Author: Ali Qasim

Jamima slams Maryam Nawaz for anti-semitic tirade about her sons.

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Former wife of Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday slammed anti-Semitic tirade made by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz wherein she described their sons as “Goldsmith s grandsons.

Maryam Nawaz had criticized PM Imran Khan and his sons while addressing a rally in Azad Kashmir held in connection with the forthcoming elections. Maryam was addressing a rally in Azad Kashmir when she responded to PM Imran Khan’s statement made earlier about Nawaz Sharif attending a polo match in the UK to watch Maryam’s son, Junaid Safdar, play. The PM said: “The poor should go to jail and the powerful get NROs (National Reconciliation Ordinance) and go park themselves abroad and watch their grandson’s polo match.”

She said “Junaid is Nawaz Sharif’s grandson, not Goldsmith’s. He’s Nawaz Sharif’s grandson, he’s not being raised in the lap of Jews.”

Reacting to the anti-Semitic slur on twitter, Jemima said, “My kids are “being raised in the lap of the Jews,” announced Maryam Nawaz Sharif today.” She went on to add, “I left Pakistan in 2004 after a decade of anti-semitic attacks by the media and politicians (weekly death threats and protests outside my house). But still, it continues.”

Jamima slams Maryam Nawaz for anti-semitic tirade about her sons.
Jamima slams Maryam Nawaz for anti-semitic tirade about her sons.

NCOC directs Provinces to strictly ensure implementation of Corona SOPs during Eid.

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Tuesday declared compliance of guidelines issued on the occasion of Eidul Adha particularly standard of operating procedures (SOPs) for Eid prayer congregations critical to contain disease spread.

The NCOC session held with Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar in chair where the meeting reviewed implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) on Eidul Adha and spread of the pandemic in Karachi and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The forum was briefed that instructions have been issued to the provincial administrations of all federating units to ensure implementation of SOPs pertaining to Eidul Adha.

The forum expressed satisfaction over additional steps taken by Sindh government in view of COVID-19 outbreak. The forum was informed that keeping in view the surging disease spread, some 500 oxygen cylinders and 30 ventilators were added in Gilgit-Baltistan.

The forum was briefed on capacity building of vaccination facilities. “At present, over half a million COVID-19 vaccines are being administered daily in the country,” the forum was informed. The forum announced that the vaccination centers across the country would remain closed only on first day of Eidul Adha.

The forum was told that huge stocks of Moderna vaccine were provided to vaccination centers for inoculations of individuals and students going abroad.

In this regard, instructions have been issued to the administrations of all the provinces to ensure implementation of SOPs. Earlier in a tweet, Asad Umar said that complete restrictions could only be lifted in the country until a major portion of the population fully got vaccinated against COVID-19.

“The number of people administered vaccine in a single day crossed 600,000 mark yesterday (Monday) for first time in the country”, the minister who also chairs meeting of National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) wrote.

However he said although the rising number of inoculated people is an encouraging sign but it needed further boost so that all type of restrictions in every field of life were lifted as soon as possible. Asad Umar said the UK was an excellent lesson of vaccination minimizing health impact of COVID.

Sharing graphs in his tweet, the minister pointed out that the cases had risen in current wave in UK at about the same rate as previous wave, but number of people needing hospitalization was much less due to high rate of vaccination achieved.

Ghilaf-e-Kaaba Changed during Hajj 2021

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Ghilaf-e-Kaaba Changed during Hajj 2021

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

The annual ritual to change Ghilaf-e-Kaaba was held at Masjid al-Haram in Saudi Arabia where Muslims are performing second downsized Hajj due to coronavirus.

670 kg pure silk, 120 kg of gold and 100 kg of silver have been used to prepare the new Ghilaf. The covering cloth of the Kaaba, known as Kiswa, is changed on 9th Zilhaj every year on the day of Arafat.

The Hajj pilgrims will proceed to Arafat today, to perform the main ritual of “Waqoof-e-Arafat”. They will listen the sermon to be delivered at Nimra Mosque and perform Zohr and Asr prayers together.

