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Tag: Pakistan

  • District administration Rawalpindi cracks down on cash & carry stores that overcharge customers

    District administration Rawalpindi cracks down on cash & carry stores that overcharge customers

    The district administration of Rawalpindi has launched a major campaign against megastores and cash-and-carry businesses, fined them Rs100,000, filed three police reports, and detained five persons for looting the public by overcharging for basic food items.

    On Tuesday, Assistant Commissioner Dr Zunera Aftab conducted raids on a number of megastores and cash & carry establishments, including marriage halls, according to The News.

    Additionally, the Rawalpindi district government issued warning letters to shopkeepers for allegedly participating in hoarding and faking a shortage of necessities.

    According to Assistant Commissioner Zunera Aftab, strong action has been taken against hoarders and profiteers. She said, “We cannot spare hoarders and profiteers at any cost. She added that hoarders are attempting to create a fake shortage while profiteers are attempting to make a 100 per cent profit on every item. “I will never spare them at any cost,” she threatened.

  • Eight million flood-affected people need immediate medical attention, $81m: WHO

    Eight million flood-affected people need immediate medical attention, $81m: WHO

    The World Health Organization has issued a warning that the flood-affected areas of Pakistan are becoming more dangerous as eight million people are in need of immediate medical attention.


    According to WHO Regional Emergency Director Dr Richard Brennan, deteriorated infrastructure, stagnant water and insufficient sanitation facilities are all contributing to an increase in public health hazards.

    He said that massive amounts of lingering floodwaters had served as mosquito breeding grounds, causing an ongoing malaria outbreak in 32 regions across the nation.


    According to Dr Brennan, it will be difficult for relief organisations to handle the crisis. 

    He said that more than $81.5 million was required to address the health crisis in Pakistan’s flood-affected regions in order to ensure coordinated provision of critical medical services, effective management of severe acute malnutrition, and more effective epidemic identification and control.


    The UN has issued a warning about a “second wave” of disaster, with the possibility that the 1,700 people who drowned and died from electrocution in the original cascade may be outnumbered by those who die from water-borne illness and starvation.
    As many as 33 million people of the 220 million South Asian nation have been affected in some way by the floods that swept away houses, roads, railways and bridges and submerged around 4 million acres of farmland.

  • ‘Do khaas, teen saanp’: Vawda points fingers within PTI in Arshad Sharif’s murder

    ‘Do khaas, teen saanp’: Vawda points fingers within PTI in Arshad Sharif’s murder

    Faisal Vawda, ex-member of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has made the revelation that people within his former party could be involved in the murder of renowned journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya.

    On Samaa News’ programme “Nadeem Malik Live” which aired on Monday, Vawda said, “The assassination was planned in Pakistan by those who could benefit from it,” adding that the murder better suits “three snakes and two VIPs”.

    He said that the “three snakes” belong to the PTI, however, the other two VIPs are non-political and are trusted by Imran Khan. He claimed that he himself had warned Khan several times about them.

    About Arshad Sharif, who was killed on October 23 by two gunshot wounds, the former PTI member said, “He had no issue in coming back to Pakistan”.

    When asked if the establishment supported PTI in the 2018 elections, he said, “If anyone says that the establishment had no role in elections, it will be a lie.”

    He reiterated that the long march which his former party is carrying out right now, would be a bloody march and PTI is heading right toward it.

    On October 26, Vawda dismissed the version of the Kenyan police about Arshad being killed in a case of “mistaken identity”.

    Vawda had made claims that the party’s long march would “witness bloodshed, death, and funerals”. The same day, the PTI suspended Vawda and said that he would not be allowed to hold any party office or represent the party in the media as he had “grossly violated discipline by giving statements against party policies and guidelines”.

    Last week, PTI Chairman Imran Khan announced that Vawda’s membership stands terminated for failing to respond to the show-cause notice issued to him on October 26.

  • Top driving techniques for reducing fuel consumption

    Top driving techniques for reducing fuel consumption

    The price of petrol in Pakistan is unforgivably high and motorists have no recourse since fuel is the basic and continuous expense for gasoline-powered vehicles. Still, the vast majority of auto owners want to lower their monthly fuel costs.

