Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) professor Muhummad Tariq said that he was beaten up for holding placards outside of the university with his teenage children and for “suggesting upholding the constitution and exercising fundamental rights to express ourselves.”
He has alleged that due to the beating, he ended up with a broken arm and knee.
Taking to social media, he said that after all this he does not regret coming back to Pakistan and is proud of the country and will serve it with even more dedication, commitment and honesty.
In a historical move, yesterday the National Assembly passed the ‘Maternity and Paternity Leave Bill’ 2020, which has granted mothers the right to take up to six months paid maternity leave from their workplaces at their first birth, as well as leaves for three to four months during the birth of their second and third child as the bill states:
“Maternity leave shall in the prescribed manner be granted on full pay outside the leave account to a female employee on her option to the extent of one hundred and eighty days on first birth, one hundred and twenty days on second birth, ninety days on third birth.”
The bill also granted paternity leave for fathers, allowing men to take one month paid leaves from their work places on the birth of their child:
“A male employee expecting his wife to give birth to a child shall , at his option, be granted paternity leave on full pay not exceeding thirty days.”
The bill has been passed in federal territory, which means it will be made a legal priority for Islamabad workplaces to include paid paternity and maternity leave in their policies. But hopefully, this progressive step will soon encourage other cities to take note and follow to make inclusive policies that do not push women out of the workplace after their marriage.
The bill was presented at the National Assembly by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Quratulain Marri, who praised her colleagues support to prioritise social issues, which helped in making this landmark legislation possible.
Work becomes less difficult when your Party leadership consistently encourages you & prioritises social issues. So much work by so many people has made passing this landmark legislation possible. So grateful to every one of them. https://t.co/wsOFnWNeYv
Social media users have celebrated the legislation as a progressive step that will stop women from being forced to chose between motherhood and their jobs, and applauded Senator Marri for helping ensure this will happen.
Big news goes unnoticed! Pak’s Parliament passes a historic bill, a remarkable stride for women's welfare. This progressive legislation emphasizes the importance of family and work-life balance. Kudos to our lawmakers for prioritizing the well-being of families!#ProgressivePakhttps://t.co/7RCUDJiyAF
As a mother myself & having friends who are embarking on this amazing journey of parenthood, I feel this was so much needed in #Pakistan – esp since more & more couples are working! Maternity leaves / paternity leaves give a breathing space to them both! 👏 https://t.co/B5pos3xmHX
Anchor Muhammad Junaid made the country proud when he became the first ever Pakistani journalist to participate in the Boston Marathon and the London Marathon, a feat he completed in a week.
In the Boston Marathon, held on April 17 in Eastern Massachusetts, Junaid completed the run in 3 hours, 36 min and 38 seconds. He participated along side other Pakistani-Americans like Salman Khan, Hamid Butt, Prem Kumar, Aamad Butt and Shariq Samad. Dr Salman & Hamid Butt are Abbott 6 Start Finishers.
Whereas in the London Marathon, which Junaid finished in 3 hours, 21 minutes and 38 seconds, he ran alongside others Pakistani or Pakistani origin marathons runners. Sadiq Shah, Faisal Shafi, Semeena Khan, Danish Raza, Prem Kumar, Farrukh Sadiq, Dr Jehanzeb Mughal, Danish Elahe, Imran Aleem & Ammar Mumtaz were also among them.
Saqid Shah, a Quetta born and currently a Karachi resident made history at the London Marathon by completing the race in 2 hours, 55 minutes and 20 seconds, becoming the fastest Pakistani runner in London Marathon. He appeared on the Geo News show ‘Geo Pakistan’, along with Muhammad Junaid.
The Current reached out to Junaid to chat about his recent accomplishments, and how running become one of his favorite hobbies, and the Geo News anchor gave us some interesting insights.
Q. You mentioned in your bio that you previously participated in the Boston Marathon. Is running your passion?
Junaid: I started more organised and focused running a few years ago and ran marathons in Karachi and Istanbul. Women and men of the running community realised that the number of Pakistanis in International marathons is very limited and we decided to train to run them. Every marathon has its own value but running Boston marathon can be any runner’s biggest dream. I collaborated with Pakistani Americans & partnered with South Asian Circle of Hopkinton through Hopkinton Board in Massachusetts to run Boston Marathon and open paths for more South Asians in future. It’s an achievement for South Asians in USA and Pakistanis here.
Q. Winning this race seems like an impossible task, so how did you train for this marathon? Especially considering that you’re a Karachi food lover.
