Category: Lifestyle

  • Two brothers reunite at Kartarpur Corridor after 74 years from Pakistan, India

    Two brothers reunite at Kartarpur Corridor after 74 years from Pakistan, India

    Two brothers who got separated during the partition of the sub-continent have finally reunited at the Kartarpur Corridor after 74 years, reports ARY News.

    Muhammad Siddiq aged 80, residing in Faisalabad, Pakistan who separated from his family during the partition, and his brother, Habib who lives in the Indian Punjab. The moment when they hugged each other brought tears to their eyes.

    https://twitter.com/thesinghsonia/status/1481167726827937793?s=20

    The Kartarpur Corridor, which links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district, reopened in November.

    The pilgrimage to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara was suspended in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

  • Follow up: What happened in the Usman Mirza case?

    Follow up: What happened in the Usman Mirza case?

    Usman Mirza is prime suspect in couple harassment case. A video of Usman Mirza and his friends went viral on social media in which they were torturing and assaulting a couple in Islamabad. Moreover, the accused persons continued blackmailing the couple after filming the couple in which they were forced to have sexual intercourse at gunpoint.

    Soon after the details were revealed, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan directed the police to ensure justice. However, recently the case has taken an unexpected turn. The following is the brief timeline of the incident which has created a debate on media platforms.

    July 6: A video of Usman Mirza harassing a couple went viral on social media which created an outrage across the country.

    July 7: Usman Mirza was arrested by Islamabad police.

    August 2: Mirza filed a bail plea but was rejected by Islamabad High Court (IHC) and he was sent to Adiala Jail till September 10.

    September 27: The police submitted a challan in the court, in which victims’ statements were recorded.

    September 28: Indictment of at least three suspects, including Mirza.

    October 3: Initiation of legal proceedings against the suspects.

    January 10: The lawyer of the victim reported that the victims’ mobile phones were switched off. Reports that victims had been paid off.

    January 11: On the day of the hearing, the female victim refused to identify any of the accused and said she does not want to pursue the case.

    She also told the court that she did not want to appear for subsequent hearings in the case. However, the judge told her that she would have to appear and adjourned the hearing for January 18.

  • Karachi Eat 2022 will be held this weekend despite 20 percent positivity rate in city

    Karachi Eat 2022 will be held this weekend despite 20 percent positivity rate in city

    The annual food festival, Karachi Eat 2022 will be held at the Beach View Park in Clifton from Friday till Sunday this month. The organisers are hopeful that the festival will be held according to schedule. They are not intending to cancel the event despite the covid positivity rate increasing to 20 percent in Karachi.

    East River, which is responsible for public relations and digital media of the festival, has taken strict precautionary measures to ensure SOPs compliance for the crowd. They have also uploaded the mandatory instructions on their official Instagram for people who want to attend the food festival.

    According to the Head of Special Projects Amna Saleem, people will receive booster shots of Pfizer at the festival in partnership with HANDS, a Non-Governmental organisation (NGO). It is also mandatory to wear masks and carry your vaccination certificate.

    The company has arranged an online ticketing system and partnered with TicketWala this time to avoid overcrowding at the ticket booth.

    Meanwhile, the Covid positivity rate has increased to 20 percent in Karachi which is an alarming situation. Until now, 1,223 cases of coronavirus of omicron variant are confirmed in the city.

    According to the Sindh health ministry, “The ratio of Omicron variant being reported in Karachi has reached 95 percent.”

  • ‘SaveMonal’ trends on Twitter after restaurant sealed by the court

    ‘SaveMonal’ trends on Twitter after restaurant sealed by the court

    Twitter has responded to the sealing of Monal restaurant in Islamabad with the trend #SaveMonal after the Islamabad High Court directed the police to seal the premises.

    Monal is an icon of Islamabad for tourists and the sight seeing. However, the court ruled that the restaurant was made on illegal land and needed to be sealed. The court also ordered capital authorities take control of the Margalla Greens Golf Club, which is also built on encroached land, declaring the military’s claim to 8,000 acres of Margalla Hills National Park to be illegal.

    While the authorities fulfilled the court orders, netizens flock to Twitter and #SaveMonal started trending on the same day.

    According to reports, the restaurant provides employment to 700 families. Fearing unemployment, the Monal staff started protesting on the streets.

    People on social media are expressing their sorrow over the news and many have started to reminisce their wonderful time spent at the location.  

    Others pointed out the economic downsides of sealing Monal restaurant.

  • Usman Mirza Case: Couple refuses to recognise accused persons, reportedly took one crore in deal

    Usman Mirza Case: Couple refuses to recognise accused persons, reportedly took one crore in deal

    Journalist Rauf Klasra, in a tweet has said that the victim couple in the Usman Mirza case have refused to recognise the accused persons. He further said that police has said the couple have taken “1 crore and have reached a settlement.”

    Usman Mirza, the prime accused in the couple harassment case, was arrested on July 7 after the disturbing video went viral on social media where he could be seen torturing and assaulting a couple. He was also seen stripping the woman in the video.

    Seven suspects including Usman Mirza were indicted in the case in September.

  • Shehzad Roy becomes ambassador for population and family planning

    Shehzad Roy becomes ambassador for population and family planning

    A Pakistani singer and social activist, Shehzad Roy has been appointed by the government as an honorary brand ambassador for population and family planning.

