Category: Lifestyle

  • 50 martyred in Mastung mosque blast

    50 martyred in Mastung mosque blast

    An explosion in Balochistan’s Mastung district on Friday has resulted in the deaths of at least 50 individuals, including a police officer, and left over dozens others injured. This marks the second major blast in the district in September.

    Mastung Assistant Commissioner Atta Ul Munim has stated that the explosion occurred near the mosque where individuals had gathered to commemorate Eid Miladun Nabi, which is the celebration of the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

    The AC stated that the explosion, believed by law enforcement to be a suicide blast, took place near the Madina Mosque. He also mentioned that there were plans for people to participate in a procession afterward.

    Provincial Caretaker Information Minister Jan Achakzai said that “the provincial government will bear all the expenses for the treatment of the injured”.

    This marks the second significant blast that has struck fear into the Mastung region in the past 15 days. In the previous blast on September 14, Hafiz Hamdullah, a leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), and numerous others sustained injuries.

    UK high commissioner to Pakistan, Jane Marriott has condemned the blast in Mastung and she said in her tweet on X that ” Balochistan. Violence has no place in our world. My heart goes out to the victims and their families during this incredibly difficult time”.

    https://twitter.com/JaneMarriottUK/status/1707694012365246686

  • 15,105 pink eye cases reported in 24 hours in Punjab

    15,105 pink eye cases reported in 24 hours in Punjab

    Conjunctivitis infections are increasing in Punjab with 15,105 new cases reported during the last 24 hours.

    According to Primary Health Punjab, 3 lakh 79 thousand 690 cases of conjunctivitis were reported this year.

    Moreover, 22,481 cases were reported in Lahore this year, while 916 new patients were reported in the past 24 hours.

    Whereas in Multan and Faisalabad, 1217 and 1827 cases were reported respect yesterday.

    Due to the outbreak of conjunctivitis, schools across Punjab will remain closed until Monday.

  • Two brothers confess murdering younger sister

    Two brothers confess murdering younger sister

    Two brothers have been arrested in Sargodha after they confessed to killing their sister in Ganesh Town.

    A few days ago, Mudassar and Tassawar’s parents went out of the house to attend a funeral in a nearby village. Their 12-year-old-sister, Hina, was at her Quran class. On her return, Hina saw her brothers indulging in inappropriate activities with a village girl.

    She was infuriated at the sight and threatened to tell their parents about it. The brothers, out of fear, strangled Hina and hanged her body from a faucet with a cloth around her neck to pass it off as suicide.

    The police investigation team took them under custody and later unveiled that they staged her so-called suicide before leaving for the night shift at the restaurant they worked in.

  • Fallout of cheating scandal: MDCAT test to be conducted again

    Fallout of cheating scandal: MDCAT test to be conducted again

    Fall out of the cheating scandal of the Medical Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) continues, with the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa announcing that it will again conduct the test following the insistence of candidates.

    Chief Education Secretary Arshad Khan presented a report regarding MDCAT in the supervisory cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muhammad Azam Khan.

    After discussing the report in the meeting, it was decided to conduct the test again within six weeks under the supervision of Khyber Medical University.

    On this occasion, caretaker information minister Barrister Feroze Jamal Kakakhel told the media in a briefing that the forensics of the gadgets seized from more than 200 students in MD CAT will be carried out.

    The minister said that samples of all the gadgets have been sent to Islamabad, to clean the systems from duplication and prevent such incidents.

    Previously, Peshawar police arrested seven suspects, including the mastermind “facilitating” cheating in MDCAT.
    City police also received several complaints of some students cheating via Bluetooth devices and more equipment.

    Additionally, 74 candidates, including men and women have also been arrested and 19 cases have been registered at eight police stations in the provincial capital.

    The case

    Dozens of candidates had been caught cheating in the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) MDCAT exams conducted in a number of cities on September 10.

    Over 40 candidates, including 20 female candidates, were arrested in Peshawar while 10 were taken into custody in DI Khan.

    All of the detainees were said to be using Bluetooth to cheat in the test. And as reported by Geo, DI Khan police sources claimed that VIP passes were issued to the candidates for which a hefty amount was paid to take the exam through dishonest means.

    Students and parents filed complaints to the Human Rights Cell in Peshawar regarding the results and integrity of the system which were then sent to the PHC chief justice.

    The applicants asserted that approximately 200 students were caught using Bluetooth devices during the examination.

