Author: newsdesk

  • Mobile phone imports in Pakistan drop by nearly 70%

    Mobile phone imports in Pakistan drop by nearly 70%

    According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), Pakistan’s import of mobile phones has decreased by 68.29 per cent during the first eight months of the current fiscal year (2022-23) compared to the same period last year.

    The value of mobile phones imported from July to February (2022-23) was US $447.855 million, whereas it was US $1412.445 million in the corresponding period of the previous year.

    In February 2023, the import of mobile phones decreased by 76.73 per cent compared to February 2022. The imports for February 2023 were valued at US $33.054 million, whereas the exports for February 2022 were US $142.033 million.

    Furthermore, the data shows that the import of mobile phones witnessed a month-on-month decline of 36.39 per cent during February 2023, as compared to January 2023, with imports valued at US $51.960 million.

  • SBP expected to increase interest rates again on IMF insistence

    SBP expected to increase interest rates again on IMF insistence

    The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is reportedly considering increasing the interest rate by 2 per cent during the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in a bid to unlock the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.

    This follows failed negotiations between the Shehbaz Sharif-led government and the IMF, with the latter demanding that Pakistan raise the interest rate by 4 per cent due to its belief that inflation is lower in Pakistan as per the interest rate.

    The SBP had already increased the interest rate by 2 per cent, but now the IMF is reportedly pressuring Islamabad to raise it again by 2 per cent. The MPC is scheduled to meet on April 4 to review the interest rate as per the IMF’s demand.

    According to The News, the SBP has reportedly agreed to raise the interest rate by 2 per cent in accordance with the Fund’s demands. On March 2, the SBP raised the monetary policy rate by 300 basis points to 20 per cent due to a deterioration in inflation outlook and expectations amid recent external and fiscal adjustments.

  • Twitter users, activists condemn Mahira Khan, Anwar Maqsood’s sexist remarks about Maryam Nawaz, Marriyum Aurangzeb

    Social media was enraged yesterday at the comments made by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senator Afnan Ullah Khan who remarked that Mahira Khan had mental health problems and Anwar Maqsood was a drunkard, in a tweet which celebrities and feminist activists slammed as sexist.

    What had prompted this reaction? It was a conversation at a session titled ‘An Evening With Mahira Khan’ held at the Arts Council of Pakistan in Karachi. In a clip that went viral, Mahira Khan was seen commenting about two females fighting and poisoning each other. To which Maqsood responded by saying that these two women were PML-N leaders Marriyum Aurangzeb and Maryam Nawaz.

    “I am restricted from talking about politics, I can’t say anything about anyone. Hopefully the situation will get better soon. What you said about poisoning, abusing each other so I gave an example, it is also happening in real life. Also both are actors, not character actors.”

    Can we condemn the disparaging comment made by the PML-N senator, whose party is currently under the leadership of a woman, and is also the one ruling the country? Absolutely, because how a politician comments about their critics reveals how thin-skinned and shallow-minded they are, especially when the critic is a woman.

    But to completely sideline the fact that Khan, who has been outspoken about gender inequality and the need to improve the way media represents women on screens, especially sitting next to a renowned leftist screen writer, could resort to making sexist jokes about female politicians whose views she doesn’t agree with? Twitter users could not over look this fact, and criticised Khan’s sexist behavior for directly targeting female politicians of the opposite party as a way to score points.

    Feminist activist Leena Ghani mentioned that it was male politicians who are consistently over-emotional, and behave in a horrible manner, but it’s astounding why Khan chose to overlook them and target Aurangzeb and Nawaz

    The Twitter page of Aurat March condemned Khan’s and Maqsood’s comments as ‘cringe’

    Twitter users like journalist Gharidah Farooqi criticised these comments as ‘shameful’:

    Zebunnisa Burki criticised both Khan and Maqsood for making such disgusting comments

    Another user wrote that it wasn’t proper for a woman to mock another woman politician in this manner

  • ‘Check on your loved ones’: Celebrities are praying for followers after magnitude 6.5 earthquake jolts Pakistan

    ‘Check on your loved ones’: Celebrities are praying for followers after magnitude 6.5 earthquake jolts Pakistan

    On Tuesday night, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake jolted Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

    The powerful jolts killed nine while 44 were injured, according to Al-Jazeera.

