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Tag: Pakistan

  • Sarah Inam murder case: Shahnawaz, mother indicted

    Sarah Inam murder case: Shahnawaz, mother indicted

    A district and sessions court in Islamabad has indicted prime suspect Shahnawaz Amir and his mother Sameena Shah, on Monday in the Sarah Inam murder case.


    The indictment was issued by sessions court judge Atta Rabbani while dismissing Sameena’s plea requesting the court to discharge her from the case. The verdict on the plea was reserved earlier in the day after legal arguments were finished.


    In September, news of Sarah’s murder rocked Islamabad as details of the crime spread across social media and news networks.

    Central to the sensationalism surrounding the crime was the fact that the alleged murderer was the son of renowned columnist and political analyst, Ayaz Amir.

    It has been reported that after murdering her with a blow to her head with a dumbbell, Shahnawaz dumped her body in a bathtub.

  • Nawaz Sharif to return back to Pakistan anytime now: reports

    Nawaz Sharif to return back to Pakistan anytime now: reports

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif has finalized plans to return home to Pakistan before the next general elections.

    According to media reports, Nawaz Sharif has instructed his party that if Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief Imran Khan dissolves the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assemblies, new elections should be held in both provinces within 90 days as per the constitution, while Nawaz himself will head the election campaign of these provincial elections.

    The former Prime Minister has also completed consultations about his return with his lawyers. His legal team will begin pursuing reviews of his convictions in courts immediately after his arrival.

    Media reports also suggest that it has been decided at the highest level that Nawaz Sharif will no longer keep himself away from domestic politics and will directly lead his party and supporters in the next election.

  • Here is when Polio will end in Pakistan according to UNICEF

    The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has expressed confidence that polio virus will be eradicated from Pakistan by the end of next year, following effective measures to check its spread.


    UNICEF’s Regional Director for South Asia, George Laryea-Adjei, said that according to available data, the potentially fatal virus is in control in Pakistan.

    “We are using all available resources and services at our disposal to reach every girl and boy in Pakistan with life saving vaccines and protect them against the entirely preventable disease,” he said.


    “The programme is back on track to stop all wild poliovirus transmission in 2023,” he added.

    Adjei noted that compared to a year ago, Pakistan was in a far better position to eradicate polio. He stated that certain obstacles complicated efforts to entirely eradicate the pathogen.


    He lamented the attacks on health workers and polio teams in various areas of Pakistan and voiced his concern about them. He also praised the polio teams’ bravery.


    Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio has not yet been eradicated. To formally eradicate the disease, a nation must be polio-free for three consecutive years. Nigeria was declared free from wild polio in August 2020.

  • Gen (r) Bajwa watches Pak vs England Test in Pindi

    Gen (r) Bajwa watches Pak vs England Test in Pindi

    The former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa, watched the fourth day of the first Test series between Pakistan and England on Sunday in Rawalpindi.

    The recently retired COAS handed over the military’s command to General Asim Munir earlier this week, marking the end of his six-year extended tenure.

    Having taken a 78-run lead in the runfest, England declared their second innings on 264-7 to set Pakistan an improbable victory target of 343 with four sessions to go.

    Harry Brook (87), Joe Root (73), and Zak Crawley (50) scored half-centuries for the visitors. While, the Shaheens: Naseem Shah, Mohammad Ali, and Zahir Mahmood claimed two wickets each for Pakistan.

    A day earlier, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam became the seventh batsman to smash a century.

    Last week, the Ben Stokes-led England cricket team finally embarked on their historic Test tour of Pakistan for the first time since 2005.

    Twitterati shared pictures of the ex-army chief at the Pindi cricket stadium.

    https://twitter.com/ShahSheraz3/status/1599392299212935168?s=20&t=yS86XL7K0W9eLwsJf33ECg
  • Pakistan engaged in severe violations of religious freedom: US

    Pakistan engaged in severe violations of religious freedom: US

    The United States (US) has placed Pakistan on a list of countries that are “engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom” during 2022.

    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced this on Friday and said, “Around the world, governments and non-state actors harass, threaten, jail, and even kill individuals on account of their beliefs.”

    He noted that the US will not stand by in the face of these abuses.

    Apart from Pakistan, the US has placed China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and others. However, Algeria, the Central African Republic, Comoros, and Vietnam are on the Special Watch List for engaging in, or tolerating, severe violations of religious freedom.

    This is not the first time that Pakistan is on the list of religious freedom violators.

    The Trump administration first placed Pakistan on this list in December 2018 and retained it in 2020 as well. The Biden administration, which came to office in January last year, retained the old list with some changes, but kept Pakistan on it.

  • Ramiz adamant that Asia Cup will not be held on neutral venue

    Ramiz adamant that Asia Cup will not be held on neutral venue

    Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Ramiz Raja, has said that the Asia Cup will not be held at a neutral venue.


    “India is not coming, I can understand. But to take the Asia Cup away from us is not right. There’s no reason why India can’t c

    ome to Pakistan and Pakistan go to India,” he said.


