ISLAMABAD: A former Pakistani beauty queen lost her life in a tragic road accident earlier this month after her car hit a curb and flipped over into oncoming traffic in Maryland.
Zanib Naveed, 32, was born in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore but lived in Pomona, New York. She was crowned Miss Pakistan World in 2012 in Toronto, Canada.
According to The Washington Post, the accident took place on December 2 at “11:40 p.m. on the ICC, also known as Route 200, near Route 1 in the College Park area.”
Naveed, who was driving a 2018 Mercedes-Benz CL2, was the only person in the vehicle. She was “ejected in the crash” and “pronounced dead at the scene.”
She attended Pace University in New York City.
Her friends created a GoFundMe page after her tragic death to help the bereaved family.
“She had a smile that could light up a room, a powerful personality, captivating eyes, a voice that demanded attention and beauty like no other,” read the inscription on the page.
Former Pakistan beauty queen dies in Maryland car crash
Former Pakistan beauty queen dies in Maryland car crash
- Zanib Naveed was born in Lahore but lived in Pomona, New York
- She was pronounced dead at the scene after her car hit a curb and flipped over
UN torture expert decries Pakistan ex-PM Khan’s detention
- Khan’s party alleges government is holding him in solitary confinement, barring prison visits
- Pakistan’s government rejects allegations former premier is being denied basic rights in prison
GENEVA: Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan is being held in conditions that could amount to torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on torture warned Friday.
Alice Jill Edwards urged Pakistan to take immediate and effective action to address reports of the 73-year-old’s inhumane and undignified detention conditions.
“I call on Pakistani authorities to ensure that Khan’s conditions of detention fully comply with international norms and standards,” Edwards said in a statement.
“Since his transfer to Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on September 26, 2023, Imran Khan has reportedly been held for excessive periods in solitary confinement, confined for 23 hours a day in his cell, and with highly restricted access to the outside world,” she said.
“His cell is reportedly under constant camera surveillance.”
Khan an all-rounder who captained Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup, upended Pakistani politics by becoming the prime minister in 2018.
Edwards said prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement is prohibited under international human rights law and constitutes a form of psychological torture when it lasts longer than 15 days.
“Khan’s solitary confinement should be lifted without delay. Not only is it an unlawful measure, extended isolation can bring about very harmful consequences for his physical and mental health,” she said.
UN special rapporteurs are independent experts mandated by the Human Rights Council. They do not, therefore, speak for the United Nations itself.
Initially a strong backer of the country’s powerful military leadership, Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in 2022, and has since been jailed on a slew of corruption charges that he denies.
He has accused the military of orchestrating his downfall and pursuing his Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and its allies.
Khan’s supporters say he is being denied prison visits from lawyers and family after a fiery social media post this month accusing army leader Field Marshal Asim Munir of persecuting him.
According to information Edwards has received, visits from Khan’s lawyers and relatives are frequently interrupted or ended prematurely, while he is held in a small cell lacking natural light and adequate ventilation.
“Anyone deprived of liberty must be treated with humanity and dignity,” the UN expert said.
“Detention conditions must reflect the individual’s age and health situation, including appropriate sleeping arrangements, climatic protection, adequate space, lighting, heating, and ventilation.”
Edwards has raised Khan’s situation with the Pakistani government.