The pilgrims will spend time in Arafat with prayers for acceptance of their pilgrimage and recitation of Qur’anic verses until sunset.

Heavy Rains disrupts routine life across Punjab. Several got injured and 2 killed in various incidents

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Heavy Rains disrupts routine life across Punjab. Several got injured and 2 killed in various incidents

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Heavy rains in different cities of Punjab disrupted life on Tuesday, with streets severely inundated and at least two people killed in various rain-related accidents. Low-lying areas in Faisalabad and Mianwali lay flooded, with water flowing into houses. The railway track in Mianwali is feared damaged by the urban flooding.

Heavy rains were also reported in Gujranwala, Jhang and Murree.In Lahore, 99mm of rain made the weather pleasant, however, one person was killed and 10 others were injured when the roofs of their houses collapsed.

Traders in cattle markets were seen struggling trying to protect animals from the rain.The fire station located at the Allama Iqbal International airport also became inundated, along with the runway and the apron. Rescue and emergency vehicles became stuck in deep, muddy waters.

In Raiwind, a 30-year-old man was killed when the roof of his home collapsed due to the rain, while 10 people were injured in similar incidents in the China Scheme and Mohalnawal areas.

Heavy rain has disrupted the Lahore Electric Supply Company’s (LESCO) transmission system in different parts of the Lahore . More than 130 LESCO feeders have tripped due to rain in Lahore on Tuesday. Many areas in the city are facing power outage due to feeders tripping and other technical faults.

SHEIKH RASHEED BUYS THREE CAMELS FOR EID UL AZHA

Posted on by Ali Qasim

SHEIKH RASHEED BUYS THREE CAMELS FOR EID UL AZHA

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed visited on Tuesday a cattle market in Rawalpindi, where he bought three camels for sacrificing them on Eidul Azha. He bought three camels for a cumulative sum of Rs560,000. The minister shared on his official Twitter handle a video of him negotiating the price of camels with livestock traders.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1417367702763671553

Eidul Azha, the Festival of Sacrifice, will be celebrated across Pakistan on Wednesday and citizens will sacrifice their animals after offering Eid Prayers.

The Punjab government has issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) to be adopted during Eid ul Adha prayers and sacrifice of animals in wake of a spike in COVID cases nationwide amid the fourth wave.

According to a notification issued by the Punjab home department, the Eid payers should be held at open places and while offering it inside the mosques, the doors and windows should remain open to ensure a smooth cross-ventilation.

“Eid prayers should be offered multiple times at the same place in order to avoid mass congregations,” it said while further requesting Muslim scholars and clerics to ensure keeping their Eid sermons short in order to minimize the effects of COVID spread.

Pak team offered Eid Prayer under Sarfraz’s Imamat in England.

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Pak team offered Eid Prayer under Sarfraz’s Imamat in England.

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

The Pakistan cricket team on Tuesday offered their Eid ul Adha prayers at a local hotel in Manchester, according to the sources of Newsupdatetimes.

Former skipper and wicket keeper Sarfaraz Ahmed delivered the Eid sermon and led the prayers, which were attended by all the players, as well as coaching staff.

Following the prayers, they embraced one another and exchanged Eid greetings. The national cricket team is currently in England for a T20 series against the English team.

The Pakistan cricket team players were not allowed to take their families with them on the tours to England and West Indies owing to safety concerns due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the national team, after the England tour, the team will leave for for West Indies.

Eid ul Adha 2021: Namaz timing across Pakistan’s major cities

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Eid ul Adha 2021: Namaz timing across Pakistan’s major cities

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Pakistani citizens are celebrating Eid-ul-Adha today and the administrations of mosques, Eid gahs, and Imam Barghas across Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir have announced the timings for Eid ul Adha prayers.

In a bid to help users navigate the timings easily, Newsupdatetimes has compiled a list of several mosques across various cities as the information received yet.

