Category: Lahore

Lahore: At least 17 people were killed, and 1,627 others were injured in 1,390 road traffic crashes (RTCs) across Punjab in the past 24 hours.

Among the injured, 661 individuals with serious injuries were shifted to various hospitals, while 966 with minor injuries received treatment on-site from rescue medical teams.

The analysis revealed that the victims included 926 drivers, 63 underage drivers, 175 pedestrians, and 543 passengers. The data also highlighted that Lahore reported the highest number of accidents with 322 accidents, affecting 390 people. Faisalabad followed with 92 accidents and 109 victims, while Multan ranked third with 91 accidents and 114 victims.

The vehicles involved in these accidents included 1,241 motorbikes, 77 auto-rickshaws, 151 motorcars, 42 vans, 21 passenger buses, 38 trucks, and 124 other types of vehicles and slow-moving carts.

Lahore: The Punjab Home Department has regularised the services of 40 contract employees of the Punjab Forensic Science Agency.

Punjab Secretary Home Noor-ul-Amin issued the regularisation orders and extended his congratulations.

According to the spokesperson for the Home Department, these employees in grade 1 to 5 had been working on contract basis since the establishment of the Punjab Forensic Science Agency. They include drivers, security guards, dispatch riders, naib qasids (office assistants), gardeners and sweepers.

Lahore: The Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) has completed security arrangements for the Champions Trophy matches.

According to PSCA spokesman, the monitoring of matches being played in Lahore and Rawalpindi was underway using the latest surveillance systems while monitoring was also being done inside and outside the Qaddafi and Rawalpindi stadiums through Safe City cameras. For match security, monitoring continues with over 600 cameras, including facial recognition. Surveillance was being carried out 24 hours a day from the airport, hotel to the stadium, and surrounding routes.

The spokesperson further said that virtual patrolling officers and technical teams were on duty 24/7 at the Safe City Headquarters.

Monitoring of routes was also being done with Safe City cameras installed on PRU vehicles. The Safe City mobile command vehicle was stationed at the Qaddafi Stadium for match monitoring. Security has been made foolproof using advanced technology and coordination in accordance with international security standards. Full coordination with Safe City field forces continues. The Safe Cities Authority was providing all possible assistance to law enforcement agencies.

Lahore: The Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) has opened registration for its 'SheWins' training programme, designed to equip women with essential digital skills and support their career development.

The programme offers both on-campus and online training courses, enabling female candidates to choose between courses in e-Commerce with Social Media Marketing and SEO and YouTube Content Creation and Video Editing.

The five-week on-campus training is available at a discounted fee of Rs. 20,000, while the online training course is offered for Rs. 15,000. Many women have already benefited from this initiative and launched their own online businesses, marking a significant step towards economic empowerment.

In this regard, PITB Chairman Faisal Yousaf stated, 'The SheWins programme is not just about imparting digital skills - it's about opening doors to better business opportunities and empowering women to actively contribute to our nation's economic development.'

The programme is open to female applicants aged 16 to 50 with a minimum educational qualification of Matriculation. Interested candidates can register via the official website: /shewins.pk/.

Lahore: The city experienced cloudy weather on Wednesday, with the MET Office predicting scattered rain over the next 24 hours.

According to the MET officials, a westerly wave has entered the country and is expected to persist for some time. As a result, scattered rainfall is likely in various cities across Punjab, including Lahore.

Lahore recorded a minimum temperature of 12.4°C and a maximum of 27.5°C. Meanwhile, the city's air quality remained poor, with an average AQI of 192, categorized as unhealthy. The PM2.5 concentration was 22.9 times higher than the World Health Organization's annual guideline value.

Lahore: A Lahore High Court (LHC) division bench on Wednesday allowed an intra-court appeal, filed by the federal government, and set aside a single bench decision to remove National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) Chairman, Lieutenant General Munir Afsar, from his position.

The bench, comprising Justice Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal and Justice Ahmed Nadeem Arshad, heard the federal government's appeal and announced the verdict, following completion of arguments by both parties.

In its appeal, the federal government argued that the single bench's verdict, which had declared Afsar's appointment illegal based on a petition, filed by Ashba Kamran, was contrary to the facts. It stated that the petitioner (Ashba) had challenged the appointment notification, issued by the interim government, but had never contested the newly amended rule.

The government contended that it had the authority to undertake the rule-making process under Section 44 of the NADRA Ordinance, 2000, which included the power to amend the rules. It further argued that the chairman's appointment was made in accordance with Rule 7A of the NADRA (Appointment and Emoluments of Chairman and Members) Rules, 2020, and that when discretion is exercised, there is no obligation to issue a public advertisement or conduct a competitive recruitment process. The government urged the bench to overturn the single bench's verdict and reinstate the NADRA chairman's appointment.

The division bench had reinstated Lieutenant General Munir Afsar as the NADRA chairman after suspending the single bench's decision on September 10, 2024.

A single bench, comprising Justice Asim Hafeez, had declared the appointment of NADRA chairman unlawful on September 6, 2024.