Pakistan Affairs

Category: Education

  • Calgary school buses up and running despite weather – Calgary | Globalnews.ca

    After a day of school cancellations due to extreme cold, yellow buses are back in action for Calgary schools. Despite the return of service, families should still prepare for potential delays due to the ongoing cold weather. The Calgary Board of Education has urged parents to dress their children appropriately and not leave them alone at bus stops. For more information and updates on school bus delays, follow my Facebook group.



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  • Teacher stabbed to death by secondary school pupil in France

    [

    A teacher has been stabbed to death in France by a secondary school pupil, according to French authorities and media reports.

    he teenager has been arrested by police, the prosecutor of Bayonne said.

    The attacker has severe mental health issues, a top government official suggested.

    The boy heard voices telling him to kill the 53-year-old, who taught Spanish at the private Catholic school in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, French media said.

    Education Minister Pap Ndiaye will go to the school later on Wednesday.

    French government spokesman Olivier Veran, speaking after a weekly Cabinet meeting, expressed the government’s support for the education community and said the attack represents a trauma for the nation.

    In 2020, teacher Samuel Paty was killed outside his school in suburban Paris by an 18-year-old refugee, of Chechen origin, who was angry at being shown caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in class after the images were republished by a satirical newspaper targeted in a 2015 attack.



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  • China regulators rein in AI chatbots over fears of uncensored replies: report

    [

    Chinese regulators have reportedly told the country’s tech giants not to offer access to AI chatbot ChatGPT over fears the tool will give “uncensored replies” to politically sensitive questions.

    That’s according to a report from Nikkei Asia citing “people with direct knowledge of the matter.” Nikkei says Chinese regulators told tech firms Tencent and Ant Group (a subsidiary of e-commerce giant Alibaba) to not only restrict access to the US-developed ChatGPT, but to also report to officials before launching their own rival chatbots.

    Such a move would fit the Chinese government’s heavy-handed approach to censorship and quick regulatory responses to new tech. Last month, for example, the country introduced new rules regarding the production of “synthetic content” like deepfakes. These rules aim to limit damage to citizens from use-cases like impersonation, but also rein in potential threats to China’s tightly-controlled media environment. Chinese tech giants have already had to censor other AI applications like image generators. One such tool launched by Baidu is unable to generate images of Tiananmen Square, for example.

    China’s tech community is worried that censorship is slowing AI development

    Although ChatGPT is not officially available in China it’s caused a stir among the country’s web users and AI community, members of which have expressed dismay that such technology was not developed first in China. Some have cited the country’s strict tech regulation and zealous censorship as barriers to the creation of these systems. The United States’ success in creating new chatbots relies in part on an abundance of training data scraped from the web and the rapid launch and iteration of new models.

    Nikkei reports that Chinese users have been able to access ChatGPT via VPN services or third-party integrations into messaging apps like WeChat, though WeChat’s developer, Tencent, has reportedly already banned several of these services.

    In social media posts shared earlier this week, China’s biggest English-language newspaper, China Daily warned that ChatGPT could be used to spread Western propaganda.

    “ChatGPT has gone viral in China, but there is growing concern that the artificial intelligence could provide a helping hand to the US government in its spread of disinformation and its manipulation of global narratives for its own geopolitical interests,” said ChinaDaily reporter Meng Zhe.

    In a longer YouTube video from the outlet, another reporter, Xu-Pan Yiyu, asks ChatGPT about Xinjiang. The bot responds by citing “reports of human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims including mass internment in ‘re-education’ camps, forced labor, and other forms of persecution by the Chinese government” — a response that Xu-Pan describes as “perfectly in line with US talking points.”

    Sources in the tech industry told Nikkei that the clampdown by China’s regulators did not come as a surprise. “Our understanding from the beginning is that ChatGPT can never enter China due to issues with censorship, and China will need its own versions of ChatGPT,” one tech executive told the publication.

    Since ChatGPT was launched on the web in November last year, Chinese tech giants including Tencent, Baidu, and Alibaba have announced they’re working on their own rival services. Just today, search giant Baidu said its AI chat service “ERNIE Bot” would soon be integrated into its search services. It’s not clear, though, if such a fast development schedule will continue after regulators have weighed in on the bots’ potential for harm.

    Whatever happens next, Chinese tech giants will find it tricky to navigate such limitations. Restricting the training data for chatbots will hobble their abilities in comparison to Western rivals, and even if their input is tightly controlled, users may still be able to solicit unwanted responses for which the companies will likely be held accountable.