    Fuel economy may not be a huge concern if an individual rarely drives a car for short trips, but regular commuting and lengthy excursions make it challenging to save fuel.

    Here are a few tried-and-true tips that are well-known to increase mileage:

    Go easy on the accelerator

    This entails just accelerating the car when necessary. Frequent braking and engine revving increase fuel consumption whereas keeping the speed of the vehicle steady reduces fuel consumption. This is why you get greater mileage on long routes or motorways.

    It is strongly advised to maintain a low RPM (preferably less than 2,500), and if your automobile has an eco-mode, it would be helpful to frequently use it. Depending on the vehicle, this mode is especially made to improve fuel efficiency and can reduce fuel consumption by up to 15%.

    Watch your speed

    If your car has a small engine (under 1300cc), it will use more gasoline when travelling at speeds of 100 km/h or greater. To provide higher output, the engine must push harder, which raises the RPM and petrol usage.

    Bigger engines may generate greater power at lower RPMs, hence they are often unaffected by higher speeds as they require less power and repeated flooring.

    Be aware that hybrid engines are less affected by this as they may employ electric motors to maintain a high power output while consuming little fuel.

    Drive smartly

    A motorist may handle traffic more effectively by keeping an eye on the surroundings, maintaining safe distances, and analysing the driving habits of other drivers. By doing this, the motorist may prepare for obstacles including roadblocks, red lights, road closures, and bumps.

    Additionally, it aids in intelligent acceleration and deceleration. Ultimately, smart driving is one of the best ways to increase safety and reduce fuel consumption.

    Avoid idling

    This is the most basic fuel-saving advice offered by automotive specialists. It is clear that idling for an extended period of time wastes fuel. In addition, warming up a car shouldn’t take more than 60 seconds.

    Use AC when needed

    When the air conditioner (AC) is on, cars use more petrol. More fuel is saved by just using the AC when necessary.

    Still, driving with your windows down in the summer only to save on fuel is not advised, especially on highways. The automobile experiences higher drag when the windows are rolled down, especially at high speeds. As a result, the automobile encounters higher air resistance and requires more engine power to maintain the same speed.

    This is why while driving at faster speeds, such as on a highway, the driver would be wise to put on the AC rather than rolling down the windows.

    Remove excess weight

    Many automobile owners ignore this underrated advice. If your trunk is empty, it might not make much of a difference, but if you have heavy items within your car, this could be the cause of your excessive fuel usage.

    The engine is put under more stress as the automobile gets heavier because it requires more power to move ahead, which increases fuel consumption.

    Perform regular maintenance

    Every automobile owner’s primary priority should be maintenance. Regularly having your automobile serviced is crucial since there may be many underlying problems and components under the hood that you are unable to inspect or maintain.

  • PM Shehbaz congratulates Lula da Silva on his election as the new Brazilian President

    PM Shehbaz congratulates Lula da Silva on his election as the new Brazilian President

    Brazil has elected leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as President after he beat far-right incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro in a tight presidential election on Sunday.

    Following the election, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif extended his wishes to Silva.

    “I extend my congratulations to H.E. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his election as President of Brazil. I wish him great success and look forward to working with him to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries. We share consensus on the dangers of climate change,” he said in a tweet.

    According to the country’s election authority, Lula secured 50.8 per cent of the vote compared with 49.2 per cent for Bolsonaro.

    In his victory speech, Lula said, “This country needs peace and unity. This population doesn’t want to fight anymore.”

    This is the first time that the sitting president failed to re-win the elections.

    Bolsonaro has made no public statement on the outcome.

    Lula, a hero for the country’s left, could not run in the 2018 election after being incarcerated on corruption charges which were later annulled.

    Lula left the presidency 12 years ago with record popularity after serving from 2003-2010. His conviction was later overturned by the Supreme Court, allowing him to run again for president this year.

  • PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq appointed as the new law minister

    PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq appointed as the new law minister

    Ayaz Sadiq, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader and incumbent federal minister for Economic Affairs, has been appointed as the new Federal Minister of Law and Justice.

