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  • Countrywide blackout caused by human error, NA body told

    Countrywide blackout caused by human error, NA body told

    The inquiry committee probing last month’s countrywide blackout has held officials of the Guddu Thermal Power Plant responsible for the nationwide power outage.

    “The problem occurred due to a human error at the Guddu power station. The error led to the tripping of the entire power system. The fault occurred as some officials did not follow standard operating procedures (SOPs) during the maintenance work,” said Secretary Power Ali Raza Bhutta while briefing the members of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Energy.

    “Due to a mistake, the Guddu Thermal Power Plant tripped and there was a complete blackout. At the time of the blackout, the power consumption in the country stood at 10,000 megawatts,” he added.

    The entire country plunged into darkness on January 9 after the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) power system got hit by a major breakdown due to the tripping around midnight.

    Moreover, Netblocks monitor internet outages had said that internet connectivity in the country collapsed as a result of the blackout.

    The power secretary further said that “the officials of Guddu Thermal Power Plant along with those who have not improved the NTDC system are nominated by the inquiry committee for investigation. The committee has proposed to take measures to ensure that the failure of one plant does not trip the entire system in future”.

    On January 10, the government had blamed the old transmission system for the breakdown. Energy Minister Omar Ayub Khan had said that “during the past tenures, no attention was paid to the improvement of the transmission system on modern lines. Under the government of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the country saw eight major power breakdowns”.

    “When the incumbent government assumed office, no work had been done to upgrade the transmission system. We are now investing in the transmission and distribution system. A $6 billion transmission line has been laid in Matiari,” added the minister at the time.

    So far, nine energy projects have been completed under the China Pakistan Energy Corridor (CPEC), contributing 5340 MW of electricity to the main grid, which would meet the vital needs for industry, agriculture, and domestic consumers.

    Out of 22 projects, another eight are about to be completed and would pump in an additional 4470 MW of electricity to the national grid. Another five projects are in the planning and implementation phase.

  • Cracks within PTI deepen as leader accuses party of selling Senate ticket for Rs35 crores

    In yet another development that suggests deepening of cracks within Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ranks, party leader and former Sindh chief minister (CM) Liaqat Jatoi has levelled accusations of selling at least one Senate ticket for Rs350 million (Rs35 crores) to newcomer and wealthy construction contractor Saifullah Abro.

    “He joined the party six months ago… on what grounds was he awarded a ticket [for the upper house of the parliament]?” Jatoi was heard as asking media persons during a brief presser on Tuesday.

    According to earlier reports, the days leading to the election for the Senate are getting difficult for the ruling party owing to differences between its leaders.

    Sindh chapter is facing a severe rift after the party leadership finalised Federal Minister Faisal Vawda and Abro for the Senate from the province, The News reported last week.

    The party’s decision generated criticism from its key leaders from three zones of rural Sindh who wrote a letter to Sindh Governor Imran Ismail to show their anger and demand the party’s high command to take back tickets from Vawda and Abro.

    Encouraged by the PTI’s recent decision to withdraw the party ticket awarded to business tycoon Abdul Qadir in Balochistan for the Senate election after opposition from the party’s provincial leadership, the Sindh leaders also initiated a campaign to pressurise the party’s parliamentary committee to review its decision of allocating tickets.

    In a letter, the PTI’s office-bearers from three regions said that they were “extremely disappointed with the entire process” of the selection of party’s candidates for the Senate polls from the province.

    The leaders who signed the letter included Liaqat Jatoi’s brother Sadaqat Ali Jatoi, Sukkur district President Mubeen Jatoi, Allah Bux Unnar and Raja Khan Jhakrani, former provincial secretary general Mehfooz Usrani, a former candidate from NA-214 Shaheed Benazirabad Gul Muhammad Rind, former provincial minister Agha Taimoor Khan Pathan, Papu Khan Chachar and other office-bearers.

    Showing severe concerns over finalising Abro for the Senate on technocrat seat, the PTI leaders asked how the Senate ticket was given to a newcomer in the party.

    They alleged that cases against Abro, who has still been working closely with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leadership and famed as an “ATM”, have been pending in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The PTI leaders from rural Sindh asked to review the allocation of the Senate tickets from Sindh and said that the decision will harm the party in the upcoming local government polls.

