Edutopia: the educational utopia that is not!

A few weeks back I received an invitation to present a keynote at the Iqra University for a conference on education. When I first received the email, my first thought was that it was either spam or sent to me mistakenly. For three reasons. (1) I’m a doctor and researcher, (2) what do I have to do with pedagogy of education; in fact, I shudder whenever I am faced with something like that, and (3) the exit route – not to get involved in more things when you are already doing two full time jobs. Anyhow, on reading the email further, I was hooked: I came across phrases like ‘Covid-19 has changed our assumptions’, ‘rethinking education and learning spaces’, but above all, ‘sustainable education and educating sustainability’. Although, to be honest, I had to remind myself that the latter wasn’t just a tongue twister! Once reassured that I indeed was the intended recipient of the invitation, and that I indeed would be the right person for this, I started with drafting a brief outline for the keynote. I could present on the hackathons and other initiatives executed through the co-innovation and incubation hub that I direct at the Aga Khan University. Through that, I could make a solid case for sustainable informal education that is creative, innovative and entrepreneurial –a unique mindset for a medical university, but of great value to learners far beyond medicine. However, I felt that something was still lacking in the above approach. I had to somehow bring into it educational sustainability, and since we are far from any such sustainability, the title, ‘Edutopia: the educational utopia that is not’, was coined. In this article, I describe six synergistic approaches to achieve a shared vision of edutopia. I end by making a strong case for educating environmental sustainability as sustainable education’s raison d’etre.   Deschooling and reschooling Several years back I wrote an article with the title ‘a purposeful education’. It started off with lyrics of a famous song sung by the band Pink Floyd in1979, in which upset and angry school kids are chanting “we don’t need no education we don’t need no thought control”. Those poignant lyrics inspired me to create the word EDUTOPIA, to describe an educational utopia. In said article I made the point that although edutopia was not a word recognized by Webster’s or Oxford dictionaries, that shouldn’t stop us from striving even harder for that elusive utopia. One of the most important issues the aforementioned article delved into was education in the 21st century being a ‘deschooling-reschooling process’. This premise was based on a scathingly provocative and evocative book called ‘Deschooling Society’ published by Ivan Illich in 1971. Illich was a South American, Roman Catholic priest, theologian, philosopher, and social critic. Deschooling Society was hypercritical of modern society's institutional approach to education, an approach that ‘constrains learning to narrow situations in a fairly short period of the human lifespan’. Although we are far from edutopia, in order to progress towards it, we need to empty ourselves of the rubbish in our heads (so deschooling from that perspective) before we can be reschooled in what should be best practices for education. The same applies to reimagining our learning spaces and learning methodologies (virtual and real). Therefore, deschooling and reschooling shall help us align with our journey towards edutopia.   Examining assumptions, confronting prejudice Let’s jump ahead 50 years from Illich’s book and we are looking at Harari’s brilliance as a historian and author. In his work, Harari, like Illich, is hypercritical of contemporary institutionalized practices of education and health – but he also throws in politics, religion, and popular science/culture into the mélange. I was so inspired by his work that I ended up reviewing and reporting on two of his books for the Express tribune. The more recent of those was 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. The bit that I must share with you from the latter is about modern schooling. Harari states that to ‘hack education’ we need to alert children in modern schools to the adults around them and their parochial viewpoints. He postulates that rather than practical wisdom for contemporary living what the younger lot is likely to get from adults is biased/prejudiced worldview. We have our prejudices about everything and we really don’t understand the world the way we claim to, especially in this pandemic. Yet, how many of us are going to be honest in acknowledging that? This honesty within that we can embark on shall align us with edutopia.   Resurrecting creativity in schools I gave you the examples of brilliant social critics/philosopher-teachers like Illich and Harari. Let me add another. Sir Ken Robinson, a creativity expert, and well-known educator/author, who in his exceedingly popular TED talk states that kids fundamentally are not at all afraid of being wrong or making mistakes. But many of them lose this capacity. And he uses the example of creativity to make that point. He goes on to state how, unfortunately, it is schools themselves that do this. He raises the point that we are educating people out of their creative abilities – things that people are excited or passionate about become liabilities in their minds and they stop nurturing those creative skillsets. Do schools kill creativity? Yes! Hence, acknowledging that as a first step, we can actively move towards creativity and its resurrection in our schools, colleges, universities, and workplaces, as another path towards edutopia.   Pursuing creative happiness Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk will certainly get you to think about your school years. When we think about those wonder years of schooling, we may want to ponder whether we can recall them as the happiest times of our lives? How many can actually claim that? And what about now? Are our kids happy with schooling that has been disrupted by Covid-19? I bring to you as an example the case of John Lennon of the Beatles. In school he was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up and he said happy. The response from the school was that he did not understand the question, to which he replied that they didn’t understand life. To understand life, we’ve got to be happy, so aligning our schooling (no matter at what stage of life) with pursuit of creative happiness is edutopia.   Confronting educational orthodoxy To support the points above I have given you examples of a few individuals from the Western world. Moving to our own nation, the example that is more pertinent to our circumstances can be highlighted through a recent article by Pervaiz Hoodbhoy. It makes a cogent case for the archaic nature of the single national curriculum. Linked with the latter is regulatory oversight handed to religious scholars to supervise content of science schoolbooks. With that carte blanche the religious right has gone trigger happy warning biology textbook publishers, as just one example, to refrain from printing human figures without clothes. Rather than progressing towards 3D-Printing, Virtual/Augmented Reality techniques, and such, to study human anatomy, physiology and pathology in the 21st century, it seems like we are being aided and abetted towards human biological repression in Pakistan. This absurd obsession with enforced modesty is a travesty of sustainable modern education. Collectively realising this and creating a strong counterculture to such outdated viewpoints is edutopia within our own national boundaries.   Environmental sustainability While working on the ending to the keynote, and keeping it relevant to edutopia, I wondered what book would help me articulate it best. The book that I brought forth from my memories’ archive was ‘Ishmael’ – a piece of fiction that explores the interplay of ethics, sustainability and environmental catastrophe. It is largely created as a Socratic conversation between two characters. The Socrates in this case happens to be a gorilla in captivity. In the conversation, Ishmael highlights several widely accepted assumptions of modern society, the most detrimental being human supremacy, a cultural myth with catastrophic consequences for humankind and the environment. I first read this book when I was 15 or 16 years old; and I was disturbed. It has now been more than 25 years since the publication of the book. The environment has worsened in the interim: the pace at which environmental degradation is occurring has grown exponentially. Why am I highlighting Ishmael? Because it’s intimately linked to education of all sorts, not just primary schooling, college or higher education. The kind of messages that nature (plants, animals, and the environment) is giving us has already made it clear that neither sustainable education nor educating sustainability will be of much use with huge environmental unsustainability brought about by human intervention - deforestation, impure water/air/soil, extinction of species with its concomitant lack of biodiversity…need I go on? “If all the insects were to disappear from the earth, within 50 years all life on earth would end. If all human beings disappeared from the earth, within 50 years all forms of life would flourish.” This was said by Jonas Salk, an American researcher, virologist, and educator, who developed the first successful polio vaccine. Given its Covid-19 with its rampant vaccine nationalism, perhaps quoting a virologist is not a bad idea - however, this quote of his, decades’ old, isn’t flattering for human beings. Edutopia will be when we educate ourselves and every human being around us, irrespective of age, gender, global South or North location, about valuing the environment. That was simply Ishmael’s lesson, that I internalised a lifetime ago, but my ‘busy life’ got in the way.   Conclusion Before concluding this essay, I would like to posit something: Why do we want higher education and going past that why do we want education at all? What is higher education? How are we defining it? Is it higher relative to something lower or lowly/inferior? Do we want higher education because it’s somehow linked in our psyches to information, data or dataism – a neo religion; because data is king or data is God in some circles? Or do we want higher education because we are seeking knowledge or wisdom or higher purpose? Are we wanting higher education to obtain job security, money, fame, spouse; all the above or none of the above? Or for some other reasons? Perhaps for some of us it’s a lifelong pursuit, a journey versus a destination, and thus it’s an intangible? The above are not merely rhetorical questions. I think we have the responsibility to ask of our faculty, students, leaders, community – but above all of ourselves. Because what is the impact of that higher education that we are seeking? What is the change that we wish to seek? While thinking about change, the question that comes to my mind is: do you or I want to hear myself merely spout educational philosophies followed by ineffectual attempts at educational reform? My answer would be no, because I don’t have the answers to the educational crisis, we find ourselves in; yet I’m also cognizant of the brevity of time. I think we have run out of time for such intellectual debates. The world is not in a good place. Our planet is dying. We are killing plants and animals exponentially, and we are tampering with biological ecosystems with utmost disregard. Thus, educating about environmental sustainability becomes crucial. If a happy and thriving world isn’t there, then any education we do is pointless and just a band aid. THE AUTHOR IS AN ER PHYSICIAN, RESEARCHER AND INNOVATOR-INTRAPRENEUR AT THE AGA KHAN UNIVERSITY, WHO WRITES ON TOPICS RANGING FROM HEALTHCARE, EDUCATION AND INNOVATION TO HUMOUR AND POPULAR CULTURE. HE CAN BE REACHED ON TWITTER @AMIAN74      

