As of Sunday morning, the Pakistani authorities were trying so hard to restore power throughout the country following the massive blackout which left the country in darkness shortly before midnight, an occurrence that is still being investigated by the local authorities.
Tag: Pakistan
India — CBI Opens Charge Sheet in Hathras Case
According to a report published by news agencies ANI and PTI, a charge sheet has been filed in the Hathras case against four accused of rape of a young woman. The four— named Sandeep, Lovekush, Ravi, and Ramu— were charged under sections including gang rape, murder, and ST, SC Atrocities Act.
Pakistan — Opposition Defy Ban, Virus, to Hold Rally
Despite the second wave of coronavirus outbreak in Pakistan, the anti-government coalition Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has started a rally at Ghanta Ghar Chowk, in Multan, to demonstrate its political strength. Co-chairman Bilawal Bhutto’s sister, Asifa Bhutto, delivered a speech, and a large number of people were present.
SCO Summit — China-India Interaction Attracts Attention
The member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) convened a council of heads of state on November 10. In addition to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s remarks, the attitude of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was most concerned by the outside world.
Can Pakistan Global Value Chain Improve Pakistan’s Economic Issues?
The World Bank is forecasting an “anemic” economic outlook for Pakistan, with an expected growth rate of only 0.5% in the current fiscal year. “Given anemic growth projections in the near term, poverty is expected to worsen with government estimates of pandemic job losses at 14 million, as poverty is expected to increase for the first time in two decades.”
26 Killed in Pakistan Mine Collapse
The death toll from the marble mine collapse in Pakistan’s Ziarat Ghar Mountain has risen to 26. This is after four more people succumbed to their injuries. On Wednesday, the authorities had stated that 22 people had died from the accident. It is alleged that six units of the mine collapsed, killing 12 workers instantly.
Will Saudi Arabia Have Nuclear Weapons?
Last, week Haaretz published an opinion piece authored by Chuck Freilich titled “Can a Nuclear-armed Saudi Arabia Be Israel’s Partner for Peace?” The article was written by Charles Freilich, a former Israeli deputy national security adviser and long-time senior fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center.
Pakistan Seeks To Repatriate Former PM Nawaz Sharif
The federal government of Pakistan has announced that it will take legal steps to repatriate former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from London and has said that the British government will be contacted in this regard while their medical reports will be investigated. Information Adviser Shibli Faraz, at the Friday press conference stated Nawaz Sharif ‘mocked the law, fled the country under the pretext of illness’.
Eleven Family Members From Pakistan Found Dead in Rajasthan
The bodies of eleven members of a displaced family from Pakistan have been found in a mortuary at Dechu police station in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur district. Only one member of this family has survived. Police have launched an investigation into the incident. Pesticides have been found at the scene.
Putin to Visit India in October
The Indian Foreign Ministry has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin may visit India in October, and during his proposed visit, there are likely to be many high-level agreements between India and Russia. News sources said that there is a long list of high-level talks between the two countries in the coming months.
Pakistan Condemns Construction of Ayodhya Temple
Pakistan has strongly condemned the re-construction of the Ram Temple on the site of the five-century-old Babri Masjid. According to a statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, the Indian Supreme Court’s ruling that the Ram Temple should be built reflects the ongoing attacks on places of worship of religious minorities in India.
Pakistan Releases “New Political Map” with Kashmir
First Nepal, and now Pakistan, has released a new political map “drawing the ire of India.” Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday released this new map and described it as a historic day. He took the step a day before the first anniversary of India ending the special status for Jammu and Kashmir.
Freelance Gigs in Pakistan – Very Robust in a Dreadful Situation
Pakistan is currently the world’s 5th largest populated country. It also has a fast growing population with one of the highest levels of global poverty. Pakistan’s current population growth rate is 2.4%, and that is the highest in South Asia. About 40% of the entire Pakistani population is living below world poverty standards. Combine these numbers with the Covid-19 pandemic and the projected GDP is now expected to decline year over year by 3%.