    However, a senior PTI leader from Sindh was quoted as saying that awarding a ticket to Abro was the party’s strategy to stop its MPAs from selling their votes to the PPP’s candidates as the party was fearful that the ruling party in the province may buy at least 10 out of its 30 members in the provincial assembly.

    “Abro is a billionaire construction contractor and he will not only stop the PTI MPAs from selling their votes but can also buy the votes of PPP to win on technocrat seats,” the party leader, who requested anonymity, said.

    It is pertinent to note that on Monday, the nomination papers of Abro on technocrat seat were rejected by the election tribunal.

  • Punjab Police joins ‘Pawri Horai Hai’ trend

    Punjab Police joins ‘Pawri Horai Hai’ trend

    Punjab Police has recreated the ‘Pawri Horai Hai’ meme with their own twist.

    As per the details, Punjab Police tweeted a collage and wrote, “Yeh hum hain, Yeh humari gaaryian hain, Aur yeh humara emergency number hai [This is us, these is our cars, and this is our emergency number).”

    While the tweet was appreciated by many who lauded Punjab Police for raising awareness with a fun twist, others criticised the cops for not efficiently responding to emergency calls.

    Also Read: Indian police join #PawriHoRahiHai trend, ask citizens to report late night parties

    The trend started after an influencer, Dananeer Mobeen, shared a video clip partying with her friends in front of a car. In the video, she was heard saying: “Yeh hamari car hai, yeh hum hain, aur yeh hamari pawri ho rai hai” (This is our car, this is us, and this is our party).

    Soon after the video went viral, ‘Pawri Ho Rai Hai’ became a major meme trend in Pakistan and also across the border. Many celebrities from Pakistan and India recreated the ‘Pawri Horai Hai’ meme.

    The original video has crossed six million views on Instagram and Dananeer’s followers have also reached one million on Instagram.

  • VIDEO: Was PTI’s Haleem Sheikh tortured in Karachi jail?

    VIDEO: Was PTI’s Haleem Sheikh tortured in Karachi jail?

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Haleem Adil Sheikh has accused the Sindh government of trying to harm in jail through its alleged goons in the light of a video released by PTI’s Karachi chapter showing the Sindh opposition leader running for his life.

    According to PTI, the MPA was attacked by “goons” in jail and he was running from them to save himself. In a video statement, Sheikh said he had come to Karachi’s Jinnah Hospital allegedly after he was beaten up in jail, adding that PTI workers, including Samir Mir Shaikh, Amjad, Hafeez Chandio and three other people who are in Central Jail are being “tortured”.

    Maritime Minister Ali Zaidi also alleged torture on Sheikh. “Sheikh was hospitalised after being attacked by 50 PPP goons inside Central Jail Karachi,” he claimed.

    POLICE CONTRADICT SHEIKH:

    However, Karachi Central Jail Superintendent Hassan Sahito rejected the claims made by the PTI leader. He said “nobody raised a hand on Haleem Adil Sheikh or slapped him”, adding that some prisoners raised slogans against Sheikh and PM Imran Khan when the PTI leader was being shifted to another ward.

    “Haleem Adil Sheikh was being moved to the Mohammad Ali B-class ward […] and was passing through the waiting area when some prisoners raised slogans. He was moved back to the superintendent’s office in 26 seconds,” Sahito said.

    Sheikh was later moved to the security ward, he added.

    According to the police officer, Sheikh was moved to a hospital because he had submitted an application for treatment. According to Sheikh, he suffered from blood pressure issues and had heart problems and he was regularly treated at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD).

    The Sindh government also denied the allegations levelled by the PTI leaders, saying Sheikh was arrested on the orders of the Election Commission of Pakistan.He further said that Sheikh could be seen “happy and healthy” in the hospital which shows that he wasn’t tortured at all. “No torture was done on him in jail,” Wahab stressed.

  • ‘Pawri Girl’ spotted on sets of Wajahat Rauf’s upcoming movie

    ‘Pawri Girl’ spotted on sets of Wajahat Rauf’s upcoming movie

    It’s a wrap for Wajahat Rauf’s upcoming fourth film, Parde Mein Rehne Do and the ‘Pawri Girl’ was spotted on the sets.

