The administration has hiked the toll tax on the Lahore’s Ring Road, increasing it by up to Rs. 100. There has been an increase in all the categories with the biggest being in the truck/trailer one, which has gone from Rs. 350 to Rs. 450. The transporters have hit back at the hike terming these consistent increases as a serious damage to their business.
An accountability court in Islamabad on Monday granted the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) 13-day physical remand of senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal. Iqbal is accused of using funds from the federal government and the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) for a sports city being established in Narowal — a multi-billion-rupee project. While he was presented before the court, NAB did not have any evidence against him, according to PML-N spokesperson Maryam Aurangzeb.
Senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal has been arrested by the National Accountability Bureau in Narowal Sports City case, according to a NAB spokesperson. Iqbal, a former interior minister, is accused of causing losses worth billions to the national exchequer by initiating the Sports City project in his home constituency. According to NAB officials, the Pakistan Sports Board also illegally used its authority for the construction of the sports city.
The prices of wheat and sugar have increased in Karachi, a kilogram of wheat now costs Rs46 and sugar prices have increased by Rs1.5 per kg. The price of a 100kg bag of wheat has increased by Rs300 in the open market while in the wholesale market, a bag of wheat now costs Rs4,600
The Sindh government has announced a public holiday on December 27 (Friday) on account of the death anniversary of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. All offices, autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies, corporations and local councils falling under the control of the provincial government would remain closed on the day, the notification read.
The construction work of the Bahrain-Kalam road that was initiated in 2017, under the government of PML-N, is finally completed by the current government of PTI. It took more than 3 hours of rough journey to Kalam; now the same route has been reduced to a 45 minutes drive. Kalam is one of the top destinations of Pakistan. However, the bumpy and rough roads reduced its visitors almost to a null.
Karachi’s first street library will open on December the 25th by Sindh government. The idea came to Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Ali Shallwani, who wanted to promote education and book reading habits within people. This library will be near the Metropole Hotel. Further, Karachi Commissioner’s Office has decorated the walls surrounding the built-in library with portraits of the founder of Pakistan, his sister Fatima Jinnah and poet Allama Iqbal.
Motorcyclists in Peshawar cannot buy petrol unless they are wearing helmets in a move to encourage bikers to wear helmets, according to the decision taken by district government. Following this, the prices of helmets have increased from Rs800 to Rs1850 throughout the city as the demand for helmets has increased. According to a shopkeeper the average sale per day was 2 to 3 helmets but has increased to 10 to 15 now.
US State Department released a statement on Dec 18, designating Pakistan and eight other countries as “Countries of Particular Concern (CPC)”. Under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, countries on the CPC list are classified as “having engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing, [and] egregious violations of religious freedom”. The list also includes Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Former university lecturer in Multan, Junaid Hafeez, was sentenced to death on blasphemy charges by a district and sessions court on Saturday. Hafeez was booked on blasphemy charges and was arrested by police on March 13, 2013 and the trial began in 2014. Hafeez, who was also in the process of getting a graduate degree in English Literature, was charged with blasphemy over Facebook uploads.