Six months later
Reported in Jang (January 3, 2016) Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz’s son in law returned home six months after he had disappeared from Lahore. He declined (maazrat kar lee) to say where he had been and what happened to him.
Flight stops over, crew goes home
Nawa-e-Waqt reports (January 3, 2016) a PIA flight from Jeddah to Sialkot – which had been delayed by six and a half hours – was landed in Karachi because of bad weather, but the pilot left the plane and went home saying his duty time was over. The crew turned off the air conditioner and went home too (ghar ki rah lee). The passengers began to suffocate (haalat ghair) and protested against the airline.
Political rivals steal woman’s cat
A woman belonging to the PTI has registered a case against PML-N workers in her neighborhood alleging they stole her cat, Jang reports (January 4, 2015). She said her pet was worth Rs 200,000 and she was close to it. The police had initially declined to register a case, but she went to court.
Meera asks for a panda
According to Dunya (January 4, 2016) film star Meera has requested the Wildlife Department to give her a panda cub for adoption. She said in her application that she would create a natural habitat (jungle ka mahol) for the animal.
Most emergency calls in Karachi were pranks
Of the 4,105,447 telephone calls made to the police emergency helpline (15) in Karachi in 2015, 3,522,434 were prank calls (tahfreehan ki gayee), Nawa-e-Waqt reports (January 5, 2016).
Real fight at wrestling trials
Reported in Nai Baat (January 6, 2016) wrestlers of the Pakistani team began to fight each other (gutham gutha) after a quarrel broke out during the trials for SAF games in Islamabad. The administration tried to intervene (beech bachao) but to no avail.
A heart that loves is always young
Express reports (January 7, 2016) a 70-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman, who had fallen in love when they were young, finally overcame all the hurdles (deewarain girnay kay baad) and got married. The man remained single, and the woman got divorced a year after she was married. The bride and the groom danced at the wedding.
Sikh soldier joins Wagah team
Reported in Nawa-e-Waqt (January 8, 2016) the Pakistan Rangers squad at the Wagah border with India now includes a Sikh soldier. Indian citizens enjoyed watching him participate in the flag lowering ceremony for the first time. The man looked very handsome in uniform (wardi khoob jachti nazar aye).
Vegas policewoman marries Pakistani Facebook sweetheart
According to Nawa-e-Waqt (January 8, 2016) an American policewoman from Las Vegas arrived in Pakistan, converted to Islam, and married a boy from Shangla who she had fallen in love with over Facebook. The wedding took place in Islamabad.
Shoes stolen at high-security mosque
Reported in Dunya (January 9, 2016) the shoes of three top industrialists of Lahore were stolen while they were praying in the mosque adjacent to the Racecourse police station. The suit-clad men – who had come to the locality for a Chamber of Commerce meeting – were seen helplessly (baybassi kay aalam main) looking for their shoes, which were worth about Rs 250,000. A number of police officers were also paying at the mosque. The theft revealed the inadequacy of security measures (bhanda phorr diya). The traders announced a cash prize for bringing back their shoes.