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The Kargah Buddha and the man devouring Yatchini

Carved over a hard cliff, the ‘Yatchini’ of the Kargah Buddha has a lot to say about man-devouring evil. At first glance, the carving seems like a naked female figure. However, upon a closer look, the Yatchini has broad and squarish face with distended ears, a flat nose and a broad mouth. With his right hand raised, he stares back at you in a fearless pose. A series of holes create a boundary around the Yatchini. These pinholes are believed to be holding ogress in place. The 13 holes are fixed on all four sides of the ogress. Later the saint declared that she would not bother them as long as the saint was alive and if they buried the saint at the foothills of the rock, she would never be freed. The saint was said to have been buried right below the Buddha statue. According to local tradition, Yatchini means a female demon or djinn for evil spirits. Kargha Buddha is a famous heritage site situated a few kilometers from Gilgit city. The rock carving beside the Kargah Nala just west of Gilgit along the road to Punial is the most popular short outing resort from the Gilgit city. Kargha Buddha was carved in the 7th century. The local legend about the Buddha tells of a man-devouring ogress, called Yatshini who lived at Kargha. Every year thousands of Buddhists from Korea, Japan and other countries visit the Buddhist site for a viewing of the statue of Yatchini. According to famous Japanese scholar Dr Haruko Tsuchiya, “This is a chambs style figure. The only other figure of the same style is found in Mulbelandakh. The sort of figure is known as Buddhaisatta vs Maitreya, which has nothing to do with Gandhara Art.” A former British political agent DLR Lorimer stationed at Gilgit from 1920AD to 1924AD also collected and published this Yachani tale in his book, Gilgit, Chitral and Yasin.   Myth Associated with Kargah Buddha As written on the board fixed at the entrance of the Kargah Buddha site. Once upon a time, there was a devil woman called the Yatchani. If two men went off from Gilgit to fetch wood, they say, she used to eat one and let one to go. If two men went off, she would eat two and leave two to go. In this manner, she gradually ate and finished off all the people living on the countryside. To dig out a solution of the man-hunting devil, the people took counsel among themselves, saying “How can we kill her, or how shall we bind her?” One among them, someone said, “In Bagrot, there is a Daiyal Khimito. He will bind her.” When they had the DAIYAL fetched from Bagrot, he said to them. “Oh you folk this is nothing to worry about, I will bind her for you, and I give you this advice: After she has been bound, wherever I may go and die bring my body thence and prepare a grave below the Yatchani and bury me there, then she won’t come to life again.” The people accepted his advice and then, Daiyal Khimito drove iron pegs into the face of the cliff, climbed up and arrived at the door of the Yatchani’s dwelling. Upon hearing him, she came out of her house and to the door. “Oh Yatchani,” said Khimito. “Alas your brother has died in Kashmir. When he said this Yatchani pressed her open hand on her breast and Khimito drove an iron peg into it. Once a jain, he said, “Alas your father has died in Paltistan.” Yachani pressed her thigh with her other hand and Kimito drove a peg into her thigh and let it in. The Yachani now was fixed to the spot. She said to Kimito, “What am I to eat?” “Eat gravel off the earth cliff above the Basin,” he said.   Missing Priorities   The heritage site has great potential to attract a large number of national and foreign tourists if the government invests money in the infrastructure building as the road leading to the site needs repair and security to be deployed to safeguard it, said Raja Zaheer Wali, contractor of the Kargah Buddha site. According to Wali, in the year 2018 and 2019, more than half a million tourists visited Gilgit to see the Buddha. There are many archeological sites in Gilgit Baltistan, which should have preserved and protected much earlier however, this has not been done so far. “It’s the government responsibility to protect and develop these heritage sites to promote heritage tourism,” Wali added. Before the 9/11 incident, hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists were visiting the heritage site. After that, due to secutiry risks, foreign tourists stopped travelling to the area. However, foreign tourists have started visiting the site again, Wali said. Other than Kartarpur, if Pakistan has another potential place to attract foreign tourists and promote religious tourism, it is Kargah Buddha. Likewise, Sikh from across the world visit Kartarpur to perform their religious obligations. “The followers of Buddhism from across the world visit the Kargah Buddha and perform their religious rituals,” he claimed. In September 2018, a group of Buddhists Monic from Korea visited this site. They performed their worship in their complete religious dress as they dressed up themselves properly to perform their religious obligations, he recalled. “I had heard that they had signed an agreement with the Gilgit-Baltistan government and according to it, they will visit the site for worship every year,” he said. However, he was unaware about any further update in this regard. The followers of Buddhsim from different countries around the world, including China, visit the site, he added. “We also offer tracking facilities to visitors in the nearby mountains,” said Wali. Besides, we also facilitate tourists who want to visit the heritage sites located in different parts of the city. Talking about national tourists’ response, he said a large number of tourists from different cities of Pakistan, including Karachi and Lahore, visit the heritage site. The entry fee for local visitor is Rs50 for elders and Rs20 for children. Nationals have to pay Rs100 while foreign tourists pay Rs500 to visit the site. “There are many locals who don’t pay even this minor entry fee but still we allow them to visit inside and learn about the history of the Buddha,” said Wajid Ali. “Although local residents are cooperative and they never attempted to incite violence here, the site is vulnerable due to many pushes and pulls.” Talking about security measures, Wajid Ali said there is no security guard deployed by the government to protect them from potential damage to the structure. Ali said that he has made various attempts to draw the concerned authority’s attention in this regard but so far to no avail. “We face many problems due to lack of government attention towards the protection and promotion of religious and heritage tourism in the city,” he added. The tourism department never paid attention to this heritage site despite the fact that it is a great resort to promote religious tourism and generate revenue to strengthen the Gilgit Baltistan economy as well as to create job opportunities.   A Tourist Resort of Int’l Fame Senior journalist Shakila Jalil while visiting the site said, “The Kargah Buddha needs the attention of the tourism and archaeological departments of Gilgit-Baltistan for preservation and safeguarding.” The heritage sites, particularly Kargah Buddha have great potential to attract foreign tourists and generate revenue for the national economy. Jalil further said that the road leading to Buddha site from Gilgit city is in poor condition and needs immediate attention so that the historic site can be accessible for tourists easily. It is an amazing place to visit with family and friends as you can not learn more about the history behind the Kargah Buddha but you can also enjoy the icy cold water flowing down at the site as well as the chilling wind, said Anam Asghar, a resident of Rawalpindi. “I have visited the site twice before and yet I am here once again, enjoying the pleasant environment of this historic place,” she said. “A little attention from the government can make this heritage site into an international standard tourist resort,” she added. “I often visit the site as it is located at the walking distance from my home,” said young Ismail. We [friends] come here to listen to the tale of Kargah Buddha. “On our way back, we also take a bath in the nearby stream, '' said Majid, another local boy. “Though, the stream water is too cold to take a bath but we still enjoy jumping in the deep water from rock and then swimming under the heat of sun.” The heritage resort has a traditional boundary wall, a stream grinder machine, some huts and a stand to view the Buddha status easily with close eyes. However, the safety and security of the Buddha site is a great challenge for contractors citing various pushes and pulls. It is important to mention here that there is no security official deployed at the security of the heritage site, despite the fact that in its 2014’s historic verdict, the Supreme Court of Pakistan directed the federal and all provincial governments to ensure safety and security of the places of worship of religious minorities in the country. The apex court also directed establishment of a separate police force comprising trained and qualified security officials from religious minorities to ensure protection of places of worship and visitors.