    Controlling the output of these systems is also a challenge for US tech companies. ChatGPT’s creator OpenAI has been criticized by right-wing US commentators for the chatbot’s supposed liberal biases, while some groups, like Christian nationalists, are attempting to create their own systems. Any new chatbots created in China will only add to a growing throng of AI services tuned to fit a variety set of political and cultural beliefs.





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  • ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’: Senior PTI leaders voluntarily surrender to police in Lahore

    [

    Senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders including Asad Umar, Azam Swati, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Omer Sarfraz Cheema on Wednesday voluntary surrendered themselves to the police as part of the ‘Jail Bharo campaign for Haqeeqi Azadi’, reported Aaj News.

    Speaking from inside a police van, Shah Mahmood said “police has arrested me. They have told me that I am under arrest and they asked me to sit in the prisoners’ van. I assumed I would be taken to Capital City Police office but I don’t know where the police is taking me.”

    On the other hand, police has decided to shift PTI leaders to jail.

    Earlier, PTI leaders had reached Lahore’s Charing Cross as the party commenced its campaign. Supporters have taken to the streets in Lahore and it was reported that 200 party workers and around five PTI legislators and leaders plan to voluntarily give their arrest to authorities outside the Punjab Assembly.

    PTI’s official Twitter account tweeted pictures and videos of party leaders converging at Lahore’s Charing Cross.

    In a series of tweets, PTI chairman Imran Khan had earlier said that the movement is a peaceful, nonviolent protest against the attack on the country’s constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights.

    “We are facing sham FIRs and NAB cases, custodial torture, attacks on journalists and social media people,” he tweeted.

    “It is against the economic meltdown brought on by cabal of crooks who have money laundered billions in looted wealth and gotten NROs for themselves while crushing the ppl, especially the poor and middle class, under the burden of spiraling inflation and rising unemployment.”

    In a video message, the chairman had urged people to take to the streets for “true freedom”.

    “This campaign will take you to a free and happy Pakistan. And this will only happen when the state protects your fundamental rights.”

    Earlier, the Punjab government imposed Section 144 on The Mall, Gulberg Main Boulevard as well as outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat and its adjoining roads to prohibit all kinds of assemblies, sit-ins and processions.

    On February 17, Imran Khan had announced to start the movement to protest against the violations of Constitution and press the coalition government to hold elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

    Imran Khan announces Jail Bharo Tehreek from February 22

    Among the PTI leaders, former Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Waleed Iqbal, former Punjab Education Minister Dr Murad Raas, Fawad Bullar and Muhammad Khan Madni are expected to give their arrests.

    However, if the authorities do not arrest the PTI activists, they will stage a sit-in.

    After Lahore, the movement will head to other major cities; as per the schedule, PTI activists will give arrests in Peshawar on February 23, in Rawalpindi on February 24, in Multan on February 25, in Gujranwala on February 26, in Sargodha on February 27, in Sahiwal on February 28 and in Faisalabad on February 29. After this, a new schedule will be given for the movement.

    While talking to the media outside the Imran’s residence, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said that the movement will commence on Wednesday and PTI political activists will give their arrests to the authorities at Faisal Chowk.

    “The movement was being launched to protest against violations of the fundamental rights, abuse of the Constitution, inflation and economic meltdown caused by the incumbent government,” he said.

    Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the PTI’s arrest drive was aimed at creating political instability and a law and order situation in the country. He said “miscreants” will be arrested except for “women and poor workers.”



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  • ‘Jail Bharo’ campaign: Senior PTI leaders voluntarily surrender to police in Lahore

    [

    Senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders including Asad Umar, Azam Swati, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Omer Sarfraz Cheema on Wednesday voluntary surrendered themselves to the police as part of the ‘Jail Bharo campaign for Haqeeqi Azadi’, reported Aaj News.

    Earlier, PTI leaders had reached Lahore’s Charing Cross as the party commenced its campaign. Supporters have taken to the streets in Lahore and it was reported that 200 party workers and around five PTI legislators and leaders plan to voluntarily give their arrest to authorities outside the Punjab Assembly.

    PTI’s official Twitter account tweeted pictures and videos of party leaders converging at Lahore’s Charing Cross.

    In a series of tweets, PTI chairman Imran Khan had earlier said that the movement is a peaceful, nonviolent protest against the attack on the country’s constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights.