Junaid: The goal is to finish the marathon in a good time, preferably faster than your previous time, for any marathon runner 70 KM per week is considered a standard mileage. Per week can vary for everyone, but yes you have got be careful with food. Protein is most important in that because it helps make and repair cells, which are critical for growth and development. So yes chicken, yogurt, milk, eggs, cheese, seafood, nut butters and then good carbs like wholegrain items, sweet potato, brown rice, and lots and lots of water, in my experience anyone involved in sports should avoid carbonated drinks because of the amount of processed sugar in them.
Q. You met politicians like MP Zarah Sultana who congratulated you for your prestigious win! How did that feel?
Junaid: For the Boston Marathon, Pakistani-American Shahid Ahmed Khan, who is currently a member of US President Joe Biden’s prestigious President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts (PACA), Irfan Nasrullah, and the President of South Asian Circle Ruta Upalekar and her team’s role was significant in helping me prepare for the marathon. From Pakistan, it was nearly impossible without support of Geo News. London Marathon was a collaboration for me with the Pakistani-British Journalist Saima Mohsin to raise funds for Scope, a UK charity working mainly for people with disabilities and facing cost of living crises. In that collaboration, we met British Pakistani MPs Naz Shah and Zarah Sultana, who are an inspiration for many and they assured us of their support to work in order to send more Pakistanis of all genders in world sports specially London Marathon.
Q. These initiatives are wonderful but sadly such things have not taken place in Pakistan. Should Pakistani politicians also start setting up running marathons, now that petrol prices are soaring and we’re looking for cheaper ways to travel?
Junaid: Pakistan does not have any international standard running events so far but Shoaib Nizami and other partners are working to organise Pakistan’s first internationally recognised marathon, Karachi Marathon, this year, which can help people here to get first hand experience of running an official marathon.
Junaid revealed that currently he is gearing up along side other Pakistani marathon runners to participate in the upcoming Berlin Marathon being held on September 24, where 50 runners from Pakistan are expected to participate.
Besides the fact that Pakistanis are underrepresented at these races, the number of women runners is even less but the running community is trying to change that. Last year, at London Marathon, Kaukab Sarwar and Hira Diwan ran in the race for TCF with the help of a friend of Pakistan, Mike Nithavrianakis. It is expected that a bigger number of women will be participating in Berlin Marathon this year. Hira Diwan, who is a British Pakistani, has run four world major marathons including New York & Chicago.
City Traffic Police have recently cracked down on underage drivers, taking strict action to address the issue. On a particular holiday, the traffic police apprehended over 5,000 underage drivers, while also taking the initiative to educate the parents of more than 22,000 children who were found driving without proper authorisation.
Chief Traffic Officer (CTO), Mustansar Feroze, spoke regarding the matter and announced that, starting from the upcoming weekend, all motorcycles and vehicles involved in such violations would be impounded and kept at police stations. According to The News, the CTO earnestly appealed to parents, urging them not to provide motorcycles, cars, or rickshaws to their young children. He highlighted that on holidays, it has become common to witness young children recklessly roaming the streets with these vehicles.
CTO Mustansar Feroze emphasised that accidents are frequently caused by young drivers. Consequently, any underage drivers caught in possession of a car, motorcycle, or rickshaw will have their vehicle impounded and stored at the local police station. He called upon parents to play a proactive role in discouraging young drivers from engaging in such activities.
Furthermore, the CTO stated that parents would be held responsible in the event of accidents involving underage drivers. He strongly emphasised that no young driver should be seen operating a vehicle of any kind, be it a car, motorcycle, or rickshaw. The City Traffic Police are dedicated to ensuring the safety of all citizens on the roads and will continue their efforts to address this critical issue.
An inquiry has been ordered into an alleged rape incident that took place at Okara Railway Station earlier this month.
The incident happened on May 10. The prime suspect offered the rape survivor a free ticket, suggesting that he would help her travel all the way to Karachi from Okara for free.
He later took her to the parcel branch of the railway station where he allegedly raped her. The rape survivor informed the police after reaching Karachi.
Karachi Cantt Station Police have registered a case against the prime suspect Haseeb.
The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Peshawar (BISEP) on Saturday announced new dates for exams that were postponed due to the law and order situation of the country.
As per the new schedule, the exam for 10th-grade mathematics will be held on May 19, 9th-grade mathematics on May 20, 10th-grade chemistry on May 22, and 9th-grade chemistry on May 23.
The rest of the exams, including biology and Pakistan studies, will be held as per schedule.
On the other hand, schools In Punjab that were closed due to countrywide protests against the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan, were reopened on Saturday.
