Latest news with #Saima
Express Tribune
13-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Heatwave fuels surge in air cooler sales
The scorching heatwave gripping the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi has led to a significant spike in sales of air coolers, with retailers reporting a surge in demand over the past few weeks. As temperatures soared, residents of the twin cities flocked to markets to beat the heat, resulting in a substantial increase in air cooler sales. Retailers estimate that sales have risen by up to 50% compared to the same period last year. Retailers were optimistic about continued sales, with some offering discounts and promotions to attract more customers. Saqib, a retailer in Islamabad's F-7 market said they were offering a 10% discount on all air cooler models, and also providing free installation". "We have never seen such a high demand for air coolers in the past saying that the heatwave has been relentless, and people are willing to invest in anything that can provide relief from the heat,"he stated. He added as the heatwave shows no signs of abating, residents of the twin cities were likely to continue relying on air coolers to beat the heat adding that with demand expected to remain high, they were gearing up to meet the needs of their customers. A retailer at a popular electronics market in Rawalpindi said "Summer months see a massive surge in air cooler sales, fuelled by growing demand. We see a surge in sales of air coolers from April to September, with peak demand in June and July." He said prices of air coolers range from Rs15,000 to Rs50,000, depending on the brand, model, and features. They offer a range of air coolers, from basic models starting at Rs15,000 to high-end models with advanced features like inverter technology and honeycomb cooling pads, which cost up to Rs40,000, he added. "They are seeing a trend towards DC-powered air coolers, which are more energy-efficient and cost-effective in the long run," he said. The increased demand has also led to a shortage of certain models, with some retailers struggling to keep up with orders, he said. Saima, a resident of Rawalpindi said "I bought an air cooler for my bedroom, and it's been a lifesaver as the heat was unbearable, and I couldn't sleep without it." She said she was hesitant to spend money on an air cooler, but the heatwave has been so severe that she had to invest in one. "It's worth every penny." She said "as a middle-class family, air conditioners are out of their budget, so air coolers are a good alternative for them." As the heatwave continues to grip the twin cities, it is likely that the demand for air coolers will remain high, providing a much-needed respite for residents seeking relief from the sweltering temperatures.
Time of India
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Uncertainty and distress for Pakistan nationals at Attari border after exit deadline
Attari: A day after the April 29 deadline for Pakistani nationals residing in India on short-term visas to exit via the Attari-Wagah border , scenes of distress and uncertainty unfolded at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) here. Unconfirmed reports suggest that immigration authorities might be permitting the return of Pakistani women from Jammu and Kashmir, some accompanied by infants, as the situation continued to evolve with no official statement from the authorities. According to sources, at least five Pakistani women, accompanied by infants just a few days to a few months old, were brought to the ICP from Jammu and Kashmir and pleaded with immigration officials not to be separated from their children. While it was claimed that the infants also held valid emergency permits to cross the border, so they were allowed to cross over to Pakistan with their mothers. At approximately 6 pm, a few burqa-clad women were seen exiting the ICP, but they declined to speak to the media. "These women lacked any valid travel documents, so they were not permitted to cross into Pakistan and were sent back," said sources. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like These Are The Most Beautiful Women In The World Undo Official confirmation of these events could not be obtained, as no immigration authority was willing to comment on record. In another tragic development, sources informed that a 68-year-old Pakistani national Abdul Wahid who also arrived from Jammu and Kashmir for crossing over to Pakistan collapsed due to a medical condition and was taken to a hospital, where he later passed away. Meanwhile, several families continue to be caught in the uncertainty following the April 29 directive. Muhammad Ibrahim, a Delhi resident, arrived at Attari to receive his two children who returned from Pakistan. His wife, Saima, a Pakistani national from Lahore, travelled to Pakistan on a three-month visa and overstayed due to the sudden death of her brother. As per the govt order issued after the Pahalgam attack, their children, holding Indian passports, were instructed to return, but Saima now needs to reapply for a visa due to her expired documentation. "We've been married for 18 years, and this situation was completely unexpected," said Ibrahim, echoing the emotional strain felt by many cross-border families. Samreen, another Pakistani national, also shared her ordeal. Having arrived in India in Sept 2024 on a 45-day visa, she later married an Indian national and applied for a long-term visa (LTV), which remains under process. "I applied for an LTV, but after the Pahalgam incident, I was suddenly asked to return. What is my fault? Why are we being punished?" she asked tearfully. In Baramulla, Ghulam Masood, who has been married for four decades, recounted how, on April 28 police visited his home and instructed both his wife and daughter-in-law —Pakistani nationals — to return to Pakistan. "This has never happened before. It feels like our lives have been turned upside down overnight," he said. Clearance of Pakistani nationals at the ICP Attari was still ongoing at the time of filing this report, as uncertainty and anguish loomed over the families affected by the sudden enforcement of exit orders. MSID:: 120766991 413 |
Express Tribune
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Converted Muslim woman alleges forceful reconversion
A newly converted Muslim girl, Saima, along with her husband Saddam and workers of political and religious parties staged a sit-in protest at the main gate of the SSP Tharparkar office. Saima alleged that she had converted to Islam a few weeks ago, but was tricked out of her home in Mithi, kidnapped, and taken to Karachi, where an attempt was made to forcefully convert her back to Hinduism. She alleged that the Vice Chairperson of the Municipal Committee Mithi, Sumitra Devi, Ashok Kumar Meghwar, her father, and two cousins ??were involved in the incident. She claims that she escaped, returned to her husband, and went to Mithi police station to register a case against the kidnappers, however the SHO Mithi police station left, after which she first staged a sit-in at the gate of Mithi police station and then at the office of SSP Tharparkar. Saima demanded protection and for a case to be registered against the involved persons. SHO Qadir Bakhsh Behrani informed the protesters that SSP Tharparkar, Adil Memon, has directed an inquiry into the case under the supervision of DSP Mithi, Majid Qaimkhani, after which a case will be registered against the people involved. The SHO assured Saima that she would be protected, and the protest was ended.
Express Tribune
20-03-2025
- Express Tribune
Ex-commissioner's daughter 'assaults air hostess'
An ugly display of power occurred during a flight on Tuesday when the daughter of former Quetta Commissioner Iftikhar Jogezai allegedly assaulted and injured a flight attendant following a verbal altercation on a private airline flight from Quetta to Islamabad. However, visuals of the assault surfaced a day later on Wednesday. According to reports, the incident occurred on a Quetta-Islamabad-bound flight where Iftikhar and his daughter, Saima Jogezai, were traveling. Earlier, both the father and daughter had also misbehaved with the airline staff during check-in at Quetta Airport. Their unruly behavior continued onboard, where they reportedly used inappropriate language and caused a disturbance. According to reports, Saima became agitated after the cabin crew asked her to fasten her seatbelt before takeoff and started verbally abusing the crew. The flight crew alerted the captain, who, in view of the escalating situation, requested airport security force (ASF) to intervene. Considering the passengers' safety, the captain decided to offload both father and daughter. However, Saima refused to disembark. In a fit of rage, Saima allegedly punched a female flight attendant, causing her nose to bleed and breaking one of her teeth. Following the assault, the ASF personnel detained both the father and the daughter.
