Current Final

Tag: Pakistan

  • Coronavirus: Eight Chinese nationals deported from Islamabad airport

    As many as eight Chinese nationals have been deported from the Islamabad International Airport as coronavirus fear grips the entire world following the World Health Organization’s (WHO) declaration of a global emergency over the spreading virus and Chinese authorities increasing the toll to 213 dead and nearly 10,000 infections.

    According to reports, a flight from Dubai with eight Chinese passengers on board landed in Islamabad on Friday. The Chinese nationals — five men and three women — were screened and later sent back to Dubai after being disallowed from boarding a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from the federal capital to Beijing. 

    All eight individuals, reports said, were deported through a private airline carrier.

    The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has partially suspended all direct flight operations between Pakistan and China amid fear of the deadly coronavirus. According to a notification issued by CAA, the direct flight operations between two countries will remain suspended till February 2.

    CORONAVIRUS:

    In mid-December, some people in the central Chinese city of Wuhan began complaining of flu and pneumonia-like symptoms. Some had a high fever. Doctors were perplexed. To find out what might be causing their illness, geneticists analysed the DNA of the virus that had infected them.

    At once, the scientists realised the virus was new to science.

    As of January 23, experts at WHO in Switzerland estimated that at least 557 people have contracted the rapidly spreading disease. All countries have since been taking precautionary measures to curb the menace of the deadly disease.

  • Pakistan, Turkey planning to provide dual nationality to citizens of both countries

    Pakistan, Turkey planning to provide dual nationality to citizens of both countries

    A plan is under consideration to sign an agreement with Turkey regarding providing dual nationality to the citizens of two countries, a private media outlet has reported.

    Reports quoted a statement issued by the Interior Ministry as saying that this came during a meeting between Interior Minister Brigadier (r) Ijaz Shah and Turkish Ambassador to Islamabad Ihsan Mustafa Yurdakul on Thursday.

    According to the statement, the Turkish ambassador on behalf of his government proposed that both the countries should sign an agreement regarding providing dual nationality to the citizens.

    “In response to this, the minister said that the draft is under consideration and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is on board with us, we hope to reach a mutual conclusion soon,” it added.

    Shah also welcomed the mutual training programmes and upgrading of equipment of law enforcing agencies with Turkey.

    “The interior minister welcomed the initiative of introducing a patrolling force in collaboration with Islamabad Police on the model of Dolphin Force introduced in Lahore,” the statement said.

    The ambassador and minister also mutually agreed on the continuity of the training programmes being held to improve the capacity of the workforce.

    Yurdakul also informed the minister that the Turkish president was scheduled to visit Pakistan soon.

    Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu is also expected to visit Pakistan in February and will meet Shah to discuss bilateral matters, the statement said.

    The interior minister was also informed that the Turkish consulate that is under construction in the southern city of Karachi is the largest one in the world by Turkey.

    Interior Minister Shah also extended condolences to the ambassador over the losses due to recent earthquake that killed at least 40 people and left over a thousand others injured.

  • Boy sets himself on fire after father bars him from using TikTok

    Boy sets himself on fire after father bars him from using TikTok

    A teenage boy set himself on fire after his father advised and stopped him making TikTok videos. 

    As per reports, the boy from Arifwala near Pakpattan tried to commit suicide by setting himself on fire after his father constantly stopped him from recording Tiktok videos. The boy was shifted to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

    TikTok is a video-sharing social networking application that is used to create short lip-sync, comedy, and talent videos.

    Last year in December, the teenager was accidentally shot dead while recording a video with his friends in Sialkot’s Kharota Syedan area.

    The 16-year-old boy, identified as Ammar Haider was using a pistol to record a TikTok video with his two other friends. Allegedly, the trigger of the pistol was accidentally pressed and the bullet hit Ammar’s stomach, which caused his death.

    TikTok has over 500 million active users worldwide. The app had already crossed 1 billion downloads last year.

  • Coronavirus: Pak-China trade suspended, Opp demands bringing students back

    Coronavirus: Pak-China trade suspended, Opp demands bringing students back

    With the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring a global emergency over the spreading coronavirus, as Chinese authorities increase the toll to 213 dead and nearly 10,000 infections, trade between Pakistan and China has been suspended while opposition demands bringing back Pakistanis stuck in China.

    According to reports, while it was also decided that all Chinese imports will be sprayed with disinfectants, Pakistan on Friday suspended flight operations — except those of Pakistan Internation Airlines (PIA) — to the neighbouring country.

    TRADE SUSPENDED:

    According to a statement, trade has been suspended between the two countries for at least a month, while the issuance of Chinese visas to traders has also been halted.

    The volume of trade between the two countries is around $15 billion — around 30 per cent of Pakistan’s total trade — and the country is now mulling to import goods from other countries instead, a report said.

    Also, the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) will quarantine the Chinese and Southeast Asian ship personnel, its chairperson, Rear Admiral Jamil Akhtar, said. He added the containers, especially those arriving from China and Southeast Asia, would be thoroughly checked, and that special care would be taken to ensure that the staff on these ships remained limited to the port only.