The former Prime Minister reached his Zaman Park residence in Lahore late on Friday night from the capit
Caryn Marjorie, a Snapchat influencer with 1.8 million subscribers, has launched an AI-powered, voice-based chatbot called CarynAI. The chatbot, described as a “virtual girlfriend,” allows Marjorie’s followers to have private and personalised conversations with an AI version of the influencer.
The bot, designed by Forever Voices, an AI company, and developed using OpenAI’s GPT4 software, has generated $71,610 in revenue after one week of beta testing with over 1,000 users paying $1 per minute to use it. Marjorie hopes that CarynAI will “cure loneliness” and even features cognitive-behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy to rebuild physical and emotional confidence that has been taken away by the pandemic.
However, CarynAI has sparked discourse around the ethics of companion chatbots, as it is not supposed to engage in sexually explicit interactions, but Marjorie stated that it had gone “rogue” and that her team is working around the clock to prevent this from happening again.
Moreover, Irina Raicu, the director of internet ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, expressed concern that CarynAI’s claims to potentially “cure loneliness” are not backed up by sufficient psychological or sociological research, and the chatbot adds “a second layer of unreality” to parasocial relationships between influencers and fans.
Despite the backlash and even death threats, Marjorie is proud of her team’s work, with CarynAI being the first step in the right direction to cure loneliness. However, Raicu emphasised that influencers should be aware of the Federal Trade Commission’s guidance on artificial intelligence products, and Meyer, CEO of Forever Voices, said that his company takes ethics seriously and is looking to hire a chief ethics officer. On Friday, Marjorie tweeted that “if you are rude to CarynAI, it will dump you.”
All educational institutes across the province have been reopened on Saturday, The Punjab Education Department said in a notification.
The notification said that all educational institutes, including schools, colleges and universities have been reopened. However, medical colleges and universities will remain closed on May 11 and 12.
On the other hand, Cambridge exams in Pakistan will be resumed from May 15 (Monday) onwards, the British Council announced on Friday.
Schools were closed due to countrywide protests against the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan. The former Prime Minister reached his Zaman Park residence in Lahore late on Friday night.
Indian Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri came under social media fire after stating that Imran Khan has “illegally” used ‘‘Hum Dekhenge” song in a video for his instagram handle.
The song was recently used in the Indian movie, The Kashmir Files.
Vivek Agnihotri shared a clip of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Instagram post. In the video “Hum Dekhenge” is playing in the background.
The Filmmaker, in his tweet wrote, “See the power of Indic cinema. The official account of @ImranKhanPTI is using the official song of #TheKashmirFiles illegally in his official video on Instagram.” This incident exposes the double standards of Pakistan when it comes to intellectual property and copyright infringement.”
Hum Dekhenge is a revolutionary poem written by Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz in 1979 after the military coup by Zia ul haq. It was first sung by Iqbal Bano and the poem has been part of the Pakistan socialist movement since the 1980s.
More than 60 domestic and international flights from various airlines have been cancelled due to the unstable situation in Pakistan, with many other flights being uncertain about their arrival and departure.
The cancellations have affected flights to major cities such as Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, where the number of passengers has decreased.
According to the airport schedule, more than 60 domestic and foreign flights from various airlines have been cancelled, including flights from Karachi to Jeddah, Madinah, Muscat, Dubai, Riyadh, Baghdad, and Baku. The arrival and departure schedule of Karachi Airport provides a comprehensive list of the affected flights, including those cancelled between Karachi and Islamabad, Lahore, Turbat, and Peshawar.
To ensure that their travel plans are not disrupted, passengers are advised to check with their airlines for the latest updates on flight status.
According to Minute Mirror, the following flights have been canceled according to the arrival and departure schedule of Karachi Airport:
Karachi to Jeddah: ER 811 and ER 812
Karachi to Medina: PK 743
Salam Air flight to Muscat: OV 292
Emirates Air flights to Dubai: EK 605 and 604, EK 609 and 608
Karachi to Muscat: WY 323 and 324
Karachi to Riyadh: PK 729
Flight to Baghdad: IF 331 and IF 332
PIA flight from Baku to Karachi: K 154
The following flights have been canceled between Karachi and Islamabad:
PK369
PF121
PF122
9P670
9P871
PA200
PF127
ER502
The following flights have been canceled between Lahore and Islamabad:
PK302
PK303
9P840
9P841
PF141
ER520
PA406
PK306
PF147
The following flights have been canceled between Karachi and Turbat:
PK501
The following flights have been canceled between Karachi and Peshawar:
