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  • ICC kneels to another Indian demand

    The International Cricket Council (ICC) has approved India’s request to replace injured batsman Vijay Shankar with Mayank Agarwal, who is set to fly out of India and join the rest of the squad in England.

    Earlier in the tournament, Shankar was drafted in to replace Shikhar Dhawan, who sustained a thumb fracture during his match-winning century against Australia. He, however, failed to impress the team management — scoring just 58 runs in three matches.

    Agarwal’s impressive domestic form, as well as his excellent record batting alongside KL Rahul, offers India a renewed hope after a campaign marred by constant injuries to their star players.

    He has amassed a total of 3,964 runs in first-class cricket and has consecutive test match fifties to his name against Australia. Agarwal’s form while batting for Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is also admirable.

    The Bangalore born batsman has scored 332 runs in 13 games, with a formidable strike rate of 141.88. At a time when India’s batting has struggled to pile up runs in the initial overs, Agarwal’s inclusion in the line-up could accelerate the run rate and lay the foundation for a big total.

    However, for their match against Bangladesh, India have opted to start Dinesh Karthik instead of the newly-arrived Agarwal. A win for India would seal their spot in the top four, while a Bangladesh victory keeps the Tigers’ hopes alive for progressing to the semifinals.

  • Meet the members of PM Khan’s National Youth Council

    Meet the members of PM Khan’s National Youth Council

    Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Usman Dar on Sunday announced that Prime Minister Imran Khan has established the National Youth Council which aims to empower and enable the youth. The council includes influential persons from the fields of sports, education, religion, arts, culture and economy who will assist and advise the government on matters of the youth.

    Some of the more prominent members of the council, such as Hamza Ali Abbasi and Mahira Khan, need no introduction so here are some of the lesser-known members who have several accomplishments to their name.

    Samina Baig

    Samina Khayal Baig is the first Pakistani woman and the third Pakistani ever to summit Mount Everest. Hailing from Shimshal, Baig is also the first Pakistani to climb the Seven Summits. She is UNDP’s (United Nations Development Programme) National Goodwill Ambassador for Pakistan.

    Shazia Batool

    A differently-abled artist from Hazara, Shazia Batool is fighting against polio through her paintings. She has also been awarded Tamgha-e-Imtiaz for her work and efforts.

    Hassan Ali

    A modern-day fast bowler hailing from Punjab, Hassan Ali is Pakistan’s quickest bowler to take 50 wickets in ODIs.

    Marvia Malik

     A journalism graduate, Marvia Malik is Pakistan’s first transgender newscaster. She has also worked as a model in different projects.

    Major Tanvir Shafi

    A soldier who had fought in the Operation Zarb-e-Azb lost his leg during Shawal operation represents the jawans in the council.

    Karishma Ali

    21-year old Karishma is the first girl from Chitral who has played football at a national and international level. She has also represented Pakistan at the Jubilee Games in Dubai and is one of those five Pakistanis who have made it to the Forbes.

    Adnan Shaffi

    Shaffi is the founder of PriceOye.com, a price comparison platform for electronics. He is among those five Pakistanis who have made to the Forbes 30 under 30.

     Muneeba Mazari

    She is an anchorperson, motivational speaker and Pakistan’s goodwill ambassador for UN Women.

    Sana Mir

    Sana Mir is a cricketer and the former captain of the Pakistan women’s cricket team. She is also the most successful spinner in women’s one-day international history. Sana has tirelessly worked to uplift women cricket in Pakistan and has been successful in her mission.

    Dileep Kumar

    A lawyer from Thar (Sindh), Kumar is an activist working for the progress of youth.

    Zoe Viccaji

    Zoe Viccaji is a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and actress from Karachi. 

    Zain Ashraf Mughal

    An entrepreneur and philanthropist, Zain Ashraf Mughal is the founder of Seedout, a not for profit crowdfunding platform which is working to end poverty by establishing micro-entrepreneurs through interest-free Micro Financing.

    Sadia Bashir

    Pakistani entrepreneur Sadia Bashir is the founder of Pixel Art Games Academy which aims to bridge the gap between industry demand and education by providing training in video game development and recruitment opportunities.

  • Pakistan beats Israel in global military strength rankings

    Pakistan has beaten Israel in the Global Firepower (GFP) Military Strength Index 2019, according to data released by the group on its official website.