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No weight too tough

Imagine a hockey team preparing on a grass field for the Olympics, which will be held on AstroTurf. How will the players adjust to the change in the conditions? What results do you expect from them? Well, unfortunately, the Pakistani Hockey team wasn't able to make it to the Olympics, but a young Weightlifting athlete was. Despite having no international standard equipment, not only did he make his debut on the big stage but he also gave a tough time to his fellow competitors. This is a story of 22-year-old Pakistani weightlifter Talha Talib, who finished at 5th place in the Weightlifting competition of 67kg category – falling back just 2kg from a bronze medal – and also defeated the Olympic Gold medalist China's Lijun Chen in the Snatch by 5kg. Talib lifted 150kg in Snatch while Chen was able to lift 145kg, whereas, in the C&J event, Chen lifted 17kg more than Talha's (170kg), making Talha's aggregate total 320kg lift. Talib made all of this possible without access to international standard equipment and a proper gym as he trained in a partial school-turned-gym. Hailing from Gujranwala, a city of Punjab well-known for wrestling, judo and weightlifting athletes, Talib is a son of a former Pakistani weightlifter and was coached by Naveed Aslam Malik and his brother, the former Olympian Arshad Malik, who competed at Munich 1972 and Montreal 1976 Olympics, which was the last time Pakistan was represented in a weightlifting competition at the Olympics. After Naveed’s death, he was trained at the national camp under three coaches till 2018, when the camp ended and his father took the responsibility to train him. Since then, Talib, prepared under rudimentary conditions inside a room at a school-converted gym with some basic equipment and secured the invitational quota following his extraordinary performances in 13 international competitions, with five being the Olympic qualifiers.   God-gifted talent Talib has grown up watching his father perform weightlifting. His father, Muhammad Islam Natiq, a passionate weightlifter to represent Pakistan, had to leave the competition early during the 1999 South Asian Games. “I was selected by a Belgian coach after impressing him with my style and speed. This resulted in my selection for the 1999 South Asian Games however, I sustained a shoulder injury. But that same year, I was also gifted with Talha," Islam, who was a National Junior Weightlifting Champion and also won a Bronze medal at the Asian Powerlifting 1999, told The Express Tribune. According to Islam, although he was a weightlifter, he never imagined or wished his children to be in the same sport. “To be honest, I didn't know Talha would become a weightlifter someday. I still remember I took Talha to the weightlifting club for the first time at the age of two. It's unbelievable, but instead of playing with the other kids there, he went straight in where the bars were placed and tried to pick them up,” he said. “Since then, I often took him to the club with me. But as he grew up, his interest in weightlifting increased. Sometimes, without my knowing it, he used to follow me to the club and lifted weights. There was a time when we were searching him everywhere, and he was in the club,” recalled Islam. When Talha was only six, Naveed talked to Islam about the talent he saw in Talib of becoming a top weightlifter of Pakistan and competing internationally someday. “It was his eye that captured Talha's talent. I was not able to see that but he did. He said that Talha has a god-gifted talent in weightlifting and from that day he started working on him,” said Islam.   Breaking records After Naveed started training Talha, he was all set to take the professional training for weightlifting in the next two years. At the age of eight, Talha began his professional training under Naveed, made age-group records, and won his first local title in 2008. Ever since Talha became a professional weightlifter, he made multiple junior and age-group records - a feat that he carried till date. “His interest in the sport and the intense training he did resulted in Talha lifting 22kg in C&J when he weighed 16kg. He continued to lift more than his own body weight,” said Islam. At the age of 11, Talha took part in the under-14 National Championship in Lahore in 2011. He was participating in the 40kg category but when he was weighted, he turned out to be 31 kg and still won a gold medal. While recalling the championship, Talha told The Express Tribune that the other weightlifters laughed at him after watching his weight. “I lifted 44kg when I weighed 31kg and that surprised everyone,” he said. The stories of his dedication are no secret. He used to get up at night for Tahajjud prayers and then trained till Fajr prayers. Talha, over the last six years, has continuously improved his performance. He began lifting 102kg Snatch, 115kg C&J an aggregate of 217kg in 56kg category in 2015 to 150kg Snatch, 170kg C&J, and 320kg total weight. This increase of 103kg was not an easy or smooth journey for Talha. During this time, he broke multiple records and had to face numerous issues but he kept going. The increase in his weight every year was unreal and unusual for any Pakistani weightlifter. In the year 2018, when Talha was preparing for the Commonwealth Games 2018, the national camp ended and that is when his father took on the responsibility of training him further.   Limited Facilities Although Talha was a dedicated athlete, he was not provided with the international standard equipment since the beginning. First, he trained at the local club, then at the national camp, and eventually had to train in a school that was also taken away from him just before the Olympics, so he had to prepare at his home. Talha, who has won six each Gold, Silver and Bronze medals for Pakistan in international competitions, often got cash prizes from Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), who he used to buy equipment for training. “Altogether, we have received around 2.5 million rupees from all the competitions. We have used that money to buy equipment and clear our dues. The place, after 2018, was provided by the owner of the school where Talha studied from primary to eighth grade,” said Islam. “The owner of the school Chaudhry Mubashir Tung, who was also the president of Star Weightlifting Club, didn't ask for a single penny from us from 2018 to 2021. However, he eventually had to shut down his school due to financial losses. If we had to pay for that place, it would have been a monthly expense of Rs50,000,” he added.   Spurred on by victory Since 2012, Talha was contracted for the WAPDA fund under which he used to get a Rs500 stipend during competitions. “But to keep him going, Naveed and I used to give him a trophy, chocolates or other small gifts whenever he increased his lifted weight. We continued this from 2012 till 2015 before he played his first competition,” said Islam. After winning a silver medal at the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games, WAPDA contracted him for a monthly stipend of Rs10,000 at the age of 16. “At that moment, he asked me if he wins more medals, will his stipend increase. This motivated him, and once he turned 18, WAPDA increased his monthly stipend,” said Islam.   No job, no sponsors When he turned 18, he expected to get a permanent job at WAPDA whom he had served for five years however, he was kept on the same contract. “From 2015 till date, he is still on contract. It was GECPO's job to get him a permanent job at WAPDA, but they failed to do so,” said Islam. This worried Talha a bit, that if new management comes at WAPDA, they might end his contract, or as he was at the position of line superintendent, so if they call him up for duty, he will have to leave the games and go serve the department. “The permanent job really matters. The stipend I get from WAPDA is used to run the household. If that gets stopped for whatsoever reason, it will be challenging for me to run daily affairs and focus on my training,” said Talha. Talha, who has won six medals each of gold, silver and bronze, is still searching for a permanent and big sponsor. “All the other players at the Olympics had several sponsors for their kits and finances, but here Talha was alone. Sponsors play a big role. If an athlete is well financially backed, he can concentrate more on his training and achieve more for his country,” said Islam. According to Islam, Talha's most prominent sponsor is Tung, who gave him a place to train for three years and then PWF, who has never said no to providing funds for the competitions with PSB and POA support. “This is one good thing about the PWF, PSB and POA that they have never said no to Talha. Whenever he is to go to international competitions, he is provided with the funds. Still, there is a lot of room for a big sponsor. Unfortunately, we live in an industrial hub, where there are big factories and businessmen, but they are yet to consider Talha as a deserving athlete for a sponsor,” explained Islam.   A student in search of teachers Talha, who had his last education in matriculation, couldn't continue his studies due to the clashes between the exams and competition dates. “Talha took admission in intermediate but during the exams dates, he had international competitions," said Islam. “This is a drawback in our system. Talha was a brilliant student and wanted to pursue his further studies, but unfortunately the Punjab Board couldn't help him as there was no policy for the national athletes. I recommend that the board either give some leverage in the dates for the athlete or they should form an academy at the national camps and give them grace marks if they miss exams,” he suggested.   The rise of 'Talha Babu' As Talha started winning the local championships, he started to be known by the name Talha Babu - a nickname that was given to him by her sister. “He got famous by this name. Everyone in the area and community started calling him by this name, which was his first title,” told Islam. Four years later, the big day for him finally came when he was called and selected for his first international competition, the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games but he couldn't celebrate much. “Talha's coach, Naveed, referred us to the president of Pakistan Weightlifting Federation, Hafiz Imran Malik, for the trials of Commonwealth Youth Games. We went there and gave trails, and Talha was selected.” “Unfortunately, at the same time, Naveed got seriously ill and was admitted to the hospital. Just two days before Talha's departure, Naveed passed away. Naveed was so involved with Talha that when he was in ICU, his son came out and told us that his father is training Talha in his unconsciousness," he said. However, Talha, who stayed focused, went to the competition, won a silver medal, and set a national record in the Commonwealth Youth Games. “The pressure of playing my first international competition was there. I was worried about how I will represent my country there. With the help of prayers, I won a medal and also set a record, which was a huge achievement for me and a proud moment for my coaches,” said then 15-year-old Talha, who lifted 102kg in Snatch and 115kg in C&J an aggregate of 217kg in 56kg category to win silver. Islam said that at that time, after watching Talha's performance, Paul Coffa, the Australian coach, predicted that this boy will be a top Commonwealth Game athlete. From then on, there was no stopping for Talha. After Naveed’s death, Talha was sent to the national camp under the coaching of the son of the PWF President Imran, Irfan Imran Butt, along with Ali Aslam and Illyas Butt, who worked on further polishing his talent till the end of 2018 when the camp was called off due to financial issues. Under Imran, Talha became one of the best Pakistani players in the history of Commonwealth Youth Championships and won two gold medals and four each silver and bronze medals. The rest he won under his father training. Talha also shifted from 56kg to 62kg and then to the 67kg category under Imran.   Qualifying for Tokyo After playing in eight international competitions, Talha decided to shift from 62kg to 67kg category Olympics qualification. “It was time for targeting the Olympics. He wanted to prepare for the 67kg category, and that is what I did. We focused on his diet and on lifting more weight smoothly,” said Islam. The Olympics qualification was based on the International Weightlifting Federation's (IWF) ranking of the player in each continent. Talha was targeting to lift the heaviest weight to gain Asia's qualification. Talha won five international competitions from 2018 to 2021 but could not top the charts as he missed two contests. One the 13th South Asian Games as it was not considered for qualification and other Asian Junior Weightlifting Championship 2019 as he missed his connecting flight from Beijing due flights delay following bad weather.   Olympic Invitation As Talib was declared the best athlete in the 67kg category of the Commonwealth Games and had won bronze at the last competition, the PWF requested the Pakistan Olympic Association. He talked to the International Olympic Community to consider Talah's recent records and invite him to the Olympics on the Tripartite Commission quota. “The IOC was kind enough to consider Talah's achievement and grant him the quota invitation. This was all due to the substantial support that Talha got from the President PWF, Imran, who was a national youth champion at the age of 12,” said Islam. For Talha, this was a dream come true. “Every athlete dreams of playing at the Olympics, and this was all because of all the hard work that my coaches, father and president Imran did to make me who I am today,” said Talha.   The Olympic Feat Talha, who made his debut at the Summer Tokyo Olympics 2020, left a considerable mark by finishing at the fifth spot and beating the Olympic gold medalist in Snatch. “I thank Allah and the nation who prayed for me,” said the star weightlifter. “I am grateful to the PWF and the POA. I dedicate my success to the nation. Soaring Pakistan's flag up high was a proud moment for me.” Talha said that he was not nervous about performing at the Olympics. “The learning I got from performing at the big stage, but I was not nervous as I had already faced all the weightlifters in different competitions, and I was happy that I defeated Chan in Snatch," he said, adding that there is still a long way to go.   New equipment and next target After Talha made it to the Olympics, the PSB has provided us with a dedicated area at the Shahbaz Sharif Gymnasium in Gujranwala with all the international standard equipment. “The accuracy of the international equipment is very high. He can now perform the same internationally as he does at home,” said Islam. Talking about his next target, Islam said he will now aim for 325kg or 330kg for the upcoming Commonwealth Championship to be held in October in Singapore, and then for the world record in Snatch by lifting more than the current record of 155kg.

