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Author: News Desk

  • Queen Elizabeth II dies at 96

    Queen Elizabeth II dies at 96

    Royal family officials reported that the queen passed away peacefully on Thursday afternoon at Balmoral Castle, her home in the Scottish Highlands.

    She is currently at Balmoral with her son King Charles, who will return to London on Friday.

    The longest reigning British monarch was Queen Elizabeth II, who ruled the United Kingdom for seven decades.

    Here’s the tweet from the royal family:

    The queen has performed fewer official responsibilities in recent years, occasionally skipping engagements where her attendance used to be expected.

    Her recent mobility problems have caused her to spend a lot of time at the family’s rural estate near London, Windsor Castle, and the Scottish castle, Balmoral.

  • ‘Never seen this level of devastation’: first-hand account of what’s going on in flood affected areas

    ‘Never seen this level of devastation’: first-hand account of what’s going on in flood affected areas

    Pakistan is in the throes of devastating floods that have wreaked havoc across all four provinces. The scale of devastation has been estimated to be more than $10 billion. Midwife, public health practitioner and founder of Mama Baby Funds (MBF), Neha Mankani, visited the flood-affected area of Dadu, located in Sindh, which is through and through inundated with floods.

    Neha Mankani, who was in the area for two days shared her experience of what she calls a devastation she has never seen in her career. Dadu is strategically located in an area where it gets water from Manchar, Hamal Lakes and hill flows from Gorak Hills.

    Talking about the wreckage, Mankani said, “It’s safe to say I have never seen this level of devastation in my entire career.”

    Sharing pictures from the site on her Instagram story, Mankani wrote, “The next few images are of the water separating Dadu city and Juhi- which now has many many villages under it.”

    “There are IDP’s on the embankments of cities in makeshifts tents. The boat ride was an hour long and cost Rs 600 per person, a simple equation of demand and supply. We encountered two maternal deaths and 25 pregnant women in the first hour of our arrival. Both women died because they couldn’t get care on time.”

    “I wore a lifejacket for the first time. We heard many incidents of boast tipping over because they got stuck in trees or electric poles under the water. A flood water lake that’s swallowed 100’s of homes felt a lot more untrustworthy than the sea I’m used to.”

    Mankani explaining the aftermath and the toll the devastation has caused said, “Sujag Sansar [a right-based development organization working for the marginalized in most backward areas] told us that no one is really thinking about the children and how they are dealing at camps.” She further explained that women were given basic things like baltis, lotas, detergent, mosquito coil, towels, shoes, matches, and hygiene products. Sujag Sansar also informed them about how floods had taken them 50 years back, as everything was drowned under water.

    Mankani along with the volunteers who had accompanied her said that women their were told how to use medicals kits, make ORS and how will they be able to manage basic health challenges at their camps. Mankani also conducted an antenatal clinic both for women and some babies in a school.

    Explaining the conditions of health care, Mankani said that a baby was born on a boat without any medical support. She said that they found no health care providers on either side of the water- except for one government dispensary with a caretaker who dispenses medicines when he felt like and one woman who had turned herself into a dai after she reached the camps.

    The MBF founder further said that once they reached the boat dock, the only option for them was a donkey cart or wading through knee deep water. Adamant on spreading the message of the antenatal camp, Mankani said that they wanted to give women on both sides of the water the idea of the camp. And on how many clean delivery kits were needed to get to them.

  • Imran Khan to be indicted on Sept 22, response deemed ‘unsatisfactory’ by court

    Imran Khan to be indicted on Sept 22, response deemed ‘unsatisfactory’ by court

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday decided to indict Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on September 22 after he failed to submit an unconditional apology in contempt of court proceedings against him for passing controversial remarks against Additional District and Sessions Judge Zeba Chaudhry.

    “Imran Khan’s response was unsatisfactory”. said IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, who is heading a five-member bench — comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangir, and Justice Babar Sattar — that heard the case.