    The Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination issued the notification in which it stated that the decision was taken in the meeting of the federal task force of population presided by the President of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi.

    The singer has voiced his opinion on different occasions against societal issues such as corporal punishment against children and child abuse.

    He is running a successful non-governmental foundation, Zindagi Trust to promote education among underprivileged children. Under his philanthropist work, he upgraded government schools and introduced state of art playgrounds to promote sports and modern education with the scientific approach.

    According to the website, he reformed two Karachi schools SMB Fatima Jinnah Government Girls School and Khatoon-e-Pakistan Government Girls School where children belonging to various ethnic and religious backgrounds are studying together.

    He was also awarded Sitar-e-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan in recognition for his philanthropist work in 2005.

    He recently released the soulful Music Video, ‘Maula Vey’ featuring Syra Yousuf in which he conveyed the message to get vaccinated to protect your loved ones against coronavirus.

  • American gets modified pig’s heart by Pakistani doctor

    American gets modified pig’s heart by Pakistani doctor

    An American citizen, aged 57, David Bennet received a genetically modified pig’s heart which was implanted successfully by a Pakistani doctor, Dr Mansoor Mohiuddin along with a surgeon team from the University of Maryland in the United States (US).

    A pig’s heart implantation in the human body is a landmark in the field of medical sciences.

    Dr Mansoor Mohiuddin hails from Karachi and is a graduate of the Dow University of Health Sciences.

    While talking to the Geo News, he said, “Experiments have been done on a monkey’s heart for heart transplants for humans in the past, but they did not work out. However, the experiment on a pig’s heart did.”

    He further added, “We examined all animals to find which of them is closest to humans and found a pig suitable for the experiment.”

    While talking about the expenditure he said the main expenses were incurred on the genetical modification of the pig’s heart as it a long procedure and doctors took seven genes from different pigs for modification that cost around $500,000 while the transplant surgery is insured in the US and other foreign countries.

    Meanwhile, doctors are closely monitoring the health of the patient after the pig’s heart was implanted. The surgery took seven hours. Three days have passed and the recipient is doing well.

  • Murree residents block roads by throwing snow, demand money, investigation ordered

    Murree residents block roads by throwing snow, demand money, investigation ordered

    Rawalpindi police has taken notice of the repeated incidents of blocking of roads in Murree by people throwing snow. Capital City Policer Officer (CCPO) has taken the notice of a complaint registered by a citizen and has ordered relevant authorities to take action against the people involved. Further investigations are underway.

    Earlier, Journalist Hamid Mir posted a video of a person narrating how some locals of Murree throw snow on the roads on purpose. They then demand money from the tourists in return of clearing the roads.

  • Shahrukh Jatoi shifted to jail after enjoying private hospital facilities for two years

    Shahrukh Jatoi shifted to jail after enjoying private hospital facilities for two years

    A death row convict, Shahrukh Jatoi was shifted to Central Jail after benefiting from a luxurious life in the private hospital room for more than two years. When the news aired on various channels, the administration of the jail came into action and put him behind bars once again.

    According to media reports, Jatoi’s family rented the whole upper floor of the Hospital named Qamar-ul-Islam Hospital in Karachi for the inmate where he enjoyed all facilities and appeared to be living like a normal citizen.

    The amenities included a television, airconditioner, and a refrigerator among other facilities which violated the rules and procedures of the Pakistan Penal Code.

    According to Geo News, Shahrukh Jatoi was also allowed to leave the premises of the hospital without any police protocol.

    He was transferred to the private hospital “orders of the Sindh Home Department and an influential person was behind this breach of rules,” stated the news network. However, the department was not aware of the transfer of the death-sentenced convict.

    He was transferred to the hospital when he complained of a backache and later reportedly complained of having gastric problems.

    According to the rules, if the life of a prisoner is in danger, he would be transferred to public or private hospitals. However, the provincial health department did not receive any letter to shift him to the private hospital from the provincial home department regarding this case.

    Shahrukh Jatoi was arrested after he killed a young man, Shahzeb Khan near his home, Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Karachi on December 25, 2012.

    The victim’s family flew abroad to live without any fears. His mother reportedly said, “We may not have forgiven them in our hearts, but we have pardoned our son’s killers in the name of Allah. We cannot spend our entire lives in fear… we took the decision considering the circumstances.”

  • India kills Muslims for eating meat, allows import of pork products from US

    India kills Muslims for eating meat, allows import of pork products from US

    India, a country known for killing Muslims for meat, especially cow meat. Following Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s rise to power, extremist Hindu groups have led attacks across the country that have targeted Muslim and Dalit communities. These attacks have been carried out with the stated intention of protecting cows.

    The United States (US) announced on Monday that India would allow imports of US pork and pork products for the first time, welcoming the removal of an old block on US farm trade, reports Dawn.


    Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai made the announcement in a statement.

    “This new opportunity marks the culmination of nearly two decades of work to gain market access for US pork to India — and it signals positive movement in US-India trade relations,” Vilsack said.

    “We will continue working with the Indian government to ensure that the US pork industry can begin shipping its high-quality products to consumers as soon as possible,” she said.