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Author: News Desk

  • Punjab education minister hints at schools closure due to smog

    Punjab education minister hints at schools closure due to smog

    Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat, in the wake of smog in Lahore, has indicated that schools will be closed while asserting that the situation of pollution is getting worse.

    ARY News reports that the smog has intensified in Punjab, and the provincial capital has become the most polluted city in the world, with the air quality index exceeding extremely hazardous levels and crossing 500 points in a number of areas.

    Punjab’s Education Minister, Rana Sikandar Hayat, stated that currently, the school hours of the children have been changed to counter the situation, but if the health of the children worsens, the school will be closed.

    “The situation of pollution is getting worse, and for the elimination of smog, the government as well as the people will have to play their role,” he said.

    Lahore has been number one on the list of cities with the worst air quality as a result of increased smog.

    Earlier, Senior Provincial Minister Maryam Aurangzeb announced new working hours, stating the change was following the high air quality index and the increasing number of respiratory diseases in the provincial capital.

    School timings were changed in Lahore.

    All schools in the city have been notified to open at 8:45 am, and this new timing will apply to both public and private schools.

    The new working hours will be applied from October 28 to January 31, according to the official announcement.

    Read more: School timings changed in Lahore amid smog concerns

  • Chiriyaa, Kabootar sab uraa lain, Imran Khan release nahi hu saktay: Governor KP

    Chiriyaa, Kabootar sab uraa lain, Imran Khan release nahi hu saktay: Governor KP

    Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Faisal Karim Kundi on Tuesday ruled out any scenario of the possible acquittal of the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan.

    “Chiriya, Kabootar sab uraa lain, Imran Khan release nahi hu saktay,” Kundi claimed in an interview with Samaa.

    Speaking about the former first lady Bushra Bibi’s involvement in politics after her acquittal, Faisal Karim Kundi added: “PTI leaders say that Bushra Bibi is a non-political woman, however, if she is non-political why she did go to Peshawar? Obviously, she is not visiting Peshawar for the sake of shopping.”

    “There is no need to hide it: Bushra Bibi is active in politics and has been involved in it before as well through Farah Gogi (Farhat Shahzadi),” Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa maintained.

    Addressing PTI’s recent complaint over Imran being mistreated in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi, Kundi advised the party to watch Khan’s suggestions from past rallies to see how prisoners in Pakistan should be treated.”

    “Seven-star hotels, refrigerators for medicine, TV, chicken meals should not be served to prisoners in jail, and only jailer’s food menu should be served to the prisoner,” Faisal Karim Kundi reminded PTI’s leadership while recalling Imran Khan’s past remarks on jail facilities.

    Recently, Aleema Khan, Imran Khan’s sister, talked to journalists and claimed that her brother is facing a lack of facilities in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi.

    Aleema Khan also alleged that Imran Khan vomited after consuming unhygienic food in jail, and the power in her brother’s cell was disconnected since October 3.

    Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, on Monday, in a video message posted on X (formerly Twitter), warned to shut down the whole country with protests if complaints regarding mistreatment from founder PTI Imran Khan continued.

    “We have to get rid of this government by shutting down the whole of Pakistan and take the stolen mandate back,” Gandapur stated.

  • Australia’s Matthew Wade announces international retirement

    Australia’s Matthew Wade announces international retirement

    Australian Wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade has announced his retirement from international cricket. He will serve as a coach for Australia in the T20 series against Pakistan.

    Wade said, “I knew my time in international cricket was ending after the T20 World Cup. I have been discussing my retirement and coaching role with George (Bailey) and Andrew (McDonald) for the past six months. I’ve been thinking about coaching for a few years, and I’m very excited and grateful for this new role.”

    Wade had already retired from Test cricket in March 2024. He was part of the Australian team in the T20 World Cup held in June 2024 but was not selected for the tour of England in September 2024.

    Wade will continue to play in the Big Bash League (BBL) and other franchise T20 tournaments. He is a part of the Hobart Hurricanes in the BBL. He will be part of the coaching team led by Andre Borovec for the T20 series against Pakistan. Informally, he will also be associated with Australia’s coaching team during the ODI series. The coaching team, led by Andrew McDonald, will prepare for the Test series against India.

    Wade played a total of 36 Tests, 97 ODIs, and 92 T20 matches for Australia between 2011 and 2024. He played a significant role in Australia’s T20 World Cup victory in the UAE, scoring 41 runs off 17 balls against Pakistan in the semi-final.

  • Arjun Kapoor confirms split from Malaika Arora; video goes viral

    Arjun Kapoor confirms split from Malaika Arora; video goes viral

    Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor has finally confirmed that his relationship with Malaika Arora is over.

