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March 2014

A TROUBLESOME LADY

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BY ALI SUKHANVER

ali-sukhanver2 Sometimes memories prove a gigantic hurdle in our way to progress particularly when they are nightmare-like bitterly unpleasant and horribly painful; but for a brighter future and a successful present, it is always advisable to get rid of all such pinching memories. But unfortunately there are some people who love to remain in the darkness of their past; Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh is also one of such personalities. With the passage of time, instead of getting weaker, her decades old enmity with Pakistan is getting stronger day by day. She is always busy in doing the things which could cause a serious damage to the socio-political future of Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina has badly failed in coming up to the Read More »A TROUBLESOME LADY

Toyota prices decline by Rs75,000 in Pakistan

KARACHI: Indus Motor Company Limited (IMC) has brought down the prices of its cars and pickups by up to Rs75,000, said a press statement on Thursday.

IMC reduced the prices of Toyota Corolla Xli/Gli variants by Rs50,000, while the rates of Toyota Corolla Altis variants were decreased by Rs75,000. The prices of Hilux range of pickups came down by Rs10,000 to Rs30,000

The decision was the result of the appreciation of Pak rupee against US dollar, according to the press statement.Read More »Toyota prices decline by Rs75,000 in Pakistan

Punjab Vehicle token tax data computerised

The Excise and Taxation (E&T) Department, Punjab, has finally computerized the entire data of token tax after synchronizing data from 147 post offices of Punjab and linked it with an SMS service.

Now, citizens can check their outstanding token tax just by sending their vehicle’s registration number to 9966 through an SMS. Earlier, the citizens had to visit their post offices concerned every year to deposit token tax of their vehicles.Read More »Punjab Vehicle token tax data computerised

Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta among world’s Top 10 polluted cities

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AFP

Paris has leapt into the headlines over an alert for dangerous atmospheric particles, yet it does not ordinarily count among the world’s most polluted cities.
Here are the top 10 cities for which data is available, according to a 2011 World Health Organisation (WHO) report. The pollution is measured as the microgramme (mcg) concentration per cubic metre of air of particulate matter smaller than 10 micrometres (PM10) — about a seventh of the width of a human hair. The figures are the average for the year. Seasonal spikes can be many times higher. The WHO’s health guidelines Read More »Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta among world’s Top 10 polluted cities

Mobile verification system to curb car theft in Islamabad

Islamabad Police has introduced a mobile verification system to curb car theft as it has prepared a database where the information of stolen vehicles would be incorporated.
The police personnel deployed at various check-points are able to check details of any vehicle, through SMS, by entering its registration number. This has helped the police in nabbing vehicles with fake registration numbers, and it has already recovered 124 stolen vehicles. The information issued by the ministry of interior and narcotics control on Sunday said that the capital police had also recovered 111 cars out of the total 714 registered stolen cases from different public places and markets of Islamabad stolen during the last twelve months.
The comparative data of stolen cars since June 1 to December 31, 2012 and June 1 to December 31, 2013 revealed that 71 accused persons for stealing cars were also arrested.Read More »Mobile verification system to curb car theft in Islamabad

Honey is a new approach to fighting antibiotic resistance

Honey could be one sweet solution to the serious ever growing problem of bacterial resistance to antibiotics, says a research.

Medical professionals sometimes use honey successfully as a topical dressing but it could play a larger role in fighting infections, reported health news.

The unique property of honey lies in its ability to fight infection on multiple levels making it more difficult for bacteria to develop resistance.

That is it uses a combination of weapons including hydrogen peroxide, acidity, osmotic effect, high sugar concentration – all of which actively kill bacterial cells.Read More »Honey is a new approach to fighting antibiotic resistance

BALOCHISTAN IS NOT A NO-MAN’S-LAND

ALI SUKHANVER

ali-sukhanver2 “The town where I have been living with my family for the last fifty years is one of the most peaceful towns of Balochistan. My parents and my grand parents, all were born there and certainly all are buried there too. We have about hundred houses in our neighborhood and we all are very much close to one another. Some of our people are in the army and some in the local police; some of us are in government service and some are engaged in farming. During the last ten years we have so many times heard that the security forces and the intelligence agencies are kidnapping people and most of the kidnapped Balochis never come back to their homes; their dead bodies are found on deserted roads and streets; but to tell you the truth, it never happened in our town.” This statement of Mujahid Baloch, a middle-aged train-guard, was altogether unexpected to me; I knew he was a Baloch, a Baloch who practically resides in Balochistan and certainly has the first hand knowledge of the things. It was somewhere in the mid of June last year, I was traveling to Karachi by train.  Mujahid Baloch, the conductor guard of the train seemed very strict and dutiful type of a person. He drew my attention when I found him snubbing a passenger who was traveling without ticket. The passenger claimed that he was a journalist, so he was entitled to travel without ticket. The conductor guard said that he would simply made a call to the engine driver and ask him to stop the train at the nearest station if that passenger was not willing to buy ticket. At last that self-claimed journalist had to surrender. I appreciated the courage, determination and dutifulness of that conductor guard. He told me that he was a Baloch and a Baloch never surrenders if he is on right. For the next two hours we two had a very informative discussion on different topics particularly on the issue of the missing persons in Balochistan. I was expecting he would be very much aggressive and violent in his views but he was not. He simply concluded the discussion by saying, “Stop the interference of the foreign intelligence agencies in Balochistan, keep a vigilant guard on the boundaries and give the Baloch people all those facilities and human rights which people of other provinces are enjoying; the Balochis also belong to this land; don’t doubt their patriotism.”Read More »BALOCHISTAN IS NOT A NO-MAN’S-LAND