  • Here is why you should give Green Line train a try

    Here is why you should give Green Line train a try

    With continuous hikes in petrol prices and dearth of good transport facilities that are comfortable, clean, and economically reasonable, travelling to another city within Pakistan can be a hassle.

    We spoke to Omer Khan, a passenger who recently travelled from Lahore to Islamabad on the Green Line train.

    Khan claims to have had a very pleasant experience.

    In a four hour journey, he was served two samosas and “excellent” chai which can be ordered as many times as one wants.

    Credit: Dawn

    He said that there were only a few other passengers, probably owing to ticket price of Rs 3250 for one way. However, as Khan stated, it is still way cheaper than travelling from one’s own car as the petrol will now cost between Rs 25,000 to 30,000.

    The seats are said to be comfortable and rotatable. Additionally, functional sockets with charging ports are available.

    Most importantly, the train and its bathrooms are clean, and Khan hopes that the standard will be maintained because often times, the standard of facilities decline.

    Green Line train was first inaugurated by Nawz Sharif in 2015, operating between Karachi and Islamabad. It reportedly only stops at main train stations.

    In 2022, however, the train operation was suspended following floods that drowned train tracks. On November 28, 2022, China Railway Construction Corporation delivered 46 high-speed coaches to Pakistan Railways in accordance with an agreement signed in 2021.

    This year in January, the-then Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reinaugurated Green Line Express train service.

    Travelling between Islamabad and Karachi, it starts its journey from Margalla station and stops at Rawalpindi, Chaklala, Lahore, Khanewal, Bahawalpur, Rohri, Hyderabad and Drug Road on the way.

  • Minor housemaid missing from Pir’s house

    Minor housemaid missing from Pir’s house

    It has been a month since a minor housemaid working at an influential pir family in Karachi went missing.

    The girl’s father, Ayaz Chandio, fears that his 16-year-old daughter, Aqsa Chandio, has either been killed or sold by her employer.

    Aqsa went missing on August 15 and as the father filed a complaint, Darakhshan police registered an FIR under Section 365-B (Kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel for marriage etc) of the Pakistan Penal Code on August 17.

    Ayaz spoke with Times, a Sindhi news channel, expressing fears that Aqsa has either been killed or sold by the frmale employer.

    The employer had informed Ayaz Chandio of Aqsa’s disappearance after which he came to the coastal city from Khairpur. However he has claimed that he was detained at the family’s house for two days.

    He also said that the neighbour recalled that they could hear Aqsa’s cries and screams every night.

    The employer’s brother threatened Ayaz and warned him that he would not be able to return to his village, Pir Jo Goth, if he highlighted the disappearance.

    He has also complained that the police have not been taking the case seriously.

    According to DIG-South Syed Asad Raza, Aqsa was kidnapped from the Seaview apartment on August 15.

    The police constituted a special team, probed some suspects and arrests were expected very soon.

    According to investigators, Aqsa had a mobile phone that she secretly used which infuriated her employees. Ayaz was called but by the time he arrived, Aqsa had left.

    The mobile phone is currently in police’s custody.

  • ‘Daku’ bnaya ishq nay

    ‘Daku’ bnaya ishq nay

    Love can make a daku out of a normal guy.

    A private bank’s cash van carrying Rs 6 crore and 35 lacs was robbed on September 19 in Karachi’s Korangi area.

    The suspect, Zohaib, has not been arrested yet.

    According to investigative authorities, Zohaib was the employee of a private security company, and had been working in Karachi since the past 10 months. He left his job two months ago to get married to his love.

    Officials revealed that after reaching his wedding destination in Okara, Zohaib found out that the girl he was interested in had already gotten married elsewhere.

    In a statement provided by relatives to investigative authorities, it was mentioned that the suspect was distressed due to the failed love affair and became a robber.

    Investigative authorities further revealed that Zohaib returned to Karachi and rejoined the same security company. He robbed a bank’s cash van in September and is still on the run.

  • 15-year-old British school girl murdered while trying to protect friend

    15-year-old British school girl murdered while trying to protect friend

    A 15-year-old school girl has been stabbed to death in South London by a 17-year-old boy on Wednesday when she was on her way to school. According to the Evening Standard, the crime took place near Croydon’s Whitgift shopping sector, when the boy arrived at a bus stop to give flowers to his former girlfriend- a friend of the victim.

