Newsology

07/02/2023

07/02/2023

Govt officer abducted


SUKKUR: A government officer was abducted by unidentified armed men from near a bus terminal in Sukkur, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

Police said that an assistant commissioner of the income tax department namely Ghulam Shabbir Shaikh was abducted by unidentified armed men from near a bus terminal in Sukkur. Police added that the AC was going back to Larkana after his duty hours.

They added that armed men in a vehicle stopped Shaikh’s vehicle at Ring Road near the bus terminal. The accused took away the AC, stenographer and security guard with them.

The stenographer and the security guard were then released by the abductors who reached the police station to report the incident.

07/02/2023

DUTCH RESEARCHER


A Dutch researcher had forecast the earthquake on February 03, three days before, which struck Turkiye and Syria on Feb 06.

The massive quake rocked the region on Monday. A rescue operation is underway across much of southern Turkiye and northern Syria following a huge earthquake that has claimed over 5,000 lives and thoroughly devastated the infrastructure.

Frank Hoogerbeets from the Netherlands, shared his prediction on social media, warning an impending major earthquake.

According to the SSGEOS website, their purpose is “monitoring geometry between celestial bodies related to seismic activity”.

SSGEOS monitoring activities are based on evidence that “specific geometry in the Solar System may cause larger earthquakes”.

Hoogerbeets tweeted: “Sooner or later there will be a ~M 7.5 in this region (South-Central Turkiye, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon).”

He also warned of additional strong quakes in Central Turkiye and adjacent regions.

The earthquake which first hit near Gaziantep on Monday was estimated to be 7.8, classified as “major”, on the Richter scale.

Its centre was relatively shallow at about 18km (11 miles), causing serious damage to buildings on the surface.

07/02/2023

Turkey earthquake


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced a three-month state of emergency in 10 provinces worst-affected by an earthquake that has killed thousands.

Mr Erdogan said that the death toll in Turkey has risen to 3,549 people.

More than 1,600 people are reported to have died in Syria.

In a televised address, Mr Erdogan said the state of emergency is to ensure that rescue work can be "carried out quickly" in the country's south-east. He said the measures would allow relief workers and financial aid into the affected regions, but did not give further details.

The state of emergency will end just before elections on 14 May, when Mr Erdogan will attempt to stay in power after 20 years.

Turkey last imposed a state of emergency in 2016 after a failed coup attempt. It was lifted two years later.

Live updates
The survivors' choice - danger inside or freezing outside
Turkey earthquake: Before and after images
Why was the earthquake so deadly?
Rescuers in Turkey are battling heavy rain and snow as they race against the clock to find survivors of the earthquake that struck in the early hours of Monday.

The World Health Organization has warned the toll may rise dramatically as rescuers find more victims.

Thousands of children may be among the dead following the earthquake and aftershocks, the United Nations has said.

Heavy machinery worked through the night in the city of Adana, with lights illuminating the collapsed buildings and huge slabs of concrete, in scenes repeated across southern Turkey.

01/02/2023

PML-N ready to sweep upcoming polls’:


BAHAWALPUR: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz has kicked off political campaign, saying that her party was ready to sweep the upcoming elections in the country, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

Addressing a workers’ convention in Bahawalpur, the PML-N vice president lambasted the ‘critics’ claiming that her party was ‘running away’ from the elections, saying that they were ready to sweep the upcoming polls in the country.

Maryam Nawaz also expressed grief over the su***de attack at a mosque in Peshawar’s Police Lines area – that claimed lives of over 100 people – and prayed for the lost lives and a peaceful Pakistan.

Criticising the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for ‘holding negotiations’ with terrorists, she said that Imran Khan was in power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) for the last 10 years and did noting to increase capacity of the provincial police.

“Police in KP have nothing to protect themselves because you [Imran Khan] kept the provincial government only to cover the expenses for helicopter rides,” she added.

Maryam Nawaz further said that when Imran was the prime minister, eight meetings on counter-terrorism were held in the parliament but he did not even attend one.

The PML-N leader further said that the PTI Chairman has a habit of hurling accusations as “he earlier blamed the United States (US) for his ouster and is now blaming Caretaker Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Mohsin Naqvi”.

01/02/2023

Imran says govt lacked "understanding"


PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Wednesday slammed the government for blaming his party for the resurgence in terrorism in the country, saying that the incumbent setup had no “understanding nor interest” when the phenomenon had started to resurface.

