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Tag: Pakistan

  • ‘#PTIDisrespectsArmy’: Military unhappy with Vawda over shoe stunt?

    ‘#PTIDisrespectsArmy’: Military unhappy with Vawda over shoe stunt?

    Opposition parties, military personnel as well as the general public appear to be unhappy with Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda, who on Tuesday night used a boot on-air to heap scorn on the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) for voting in favour of the recently passed Army Act.

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader had a day earlier appeared on a talk show alongside PML-N leader Javed Abbasi and PPP’s Qamar Zaman Kaira. Mid-programme, while discussing PML-N supremo and former premier Nawaz Sharif, Vawda pulled out a boot and plonked it on the desk in front of the guests to troll their respective parties.

    The little stunt was followed by both Abbasi and Kaira walking out in protest.

    With Vawda making headlines for his gimmick, criticism by netizens, including leaders of opposition parties, military personnel and general public, started pouring in. Here’s what they had to say:

    Meanwhile, a “soldier” wrote:

    PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb has also said that Vawda’s stunt “did not dignify a response”, while her colleague Rana Sanaullah has said that the entire nation was witnessing activities of “jokers”.

    “The government wants to make a joke of the army as an institution,” he has said.

  • Pakistani taxi driver returns lost wallet to Indian girl in Dubai

    Pakistani taxi driver returns lost wallet to Indian girl in Dubai

    A Pakistani taxi driver’s honesty in Dubai has made him a hero after he returned a wallet full of cash and documents to an Indian girl, who had forgotten her wallet in his cab’s backseat.

    As per reports, Raechel Rose, a law student at Lancaster University, was on her way to attend a friend’s birthday party on January 4 when she left the wallet in Modassar Khadim’s cab.

    Girl’s mother, Sindhu Biju told that “She had got into the taxi with another friend and then they saw their other friends in another car and decided to join them. They immediately left the taxi and Rose forgot her wallet behind.

    The purse had her UK student visa, her Emirates ID, UAE driving license, health insurance card, credit card and more than 1,000 Dirhams in several currencies.

    Her return flight to Manchester was scheduled for three days later, and she could not afford to delay it as she had an exam on January 13.

    The family also checked the CCTV footage with the help of the police but in the footage, they could not see the car’s number plate properly.

     The cab driver, Khadim noticed the wallet on the front seat after he had finished two other trips.

    “Since the family, who came next, said it was not theirs, I opened it to check if there is any contact number. I could only see all the cards and the cash,” said Khadim

    Khadim called up RTA’s call center and asked for their assistance. After Khadim was told that another department would reach out to him, he decided to report the lost wallet to the police.

    “When I reached the police station, I met another taxi driver who advised me to try to get the girl’s number and give it as the procedures might take a long time,” said Khadim.

    Khadim then tried to get Rose’s contact through her mobile service provider and insurance company but he could not find her number as privacy clauses barred the company from sharing the information with him.

    “Finally, the RTA call center called me back when I was finishing my duty at 3.30 am and verified the details that matched with their complaint. I was given their number following which I went to their house to drop the wallet,” shared Khadim.

    After handing over the purse, Rose’s father rewarded Khadim with 600 dirhams. He initially refused the offer but accepted it when the family insisted him.

    Later, Rose’s family also wrote a letter to RTA in appreciation of Khadim’s honesty and help.

  • Indian army officer slips in snow near border, reaches Pakistan

    Indian army officer slips in snow near border, reaches Pakistan

    Indian Army Havildar Rajendra Singh Negi’s allegedly slipped in the snow at Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir during duty and reached Pakistan.

    As per reports, on January 8, Negi’s wife Rajeshwari got a phone call from his unit informing her Negi was missing. It was later found that he had slipped in the snow and crossed the India-Pakistan border in Kashmir. The family has demanded the government for his safe and early return from Pakistan to his homeland.

    According to Indian Army sources, the search and rescue operation of Negi was ongoing and all attempts were being made to bring him back safely from Pakistan.

    Negi, a resident of Ambiwala Sainik Colony in Dehradun, had joined the 11 Garhwal Rifles regiment in 2002. He had arrived in Dehradun in October for a month’s vacation and was posted to the snowy area of Gulmarg in November.

  • Engineering university to be set up in Swat

    Engineering university to be set up in Swat

    The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to set up an engineering and technology university in Swat at an estimated cost of Rs4 billion.

    The planned Swat University of Engineering and Technology (SUET) would be run on the triple helix model and will connect the government, industry and academics.

    Chief planning officer of the Higher Education Department Hamid Naveed who has been selected as a focal person for the establishment of SUET at the fast track by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan revealed that “Unlike other universities in the province that solely depend on the government funds, the SUET will have its sustainability plan.”

    He further shared that the administratively, the new university would be different from other universities as a decentralized system would be applied to address issues at a low level.