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Telegram adds video playback speed, video calls up to 1000 viewers

A popular messaging app, Telegram, brings new features to its app including increasing participants in a video call, an auto-delete feature of messages, and other modifications.   

The most significant change is “Group Video Calls 2.0” where video calls ‎of up to 30 participants can broadcast their cameras and screens up to 1000 spectators. Telegram is also hopeful to increase the video calls ‎limit until “all humans on Earth can join one group call”.‎

As mentioned above, video messages have been updated to 2.0. This means that those circular press-hold video messages are now higher-resolution and you can tap the message to expand the circular video. You can also pause and scrub through the video message. You can also record voice messages and your background audio won’t pause.

Interestingly enough, the latest update includes the same feature we have seen on WhatsApp. You can now watch the videos sent through Telegram at 0.5X, 1.5X, or 2.0X speed. Android will also support 0.2X speeds.

Moreover, you can also share your screen with audio. The update also comes with a new auto-delete feature. Your messages will automatically delete after one month. You can now draw more precisely onto images before sending them to a friend or group.

Read More: KNOW HOW TO SCHEDULE MESSAGES ON TELEGRAM

There are now more animations in the passcode screen, and messages you add to a chat will animate in a new way as well on the Android app. A new password reset option that has been added to the apps’ settings will help users recover a password in 7 days if they don’t have a recovery password.

Finally, new animated emojis include dance emojis, fist bumps, broken hearts, and sad-face emojis. The iOS app also gets integration with the camera app on iOS so you can switch to the zoom or wide cameras when taking a photo directly on the Telegram app.

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62 new lives lost to Covid with 5026 fresh infections, NCOC confirms

ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) has Sunday announced at least 62 more deaths due to Covid infection while 5,026 fresh positive cases are reported across the country during the last 24 hours, ARY News reported.

Statistics 1 Aug 21:
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 56,965
Positive Cases: 5026
Positivity % : 8.82%
Deaths : 62

— NCOC (@OfficialNcoc) August 1, 2021

With new cases turning up out of the 56,965 tests conducted countrywide in the past 24-hour cut-off period, the NCOC said the positivity rate of the infection has thus remained 8.82 per cent.

Umar wants Sindh govt to revisit lockdown strategy

Keeping the Covid-led restriction in parts of the country owing to the rising Covid incidence, the federal planning and development minister Asad Umar, in a series of tweets on Saturday, weighed in on the Sindh government’s decision of imposing a lockdown for nine days.

He said there is a need to revisit the decisions made by the Sindh government yesterday, especially those related to closure of public transport and industries.

The NCOC head welcomed some changes made by the provincial government in its strategy to curb the spread of Covid-19, but said there is a need to bring further changes.

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No secret accords with US this time, Mooed Yusuf tells Washington presser

WASHINGTON: National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf has said Sunday while addressing a news conference at the Pakistan embassy that this time there are no secret arrangements with the US like in the past, ARY News reported.

Yusuf said Pakistan is looking forward to the leadership role of the US in Afghanistan and noted the only way forward in the developing situation there is political settlement. He clarified that Pakistan is not extending its bases to the US and shunned the theories of any secret US-Pak accords.

He said the Pakistani duo, himself and the Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan (ISI) Lt General Faiz Hameed, held talks with the people in the US echelons.

Pakistan hopes India will abide by rules after assuming UNSC presidency

However, the NSA said Pakistan has been asked to do more with Afghanistan but this time it called it stopped being told to do more. We have been facilitating a political settlement in the neighbor while its land had been used against us in subversive activities.

Referring to India, Yusuf also said the eastern border, too, has been engaged in conspiracies against Pakistan.

Moeed Yusuf arrived in Washington earlier last week along with DG ISI Faiz Hameed for talks with their counterparts in the US on matters such as Afghanistan and bilateral relations.

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Stabbing case: What constitutes ‘good behaviour’?

Shah Hussain, who was convicted of stabbing Khadija Siddiqui – a law student – 23 times, was recently released from prison much earlier than his sentence. This turned cheers into outrage as a legal victory won in the country’s apex court after years of laborious battle fell short of meeting “technical ground” of the jail authorities. The early release has sparked outrage and a fierce social media debate with activists and celebrities questioning the legal merit of the release and denouncing it as symptomatic of cracks within the country’s spotty law enforcement. The “technical remission” which comes amid the overwhelming wave of patriarchal violence already assaulting the nation has pushed the shame and agony a few more notches up. Rights activists took to social media and laced into the police for “relaxing his sentence”. “Shah Hussain stabbed @khadijasid751 23 times, released from jail after serving 3.5yrs against his 5yr sentence. Can PTI explain how when Govt cant remit sentence without Khadija’s consent nor does he qualify for good behaviour release given conviction under 324PPC @ShireenMazari1,” Jibran Nasir, a lawyer and a rights activist, wrote in a tweet. Speaking to The Express Tribune, Khadija Siddiqui said while the unannounced release of her attacker had appalled her, she remains sanguine about the potential of the precedent her case had established. She pointed out that the “technical remission” granted to the convict cannot undo the years of the legal battle that culminated in a major victory in the country’s apex court, which would continue to serve as guiding precedence for future cases. Read Girl, grandfather stabbed to death over property dispute “Despite all this, I would emphasise the fact that my attacker will still be considered a convict under the legal purview and precedence has been set. There’s no escape from this fact and therefore it hasn’t gone down in vain. I took the case to the ultimate end and wrested the right to secure a conviction for my attacker when he was acquitted.” “When I went to the Supreme Court, I was well aware of the gravity of the matter for no other ordinary woman in the past had navigated those legal trammels and exhausting avenues to knock at the doors of the highest court in the country. It stirred a successful movement which continues to inspire hope in many women,” she added. However, she was quick to add that the technical remission on the grounds that the convict had displayed “reformed conduct” during imprisonment begs some serious questions about the powers at the disposal of jail authorities. On Tuesday, Punjab Prisons Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan said Shah Hussain did not receive any relief in the form of legal remission from any government official but had availed “technical remissions” which are given for blood donations and good conduct as per the law and the Constitution. However, Siddiqui questioned the parameters under which “good conduct” is determined. “I am wondering what constitutes good behaviour after stabbing two people in broad daylight,” Siddiqui said, adding the law doesn’t explicitly mention any remission process, leaving the entire discussion to the jail authorities. “What is worth noting here is that such remissions are not given to poor and disadvantaged people languishing in the jails for years. It is only the rich that are able to enjoy and exploit such rules,” she said, casting aspersions on the “flawed system”. Published in The Express Tribune, August 1st, 2021.