    Justice Athar Minal­lah observed that Khan’s replies to the court’s show-cause notice appeared to be “Justifying contempt of the judiciary” and showed “No remorse or regret”.

    Justice Minallah went on to ask why the judges of the lower courts were considered different to those of higher courts. “You are justifying contempt of court which means that you have no remorse or regret,” the judge observed.

    Expressing his disappointment in the response given by Khan to the court, which was the second of its kind, the court asked: “Even after the court’s input on the matter, this is the response submitted?”

    “It seems you want to fight this case […] and you have no realisation that the case against you is extremely seriously,” noted Justice Minallah.

    Declaring subordinate judiciary a ‘red line’, IHC CJ Minallah warned the PTI chairman that threatening a district judge is a more serious offence than a Supreme Court justice.

    Before appearing for the hearing, the PTI chairman told journalists that he would become “more dangerous” if the government decides to send him behind bars.

    “They have been trying to [put me in jail for long now]. I will be more dangerous if they send me to jail,” Khan said to media, confidently smiling ahead of the hearing.

    Hours before the proceeding, Khan filed a new plea at the high court. He argued that the high court cannot exercise suo moto jurisdiction as per the Constitution. The arguments on the inadmissibility of the contempt case should be kept on record.

    “The written arguments will also be explained in the oral arguments during the course of the proceedings,” read the plea.

    A day earlier to the proceedings, Khan submitted a fresh response to the contempt of court case, in which in he expressed deep regret for his words.

  • ‘Jis ne Nawaz Sharif ko vote deeya, woh Allah ke farman ke khilaf jayega’: Imran Khan

    ‘Jis ne Nawaz Sharif ko vote deeya, woh Allah ke farman ke khilaf jayega’: Imran Khan

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, addressing a rally in Chishtian, said, “Agar ap ne Nawaz Sharif ko vote toh matlab ap mujrim ko vote de rahy hai. Is ka matlab ap burai ke sath khary hai. Is ka matlab ke ap Allah ke farman ke khilaf ja rahy hai.” (People who vote for PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif will be siding with a convict and are on the wrong side. This also means that you will go against Allah’s orders.)

    This is not the first time that PTI leader has played religious card against opponents or has mentioned religion in his speeches.

    Another time, while addressing his supporters, he said “You have to spread my message to the public just like the prophets of Allah did”.

    The former prime minister once also said that those who defected from his party [PTI] committed shirk. Shirk, or infidelity to God, is considered a severe sin in Islam.

    “Those who do wrong things to save their jobs commit sin, it is shirk [idolatry]. Those who sell their self-respect and themselves, it is also counted as shirk because Allah is Al-Haqq”, he said.

    Moreover, in Chishtian, the PTI leader said Chishtian is not a stronghold of the PML-N as it claims.

    “We make the country’s biggest robbers prime ministers. Today, the people ruling the country have been robbing the country for 30 years,” he reiterated.

    He once again accused the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and said that the body is a “Pet of the coalition government”.

    Clarifying his earlier remarks against the Pakistan Army, Khan said that “this country is mine and so is the army”.

  • ‘People have forgotten that I am also a bowler’: Naseem Shah

    ‘People have forgotten that I am also a bowler’: Naseem Shah

    At the very end of the nail biting match between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Naseem Shah smashed two sixes on two balls and powered Pakistan into final of Asia Cup 2022 against Sri Lanka on September 11. In the process, he sealed his place in history too.

    At the post match celebrations, an ecstatic Naseem Shah spoke with presenter Ravi Shastri and said that he was confident of hitting the winning runs since he had practiced a lot.

    “There was full confidence that we can win this match. We practice in the net, so we were confident that we would achieve the target,” said Naseem.

    He further added, “I knew the bowler would try to go for a yorker and was confident I could hit sixes. So, I tried and it paid off.”

    After Asif Ali’s dismissal, Naseem Shah went to Mohammad Husnain to change the bat and then won the seemingly lost match for Pakistan.