    A video circulating on social media shot on the Hindu festival of Diwali shows Arjun along with his ‘Singham Again’, actor Ajay Devgan participating in festivities.

    At one point Arjun held the mic in his hand and started to say something, but the crowd started chanting “Malaika Malaika”.

    Arjun heard the voices and smilingly said, “I am single now.”
    Indian social media pages shared the video and claimed that Arjun is no longer with Malaika and the two have separated.

    This is the first time Arjun has officially responded to his and Malaika’s romantic relationship, without directly confirming or denying their relationship.

    There were rumors of a long breakup between the two, but it was not confirmed.

    Later, when Malaika Arora’s father committed suicide recently, Arjun attended the last rites with her.

  • Teenage boy raped, tortured to death in Lahore

    Teenage boy raped, tortured to death in Lahore

    A man in Lahore allegedly raped a teenage factory worker and killed him by pumping air into his belly in the Kahna area of the city.

    Geo News reported that the 15-year-old boy was killed after being raped.

    Dawn reports that Hassan Ali was an employee at a factory.

    Police say that the victim was shifted to a hospital in critical condition and eventually died.

    The suspect has been arrested, and a case has been lodged against him.

    Hassan’s father, Nadeem Iqbal, lodged the FIR with the local police and named Shazor as the primary suspect, who also worked at the same factory as the victim. He allegedly raped the boy on the premises of the industrial unit.

    The boy’s father has stated in the FIR that the deranged accused pushed air into the victim’s stomach, which ruptured his abdomen.

    He also said the factory management initially tried to mislead him by saying his son died after he suffered injuries at work.

    Hassan’s father urged the police to ensure that the culprit was punished.

    An initial report by Dawn suggests that in November 2019, a similar incident was reported in the Kahna area, where a blind street beggar was also allegedly murdered by three suspects in the same way.

    Sahil, an organisation working for the protection of children’s rights, released a Six Month Cruel Numbers data early in August, revealing that a total of 1,630 cases of child abuse were reported from across the country.

    The data also shows that out of the total reported cases, (962) 59 percent of victims were girls and (668) 41 percent were boys.

    The data shows that the most vulnerable age group remains children aged 6-15, with 693 cases reported in this bracket. Additionally, 94 cases involved children aged 0-5, 231 children were from the 16-18 age bracket, and in 612 cases, the age of the victims was not mentioned.


    In the year 2024, January-June, the abusers involved in 47pc of the total cases were acquaintances, 18pc were strangers, while nine per cent of acquaintances, along with strangers, committed crimes against children.


    In the first six months of 2024, 78 per cent of the total cases were reported from Punjab and 6pc from the ICT. The rest of the cases were reported from other provinces, including 11 per cent of cases from Sindh, 3pc cases from KP, and 2pc cases from Balochistan, AJK and GB.


    Out of the total reported cases, 44pc were from urban areas, and 56pc were from rural areas.

  • Fakhar Zaman’s brother deletes post with ‘Saya Corporation’ claim

    Fakhar Zaman’s brother deletes post with ‘Saya Corporation’ claim

    Gohar Zaman has deleted his tweet wherein he had claimed that his brother Fakhar had fired players agent company ‘Saya Corporation’.

    Now, sources close to the cricketer say that Fakhar has not changed the player agent, and the tweet from his brother’s alleged X (Formerly Twitter) account has also been deleted.

    An X account in the name of Gohar Zaman tweeted about dissociation from Zaman’s player agent. The Fakhar’s official X account follows this account.

    Earlier, there were rumours that Shaheen Afridi had changed player agents.

    Reports of Fakhar leaving ‘Saya’:

    Earlier Goahar had tweed on his X account that Fakhar Zaman is no longer part of the company. Several cricketers, including white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan and former captain Babar Azam, are associated with the company.

    Sources indicate that Fakhar Zaman left the company due to an alleged social media post in favour of Babar Azam. It is believed that the player’s agent did not choose an appropriate time for the social media post.

    Fakhar’s tweet in favour of Babar Azam:

    National cricketer Fakhar Zaman had severely criticized Pakistan Cricket Board’s decision to drop former captain Babar Azam in the second and third Test matches against England.

    Fakhar wrote on X sitting Indian star cricketer Virat Kohli, “It’s concerning to hear suggestions about dropping Babar Azam. India didn’t bench Virat Kohli during his rough stretch between 2020 and 2023, when he averaged 19.33, 28.21, and 26.50, respectively.”

    “If we are considering sidelining our premier batsman, arguably the best Pakistan has ever produced, it could send a deeply negative message across the team. There is still time to avoid pressing the panic button; we should focus on safeguarding our key players rather than undermining them,” he wrote.

