Tag: Pakistan

  • Update: Sindh High Court restrains police from exhuming Aamir Liaquat’s body, Bushra gets emotional

    Update: Sindh High Court restrains police from exhuming Aamir Liaquat’s body, Bushra gets emotional

    Dr Aamir Liaquat Hussain was found dead on Thursday at his residence. Aamir’s son Ahmed and daughter Dua Aamir refused the postmortem of their father. His funeral prayers will be held today.

    The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday restrained the police from exhuming his body for a post-mortem examination to determine the “actual cause of his death”.

    Following Hussain’s sudden death on June 9, the police had said an autopsy would be conducted but performed only a preliminary examination before relinquishing custody of the body to his family after they refused an autopsy. He was buried the following day.

    His ex-wife Syeda Bushra Iqbal on Wednesday could not control her emotions and her eyes filled with tears after hearing the Sindh High Court’s ruling about suspending the orders for the exhumation of Hussain’s body for an autopsy.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEe4bD1S7Ww

    In a video, Bushra Iqbal can be seen with tears in her eyes while standing with her daughter in the corridor of the SHC.

    A two-member bench of the SHC suspended the judicial magistrate’s order. Aamir Liaquat’s children, Ahmed Aamir and Dua Aamir had moved the court against the order.

    Last week, a Karachi judicial magistrate had ordered authorities to conduct a post-mortem on the televangelist’s body after which a six-member medical board was constituted for the purpose on June 23.

    However, Hussain’s children, Ahmad and Duaa filed a petition in the SHC expressing that they were “aggrieved” and “dissatisfied” at the judicial magistrate’s “baseless and meritless” order and appealed for it to be dismissed.

    When the news of the Aalim Online star’s demise surfaced, his third wife In a video message was seen weeping and pleading to “meet her husband for the last time”. She, however, asked the provincial government to “provide her security” so she could visit Karachi. 

    She further claimed that the couple was about to reconcile, adding that she had no idea that Hussain would “leave her behind” and bid farewell to the world. 

    Expressing her sorrows, Dania once again appealed to CM Punjab to allow her to be a part of Hussain’s last rites. 

    The PTI leader was found unconscious at his home in Khudad Colony in Karachi and was shifted to a private hospital in critical condition.

    Hussain, 50, reportedly felt chest discomfort the night before but refused to go to the hospital. His employee, Javed, said he heard Hussain scream in the morning. 

    The TV personality’s domestic staff broke down his room’s door when they did not receive any reply from him. When rushed to the hospital, doctors said he had already passed away by the time he reached the facility. 

    He was found unresponsive at his house and was rushed to Aga Khan University Hospital.

     The post-mortem examination of the politician was going to be conducted at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

    Liaquat had won the elections from National Assembly constituency NA-245 Karachi-I East-IV in 2018.

    Earlier this year in April Liaquat was taken to the emergency room of a hospital in Karachi, when he complained of a heart ailment, with people speculating it was a heart attack.

  • Enaam Ahmed makes Pakistan proud by securing third position in recent Indy Pro 2000 Championship race

    Enaam Ahmed makes Pakistan proud by securing third position in recent Indy Pro 2000 Championship race

    A 22-year-old British-Pakistani Enaam Ahmed has secured third position in the Indy Pro 2000 Championship while racing at Road America.

    Enaam Ahmed’s historic “Road to Indy” journey led him to Wisconsin and one long and fast-flowing track called Road America at Elkhart Lake. Enaam has nearly completed an entire year of racing in the United States, and this was his first appearance at this facility, located about two hours north of Chicago.

    “We went back to, like, ninth and 10th, but I had a good car, and I fought my way back to third, which I’m happy about. I’ve missed out on a few podiums this year due to a few unlucky things, but I’m happy to be back,” stated Enaam while recalling his experience on the racetrack after bagging a third place on the podium.

    His next car race is at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course from July 1 to 3.

    Enaam began his racing career at the age of 15. His remarkable start quickly propelled him to the British Formula Three Championship, and since then the young driver hasn’t looked back. Enaam Ahmed has competed in a number of renowned events across numerous countries.

  • French court bans ‘burkinis’ in city’s swimming pools

    French court bans ‘burkinis’ in city’s swimming pools

    Women in France will not be able to wear full-length swimsuits or ‘burkinis’ in public swimming pools. France’s high administrative court ruled on Tuesday that public swimming pools in Grenoble should not allow full-body swimsuits, including burkini, upholding a lower court ruling.

