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Tag: Pakistan

  • Lahore High Court orders sealing smoke emitting factories

    Lahore High Court orders sealing smoke emitting factories

    Taking stern action for the prevention of smog in the city, Lahore High Court has ordered that factories that are becoming a source of contaminating the air should be sealed.

    Lahore has had hazardous levels of air quality five days in a row. Hearing a petition filed by a citizen, Haroon Farooq, the court reviewed all the steps that have been taken by the local administration and the implementation of previous judgments by the court. Commissioner Lahore division Mohammad Ali Randhawa was present in front of the judge and laid out the efforts made by the administration.

    He told the court that strict actions have been taken against smoke emitting vehicles. For the awareness of environment friendly transport, as advised by the court in a previous hearing, campaigns for the promotion of cycling are being run in the government sector.
    The court advised penalising the owners of the vehicles and including the private sector in the revival of cycling in next five to six months to protect the environment for the future.

    Justice Shahid Kareem further adjudicated that factories that are contributing in the worsening of smog should be sealed, only allowed to reopen when the owners submit their word that if they do not comply with the guidelines their factories will be levelled to the ground by the authorities.
    The next hearing is scheduled for November 7.

  • Dar will decide who can run for elections from PMLN: notification

    Dar will decide who can run for elections from PMLN: notification

    The President of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), Shehbaz Sharif, has appointed Senator Ishaq Dar as the leader of the party’s election cell for the upcoming polls.


    On Saturday, PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal issued a notification with the approval of Shehbaz Sharif announcing Dad’s appointment.
    “With the approval of the President PML-N, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar is hereby appointed as Chairman, Election Cell PML-N, for General Elections 2024,” read the notification.


    Marriyum Aurangzeb, the spokesperson for PML-N, said in a tweet that the party’s election-related efforts will gain more momentum following the recent appointment.
    “All polls related activities including the process of applications to get the party ticket will be completed soon,” said Marriyum Aurangzeb.
    PML-N head Nawaz Sharif will address public rallies across the country soon, once the tickets are awarded.

  • Fawad Chaudhry arrested again from Islamabad

    Former Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry’s wife, Hiba Chaudhry, and brother, Faisal Chaudhry, have claimed on Saturday that he has been arrested from his home in Islamabad by police.

    In a tweet posted on X (formerly Twitter), Hiba wrote, “Fawad arrested and taken to unknown place.”

    Geo News has reported in its bulletin that Fawad was arrested from home in front of his children and his wife by police and other officials in plain clothes.

    Hiba Chaudhry told Geo News that she was not shown an arrest warrant by the police officials.

    Hiba Fawad also said in her tweet that “Islamabad police taken Fawad. I need the Case information in which he is nominated.”

    Fawad became one of the first famous names to leave Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf after the events of May 9, joining Istehkaam Pakistan Party (IPP), a joining political analysts consider a reluctant decision.

    This would make it the third arrest within the year for Fawad Chaudhry.

  • Security forces successfully prevent terrorist attack at PAF Air Base Mianwali

    Security forces successfully prevent terrorist attack at PAF Air Base Mianwali

    During the early hours of Saturday, security forces successfully prevented a terrorist attack on the Pakistan Air Force ( PAF) Mianwali Training Air Base, as reported by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Three militants were neutralized in the operation.


    According to the military’s media wing, “On 04 November 2023, in the early hours of the day, Mianwali Training Air Base of Pakistan Air Force came under a failed terrorist attack which, Alhumdolliah, due to the swift and effective response by the troops, has been foiled and thwarted, ensuring the safety and security of personnel and assets.”

    Three terrorists were eliminated as they attempted to enter the base, while the remaining three were contained and isolated due to the swift and effective action of the troops, who displayed remarkable bravery.


    “However, during the attack, some damage to three already grounded aircraft and a fuel bowser also occurred,” the statement read.
    “Pakistan Armed Forces remain committed to eliminating the menace of terrorism from the country at all costs,” said the ISPR.

  • Gujranwala: Woman burnt alive by husband is now dead

    Gujranwala: Woman burnt alive by husband is now dead

    Update: Shumaila, the woman who was burnt alive by her husband Naseer and his first wife Robina has expired in a hospital in Lahore. She was admitted to the hospital five days back but could not survive the severity of her burns. The incident happened in a village near Gujranwala, Chak Behlol.

    Further investigation has revealed that she got divorced from her first husband to marry Naseer who was already married. The constant tussle between the two wives led to this tragic situation where she was burnt alive by Naseer and his first wife in the presence of a crowd of villagers who kept making videos.

    Naseer is already in the custody of the police.

    Previously, a harrowing video of a woman being burnt alive-in a village near Gujranwala-has gone viral on social media. The crowd watching kept making videos whereas Shumaila, the woman, was burning.

    An FIR has been registered after a delay of two days. Shumaila’s husband, Naseer, has been arrested and the search for his other wife is going on.

    Shumaila, the victim, has told the police that the husband sprayed petrol on her while the other wife was his accomplice in setting her on fire. The two have been constantly fighting since the man married for a second time.
    The woman is in critical condition, being treated in a hospital in Lahore.

  • Cost of living rises: SPI records increase in weekly inflation 

    Cost of living rises: SPI records increase in weekly inflation 

    The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) recorded a slight increase of 0.71 per cent for the week ending November 3, 2023, compared to the previous week.

