the boys and the skeletal remains of the other two at a deserted place in Chunian Industrial Estate area. Residents in Chunian says that five children had gone missing in recent months. The remains of four have now been found.

    Investigators claim that the heinous crimes have been committed by a single person as suggested by the result of the samples taken from the body of one of the victims, Faizan. The police have so far detained 20 suspects from Chunian, while the samples of over 950 others have also been collected for DNA tests.

    The discovery of the bodies had led to violent protests after which the government including Prime Minister Imran Khan had taken notice of the incident.

    In recent years, Kasur has garnered international attention for being a hotspot for child abuse and pornography.

  • CCTVs to be installed in police stations to curb torture cases

    CCTVs to be installed in police stations to curb torture cases

    Interior Minister Brigadier (retd) Ijaz Ahmad Shah has directed for the installation of CCTV cameras in all police stations across the country. An official order has been issued to all provincial police heads.

    As per reports, the decision has been taken to discourage the prevailing culture of torture inside police stations. The initiative is also expected to ensure transparency in investigations.

    A digital control room will also be built in every police station for effective monitoring.

    Meanwhile, during the departmental meeting to improve the policing system in the country, Brig Shah took several other decisions as well. This includes presenting a Safe City Project in Balochistan in coordination with the provincial government. Apart from that, the government is also considering reopening the Chaman border. It was decided that after taking necessary measures, the Pak-Afghan border will be opened in three months.

  • Shadab Khan to donate his earnings to the earthquake victims

    Shadab Khan to donate his earnings to the earthquake victims

    Pakistani all-rounder Shadab Khan has announced to donate his
    Pakistan-Sri Lanka series match earnings to the victims of the earthquake.

    The earthquake, which came on the early
    morning of Tuesday, has claimed over at least 21 lives and left 450 injured. 

    Shadab took to Twitter to express grief over the sad incident and pledged to help the affected people.

    Pakistan will play its first match against Sri Lanka on 27th September in Karachi in a series of 3 ODIs and 3 T20s.

    Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi also publicly asked everyone to help the affected people.

  • An Emmy for Pakistani documentary ‘Armed with Faith’

    An Emmy for Pakistani documentary ‘Armed with Faith’

    Pakistani documentary Armed with Faith won a News & Docs Emmy for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary.

    The documentary is based on the lives of the brave Pakistani men who are part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bomb Disposal Squad and are faced with life-threatening challenges every day. However, its main focus is two security personnel Abdur Rehman and Inayatullah and their struggles.

    Co-produced by the two-time Academy Award winner Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and former journalist Haya Fatima Iqbal, Armed with Faith was nominated in the Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary category. It has been co-directed by filmmakers Asad Faruqi and Geeta Gandbhir.

    Previously the film was also screened in Vancouver International Film Festival in 2017 as well as at the Atlanta Film Festival and TRT’s Belgesel Günleri Film Festival.

    Sharmeen also took to social media to congratulate the team and shared some warm words about Asad.

    Watch the promo here:

  • Another Indian MiG-21 crashes during training

    An Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG-21 aircraft has crashed near the Gwalior airbase in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday. , Hindustan Times reported.

    According to the reports, both pilots of the MiG-21 trainer aircraft including a group captain and a squadron leader managed to eject safely before the crash.

    Crashes involving fighter planes are common in India which is in the midst of upgrading its Soviet-era military. Most of the crash incidents involve the MiGs that India bought decades ago from the Soviet Union, earning it the unflattering “flying coffin” tag.

    The IAF lost 27 aircraft, including 15 fighter jets and helicopters, in crashes since 2016, as mentioned by Indian Minister of State for Defence, Shripad Naik, in June 2019.

    Earlier on February 27, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had also shot down MiG-21 fighter jet and captured its pilot Abhinandan Varthaman who was later handed over by Pakistan to India at the Wagah-Attari border crossing on March 1 as a peace gesture.

  • Sindh govt to award Rs1 lakh to those identifying trash throwers

    Sindh govt to award Rs1 lakh to those identifying trash throwers

    The Sindh government has announced prize money of Rs1 lakh for those who will help to identify garbage throwers in Karachi, Dawn has reported.

    According to the details, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani has made the announcement on media while urging the citizens to record videos of those who throw garbage outside and inform the relevant authorities.

    Ghani has announced two mobile numbers where citizens can send videos of people throwing trash around the city through WhatsApp. Citizens can send videos on 0300-0074296 and 0300-0084296.

    The provincial minister said that he had personally witnessed people purposely throwing heaps of garbage on roads, adding that those who “claimed that they have inherited the city” were polluting Karachi.

    “This is a conspiracy to damage the cleanliness drive,” he added. The minister promised that the identity of citizens reporting such incidents will be kept secret.

    The Sindh government last week initiated a cleanliness campaign called “Clean My Karachi” after facing massive criticism over failure to clean the metropolis.

