Adiala jail administration has installed room coolers for founder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to help them deal with the extreme heat in Rawalpindi.
Prison sources also confirmed to The News that former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who is incarcerated in Adiala jail in the cypher case, has also been provided with a room cooler.
The jail administration has started providing additional facilities to inmates, including cold water and beverages, as well as extra water coolers that have also been installed throughout the jail premises.
The Adiala jail administration affirmed that various measures have been put in place to protect inmates from the heat wave’s impact, as the weather in Islamabad and Rawalpindi is extremely hot.
A crackdown has been launched against people sharing anti-state content on social media. So far, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested two suspects from Rawalpindi.
The FIA inquiry is aimed at people involved in propaganda against Pakistan’s military institutions and important personalities.
FIA teams conducted raids at various locations in Rawalpindi and arrested two suspects, stating that the accused were involved in spreading fabricated and fake news against the armed forces.
Among the arrested suspects are Yasir Arafat and Irfan Abbas who were taken into custody from Rawat and Gujar Khan areas.
Get the scoop on Fawad Khan’s upcoming Indian series as journalist Amna Isani shared exclusive details about the actor’s new venture on her show ‘Haute Review’ hosted by Hassan Choudhry and herself.
“Fawad Khan is doing a big-budget series where he plays a polo players’ trainer. The series is written by Umera Ahmed and directed by Asim Raza. The production is led by Misbah Shafique, who has worked with Zee 5. It will be released on Sony Life. The cast includes Sanam Saeed, Mikaal Zulfiqar, and Hira Khan. The series was shot in London, Islamabad, and Chitral. Fawad Khan plays a Chitrali Nawab who trains polo players, and Sanam Saeed probably plays a British girl.”
If you think Islamabad is a boring city, you might want to rethink!
The capital city just hosted the inaugural ‘Islamabad Night Run’ this weekend, which was attended by a record number of runners. The running community collaborated with the Capital Development Authority and ICT to organise the festival.
The race route was the famous Constitution Avenue, passing through the city’s landmarks, including the Parliament, Prime Minister Secretariat, D-Chowk, Presidency, Supreme Court, and Foreign Office.
The premier event was attended by more than 700 runners and their families. And featuring a variety of food stalls, the event also included a musical program.
So, who won what?
Muhammad Riaz secured first place with a time of 16 minutes and 11 seconds in the 5-kilometre race, followed by Shahbaz and Umar Zaman, respectively.
With a record number of female runners in the 5-kilometre category, Rabeela Farooq took the lead with a time of 23 minutes and 25 seconds, while Anga Myrtziet and Khadeeja came second and third, respectively.
In the 10-kilometre category, Akhtar Haji was the fastest male runner with a time of 31 minutes and 10 seconds, whereas Waqar Ahmed was the runner-up and Mubariz Bukhari came in third place.
Among females, Emily grabbed the top slot with a time of 54 minutes, Katherine Nett secured second place, and Aisha Mastoor was third.
The race also featured an RFID system, a tracking system for runners similar to those used in international races.
Runners and their families appreciated the organisation of the Islamabad Night Run and congratulated the organisers on adding another event to the calendar for runners in Islamabad.
In a new development, the driver who crushed two activists of the ‘Save Gaza’ campaign to death on Monday turned out to be a serving lieutenant of Pakistan Army and also the son of a brigadier.
The suspect has been handed over to the Military Police for legal proceedings, the police said on Friday.
Four people, including a police inspector, were also injured as the vehicle ran over the participants of a protest being held just outside the Red Zone in solidarity with Gaza.
Subsequently, a case was registered at the Kohsar police station under sections 322, 337-G, 427 and 279 of the Pakistan Penal Code against the driver.
Police said that the car involved in the accident was registered in the name of the suspect’s father.
After the driver’s arrest, his father reportedly also reached the police station and attempted to influence the police for the release of his son.
