Current Final

Category: National

  • PIA to offer discounted fare to vaccinated citizens

    The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)  has announced to give up to 10 percent discount on airfare to passengers who have vaccination certificate and are aged 50 years and above, ARY News has reported. The new fares will come into effect from today (10 June).

    Senior citizens who are 50-years-old or above can avail the discount on domestic flights by showing their Covid-19 vaccination certificate issued by NADRA. However, the discount can only be availed on domestic flights.

    According to CEO PIA Arshad Malik, “PIA actively seeks to boost the government’s vaccination campaign.”

    Yesterday, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) decided to introduce certain incentives for various sectors to encourage vaccinations.

    The NCOC also announced walk-in vaccination for citizens above 18 years of age from June 11.

  • 25 school children rushed to hospital due to power outage in intense heat

    25 school children rushed to hospital due to power outage in intense heat

    At least 25 children in Islamabad were taken to a nearby hospital after they fainted due to intense heat on Wednesday. 

    As per reports, students of a school in Islamabad’s Bara Kahu area suffered due to the scorching heat and power outage. The nose of the students started bleeding after which their teachers poured water over their heads and took them to a nearby health facility for first aid. 

    Picture Credit: Dunya News

    After the incident, 200 school children were allowed to go home from the Federal Government School due to loadsheding.

    Meanwhile, the Ministry of Energy took to Twitter and announced that the power shortfall has increased to 1,500 Mega Watt (MW) and the citizens are requested to use the electricity sensibly.

  • British-Pakistani Mayra Zulfiqar’s murderer gets arrested

    British-Pakistani Mayra Zulfiqar’s murderer gets arrested

    Zahir Jadoon, a resident of Lahore, had confessed to murdering a British-Pakistani woman Mayra Zulfiqar on May 3.

    Police in Lahore has formally arrested Zahir Jadoon in relation to the murder of Mayra, a law graduate from London.

    Zahir Jadoon and Saad Butt were two of the four accused named in the murder in the first information report (FIR) filed by Mohammad Nazeer, a relative of Zulfiqar.

    Muhammad Zulfiqar, Mayra’s father, had appealed to the prime ministers of both Pakistan and Britain to help him get justice for his daughter.

    24-year-old Mayra Zulfiqar was found dead in Lahore. She had been threatened by two men who both wanted to marry her.

  • Lahore gets its first drive-through vaccination centre

    The city district administration of Lahore has established the first drive-through vaccination centre at Nishtar Park Sports Complex. According to details, the facility has been launched in collaboration with the Bank of Punjab.

    This facility will help people get vaccinated from the comfort of their vehicles in just 15-20 minutes, which includes registration, checking vitals, and inoculation. The timings for the drive-through vaccination centre are from 08:00 pm to 02:00 am.

    Pakistan’s vaccination drive began on March 10 with priority given to healthcare workers and senior citizens above 60. Later, vaccinations for those aged 50-59 were started on April 21. Meanwhile, registration for ages 40-49 was started on on April 2 and the registration for19 plus started from May 27.

  • Ghotki train accident: Azam Swati accepts responsibility

    Ghotki train accident: Azam Swati accepts responsibility

    Minister of Railways Azam Khan Swati accepted responsibility for the Ghotki train accident on Monday.

    “Being a top official (minister for railways), I take responsibility for this train accident. The other senior officials working under me also take responsibility,” Swati said when asked whether he would tender resignation from his ministry since the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), when in Opposition during the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, had sought the resignation of former railways minister Khawaja Saad Rafique over train accidents, reported Dawn.

    Swati also held all those responsible who, in his words, were involved in corruption and did nothing for the improvement and betterment of railways during the last 25 to 30 years.

    “This track is stuck like a bone in our throat. We can neither eat it nor throw it out. I admit that the safety of passengers at this track is compromised,” the minister admitted.

    Meanwhile, Swati arrived at the crash site to oversee the rescue operations. Swati said if his resignation meant the deceased can come back to life, he was ready to do so. He assured that those found responsible in the Ghotki train crash will be punished. 

    Talking to Dawn, Swati defended the induction of new trains in the existing fleet, saying the move was the need of the hour to enhance railways’ revenue.

    “Whether we launch new trains or not, we see ourselves at the losing end. There is also confusion whether to rehabilitate or replace this track with a new one,” he argued.

    The Ghotki train accident took place after a track’s welding joint broke, causing the Millat Express train to crash onto a down track, says an initial investigation report into the crash, as reported by Geo News.

    65 people were killed and over 100 injured during the wee hours of Monday when Sir Syed Express and the Millat Express collided in Pakistan’s Dharki town near the Mirpur Mathello Railway Station.

  • Timeline of major train accidents in Pakistan during PTI tenure

    Timeline of major train accidents in Pakistan during PTI tenure

    Two express trains collided in Sindh’s Ghotki today. At least 50 passengers have lost their lives, and 100 others are injured. The Millat Express derailed and the Sir Syed Express train hit it soon afterwards, railways officials confirmed, saying that the collision took place between the Raiti and Obaro railway stations. In 2019,BBC published a report stating, “historical data from Pakistan Railways shows there were 757 train accidents between 2012 and 2017. That’s an average of about 125 incidents a year.”

    Sheikh Rashid served as the Railway Minister from August 20, 2018, to December 14, 2020. A total of seven major train incidents happened during his tenure. At present, Azam Khan Swati is the Railway Minister. The present train accident in Ghotki has happened during Swati’s tenure.

     Timeline of major railways accidents during the tenure of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI):

    June 7,2021: Ghotki

     At least 32 people were killed and 64 injured after two express trains collided in Sindh’s Ghotki.

