Open SIM SIM!
According to Jang (February 1, 2016) more than half of the emergency-alert cellphone SIMs given to schools in Punjab are not operational. The SIMs were to be used for an android-based application to alert the police in case of a terrorist attack. Of the 200,000 SIMS, only 96,000 are working.
Three arrested for posing with guns
Reported in Dunya (February 1, 2016) Gujranwala police arrested three men for posing with weapons on social media. Their guns have been impounded.
Traffic police officer fined for jumping red light
A senior traffic police officer was fined for violating a traffic signal in Peshawar, Nawa-e-Waqt reports (February 2, 2016). He paid the fine and also gave a cash reward of Rs 2,000 to the traffic warden. He said the offence was deliberate, to test the traffic warden, who turned out to be dutiful and polite.
Fashion show in sewage water
Reported in Express (February 4, 2016) a trader in Karachi organized a fashion show in sewage water that had submerged a road. Local residents and traders did a cat walk in the dirty water. The winners were crowned and given gifts.
Khurshid Shah’s unanswered letters
Mashriq reports (February 4, 2016) Khurshid Shah, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, has written 37 letters to the prime minister since he took office in 2013. The prime minister has only responded to four of them.
Angry Jamshed Dasti locked up in a shop
Police locked lawmaker Jamshed Dasti inside a shop for two hours after alleged verbal abuse by the famous MNA, Express reports (February 5, 2016). He was leading a protest of traders and shopkeepers against the town administration in Muzaffargarh, who were carrying out an operation against the illegal occupation of public land.
Dead on arrival
Reported in Jang (February 5, 2016) the Livestock Department seized a poultry vehicle trying to enter Lahore with 6,500 dead birds. The meet was to be sold in the provincial capital.
‘Pretty’ girl caught distributing extremist handbills
According to Dunya (February 6, 2016) a beautiful (khoobru) girl was arrested for distributing inciting religious literature in Punjab University. The police did not her go saying she did not violate any laws.
School guards in Buner told to be on duty 24 hours a day
After a group of watchmen employed by schools in Buner were trained to fire guns by the police, they were also given an order to be on duty outside their schools 24 hours a day (Express, February 6, 2016). They held a protest saying the order was against fundamental human rights, and demanded hiring more guards and deploying police outside schools at night. The police said they could not guard every single school in the district.
MNA loses electricity for not paying bills
Reported in Nawa-e-Waqt (February 7, 2016) power supply to the house of a famous PML-N lawmaker was disconnected because he did not pay his bills. He owed Rs 4 million to the Lahore Electric Supply Company, which left a team at the scene to ensure he does not reconnect it.