Pakistan

Dense fog causes disruption of road and air traffic

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

Dense fog has caused disruption to air and road traffic in many areas of Punjab.
Multiple sections of Motorway have to be closed on Wednesday.
Motorway spokesman advised motorists to avoid unnecessary travel.

LAHORE: Several highways and motorways in many areas of Punjab remained closed on Wednesday due to thick fog. Intense fog conditions caused many trains to be delayed for hours.

Cold weather conditions also caused significant disruptions to flight schedules due to thick fog.

The Lahore-Multan Motorway from Faizpur to Nankana Sahib, the M-2 Motorway from Lahore to Kot Momin and the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway from Lahore to Sambrial remained closed for traffic, while traffic flow was badly affected on other highways in central Punjab especially GT Road due to poor visibility. A Motorways spokesperson advised drivers to avoid unnecessary travel, use fog lights on their vehicles, and call helpline 130 for assistance if needed.

Traffic remained congested on various roads entering and exiting Lahore, requiring high-ranking officials such as CTO Lahore Dr. Asad Malhi to visit problem areas such as Thokar Niaz Baig, Canal Road, Raiwind Road, Johar Town, Khayaban-e-Amin Township, and Multan Road to monitor traffic management. All vehicles entering from the Eastern Bypass, Thokar Niaz and Babu Sabu were prohibited due to the closure of the motorway. He stated that the number of wardens at the entry and exit routes had been increased to assist motorists. He said that the traffic wardens were working to keep traffic flowing in heavy fog, adding that citizens are being kept informed through the Raasta App and FM 88.6 about the fog situation.

Heavy fog at Allama Iqbal Airport reduced visibility to 50 meters, forcing the cancellation or delay of many domestic and foreign flights. Turkish Airlines flight TK 715 from Lahore to Istanbul, TK 714 from Istanbul to Lahore, Oman Airline flight WY 342 to Muscat were cancelled, while flight PK 740 from Jeddah to Lahore will be operated today (Thursday) at 4:30 am, says a CAA spokesperson.

Meanwhile, flight PK 203 from Dubai to Lahore was delayed for 10 hours, while flight PK 204 to Dubai will fly today (Thursday) at 4am; PK 840 from Jeddah to Lahore, PK 739 from Lahore to Jeddah, PA 413 from Sharjah to Lahore and PK 230 from Muscat to Lahore were also delayed.

A flight PF-146 from Lahore to Karachi and PF-145 from Karachi to Lahore were also canceled. CAA spokesperson said the visibility limit at Multan Airport was reduced to 600 meters, diverting flights to Islamabad including Dubai to Sialkot flight PK 180, Jeddah to Lahore PK 768, Madina to Lahore PK 848 and Madina to Lahore PK 748, and the passengers were dispatched to their cities in the buses provided by the airlines. The spokesperson advised the passengers to confirm flights schedule before leaving for airports, or visit www.caapakistan.com.pk or contact helpline numbers 080000114114 and 111222114.

The train schedule was also delayed by 7 to 8 hours due to heavy fog forcing passengers to suffer for hours under severe cold weather. Pak Business Express from Karachi to Lahore was delayed 7 hours, Pakistan Express was delayed 8 hours, Tezgam was delayed 6 hours, Rehman Baba Express was delayed 6 hours, Millat Express was delayed 5 hours, Allam Iqbal Express was delayed 5 hours, Khyber Mail was delayed 5 hours, Karachi Express was delayed 4 hours, Karakoram Express was delayed 3 hours, Jafar Express was delayed 4 hours, Baba Farid Express was delayed 3 hours.

Latest News

PM Shehbaz will meet with Saudi ministers and speak at the WEF special session today.

Published

58 mins ago

Farwa

On the third day of his visit to the Kingdom, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will speak at the World Economic Forum Special Meeting’s final plenary, which is titled “Rejuvenating Growth.”

Other speakers at the concluding plenary, in addition to the prime minister, are Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim, British Secretary of State David Cameron, WEF Geneva President Brørge Brende, and WEF Head of Middle East and North Africa Maroun Kairouz.

Meetings with Saudi ministers of trade, energy, the environment, and agriculture are also scheduled for the third day of the prime minister’s visit. He will probably also meet with his counterpart from Malaysia.

Mohammed bin Salman, the prime minister and crown prince of Saudi Arabia, will be present at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth, and Energy for Development, which gets underway here today.

Latest News

The nomination of Ishaq Dar as deputy prime minister raises concerns.

Published

1 hour ago

Farwa

A lot of doubts have been raised by Ishaq Dar, the foreign minister, being appointed deputy prime minister.

No reference to the Constitution, regulations, or any other law was mentioned in the Cabinet Division’s notification of the appointment.

What powers Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif used to designate Ishaq Dar as deputy prime minister has come under scrutiny in light of this.

There are questions about the legal foundation for the deputy prime minister’s nomination as it appears from the notification’s phrasing that rules for the position have not yet been established, according to insiders.

Likewise, the announcement is vague about the deputy prime minister’s proposed authority.

Deputy prime minister would be purely symbolic, according to government sources, and would not be authorized to carry out prime ministerial duties. In Pakistan, the deputy prime minister has previously been nominated.

The PPP administration appointed Chaudhry Parvez Elahi as deputy prime minister.

Observe that Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar was appointed deputy prime minister on Sunday with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s consent; the Cabinet Division formally announced the appointment.

Dar holds the position of Pakistan’s fourth deputy prime minister. Previous appointments to the position of deputy prime ministers included Parvez Elahi, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and Begum Nusrat Bhutto.

Latest News

Audio leaks case: FIA, PTA, and PEMRA pleas seeking Justice Sattar’s recusal dismissed

Published

1 hour ago

Farwa

The Islamabad High Court fined each of the three government departments Rs. 500,000 on Monday after dismissing their arguments against a bench trial over audio leaks.

The court may also hold the heads of the aforementioned departments—the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)—culpable for contempt.

In the audio leak case, four government agencies—the PEMRA, PTA, FIA, and Intelligence Bureau—filed separate petitions with the IHC, pleading for Justice Babar Sattar’s recusal and asking for the case to be heard by the same bench that has previously decided a case of a similar nature.

The petitioners contended that in order to prevent a different ruling, Justice Babar Sattar should recuse himself from the case that was decided in 2021. The petitions of Bushra Bibi, the wife of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan, and Najamul Saqib, the son of former chief justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar, should also be brought before the same bench.

During the current hearing, Justice Sattar also issued a summons to IB Joint Director General Tariq Mehmood, directing him to come before the court for the case’s subsequent hearing.

Following the issue’s discovery in 2023, the judge has been considering the aforementioned petitions.

The government agencies contended in the petitions in the case before Justice Sattar that Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani had already resolved an analogous issue in 2021. Thus, in order to prevent a conflicting ruling and for the sake of justice, they asked the judge to recuse herself from the case.

The departments are requesting that Justice Sattar recuse himself after six IHC judges—among them, himself—complained in writing to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) about intelligence agencies interfering with the court’s decision.

On March 25, the judges called for the calling of a judicial convention to address the issue of purported meddling by intelligence agents in the judicial activities or “intimidation” of judges in a way that jeopardised the judiciary’s independence.