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Analysts worried over Kulsoom Nawaz election for National Assembly

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Analysts worried over Kulsoom Nawaz election for National Assembly

Punjab can’t impose leaders for the rest of the country, says career diplomat Ashraf Jehangir Qazi

The election of Begum Kulsoom Nawaz, wife of Pakistan’s ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as Member of National Assembly from Lahore constituency with margin of 14000 votes is being seen with “serious concern” by several analysts in the country.

The NA-120 is Sharif’s family constituency from where Nawaz Sharif had won by around 40,000 vote’s margin during last elections in 2013, which has now dwindled to just 14000 margin. Begum Kulsoom Nawaz begged 61,745 votes while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) candidate Dr. Yasmin Rashid remained the runner-up with 47,099 votes.  She had also contested against Nawaz Sharif on the same seat in 2013 general elections.

The National Assembly seat fell vacant after the disqualification of the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by country’s Supreme Court in the controversial Panama papers case in July this year. The polling was held on September 17 with 44 candidates in the fray.

Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, a career diplomat who served as his country’s ambassador to India as well, writes in an opinion piece published by renowned newspaper Dawn on Tuesday that, “electorally, Nawaz Sharif has won and Imran Khan has lost again….. The big deal is….. That Nawaz Sharif was removed as prime minister by a unanimous verdict of Supreme Court for a false declaration regarding his sources of income, and faces the possibility of convictions on far more serious charges of corruption, fraud, etc. If this means little or nothing to his supporters in Lahore and Punjab, so be it.”

Former diplomat dares saying “The PML-N could have chosen any candidate other than from the family of the disqualified and controversial prime minister.”

Qazi further says, “If Punjab chooses to vote for a prime minister disqualified by the Supreme Court, or his wife as a stand-in, that is its choice, however unfortunate, short-sighted, self-destructive and unfathomable it may be. But Punjab cannot choose on behalf of the rest of Pakistan. If it tries to impose a criminally corrupt political leader on the rest of Pakistan it will destroy the country, because the people of Sindh, KP (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Fata (Federally Administered Tribal Area) and Balochistan never chose to join Punjab; they chose to become Pakistan.”

He expressed concern about the possible repetition of what had  happened in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). He said, “This was proven by their rejection 60 years ago of One Unit which was an anti-Pakistan political imposition by Punjab aimed at denying the political rights of the East Pakistani majority of Pakistan’s population as well as those of the smaller provinces of West Pakistan. As a result, the Pakistan of the Pakistan Movement died within 25 years of its birth (in 1971). The same game is now being played with what is left of Pakistan. It must not succeed.”

Ashraf Jehangir Qazi concludes his opinion piece by saying, “As a country, a nation, a people we need to get a life! As Edward Murrow rightly observes “a nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.”

Meanwhile, Mosharraf Zaidi opines in The News International that in the light of the election results from Lahore bye-elections it is understood that “The PML-N’s crisis will continue until there is decisive change in the party’s leadership. And that change is to come, given that the party culture leans more sycophancy and acquiescence than wise counsel or dissent.”

He begins and ends his piece with “We should not read too much into the NA-120 by-election, but we should not read too little into it either.”

Meanwhile, Imran Khan, Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), on Monday admitted defeat in the much hyped by-election. Earlier he had alleged that the polls in three union councils of NA-120 Lahore-III had been rigged.

Nawaz Sharif won this seat in 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997 and 2013. During the 2002 and 2008 elections, proxy PML-N candidates Muhammad Pervaiz Malik and Bilal Yaseen were respectively elected from the same constituency.

Present Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was elected by his party in August as “interim” arrangement after Supreme Court disqualified Nawaz Sahrif over allegations that he lied on a wealth declaration.

Immediately after his swearing in ceremony Abbasi was quoted saying, “Whether I am here for 45 hours or 45 days, I am the prime minister of this country, and I have come here to get work done, not to keep the seat warm.”

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World Earth Day 2024: Google Doodle showcases aerial view of planet’s natural beauty

Google celebrated Earth Day 2024 with a special doodle featuring an aerial view of our planet’s biodiversity.

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Google shared a doodle today to celebrate World Earth Day 2024, which showcased aerial photos of the planet’s biodiversity and natural beauty. Google reminded us of the importance of protecting planet earth for future generations with the help of this doodle.

The Google letters depict specific locations across the globe where people, communities, and governments work every day to help protect the planet’s natural beauty, biodiversity, and resources, according to the explanation of the annual Earth Day 2024 doodle on their website.

It said, these examples remind us that there’s much more to do to address the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, but also offer the promise of hope and optimism.

The islands of Turks and Caicos are represented by the letter “G.” The islands’ conservation efforts are concentrated on protecting important regions for biodiversity and addressing persistent environmental problems.

The largest reef in the southern Gulf of Mexico and a UNESCO biosphere reserve, Scorpion Reef National Park, is represented by the letter “O” in the Mexican flag.