Pakistan — Seven Killed in CTD Raid in Chilas
Five policemen and two others were killed in a raid by Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Monday in the Chilas area of Diamer district in Gilgit-Baltistan. The caretaker Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan has also set up a high-level commission to investigate the incident.
Video Causes Row Between India & Pakistan
India has strongly protested to the High Commission of Pakistan regarding the Gurudwara Shaheed Asthan Bhai Taro Ji, a holy place of Sikhism in Lahore’s Naw Lakha Bazaar. The protest came after a controversial video of a local man went viral, using derogatory language against the Sikh community in Pakistan.
Coronavirus — Pakistan Reports Decrease in Patients
The World Health Organization hosted a virtual meeting of the Technical Working Group in Pakistan. At the meeting, the World Health Organization (WHO) clarified that the number of cases of COVID-19 in Pakistan is gradually declining. However, it continues to rank Pakistan as one of the countries where the virus is spreading rapidly.
Vietnam: All Pakistani Pilots Possess Valid Licenses
Authorities in the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi, have confirmed that all Pakistani pilots working for various Vietnamese airlines have valid licenses, according to Reuters. No pilot was involved in a crash or safety hazard, according to the government’s official statement.
Pakistan Validates Most Licenses of Pilots Working Abroad
Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority has validated licenses of pilots working abroad. According to its spokesperson, Abdul Sattar Khokar, the licenses of 166 have been validated as being genuine and certified. He added that the verification of 10 remaining pilots will be concluded by next week.
Cross-Border Attack by Pakistan Kills Four in Afghanistan
At least four people were killed and nine others injured after several mortar shells fired by Pakistani troops hit a village at the border in the eastern part of Afghanistan. Pakistani authorities blamed the Afghan forces for initiating the attack a day earlier, adding that it was just retaliating.
RSF Warns Pakistan not to Threaten Journalists
Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the international organization for the protection of journalists, has expressed deep concern over a “secret letter” from Pakistani security officials about six overseas journalists. In a statement issued on Wednesday, RSF said that the “secret memo” of the Interior Ministry was written on June 18.
India Buys 33 Fighters from Russia
According to reports received from New Delhi on Thursday, India’s Ministry of Defense agreed to purchase 33 new Russian fighter jets and upgrade 59 others. The military pact between New Delhi and Moscow is worth $2.45 billion, according to the Defense Ministry. India is facing security challenges due to its borders with China and Pakistan.
EU Suspends PIA Over Fake Licenses Scandal
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has suspended its authorization for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to fly to Europe for the next six months, beginning July 1. It is the latest fallout over the fake pilots’ licenses scandal. EASA said it has lost confidence in the airline.
Pakistan Fires Five Pilots Over Fake Licenses
At least five officers implicated in the fake pilots licenses scandal have been fired by Pakistan’s aviation authorities. The sacked officials are said to have held senior positions at the Civil Aviation Authorities, according to Ghulam Sarwar Khan, the country’s aviation minister.
Khan Criticized for Calling bin Laden a “Martyr”
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has come under fire for calling former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden a “martyr” in a speech to the country’s parliament on Thursday. Pakistan’s opposition parties have sharply criticized Khan since the remarks, Reuters reported.
Pakistan Suspends 150 Pilots Over Fake Licenses
At least 150 pilots have been suspended by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). The suspension was reached after questions over the authenticity of their licenses emerged. “Out of our 434 pilots, 150 will be grounded as of today,” PIA spokesman Abdullah Khan told Al Jazeera.
Coronavirus — India Now Fourth in Infections, U.S. Surging
Coronavirus transmission in India is not showing any signs of stopping. In the last 24 hours, 10,956 new cases of coronavirus have been reported in India, and 396 people have died. At the same time, India has been ranked fourth in the list of countries most affected by the coronavirus.