Islamabad

7:30 am Faisal Mosque. Prof. Dr. Tahir Hakeem will offer Eid prayers at Faisal Mosque

7.30 am Imambargah G6

Lahore

6:00 am Jamia Naeemia Garhi Shahu

6:15 am at Minar Pakistan Ground

6:30 am Jamia Masjid Mansura

6:30 am Jamia Ashrafia Ferozepur Road

7:00 am Jamia Masjid Bahria Town

Faisalabad

6:00 am Main Eidgah Model Town

6:00 am Jamia Masjid Omar

7:00 am Jamia Masjid Madani Samanabad

7:00 am Imambargah Qasr Abu Talib

7:30 am Imambargah Haidaria

Hyderabad

6:10 am Nigah Madina Masjid Cloth Market

6:10 am Faizan Madina Affandi Town

6.30 am Sultani Masjid Tilak Chari

7:00 am Jamia Masjid Abdullah near Lady Graham Hospital

7:00 am Dargah Sakhi Abdul Wahab Shah Jilani Mosque

7:00 am Haider Karar Mosque, Karbala Dadan Shah

7.30 am Fawara Chowk Liberty Market

8:30 am Madina Masjid Surrey Ghat

9:00 am Abul Fazl Mosque, Maula Ali

9:00 am Mehfil Hussaini Station Road

Gujranwala

5:45 am Dhobi Khat Ground Satellite Town

5:45 am Model Town Market Ground

6:30 am Jamia Masjid Satellite Town

6:30 am Jamia Masjid Fazilat Citi Housing

6.45 am Jamia Masjid Mubarak Satellite Town

Rajanpur

6:30 am Central Eid Gah Rajput

6:40 am Main Eid Gah Jafaria

6:45 am Jamia Masjid Chowk Allahabad

7:10 am Darbar Khawaja Ghulam Farid

Bahawalnagar

7:00 am Central Imambargah

7:30 am Jamia Uloom, Central Eid Gah.

7:30 am Eid Gah, Jamia Reza Mustafa

Taftan

7:45am Central Eidgah

Bannu

6:15 am Jamia Masjid Tanchi Bazaar

6:30 am Jamia Masjid Lucky Gate

6:30 am Eid Gah Hafiz Ji

7:30 am Imambargah Hassania Masjid Ali Raza

Jahanian

6:30 am Jamia Masjid Hasnain Karimin

6:45 am Sabzazar Municipal Committee

Badin

8:00 am Gulzar Mosque, Madinah

8:30 am Main Eid Gah Pir Aali Shah

Thatta

8:00 am Mukli Society Jamia Masjid

9:00 am Shahjahan Jama Masjid

9:30 am Central Eid Gah Mukli

Kabirwala

8:00 am Darul Uloom Eidgah.