Imran made the remarks during a televised address where he talked about terrorism at length and the steps the PTI government took.

The comments also come in the aftermath of the ghastly su***de bombing in Peshawar. On Tuesday, lawmakers at the federal legislature regretted the decision to enter into dialogue with militants and resettle them in the country during the previous PTI regime, calling it a “faulty” move which was “never endorsed” by parliament.

During his address, the PTI chief said that in June 2022, the people of Swat started protesting against a resurgence in terrorism. “I held a meeting in June with KP MNAs and MPAs […] they all feared that this phenomenon is surfacing again.”

“But this government didn’t have any idea what to do nor did they pay any attention to it. When concerns were voiced in June […] they had no understanding nor any interest.”

He said that issue was bound to intensify. “Those holding us responsible: I can answer for what happened when we were in power […] The question is why didn’t it happen during our tenure?”

Imran said that the PTI was in power in KP, the province most ravaged by terrorism, since 2013. “We are responsible for what happened during our tenure. Why are you asking us for an answer when we are not in power?”

At the outset of his address, Imran said that it was “unfortunate” such a big tragedy had happened and that it was being “politically exploited” — an apparent reference to the su***de bombing in Peshawar.

The PTI chairman said that when the PTI came into power, Pakistan facilitated talks between the Afghan Taliban and the United States government.

“Our interest was that peace in Afghanistan would benefit Pakistan. Because the previous Afghan government was not pro-Pakistan, it was pro-India […] then we tried to get the Afghan government and the Taliban to sit down which we failed in.”

Imran said that he began to worry after the US announced the date for its withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. “I began to worry about a civil war happening and our Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) also gave us a briefing […] there was a fear that the fallout from the civil war would also affect Pakistan.”

Imran said that he did not have any difference with then-army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and the two were “on the same page”. “This country benefitted when the establishment and the elected government were on the same page […] we were working together on everything.”

17/01/2023

NA speaker accepts


National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf has accepted the resignations of 35 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers, Express News reported on Tuesday.

As many as 123 lawmakers resigned en masse from the lower house of parliament following the ouster of PTI chief Imran Khan in April last year.

The development came a day after PTI chief and former prime minister Imran Khan hinted at returning to the National Assembly for consultation with the treasury benches “on an interim set-up to be installed after the dissolution” of the lower house of parliament.

Speaking to a select group of journalists in Lahore on Monday, Imran foresaw the next general elections taking place in the country in two to three months. Without their presence, he added, the government would be consulting the current Opposition Leader in the National Assembly, Raja Riaz, about the caretaker government.

Also read: Imran hints at return to National Assembly

He underscored that “the PTI has now decided” to give a tough time to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and promised that “he [Shehbaz Sharif] will have sleepless nights in the days to come”. He claimed that some Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) National Assembly members wanted to join the PTI.

The members whose resignations have been accepted include Murad Saeed, Umar Ayub, Asad Qaiser, Parvez Khattak, Imran Khattak, Shehryar Afridi, Qasim Suri, Najeeb Haroon, Aslam Khan, Aftab Jahangir, Attaullah, Aftab Hussain Siddiqui, Ali Haider Zaidi, Alamgir Khan, Saifur Rehman, Faheem Khan, Zartaj Gul, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Malik Amir Dogar, Shafqat Mehmood, Hammad Azhar, Sanaullah Mastikhel, Fawad Ahmed, Mansoor Hayat and others.

Similarly, the resignations of Alia Hamza Malik and Kanwal Shuzab, who were elected from reserve seats, have also been accepted.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has also de-notified the lawmakers from their seats.

Last month, the National Assembly had announced a clear policy regarding the confirmation of resignations of the PTI members, according to which, every party MNA had to personally confirm his resignation.

The NA spokesperson had said the PTI’s request for joint appearance and confirmation of resignations from their respective seats is being heard once again, adding that a reply was sent to the letter sent by PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi on December 22.

The PTI MNAs, according to the contents of the NA letter, will be called to confirm the resignations and each member will have to confirm his resignation in person.

The NA Secretariat said that there was "no way" the resignations of the PTI lawmakers could be verified collectively, which had been pending with the speaker despite a lapse of several months and repeated requests from the party leadership to accept them.

