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  • Unbelievable times

    Unbelievable times

    We are living in unbelievable times. 

    “Wishing all our Christian citizens a happy Easter. Please stay safe and keep your families safe during the COVID-19 pandemic by praying and celebrating at home; and by observing the national safety protocols,” tweeted Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan earlier today. The reality of coronavirus hits you hard when you read this tweet. Churches not just all over the country, but also in major parts of the world, are closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

    A World Bank (WB) report on South Asia released last night is alarming. It says that Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and other smaller countries may have so far reported relatively few coronavirus cases but they could be the next hotspots.

    “The economic outlook for South Asia is dire. South Asia will likely experience the worst economic performance of the last 40 years… for Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, the full range of their forecast GDP growth for this fiscal year is in negative territory,” says the report. It says that Pakistan may face a recession for the first time in 68 years.

    The report further states that the crisis will reinforce inequality in South Asia. This is something that the premier has constantly been worried about. The poorest of the poor will suffer the most is what he kept telling us about in his addresses to the nation as well as media briefings and interactions.

    This is indeed a catch-22 situation. Like his counterparts in other South Asian countries, PM Imran is in unchartered territory and is trying to deal with the pandemic by learning from other countries’ successes as well as mistakes and also by keeping in mind the local ground realities. He seemed confused about lockdown initially but later, and maybe soon enough, realised that there was no other choice. The federal government, as well as the provincial governments, will decide tomorrow (Monday) whether lockdown in the country should be extended.

    Many reports suggest that it may be extended till April 21.

    As the WB report suggests, smaller nations like Pakistan could be the next hotspot for coronavirus. Lockdowns may have helped to a great extent but we also need aggressive testing. Unfortunately, it hasn’t happened as we don’t have enough testing kits. Reports suggest some of these testing kits have also turned out to be faulty and/or substandard. Not having enough kits also points to another aspect, i.e. protectionism. The Global Trade Alert project says at least 69 countries have banned or restricted the export of protective equipment, medical devices or medicines during the pandemic while the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned protectionism could limit the global availability of vaccines.

    While the federal and provincial governments in Pakistan are doing their best under the circumstances and with the resources at hand, the real challenge lies in finding a cure for coronavirus. These are difficult times indeed and the predictions related to the coming months are not too bright either.

    Since it might soon be too late for all precautionary measures, stay home and stay safe for yourself and your dear ones.

  • Police arrest man for impersonating PM’s personal assistant

    Police arrest man for impersonating PM’s personal assistant

    The Rawat police arrested a man for impersonating the personal assistant of the prime minister on Saturday.

    As per reports, the police stopped a vehicle near Basali Chowk. Four men were travelling it. When the police interrogate them about who they were, one of the men introduced himself as the personal assistant of the PM.

    When the police asked them for their identity cards, they refused to give their refused CNICs The prime suspect even threatened to get the police officers suspended.

    The suspects have been identified as Jahanzeb Khan, Muhammad Owais, Sharjeel Muhammad and Malik Khawar.

  • ‘Kaheen Deep Jalay’ keeps getting worse

    ‘Kaheen Deep Jalay’ keeps getting worse

    Saach baat bataoon toh Neelum Munir and Imran Ashraf’s Kaheen Deep Jalay on Geo was my guilty pleasure. The drama was full of well, drama, and it had a heavy dose of masala complete with over-the-top twists and turns which were oh-so-fun to watch. But the last couple of episodes have turned the serial into a painful watch.

    Let’s take a quick run through the plot. Rida (Neelum Munir) is the only sister of three brothers: Hatim (Hammad Farooqui), Fahaam (Ali Abbas) and Asim (Syed Arez). The brothers dote on their sister and pamper her to no extent. Rida’s maternal cousin Shamila (Nazish Jahangir) gets married to her eldest brother Fahaam. Shamila is a conniving and manipulative girl who is jealous of Rida because of the attention she gets from her brothers. Shamila’s only brother doesn’t pamper her much and seeing Rida get so much attention from her brothers irks Shamila who then uses every opportunity to mentally torture her sister-in-law.

    Meanwhile, Rida gets married to Zeeshan (Imran Ashraf). Zeeshan, who was Hatim’s colleague had fallen in love with Rida from the moment he saw her. The two get married and are happy but soon Zeeshan’s insecurities coupled with Shamila’s manipulation cost them their marriage.

    Read more – ‘Kahin Deep Jalay’ is terribly typical but full of masala

    The recent episodes have seen the plot spiral completely out of control. A misunderstanding on Zeeshan’s part leads him to believe that Rida cheated on him. This gives Shamila a chance to lash out on Rida even more and Rida’s brothers who doted on her through the course of the drama now refuse to even acknowledge her to the point that they wish that she was dead. It is impossible to understand how Rida’s brothers just suddenly turned their back on their sister and refuse to believe her innocence. This plot twist is beyond my understanding.