    The friend rejected the flowers after which an argument rose between the two, leading to the victim intervening. The murderer then pulled out a foot-long knife and stabbed her to death.

    The Metropolitan Police arrested the murderer within 75 minutes in New Addington and placed him under custody. Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley called the murder “senseless” and “impossible to comprehend”, adding that officers arrived within two minutes at the scene of the crime to provide first aid to the victim.

    The BBC reported Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said that he was “absolutely heartbroken” by the murder, stressing that he would remain in touch with the Met Police commissioner.

    Friends and family members of the victim have described the school girl as a bright pupil who had a promising future ahead of her. Family friend Adama Dumbuya, told Sky News the victim was a lovely little girl.

    “It’s just really sad. She was such a lovely little girl. I’m a parent myself. She was just really lovely the few times I’ve met her. She’s just a very nice girl and very polite.”

    The victim’s aunt Marian described her as an aspiring lawyer:

    “She went to a private school paid by my sister and had a great future ahead of her. She wanted to be a lawyer. She also loved gymnastics and doing her hair. We are a big family and will support each other. We are devastated.”

    “We can’t comprehend the heartbreak of the last 24 hours. She went to school and didn’t come home. It hasn’t sunk in. My sister is not feeling good, this is a tragedy.”

  • American millionaire drives at 16 mph in attempt to live forever

    American millionaire drives at 16 mph in attempt to live forever

    Bryan Johnson is an American entrepreneur who is allegedly spending millions of dollars on an attempt to live longer than most individuals.

    The 46-year-old biotech entrepreneur has a longing for feeling 18-years-old again, and in his efforts to achieve that, he has an expensive routine tied with hopes of reversing his age.

    Credit: Business Insider

    Insider reports that Johnson spends about $2 million every year on an experimental program called Project Blueprint. His goal is to reduce his biological age and live forever.

    Johnson wakes up at 5 a.m., takes more than 100 supplements per day, his diet is calculated and he has his dinner (final and third meal of the day) at 11 a.m.

    He also goes to gym for cardio and weight training; and undergoes treatments like red light therapy and ultrasounds. He exposes himself to a laser face-shield to reduce collagen loss and wrinkles.

    Johnson works from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., spends two and half hours for ‘family time’, relaxation, skincare, and dental care and goes to sleep by 8:30 p.m.

    He has kept his routine so calculated and is so adamant in living forever that he drives as slowly as 16 mph in Los Angeles since he believes that, “Driving is the most dangerous thing we do.”

    “What would be a more beautiful irony than me getting hit by a bus and dying?” he told TIME.

    He has also pointed out that according to the data compiled by his doctors, he has the bones of a 30-year-old and the heart of a 37-year-old, but doctors remain dubious of his lifestyle and its possible outcomes since there is not enough research to support the success of his project.

  • Human trafficked beggars from Pakistan arrested in alarming numbers abroad

    Human trafficked beggars from Pakistan arrested in alarming numbers abroad

    The Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis was briefed on a concerning issue whereby a significant number of beggars are being trafficked abroad. Zulfikar Haider, the Secretary of the Overseas Ministry, brought this matter to light during a Senate panel discussion centred on the migration of both skilled and unskilled labourers from Pakistan.

    Haider revealed that an alarming 90 percent of beggars apprehended in foreign countries happen to be Pakistani nationals. This predicament has led to a notable strain on foreign jails, with reports from the ambassadors of Iraq and Saudi Arabia attesting to the overcrowding of their detention facilities due to these arrests.

    During the course of the discussion, Secretary Haider also pointed out a troubling trend where Japan has emerged as a newfound destination for such beggars.

    According to ARY News, Senator Rana Mehmoodul Hasan highlighting the varying demands placed on Japan for skilled workers from different countries, including India, Nepal, and Pakistan, each sending a distinct number of individuals to meet these demands.

    Senator Hasan further raised the issue of unemployment among engineers in Pakistan, highlighting that a staggering 50,000 engineers in the country are currently without employment opportunities.

    In the context of the Middle East, the senator provided statistics, noting that approximately three million Pakistanis reside in Saudi Arabia, while another 1.5 million have sought employment in the UAE, with an additional 0.2 million in Qatar.

    It is imperative to underscore that beggar syndicates are also exploiting minors, subjecting them to harsh weather conditions for personal gain. These syndicates have devised new tactics to extract money from people, contributing to a distressing trend whereby the number of beggars has doubled within a mere three-year span, as per recent reports.