    According to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the combined index stood at 279.08 on November 3, 2023, up from 277.11 on October 26, 2023, and significantly higher than the index of 214.88 recorded a year ago on November 3, 2022.

    Out of 51 items, the prices of 12 items increased, 14 items decreased, and 25 items remained stable. 

    The most notable price increases were seen in tomatoes (25.58 per cent), onions (25.25 per cent), chicken (10.79 per cent), potatoes (1.61 per cent), Lipton tea (1.58 per cent), eggs (1.30 per cent), garlic (0.50 per cent), basmati broken rice (0.19 per cent), georgette (0.28 per cent), and firewood (0.05 per cent).

    Conversely, significant price decreases were observed in gur (2.66 per cent), bananas (1.78 per cent), 5-litre cooking oil (1.62 per cent), 1 kg vegetable ghee (1.23 per cent), LPG cylinders (1.05 per cent), masoor pulse (0.93 per cent), wheat flour (0.62 per cent), washing soap (0.41 per cent), and mustard oil (0.32 per cent).

    The weekly SPI percentage change across different income groups revealed an increase in SPI for all quantiles, ranging from 0.64 per cent to 0.86 per cent.

  • Nikkahkhwan to pay fine of Rs. 30,000 if found involved in ceremonies playing music

    Nikkahkhwan to pay fine of Rs. 30,000 if found involved in ceremonies playing music

    A committee of religious scholars in a village called Tabi Murad in Lakki Marwat have imposed a ban on playing any sort of music in engagement and marriage ceremonies, while also barring clerics from offering funeral prayer for those who arrange such programs or else they will have to pay a huge fine of Rs30,000.

    In a strict warning, endorsed by 30 local scholars, it is stated that a hafiz or a cleric should not officiate a Nikah if they are playing music. To make it more stern, they have asked the clerics to not attend funeral rites of those who play music in their ceremonies. The clerics are cautioned to confirm these facts before solemnising marriages.

    Locals have appreciated the decision because they believe that these programs disrupt the peace of the area while the scholars have stressed that this ban is imposed on the repeated requests of the residents of the village.

  • Pakistan should not make more enemies, cautions Taliban Refugee Minister

    Pakistan should not make more enemies, cautions Taliban Refugee Minister

    The Taliban government’s refugees minister, Khalil Haqqani, has said in an interview with AFP that, “They [Pakis­tani authorities] should not give Afghans a hard time, they should not make more enemies.” The statement was said in the context of the mass exodus of refugees from Pakistan under the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan.

    Authorities on the Afghanistan side have established centres several kilometres from a border crossing along with camps for families in what was described as an “emergency situation” by the Afghan officials. “We are constantly in contact with them [Pakis­tani authorities] asking for more time. People must be allowed to return with dignity,” he reiterated.

    Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Salam Hanafi also visited the Torkham border and asserted that the deportation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan is in violation of International laws. He also mentioned that the ones coming back are their brethren and this is their home. To address all their problems will be the first priority of the government.

  • ‘Kisi media walay ko elections mein doubt hai to apni biwi ko bataye, awam ko nahi’: Chief Justice

    ‘Kisi media walay ko elections mein doubt hai to apni biwi ko bataye, awam ko nahi’: Chief Justice

    Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, issued a firm warning to the country’s media during a hearing of multiple pleas seeking timely elections within 90 days of the dissolution of the assemblies.

    “If media raises suspicions about the elections, they will be committing a violation of the constitution,” he remarked, adding that journalists cannot simply grab a microphone and say there are doubts about the elections.

    “An anchor or reporter cannot raise doubts about whether the elections will happen or not,” he stated.

    Faez Isa warned that if rumors or speculations are spread about the elections, action will be taken by PEMRA.

    The head of the apex court stressed that, “Media outlets should know that they do not have the right to lie. Media freedom has been granted in the constitution.”

    He further said that if a media person has suspicions about the elections, he will not tell the public, but he can tell his wife.

    The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the government to ensure the conduct of general elections on February 8, a day after President Arif Alvi and Chief Election Commissioner Sikandar Sultan Raja unanimously agreed on the aforementioned date during a meeting held at the President’s House.

    A three-member bench headed by CJP Isa and comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Amin-Ud-Din Khan heard the case.

    The court, in its order, mentioned that the notification of the general election date has also been issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), stating that no party has any objection to holding elections on February 8.

    Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa asked everyone in the courtroom as well as the Attorney-General for Pakistan, Mansoor Usman Awan, if they had any objection to the election date, but all replied in the negative.

    “After all the requirements are fulfilled, the Election Commission should announce the election schedule,” CJP Isa said.
    The chief justice said: “Elections will definitely be held on February 8, God willing.”

  • KP government launches first Mental Health institute

    KP government launches first Mental Health institute

    The caretaker setup in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa led by Chief Minister Azam Khan inaugurated the first-ever Institute of Mental Health Sciences in the provincial capital Peshawar on Thursday.

    The landmark project has incurred a total cost of Rs2.52 billion. The larger plan includes an emergency unit, OPD, ICU, a psychiatric unit, family counseling, and a rehabilitation centre among other facilities. It will start with providing OPD services and will move on to add other services in later stages.

    In the inaugural ceremony, the Chief Minister spoke about the facilities offered by the institute and the courses on various areas concerning mental health offered there. He emphasised the growing need for understanding and treating mental illnesses that are rampant globally and the opening of one of its kind institute is a step in the right direction. He promised that the state-of-the-art institute will provide facilities for the treatment of mental illnesses and all services related to mental health.