    Celebrities across Pakistan urged their followers to take necessary precautions to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.

    During an earthquake, please remember to wear proper shoes and exit your home to prevent any injuries from the jolts, and stay on open ground until the situation is safe.

    Actor Saba Qamar sent her prayers and wished for everyone to stay safe:

    Cricket captain Babar Azam urged his followers to take care of their loved ones

    Pakistan cricket player Shaheen Afridi prayed that everyone remained safe during the earthquake

    Actor Mahira Khan wrote on her Instagram stories that she was praying for everyone’s safety.

  • Babar Azam all set to receive Sitara e Imtiaz on 23rd March

    Babar Azam all set to receive Sitara e Imtiaz on 23rd March

    Pakistan’s men cricket team captain and top run scorer in the PSL Season 8, Babar Azam, will be awarded the country’s third biggest civilian award Sitara-e-Imtiaz on March 23.

    Babar Azam will be the youngest player to get the coveted award. At just 28 years of age, Babar Azam is the top run scorer in the latest PSL edition with 519 runs and also Pakistan’s top run scorer.
    Previously, former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed held the record as the youngest person to be awarded the prestigious award.

    Sarfaraz, who led Pakistan to the Champions Trophy title in 2017, was given the award by then Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair at the Governor House in Karachi in 2018.

    Last year on August 14, the government announced that it will be conferring Babar with the country’s third-highest civilian honour.

    The star batter will be taking a break from cricket to attend the ceremony, as he will not be participating in the series against Afghanistan, which is scheduled to start on March 24.

    Babar Azam is not the only cricketer to get Sitara-e-Imtiaz, as many more including former captains Misbah ul Haq, Shahid Afridi and Younis Khan have received the award.

    Mohammad Yousuf received the award in 2011, Saeed Ajmal in 2015, Inzamam ul Haq in 2005 and Javed Miandad in 1992.

  • ‘We need more men like him’: Writer behind ‘Mujhe Pyar Hua Tha’ revealed why she wrote Saad as a non-toxic character

    Saad from the drama ‘Mujhe Pyar Hua Tha’ has won the nation’s heart for breaking stereotypes that are associated with the toxic male lead in Pakistani dramas, and being an attentive husband and care giver to the female lead, Maheer (played by Hania Amir).
    Twitter users have praised Wahaj Ali for brilliantly portraying the sensitive and caring Saad, and how at every step he has remained a character who was fearlessly devoted to his wife, and was a dedicated son to his parents.

    The writer behind the iconic drama, Sidra Sahar Imran, gave an interview to Fuchsia magazine where she opened up about the character of Saad, and why she felt that it was important to address the toxic double standards in our society that shame men for showing emotions or for being ‘kind-hearted’:

    “I had observed that often romance novels will depict the girl as the sati savitri who will sacrifice all that she has, but I used to think that men also exist in our society why can’t we depict them the same way?”

    Looking at the feedback Saad’s character was receiving, Imran said that most people were shocked.

    “I can see that mostly people are shocked that a man like Saad is acting this way. Because we are so used to men not being able to tolerate a lot of abuse. Our society cannot understand the fact that men should be sensitive and soft-spoken, since we are used to the standards telling them to be tough and loud. In our male-dominant society, we encourage men that to be a real man, they need to be aggressive and out-spoken to prove their worth. But there are a lot of men like Saad out there and I wanted to write a character like him.”

    Imran also revealed that there was a way she could have catered to these expectations after Maheer and Saad’s marriage, and demonstrate his anger and possessiveness but she refused:

    “I didn’t want my character to act in this manner, after coming a long way. He will not cater to such toxic standards about what a real man is.”