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Passengers opt to travel on locomotives

Passengers have started traveling on locomotives due to the alleged negligence of the railway officials and shortage of bogies. According to witnesses, passengers on the Lahore-Narowal and other routes often opt to travel on the engine instead of the bogies to save money spent on fare, while the administration and the police do not appear serious in taking action against them. On other branch lines also, passengers often travel on railway locomotives due to negligence of the official concerned. According to the sources, passengers, including children and the elderly, risk their lives to travel dangerously on the railway locomotives. Read Political recruitments have destroyed railways: CJP It is the responsibility of the railway administration and police to ensure safety of the passengers as well as the locomotives but they often fail to stop the passengers from risking their lives. In the past, several passengers traveling on the rooftops and locomotives of trains lost their lives aftre falling down or hitting poles along the tracks. The dangerous practice continues on the Lahore, Sahiwal, Narowal and Shahdara sections of the tracks. According to some officials, the railway administration is facing a shortage of passenger bogies for the main and branch lines and this is also a reason for young passengers to climb onto the rooftops and locomotives. Elderly people also travel dangerously on the hulls and back of railway locomotives putting themselves as the risk of accidents. Published in The Express Tribune, August 1st, 2021.

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Govt jacks up petrol price by Rs1.71 per litre

The government on Friday jacked up the price of petrol by Rs1.71 per litre effective from August 1 (Sunday), following fluctuation in the global oil prices. The Finance Division issued a statement in this regard on Saturday. The decision was made as per the recommendation of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra). The new price of petrol will be Rs119.80 per litre against the current rate of Rs118.09 per litre. However, there was no change in the price of high speed diesel (HSD). HSD, which is majorly used by the agriculture and transport sectors, will continue to be sold at Rs116.53 per litre. The price of light diesel oil (LDO) was also kept unchanged at Rs84.67 per liter. The commodity is primarily used by the industrial sector. The price of kerosene oil was also increased by Rs0.35 per litre to Rs87.49 per litre against Rs87.14 per litre. Read Petrol shortage leaves motorists stranded Kerosene oil is used by the Pakistan armed forces and in remote areas like northern parts of the country for cooking purposes where LPG is not available. On July 15, the government had increased the price of petrol by Rs5.40 per litre and that of HSD by Rs2.54 per litre. The prices of kerosene and LDO were also raised by Rs1.39 and Rs1.27, respectively. This was the second time the prices of petroleum products had been increased in the last 15 days. Earlier, the government had increased the prices of all petroleum products by up to 4.7% at the beginning of July to pass on "partial impact" of rise in international prices. The ex-depot price of petrol was increased by Rs2 per litre and that of HSD by Rs1.44 per litre. The ex-depot price of kerosene was increased by Rs3.86 per litre and that of LDO by Rs3.72 per litre, respectively.

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Alvi seeks youth role plantation drive

President Dr Arif Alvi has urged the young generation to play their “dynamic role” in the government’s 10 Billion Tree Tsunami campaign and reverse the degenerating effects of global warming and environmental pollution. “The onus to keep the environment clean and green now vests with the young generations,” he said while addressing a ceremony of monsoon tree plantation drive held here at the Aiwan e Sadr on Saturday. He expressed confidence that they would carry “this burden” and secure the country’s future. The president stressed the need for adopting environment-friendly habits at the country’s scenic and tourists’ spots by properly disposing of trash and garbage. On the occasion, the president along with Begum Samina Alvi also planted saplings of Chir pine (Pinus Roxburghii) in the monsoon season under the tree plantation programme. Sharing his past experiences prior to becoming the president, he said that they had distributed 100,000 saplings among different households of Karachi.

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Sania hopeful of one window service

SAPM on Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection Dr Sania Nishtar on Saturday said the One Window Ehsaas Policy would ensure the delivery of services to marginalised segments of society. “The overarching Ehsaas strategy stipulates the creation of ‘One-Window Ehsaas’ (Policy # 4) to enable the delivery of the multiple Ehsaas programmes through a single window and to address issues in social protection programmes,” according to an official statement. The policy entails six sets of actions: firstly, a One Stop Shop, the Ehsaas Physical Centre; secondly, back-office digital interface; thirdly, a public-facing digital information and services platform; the fourth component is a mobile app; the fifth component is the integrated database; and finally, the Ehsaas One-Window Beneficiary Selection and Targeting Policy. Collectively, it read the six pillars of policy would increase coordination across the different programmes offered by different implementing organisations and will improve the beneficiary experience.

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Covid inoculation in Faisalabad crosses 1m

Coronavirus vaccination in Faisalabad district exceeded one million after more than 40,900 persons were inoculated against the contagion on Saturday. District Health Officer Dr Bilal Ahmed stated that till now, 1,034,557 general public as well as health care workers had been administered coronavirus vaccine at 37 centres and camps and during special door to door campaign. He further said that the process of vaccination of citizens under coronavirus vaccination centres, mobile camps and special campaign of the district was underway. Read More than 900,000 vaccinations carried out in a day: Umar He said that 40,734 general public and 172 health careworkers had been vaccinated on Friday out of which 36,702 general public had been vaccinated for the first dose, 4,032 got their second dose whereas 49 healthcare workers were administered the first dose and 123 healthcare workers were administered the second dose. Meanwhile, 20 mobile vaccination camps were operational in Faisalabad where registered persons were also getting anti-coronavirus vaccine doses. Citizens can get vaccinated at Jaranwala Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, Sammundri, Tandlianwala, Chak Jhumra, Sports Complex Chak Jhumrah and Sports Complex Jaranwala. Published in The Express Tribune, August 1st, 2021.

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New vehicle registration system faces delays

Another episode of innovation stalled by bureaucratic hurdles has been witnessed in the implementation of the proposed biometric verification system by the excise department for the sale and purchase of vehicles. According to the details, the excise department on the direction of the Punjab government formed teams of its senior officers and visited Islamabad to witness the capital’s successfully functioning biometric verification system first-hand. Following the visit, the excise department held successful negotiations with National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) and agreed to introduce the system to curb the significant increase in the number of open-letter vehicles. An open-letter vehicle is one where the buyer of the car does not transfer the ownership of the car to his/her name from the seller’s name. This is a problem as the seller is then accountable if the vehicle’s used in any illegal activity. Furthermore, if the ownership is not transferred the seller retains ownerships in the excise department’s record and is liable to pay the fines issued under the e-traffic challan system of the Punjab Safe City Authority. Read Biometric verification to end open letter vehicles sale The measure was also proposed to combat the increasing complaints of forgery in new registrations. Under the new system, for registration and change of ownership of vehicles and motorcycles, buyers and sellers will have to verify themselves by giving their fingerprints at biometric verification machines present at NADRA e-Sahulat centres and will be charged Rs.120 for this. The blame for the unnecessary and unjustified delay has been placed on the slackness exhibited by the concerned government departments. The Express Tribune has learned from Punjab’s Excise Minister Hafiz Mumtaz Ahmed that despite an agreement on all technical and financial matters between the Punjab Excise Department and NADRA the provincial law department has not yet scrutinized the draft contract between them. After the scrutiny is complete, it will head over to the cabinet for the final approval. It should be noted that the agreement and all the necessary amendments of the Motor Vehicle Rules were made nearly three months ago, and the draft agreement has been with the Law Department for over a month. After the agreement, pending approval, is signed, the owners of open letter vehicles will be given one month to transfer the ownership in their name. The biometric verification system will be activated at more than 3,000 e-Sahulat centres of NADRA to facilitate this process. However, for now the matter remains stuck in limbo. Published in The Express Tribune, August 1st, 2021.

