Minority desks to be set up in Sindh police stations
Sindh Inspector General (IG) Mushtaq Mahar issues directives to set up minority desks and constitute special teams to receive complaints of minority communities in police stations at range, zonal and district levels by next week. The directives are part of the IG’s initiative to reform law enforcement. The desks will register complaints that pertain to crimes committed against minority communities, including sexual assault, harassment, forced conversions and incidents of sectarian violence.
PTA to devise strategy for new WhatsApp policy
The Pakistan Telecommunications Authorities (PTA) to review and devise strategy in response to WhatsApp’s new privacy policy that will share user data including photos, IP addresses and location to its parent company Facebook. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Information Technology announced that Pakistan will develop its own messaging app with better security protocols. Work on the app will begin after receiving approval from the federal cabinet.
Private schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reopen despite orders
Private schools near Peshawar and in other areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have already opened for students despite federal orders that on-campus classes will resume from January 18 and 25. Previously, the government had allowed schools to reopen for administrative teams and teachers in order to prepare standard operating procedures (SOP) are in place before students start coming in.
Schools with adequate online facilities have been allowed to continue classes online, but few schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are able to offer this facility.
Multan man kills lawyer for losing his case
Multan police on Tuesday, January 12, arrested one Faizan for murdering his lawyer Sabir Qureshi and his brother for losing a case. Sabir was unable to win a petition filed by the accused in court. In anger, Faizan and his accomplices entered Qureshi’s home some four days back, tortured the lawyer and his brother, and subsequently slaughtered them. The accused attempted to burn the bodies but were unable to do so.
Although Faizan has been taken into custody, his accomplices are still at large.