    Feb 28, 2020: Rohri

    At least 19 people were killed when a train collided with a passenger bus near Sindh’s Rohri.

    October 31, 2019: Rahim Yar Khan

    More than 70 people died in a fiery explosion on a moving train, which officials later blamed on a short-circuit fire. The incident occurred near Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab.

    July 11, 2019: Sadiqabad

     A Quetta-bound train collided with a cargo train near Sadiqabad in Punjab, killing 24 and injuring over a 100. The accident was later found to the result of a delay in the switching of train tracks.

    June 20, 2019: Makli Shah

     Three people were killed when a passenger train collided with a stationary cargo train at Makli Shah, near Hyderabad.

    December 18, 2018: Narowal

    12 children were injured when a passenger train crashed into a school van near Narowal, Punjab. Eyewitnesses said the accident happened due to dense fog and because the gate at the crossing was left open.

    September 27, 2018: Sehwan

    A Peshawar-bound train had derailed in Sehwan, Sindh, due to which 11 bogies overturned.

    September 16, 2018: Attock

    Nine bogies of the Peshawar-bound Khushal Khan Khattak Express from Karachi derailed near Attock. 20 passengers were injured.

    June 9, 2018: Sukkur

    Twenty-three bogies of a Karachi-bound freight train derailed in Sukkur.

    People are recalling the words of Prime Minister Imran Khan when he said, “Anywhere in the world when a train accident occurs, the railway minister resigns. Until the minister doesn’t resign, the inquiry doesn’t process properly.”

    https://twitter.com/MurtazaViews/status/1401828986632740865

  • PM Imran ‘shocked’ over Ghotki train accident, orders thorough investigation

    PM Imran ‘shocked’ over Ghotki train accident, orders thorough investigation

    Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said he was ‘shocked’ over the Ghotki train accident that resulted in the loss of lives of many passengers.

    As per reports, at least 50 passengers have lost their lives and 100 people were injured Monday morning when two passenger trains collided at Ghotki between the Raiti and Obaro railway stations.

    PM Khan has directed Railways Minister Azam Swati to arrive at the site and provide the affectees with medical assistance and support for families of the dead.

    “Shocked by the horrific train accident at Ghotki early this morning leaving 30 passengers dead. Have asked Railway Minister to reach the site and ensure medical assistance to the injured and support for families of the dead. Ordering a comprehensive investigation into railway safety fault lines,” PM Imran wrote in a Tweet.

    Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari also took to Twitter stating that the “the entire railway system in terms of safety and maintenance needs an overhaul”.

    Also Read: PM Imran drives in without protocol, interacts with street vendors in Islamabad

    Army officers and Rangers workers have arrived at the site in Ghotki to help people with the relief and rescue operations, said the ISPR. Military doctors and paramedics have also reached the crash site. 

    This is a developing story.

  • VIDEO: Cop thrashed for secretly filming woman in bathroom

    VIDEO: Cop thrashed for secretly filming woman in bathroom

    A police constable in Bahawalnagar was beaten up by the locals on Friday after they allegedly caught him secretly recording a woman in a bathroom.

    As per reports, the constable was himself filmed by a resident while recording the woman. The video shows the cop trying to make the video through a vent while suspiciously looking around. Residents caught him red-handed and beat him for his immoral act.

    Read More: Police arrest Faisalabad man for drowning 3-year-old daughter in lake for ‘disturbing his sleep’

    In another video, the policeman can be heard saying that his backbone had been broken while the residents can be heard telling cops to check the video in his phone as a proof of his crime.

    https://youtu.be/UUmep-I242w

    Bahawalnagar’s SP Investigations Farooq Ahmad Anwar said that the accused has been suspended. An FIR has been filed against him at the Fort Abbas Police Station and an inquiry is underway.

  • Police arrest Faisalabad man for drowning 3-year-old daughter in lake for ‘disturbing his sleep’

    Police arrest Faisalabad man for drowning 3-year-old daughter in lake for ‘disturbing his sleep’

    Police arrested a man in Faisalabad who drowned his three-year-old daughter in a lake as the child used to ‘disturb his sleep’.

    As per reports, the body of the child has been recovered from the lake while the suspect has been detained.

    During an inquiry, the man identified as Asif Javed confessed to the crime, saying that he used to spend sleepless nights due to the child’s ‘mischievous’ activities.

    The accused started speculating that the child has been kidnapped to get away from his crime.

    Read More: Security Guard turns assassin, injuring 9 on Sami Khan’s drama set in Karachi

    According to police officials, the accused also sent his brother, Zulfiqar, to register a first information report (FIR) at the Sandal Bar Police Station regarding the ‘missing’ child.

    Following the news, a search for the child was initiated by the police and her body was recovered from a lake in Gojra. Further investigation and interrogation compelled Asif to confess his crime, police said.

    According to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Mohammad Afzal, the accused had two daughters, the other is one-and-a-half-years old.

  • LHC acquits couple sentenced to death for blasphemy

    In a landmark judgement, The Lahore High Court has acquitted a Christian couple who was on death row for seven years on the charges of alleged blasphemy.

    “I have to confess that after the justices had given their verdict I wept,” the lawyer of the acquitted couple told Catholic Charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

    “There were times when I wondered if, after so long, justice would ever prevail in this case,” he added.

    The couple’s lawyer said that the case against the couple was always weak. “Who is responsible for taking eight years for justice to prevail?”

    The couple was arrested in 2013, under Section 295C on the charge of sending alleged blasphemous text messages.