One hundred and twenty-three PTI MNAs had resigned en masse on April 11 two days after party Chairman Imran Khan was ousted as the prime minister through a no-confidence motion.

However, on April 17, the newly elected NA Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf directed the assembly secretariat to deal with the resignations of the PTI lawmakers afresh and present them before him so that they could be treated as per law.

Last year in June, the ruling coalition had formulated a strategy on the matter of en masse resignations of the PTI lawmakers from the assembly and agreed to proceed with phase-wise acceptance, following which, the NA speaker proceeded to accept 11 of the 123 resignations.

“Some of the PM-N members of the National Assembly are in contact with the PTI and they have expressed their interest in joining our camp. We will test them before giving them the party membership,” Imran said, adding that he saw elections taking place in March or April.

Also read: Imran determined to test Shehbaz

17/01/2023

Most infectious COVID-19

XBB.1.5 is the most infectious variant of Omicron. Higher immunity cited behind low COVID-19 positivity ratio. Pakistan is among countries where over 95% of people are fully vaccinated.

KARACHI: The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) has raised the alarm that the most infectiousXBB.1.5 COVID subvariant has been detected in the country through genome sequencing.

It cited ‘very good immunity’ among the general population as well extremely low testing in the country behind the detection of a very small number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

“Yes, we have found the XBB.1.5 sub-variant of Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 (Coronavirus) through genome sequencing of the virus from an infected patient”, an expert associated with AKU told The News Monday.

The expert, who requested anonymity, said probably low testing was the reason that a very small number of COVID-19 cases were being reported from the country and opined that most of the people infected with the new sub-variant of Coronavirus were not getting themselves tested despite having upper respiratory tract infections.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad Monday said COVID-19 positivity remained at 0.36% when only 11 people tested positive after 3,085 tests were conducted and added that only 14 people were in critical condition throughout the country.

Commenting on the presence of COVID-19 sub-variant in Pakistan and its impacts, renowned infectious diseases expert Dr Rana Jawad Asghar said XBB.1.5 is the most immunity-evading subvariant of the Omicron variant to date and it is infecting millions of people throughout the world including Pakistan.

“Fortunately, it is not causing a severe disease so most of the people who are contracting upper respiratory tract infections are not getting themselves tested. Most of the people who are getting tested on daily basis are actually travellers, who are a healthier segment of society so we are not getting the actual situation of COVID-19 in the country”, Dr. Rana Jawad Asghar added.

According to him, genome sequencing of the COVID-19 positive cases was very low in Pakistan as compared to the rest of the world, claiming that genome sequencing of only 0.5% of cases was being carried out, which was very low and non-systematic.

Several pulmonologists (chest specialists) and general practitioners confirmed to the publication that daily hundreds of people with upper respiratory tract infections were being reported from Karachi, saying despite having high-grade fever with flu-like conditions, these patients were not willing to get themselves tested for COVID-19 so they were being advised symptomatic treatment.

Pulmonologists and general practitioners report a large number of patients with upper respiratory tract infections.

"Both COVID-19 and H1N1 are spreading across the country rapidly. But as patients are not willing to get tested for COVID-19, they are being given symptomatic treatment as the majority of such patients don’t require hospitalization”, a senior pulmonologist associated with a leading tertiary-care health facility in Karachi said.

Renowned infectious diseases expert, Dr Faisal Mehmood believes that better immunity among the Pakistani population due to previous infections and vaccination were the main factor for the lesser spread of coronavirus although the most infectious sub-variant is circulating in the country.

"The Pakistani population has a high level of immunity due to previous infections and vaccinations. Pakistan is among the countries where over 95% of people are fully vaccinated while millions of people also have booster doses”, Dr. Mehmood who is an infectious diseases consultant at the AKUH told The News.

According to him, testing was very low due to which COVID-19 cases were not being detected but underlined that those contracting COVID-19 were also not getting severe disease due to stronger immunity.

17/01/2023

Pathaan’ to get OTT release in THIS month


The OTT release details of one of the most-anticipated Bollywood films ‘Pathaan’ have been revealed.

As per the reports from Indian media outlets, the much-awaited theatrical release of ‘Pathaan’ next week will follow with the OTT premiere in April this year.

Watch ARY News live on live.arynews.tv

While the exact date of the streaming debut of the film is yet to be revealed, the film will premiere on the OTT platform Amazon Prime Video sometime in April this year.