    Hatim, Asim and Rida’s mother

    Though Zeeshan later realises his mistake and asks Rida for forgiveness, she refuses to forgive him (and rightly so) and the two spend their days crying. Zeeshan, in particular, is very annoying. He cries all the time (not that I’m against men crying) and feels sorry for himself and doesn’t really make much of an effort to make amends. He just hopes that Rida will come around.

    On the other hand, Shamila, whose husband Fahaam is shot dead, manipulates her brother-in-law Hatim into marrying her so that she can once again become the bahu of the house. Another over-the-top and absolutely unnecessary plot twist. It’s so annoying to see how the men in the family are so oblivious to Shamila’s actions.

    Shamila and Hatim

    Despite the frustrations, I don’t want to overlook the positive which is Rida’s relationship with her mother-in-law (Saba Faisal). It is refreshing to see a mother-in-law stand up for her daughter-in-law and criticise her son for being unfair to her. Her character is probably the only balanced one in the entire drama – the rest of them are an emotional mess.

    Rida and her mother-in-law

    While Kaheen Deep Jalay continues to test my patience, the only reason I will continue to watch the drama is because I’m curious to know Shamila’s end. And I’m pretty sure it’s not going to be a pleasant one. So that should make up for the frustrations. In my opinion, things could have been accelerated and the drama should have wrapped up by now.

    Another thing that has been bothering me is how Geo repeats the last ten minutes of the previous episode in the new episode.

    Nonetheless, if you’re looking for a masalaydaar drama which does not require too much of your brain cells, give Kaheen Deep Jalay a go. Otherwise given how it’s progressing, or regressing, you can skip it.

  • Malik Riaz shuts down Aap News

    Malik Riaz shuts down Aap News

    Bahira Town chairman and property tycoon Malik Riaz has shut down Aap News due to “unavoidable legal and technical reasons”, an e-mail to the channel’s staff revealed on Saturday.

    The broadcast of the news channel will stop today.

    Furthermore, as mentioned in the email, “The administration has decided that salaries of all employees for March will be paid on April 14 and 15 while the payment of salaries for the notice period between April 11 and May 11 will be paid on April 21 and 22.”

    Riaz will use his licencing rights to launch a new channel where employees of Aap News will be hired on a “priority basis”.

    The email further stated that employees would receive 50 per cent of their monthly salaries on the 5th of each month for the next three months. 

  • Data of 115m Pakistani mobile users for sale on dark web

    Data of 115m Pakistani mobile users for sale on dark web

    A Pakistani cybersecurity company has come across data of 115 million Pakistani mobile phone users currently for sale on the dark web, a private media outlet reported.

    The asking price for this data is 300 Bitcoins (BTC), which is equivalent to 2.1 million USD. Cybercriminals is the company who is selling data, they’re also VIP members of the platform.

    Rewterz’s — Pakistani information security company — Threat Intelligence team has analyzed some of the samples from the telecom database up for sale on the notorious dark web. The data includes personal information of the users such as names, contact numbers, residential addresses, CNIC numbers, and NTN numbers.

    According to the report, these threat actors are financially motivated, who’re working in Pakistan. Moreover, organizations with outdated
    cyberinfrastructure are more vulnerable to these threats.

    The team further notes that it is unclear for now whether only single or more telecom companies have fallen victim to cybercriminals.

    According to the given sample’s visible results, the latest data is from 2014 and none of the latest number schemes (0317, 0308 etc) is mentioned.

    As yet, none of the telecom operators has notified their customers that their data has been compromised.

  • Sindh for stricter lockdown as ‘greater than world average’ tests positive in 24 hours

    Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Murad Ali Shah on Saturday cautioned that there wasn’t “much good news” and the province needed a stricter lockdown as 20 per cent of coronavirus tests, conducted in his province in the past 24 hours, had come out positive, ringing danger bells as Pakistan continues to struggle in the battle against the global COVID-19 pandemic.

    In a video released by his office’s Twitter account, CM Shah disclosed that the number is greater than the world average at the moment. According to him, 919 people are still under treatment in the province.

    National coronavirus tally currently stands at 4,901. These include 2345 cases in Punjab, 1318 in Sindh, 656 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 220 in Balochistan, 215 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 114 in Islamabad Capital Territory and 33 in Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK).

    The number of cases has continued to soar despite the country being under lockdown for the third consecutive week now.

    While the death toll, according to the national database, stands at 71, some 762 people have so far recovered.

    Meanwhile, the KP government has asked people to remain extra careful for the next few weeks.

    “The next few weeks are going to be critical for us. People are requested to follow the precautionary measures we have put in place,” KP CM’s Advisor on Information Ajmal Wazir said during a media briefing.

    According to Wazir, the people of the province have responded well to the government’s call for precautions.