    In an official allocation notice, it is stated, “In terms of rule 3(4) of the Rules of Business, 1973, the Prime Minister has been pleased to allocate the portfolio of Law and Justice to Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, the federal Minister for Economic Affairs, with immediate effect.”

    The development has come a week after the unexpected and dramatic resignation of Azam Nazeer Tarar as the law minister.

    Sadiq began his career with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and joined PML-N in 2001. He has been elected twice for the slot of National Assembly (NA) speaker. He was also the acting President of Pakistan in 2014.

    Azam Nazeer Tarar steps down as law minister, citing ‘personal reason’

    On October 24, Federal Law and Justice Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar resigned from his post for “personal reasons”.

    In his resignation letter, addressed to President Dr Arif Alvi, Tarar wrote: “I have had the great honour and privilege to serve my country as the Federal Minister for Law and Justice under the leadership of Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.”

    Citing the reason for his resignation, the PML-N leader said, “Due to personal reasons, I am unable to discharge my duties as the federal minister”.

    “Therefore, in terms of Clause (3) of Article 92 of the Constitution of the Republic of Pakistan, I hereby resign from my office,” his resignation letter added.

    Prior to this, Tarar supported Chief Justice (CJ) Umar Ata Bandial’s nominations of junior judges for elevation to the Supreme Court on the instructions of the federal government.

    However, it was being speculated that he was not comfortable with the government’s decision, therefore, he decided to tender his resignation, reports Express Tribune.

    Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Ahsan Bhoon welcomed Tarar’s resignation. He said that Tarar showed loyalty to the party by following the government’s instruction, but he stood with the bar by resigning.

    Moreover, some media reports said that some powerful circles were upset at the sloganeering during the Asma Jahangir Conference the other day, in his presence. This resignation is seen in the context of that episode.

    Tarar is a senior PML-N leader, a lawyer, and a bar representative who assumed the responsibilities of Federal Minister for Law and Justice in April 2022.

  • Weekly inflation up by 4% due to sharp increase in electricity prices

    Weekly inflation up by 4% due to sharp increase in electricity prices

    Owing to a sharp increase in electricity prices, the sensitive pricing index (SPI), which measures weekly inflation, increased by more than 4 per cent.

    According to data released on Friday by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the SPI-based inflation rate increased 4.13 per cent from the previous week to the week ending October 27 while increasing 30.68 per cent from the same time last year.

    The cost of power, salt, rice, and other basic commodities went up on average during the previous week.

    According to Geo, there has been a decrease in the cost of 16 goods, including chicken, tomatoes, onions, and masoor pulses. In the meantime, the prices for 14 necessities remained the same.

    Electricity costs up by 89 per cent

    An increase from week to week is mostly caused by an 89 per cent increase in electricity costs.

    Recall that a negative Rs10 per unit adjustment to fuel prices was implemented in September. The government opted to postpone the Rs. 10 per unit adjustment for the June fuel price, but it had already been accounted for in the inflation figures for August, therefore it was corrected for in the September inflation figures.

    Inflation is expected to be 25.7 per cent in October, up from 23.2 per cent in September, according to the brokerage.

    In the week under examination, the combined income group index increased from 205.27 points for the week that concluded on October 20 to 213.74 points.

    In comparison to the prior week, the SPI for the income bracket with the lowest income rose by 4.64 per cent. The group’s index was 220.56 points, up from 210.78 points the previous week.

    Increase in prices

    Prices of the following items increased:

    Food items

    Salt powdered: 2.57 per cent

    Tea Lipton: 1.89 per cent

    Rice: 1.24 per cent

    Garlic: 1.04 per cent

    Non-food items

    Electricity charges for Q1: 89.34 per cent

    Energy saver: 1.57 per cent

    Reduction in prices

    Prices of the following items decreased:

    Food items

    Tomatoes: -3.77 per cent

    Onions: -2.97 per cent

    Pulse Masoor: -2.50 per cent

    Chicken: -1.86 per cent

    Pulse Gram: -1.35 per cent

    Gur: -1.09 per cent

    Non-food items

    LPG: -0.72 per cent

  • Mob in Karachi lynches two telecom workers to death mistaking them as child kidnappers

    Two employees of a telecommunication company were lynched by an angry mob on Friday in Karachi over rumours of child kidnapping. The incident took place in Machar Colony, where two employees of the telecom company were tortured to death by the mob when they came to check the signals of the cellular network in the area.