    The Pakistani pacer went on to say that after hitting those two sixes, people have forgotten that he is a bowler.

    Pakistan skipper Babar Azam praised Naseem Shah’s performance and said that the maximums reminded him of Javed Miandad’s famous six against India in Asia cup 1986 final.

  • Saudi Arabia and Gulf neighbours threaten Netflix over immoral content

    Saudi Arabia and Gulf neighbours threaten Netflix over immoral content

    Persian Gulf states threatened to sue the streaming service Netflix if it does not take down content that is objectionable to Islam. The Arab nations mentioned content representing sexual minorities but did not name the seasons or films.

    The streaming service was warned if it continued to broadcast the content then ‘necessary legal measures’ will be taken.

    The declaration was also released by the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

    They are a part of the six-nation council, along with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar.

    The UAE further stated that it would monitor the content broadcast by the platform in the ensuing days and “evaluate its commitment to broadcasting restrictions” in the nation.

    A lady designated as a “behavioural expert” was interviewed by Saudi state media, and she claimed that Netflix was a “official sponsor of homosexuality” in the interview.

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    It simultaneously broadcast fuzzy footage from the Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous cartoon, in which two women kiss.

    Additionally, a segment on Saudi state television suggested that Netflix might be outlawed in the country due to concerns about its children’s programming.

    Because it has characters who are in a same-sex relationship, the animated feature film Lightyear from Walt Disney-Pixar was earlier this year banned from theatres in the UAE and other Muslim nations.

  • Australia passes climate bill to cut emissions by 43% by 2030

    Australia passes climate bill to cut emissions by 43% by 2030

    The Australian government has passed its first major climate legislation. The legislation will need royal assent before it officially becomes law. The Labor government’s climate bill cleared the Senate by 37 votes to 30 after accepting minor amendments. It also enshrines net zero emissions by 2050.


    The recently passed bill includes the national targets of cutting carbon dioxide emissions by at least 43 per cent by 2030 (compared with 2005) and reaching net zero by 2050.


    The country is one of the highest emitters per capita in the world, and the bill brings it in line with other developed countries such as Canada, South Korea, and Japan.

    Minister for climate change and energy, Chris Bowen, said the legislation sends a message to the world.”The passage of the climate change legislation sends a message to the world that Australia is serious about driving down emissions and serious about reaping the economic opportunities from affordable renewable energy,” Minister Bowen said, adding that “Legislating these targets gives certainty to investors and participants in the energy market and will help stabilise our energy system.”
    “It also strengthens transparency and accountability through the annual climate change statement and will ensure public debate informs government decisions,” he concluded.

  • OPPO Extends its Support to Establish Flood Relief Villages across Pakistan in Collaboration with Alkhidmat Foundation

    OPPO Extends its Support to Establish Flood Relief Villages across Pakistan in Collaboration with Alkhidmat Foundation

    Pakistan has been struck with unprecedented and devastating floods, which have led to massive loss of lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure. To address this, OPPO has joined hands with Alkhidmat Foundation to provide immediate food, shelter, and hygiene packs for around 300 families catering to over 2000 people in Southern Punjab.

    Torrential monsoon rains have triggered the most severe flooding in Pakistan’s recent history, washing away villages and leaving more than 30 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. This is a wake-up call for the world as the threats of climate change becomes a devastating reality in Pakistan. We urge everyone to stand united, take care of each other and our planet.

    Hundreds of thousands of homes have been destroyed, while many public health facilities, water systems, crops, and schools have been destroyed or damaged. Therefore, in solidarity with the country, OPPO in collaboration with Alkhidmat Foundation has donated PKR 10 million to provide immediate rehabilitation facilities in the flood-affected areas of Pakistan.

    Committed to humanitarian services the OPPO Flood Relief Villages will serve to provide daily cooked meals along with ration packs to each family. There will be tents for shelter which can cater to up to 6 to 7 people per tent. Hygiene packs will also be provided to each family which contains all hygienic necessities such as sanitary pads, water purifiers, and soap among other items. The supply will last up to 3 months at least till a more permanent solution has been established.

