Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police has arrested four men who shattered an ancient Buddha statue found during construction work in the province’s Takhtbhai area of Mardan. Videos surfaced on social media showing a man breaking with a hammer a life-sized statue of Buddha, parts of which were still embedded underground. KP police later tweeted that pieces of the broken statue were recovered.
A month after grounding all Pakistani pilots, Vietnam has stated all the pilots flying for their airlines have valid and legitimate licences. A note from the Pakistani embassy to the Vietnamese government, states that none of the pilots have been involved in a flight incident or safety threat. It also said that there are no fake licences, as mentioned by the media.
A viral Twitter post, changed the life of a 24-year-old Pakistani carpenter living in Saudi Arabia. Muhammad Waqas who moved to the Kingdom four years ago, always wanted to become a model but could not pursue the career. However, a viral Twitter post by his friend landed him a modelling opportunity within couple of weeks.
Pakistan-born scientist Asifa Akhtar has become the first international female vice president of the biology and medicine section at Germany’s prestigious Max Planck Society. The Max Planck Society is Germany’s most successful research organisation. During her term of office, Ms Akhtar will be in charge of the institutes of the sections and will also be the contact person for the Max Planck Schools.
Pakistani doctor in Saudi Arabia, Zia Ullah Khan Dawar, was awarded a medal by the Kingdom’s health ministry in recognition of his services as one of the “captains” of the COVID-19 team. Dawar has been living in the Kingdom for last four years and is currently working with the kingdom’s health ministry in Jeddah as part of a COVID-19 surveillance and data analysis team.
Saudi Arabia has offered financial assistance for the construction of Pakistan’s first state-owned Quran complex in Islamabad. The government will be building the complex to preserve historical manuscripts of the Muslim scripture. The center will also oversee and set standards for the publication of the Quran in the country and would recycle worn pages of the holy book.
Qatar and UAE airlines have announced mandatory coronavirus tests for passengers from Pakistan three to four days before the scheduled departure. The mandatory pre-flight requirement for Qatar airways will take effect from Monday, July 13th. Passengers from Pakistan must show they were tested for COVID-19, 72 hours before their flight departure and present a negative result.
Pakistan International Airline’s (PIA) recovery from its downward spiral since the revelation of dubious licences seems difficult, as the United States also revokes privileges. The US transport authority has revoked the permission granted to PIA to operate a number of special direct flights to the US. PIA spokesperson Abdullah Khan confirmed that the airline had been notified of the withdrawal via email.
A sessions court in Lahore has granted bail to the woman who was booked for slapping and misbehaving with a traffic warden after he stopped her for parking her car in a no-parking area. Gulberg police had registered an FIR against 29-year-old Raesa Masood on the traffic warden’s complaint. The court directed Raesa to deposit a surety bond of Rs50,000 to secure bail.
Indonesia’s largest private airline, Lion Air is planning to launch flight operations in Pakistan, Indonesian ambassador to Pakistan Iwan S. Amri has revealed. The Indonesian ambassador said Lion Air’s management is currently negotiating with Pakistan’s Aviation Ministry. If the negotiations are successful, Lion Air will start flight operations from three Pakistani cities initially in the coming months, said Amri.