    Meanwhile, DIG South took notice of the incident and sought a report from Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kiamari, Fida Hussain Janwari, in this regard.
    SSP Kiamari said that both people were employees of a telecom company. “All aspects of the incident are being investigated,” he said.


    The police also confirmed that the victim’s vehicle, bearing registration number ALB- 946, was set on fire.


    Arif, the cousin of one of the victims, Aiman Javed, told reporters at the Civil Hospital’s Trauma Center that the victim was the youngest of his four siblings and had earned an engineering degree from Sindh University.


    “He was working at a telecom company and belonged to Thatta. He was about to get married after some time,” Arif said.


    Meanwhile, the uncle of the other lynched man, Saeed Ishaq Panwhar, also spoke to the media and revealed that he was employed as a driver at the telecom company for the last four to five months.

  • Rana Sanaullah denies PTI’s Swati’s claim of being tortured in custody by military officials

    Rana Sanaullah denies PTI’s Swati’s claim of being tortured in custody by military officials

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has dismissed claims made by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader and Senator, Azam Swati, that he had been subjected to custodial torture and stripping by two military officials.

    In a joint press conference today (Friday), Sanaullah along with Additional Director Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Ayaz Khan and Head of Cybercrime Waqaruddin Syed responded to Swati’s allegations.

    The minister said that the FIA did not hand Swati over to any other institutions and denied allegations of torture, alleging that Swati and PTI were instigating mischief. “It is important to put facts before the nation, as they lie brazenly,” the minister added.

    He also invited the additional director of FIA to present the “facts” behind the raid that was conducted to arrest Swati in October.

    Ayaz said that the First Information Report (FIR) which was registered against Swati was for “a cognisable offence” after obtaining “proper” search, seizure and arrest warrants.

    He clarified that Swati was not arrested in front of his grandchildren. He further said his team went to Swati’s house with the police and before entering the house they “properly introduced” themselves at the gate.

    Talking about PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s allegations regarding the torture and stripping of his party members including Swati and Shahbaz Gill, Sanaullah said that he doesn’t understand why Khan keeps repeating the same narrative.

    “Imran Khan has adopted an anti-national agenda and instigates propaganda. He wants to take the country toward chaos and anarchy. His propaganda will be countered at all levels,” the minister said.

    Earlier today, Swati alleged that “Major General Faisal” and “Sector Commander Fahim” were the “two culprits” behind his abuse and custodial torture. During the press conference, he also showed the alleged torture marks present on his hands.

    He also demanded that “the infamous ISI political wing be buried” as he was of the view that it is responsible for the “insult and notoriety” for the country.

    Earlier this month, Swati was arrested in a case registered against him over a controversial tweet thought to be against the armed forces. Since his arrest, Swati has alleged he was stripped and tortured while in custody.

  • PM Shehbaz promises to mend relations with the US

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has promised that the federal government is trying to mend relations with the United States (US).

    Addressing the passing out parade of the Specialised Training Programme (STP) in Islamabad, the Premier said that in the last few years, Pakistan’s relations with friendly countries had suffered. However, he promised that he was making all-out efforts to mend ties.

    He said that he is going to China soon as the northern neighbor, “always stood with Pakistan”.

    The Prime Minister, who just concluded a three-day trip to Saudi Arabia, said that that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud would soon be visiting Pakistan, adding that he has expressed willingness to support development projects in the country.

    “Earlier this year, a team from the Saudi Development Fund visited Pakistan. During a meeting with me, they complained about delays in projects in Pakistan caused by the previous government,” he recalled.

    Shehbaz Sharif said that during his meeting with Prince Salman he had apologised for these delays. “He [Prince Salman] said that the people of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are closely bound together in a relationship. We are like one family and I am ready to do everything. These were his words,” the Prime Minister recounted to the audience.

    Hence, he added, when the crown prince visits Pakistan, “I want all of you to welcome him warmly because he comes from a brotherly country.”