    Raja also urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) and other top cricket nations to adopt a fair stance rather than staying quiet on important matters.

    “I think the ICC have got to think more out of the box. I’m not just looking at India and Pakistan, but the England Cricket Board and Australian Cricket Board, neutral boards who have held important positions who can be fair regarding an issue. But when they keep quiet it frustrates me completely,” he stated.

    “You have to be emotionally engaged in our concerns. If somebody crosses the line they need to be told and not brushed under the carpet,” he stressed.
    Earlier, Ramiz said Pakistan will boycott the ICC World Cup 2023 if India refuses to visit Pakistan for the upcoming Asia Cup.

  • Pakistan has the highest number of Hepatitis C patients in the world

    Pakistan now has the highest rate of Hepatitis C infections, with over 500,000 people getting the disease since 2015, Geo has reported.
    According to Dr. Homie Razavi, an epidemiologist at the Centre for Disease Analysis (CDA) in the United States, Pakistan has the highest global prevalence of Hepatitis C infections, with an estimated 10 million persons affected.

    “Pakistan is now home to the world’s largest population of patients living with Hepatitis C, surpassing even China, India and Nigeria. We have been working for the last two years with various provincial health departments in Pakistan and following detailed research and analysis, we found that around half a million new Hepatitis C infections emerged in Pakistan from 2015 to 2021. The total number of Hepatitis C patients is estimated to be 10 million in Pakistan, the highest in the world,” Dr Razavi told a news briefing in Karachi.

    Suggesting that Pakistan should learn from Egypt which has successfully brought down it’s rate of the potentially fatal virus. In 2015, Egypt had the fourth-highest number of Hepatitis C infections; today, it has the seventeenth-highest number. According to Dr. Razavi, Egypt established a national programme to screen its whole population and treated everyone who tested positive.

  • World AIDS Day: PM vows to end stigma attached with HIV

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has shared a message on World AIDS Day, calling the increasing incidence of HIV “deeply worrying”.

    From his twitter, the Premier wrote, “The increasing incidence of HIV & AIDS among the children & adolescents is deeply worrying. I urge the Ministry of Health to focus on awareness about testing, prevention & treatment to fight scourge. On World AIDS Day today, let us all vow to end the stigma attached with HIV.”

    The number of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections is on the rise in the country, particularly in Sindh and Islamabad.

    Sindh government on Monday announced launching a mobile application for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening test.

  • TTP terror activities should be concerning for Afghan Taliban says Rana Sanaullah

    TTP terror activities should be concerning for Afghan Taliban says Rana Sanaullah

    Interior Minister Rana Sanullah has said that the involvement of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) militants in terror activities inside Pakistan should be a matter of concern for the Afghan Taliban as it is dangerous for regional peace.

    Addressing a press conference, Rana Sanaullah said that the rise in terror activities is alarming but the situation is not out of control.

    “TTP is enjoying all sorts of facilities in Afghanistan,” the minister said, a day after the banned outfit claimed an attack in Quetta in which a policeman, a woman, and two children were killed, while 26 people, including 23 cops and two children, were injured. Sanaullah has also asked the provincial governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan to address terrorism before the federal government takes the matter in its hands.

    Police have said that a truck of Frontier Constabulary (FC) was targeted in the Quetta explosion. Injured cops and civilians were rushed to a nearby hospital.

    Emergency responders and police rushed to the scene to provide rescue assistance. Police confirmed that 16 members of Balochistan constabulary also suffered multiple injuries.

    TTP has claimed the attack. This is the third attack by the militant organisation since they announced an end to ceasefire on Monday.

  • Russia refuses to give Pakistan 30–40% discount on crude oil

    Russia refuses to give Pakistan 30–40% discount on crude oil

    It appears that talks with Russia came to an end without any conclusion since Moscow has refused to offer Pakistan a 30–40 per cent discount on crude oil, claiming that all volumes were committed.

    During the negotiations, the Pakistani group, which included State Minister for Petroleum Musadik Malik, the joint secretary, and representatives of the Pakistani Embassy in Moscow, sought a reduction.

    However, Russia has pledged to take Pakistan’s request into consideration and to later communicate its opinion through diplomatic channels.

    Nevertheless, according to sources, Russia can provide oil at the rates it is currently offering to its major client countries, which are stable and solid economies, at an appropriate time. All quantities are currently contracted with significant purchasers, they claimed.

    The Russian side urged Pakistan to start by keeping its word over the Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline, which will be built from Karachi to Lahore, Punjab.

    During the negotiations, the Pakistani side expressed a desire to alter the PSGP project’s model. The Russian side claimed that only a few provisions of the shareholding agreement needed to be finalised and that the model of the project under the GtG arrangement had already been established.

    According to Geo, the official delegation from Pakistan travelled to Moscow on November 29 for a three-day meeting with Russian officials to discuss the possibility of importing crude oil at a reduced price, as well as the mode of payment and shipping costs.

    Russian crude oil may be processed in Pakistan’s refineries, and one private refinery has previously used Russian crude oil to provide completed goods, according to sources in the industry ministry.