    As per reports, the new university would be a joint venture of the private sector and academia and the government, industry and academia would jointly work under the banner of SUET.

    Initially, the university will introduce only six disciplines namely energy engineering, civil engineering, institute of materials, mining and metallurgy, biomedical engineering, computer system engineering and institute of manufacturing.

    SUET also aims to be connected with some of the best engineering universities of developed countries like the US and the UK for the exchange of knowledge. To save SUET graduates from joblessness, the students will also be equipped with entrepreneurial skills in order to make them job providers instead of job seekers.

  • Will get back Pakistani Kashmir if parliament wants: Indian army chief

    Will get back Pakistani Kashmir if parliament wants: Indian army chief

    Recently-appointed Indian Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Manoj Mukund Naravane has said that the army would act on “getting back” Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) “if the parliament was willing and orders to such effect were received”.

    Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, the army chief was asked if the Pakistan-administered region of the disputed territory could be a part of India as stated by the political leadership. In response to the question, Naravane said that there was a parliamentary resolution stating that the “entire Kashmir was a part of India”, and hence the army would take appropriate action if it received orders to take AJK back.

    “There is a parliamentary resolution that entire region is part of India. If parliament wants it, then it [AJK] also should belong to us. When we get orders to that effect, we’ll take appropriate action,” the Indian army chief said.

    This is not the first time the new Indian general has indulged in provocative posturing. In an earlier statement, Naravane had said that India “reserve[d] the right to preemptively strike at sources of terror”.

    He had told the Press Trust of India that India had “evolved a strategy of resolute punitive response against sponsored terrorism”.

    Pakistan had rejected the statement, calling it “irresponsible”. The Foreign Office had in its statement said Pakistan was fully able to respond to any Indian aggression in AJK and that New Delhi should not forget Islamabad’s befitting response to its aggression in Balakot last year.

    ISPR RESPONDS:

    Meanwhile, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Asif Ghafoor has said that Pakistan’s armed forces will give an “even stronger” response than given in February 2019, if India attempts any military action across the Line of Control (LoC).

    Reacting to the Indian army chief’s statement, the ISPR chief said it was a part of routine rhetoric to divert attention from domestic issues in India.

    “Statements by Indian COAS to undertake military action across LOC are routine rhetoric for domestic audiences to get out of ongoing internal turmoil. Pakistan Armed Forces are fully prepared to respond to any act of Indian aggression [sic],” he tweeted.

  • Canadian traveller Rosie Gabrielle converts to Islam after Pakistan visit

    Canadian traveller Rosie Gabrielle converts to Islam after Pakistan visit

    Canadian traveller Rosie Gabrielle has converted to Islam after visiting Pakistan. The traveller took to social media to make the announcement and share the reasons behind the decision.

    Rosie wrote that last year was one of the hardest one of her life, and the challenges she faced the previous year led her to this point.

    “From a young child, I’ve always had a unique connection with creation and special relationship to God. My path was far from easy and I carried a lot of anger in my heart from a lifetime of pain, always begging God, why me? Until ultimately coming to the conclusion that all is meant to be, and even my suffering is a gift,” she wrote.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B7F7JC-gmPR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    Rosie also shared that though she had called it quits with Christianity four years ago, she continued to tread upon the path of self-discovery and “never let go the sight of the Creator.” 

    “Never resonating with what I was brought up with, I denounced my religion 4 years ago, going down a deep path of spiritual discovery. Exploration of self, and the great Divine. I never let go the sight of the Creator, in fact, my curiosity and connection only grew stronger. Now no longer dictated by fear, I was able to fully explore this righteous path,” she elaborated.

    She then wrote how Pakistan played its part. “The universe brought me to Pakistan, not only to challenge myself to let go of the last remaining traces of pain and ego, but also to show me the way.”

    “Through kindness and humbled grace of the people I met along my pilgrimage, inspired my heart to seek further. Living in a Muslim country for 10 + years and traveling extensively through these regions, I observed one thing: peace. A kind of peace that one can only dream of having in their hearts.”

    Rosie also highlighted Islamophobia in her post.

    “The true meaning of Islam, is peace, love and oneness,” she asserted, adding “It’s not a religion, but a way of life. The life of humanity, humility and love.”

    Rosie first visited Pakistan in December 2018.  She had extensively documented her trip on social media.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B5X5AyAAY6I/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
    https://www.instagram.com/p/B44Ro98Ag6h/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    Meanwhile, Hamza Ali Abbasi congratulated her on this and sent blessings her way.

  • Naya Pakistan: ‘Gas shortage to double’

    Naya Pakistan: ‘Gas shortage to double’

    With a projected shortfall of 477 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) and amid lack of new explorations, the shortage of gas is likely to be doubled next year, Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) has been informed.

    According to Profit, a meeting of the CCoE, chaired by Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, was informed on Wednesday that the demand of gas had risen by 5 per cent per annum during the past seven years.