    NO FLIGHTS TO OR FROM CHINA:

    “We are suspending flights to China until February 2,” Aviation Additional Secretary Abdul Sattar Khokhar told Reuters, adding the situation would be reviewed after that date. He declined to comment on the reason for the closure.

    Some airlines, including British Airways, have suspended flights to China due to warnings of the coronavirus outbreak. Germany, Britain and other countries have issued warnings about travel to China.

    Russia also sealed its remote far-eastern border with China as a precaution on Thursday. Some countries have banned entry for travellers from Wuhan, the central Chinese city where the virus first surfaced, while reports said that PIA would continue to operate between the two countries.

    OPPOSITION WANTS STUDENTS RESCUED:

    Meanwhile, opposition leaders have demanded that the government take responsibility of the Pakistani students stuck in China, and bring them back to the country.

    Reports quoted Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Usman Kakar as saying in the Senate that over 28,000 Pakistanis, 10,000 of which are students, were stuck in China, and the government’s decision to not bring them back was no less than “attempted murder”.

    While Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Mushahidullah said that the government should take responsibility of the students stranded in China, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Rehman Malik said that military’s C-130 aircraft should be sent to rescue them

    ‘WE’RE MONITORING SITUATION’:

    The Pakistani government is monitoring the situation in China and is in close contact with the relevant authorities in order to ensure the safety of Pakistani students in Wuhan, said the Foreign Office on the other hand. 

    “Islamabad has taken up the issue of food shortages with concerned officials and we are assured by the Chinese government of full cooperation in this regard,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Aaisha Farooqui said at a press briefing.

    In response to questions about the evacuation of Pakistani citizens from Wuhan, the spokesperson said, “Islamabad is monitoring the evolving situation and will take a decision after consultations among all the stakeholders.”

  • Pakistan suspends flight operations to China amid coronavirus outbreak

    Pakistan suspends flight operations to China amid coronavirus outbreak

    Pakistan on Friday halted flights to and from China with immediate effect as death toll from the deadly coronavirus continued to climb in China and World Health Organisation declared it a global health emergency.

    “We are suspending flights to China until February 2,” Senior Joint Secretary of aviation Abdul Sattar Khokhar told Reuters, adding the situation would be reviewed after that date.

    Previously on Thursday, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) suspended all flights to Beijing until February 2. It is pertinent to mention here that PIA had restarted two flights to Tokyo and Beijing in May 2019 after a gap of three months.

    Meanwhile, Special Assistant to PM Imran on Health Dr Zafar Mirza announced that the government has decided not to repatriate Pakistani citizens stranded in China in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organisation.  

    “We believe that right now, it is in the interest of our loved ones in China [to stay there]. It is in the larger interest of the region, world, country that we don’t evacuate them now,” he told reporters at a press conference. 

    “This is what the World Health Organisation is saying, this is China’s policy and this is our policy as well. We stand by China in full solidarity,” he stated, adding, “Right now the government of China has contained this epidemic in Wuhan city. If we act irresponsibly and start evacuating people from there, this epidemic will spread all over the world like wildfire.”

    Mirza assured that the Pakistan Embassy in China was in close contact with Pakistani citizens in Wuhan and China was monitoring their activity closely. He said that the government will take responsibility for its citizens and ensure that they are taken care of.

    As the death toll from the virus hit 213, the World Health Organisation declared coronavirus to be a global health emergency. The virus has infected close to 10,000 people and all flights to and from China have been suspended to contain the virus and prevent it from spreading.

  • PM’s ‘inadequate’ salary to be increased from Rs0.2 million to Rs0.8 million?

    PM’s ‘inadequate’ salary to be increased from Rs0.2 million to Rs0.8 million?

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s salary, which he had earlier said “wasn’t enough to run his household”, is being increased from Rs0.2 million (Rs200,000) to Rs0.8 million (Rs800,000), a private media outlet has reported.

    While the report claimed that his salary was being increased by 300%, it was rejected by the PM’s Office that termed the report as “baseless” and “unfortunate”.

    “At a time when the PM was carrying out a campaign to slash the government’s expenditures which he initiated from his own, the propagation of such a baseless and concocted news report was unfortunate,” a spokesperson remarked, according to a press release.

    The spokesperson quoted PM Imran as saying that expenditures incurred on the head of the government were borne out of the people’s hard-earned money, so it was a must to keep it at the minimum level.

    During a speech earlier this month, the premier had cited his expenses as an individual and as a public servant to make a point to traders while accusing opposition leaders of minting money by cheating on taxes.

    While it is no secret that inflation has badly hit the average Pakistani citizen, PM Imran has been under fire as a nationwide shortage of wheat has led to a surge in prices of bread and roti.

    The country’s economy has seen the rupee plummeting as it battles rampant price rise of various commodities, including pulses and flour.

    Despite this, the fact that the PM tried to play a political game by trying to identify with an average citizen, didn’t make many people happy. His basic pay alone is enough to feed an average Pakistani household, leave alone the gross amount.