    “We are facing sham FIRs and NAB cases, custodial torture, attacks on journalists and social media people,” he tweeted.

    “It is against the economic meltdown brought on by cabal of crooks who have money laundered billions in looted wealth and gotten NROs for themselves while crushing the ppl, especially the poor and middle class, under the burden of spiraling inflation and rising unemployment.”

    In a video message, the chairman had urged people to take to the streets for “true freedom”.

    “This campaign will take you to a free and happy Pakistan. And this will only happen when the state protects your fundamental rights.”

    Earlier, the Punjab government imposed Section 144 on The Mall, Gulberg Main Boulevard as well as outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat and its adjoining roads to prohibit all kinds of assemblies, sit-ins and processions.

    On February 17, Imran Khan had announced to start the movement to protest against the violations of Constitution and press the coalition government to hold elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

    Imran Khan announces Jail Bharo Tehreek from February 22

    Among the PTI leaders, former Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Waleed Iqbal, former Punjab Education Minister Dr Murad Raas, Fawad Bullar and Muhammad Khan Madni are expected to give their arrests.

    However, if the authorities do not arrest the PTI activists, they will stage a sit-in.

    After Lahore, the movement will head to other major cities; as per the schedule, PTI activists will give arrests in Peshawar on February 23, in Rawalpindi on February 24, in Multan on February 25, in Gujranwala on February 26, in Sargodha on February 27, in Sahiwal on February 28 and in Faisalabad on February 29. After this, a new schedule will be given for the movement.

    While talking to the media outside the Imran’s residence, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said that the movement will commence on Wednesday and PTI political activists will give their arrests to the authorities at Faisal Chowk.

    “The movement was being launched to protest against violations of the fundamental rights, abuse of the Constitution, inflation and economic meltdown caused by the incumbent government,” he said.

    Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the PTI’s arrest drive was aimed at creating political instability and a law and order situation in the country. He said “miscreants” will be arrested except for “women and poor workers.”



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  • ‘Jail Bharo’ campaign: Senior PTI leaders voluntary surrender

    [

    Senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders including Asad Umar, Azam Swati, Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Omer Sarfraz Cheema have voluntary surrendered themselves to the police as part of the ‘Jail Bharo campaign for Haqeeqi Azadi’, reported Aaj News.

    Earlier, PTI leaders reached Lahore’s Charing Cross as the party commenced its campaign. Supporters had taken to the streets in Lahore – 200 party workers and around five PTI legislators and leaders plan to voluntarily give their arrest to authorities outside the Punjab Assembly.

    PTI’s official Twitter account tweeted pictures and videos of party leaders converging at Lahore’s Charing Cross.

    In a series of tweets, PTI chairman Imran Khan had earlier said that the movement is a peaceful, nonviolent protest against the attack on the country’s constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights.

    “We are facing sham FIRs and NAB cases, custodial torture, attacks on journalists and social media people,” he tweeted.

    “It is against the economic meltdown brought on by cabal of crooks who have money laundered billions in looted wealth and gotten NROs for themselves while crushing the ppl, especially the poor and middle class, under the burden of spiraling inflation and rising unemployment.”

    In a video message, the chairman had urged people to take to the streets for “true freedom”.

    “This campaign will take you to a free and happy Pakistan. And this will only happen when the state protects your fundamental rights.”

    Earlier, the Punjab government imposed Section 144 on The Mall, Gulberg Main Boulevard as well as outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat and its adjoining roads to prohibit all kinds of assemblies, sit-ins and processions.

    On February 17, Imran Khan had announced to start the movement to protest against the violations of Constitution and press the coalition government to hold elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

    Imran Khan announces Jail Bharo Tehreek from February 22

    Among the PTI leaders, former Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Waleed Iqbal, former Punjab Education Minister Dr Murad Raas, Fawad Bullar and Muhammad Khan Madni are expected to give their arrests.

    However, if the authorities do not arrest the PTI activists, they will stage a sit-in.

    After Lahore, the movement will head to other major cities; as per the schedule, PTI activists will give arrests in Peshawar on February 23, in Rawalpindi on February 24, in Multan on February 25, in Gujranwala on February 26, in Sargodha on February 27, in Sahiwal on February 28 and in Faisalabad on February 29. After this, a new schedule will be given for the movement.

