The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday allowed schools across the country to resume in-person classes for grades six to eight starting tomorrow (Sept 23). Following the decision, Punjab, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa issued notifications on resumption of middle school classes from tomorrow. However, Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani said schools in the province would reopen on Sept 28.
Army Chief Gen Qamar Bajwa and head of the Inter-Services Intelligence, Lt Gen Faiz Hameed, made it clear to opposition leaders that the army should not be dragged into rivalries of political parties. In a meeting with key opposition figures days before their multiparty conference, the senior military officials told that army is “not involved, directly or indirectly, in any political process of the country”.
A day after convicted former premier Nawaz Sharif’s no-holds-barred onslaught against what he called the “parallel state” in Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Nawaz Sharif’s speech and the story published in Times of India reflects PML-N promotes Indian agenda. “Once again a fugitive sitting in London is maligning the state institutions”, the premier said. “Sharif’s PML-N has once
Pakistani women look for pepper sprays and pocketknives for their own defense as police fails to catch main accused in motorway gang rape case. Daraz PK, one of the country’s top online stores, was out of stock of self-defense items this week. Aisha Raza, representative of Shop USA, said that demand for pepper spray had increased by 70 percent during the past week.
Major opposition parties on Sunday came together and announced lthe launching of a three-phased anti-government movement, demanding resignation of Prime Minister Imran Khan. Giving a formal shape to their alliance with the name of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), the opposition parties will start with countrywide public meetings next month, protest demonstrations and rallies in December and a “decisive long march” towards Islamabad in January 2021.
Pakistan has reported more than 700 coronavirus cases for the first time in more than a month. 722 cases were reported in the country on September 17. of which 95 were reported in Punjab, 307 in Sindh, 57 in KP, 193 in Balochistan, 10 in AJK, 39 in GB and 21 were reported in Islamabad. The last time the country recorded more than 700 cases was on August 12 when 711 cases were reported over 24 hours.
Thirteen educational institutions were closed down across the country in the last 24 hours for disregarding health guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs) laid down by the government. According to a statement by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), 10 educational institutions were shut down in Khyber Pakhutnkhwa while three were closed in Sindh for “non-compliance of health guidelines and protocols and disease prevalence”.
Turkey has said it will assist Pakistani government in bringing an iconic tram service back to Karachi’s MA Jinnah Road and II Chundrigar Road. In a meeting held at Karachi Metropolitan Corporation office, Turkish Consul General Tolga Ucak offered Karachi Administrator Iftikhar Ali Shallwani his country’s support for the project. Ucak also offered his support in uplift of libraries in the metropolis.
The World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has granted a stay on the enforcement of penalty of $6 billion imposed on Pakistan for its decision to deny a mining lease for the Reko Diq project. The office of the attorney general for Pakistan in a statement described the development as a success for the country and its legal team.
The Pakistan High Commission in London has received arrest warrants sent by the government for former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. The high commission did not make an official comment on the development but sources confirmed that the mission had received the paperwork to serve the arrest warrants on Mr Sharif. All legal formalities and procedures would be followed in this regard.