Pakistan

Pakistan joins hands with PETA to eliminate animal cruelty

Published

8 months ago

Farwa

PETA, Salman Sufi discuss reforms that would shift how animals are treated in Pakistan.
Meeting discusses implementation of education programme for children, adults understand care for animals.
Discussions include helping universities switch to using superior […] non-animal simulation models for veterinary education.

ISLAMABAD: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) President Ingrid Newkirk and the head of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Strategic Reforms Unit Salman Sufi have discussed potential groundbreaking reforms that would shift how animals are treated in the country.

The discussions included helping universities throughout Pakistan switch to using superior, ethical, economical, non-animal simulation models for veterinary education in order to replace the cruel kidnapping and killing of dogs and other animals for training.

The meeting discussed the implementation of an education programme to help children and adults better understand how to share the world with and care for animals.

It was also discussed how to assist with repatriation efforts for non-native species of animals who have been cruelly trafficked into Pakistan to be kept as household pets or whose skins or other body parts would be used as decorations.

The meeting followed PETA’s recent calls for Pakistani officials to ban horrific veterinary training exercises on abducted dogs. Shortly afterwards, Sufi announced PM Shehbaz’s landmark measures prohibiting the use of live animals in such training in Islamabad and surrounding regions.

Alongside Newkirk were other PETA staff that attended the meeting including Vice President of International Laboratory Methods Shalin Gala and Chief of Science Advancement and Outreach Dr Katherine Roe.

“From trafficked wildlife to kidnapped dogs in veterinary laboratories, animals across Pakistan will benefit as a result of this historic meeting,” said Gala.

“PETA is pleased to be working with a visionary leader like Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the head of his reforms unit, Salman Sufi, and we look forward to a long and productive collaboration that will benefit animals, advance human health, and boost Pakistan’s status on the world stage.”

PETA will next send information to Sufi for the premier’s consideration in implementing other reforms including replacing the use of animals in medical training, classroom dissection exercises, and biomedical research with superior, state-of-the-art methods as well as setting up a national non-animal research methods database and working to implement PETA’s Research Modernisation Deal.

Pakistan

Ramadan 2023: Sindh revises school, college timings

Published

16 hours ago

Farwa

The Sindh School Education and Literacy Department on Monday announced the revised timings for all the educational institutions in the province during the holy month of Ramadan.

All the government and private schools in Sindh will now start at 7:30am and continue till 12pm (noon) from Monday to Thursday and on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the school timings on Friday will be from 7:30am to 11am.

Office timings

On Monday, the federal government also notified timings for public offices during the holy month.

In a notification, the Establishment Division said the public offices coming under the ambit of the federal government would operate from 7:30am to 1:30pm from Monday to Thursday.

Moreover, the public offices coming under the ambit of the federal government would operate from 7:30am to 12:00pm on Fridays.

First Ramadan expected on March 23

Meanwhile, The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) forecast that there is a strong possibility that the crescent for Ramadan 2023 will be sighted on the evening of March 22 (Wednesday).

The update was shared by the Met department’s Climate Data Processing Centre. This means the first of Ramadan is likely to fall on Thursday, March 23 in Pakistan.

Pakistan

Cleric shot dead in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar

Published

16 hours ago

Farwa

A cleric was shot dead in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar on Tuesday after morning prayers.

According to police, Maulana Abdul Qayyum Sufi, was going back home after Fajr prayers in Gulistan-e-Jauhar Block-9 when assailants riding a motorcycle opened fire at him.

The police said that Maulana Abdul Qayyum Sufi was a member of the Pakistan Ulema Association and a prayer leader at Mohammadia Noorani Islamic Centre.

There were no further details available about the incident.

Pakistan

Ramadan 2023: Minimum Nisab set at Rs103,159 for Zakat deduction

Published

17 hours ago

Farwa

The Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety has fixed the Nisab for Zakat deduction for the ongoing year.

According to a notification issued by the ministry, Zakat will be deducted from saving accounts, profit and loss sharing accounts and other similar accounts having a minimum balance of Rs103,159 or above, on the first of Ramadan.

The Nisab was fixed at Rs88,927 in the previous year.

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Under the Zakat and Ushr Ordinance 1980, no Zakat would be deducted in case a bank account has a lesser amount than the value announced by the ministry, added the statement.

“All the Zakat Collection Controlling Agencies (ZCCAs) are requested to deduct the Zakat accordingly,” it said.

The first of Ramadan will likely fall on March 23, this year, subject to the appearance of the moon.

To be liable for Zakat — which is one of the five pillars of Islam — one’s wealth must amount to more than a threshold figure, termed the “Nisab”.

Those who do not want Zakat deduction from their accounts can submit a “Zakat exemption” form to their respective banks.