Gujarat

8:00 am Central Imambargah Hussainiya Circular Road

8.30 am Central Jamia Masjid Eid Gah

Chaghi

7:15 am Jamia Amir Sultania Mosque, Dalbandin

Bahawalnagar

7:00 am Haroonabad Central Eid Gah

7:00 am Chishtian Central Eid Gah

7:30 am Central Eid Gah, Jamia-ul-Uom

7:30 am Jamia Reza Mustafa Trust

Sukkur

6:55 am Mecca Mosque Tariq Road

7:15 am Central Jamia Masjid Bandar Road

7.30 am Gulshan Eid Gah

7:30 am Jinnah Jinnah Municipal Stadium

Kamalia

8:30 am Main Eid Gah Khair Shaheed

8:30 am Eid Gah Fiqh Jafaria Lari Ada

Nawabshah

7:00 am Umm Al-Momineen Ayesha Siddique Mosque, Manzoor City

7:30 am Central Imambargah Murtazavi

7:30 am Imamia Mosque

7:30 am Imambargah Haidari

8:30 am Main Eid Gah Skarand Road

Kāmoke

6.30 am Kamunki Lady Park

7:00 am Madinah Main Bazaar

Lodhran

6:30 am Masjid Tafhim-ul-Quran

6:30am Jamia Masjid Rahmaniya

7:00 am Jamia Siraj-ul-Uloom Madrasa

7:00 am Imambargah Shah Najaf

DI Khan

06:30 am Kotli Imam Hussain

07:00 am The town hall

07:30 am Central Eidgah

Tando Allahyar

6:10 am Faizan Madina

7:00 am Jamia Siddique Akbar

7:15 am Main Eidgah

Lower Dir

6:30 am Eid Gah Manda

6:30 am Jamia Masjid Allah Akbar Timergara

Sibi

7:00 am Central Jamia Masjid

7:30 am Central Eidgah Bukhari Ground

Mansehra

6.30 am Central Mosque Lohar Banda

6:45 am Masjid Kabra Nari Mohalla

7:00 am Central Jamia Masjid Abbottabad Road

Sargodha

6:45 am Jamia Muftahul Uloom Satellite Town.

7:00 am Imambargah Block 7

7:15 am Central Eid Gah

7.30 am Jamia Masjid

Malakand

6:30 am Dhand Dheri School Ground at 6.30

7:00 am Sakhakot School Ground

6:45 am Central Eid Gah Zafar Park Batkhela

8:30 am Central Eidgah Kanodas

Gilgit

7:30 am Central Imamia Eidgah

8:00 am at Shah Karim Hostel Ground

Khanewal

6:45 am Central Eidgah Railway Ground at 6:45

6:15 am Central Eidgah Ahle Hadith Colony No. 2

Malakand

6:30 am Dhand Dheri School Ground

7:00 am Sakhakot School Ground

6:45 am Eid Gah Zafar Park Batkhelh

Pakpattan

6:30 am Jamia Masjid Dargah Hazrat Baba Farid

AZAD JAMMU AND KASHMIR

Kotli

7:00 am Central Jamia Masjid Al Firdous Gulhar

8:00 am Gol Masjid Housing Scheme

7:00 am Jamia Masjid Ghousia Ballya

Samsung all set to assemble smartphones in Pakistan by year-end

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Hammad Azhar congratulates Lucky Group, Samsung on entering into joint venture to manufacture smartphones in the country

In August last year, Hammad Azhar, who was industries and production minister at that time, had met with Samsung Pakistan MD and CEO. “Smartphone production in Pakistan is multiplying following DIRBS [Device Identification Registration and Blocking System] implementation and Mobile Policy launched recently,” he had tweeted after the meeting.

“They [Samsung Pakistan MD and CEO] appreciated both policies and are now actively considering setting up a smartphone assembly plant in Pakistan,” he added.

The DIRBS allows the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to stop the use of smuggled mobile devices. All mobile devices being connected to local networks using local SIMs are subject to registration within 60 days from their first use on a local mobile network.

Earlier last year, Pakistan was ranked as a 4th Generation Regulator (G4) by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), making it the only country in South Asia to have achieved the status. Of the 38 economies in Asia-Pacific, only 8% have managed to achieve the G4 status.

In the ITU report “Global ICT Regulatory Outlook 2020 (GIRO)”, Pakistan scored 88 out of 100. The country is also among the top five regulators in the Asia-Pacific region with a global rank of 48. The GIRO is built on data provided by 193 countries, which forms the basis of ‘ICT Regulatory Tracker’. The tracker is an evidence-based tool that helps decision-makers and regulators monitor the rapid evolution of ICT regulation.

Recently, Bangladesh has started exporting locally assembled mobile phones to the USA, thus joining Vietnam, India and Indonesia. Mobile phone exports out of Vietnam have surged to over $60 billion. India’s mobile phone exports – $3 billion in 2019 – are targeted at $110 billion by 2025, creating thousands of jobs.

Pakistan’s manpower cost is reportedly one-third of the Chinese and it is the seventh-largest market of mobile phones. In 2019, over 28.2 million mobile phones were imported legally into Pakistan – thanks to the full introduction of DIRBS by PTA in early 2019, which helped to control smuggling. In addition, around 12 million sets were reportedly assembled in the country.

The demand for high-quality affordable internet-enabled devices is surging as the internet is getting integrated into the lives of young tech-savvy individuals. Nearly 40% of the population has yet to cross the age of 15 and start looking for their own smartphones. Seventy-six million mobile broadband users in Pakistan today can easily double to 150 million by 2025.