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Pakistan ranks ‘cheapest country to live in’

Pakistan has been ranked as 'the cheapest country in the world to live in' with a cost of living index showing 18.58, followed by Afghanistan 24.51, India 25.14 and Syria 25.31, according to cost of living index by GoBankingRatesCompany. Several organisations have used statistics to determine the cheapest countries to live in. One of these companies is GoBankingRates and the company uses four metrics to determine which countries are the most affordable. The metrics used include rent index, local purchasing power index, consumer price index, groceries index and information compiled is compared to the cost of living in New York City, one of the most expensive cities in the world. Read more: Pakistan to become 23rd biggest economy by 2040: US intelligence report The index confirms the stability in prices of daily commodities in Pakistan making living as the most affordable and cheapest in the world. Contrary to it, worldwide, the prices of daily commodities spiraled impacting the most thriving economies of the world amidst coronavirus pandemic which resulted in tumbling down of income per capita and steep rise in the daily inflation. According to the US Department of Agriculture's latest report, the global food supplies are expected to grow in 2021-22 and so the prices of daily commodities, driven by strong demand and supply shortfalls. Whereas in a corresponding report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) projected that world food prices were set to rise on monthly basis. The FAO's food price index, measured monthly changes for a basket of cereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat and sugar. According to it, the vegetable oil price index jumped due to rising palm, soy and rapeseed oil quotations. Also read: Pakistan ranks as most inexpensive country to live in Palm oil prices were boosted by slow production growth in southeast Asia, while prospects of robust global demand, especially from the biodiesel sector, drove up soy oil prices. The sugar index also posted a 6.8% month-on-month gain, due to harvest delays and concerns over reduced crop yields in Brazil, the world's largest sugar exporter, FAO said. The FAO also noted similar rising trends in the prices of almost major edible items on monthly basis as the world was still reeling under the impacts of Covid 19. The GoBankingRatesCompany said on the opposite end, the most expensive countries to live in are the Cayman Islands 141.64, Bermuda 138.22, Switzerland 122.67, and Norway 104.49. All four of these countries have a higher cost of living than New York City. The cost of living is the money needed to sustain a certain comfort level in a location and covers basics like housing, groceries, taxes, and healthcare. Some countries have a very high cost of living, particularly in areas surrounding large cities as in the United States, cities like New York and San Francisco have a very high cost of living. On the flip side, some nations have a very low cost of living, so many people are packing their belongings to move to these countries.

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Sugar laden container truck falls into sea at Karachi port

KARACHI: A container truck loaded with 780 sugar bags fell into the sea at the Karachi Port Trust’s (KPT) East Wharf, ARY News reported on Saturday.

The truck fell into the sea after its brakes failed. The driver of the truck managed to escape unhurt.

780 bags of imported sugar loaded onto the truck went to waste as a result of the incident, incurring hundreds of millions worth of loss on the state-run Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP).

Also Read: VESSEL WITH 33,000 TONNES OF IMPORTED SUGAR ARRIVES AT KARACHI PORT

Sugar was loaded onto the truck from a ship, MV Unity, that had arrived at the KPT from Dubai with 33,000 tonnes of the sweetener.

Earlier, on July 21, a ship, MV Hang Tong , ended up at Seaview beach after it ran aground. Owned by a Hong Kong-based company, it is 98 metres in length and 20 metres wide, and has a capacity of 3,600 deadweight tonnage.

The ship is yet to be salvaged.

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CAA issues new travel advisory for domestic passengers

KARACHI: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Sunday issued a new travel advisory for all passengers boarding domestic flights, ARY News reported.

Director Air Transport of the CAA, Irfan Sabir, issued a notification in this connection.

According to a notification, the CAA has declared the COVID-19 vaccination certificate mandatory for passengers travelling through domestic flights from August 01 (today).

“In continuation to the steps being undertaken to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Pakistan, it has been decided by the Competent Authority that with effect from August 1, 2021, no Pakistani passenger of 18 years of age and above, will be allowed to undertake domestic air travel within Pakistan without proof of Covid-19 vaccination,” read the notification.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on July 17 directed all employees to get themselves vaccinated against the virus by July 31.

Circulation was also issued by Director General Civil Aviation Authority (DGCCA).

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PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal contracts coronavirus again

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ahsan Iqbal has tested positive for novel coronavirus again, ARY News reported.

The news was confirmed by the former interior minister on his Twitter handle.

He has quarantined himself at home for 14 days after testing positive for the infection. The former minister has appealed to people to pray for his quick recovery.

 

مجھے کوویڈ کی دوبارہ تشخیص ہوئی ہے- میں نے قرنطینہ اختیار کر لیا ہے-تمام دوستوں، احباب اور بالخصوص اہلیان نارووال سے درخواست ہے کہ میری جلد صحتیابی کے اپنی دعاؤوں میں مجھے یاد رکھیں!
ماسک پہنیں اور کرونا کے خلاف ایس او پیز پہ عمل کریں!

— Ahsan Iqbal (@betterpakistan) July 31, 2021

PML-N President and Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Shehbaz Sharif, has wished Ahsan Iqbal a speedy recovery from Covid-19.

احسن اقبال صاحب دوبارہ کورونا کا شکار ہو گئے ہیں۔ اللہ پاک ان کو مکمل صحت عطا فرمائے اور آپ سب کو اپنے حفظ و امان میں رکھے۔

— Shehbaz Sharif (القدس في العيون) (@CMShehbaz) July 31, 2021

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz had also tested positive for COVID-19 on July 28.

Pakistan continues to record a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases as the country has registered 4,950 new infections over the last 24 hours, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) said on Saturday.

The NCOC said that the country’s number of overall confirmed cases has risen to 1,029,811, including 940,164 recoveries, adding that the positivity rate of infections was recorded at 8.46 per cent.

The COVID-19 claimed 65 more lives across the country in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll from the disease to 23,360, the NCOC said, adding that 3,187 people are in critical condition.

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Covid lockdown: Several arrested in Karachi over pillion riding despite ban removal

KARACHI: Several people have been arrested in Karachi over violation of the pillion riding despite the Sindh government lifted ban today, ARY News reported on Saturday.

According to details, the Sindh police arrested several people and locked them up at the Airport police station of the metropolis.

Sindh government today announced to ease lockdown restrictions notified yesterday, lifting the pillion riding ban and allowing sectors that are fully vaccinated to operate.

Addressing a press conference, Spokesman for the Sindh government  Murtaza Wahab said that it was owing to the decisions including the blocking of mobile SIMs taken by the Sindh government that had led to a manifold increase in the vaccination process.

Read More: FEDERAL GOVT OPPOSES DECISION TO IMPLEMENT LOCKDOWN IN SINDH

“We are also lifting a ban on pillion riding,” Murtaza Wahab said and added that restaurants, bakeries, and milk shops are also exempted from following restricted timings.

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FBR surpasses July tax collection target by Rs71bn

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collected net revenue of Rs413 billion in the first month of the fiscal year 2021-22, showing about 36 per cent growth over the collection of Rs303bn during last year’s corresponding period.

According to provisional data, July’s tax collection surpassed the target of Rs342bn by Rs71bn.

The FBR said it disbursed refunds amounting to Rs20bn compared to Rs15.7bn paid last year, showing an increase of 26.6pc. “This is reflective of FBR’s resolve to fast-track refunds to prevent liquidity shortages in the industry despite facing the challenge of fourth wave of COVID-19,” it pointed out.

Income tax returns for tax year-2020 reached 3.53 million compared to 2.72 million in tax year-2019, showing an increase of 30pc.

Also Read: PM KHAN COMMENDS FBR ON RECORD TAX COLLECTION OF RS410B IN JULY

The tax deposited with returns was Rs51bn compared to Rs33bn last year, showing an increase of 54pc.

The tax collecting body said 11,744 point of sale terminals have been integrated with real time reporting system of FBR.

Pakistan Customs collected Rs67 billion under the head of customs duty during July 2021 whereas during the month of July last year, an amount of Rs49 billion was collected, which showed growth of 37pc.

During July 2021, smuggled goods worth Rs3.6 bn have been seized.

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Justice Isa hospitalised a week after testing positive for Covid-19

Supreme Court's Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who tested positive for coronavirus last week along with his wife Sarina Isa, has been admitted to a hospital on the advice of his doctors. Sources told The Express Tribune that Justice Isa is in good health and was moved to the hospital for better treatment. They said that the Supreme Court judge has a mild cough and media reports regarding him being shifted to ventilator are incorrect. Justice Isa and his wife Sarina Isa were tested positive for coronavirus last week, according to a press release issued by the apex court's deputy registrar. The statement said that the Covid-19 test results of Justice Isa and his wife were issued by the National Institute of Health. Read more: Peshawar High Court's top judge laid to rest Pakistan recorded at least 4,950 new Covid-19 cases during the last 24-hour period – the highest since April. During the past day, at least 65 succumbed to the disease as the deadly fourth wave of the pandemic continues to cause havoc across the country. A day earlier, the Sindh government announced the imposition of a lockdown in the province till August 8 as cases spike in the province fuelled by the highly transmissible Delta variant of the pandemic. Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah announced that the aim of the lockdown was to reduce pressure on the hospitals and improve healthcare facilities, overcome the spread of the variant, and increase the number of vaccinations. Also read: Sindh questions Centre's criticism of lockdown, lifts ban on pillion riding In November last year, Chief Justice Peshawar High Court (PHC) Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth died due to Covid-19 after battling the contagion for 15 days. He was first admitted to a hospital in Peshawar but later shifted to Kulsum International Hospital in Islamabad where he died due to coronavirus related complications.

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PM Imran to take live calls from public tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will interact with the public over the telephone on Sunday at 3 pm, this was announced by Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry.

Prime Minister Imran Khan will respond to public queries in the most popular live TV programme, “Aapka Wazir-e- Azam Aap kai sath,” he said in a tweet.