    The Pakistan squad for the second and third Tests against England was announced on Sunday, while Babar Azam, Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi have been dropped from the team.

    PCB’s show-cause notice to the Fakhar:

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had taken strict action against batsman Fakhar Zaman after Zaman publicly supported Babar Azam in a tweet on X.

    According to Geo, PCB has issued a show cause notice to Fakhar Zaman and asked for a reply within a week. Geo sources say that the notice was issued to Fakhar due his public criticism of the selection policy, stating that the tweet was a violation of discipline.

    Fakhar Zaman dropped from central contract 2024-25:

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recently announced the central contracts for the 2024-25 season, and unfortunately, Fakhar Zaman was dropped from the list.

    Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi has explained the reason behind sacking Fakhar Zaman from the central contract.

    Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, October 27, Naqvi said, “Any national team player cannot go around tweeting his opinion on decisions made by the selection committee.”

  • Archenemies? Fakhar Durrani reveals why former judge Ijazul Ahsan disliked the Sharifs

    Archenemies? Fakhar Durrani reveals why former judge Ijazul Ahsan disliked the Sharifs

    The News’ Fakhar Durrani has published a detailed investigative report which points out the reasons behind former Justice of the Supreme Court Ijazul Ahsan’s alleged bias against the Sharif family.

    According to The News report, there were reportedly two quite old incidents that may have fueled the judge’s prejudice against the Sharifs, which reflected in his judgements against the family.

    One incident was nearly 25 years old when the judge’s brother, Major (R) Izaharul Ahsan, was a highly-paid employee as the head of marketing at Ittefaq Foundry in Lahore. In the late 1990’s, Hussain Nawaz, the elder son of Nawaz Sharif, took charge of Ittefaq Foundry. He reviewed the performance of the senior management team, including Izhar ul Ahsan.

    It was reported that Hussain Nawaz was unsatisfied with Izharul Ahsan’s performance, which was below average, and this led to his immediate removal.

    In 2013-14, Izhar ul Ahsan visited the Sharif family’s steel mill in Saudi Arabia, bringing along some businessmen. However, he entered Hussain Nawaz’s office without prior notice or an appointment at which Hussain took offence. This incident added fuel to the fire between the Ahsans and the Sharifs.

    Durrani reported that the second incident was rather more interesting and recent as the former judge is a neighbour of the Sharifs in Model Town, Lahore. Since 2008, while the Sharifs held power in Punjab, subsequent security protocols remained high. Logically, it created hindrances for other home owners – one of whom was the then Lahore High Court judge.

    After the Sharif family lost power in 2018, Justice (R) Ijazul Ahsan ordered the removal of all security barriers around their home. To send a message, he installed the same barriers at his own residence, where they stayed until Imran Khan was in power. This move reflected his ongoing grudge against the Sharif family.

    Durrani wrote that according to his sources, the security issues and the firing of Justice Ijazul Ahsan’s brother from a lucrative position fueled his resentment towards the Sharif family, which was clear in his comments and rulings against them.

    Those who orchestrated the Sharifs’ removal in 2017 recognised his personal grievances, which is why they ensured his inclusion in the Panama case bench, wrote the reporter.

    After the Panama case, the judge was also appointed as the monitoring judge to oversee the Sharif family’s trial in the Accountability Court. Sources say his anger towards the Sharifs was evident in his actions, as he frequently summoned NAB officials working on the case. He guided them on how to file references and what evidence to present against the Sharifs.

  • ‘Baal aisay hain jaisay TTP k representatives ho’: Fawad hits out at PTI leadership

    ‘Baal aisay hain jaisay TTP k representatives ho’: Fawad hits out at PTI leadership

    Former Information and Broadcasting Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain’s never ending feud with members of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) continues.

    Speaking to journalists on Monday, Fawad Hussain, while taking a jab at Chief Minister (CM) Ali Amin Gandapur without naming him, said, “They have kept their long hair as if they are Fitna al Khawarij (formerly Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) representatives.”

    The former Information and Broadcasting Minister stated that Pakistan’s jails had been filled with PTI followers, and party workers suffered because of the party leadership’s inability and lack of strategy for organising planned protests in the past.

    He further claimed, “PTI leadership woke up early in the morning, consumed coffee, applied gel in their hair and called a protest; when workers reached the venue, leadership changed the venue and protest timing.”

    “PTI leadership ka na sar hai na paer hai, hamain dhakko ma lagwaya huwa hai,” Fawad added.

    Criticising Barrister Saif, Information Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Hussain claimed that Saif is doing nothing but work from home and questioned Saif’s past statement about why Aleema Khan and former first lady Bushra Bibi should not lead the party in the absence of founder PTI Imran Khan.

