By Aamna Mahboob LAHORE: Mehar Mohammad Khalil’s job was to drive buses. Today he is being hailed as a lifesaver after he drove the bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricketers to safety, through a hail of gunfire on Tuesday.Khalil, the bus driver who saved the lives of the Sri Lankan cricket team during the terror attack is now considered a big hero in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Khalil kept a cool head and drove the bus to safety when it came under gunfire, grenade and rocket attack from terrorists. His routine while the visiting team was in Pakistan was to get up at 6 in the morning, and take the team daily from the hotel to the stadium. He was usually busy with the guest team members, till late at night. The night before the attack he had decided to stay at the hotel instead of going home as he usually did. “The previous morning I decided I would stay in the hotel that night, as I get home late and felt I didn’t get enough sleep as I had to report for duty early in the morning,” Khalil told ...
By Aamna Mahboob With the rapid changes occurring in Sri Lanka the concept of volunteering is undergoing a rapid change and there is increasing pressure on people and communities to seek a direct return for helping others, the UN office in Colombo said at a media briefing on a roundtable discussion on volunteerism ‘Volunteering Everyone’s Business’ which will be held today. The UN further said that now there are new opportunities arising with many businesses recognizing the value of social co-operate responsibility and the government and civil society exploring new ways to involve people and mobilize them to reach out and participate in voluntary work. The UN resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP regional representative, Neil Buhne recalled the voluntary help by Sri Lankans during Tsunami and said that it was beyond region, religion and community. Sri Lankan people help voluntary in emergency times like recent floods and tsunami, he added. The aim of this roundtable is to brin...