  • UAE to give $200 million financial aid to PM’s youth programme

    UAE to give $200 million financial aid to PM’s youth programme

    The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has announced to give $200 million in financial aid to the Prime Minister’s Kamyab Jawan Programme.

    UAE ambassador has made this announcement while meeting PM’s Special Assistant to Youth Affairs, Usman Dar. The financial assistance had been assured by the Crown Prince of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during his recent visit to Pakistan.

    The ambassador said Pakistani youth are talented and capable and UAE will cooperate for the development of the youth. He said practical steps will be taken soon for the Pakistani youth.

    He also announced to start a youth exchange programme between UAE and Pakistan. A delegation of Pakistani youth will be sent to UAE where they will be trained with skills of entrepreneurship and artificial intelligence. Moreover, the UAE government has offered to Pakistani youth to partner in Dubai Expo 2020.

    The ambassador admired the federal government’s practical steps for its young generation and UAE will provide opportunities to the skilled youth in the future.

    Dar welcomed the financial assistance of UAE in the Kamyab Jawan programme. He said ‘PM Imran Khan has an aim to uplift the young generation. He added that a huge investment is being made on youth for the first time in the history of Pakistan. The young generation will play an important role in the national economy.’

  • German actress Leyla Dastan decides to move to Pakistan permanently

    German actress Leyla Dastan decides to move to Pakistan permanently

    After coming to Pakistan for a fashion show three months ago and loving the experience, German model and actress Leyla Dastan has decided to permanently move here.

    As per reports, Leyla said that initially, she was unsure about coming here given how the international media portrays Pakistan. She just wanted to make sure that she would be safe here. But after spending time here, her perspective about the country changed and she came to the conclusion Pakistan is a peaceful and beautiful country and with loving people.

    Leyla revealed that she is “in love with Pakistani culture”. She shared that she avidly watches Pakistani plays and films and is also learning Urdu. She reads Urdu poets such as Mirza Ghalib and Shams Tabrizi.

    Talking about Pakistani actors she listed Mahira Khan, Mehwish Hayat, Fawad Khan, and Humayun Saeed as her favourites. Dastan is also a fan of Pakistani artists Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Atif Aslam. She added that Rahat’s Mohabbat Bhi Zaruri Thi is currently her favourite song.

    The Turkish-German actress is also set to appear in a Pakistani movie and is having a lot of fun working with Javed Sheikh, Moammar Rana, and Shahroze Sabzwari.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAl4lYm6WBk&feature=emb_title
  • Four Pakistani students in China tested positive for coronavirus

    Four Pakistani students in China tested positive for coronavirus

    Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza has confirmed that at least four Pakistani students in China have tested positive for coronavirus as the outbreak claims at least 132 lives, leaving thousands of others affected.

    According to Dawn, Dr Mirza, while addressing a press conference on Wednesday, said that a large proportion of Pakistanis living in China were students, of which over 500 are based in the central city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the new virus.

    The premier’s special assistant said that four Pakistani students had tested positive for coronavirus with links to Wuhan. On PM Imran Khan’s behalf, Mirza assured the families of the children of the government’s support. He said that they will take on the responsibility of these children and all Pakistanis in China.

    “We will take care of them the same way we would care for our own children,” he said. However, he added, that no case of the coronavirus has been confirmed in Pakistan yet.

    The report comes days after Pakistani students studying at the Engineering and Science University of Wuhan requested help from the Pakistani and Chinese governments amid the alarming outbreak of the virus. A video message that was sent by the students stated that due to the virus, no communication between Wuhan and China was possible and more than 2,000 Pakistani students were facing food shortage.

    The students had requested the premier and foreign minister to send help and facilitate their evacuation from the province.

    On Monday, the PM Office had also convened a meeting in light of 2,000 coronavirus cases being confirmed across the globe amid the presence of a large number of Chinese nationals in Pakistan, and frequent travel between the two countries.

    CORONAVIRUS:

    In mid-December, some people in the central Chinese city of Wuhan began complaining of flu and pneumonia-like symptoms. Some had a high fever. Doctors were perplexed. To find out what might be causing their illness, geneticists analysed the DNA of the virus that had infected them.

    At once, the scientists realised the virus was new to science.

    As of January 23, experts at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Switzerland estimated that at least 557 people have contracted the rapidly spreading disease.

  • Here’s the list of all places where you can buy PSL 5 tickets

    Here’s the list of all places where you can buy PSL 5 tickets

    The Pakistan Super League (PSL) 5 is scheduled to start from 20th February with the first match between Quetta Gladiators and Islamabad United at National Stadium Karachi.

    And if you are planning to go to the stadium to watch the match of your favorite team. Here is the list of all express centers selling PSL 5 tickets.

    Tickets are on sale at all these TCS Express Centers. You can also buy from Yayvo.

    Each customer can buy up to 7 tickets per match on his CNIC so don’t forget to take your CNIC with you when you go to buy your tickets from a nearby Express Centers.