    The heavy gas shortfall recorded last month (December 2019) was nearly 270 mmcfd.

    “One of the major reasons for this upsurge was the consumption of gas in the winter season by the domestic sector, which prefers to use heavily-subsidised gas as compared to other energy sources,” officials of the Ministry of Energy informed the CCoE.

    The committee was further told that work on adding 70 mmcfd gas in the Sui Southern Gas Company’s system and taking LNG supplies for Sui Northern Gas Pipeline up to 1,300 mmcfd had already started but its implementation was hampered by issues pertaining to the grant of ‘Right of Ways’ from the Sindh government, which had granted only one RoW so far while two more were still awaited since last summer.

    “With these measures, nearly 70 mmcfd gas is likely to be added to SSGC by the end of January.”

    According to the energy ministry, in view of 2020-21 projections showing a shortfall of 477 mmcfd, the government has decided to build additional terminals; five new private terminals were awarded in Nov 2019, while process for a dedicated pipeline of 1.2BCFD+, required to carry imported LNG from these terminals to north, would also begin soon.

    The CCoE noted that there was a need to work on contingency plans for 2020-21 to overcome the gas shortage. It stressed using energy produced through gas and electricity as a whole to provide more options to energy consumers and to bring efficiency in the system.

    Earlier, the Ministry of Energy briefed the CCoE on the current demand-supply situation of gas/RLNG, natural gas allocation and management, average gas supplies, winter load management, indigenous gas production, supplies and consumption in different regions, and LNG requirement by the SNGPL/SSGC.

    The CCoE asked the ministry to brief in the next meeting the current situation in the power sector so that the problems in both gas and power sectors could be properly analyzed and contextualized uniformly and a realistic and more efficient solution to bridge the demand and supply gap could be chalked out.

  • Information Ministry celebrates Pakistan’s inclusion in Forbes list by tweeting a picture of Armenia

    Information Ministry celebrates Pakistan’s inclusion in Forbes list by tweeting a picture of Armenia

    In case you missed it, Pakistan was included on the Forbes list of ‘Best under-the-radar’ tourist spots in 2020. Needless to say, Pakistanis were overjoyed at this.

    The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting celebrated the news by sharing a picture of the 7th-century Zvartnots Cathedral in Armenia.

    https://twitter.com/MoIB_Official/status/1214783303255023616?s=20

    Here are some more pictures of the cathedral. Built in the middle of the 7th century CE, under the instructions of the Catholicos Nerses III, Zvartnots is the oldest and largest aisled tetraconch church in historical Armenia.

    The tweet was later retweeted by Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry and has close to 1000 likes.

  • Pakistani passport now ranks at fourth-worst for international travel

    Pakistani passport now ranks at fourth-worst for international travel

    The Pakistani passport has been ranked as the fourth worst passport for international travel, according to the Henley Passport Index.

    The Henley Passport Index is a ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. It has placed Pakistan on the 104th position. 

    Last year the Pakistani passport had been rated as the fifth-worst passport to hold.

    It shares the fourth spot with Somalia followed by Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Pakistani passport holders still enjoy visa-free access to 32 countries.

    Japan came at the top spot as the world’s most powerful passport. Other Asian countries on the list are Singapore, which is in the second spot, and South Korea with Germany is in third place.

    European countries also performed well with Finland on fourth and Spain, Luxembourg and Denmark coming fifth. Sweden and France took the sixth spot on the list.

    The United States fell two places down coming on eighth, sharing the spot with United Kingdom, Norway, Green and Belgium. Canada ranked ninth.

    The United Arab Emirates also climbed up 47 places to sit in 18th place, with a visa-free or visa-on-arrival score of 171.

    Here are the 10 most powerful passports in the world:

    1. Japan (191 destinations)

    2. Singapore (190)

    3. South Korea, Germany (189)

    4. Italy, Finland (188)

    5. Spain, Luxembourg, Denmark (187)

    6. Sweden, France (186)

    7. Switzerland, Portugal, Netherlands, Ireland, Austria (185)

    8. United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Greece, Belgium (184)

    9. New Zealand, Malta, Czech Republic, Canada, Australia (183)

    10. Slovakia, Lithuania, Hungary (181)

    Here are the five least powerful passports in the world:

    1. Afghanistan (26)

    2. Iraq (28)

    3. Syria (29)

    4. Pakistan, Somalia (32)

    5. Yemen

  • PM Khan launches app for drug prevention

    PM Khan launches app for drug prevention

    Prime Minister Imran Khan launched an app for drug prevention. The “Zindagi” app has been introduced by the government to stop drug penetration in society.

    The federal government has launched this app to curb drug addiction in the country and to educate people about it. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, the purpose of the “Zindagi” app is to build a drug-free society. The mobile app will have all the information on drug use and its repercussions.

    Meanwhile, watch what happens to the drugs that are seized by the Anti-Narcotics Force.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YtZmJs56Ok