    Taking to Instagram, Rauf shared a video featuring Dananeerr Mobeen with her viral ‘Pawri Ho Rai Hai’ meme. “And It’s a wrap for our 4th film. Thank you Dananeerr for visiting our set and lighting it up. A big thank you to our cast and Team Showcase for giving it your sweat and blood to this labour of love we call Parde Mein Rehne Do,” he wrote.

    Dananeer was heard saying, “Ye mein houn, ye hamara set hai or yahan pawri ho rahi hai” (this is me, this is our set and this is our party going on).

    Rauf’s wife and the co-producer of the film, Shazia Wajahat also took to Instagram, sharing the same video and another video while celebrating with firecrackers, she wrote: “Alhamdullilah it’s a wrap for our 4th movie, Parde Main Rehnay Do.”

    “A big shout out to our amazing and talented cast and the most hardworking crew of Showcase Films… Our Dop Asrad Khan @asradkhan the best and camera team.
    MashAllah, it was a smooth journey thanks to Allah and to everyone who was involved in this project. Great teamwork always pays off,” she added.

    She also thanked Mobeen for the shoutout she gave.

    Tagging her husband she said: “Wajahat here’s to many more together Inshallah.”

    She also tagged the cast and crew of the film including Hania Aamir, Ali Rehman Khan, Javed Sheikh, Saife Hasan, Noor ul Hassan, Hassan Raza, Sadia Faisal, Sonia Nazir, Munib Nawaz and Dananeer.

    The film was announced last year, and the shooting for the film was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic. With Ali and Hania featuring as lead roles, the film was expected to release last year.

    The film is produced under the banner of Rauf’s Showcase Films. The release date of the film has not been announced yet.

    Earlier, Mobeen also helped the struggling Aashir Wajahat, to make the ‘Pawri Ho Rai Hai’ meme video. She was also seen in a star-studded video of Yasir Hussain, Iqra Aziz, Azfar Rehman, Wajahat, Shazia, Saife Hasan and Mehwish Hayat.

  • People who use social media for news more susceptible to rumours: study

    People who use social media for news more susceptible to rumours: study

    The United States citizens who rely on social media as their main source of news are more likely to believe false or unproven stories about important topics such as politics and COVID-19, according to a survey.

    The Pew Research Centre report found that people who used social media platforms for news were less informed about major public matters and more susceptible to believing rumors and hoaxes.

    The report comes with social media platforms becoming a growing source of news amid struggles by traditional media to survive in the digital age.

    The Pew report found some 18 per cent of the participants of the survey got most of their political and election news through social media. But those people were less likely to rightly answer the fact-based questions about politics and current affairs than those relying on print, broadcast or news apps.

    Social media news consumers were more aware of specific false or unproven stories about COVID-19 and said they had seen more misinformation about the pandemic such as claims that Vitamin C could prevent infection, the survey found.

    On political news, social media users were less informed about facts such as the function of the state-by-state, Electoral College votes, which ultimately decide who wins the White House, or the unemployment rate.

    The report comes from a series on interviews with some 9,000 US adults from November 2019 through December 2020.

    A majority in the survey said they distrusted social media with Facebook the least trusted among the platforms.

    Among those using traditional media, the researchers also found that roughly a quarter of the US citizen on the political left and right consistently turned to “partisan” news sites, reinforcing their views.

    Pew found that roughly three in 10 Republicans relied on former president Donald Trump as a major source of news about the election and the coronavirus.

    These Republicans were more likely to think the COVID-19 pandemic had been overblown and more likely to see voter fraud as a significant threat to election integrity.

  • Gwadar stadium to host cricket match between Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings

    Gwadar stadium to host cricket match between Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings

    Gwadar Cricket Stadium is all set to host a cricket match between Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise teams Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings on March 25, Fakhr-e-Alam announced on Monday.

    The TV host-singer shared the news in a video posted on his official Twitter account. “I want to break the news that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has officially informed the Government of Balochistan that it wants to organize a match between Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings on March 25, right after PSL ends,” Alam said in the video.

    “Congratulations to everyone who wanted this to happen. There can’t be better news for cricket fans, for me and for people of Balochistan.”

    The 45-year-old added that initially he wanted an official PSL 2021 match to be played at the venue but because the stadium doesn’t meet the standards set by International Cricket Council (ICC) and PCB, it was difficult to arrange the fixture.