Death Toll from Karachi Building Collapse Reaches 22
At least 22 people have been killed after a multi-storey building collapsed in the southern port city of Karachi, in Pakistan. On Tuesday, Pakistan police said that 13 people had died in the tragedy, but the toll has since risen to 22, after nine more bodies were retrieved from the rubble.
Pakistan’s ISI Uses Terror Tracking Against Coronavirus
Intelligence services are using geo-fencing and phone monitoring systems to track coronavirus patients and those who come in contact with them. Pakistan’s intelligence agency is using the same surveillance technology used to detect Coronavirus patients and those who come in contact with them, as is commonly used to track militants.
Locust Attacks in India Destroy Crops On Large Scale
Officials in India say many locations in India and Pakistan are under locust attacks, and locusts entering India from there are destroying crops. At a time when the Coronavirus epidemic has hit India’s economy hard, and the poor are struggling for their lives, locust swarms in India pose another threat to crops.
PK8303 — Two Survive Pakistani Plane Crash
A passenger plane belonging to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plunged into a residential area in southern Pakistan near the metropolis of Karachi, killing 97 people instantly. The Airbus A320 crashed a few minutes before landing, the country’s authorities reported. The health authorities of the Sindh province said that two people had survived the accident.
Dozens Killed in Pakistani Passenger Plane Crash
A Pakistan International Airlines plane has crashed in a residential area of Karachi. The PIA jet A-320 was en route from Lahore to Karachi with 91 passengers and eight crew members. Government officials have so far confirmed that at least 29 people have been killed and two are still alive.
Terrorism, Coronavirus Complicate Iran-Pakistan Relations
After Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa‘s contact with Iranian Army Commander Maj. Gen. Mohammad Hussain Bagheri, a debate has erupted in many parts of the country over whether the two countries will cooperate on terrorism. The contact comes at a time when there is a growing perception in Pakistan that separatists who attack the army seek refuge within the Iranian border.
Pakistan’s Pharmacists Warn Against Banning Materials from India
The Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association has warned the government that if raw materials from India are banned, there could be a shortage of medicines in the country. In a statement on Monday, the organization said any such move would hurt efforts to deal with Coronavirus.
Pakistan Eases Lockdown — Heavy Traffic, Big Crowds, More Cases
Pakistan citizens flocked to the markets on Monday after the country eased lockdown restrictions imposed a month ago to help curb the spread of coronavirus. Heavy traffic was seen in areas around wholesale markets in the country’s largest city, Karachi. There were big crowds in commercial centers in the provincial capitals of Quetta and Lahore.
Tensions Flare in Kashmir, Khan Eases Lockdown
Tensions continued to flare in Indian-administered Kashmir. Riyaz Naikoo, commander of the militant group Hizbul Mujahideen, was killed in in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district Tuesday. As news of Naikoo’s death spread, many people took to the streets in his home villages of Begpura and Gulzarpura to protest.
Khan Lifts Restrictions in Pakistan, Urges Personal Responsibility
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced the easing of coronavirus restrictions in the country after May 9. Khan made the announcement on national media on Wednesday. Medical experts in Pakistan are deeply concerned that government measures could exacerbate the Coronavirus crisis in the country.
Pakistani Heatwave Worries Karachi Citizens
There is a severe heatwave in Karachi and other cities of Sindh. In Jacobabad, Dadu, and Larkana, the mercury has gone above 40 degrees Celsius. At the same time, it is hot in Balochistan. Turbat recorded a high of 43 degrees Celsius. It reached 42 in Sibi, Chhor, and Lasbela, while rain and hail are expected in Upper Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit-Baltistan.
IMF Approves Loan to Pakistan to Fight Coronavirus
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a $1.386 billion loan to Pakistan to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak. This loan was granted under the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument, and is equivalent to SDR 1,015.5 million. This is about half of Pakistan’s quota.
Coronavirus: Lockdown in Pakistan Extended Two Weeks
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan announced a two-week extension of the government’s lockdown of the country on Tuesday, after consulting all the provinces and experts. Leading business organizations in Karachi and Lahore announced that they would open their shops from April 15 without waiting for government policy.