    While talking to the media outside the Imran’s residence, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said that the movement will commence on Wednesday and PTI political activists will give their arrests to the authorities at Faisal Chowk.

    “The movement was being launched to protest against violations of the fundamental rights, abuse of the Constitution, inflation and economic meltdown caused by the incumbent government,” he said.

    Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the PTI’s arrest drive was aimed at creating political instability and a law and order situation in the country. He said “miscreants” will be arrested except for “women and poor workers.”



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  • Pakistan, Russia to assess Kabul’s performance | The Express Tribune

    [


    ISLAMABAD:

    Pakistan and Russia would review progress of the interim Afghan government in fulfilling the commitments made with the international community for forming an inclusive government, and to denying terrorist outfits a space to operate from its soil, official sources said on Sunday.

    The sources, familiar with the development, said that Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto, who is currently undertaking his maiden visit to Moscow, would meet his Russian counterpart, Sargey Lavrov in Moscow on Monday (today) and one of the major issues that would top the agenda would be Afghanistan.

    Bilawal’s first visit to Moscow as the foreign minister comes at a time when Pakistan is concerned over the Afghan Taliban’s failure in controlling the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its affiliates which have stepped up attacks in the country.

    Russia too is worried over the growing footprint of Daesh terrorist group, which poses a threat to Moscow. Russia is also worried over the Afghan Taliban’s recent moves, such as banning female education and resorting to other measures that have raised the spectre of return of hard line Taliban rule of the late 1990s.

    Ahead of the Bilawal-Lavrov meeting, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a tweet that the two top diplomats would discuss the fight against terrorism and a number of regional topics, including the state of affairs in Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine.





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  • Pressure on Kabul | The Express Tribune

    [

    Washington appears to be getting fed up with the Afghan Taliban’s refusal to honour several aspects of the Doha peace deal that led to the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan and opened the door for the militant group to retake control of the country. Chief among the violations is the backtracking on women’s access to education and other human rights issues. US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West made a stop in Pakistan as part of a world tour to convince regional countries to join it in this assessment and find ways to either convince or pressure the Taliban into compliance.

    One unusual break from past precedent is that Pakistani authorities feel even more let down by the Taliban’s betrayal than the US. Despite close ties between the establishment and the Taliban that helped get the Doha deal done, the Taliban have done little to repay Pakistan, as Monday’s terrorist attack in Peshawar shows. Despite the rising TTP activity from across the border, the Afghan Taliban have done little to dissuade the group. Even on Monday, the only reason the Afghans condemned the TTP attack was because it took place at a mosque — meaning if it were some other crowded building, the Taliban would have likely had no objection.

    While the official position in Pakistan remains to give the Taliban a bit of leeway to run their own country, patience has been running thin. Pakistan has in the past attacked TTP positions in Afghan territory because of Kabul’s refusal to cooperate, and it would be unsurprising to see this happen again if the Taliban don’t mend their ways. And even if we are to accept that the Taliban lack the means to establish their writ over the country, outside of the most conservative circles in Pakistan, there was already increasing concern — mirroring the international community — that the Taliban government was abandoning the country’s women and bringing back the kind of repressive regime that had made Afghanistan a pariah state in the 1990s.

    Published in The Express Tribune, February 1st, 2023.

    Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.





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  • \’Jail Bharo\’ campaign commences as PTI leaders converge on Lahore’s Charing Cross

    [

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Asad Umar and Azam Swati reached Lahore’s Charing Cross as the party commenced its \’Jail Bharo campaign for Haqeeqi Azadi\’ on Wednesday.

    PTI supporters took to the streets in Lahore on Wednesday to kick off the ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’. 200 party workers and around five PTI legislators and leaders will voluntarily give their arrest to the authorities outside the Punjab Assembly.

    PTI’s official Twitter account tweeted pictures and videos of party leaders including Swati and Umar converging at Lahore’s Charing Cross.

    In a series of tweets, the PTI chairman had earlier said that the movement is a peaceful, nonviolent protest against the attack on the country\’s constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights.

    \”We are facing sham FIRs and NAB cases, custodial torture, attacks on journalists and social media people,\” he tweeted.

    \”It is against the economic meltdown brought on by cabal of crooks who have money laundered billions in looted wealth and gotten NROs for themselves while crushing the ppl, especially the poor and middle class, under the burden of spiraling inflation and rising unemployment.\”

    In a video message, the chairman had urged people to take to the streets for “true freedom”.