Reportedly, the court has asked makers for some changes in ‘Pathaan’, which include the addition of ‘subtitles, close captioning and audio description in Hindi’ for the hearing and visually-impaired people to enjoy the title on the streaming platform.

Production company Yash Raj Films has been asked to submit the film with changes to CBFC (Central Board of Film Certification) for re-certification.

According to the details, the court has directed makers to submit the changes for re-certification by February 20 and has also ordered CBFC to finalize the decision by March 10, for the film to continue with the scheduled OTT release in April.

15/01/2023

'Kahani suno' Makes it to World Global Charts

11/01/2023

Traders, shopkeepers hold protests against price hike, flour shortage in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

11/01/2023

Imran Khan: “Lawmakers being pressurised to part ways with PTI”



LAHORE: Former premier and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan has alleged that PTI lawmakers are being threatened and offered money to part ways with the political party, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

Imran Khan made the statement while addressing a session of Punjab’s parliamentary party today.

He praised PTI Members of the Provincial Assembly (MPAs) for attending the session in large numbers despite facing difficulties in movement owing to the foggy condition in Lahore.

He said that he is fully aware of how PTI MPAs are being pressurised and offered money to part ways with the political party. He also praised Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) lawmakers and Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Pervaiz Elahi for not accepting the pressure.

READ: ECP ISSUES ARREST WARRANTS FOR IMRAN KHAN, OTHER PTI LEADERS

“These people were also asked to part ways with the PTI and join the side of PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz).”

He alleged that PTI lawmakers and its allies are being told that they marked a red line on Imran Khan and they are going to minus Imran Khan.

“Pakistan belongs to the Pakistanis. Only Pakistanis can mark a red line on someone but anyone else. If some people are arrogant enough to think about redlining any personality then they have no sense of politics, neither they read the history nor care for the country.”

He said that not a single political party gains such popularity in Pakistan as compared to the PTI. Khan said that those who are having any doubts should watch the videos of his 65 power shows. He said that millions of nationals came out of their houses to resist the toppling of the PTI government via a conspiracy.

He said that the nationals had also backed PTI in the Punjab by-polls and gave a clear message to the powerful circles. He said that all tactics were used to force the nation to accept the ‘thieves’ as their rulers, but they all failed.

READ: IMRAN KHAN SAYS ‘PREPARATIONS COMPLETED FOR PUNJAB CM’S TRUST VOTE’

While slamming the incumbent government, Khan said that the current rulers did nothing for Pakistan but they only get another NRO and dissolve their corruption cases worth Rs1,100 billion.

He said that some people thought that Shehbaz Sharif is a genius but his performance exposed him after he failed to cope with the political and economic challenges.

11/01/2023

Pakistani PM reports global pledges of $9.7B in flood aid


ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s prime minister said Wednesday that several countries and some of the world’s institutions have pledged $9.7 billion to help his country rebuild from the summer’s catastrophic flood that killed 1,739 people.

Premier Shahbaz Sharif said U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres fought for the flood victims “like a Pakistani” during a recent fundraising conference in Geneva.

At a news conference in Islamabad, Sharif pledged transparency when the money is spent, and added that the government would try to prevent a repeat of last summer’s deluge. At one point, one-third of the impoverished country was under water, a “doomsday before the doomsday” of Earth’s changing climate.

The floods destroyed more than 2 million homes and caused more than $30 billion in damage. Previously, Pakistan said that it needed $16.3 billion for reconstruction and that the country would cover almost half of that amount. For the rest, the country sought donations.

Sharif said the response to Pakistan’s appeal in Geneva was beyond his expectation. He said the Saudi government has indicated that it will invest $10 billion in Pakistan apart from depositing $2 billion with the country’s central bank, a move that experts say would boost Pakistan’s fragile economy.

Sharif said he will also travel to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday on a two-day official visit.

However, such U.N. pledging conferences often draw promises of big sums from governments, international organizations and other donors, but the pledges aren’t always fulfilled.

Pakistani authorities say thousands of flood victims are still living in open areas.

Pakistan plays a negligible role in global warming and emits less than 1% of heat-trapping carbon dioxide. But like other developing countries, it has been vulnerable to climate-induced damage, experts say.

11/01/2023

UNICEF continues to respond to urgent humanitarian

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund continues to respond to urgent humanitarian needs of the flood affected people.