Coronavirus: Kashmir Under Second Lockdown, Khan Urges Christians to Stay Home
Indian-administered Kashmir, which had been under a security lockdown implemented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in August 2019, is now under a second lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. After several months of the security lockdown, when the government in New Delhi decided to ease it, the outbreak of the coronavirus began to spread.
Coronavirus: Dozens of Prisoners Test Positive in Pakistan
Dozens of prisoners in Pakistan have tested positive for the deadly coronavirus. The authorities have confirmed this, saying most infections are in the country’s worst-hit province of Punjab. “The total number of prisoners infected with coronavirus in Punjab has reached 50 so far,” said Shahid Baig, Inspector General of Prisons.
Sindh Government, Pakistan, to Appeal Acquittal in Daniel Pearl’s Murder
The Sindh provincial government in Pakistan has said that it will file an appeal to the Supreme Court to challenge the ruling that overturned the death sentence of a British-Pakistan national. Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh was the alleged mastermind of the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter, Daniel Pearl.
Kashmiris Protest “Obnoxious, Insulting” Domicile Law
Kashmiris and those in solidarity with the residents of the Indian-administered region have called a new domicile policy by New Delhi “obnoxious” and “insulting.” Critics have also accused India of using oppressive measures against Kashmiris. New Delhi has recently announced new rules regarding Indian citizens living in Kashmir.
Coronavirus: Millions Left Jobless in Pakistan
According to experts in Pakistan, the global Coronavirus crisis is causing serious threats to Pakistan’s impoverished economy. If not improved, the government’s economic data will be shattered. Business activity in the country has shrunk in the past two years, and the government was running a difficult country with borrowings from friendly countries and the IMF.
Pakistan Overturns Convictions in Daniel Pearl’s Murder
A court in Pakistan has overturned a death sentence for a British terrorist who was convicted of killing a Wall Street Journal reporter. Omar Saeed Sheikh was sentenced to death in 2002 for the abduction and murder of the journalist Daniel Pearl. An appeal was filed after his conviction but has taken 18 years to be heard by the High Court.
Coronavirus: Philippines, Pakistan Hail Doctors Who Gave Their Lives
At least three doctors in the Philippines have lost their lives in the line of duty, fighting against the coronavirus pandemic, officials in Manilla said on Monday. Thousands of health care workers have bravely confronted the disease in the Philippines, treating COVID-19 patients despite a lack of protective equipment.
Coronavirus: Khan, Others Call for End of Sanctions Against Iran
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called for the lifting of “unfair” US sanctions against Iran. “I would stress and insist to the international community to lift the sanctions on Iran,” Khan said. “It is very unjust they are dealing with such a large outbreak on one side, and on the other, they are facing international sanctions.”
Millions Gather in Pakistan Despite Coronavirus Threat
Thousands of Muslim worshipers gathered in Raiwind for a five-day publicity meeting, ignoring the government’s precautionary measures to prevent the Coronavirus outbreak. Events like this can spread the coronavirus further. Organizers of this annual big gathering announced Thursday that the Coronavirus spread had been reduced due to heavy rain.
Pakistani Air Force Pilot Killed in F-16 Crash
A Pakistani F-16 aircraft crashed in the Shakirian area in Islamabad, killing the pilot onboard. The dead pilot, Wing Commander Norman Akram, belonged to the Nine Squadron, which is stationed in Sargodha. A Pakistani Air Force spokesman, Waseem Ahad Khan, confirmed the news and said that the plane crashed shortly after the flight and fall in the forested area of Islamabad.
Coronavirus: Xi Visits Wuhan, Pakistan Fatalities Rise
Coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in China. In the last 24 hours, 17 more people died there due to this virus. With this, the total number of deaths has increased to 3,136. Amidst the havoc of COVID-19, President Xi Jinping has made a big announcement. He said that the deadly virus has been controlled in Hubei Province, the main center of coronavirus, and its capital, Wuhan.
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