وزیر اعظم عمران خان کل سہ پہر تین بجے “آپ کا وزیر اعظم –آپ کے ساتھ” پروگرام میں ٹیلی فون کالز اور سوشل میڈیا پیغامات کے ذریعے عوام سے براہ راست مخاطب ہوں گے

— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) July 31, 2021

The programme will be telecast live at 1500 hours on TV, radio and streamed on popular social media platforms.

The people can participate in the programme on landline no: 051-9224900.

This is not the first time that Prime Minister Imran Khan would be interacting with the public on the telephone as back in May, Imran Khan took calls from the general public and responded to their queries.

In the previous interaction, the prime minister, besides directing to resolve issues raised by the general public, said that the Covid cases in the country are witnessing a stabilising effect and urged the public to adopt Covid SOPs during Eid in order to avoid an India-like situation.

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Karakoram Highway opens for traffic after removal of blockages

CHILAS: Karakoram Highway has been opened for small traffic after Frontier Works Organization (FWO) and National Highway Authority (NHA) cleared blockages on the route, which previously led to tourists being trapped in the Gilgit Baltistan owing to heavy rain spell and landsliding, ARY News reported on Saturday.

According to the NHA director, the Karakoram highway is open for all small traffic after relentless and sustained efforts by FWO and NHA.

The highway was blocked by landslide and flooding on July 29 and 30, said the NHA director Mehmood Zaman. Buses and private transport had been stuck with locals and tourists both stranded on roads hapless.

Karakoram Highway was also blocked due to a landslide last week and was cleared after several days.

Read More: EARTHQUAKE: LANDSLIDES BLOCK KARAKORAM HIGHWAY, DISRUPT OPTIC FIBER LINK

It is pertinent to mention here that landslides and flash floods caused by continuous heavy rain in Gilgit-Baltistan have led to blockage of Karakoram Highway from 20 spots, making it difficult for the tourists to visit or leave the region.

The videos emerging from the area showed tourists stranded in their vehicles on Karakoram Highway, waiting for the landslides to be removed from the route and connect the road linking the region with Rawalpindi.

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Pakistan hopes India will abide by rules after assuming UNSC presidency

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan expressed the hope on Saturday that India would abide by the relevant rules and norms after assuming the presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on August 1.

In response to media queries regarding India assuming the presidency of the UNSC for the month of August, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is held by each of the members in turn for one month, following the English alphabetical order of the Member States’ names.

The president is responsible for the conduct and running of meetings of the Security Council and is bound to act in accordance with the Rules of Procedures, he added.

“We hope that India will abide by the relevant rules and norms governing the conduct of the Security Council Presidency,” Chaudhri said.

“As India assumes this role, we would also like to once again remind it of its legal obligation to implement the UNSC resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.”

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Steps being taken for safe blood transfusion, says Dr Rashid

Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid has said that new measures were being introduced to ensure safe blood transfusion in the province and illegal or unregistered blood banks cannot be allowed to operate. She stated this while inaugurating a new office of the Punjab Blood Transfusion Authority (PBTA) here on Friday. She appreciated the team of the PBTA especially its Secretary Dr Shahnaz Naseem for taking the organisation to the right track. The provincial health minister further said the staff of public and private blood banks would be provided training of blood transfusion. The minister revealed that a complaint cell had been set up at the PBTA as well to resolve the public issues. She said that the administration of teaching hospitals concerned would be responsible for blood banks in their respective premises. "We are trying to promote private sector through support of the Punjab Health Foundation," she added. Read PHC to register Gujranwala’s blood banks She expressed her wish that private sector should come forward and set up modern blood banks in the province. She said that all blood banks were now being monitored and unregistered blood banks would be closed down. She disclosed the PBTA had inspected 1,097 blood banks and efforts were being made to register all blood banks in the next six months. "Safe blood transfusion is integral to surgeries and no compromise can be made on this," the minister said. She urged the people not to take blood from anywhere except approved blood banks. Published in The Express Tribune, July 31st, 2021.

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Minor boy allegedly sexually assaulted

A minor boy was allegedly sexually assaulted by a cleric in Nishtar Colony on Friday in a seminary. The 11-year-old victim was undergoing religious training at a madrassah nearby his home. On the day of the incident, the suspect identified as Irfan reportedly summoned the student to the seminary for cleanliness, where he allegedly raped him. The suspect reportedly offered the minor boy Rs150 to remain silent over the issue. He also allegedly threatened the victim of ‘dire consequences’. However, the victim went home told his family about the sexual assault incident. The family informed police who arrested the suspect and registered a case against him. Read Minor’s kidnap, rape, murder case lodged under terrorism charges DIG Investigations Shariq Jamal said that they had conducted medical examination of the minor and were waiting for the report. He added that they would proceed further as per the law. A few weeks ago, a 70-year-old cleric of a madrassah in Lahore had been caught sexually assaulting his student. The victim had alleged that the suspect had got him banned from appearing in examinations on false charges.( THE VICTIMS’ IDENTITIES HAVE NOT BEEN DISCLOSED AS A MATTER OF POLICY) Published in The Express Tribune, July 31st, 2021.

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Police facilitation centre established at LHCBA

Lahore Police establish a police facilitation centre at Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA). The announcement was made by Lahore Capital City Police Officer Ghulam Mahmood Dogar during his visit to LHC. LHCBA President Muhammad Maqsood Buttar, lawyers community, DIG Investigation Shariq Jamal, DIG Operations Sajid Kiani, SSP IAB Mubasher Makon, SSPs of Operations  Investigation Wings and other senior police officers were also met on the occasion. Read Punjab Police ill-prepared for violent protests Matters relating to mutual interest came under discussion in the meeting. The LHCBA president briefed the CCPO regarding the problems being faced by the lawyer’s community during performance of their duties. Dogar keenly reviewed the problems and issued orders to the authorities concerned for their earliest redressal. The CCPO said, “The state of the art facility of police facilitation centre in the LHCBA will provide police related digitalised facilities including certified copies of FIRs, police character certificates and renewal of traffic licence to the lawyers’ community at their door step.” Published in The Express Tribune, July 31st, 2021.

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Know how to read WhatsApp message without sender’s knowledge

Want to read the WhatsApp message without letting the sender know if yes then this is your guide to know how to implement it.   

A simple way to do this is to simply turn off the read receipts or blue ticks, but this is a 2-way-street and you will not be able to guess if the other person has read your WhatsApp message or not.

Turning off read receipts or disabling blue ticks on WhatsApp is easy. To disable read receipts, go to WhatsApp. Accounts > Privacy> Turn off read receipts by swiping left.

However, if you are the curious sort and WANT to know who seen-zoned you, and delve into eternal misery, but also don’t want others to know that you read their WhatsApp messages, you can follow this trick — before opening a WhatsApp message, out your phone in Airplane mode and when you are done, it will be marked as unread even if you have turned off the Airplane mode.

Another trick you can follow to show your presence less on WhatsApp is to turn off your last seen. Go to Settings > Click on Account > Select Privacy. You can tweak settings to disable last seen for your contacts or for no contacts at all.

Read More: WHATSAPP CONSIDERS CHAT HISTORY TRANSFER OPTION FROM IOS TO ANDROID

You can also mark a WhatsApp message as “unread” for times when you see a message but don’t read it so that you remember to read and reply to it later.

To mark a message as unread, tap on a message and hold it, then select Mark as unread. Note that the sender will know that the message has been read but you will be reminded that you have not actually read it through a blue or green dot.

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PM Khan commends FBR on record tax collection of Rs410b in July

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has commended efforts of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for collecting the highest ever tax in the month of July, ARY News reported on Saturday.

In his Tweet, PM Imran Khan said, the collection in the month of July remained Rs.410 bn which is the highest ever in the month of July – & around 22% above the required target for the month.

“This is a reflection of govt’s policies for sustained economic growth & revival,” he added.

I commend efforts of FBR in achieving record revenue collection in July. As of now collection is Rs.410 bn which is highest ever in month of July – & around 22% above required target for the month. This is a reflection of govt’s policies for sustained economic growth & revival.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) July 31, 2021

Read more: FBR plans implementation on POS by July end to bring retailers into tax net

It is to be noted that the FBR has collected Rs410 billion in July 2021 against collection of Rs301 billion in the same month of the last fiscal year, registering an impressive growth by 36 percent.

The FBR has envisaged tax collection target of Rs5,829 billion for the current fiscal year and so far, the tax machinery kick-started its performance by collecting Rs410bn against its desired target of Rs342 billion for July 2021.