However, after the MP and other departments of the army learnt about the incident, they arrived at the police station and took custody of the lieutenant.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) central spokesperson, Raoof Hassan, was attacked on Tuesday by transgender people in Sitara Market, Islamabad.
“Extremely shameful and deplorable,” the party said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, adding: “Central Information Secretary Raoof Hasan attacked by unknown persons outside the office of a private channel.”
It is not known why Hassan was attacked.
In another statement, PTU said that if the spokesperson of the “largest party” is not safe and can be attacked in the capital city, then “what can we make of the safety of others? ”
The attackers used a sharp instrument to injure Raoof Hassan and escaped easily after the incident.
On the other hand, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and information minister Attaullah Tarar condemned the attack and urged a thorough investigation into the incident.
Over 350 Pakistani students have landed in Lahore and Islamabad from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Two of the three special flights landed at the Islamabad and Lahore airports on Sunday night, with 180 students on board each plane. The third plane was also expected to land later in the night.
At the Islamabad airport, the students who arrived were welcomed by federal minister Musadik Malik while in Lahore, the students were greeted by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar.
The Civil Aviation Authority had set up an immigration desk and provided transport to the students on arrival.
As per the instructions of the PM, the federal government will bear the expenses for these special flights.
Ishaq Dar downplayed mob violence
Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar — who put off his trip to Kyrgyzstan — downplayed the mob violence saying the situation in Bishkek was normal and there was no need to panic.
According to Ishaq Dar, 16 foreign students, including “four or five” Pakistanis, were injured in the violence.
FM Dar said that the government would cover the expenses of Pakistani students wishing to return home as 540 students would take three flights to return on Sunday. He said as many as 11,000 Pakistani students were studying in Bishkek, and those returning would be fully facilitated.
He quoted the Kyrgyz foreign minister as saying that the incident in Bishkek was due to a “misunderstanding”.
Students say all is not well
Many students on social media said that the embassy was not providing any help and that the situation in Bishkek was still bad. They said that the foreign students were attacked by Kyrgyz students and locals, adding that they were not even safe on the roads.
Balochistan students ‘ignored’
In Balochistan, Sajid Hussain, an educationist, claimed that the government had taken no steps to bring back at least 300 students from Balochistan stranded in Bishkek.
“Over 300 students from Balochistan are also studying in Kyrgyzstan but they have not been brought back,” Mr Hussain said.
His son and daughter are studying at the Asian International University in Kyrgyzstan along with five other students enrolled there.“I am in contact with my children,” he said, adding that no steps had been taken for the return of Baloch students.
He claimed that the federal government was repatriating students from other provinces and that parents of students from Balochistan were being asked to pay Rs100,000 for each student.
He appealed to Balochistan’s government officials to take notice of the situation and make special arrangements for the province’s students. CM Bugti has reportedly established a special desk in this regard, reported Dawn.
“To reach the students, the foreign ministry is in contact with the embassy of Kyrgyzstan,” the CM said, assuring “every possible assistance” for the students.
A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from Islamabad to Toronto was diverted back to Karachi on Friday after a technical fault was noticed by the captain only four hours into the journey.
The Boeing 777 with 268 passengers onboard was scheduled to take off from Islamabad International Airport at 2:15 pm on Friday, but departed an hour late. When flying over Russia the pilot noticed a technical issue and decided to head back.
PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez Khan said that PIA flight PK-781 was diverted back to Karachi after it developed a technical fault, reported Dawn. He said that after the issue was detected, the plane landed in Karachi around 1 am on Saturday.
The spokesperson claimed that the technical problem with the aircraft was minor, but the captain preferred to return back, rather than to continue the long flight over the Atlantic.
The decision to bring the aircraft back to Karachi was made due to better arrangements at the engineering base and availability of spare parts, he said.
Arrangements to receive the flight at Karachi Airport were said to be in place and the passengers were accommodated at the airport hotel. The flight is now scheduled to depart for Toronto at 1pm today (Saturday).
The aircraft, bearing registration number AP-BGZ, had previously reported the same fault, according to Dawn.
