UNITED NATIONS: Human rights groups have welcomed the United Nations decision to place Israel on a ‘List of Shame’ of countries that fail to protect children in war. The UN informed Israel about the move on Friday. Israel has killed tens of thousands of Palestinian children and maimed many more in its brutal bombing on Gaza, sparking global outrage against its military offensive. The UN decision was welcomed by the world’s two major rights groups, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW). Amnesty Secretary General, Agnes Callamard, stated that the decision was long overdue. “It should not have taken 15,000…
Author: Hasnain Abid Khanzada
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to be sworn in on Sunday for a third term after worse than expected election results left him reliant on coalition partners to govern. With Modi yet to announce the makeup of this cabinet, the ceremony at the presidential palace on Sunday evening (13:45 GMT) will be keenly watched when some 30 ministers-to-be also take the oath on the constitution. Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled outright for the past decade but failed to repeat its previous two landslide wins this time around, defying analysts’ expectations and exit polls. He was instead forced into quick-fire talks…
LONDON: In a historic first, Israr Kakar, a student from Balochistan, has been elected as president of the Oxford Union. He is the third Pakistani and first from Balochistan to hold this prestigious position. The Oxford Union, founded in 1823, is one of the oldest and most esteemed debating societies in the world. Mr Kakar hails from a small village in the Qila Abdullah district. Currently, he is enrolled in the DPhil programme at Oxford’s Law Department. Notably, Mr Kakar’s elder brother was also a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, making him the second in his family to attend college. Elected…
SAHIWAL: A devastating fire broke out in the pediatric medicine ward of Sahiwal Teaching Hospital (STH) on Saturday morning due to a short circuit in the air conditioning system. Four infants, who were in critical condition according to the hospital MS, died while 74 were rescued by parents, hospital staff, security personnel, and Rescue 1122 teams. Chief Minister Mariam Nawaz took notice of the incident and directed Commissioner Shoaib Iqbal to submit a report within 48 hours. Eyewitnesses described the chaotic scene as parents and hospital staff rushed to evacuate the children. Ward boy Arshad was hailed as a hero…
RAWALPINDI: While the fiscal year 2023-24 is about to end, the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) launched only two projects while two others remained on papers only during the year. The two projects were Rawalpindi Ring Road worth Rs38 billion and Asghar Mall Road reconstruction worth Rs129 million. A senior official of the RDA told Dawn that in the last fiscal year the civic agency could make PC-I of different projects. “It focused on regulating private housing schemes and approval of building plans.” He said in the fiscal year 2023-24, RDA planned three projects — Ring Road, Kutchery Chowk remodelling and Leh Nullah Expressway and Flood Channel.…
LAHORE: The Punjab government has imposed a complete ban on the operation and functioning of mechanical and mobile rides (swings, slides, etc in parks and elsewhere) during Eid holidays to avoid accidents and ensure the safety of citizens. In the past, several accidents have been reported due to malfunctioning and falling mechanical rides, resulting in the loss of lives, including children, and injuries to several other riders. Such incidents were reported at amusement and water parks in different cities, including Lahore and Multan, in the province. Mechanical ride accidents are generally reported during Eid holidays or Christmas holidays, as more families visit…
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) registrar has raised objections on a petition filed by Bushra Bibi, the wife of ex-PM Imran Khan, to suspend her sentence in the Iddat case and release her on bail. In the application, Ms Bibi contended that her sentence was unsustainable due to “weak evidence” and contradictions in the prosecution’s case. The petition said Ms Bibi was convicted in a “politically motivated case” and has been kept in the Adiala Jail where conditions were “pathetic”. Ex-PM’s wife moves IHC for suspension of sentence She requested the court to decide the petition “in the interest of justice”.…
LAHORE: The controversial legislation about defamation which imposes curbs on press freedom became a provincial law on Saturday after acting Governor Malik Ahmad Khan — a PML-N member — gave his assent to the bill in the absence of PPP-nominated Governor Sardar Saleem Haider, who had embarked on leave after assuring “consultations” on the Punjab Defamation Act 2024. The law, which had already drawn much flak from journalists, civil society organisations, as well as the opposition, however, soon landed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) after a joint petition was filed by two journalists challenging its legality. The petition asked the high court to strike…
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has ruled that being a working woman cannot be a disqualification for a mother to claim custody of her minor children. “In this day and age, when pursuit of education and career does not attract any disqualification for a father to seek custody of minor, how a mother can be discriminated against on that basis,” Justice Raheel Kamran Sheikh observed, deciding custody of two minors of a divorced doctor-couple. The judge remarked that working mothers are a reality of the day and their participation in the professional life is essential for the progress of societies.…
ISLAMABAD: The fifth polio case of the year was reported from Quetta on Saturday, 17 days after the victim’s death, underscoring a significant lapse in surveillance and escalating the risk of transmission at a crucial juncture in the polio eradication campaign. The case with onset of paralysis on April 29 was confirmed on June 8, a six-week delay, underscoring a notable lapse in diagnosis. As the high transmission season approaches, the anti-polio programme leadership faces a major challenge in containing the spread of polio. According to an official at the Regional Reference Laboratory of National Institute of Health (NIH), the latest victim…