The letter “O” features Iceland’s Vatnajokull National Park, which was designated as a national park in 2008 following decades of advocacy. The ecology within and surrounding the biggest glacier in Europe is safeguarded by this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The letter “G” has the Jau National Park in Brazil on it. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the biggest forest reserves in South America.

The Great Green Wall of Nigeria is represented by the letter “L,”  and the Pilbara Islands Nature Reserves of Australia are represented by the letter “E.”

Meanwhile, Earth Day is a worldwide event that promotes protection of the environment every year. April 22 serves as a reminder of the importance of conservation efforts and sustainable practices to guarantee a healthier world and a brighter future.

The occasion inspires people across the world to come together and take action to protect the environment, strengthening our bonds with nature and promoting good change.

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Bigg Boss 14 contestant Rahul Vaidya struggles walking in knee deep water, compares Dubai rains with Mumbai floods

Singer and TV personality Rahul Vaidya was recently stranded in the Dubai rains.

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Rahul Vaidya, who was in Dubai ahead of his show which was scheduled to take place today, left the country due to heavy rains and reached Kolkata. The artist shared on social media his encounters in the UAE city, including challenges like walking through knee-deep water. Rahul provided an update regarding the heavy rainfall in Dubai on his Instagram profile.

The Bigg Boss 14 contestant revealed that he was in Kolkata and prepared to do an evening performance. Recalling the terrifying period he went through, Vaidya said there was a lot of confusion and panic in Dubai. The situation was similar to that when heavy floods hit Mumbai in 2005.

Vaiday also posted seval other images and videos of cars that were underwater and flooded roadways. The Bigg Boss 14 contestant, who shared his ordeal, claimed that even though it had just rained for two hours, the situation was dire.

In one of the video, which went viral he can be seen struggling in walking in knee-deep water. He can be also seen holding his sneakers in one hand and with other hand he was seen managing other things.

This is the result of the two hours of rain that it had, he can be heard saying in the video. Vidya also said he dosen’t believe Dubai is accustomed to a lot of rain. Everything had stopped working, he remarked.

After taking part in the first season of the singing reality show Indian Idol, Rahul Vaidya gained widespread recognition. In addition to Bigg Boss, he took part in Khatron Ke Khiladi 11.

Meanwhile, heavy rains that triggered flooding in the UAE and Bahrain, which left 18 people dead in Oman on Sunday and Monday, have paralyzed the financial hub of the Middle East, Dubai.

A lot of incoming flights were diverted from Dubai’s international airport because of the rain. At 7:26 p.m., the busiest airport in the world for foreign visitors stopped accepting new arrivals; a gradual resumption was announced for more than two hours later.

Images of planes navigating flooded tarmacs are making the rounds on social media.

According to pictures shared on social media, the flagship malls Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates both experienced heavy floods, while at least one Dubai Metro station had water up to the ankles.

There were several road collapses, severe flooding in residential areas, and numerous reports of leaks from windows, doors, and roofs.

Due to the unfavourable weather, schools around the United Arab Emirates were forced to close, and as more storms are predicted, the closures are anticipated to last until Wednesday. The government of Dubai allowed its staff to work remotely till this Wednesday.

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Dubai sky turns green during storm in UAE, video goes viral

The UAE witnessed record-breaking rainfall on Tuesday and the National Centre of Meteorology recorded 254 mm of rainfall in less than 24 hrs in the Khatm Al Shakla area in Al Ain.

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1 person was killed in UAE as it witnessed heavy rainfall on Tuesday, stranding commuters, flooding roads, disrupting trains and flights and resulting in water leakage from mall ceilings. The UAE witnessed record-breaking rainfall on Tuesday and the National Centre of Meteorology recorded 254 mm of rainfall in less than 24 hrs in the Khatm Al Shakla area in Al Ain. It is being said that the rainfall was the highest documented since the start of data collection in 1949.

The heavy rainfall in UAE came days after a similar situation in neighbouring Oman, where 13 people were killed in flash floods. Many parts of Oman saw torrential rains, which caused students to be trapped in buses and swept away motorists and trapped people in their homes.

Videos from Dubai circulating on social media showed widespread waterlogging on roads in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other important cities. This left daily commuters in cars and other vehicles struggling to get back home. Dubai metro station too was seen flooded and closed.

One such video circulating on social media shows the aerial view of the city of Dubai from the top of a building. In the video the stormy winds are seen blowing over the city of Dubai. As the storm intensifies the Dubai sky turns green and ultimately gets covered by heavy rainfall. The video has gone viral on social media with more than 1.1 million views.

Another video showed water leakage from the ceilings of shopping malls, flooding the floors and destroying goods. A video which was shot in the famous Mall of the Emirates, showed pieces of ceiling falling as the rainwater gushed inside. Videos from many outlets of the Deira City Centre mall chain showed escalators being rendered unusable. Majid Al Futtaim, the company which owns the Mall of Emirates, said that the shopping complexes have been kept open and the customers are being sent away from the flooded areas. 

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