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.
Two Pakistani engineers named Mohammad Awais, and Anas Nazir, have developed a prosthetic arm (denoting an artificial body part) that can be controlled by giving commands via the brain. The engineers who developed this robotic arm started working on bio-robotics during a university project. This team’s approach focused on knee joint, one of the most complex mechanical systems within human body.
A murder case has been registered against three police officials for allegedly torturing to death Salahuddin Ayubi, a mentally challenged robbery suspect. Ayubi was arrested after his video of breaking open an ATM machine, making faces and sticking his tongue out at CCTV camera went viral. Ayubi’s father claims he was not informed of his son’s arrest by the police.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has said Pakistan would not use nuclear weapons first against India. At the first International Sikh convention, PM Imran projected himself as leader of a responsible nuclear state, whereas Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has hinted at changing his country ‘no-first use’ nuclear policy. PM Khan reiterated that he would continue to raise his voice for people of Indian-Occupied Kashmir.
Atoms, a Pakistani e-commerce brand and one of the trailblazers in the world of footwear, has raised $8.1 million from a list of illustrious backers to bring its concept to the masses. The company has been selling directly to consumers in the US via its website and at one point had a list of nearly 40,000 people waiting to buy.