The UNICEF Representative in Pakistan Abdullah Fadil informed in Islamabad today that they are restoring and rehabilitating existing health, water, sanitation and education facilities for families returning to their homes in the flood affected areas.

He said the UNICEF will also continue to support the government’s efforts for climate-resilient recovery and reconstruction.

11/01/2023

New ranking: World’s most powerful passports in 2023
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The Henley Passport Index, which has been regularly monitoring the world’s most travel-friendly passports since 2006, has released the latest ranking of the world’s powerful passports in 2023.

The latest ranking was announced according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.

The ranking is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), according to the firm.

Japan is once again top of the leaderboard, with its passport offering visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 193 destinations around the world.

Singapore and South Korea’s passports were declared second most powerful in the world as they have visa-free access to 192 destinations.

Spain and Germany have been placed on the 3rd spot with visa-free access to 190 destinations. Three countries including Italy, Finland, Luxembourg are standing on 4th position with access to 189 destinations.

The fifth position is occupied by Austria, Denmark, Netherlands and Sweden, whereas, the sixthh position is grabbed by France, Ireland, United Kingdom and Portugal.

Pakistan’s passport is standing at 106th position with visa-free access to 32 destinations.

The other passports ranked among the top ten nations including Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, United States (US) Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Greece, Malta and others.

11/01/2023

Almost $70m dollars being smuggled to Afghanistan monthly

ISLAMABAD: Almost $60 to $70 million dollars was being smuggled from Pakistan to Afghanistan on a monthly basis, ARY News reported on Wednesday, quoting a report prepared by the federal government.

According to details, the federal government has prepared a report on dollar smuggling, revealing that almost $60 to $70 million dollars was being smuggled from Pakistan to Afghanistan monthly.

Sources told ARY News that Pakistan has decided to raise the issue of dollar smuggling with the Afghan government. “The foreign currency was being used to open letters of credit (LCs) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Turkey,” they added.

Sources further claimed that small cars, tyres, mobile phones, oil and other valuables were being also smuggled to the neighbouring country. “The smuggled items are reexported to Pakistan,” they added.

Islamabad suffers revenue loss from smuggling on transit trade routes, they added.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), in December 2022, set new restrictions for passengers due to the dollar shortage in the country.

According to the notification of the FBR, due to the lack of dollars in the country more than $30,000 a year has been banned from being taken abroad. Those going to Afghanistan will not be allowed even $30,000 annually.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) further said people aged 18 years and above could carry up to $5,000 per foreign visit while those aged 18 years or younger could carry up to $2,000 for foreign visits.

FBR also said in its notification that people going to Afghanistan could carry 1,000 US dollars on a visit and those going to Afghanistan will not be able to carry more than $6,000 annually.

24/12/2022

Imran Khan claims
PTI chief continues tirade against ex-army chief. Imran predicts polls in March or April. He vows to remain allies with PML-Q.

LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has said that former chief of army staff General (retired) Qamar Javed Bajwa had "struck" a deal with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

Imran made the revelation in conversation with journalists on Saturday as he continued the tirade against the former army chief, whom he blames now for his government's ouster.

The PTI chief recently admitted that granting an extension to Gen (retd) Bajwa was a "mistake" and had also accused the ex-army chief of "betraying" him. Also, in a conversation with journalists yesterday, he revealed that he was not in contact with the establishment “for now”.

As the PTI presses the government on holding snap polls across the country, Imran predicted that he sees elections taking place in either March or April.

He also added that PTI's members of the National Assembly would appear before Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf to confirm their resignations on Monday (December 26).

The government, however, has repeatedly ruled out holding early elections citing several reasons, including floods, and said they might take place in October 2023.

"We will also remain allies with the Q-League (Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid) as they have stood by us," the PTI chief said as the political turmoil in Punjab persists.

"I will not inflict pain on the masses for remaining in power. Once I form my government again, I will not compromise on anything," the PTI chief said.

Taking a swipe at Minister for Foreign Affairs Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, he said that the Bhutto scion has gone on more visits abroad than he did during his three-and-a-half-years in tenure.

"Also, if he is claiming that he is paying for foreign trips through his pocket, then are these his private visits?" he wondered.

He berated the PPP and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for getting "foreign funds" and "not having" receipts for them. "We have a database of 40,000 donors."