    Alam was grateful to PCB and the owners of the two franchises for their support and willingness in playing a match at Gwadar Stadium, which was in the headlines recently for its striking beauty.

    “I want to thank PCB: Wasim Khan, thank you very much,” he said. “Both the franchises – Nadeem Omar and Salman Iqbal, thank you guys for doing this,” the host added.

    Earlier on Friday, the stadium held its first exhibition match between Gwadar Dolphins and Showbiz Sharks on Friday as a tribute to late mountaineer Ali Sadpara.

    Alam also showed his confidence in the provincial government saying Chief Minister Balochistan Jam Kamal is a “very dynamic and progressive” man and that he’ll successfully arrange the match.

    Later, when a sports journalist, Ihtisham Ul Haq, tweeted about the news that Karachi will play against Quetta on March 25 in the Gwadar Stadium, KK owner Salman Iqbal confirmed the news and said, “Insha Allah.”

    Meanwhile, CM Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan shared Fakhar’s video on Twitter and said: “Inshallah this shall be fully facilitated.”

    “Its Mashallah good to see Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings to play in Gwader. This shall be good for Balochistan cricket, youth and Gwader….And, for Cricket in Pakistan,” he added.

  • Police arrest man for posing as judge to give relatives possession of shops

    Police arrest man for posing as judge to give relatives possession of shops

    Police have arrested a man who ordered cops to give his relatives the illegal possession of some shops while posing as an additional sessions judge.

    According to reports, the accused man, namely Iqbal, called up Garh Police Sub-Inspector Akhtar Abbas as one Additional Sessions Judge Shehryar.

    He then told the cop to take possession of a few shops and hand it to his relatives.

    It was later revealed that the phone SIM was in the name of a person named Iqbal. The police then arrested the man and interrogated him.

    The suspect confessed to calling the policeman as a fake judge during the investigation, after which a case was registered against him.

  • New Delhi allows PM Imran to use airspace, claims Indian media

    New Delhi allows PM Imran to use airspace, claims Indian media

    India has allowed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s aircraft to use Indian airspace for his official trip to Sri Lanka, reported India media outlets on Tuesday.

    According to Indian media outlet WION, Islamabad asked New Delhi for permission 10 days ago that was granted on Monday. As a protocol, whenever heads of state or governments pass through the air space of any other country, the country is alerted and due permission is taken, it reported.

    Planes taking off from Islamabad for Sri Lanka cannot bypass Indian airspace; therefore, they require permission to use its airspace. But in case of Karachi, the flights can use another route and travel to Sri Lanka via Arabian Sea.

    According to the Foreign Office spokesperson, PM Imran has embarked on a two-day official visit to Sri Lanka on the invitation of his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa. The premier is accompanied by a high-level delegation, including members of the Cabinet and senior officials.

    To exchange views on key regional and international issues, Prime Minister will hold meetings with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa during the two-day visit. The prime minister will also participate in a joint ‘Trade and Investment Conference’ aimed at promoting trade and investment between the two countries.

  • Google fires top AI ethical expert Margaret Mitchell

    Google fires top AI ethical expert Margaret Mitchell

    Google has fired the co-head of the ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI) team Margaret Mitchell for violating the security policies stated by the company. 

    The previous AI ethics researcher Timmit Gebru, a widely respected leader in AI ethics research, was also fired over similar accusations. 

    Mitchell is known for co-authoring a groundbreaking paper that showed facial recognition to be less accurate at identifying women and people of colour. The system can end up discriminating against them. 

    Mitchell also used automated scripts to look through her email to find evidence of discrimination against her co-workers. 

    Her views were directed at Google AI’s head Jeff Dean and CEO of Google Sundar Pichai; resulting in losing her corporate email access. Her activities were investigated, which led to the termination of Mitchell as well.

    According to Axios, Google said in a statement regarding Mitchell’s firing: “After conducting a review of this manager’s conduct, we confirmed that there were multiple violations of our code of conduct, as well as of our security policies, which included the exfiltration of confidential business-sensitive documents and private data of other employees.”

    These recent terminations have stirred a lot of heat for Google regarding diversity. As of now, Marian Croak, a Vice President in the engineering organisation is leading a new centre of expertise on responsible AI within Google.