    The list by GFP relies on more than 50 factors to assign the 137 countries included in the survey an individual Power Index (PI) score, based upon their conventional war-making capability across land, sea and air.

    According to the 2019 GFP Index, Pakistan’s armed forces have been ranked the 15th most powerful in the world, beating Israel and other countries, including oil-rich Saudi Arabia.

    The ranking also includes factors concerning the respective states’ economic muscle and geographical characteristics. The report details Pakistan’s present military strength at 654,000 army personnel, 786 jet aircraft and 2,200 operational tanks.

    In addition, Pakistan’s naval capacity stands at a total of 197 vessels.

    Israel’s armed forces, on the other hand, have been ranked 17th, with a total of 170,000 military personnel, 506 warplanes and 2,760 tanks. Its naval strength stands at 65 assets.

    The ranking comes amid a flare in tensions between Pakistan and Israel, owing to alleged Israeli involvement in the failed February 26 airstrikes by India in Balakot.

  • Govt withdraws food-from-home facility for jailed Nawaz

    Govt withdraws food-from-home facility for jailed Nawaz

    The Punjab government has decided to withdraw food-from-home facility for former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, who is currently serving a seven-year sentence at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail.

    According to media reports, the jail administration, anytime this week, would order the withdrawal of the facility that Nawaz has been availing since his days in Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.

    After the withdrawal of the facility, the former premier would have to be content with the jail food — which according to Nawaz’s family, is “unfit to consume” considering his deteriorating health.

    A three-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC) headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khosa had last month rejected a petition by the ex-PM for an extension in the bail granted to him on medical grounds in the Al-Azizia reference.

    It was followed by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) also rejecting his bail plea. Nawaz had been granted bail on medical grounds by the apex court on March 26 for six weeks.

    On April 25, he had submitted a review petition in the SC seeking a permanent bail. His bail expired on May 7.

  • Anti-Narcotics Force arrests PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah: reports

    Anti-Narcotics Force arrests PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah: reports

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Rana Sanaullah was taken into custody by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) on Monday, a private media outlet reported.

    The ANF is a federal executive bureau of the government, tasked with combating narcotics smuggling and their use within Pakistan. The force works under the umbrella of Pakistan Army and Ministry of Narcotics Control.

    According to reports, Sanaullah was arrested from Sukheki over his alleged connections with drug dealers related to proscribed organisations. He is also accused of funding banned outfits.

    The PML-N leader was reportedly on his way to a party meeting in Faisalabad via the motorway when he was intercepted by ANF officials and taken into custody.

    This is a developing story.

  • Indian leader encourages ‘Hindu brothers to gang rape Muslim women’

    Indian leader encourages ‘Hindu brothers to gang rape Muslim women’

    A leader of the hardliner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been removed from her position in the party’s women wing after she encouraged “Hindu brothers to gang rape Muslim women openly in the streets”, Indian media reported.

    “Muslim mothers and sisters should have their honour looted as there is no other way to protect India,” said Sunita Singh Gaur in a Facebook post.

    The viral post was later deleted; however, with screenshots being posted all over Twitter, Gaur was sacked as the Mahila Morcha leader.

    “Be assured, BJP Mahila Morcha will not tolerate any hateful comments whatsoever from any karyakarta [worker],” BJP Mahila Morcha National President Vijaya Rahatkar said.

    This is not the first time a member of BJP has spewed hate online. However, many were shocked to see the leader openly encourage rape and sexual violence.

  • PML-N MPA, his sons booked for ‘raping minor maid’

    PML-N MPA, his sons booked for ‘raping minor maid’

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MPA Tahir Jamil, his sons Afaq and Saad, as well as his wife Bano, have been booked for allegedly raping their 14-year-old maid in Faisalabad, SAMAA reported.

    According to reports, the case was registered by the victim’s father under sections 376 (rape) and 377B (unnatural offences) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Section 34 (unauthorised custody) of the Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act (PDNCA), 2004.

    According to the victim’s father, the girl was working at Jamil’s Faisalabad residence in Al Masoom Town for the past six months.

    The girl returned home on Tuesday and told her family that she had been raped twice by Jamil a few months ago, while Afaq and Saad also molested her. According to the victim, Jamil’s wife Bano beat her up as well.