24/12/2022

PTI announces

LAHORE: In a bid to mobilise the masses, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has announced schedule of rallies to be held in several cities of Punjab, ARY News reported on Saturday.

According to details, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) released schedule of rallies to be held in several cities of Punjab, starting from December 25. PTI local leaders will lead the rallies in their respected cities.

The PTI would hold rallies in Multan, Lahore, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi on December 25, rallies will be organised in Bahawalpur, Sheikhupura and Jhelum on Dec 26, 27 and 28, respectively.

The rallies will also be held in Sahiwal, Dera Ghazi Khan and Gujranwala on Dec 29, 30 and 31, respectively. Rallies will be held again on January 1 in Multan, Faisalabad, Lahore and Rawalpindi.

Earlier in December, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) held rallies in Karachi to mount pressure on the incumbent government regarding the demand for transparent and early elections.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) launched ‘election karao mulk bacho (Hold elections and save country) movement in Karachi in a bid to mount pressure on the incumbent government.

The protests were attended by party organizers, former members of national and provincial assembly. Candidates in the local government (LG) elections and workers also attended the movement.

It is pertinent to mention here that party Chairman Imran Khan had called upon the institutions to play role in holding immediate and transparent elections. He asked the institutions if they were not worried about where Pakistan was heading and its future.

“Are you not worried today that our country is heading towards a point where there will be no coming back,” he asked and then stressed that snap polls was the only solution.

The former premier noted that as soon as elections are held, the country would get a chance to get out of this mess. “Without political stability, there is no economic stability,” he concluded.

24/12/2022

Dense fog cripples

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE/KARACHI:
Pakistan is in the grip of a severe cold wave as foggy conditions have intensified in many parts of the country. The dense fog engulfing several areas of the country has brought regular activities of life to a halt.

According to the Met Office, the weather will remain dry and cold in most parts of the country. It added that the country’s northern areas as well as the upper half of Balochistan would remain affected by severe cold.

Dense fog was witnessed in the plains of Punjab. Similar weather conditions are expected in the plains of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and upper parts of Sindh. The temperature was recorded at -14C in Skardu, -10C in Ziarat, -9C in Kalat, -8C in Kalam, -7C in Astore and Gupis, -6C in Quetta and Gilgit, -5C in Hunza, and -4C in Chitral and Dir.

The mercury fell to 1C in the federal capital, 6C in Lahore, and 0C in Peshawar. The Met Office has predicted that the weather would remain partially cloudy in Islamabad and there were chances of dense fog in the morning.

Read more: Smoggy Lahore and Brain Fog

It added that it would remain cold on several districts of K-P, with chances of fog engulfing Peshawar, Rashakai, Mardan, Charsadda, Swabi, Nowshehra and Dera Ismail Khan.

In Punjab, fog is expected in Jhelum, Lahore, Gujranwala, Narowal, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Jhang, Sargodha, Toba Tek Singh, Okara, Sahiwal, Bhakkar, Layyah, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, and Dera Ghazi Khan.

Light rainfall or snowfall is expected in Quetta, Ziarat, Zhob, Chaman, and their surrounding areas in Balochistan.

Flight operations continued to remain disrupted as various international airports in the country were engulfed by heavy fog. The administration of the Islamabad International Airport administration has issued a plan for diverted flights.

According to airport officials, a total of 33 flights will be operated from Islamabad airport at present. The diverted flights include 16 departure and 17 arrival flights, and these are apart from the scheduled flights.

Four departure flights have been operated so far, with 607 passengers and 29 crewmembers on board. Three diverted flights also arrived in the country as 650 passengers and 29 crewmembers reached Islamabad through them.

Moreover, 650 passengers coming to Islamabad have left for Lahore by bus. At Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore, flights from Baku, Dammam, Abu Dhabi and Istanbul were not allowed to land and diverted to Islamabad.

PIA flights departing from Lahore before 12 noon will now depart from Islamabad. Flights to Muscat, Jeddah, Dubai and Riyadh have been shifted to Islamabad as well. Flight PK-759 to Jeddah, PK-203 to Dubai, PK-725 to Riyadh and PK-229 to Muscat will now depart from the federal capital.

The visibility at Islamabad airport is 3,200 metres. However, it stands at 800m, 1,000m, and 1,200m at Lahore, Multan and Faisalabad airports, respectively.