Express Tribune
20-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Revamping patriarchy
We may be well into 2025 by now with Aurat March just around the corner, but Pakistani men – and a generous portion of their devoted sidekick Pakistani women – will be pleased to know that patriarchy continues to thrive in full bloom with no signs of shrivelling away just yet. As a refresher, let us sit back and remind ourselves of actor Saima Qureshi's latest pearls of wisdom. For those who missed her highlights on the FHM podcast last week, the DuniyaPur actor wants you to know that a woman's earnings do not hold the same weight as a man's. Saima is of the view that a real woman would never turn a blind eye to her housekeeping and mothering duties in exchange for a job – although if she does, whatever paltry amount she brings home is denied the divine blessings automatically attached to the salary procured by the token male in her life. How little should we care? If you are the shameless career woman Saima has described, please do not feel too bad. Despite her disapprobation, somewhere out there will be someone in your vast social network – man, woman, it doesn't matter – who will congratulate you for finding something to keep 'busy' with your little job, much in the same way restaurants hand out colouring pencils to a toddler to keep them "busy". However, if you, a 'working woman', continue to be haunted by Saima's words, you can console yourself with the knowledge that you are not sinning alone. Despite Saima's censure, we continue to exist in a world infested with 'lady doctors' (always a popular choice when one is on the hunt for a gynaecologist or obstetrician), 'lady police officers' and the perennial butt of hilarious jokes, 'lady drivers'. The eagle-eyed amongst you will have picked up that Saima has actually not given us her strictures on women who take the wheel, but she does not have to. Even without her to enlighten us, we already have enough jokes about women who drive to fill several encyclopaedias. If by some miracle you have made it this far in life without having been treated to a single woman-driver joke, you will have inescapably found yourself sitting next to a man behind the wheel tutting at an irritating car ahead of him and spitting out the immortal words, "Bet it's an aunty." You do not need to be either a sociologist or a mathematician to appreciate that if this tutting man is on a Karachi road, he is not only a misogynist, but is also statistically inaccurate and should probably refrain from making such careless bets. Lady doctors and lady police officers may have begun to creep up in number, but devil-may-care weaving buses and rickshaws continue to be under the sole domain of the men. Just why they are spared an irritable tut and disparaging comment from expert 'men drivers' is a mystery. Not just in Pakistan It would be unfair to let Pakistani men and their faithful mouthpiece Saima hog all the glory for keeping patriarchy in full bloom, because this old-as-time social phenomenon exists on a universal level. Your average Western Caucasian woman may not have to battle with in-laws who mandate she devote 200 per cent of her holidays at their home (although they may generously allow her a half-hour visit to her family one afternoon), but she has her own patriarchal headaches to deal with. Let us once more head back to our irritated man gritting his teeth at the 'aunty' making his life hell on the road. The flipside to this argument is that if this tutting man is teleported out of Karachi suddenly finds himself on a London road during the morning school rush, his "Bet's it's an aunty" statement will no longer be a statistical error, because London school runs are the almost exclusive haunt of mothers, regardless of whether or not they have paid careers. Here in the land of supposed equality, far from the tentacles of brash in-your-face Pakistani patriarchy exists a more subtle, gentle version of this global social construct. Regardless of whether or not they are 'working mothers' (if you must know, we crown them 'working' because their counterpart stay-at-home mothers perch on the sofa admiring their nails, do laundry by magic and and conjure meals out of thin air) continue to single-handedly carry the mental load of child rearing. Whether it is tracking down lost water bottles, forever replenishing the stock of vanishing glue sticks or knowing their child's teacher's name, it continues to fall to the woman's job description to be the default parent. When her child falls inconveniently ill on a Tuesday morning, it is she who cancels her meetings – although in the interest of balance, we must acknowledge that sometimes, a father – or 'working father', if we are to remain consistent with our labelling – may deign to 'babysit' his own child in order for the mother to make up for lost time during that ill-timed chest infection. Babysitting aside, working fathers are too high up their careers to generally care about water bottle blackholes and errant glue sticks. For men who worry this a harsh, needless assault on salt-of-the-earth fathers who know all about where water bottles go, take heart: expert women drivers have long since been tainted by association all because a man once got stuck for five seconds on a road behind a vertically challenged woman squinting over the top of the steering wheel not daring to overtake that bus. You are not alone. Holding up a mirror To all the women wishing they could somehow find the time in their busy schedules to flip the script on patriarchy, there is hope up yonder. In the trenches of Facebook lies an anonymous account going only by the name of Man Who Has It All, and it is dedicated to reclaiming and reversing language so women can finally understand why men are so reluctant to give up their hold on patriarchy. "I am a very inclusive person and I like to stay informed," reads one post. "I am proud to say we now have 2 male non-executive members on board. They bring so much lived experience. It's wonderful!" Prepared to offer an in-depth exercise labelling men the way we are so keen to do women, this anonymous author will release their satirical book Flipping Patriarchy: Imagining a gender-swapped world, available as both an e-book and paperback from March 13 onwards. Buy it out of your sans-blessings salary if you must. Because if the Facebook posts are any indication, this promises to be the book to reclaim your dignity for every supercilious side-eye every mechanic has ever given you, for every time a doctor has talked over you to your husband or brother, and most of all, for every single male driver who has blared his horn before before zooming past you like a rocket.