As per the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, mobile-phone imports reached half a billion dollars in the Jul-Nov period of 2019. At this pace, full-year imports are expected to be over $1.2 billion. Promoting local manufacturing, together with exports, will start balancing that import bill.

In December last year, VIVO had also said that it will be setting up a manufacturing facility in Pakistan. The development was announced by Hammad on Twitter.

Samsung all set to assemble smartphones in Pakistan by year-end
Samsung all set to assemble smartphones in Pakistan by year-end

Pakistan’s active coronavirus case count near 50,000

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DESK) Another 30 people have died in Pakistan due to the global coronavirus epidemic, while 2,452 new cases have also been reported. The number of active cases is nearing 50,000, with the current figure recorded at 48,850.

The National Command and Operation’s daily data sheet on coronavirus from Monday morning showed that 49,503 COVID-19 tests were taken across the country in the last 24 hours. Of them, 2,452 came back positive.

 

According to the official portal, the positivity rate stands at 4.95%.

The number of deaths from coronavirus in the country has reached 22,811 and the total number of cases has reached 991,727. During the last 24 hours, most deaths occurred in Sindh followed by Punjab. Out of the 30 deaths in the last 24 hours, 21 people died on ventilators.

The total active coronavirus cases in Pakistan are 48,850 as of July 19. The active case count in Sindh is 19,655, in Punjab 17,178, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 7,168, in Islamabad Capital Territory 1,916, in Balochistan 1,962, in Gilgit-Baltistan 612 and 1,012 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

NCOC’s daily stats show that 903 patients have recovered from the virus in the last 24 hours, pushing the total number of recoveries in Pakistan to 920,066. There is no patient on the vent in Balochistan.

Punjab Police finalizes the Eid-ul-Adha Security Plan. Nearly 47000 officers and officials will perform security duty.

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT Desk)

IG Punjab chaired a video link conference on Eid-ul-Adha security plan, CPEC projects and security of Chinese citizens.

On Eid-ul-Adha, about 47,000 officers and personnel will be on duty for the security of 25,672 mosques, imambargahs and Eid congregatios in open spaces across the province.

On Eid-ul-Adha, notification has been issued to cancel the leave of officers and personnel posted in the field formations of Punjab Police.

Inspector General of Police Punjab Inam Ghani has said available resources should be utilized for the security of Eid gatherings at mosques, imambargahs and open spaces across the province on Eid-ul-Adha while special attention should be paid to the security of cattle markets and traffic management. He issued these instructions while presiding over a video link conference today while giving instructions to all RPOs, CPOs and DPOs of the province. The IG Punjab stressed that complete checking and clearance of sensitive mosques, imambargahs and other Eid gatherings should be ensured before Eid prayers while snipers on the roofs of A category mosques and imambargahs and commandos in plain clothes inside Eid gatherings should be   deployed while immediate action against violators should not be delayed while strictly enforcing the ban on collection of sacrificial skins by unauthorized or banned organizations.

During the meeting, Additional IG Operations Sahibzada Shehzad Sultan while briefing IG Punjab said that on Eid-ul-Adha, there will be Eid gatherings at 25672 mosques, imambargahs, minority places of worship and open spaces across the province and around 47 thousand police officers and officials shall  perform security duties during this event . He further said that 250 Gazetted Officers, 537 Inspectors, 1680 Sub-Inspectors, 3171 ASIs, 2387 Head Constables, 27869 Constables, 9093 Police National Volunteers, 3329 Special Police and 222 QRF Teams will also be deployed at the sensitive places whereas 242 walk through gates, 12373 metal detectors and 10640 CCTV cameras shall also be installed for security purposes.

In addition, IG Punjab has issued orders to cancel the leave of all officers and personnel posted in the field formations of Punjab Police on Eid-ul-Adha to protect the lives and property of the citizens and maintain an atmosphere of law and order.  In a letter sent to all RPOs, CPOs and DPOs, it has been directed that on Eid-ul-Adha, the citizens go back to their home areas and safety of their homes is  the responsibility of the police.  No officer or official will be able to go on leave on the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha ,he added.

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