    Earlier, Chaudhry Fawad Hussain had also criticised advocate Salman Akram Raja, accusing him of formulating a fake money trail for former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 2017, adding, “Those who facilitated the hiding of Nawaz Sharif’s multi-billion assets in Panama have now been imposed on Tehreek-e-Insaaf.”

    Moreover, Fawad also shared the Dawn News previous report titled “Sharif family expresses full confidence on legal team. He wrote, “Politics ma raastay judaa hu saktay hain laiken jab ap jurram chupanay main madadgar hu aur Pakistan kay billions kay assets halaal karwa dain, kiya aap ko muaaf kiya jana chahiye.”

  • Police officers given death sentence over fake encounter

    Police officers given death sentence over fake encounter

    A local court in Faisalabad has given the death sentence to four police officials and imposed a fine of Rs one million on them for their involvement in a fake police encounter that happened six years ago in the Millat Town area of the city.

    Additional and Sessions Judge Sajida Akhtar announced the verdict. The alleged encounter took place on August 8, 2018, at approximately 9:00 pm in Millat Town, Faisalabad.

    The fake encounter resulted in the deaths of two people, Arsalan Liaquat and Usman Munawwar, under disputed circumstances.

    The police officials convicted in the case include ASI Javed Akhtar, Head Constable Asghar Ali, Constable Falak Sher, Constable Faisal Rehman, and Police Qaumi Razakar employee Waqas.

    However, the court acquitted an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) who was also nominated in the case due to a lack of evidence against him.

    The court remarked that it found sufficient evidence to convict Asghar Ali, Waqas, Falak Sher, and Faisal Rehman, sentencing them to death and imposing a fine of Rs one million each.

    The complaint was filed by Sajid Mahmood, a resident of Panjore, who nominated the police officials for killing the two boys.

    The prosecution argued that victims Arsalan and Usman were riding a motorcycle and were on their way to Bagh Wali Pully near Millat Town after having shawarma when they were stopped by the police team, who then opened fire on them, resulting in their death.

    After a six-year-long legal battle, the court ordered the immediate arrest of the four convicted officers, who were later sent to jail to serve their sentences.

    The News report from 2018 says that the deceased were college boys and had no criminal record.

  • ‘Collaborate with Chahat Fateh Ali Khan’, Sher Afzal Marwat’s advice for Fawad Chaudhary

    ‘Collaborate with Chahat Fateh Ali Khan’, Sher Afzal Marwat’s advice for Fawad Chaudhary

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) maverick leader Sher Afzal Marwat, while talking to the press, had advice for former PTI leader Fawad Chaudhary, “Collaborate with Chahat Fateh Ali Khan to play the tabla.”

    Fawad Chaudhary has been getting into Twitter brawls with current party leadership as the former tries to gain back some clout in the party.

    A few days ago, Faisal Chaudhry, brother of Fawad Chaudhry, fell victim to Party Secretary-General Salman Akram Raja’s wrath, who removed the advocate from the party’s WhatsApp groups in a fit of rage. Party sources said that Faisal’s unauthorized media talk to journalists outside Adiala Jail proved to be the final straw, but Faisal himself said that he was penalized for telling the truth to Imran Khan when he met him a few days earlier in Adiala jail.

    On October 26, PTI’s Raoof Hasan lashed out at the two brothers, calling them “tout brothers,” in a post that was pinned on his page. The post reads: “Faisal Chaudhry’s entry into the arena is a sinister attempt to create divisions within PTI. Having failed in similar previous efforts, the tout-brothers have been let loose to carry forth the agenda. Seeing through this criminal effort, PTI stands united behind the decision to oust him from the legal team. He has nothing to do with @ImranKhanPTI cases, which will be handled exclusively by lawyers designated by the party.”

    Meanwhile, Fawad quoted his tweet with a rather angry reply: “Faisal has done 500 plus cases for PTI workers free of cost on the other hand you the bastard brother of Fawad Hassan Fawad Is drawing 7.5 Lakh Rs salary and provided details to agencies about all SMT and media workers of PTI, that resulted in arrests of hundreds of workers.. you are not loyal to anyone BC..”

    And what is a fight without PTI’s own Sher Afzal Marwat? That is why Marwat made a funny remark about Chaudhary saying: “I have an advice for Fawad Chaudhary that these days he is completely free and no one is ready to include him in their party. Therefore, he should collaborate with Chahat Fateh Ali Khan to learn to play the tabla.”

    This also isn’t the first time the two have called out each other in public. For instance, Marwat once criticised Fawad Chaudhary, saying that he “ran away from police like an elephant” when he was about to get arrested at Islamabad High Court.