    “However, we are facing the problem of accommodating daily wage workers and as per the prime minister’s instructions, we are working to provide them with daily necessities,” he said.

  • Leopard spotted near Islamabad’s hiking trails

    Leopard spotted near Islamabad’s hiking trails

    With human under lockdown, nature is running free and wildlife is coming out of hiding to explore the empty spaces once swarmed with humans.

    According to the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB), a male leopard was caught on a camera trap near the hiking trails of Margalla Hills National Park. While leopards are occasionally caught on camera, this is the first time a larger male leopard was spotted on the hills. The IWMB added that the latest discovery could mean that there are three families of the common leopard hiding in the national park. Popularly referred to as the Margalla Leopards, these animals are an endangered species.

    The board also shared that not just leopards but wild animals including fox, martins, porcupines, barking deer, jackals and wild boars among others have also descended from the hills. They have also been caught by the camera traps laid out by the wildlife board.

    Various species of birds including pheasants have also been spotted on the grounds.

    Meanwhile, it has also been reported that dozens of monkeys living in the Margalla Hills National Park have descended on to the residential areas of the city in search of food.

    IWMB Assistant Director Sakhawat Ali said that residents of sectors F-6 and F-7 have filed complaints about the monkeys entering their homes. Some videos posted online showed the simians scurrying about the streets of the city or climbing over rooftops.

    “It is not a good practice [to feed animals when you go hiking on the MHNP trails or other hilly areas] as human-fed food item will have bad impacts on their health,” Ali said, adding that monkeys have lived in the national park since before humans inhabited this region.

    Ali, however, noted that the monkeys were not hostile to human beings and only attack or become violent when someone tries to hurt them.

    He advised the public to stay calm if they encountering any monkey. Moreover, he suggested that people keep their food items secure in their stores and not offer animals anything.

    Ali also advised people to take care of their clothes and the laundry hung out to dry.

    “Monkeys have a habit to take away clothes left outside a house if they find nothing in their search of food,” the IWMB officer warned.

  • Duchess of Cornwall shares a list of her favourite books

    Duchess of Cornwall shares a list of her favourite books

    With everyone cooped up at home, there is a lot of time to do things that we have been unable to do otherwise like binge-watching shows or reading.

    The Duchess of Cornwall Camilla Parker Bowles, who is a passionate reader, has shared a list of her favourite books, in case anyone was looking for any recommendations. Check them out below:

    Meanwhile the Camilla and Prince Charles recently celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary. The couple is self-isolating at their Scotland estate, due to Charles’s testing positive for COVID-19 last month. The two remained separated until Charles was cleared of the virus and Camilla was assured to not show any symptoms.

  • Strange how nuclear-capable Pakistan can’t make its own ventilators: PM Imran

    As the entire world wages war on the new coronavirus — COVID-19 — pandemic while struggling to meet medical equipment needs, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has said that it was strange how nuclear-capable Pakistan could not make its own ventilators and test kits and had to import them.

    In a private channel’s telethon to raise funds for Prime Minister’s COVID-19 Relief Fund, the premier urged the nation to adopt as much precautions as possible to help the authorities contain the virus that is continuing to spread rapidly.

    He said besides using its own resources, the government was raising funds because the impact of COVID-19 could further worsen and only those practicing social distancing would be safe.

    “If we do not take necessary measures on both government and individual levels, the pandemic would continue to spread. In such a case, the healthcare system could collapse as hospitals won’t be able to take all the pressure,” PM Imran said, adding that there were not enough ventilators to cater to the masses in the worst-case scenario.

    He pointed out that the situation in Pakistan was entirely different from the one in Europe or the United States (US), and noted that once the virus spread, even the most advanced cities in the world, including New York, could not do much.

    The premier, however, expressed confidence that Pakistan would emerge victorious in the fight against coronavirus through coordinating efforts of all stakeholders concerned, including the people.

    He said in spite of limited resources, Pakistan announced a historic package to provide relief to the corona-hit population, covering various segments and sectors of life. PM Imran also reiterated his government’s commitment to providing every possible facility to doctors, nurses and the paramedical staff fighting the global pandemic on the frontline.

  • Eight phone numbers blocked by PTA over Ehsaas programme fraud

    Eight phone numbers blocked by PTA over Ehsaas programme fraud

    The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has blocked eight mobile phone numbers due to complaints against them over Ehsaas programme fraud.

    Many people registered a complaint with the PTA that the numbers asked for their CNIC numbers and other details via text message to register for the Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme.

    PTA has sent these numbers to the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA) to investigate who is behind these scams.

    The authority has advised people to not share personal information with anybody on their mobile phones. And if they want to report any suspicious activity, they can do so by calling on 0800-55055.

    Dr Sania Nishtar, special assistant to PM on poverty alleviation, has also told people to not leave their homes unless they receive a message from 8171 confirming the collection point.