    On May 16, the City Council of Grenoble voted in favour of allowing burkini, prompting protests from conservative and far-right politicians of France who say the move has destroyed France’s principle of secularism in public life.

    What is Burkini:

    Burkini is a full body-covering swimsuit. It only has the face, hands and feet exposed. Muslim women often wear these to maintain their modesty according to their beliefs.

    The debate over burkini in France has been heating up since 2016 when a southern city tried to ban it on public beaches. On that occasion, the Conseil d’Etat declared the ban null and void, saying it violated fundamental freedoms.

    Muslim rights groups in France say that the ban on burkini limits basic human rights and it is discrimination against Muslim women.

    France is known for its Muslim discrimination laws, as it banned full-face niqab and burqa veils in public in 2010.

  • Mohammed Hanif withdraws from Germany conference after Palestinian journalist disinvited

    Mohammed Hanif withdraws from Germany conference after Palestinian journalist disinvited

    Pakistani writer Mohammed Hanif has announced that he would no longer attend a Goethe Institute conference being held in Hamburg, Germany, after Mohammed El-Kurd, a Palestinian writer and poet, was disinvited. The conference is to be held from June 23 to 26.

    “Withdrawing from @goerheinstut’s Hamburg conference where they first invited and then disinvited Palestinian journalist and poet Mohammed El Kurd. Reason is even more offensive. Apparently Kurd is not respectful enough towards Israel. How do you say bugger off in German?,” wrote Hanif.

    “Mohammed El Kurd’s house was taken over by settlers when he was elven. Kurd and his sister Muna have been protesting since they were children. Haven’t read much Goethe but I don’t think he wanted the world to be respectful towards a ruthless apartheid regime,” Hanif wrote in another tweet.

    Hanif was invited to talk about the Dynamics of Right Wing Structures.

    Goeth Institute on June 17 tweeted that El-Kurd was “not an appropriate speaker for this forum: in previous posts on social media, he had made several comments about Israel in a way the Goethe-Institut does not find acceptable”.

    https://twitter.com/goetheinstitut/status/1537753910139559936
    Who is Mohammed El-Kurd?

    Kurd is an internationally acclaimed award-winning writer from Jerusalem-occupied Palestine. His work has been featured in numerous international outlets and he is currently the Palestine correspondent for The Nation. RIFQA, his debut collection of poetry, was published by Haymarket Books.

    Kurd has been quite vocal about Israeli occupation and atrocities in Palestine.

  • Sixth Covid wave expected, warn medical experts

    Sixth Covid wave expected, warn medical experts

    Pakistan is expecting another Covid-19 wave, according to medical experts. Karachi is the most affected city with 340 positive cases, raising Sindh’s positivity rate to 10.69 per cent in seven days.

    Medical experts say a new variant — BA.5 — is fast spreading in other countries and had been reported in Pakistan, including Karachi.

    “While other [old] sub-variants of Omicron are also being reported in Karachi, this one is more contagious since it’s a new one and has been a cause of concern in other parts of the world,” said Dr Saeed Khan, a professor of molecular pathology heading the Sindh Public Health Lab at the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), while speaking with Dawn.

    “If we don’t pay heed to medical advice and start implementing the Covid-related preventive measures seriously, the spike in cases might turn into the sixth wave of coronavirus,” he said.

    “They are genetically different, which helps them transmit fast. Other reasons include waning of vaccine immunity after six months, reluctance on part of the general public to get a booster shot and absence of Covid-19 preventive measures at public places,” said Dr Khan.

    According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), 204 cases of Covid-19 with a positivity rate of 1.53 per cent were reported in Pakistan today (June 22).

  • IN PICTURES: Earthquake kills 950 people in Afghanistan

    IN PICTURES: Earthquake kills 950 people in Afghanistan

    At least 950 people have died in Afghanistan as a result of an earthquake. The earthquake was magnitude 6.1 at a depth of 51 km while the epicentre was about 44 km from Khost city in Afghanistan, said the US Geological Survey (USGS). 

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed his grief over the loss of innocent lives in the earthquake. “Deeply grieved to learn about the earthquake in Afghanistan, resulting in loss of innocent lives. People in Pakistan share the grief & sorrow of their Afghan brethren. Relevant authorities working to support Afghanistan in this time of need.”

    Disturbing images of the Paktika province near the Pakistani border are being widely shared on social media, including wrecked stone dwellings, people being carried on stretchers, rubble and ruined homes.