    \”This campaign will take you to a free and happy Pakistan. And this will only happen when the state protects your fundamental rights.\”

    Earlier, the Punjab government imposed Section 144 on The Mall, Gulberg Main Boulevard as well as outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat and its adjoining roads to prohibit all kinds of assemblies, sit-ins and processions.

    On February 17, Imran Khan had announced to start the movement to protest against the violations of Constitution and press the coalition government to hold elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

    Imran Khan announces Jail Bharo Tehreek from February 22

    Among the PTI leaders, former Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Waleed Iqbal, former Punjab Education Minister Dr Murad Raas, Fawad Bullar and Muhammad Khan Madni are expected to give their arrests.

    However, if the authorities do not arrest the PTI activists, they will stage a sit-in.

    After Lahore, the movement will head to other major cities; as per the schedule, PTI activists will give arrests in Peshawar on February 23, in Rawalpindi on February 24, in Multan on February 25, in Gujranwala on February 26, in Sargodha on February 27, in Sahiwal on February 28 and in Faisalabad on February 29. After this, a new schedule will be given for the movement.

    While talking to the media outside the Imran\’s residence, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said that the movement will commence on Wednesday and PTI political activists will give their arrests to the authorities at Faisal Chowk.

    “The movement was being launched to protest against violations of the fundamental rights, abuse of the Constitution, inflation and economic meltdown caused by the incumbent government,” he said.

    Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the PTI’s arrest drive was aimed at creating political instability and a law and order situation in the country. He said \”miscreants\” will be arrested except for \”women and poor workers.\”



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  • \’Jail Bharo\’ campaign commences as PTI leaders converge on Lahore’s Charing Cross

    [

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Asad Umar and Azam Swati reached Lahore’s Charing Cross as the party commenced its \’Jail Bharo campaign for Haqeeqi Azadi\’ on Wednesday.

    PTI supporters took to the streets in Lahore on Wednesday to kick off the ‘Jail Bharo Tehreek’. 200 party workers and around five PTI legislators and leaders will voluntarily give their arrest to the authorities outside the Punjab Assembly.

    PTI’s official Twitter account tweeted pictures and videos of party leaders including Swati and Umar converging at Lahore’s Charing Cross.

    In a series of tweets, the PTI chairman had earlier said that the movement is a peaceful, nonviolent protest against the attack on the country\’s constitutionally-guaranteed fundamental rights.

    \”We are facing sham FIRs and NAB cases, custodial torture, attacks on journalists and social media people,\” he tweeted.

    \”It is against the economic meltdown brought on by cabal of crooks who have money laundered billions in looted wealth and gotten NROs for themselves while crushing the ppl, especially the poor and middle class, under the burden of spiraling inflation and rising unemployment.\”

    In a video message, the chairman had urged people to take to the streets for “true freedom”.

    \”This campaign will take you to a free and happy Pakistan. And this will only happen when the state protects your fundamental rights.\”

    Earlier, the Punjab government imposed Section 144 on The Mall, Gulberg Main Boulevard as well as outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat and its adjoining roads to prohibit all kinds of assemblies, sit-ins and processions.

    On February 17, Imran Khan had announced to start the movement to protest against the violations of Constitution and press the coalition government to hold elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

    Imran Khan announces Jail Bharo Tehreek from February 22

    Among the PTI leaders, former Punjab Governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Waleed Iqbal, former Punjab Education Minister Dr Murad Raas, Fawad Bullar and Muhammad Khan Madni are expected to give their arrests.

    However, if the authorities do not arrest the PTI activists, they will stage a sit-in.

    After Lahore, the movement will head to other major cities; as per the schedule, PTI activists will give arrests in Peshawar on February 23, in Rawalpindi on February 24, in Multan on February 25, in Gujranwala on February 26, in Sargodha on February 27, in Sahiwal on February 28 and in Faisalabad on February 29. After this, a new schedule will be given for the movement.

    While talking to the media outside the Imran\’s residence, PTI Senior Vice President Fawad Chaudhry said that the movement will commence on Wednesday and PTI political activists will give their arrests to the authorities at Faisal Chowk.

    “The movement was being launched to protest against violations of the fundamental rights, abuse of the Constitution, inflation and economic meltdown caused by the incumbent government,” he said.

    Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the PTI’s arrest drive was aimed at creating political instability and a law and order situation in the country. He said \”miscreants\” will be arrested except for \”women and poor workers.\”



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