Pakistan has made it clear that there was no move under way to recognise Israel. The remarks by Foreign Office spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal came in response to a question about whether Pakistan was planning to recognise Israel, as speculations arose after a detailed article published in an Israeli paper is doing the rounds on social media.
Former PTI MPA from Khyber Paktunkhwa has sought political asylum in India a year after being acquitted of murder charges. He was arrested in murder case of PTI leader Soran Singh, who was killed on April 22, 2016 in Buner district. Local media said he has moved to Ludhiana along with his family and requested Indian prime minister to grant him political asylum.
Inspector General of Police Arif Nawaz has forbidden officers below the rank of SHO from using video recording enabled smart phones inside police stations. The decision was taken following the increase in video clips displaying Punjab Police’s brutality and misconduct. Citizens too will not be allowed to take cellphones inside police stations and required to deposit them outside when they enter.
Days after being humiliated by a lawyer, a dejected Punjab police lady constable on Sunday resigned from her post saying “she cannot face the powerful corrupt mafia”. Advocate Ahmad Mukhtar had misbehaved and slapped constable Faiza Nawaz for wrongly parking his car in Ferozwala. The police arrested the lawyer on the complaint of the constable and registered a case against him.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has announced that mobile phone services would remain suspended on the 9th and 10th of Muharram for security reasons. The services will be suspended in specified areas of all the cities across the country. While the PTA did not confirm exact timings, the cellular services are expected to remain suspended from morning till 6pm on both days.
The red letter considered to be a final warning and expression of displeasure was issued to 27 ministries by the Prime Minister Office (PMO). The PMO asked concerned ministries/divisions to complete tasks they were assigned by September 9 and to submit a compliance report on the matter. Initially, a ‘yellow letter’ was issued to the ministries on August 17 as a warning.
Pakistan remains the least competitive country in South Asia when it comes to travel and tourism, according to the Travel and Tourism Competitive Report published by the World Economic Forum. The report placed Pakistan at the bottom of the Asia-Pacific Travel and Tourism (T&T) Competitive Index 2019 rankings. Pakistan ranked 121 this year out of 140 countries against 124 in 2017.
Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry has said that driverless cars will be rolled out on public roads in Pakistan in next few years. The minister stated that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government plans to introduce technology in every field and will ensure all road users understand these latest technologies. Self-driving cars could reduce road deaths in the country by 90%, he assured.
In order to avoid a severe crisis vis-à-vis availability of life-saving drugs in the local market, the government has lifted the ban on import of medicines and raw material from India. Ban on other trade items will remain. The exemption is given in the best interest of the public and in order to maintain supply of medicines to patients.
Karachi has been named among the 10 least liveable cities in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) — the research and analysis division of the Economist Group — in The Global Liveability Index 2019. This year, Karachi has been ranked 136th on the list — the fifth least liveable city in the world — only managing to fare better than Damascus, Lagos, Dhaka and Tripoli.