    Helicopters are being used by the Afghan authorities in a rescue effort to transport food and medical supplies to the injured.

  • ‘IMF programme will be revived soon’: Miftah Ismail

    ‘IMF programme will be revived soon’: Miftah Ismail

    Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) evolved a broader agreement on the budget 2022-23 to revise upward the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) target and slash down the expenditures to achieve a revenue surplus in the next fiscal year.

    Federal Minister for Revenue and Finance Miftah Ismail had already indicated the revival of the agreement with IMF within a day or two.

    “I am very hopeful that the IMF programme will be revived soon,” said the finance minister. “Pakistan and the IMF locked the budget details and achieved substantial progress on finalising budgetary targets for 2022-23.”

    “Now the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies (MEFP) will be shared by the IMF soon,” the minister said.

    “Discussions between the IMF staff and the authorities on policies to strengthen macroeconomic stability in the coming year continue, and important progress has been made over the FY23 budget,” Esther Perez Ruiz, the IMF’s resident representative in Islamabad, told Reuters.

    Miftah said that the government would target raising 96 billion rupees from privatisation in 2022/23. In the current fiscal year, the government did not raise any funds from privatisation.

  • Australian woman allegedly axed to death by father-in-law

    Australian woman allegedly axed to death by father-in-law

    Trigger warning: Murder/Abuse

    An Australian woman has allegedly been killed by her father-in-law in Sargodha. Sajida Tasneem was allegedly killed in front of her father at a home she shared with her in-laws on June 11.

    Sher Muhammad Khan, Tasneem’s father, claimed that his son-in-law Ayub Ahmed had coerced his daughter into leaving their Perth, Western Australia home and travelling to Pakistan with her three children, reports The Guardian.

    Mukhtar Ahmad, Tasneem’s father-in-law, is accused of taking Tasneem’s passport.

    The girl’s father reported to the police that on June 11, he allegedly saw Mukhtar abusing his daughter. He discovered them in a restroom at around 1:45 pm. After entering the restroom, Sher Muhammad Khan found Tasneem’s mouth was allegedly filled with a piece of cloth by Ahmad.

    The man then allegedly used an axe to strike Tasneem in the head. Mukthar Ahmad has been booked under murder charges.

    Police are still investigating the case.

  • ‘Can be arrested’: Law minister says Nawaz will have to surrender if he fails to secure transit bail

    ‘Can be arrested’: Law minister says Nawaz will have to surrender if he fails to secure transit bail

    Federal Minister for Law Azam Nazeer Tarar said Tuesday that if Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif does not secure transit bail while coming back to Pakistan, he can be arrested.

    The law minister said that if Nawaz fails to secure transit bail, then he will have to surrender himself and the “courts should provide [relief] to the people who are handing themselves over to the law voluntarily”.

    Speaking on the issue, Tarar said that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto also secured transit bail when she came back to Pakistan.

    It is pertinent to mention here that the Lahore High Court (LHC) allowed Nawaz to go to London for medical treatment in November 2019.

  • Three arrested in Sidhu Moose Wala murder case

    Three arrested in Sidhu Moose Wala murder case

    In a significant breakthrough in Punjabi Singer Sidhu Moose Wala murder case, Delhi Police on Monday claimed to have arrested two shooters and their one associate in the sensational murder of the Punjabi rapper.

    The detainees have been identified as Priyavrat and Kashish (suspected shooter) and their accomplice Keshu Kumar.

    Rap star Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead in his car in the Mansa district of northern Punjab in India last month.

    The 28-year-old was a popular musician in India and among Punjabi communities, especially in Canada, Pakistan, and Britain.

    Police recovered hazardous grenades, a grenade launcher, an assault rifle(AK-47), detonators, and some pistols from the suspects. All the suspected convicts were arrested in Gujarat, India.

    Earlier, Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar claimed responsibility for organising the rapper’s murder and was in touch with the shooters on the morning of the crime.

    Shooters were ordered to kill Sidhu with guns and if guns don’t work, they were even ready to kill him in a blast.

    So far, the Special Investigation Team has arrested 10 people, including Lawrence Bishnoi, on charges of alleged involvement in the murder of Sidhu Musa Wala and identified four shooters involved in the incident.

    Moose Wala rose to prominence with catchy songs attacking rival rappers and politicians, presenting himself as a man who can fight for the pride of his community, and justice.