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President credits smart lockdown strategy for economic growth

President Dr Arif Alvi on Friday said that the government’s policy of smart lockdowns against the spread of Covid-19 played a major role in the country’s economic survival and realisation of around four per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth despite various challenges. “Improvement in all micro and macro-economic indicators endorsed the numbers of GDP growth, which were disputed by some political forces”, he added. The president was addressing the inaugural session of a three-day International Conference of Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine (PSIM) on the theme of “Evidence-Based Medicine”. Read President Alvi urges people to 'get serious' as Covid cases spike by over 900 Dilating upon the government’s successful strategy to deal with the challenge of Covid-19, Dr Alvi said that Prime Minister Imran Khan, by opposing a complete lockdown, adopted the policy of compassion to protect the poor and low-income groups from the economic effects of the pandemic. He added that the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) adopted an evidence-based policy of smart lockdowns with the help of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). The president said that despite criticism from various segments of society, the mosques in Pakistan remained open by ensuring the implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs). Published in The Express Tribune, July 31st, 2021.

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Usman Mirza, co-accused sent to Adiala till Sept 10

A judicial magistrate on Friday extended the judicial remand of Usman Mirza in a case pertaining to torturing and blackmailing a couple in Sector E-11. The accused, including Mirza, Ataur Rehman, Qayum Butt, Bilal Marawat, Muhib Bangash, Rehan Hussain and Farhan were produced before the court of judicial magistrate Waqar Gondal amid foolproof security arrangements. The defence lawyer pleaded that no one was being allowed to meet his client in jail and he prayed the court to instruct the jail officials to let the accused meet his family. He said that the accused were not being provided medicine and clothes despite court orders. The court questioned that whether the accused Butt was also involved in any other case. The lawyer said it was a conflict case that was settled now. Read Mirza’s accomplice attempts to distance himself from suspect The court instructed the police to submit the case challan and report under Section 173 till the next date of hearing. The court asked the police to also present the accused on August 13 and 27 before the court. The accused have been sent to Adiala Jail until September 10 Earlier, Islamabad police conducted an identification parade of three suspects who had appeared in the video of the couple who was tortured and blackmailed by the Usman Mirza gang members. Police held the identification parade of three suspects, including two who were filming the video and one more who was guarding the apartment’s door. Sources told that the affected couple was called to Adiala Jail to identify the suspects, adding that the statement regarding the identification parade of the suspects was made part of the case challan. Meanwhile, an accused in the case, Umar Bilal, approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for bail. Police registered a case with five people nominated in the first information report (FIR), his lawyer maintained, adding that the petitioner was not present on the spot. He was also not named in the FIR. He maintained that the trial court had rejected the bail application on Wednesday, adding that the court is requested to issue orders to release him on bail. Published in The Express Tribune, July 31st, 2021.

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Schools to reopen on August 2

A notification issued by the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PERA) on Friday directed to reopen all public and private educational institutions in the federal capital from August 2 (Monday) while anti-Covid vaccination of all teachers is mandatory. The notification read that the attendance of students will be on a 50 per cent basis while the schools will run from 8 am to 1 pm. Representatives of private educational institutions Malik Abrar Hussain and Chaudhry Obaidullah welcomed the decision. Read Private schools get vacation notices They assured that mandatory vaccinations of teachers, implementation of anti-Covid standard operating procedures (SOPs) and full cooperation with the government will be achieved in this regard. According to the Ministry of Education, staff will not be allowed to enter the institution without a vaccination certificate. Published in The Express Tribune, July 31st, 2021.

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Zahir Jaffer presented for polygraph test

A District and Sessions Court in Islamabad on Friday heard the bail applications of parents of Zahir Jaffer, the main suspect in the murder case of Noor Muqaddam, while Jaffer was taken to Lahore for a polygraph test in connection with the investigation. Advocate Asad Jamal represented the mother of the accused. When the judge inquired as to where the investigation officer (IO) in the case was, counsel for the state Sajid Cheema replied that the IO had gone to Lahore to get the polygraph test of video of the incident. Shaukat Ali Muqaddam, father of the victim, also a petitioner in the case, told the court that he was yet to hire a lawyer, therefore, he was given time till August 2 (Monday). However, the judge asked him to arrange a lawyer on Friday. Suspects’ lawyers prayed to the court to defer the hearing till Saturday (today). Cheema said that the IO in the case was in Lahore and he had with him the file of the case. Read Court extends Zahir Jaffer’s remand by three days Jamal, representing the mother of the main suspect in the case, said that his client was put in jail without any solid reason. Later, the court adjourned the hearing of bail applications of the suspects till August 4. The court directed the parties to give final arguments at the next hearing. Meanwhile, the Islamabad police reached Lahore with the main suspect for the polygraphtest of the video recovered from the crime scene. Zahir will also be made to go through the polygraph test at the Punjab Forensic Science Agency in Lahore. Victim’s last message to family revealed Noor Mukadam had contacted her family the day she was killed in a house located in Islamabad’s upscale Sector F-7/4 last week. “Don’t look for me or contact the police,” the sources quoted the deceased as telling her family in her last massage. The family sources said Zahir tortured her multiple times in the past due to which she was under a lot of stress. She had been suffering for the past two years due to the suspect’s ill-treatment of her, they added. They further revealed Zahir also had issues with Noor Mukadam’s religious leaning. The police had said one more person was injured in the event that took place at his residence where Mukadam went to pay him a visit. Published in The Express Tribune, July 31st, 2021.

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Punjab govt yet to give nod to RR revised PC-1

After the Rawalpindi Ring Road scandal surfaced, the divisional administration — after restoring the old alignment of the road from Rawat to Thalian measuring 38 kilometres — had sent the revised project concept (PC-I) of the project to the Punjab government for approval. The provincial government could not approve the revised PC 1 of the new Ring Road even after a lapse of one month. With the approval of the revised PC-1, work on the project was likely to begin in August, however, the provincial government has delayed its approval. A senior official close to the Ring Road Management Unit said on condition of anonymity that when after the scandal surfaced, the Punjab government had directed all agencies including the Rawalpindi Development Authority to stop work on the project. In view of increasing traffic pressure on major highways including GT Road and incessant traffic jams due to heavy traffic on Rawalpindi-Islamabad junction, Rawalpindi Commissioner Syed Gulzar Hussain Shah had proposed a new ring road, which was to be built on an alignment approved by the previous government. Read Buzdar, Zulfi, Sarwar ‘cleared’ in Ring Road scandal The Ring Road Project Management Unit had prepared PC-1 of the new road and sent it to the Punjab government for final approval. Under the PC-1, a new 38-kilometre ring road from GT Road in Rawat to Thalian near motorway was to be constructed. The official said that the Rawalpindi administration hoped that the Punjab government would give final approval to PC-1 in two weeks considering the importance of the project and work on the project will start in August. The delay of work on the ring road is causing immense inconvenience to the citizens who hope to do away with the traffic mess they have to face on a daily basis while travelling on city roads. The official said that the previous ring road project has come to an end after the scandal surfaced. “Considering the need of the road for heavy traffic in the twin cities, the Rawalpindi administration has decided to construct a new ring road without wasting time,” the official said Another official on condition of anonymity said that the provincial government could not approve to start work on the project as it had not been included in the development budget of the fiscal year 2021-22. He said that the work on the project could delay further unless the provincial government arranged special funds under public-private partnership. Published in The Express Tribune, July 31st, 2021.

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Robber caught red-handed in Karachi

KARACHI: Police on Saturday arrested a street criminal red-handed in Karachi’s area of Korangi, ARY News reported.

According to details, the robber was looting the citizens in Korangi, when a police party arrived at the scene. Seeing the police, the robber tried to flee.

The police opened fire at him and arrested him in injured condition. The robber after first aid has been shifted to the police station.

Read more: Suspected killers of Canadian woman held in Karachi

Earlier in the month of July, last year, four locals of Korangi area of Karachi grabbed a hold of robbers trying to flee the scene of the crime in the vicinity of Bilal Colony police station.

The robbers were on a motorcycle but were intercepted by four locals who got alerted to the robbery by the man who they had just mugged.

The victim had started shouting and making noise after being robbed, four young residents of the locality chased the criminals on their own motorbikes and caught up with them.

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Disney makes vaccination mandatory for on-site US employees

Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) said on Friday it was making vaccination mandatory for all its on-site salaried and non-union hourly employees in the United States, as the highly infectious Delta COVID-19 variant drives a resurgence in cases.

“Employees who aren’t already vaccinated and are working on-site will have 60 days from today to complete their protocols and any employees still working from home will need to provide verification of vaccination prior to their return, with certain limited exceptions,” Disney said.

The company also said all the newly hired employees will be required to be fully vaccinated before beginning their employment.

Disney’s announcement comes after major tech companies including Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google, Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) and Facebook Inc (FB.O) said earlier this week that all US employees must get vaccinated to step into offices. read more

Health authorities on Tuesday said Americans fully vaccinated against COVID-19 should go back to wearing masks in indoor public places in regions where the coronavirus is spreading rapidly. read more

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