  • Erdogan slams int’l community for its silence on Kashmir

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticised the international community for failing to pay attention to Kashmir conflict, urging dialogue to find a solution of decades-long row between Pakistan and India, Express Tribune reported.

    According to the details, in his address at UN General Assembly (UNGA) session in New York, Erdogan said that the stability and prosperity of South Asia cannot be separated from the Kashmir issue, awaiting solution for 72 years.

    “In order for the Kashmiri people to look at a safe future together with their Pakistani and Indian neighbours, it is imperative to solve the problem through dialogue and on the basis of justice and equity, but not through collision,” said Erdogan.

    He added, “Despite the resolutions adopted, [India-occupied] Kashmir is still besieged and eight million people are stuck in Kashmir”.

    Following Erdogan’s remarks, Prime Minister Imran Khan thanked him for raising the issue of occupied Kashmir at the UNGA and calling for a solution to the long-standing dispute.

    In a subsequent tweet, PM said: “I appreciate President Erdogan’s statement that the stability and prosperity of South Asia cannot be separated from the Kashmir issue.”

    People of Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) have been held hostage by Indian occupying forces since August 5 when New Delhi abrogated the article to rob the disputed territory of its autonomy.

  • VIDEO: Dr Firdous says earthquake sign of ‘tabdeeli’

    VIDEO: Dr Firdous says earthquake sign of ‘tabdeeli’

    The PTI government’s ministers seem to be on a roll, making one gaffe after another.

    In the first instance, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Tuesday made light of yesterday’s devastating earthquake and said that the earthquake was a sign of tabdeeli.

    She said: “These are signs of change. Whenever there is any tabdeeli [change], tremors are felt. This is a sign of tabdeeli that even the earth is changing positions as it isn’t adapting to change quickly.”

    It is important to note that the quake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale shook parts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and left multiple people dead and scores injured.

    While Dr Awan faced criticism for her insensitive remarks, another PTI minister tried to board a flight on someone else’s passport.

    On Monday, Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan used his wife’s passport to travel to Turkey. He was stopped by the immigration authorities at the Islamabad airport just before boarding a flight to Turkey. It turned out that he was carrying his wife’s passport instead of his own. Khan’s protocol team came to his rescue by bringing his passport from home just in time.

  • Hand sanitizer won’t protect you from catching flu: Study

    Hand sanitizer won’t protect you from catching flu: Study

    We had it all wrong. The hand sanitizer will not protect you
    from catching the flu, a new study reveals.

    It’s a myth that hand sanitizers kill germs promptly, even those that land you with a cold or flu. While it is true that some germs are removed with a quick squeeze, the flu-causing ones stay on. 

    According to a new study published in
    the journal mSphere, sanitizer products cannot remove the mucus on a
    person’s fingers. To test this, the researchers patted the participant’s hands
    with IAV-infected wet mucus.

    “The physical properties of the mucus
    protect the virus from inactivation,” said a physician and molecular
    gastroenterologist. “Until the mucus has completely dried, infectious IAV can
    remain on the hands and fingers, even after suitable antiseptic hand rubbing.”

    This mucus can take up to four minutes or more to dry, which means in those four minutes you have a high chance of catching the flu or transferring it to another person. Once the mucus has dried, it can be disinfected with any hand sanitizer.

    The US-based Center for Disease Control and Prevention advises people to wash their hands with soap and water instead, to reduce the chances of catching a cold. The researchers who conducted the study also agree, an antiseptic soap can clean up the flu germs within 30 seconds.

  • Meghan Markle’s latest photos are not very ‘princessy’

    Meghan Markle’s latest photos are not very ‘princessy’

    While Meghan Markle is currently on a tour of Africa with husband Prince Harry and Baby Archie, her former co-stars are wrapping up Suits of which Meghan was a part of till season seven.

    The final episode of the long-running USA show will air Wednesday and Patrick J Adams, who played Mike, Meghan’s boyfriend and later husband on the show, took a trip down the memory lane and shared behind-the-scene pictures of the cast from their shoot days.

    Though it was nice to see the rest of the cast, the one person who stood out and caught everyone’s attention was without a doubt the Duchess of Sussex. Patrick shared some super hot pictures of her which are dead sure the Queen would disapprove of.

    Queen after looking at these pictures: “Yeh Meghan bhi na.”

    Meanwhile, the rest of the pictures are actually quite sweet.

    But we’re sure these pictures are not going to bother Meghan much. She has often broken royal protocol with her fashion choices.

    For example while presenting at the Fashion Awards in December 2018, Meghan sported dark nail polish even though the Royals traditionally wear the lightest of pinks or neutrals on their nails.

    In another instance, Meghan wore a black pantsuit even though Queen Elizabeth II reportedly prefers royal women in skirts and dresses and reserves black only for mourning.