    In addition, OPPO staff will be volunteering onsite as extended support to the Alkhidmat workers across the affected areas in Pakistan.

    Speaking on the occasion, Mr. George Long, CEO – OPPO Pakistan, Authorized Exclusive Distributer said; “With one-third of Pakistan under water and millions left homeless, it is now more than ever that the people of Pakistan need us. Thus, we have partnered with Alkhidmat Foundation whose proactive work has been both impressive and inspiring. Together we will fight and together we will rise.”

    Regarding OPPO’s commitment to the community, Abdul Shakoor, President of the Alkhidmat Foundation, stated; “OPPO has always been remarkably eager to contribute to social causes. We greatly appreciate their support in our flood relief drive and hope to continue this partnership for the betterment of our society.”

    OPPO urges people living in and outside of Pakistan to donate to the Alkhidmat Foundation through different payment gateways e.g. SMS Short Codes, Bank Transfer, Easy Paisa, and Jazz Cash accounts created particularly for Flood Relief Donations because every step counts and every action matters.

    Let’s Unify, Relieve & Reconstruct.

    For more information on donation methods, please visit this link: https://alkhidmat.org/akf-donations.php

  • Khan files new plea ahead of court hearing in contempt case

    Khan files new plea ahead of court hearing in contempt case

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) is scheduled to resume hearing on Thursday the contempt of court case against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan for threatening a female District and Sessions Judge, Zeba Chaudhry

    A five-member bench headed by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah will hear the case at 2:30 pm. The PTI chairman will appear before the court in person amid strict security.

    Hours before the proceeding, Khan filed a new plea at the high court. He argued that the high court cannot exercise suo moto jurisdiction as per the Constitution. The arguments on the inadmissibility of the contempt case should be kept on record.

    “The written arguments will also be explained in the oral arguments during the course of the proceedings,” read the plea.

    A day earlier to the proceedings, Khan submitted a fresh response to the contempt of court case, in which in he expressed deep regret for his words.

    In a 19-page-long document, Khan told the court that it should discharge the notice based on his explanation and follow the Islamic principles of forgiveness.

    “That the purpose of the contempt law is not to punish anyone but to uphold the majesty of law. The respondent [Khan] believes in the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution,” the response said.

    “The respondent takes this opportunity to express his deep regrets over his unintentional utterances during the course of his speech at a rally which was taken out in response to the shocking news of the physical torture of Shahbaz Gill.”

    However, the submitted reply fell short of offering an unconditional apology.

    IHC on August 31 had directed the former prime minister to resubmit his response, giving him seven days to hand in the new draft. During the proceedings, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah had said he was “disappointed” by the written response submitted by Khan. He asked him to review it and submit it once more.

  • No, Afghans are not ‘Namak Haram’; keep your racism in check when criticising Afghan fans

    No, Afghans are not ‘Namak Haram’; keep your racism in check when criticising Afghan fans

    Following Pakistan’s victory against Afghanistan in the Super 4 match at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Afghanistan fans in the stadium were spotted throwing seats at Pakistan fans. A few Afghan fans were also caught on camera physically assaulting Pakistani cricket team supporters.

    The videos are being widely shared on social media with people condemning these acts of hooliganism by Afghan fans at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. However, some people on social media, while denouncing the behaviour of Afghan fans, opted for racist abuse. A few referred to them as ‘Namak Haram’, a racist term often used to address Afghan immigrants living in Pakistan.

    People on social media are coming forward to condemn racist comments. Have a look at the tweets.

    Mohsin Dawar, Member National Assembly from North Waziristan also came forward to condemn the racist comments.

    “Using a cricket match as an excuse to hurl racist abuse against Afghans is peak shamelessness. Pakistan’s decades-old strategic depth policy and interventionist misadventures in Afghanistan are why Afghans have a problem with Pakistan. Introspect before belittling Afghans,” he wrote.