    She also claimed being threatened by the family in case she informed anyone of her ordeal, while her father has said he was pressurised against registering a case.

    The medico-legal officer has been unable to confirm the rape owing to the passage of time. No arrests have so far been made.

    PUNISHMENT:

    Section 376 is punishable by death or a 10 to 25-year jail sentence besides a fine. Section 377B is punishable by up to life imprisonment.

    PDNCA’s Section 34, on the other hand, is punishable by a jail term between three months and five years and a fine between Rs10,000 and Rs100,000.

  • Army removes ‘Christians-only’ condition for sanitary workers

    Army removes ‘Christians-only’ condition for sanitary workers

    After being criticised for discrimination towards Christians, Pakistan Army has removed the “Christian-only” clause in its call for applications for sanitary workers.

    The move was pointed out by activist and former Punjab Chief Minister’s Strategic Reforms Unit director general (DG) Salman Sufi. Taking to Twitter, he thanked Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) DG Major General Asif Ghafoor.

    “Great news. Thanks to @OfficialDGISPR [Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor] for removing the ‘Christian-only clause in the call for application for sanitary workers, paving the way to ensure Pakistani Christians aren’t labeled as just for sanitary jobs,” he wrote.

    “We are grateful that this clerical error was addressed as usually Christians are [stereotyped] as sanitary workers so it is considered a norm and we wanted that changed,” Sufi told a private media outlet.

    Earlier, activists had taken to social media to urge the ISPR chief that the discriminatory clause is removed from the call. It specified that only Christians could apply for the posts of sanitation workers in the army’s Mujahid Force.

    Vacancies for the posts of drivers, sepoys and tradesmen were also mentioned, but had no such religious criteria.

    According to SAMAA, a report by the World Watch Monitor says that minority representation in sanitation work in Pakistan is above 80%. According to the report, 824 of 935 sanitation workers in the Peshawar Municipal Corporation (PMC) are Christian.

    About 6,000 out of 7,894 sanitation workers in the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) are Christians and so are 768 of 978 workers in the Quetta Municipal Corporation (QMC).

  • ‘PTI govt repays record $9.5 billion foreign loans’

    ‘PTI govt repays record $9.5 billion foreign loans’

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has retired record foreign loans worth $9.5 billion during the current fiscal year, which according to Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azhar, had never been done by any government in a single year.

    On point of personal explanation in the National Assembly, Azhar said that during the first year of PTI government, external debts increased by $2.7 billion whereas, in the last year of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government, foreign loans surged by over $7 billion.

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    Responding to the opposition’s claim of obtaining domestic loans worth Rs7,000 billion or Rs 10,000 billion during PTI’s first year in power, he further said the figures were highly exaggerated.

    The minister added that previous governments were responsible for the current economic situation of the country, while the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan-led government was taking the economy towards stability.

  • Bankruptcy? ‘Ishaq Dar’s son shuts down school in Dubai over financial issues’

    Bankruptcy? ‘Ishaq Dar’s son shuts down school in Dubai over financial issues’

    Days after it was reported that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government is tightening the noose around former finance minister Ishaq Dar, reports claiming his family is going through a financial crunch, have surfaced.

    According to reports, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader’s son, Hasnain Dar, has decided to shut down his Ontario International Canadian School (OICS) in Dubai citing “financial issues” as the family “starts to wind up their ventures abroad”.

    Mirdiff based OICS was opened in 2014 and follows the Canadian curriculum for kindergarten to grade 10, with fees ranging from Dh28,000-56,000 a year.

    Last week, the school administration issued to parents a circular signed by Dar, which has reportedly left over 200 parents in an awkward position while around 50 teaching and non-teaching staffers will also be affected.

    “I have continuously been engaged in discussions with KHDA regarding the future of OICS. However, it is only fair for me to share with you that —the school does not have the financial support to continue beyond June 30, 2019,” the circular read.

    “I understand that this is an incredibly difficult time for families and we at OICS are committed to ensuring a smooth transition of your children to other schools. As a part of our effort for this smooth transition, we have asked Kings’ Education to honour the OICS fee structure for the next two academic years for any students who wish to transfer to Kings’ Schools,” it said further.