  • Energy ministry announces uninterrupted power supply during sehr, iftar and taraweeh in Ramzan

    Energy ministry announces uninterrupted power supply during sehr, iftar and taraweeh in Ramzan

    The Ministry of Energy announced on Wednesday that no loadshedding will take place during sehr, iftar and taraweeh in the holy month of Ramzan, in accordance with the instructions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

    The Prime Minister has directed for an uninterrupted supply of electricity during Ramzan, and the ministry has subsequently issued directives to power distribution companies to ensure this.

    The ministry has requested that DISCOS ensure the supply of electricity during sehr, iftar, and taraweeh, with zero load management an hour before and after sehr, and one hour before iftar and three hours after.

    According to Geo, control rooms will be established at the operation circle level to guarantee an uninterrupted supply of power. Additionally, special teams have been formed to address grievances at division and sub-division levels.

    In the event of transformer failure, additional transformers and trolleys will be made available. Today (Wednesday), the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee will convene in Peshawar for the sighting of the Ramzan ul Mubarak 1444 AH moon.

  • What was happening when the earthquake came in Pakistan?

    What was happening when the earthquake came in Pakistan?

    A powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake jolted parts of Pakistan on Tuesday night.

    The epicentre of the earthquake was Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush region, while its depth was 180 kilometres, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD).

    According to reports, tremors were felt in Islamabad, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Lahore, DI Khan, Swabi, Bahawalpur, Quetta, Parachinar, Skardu and other cities of the country. 

    The tremors continued for 30 seconds, and people came out of their homes in panic.

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif ordered the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and other institutions to be ready to deal with any emergency.

    Below are scenes as to what was happening in different parts of the country when the earthquake came in Pakistan.

  • A couple got married during Taylor Swift’s concert

    Taylor Swift being the icon and queen she is, has curated a safe space in her concerts for everyone to dance and cry to her music, and now it is even permissible to get married during her shows.

    A clip of one of her concerts held in Glendale on March 18 went viral on social media. A couple were seen getting married during the ‘Seven’ spoken version.

    Speaking to Rolling Stone, the bride René Hurtado revealed the reason why she and her husband, Max Bochman, had chosen to get married during Swift’s concert:

    “It was really thrilling and exciting. I’m so glad that we did it. It was really special, and the timing during the concert was so beautiful.”

    On the reason why they chose to recite their wedding vows during “Seven”, Hurtado revealed that it was quite a significant song for them:

    “We pretty much had the best seat in the house, she added. “It was a really wonderful experience. Our section was so supportive and sweet to us when they saw what we were doing.”

    Since the past two days, Taylor’s concerts have featured all kinds of spectacular moments which only prove that she is breaking global records of the most highly rated tour anyone has ever witnessed.

    At the first concert, which was held in Glendale on 17th March, during the performance of Love Story, a couple went viral for getting engaged during the iconic bridge of the song.

    Another moment showed a guest service employee dancing to ‘Blank Space’ along with the rest of the audience.

    Us international Swifties can just sob into our pillows while watching livestreams, witnessing a powerful singer inspire other people to live their best moments in these wholesome ways.

  • Khan agrees to sit with rivals for ‘greater national consensus’

    Khan agrees to sit with rivals for ‘greater national consensus’

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has agreed to sit with rival political parties for “greater national consensus” on elections.

    To try and defuse political tensions in the country, a delegation of civil society members called on the former prime minister on Tuesday evening. Calling themselves “mediators”, the group convinced Khan to agree to talks.

    Speaking about the matter, PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry said, “The civil society has spoken to Imran Khan and he has agreed to be part of the multi-party conference (MPC) to develop a consensus on the elections date and the process that leads to polls.”

    Speaking with Dawn, an individual who was part of the meeting said, “The civil society initiative and its acceptance by Imran Khan has come after some of the [party] leaders realised that the current confrontational strategy had the former ruling party in a bind.”

     “We are ready to talk to everyone for elections. We are peaceful people, with only one demand: hold elections,” said Pervaiz Khattak, former defence minister.

    The Pakistan Bar Council has agreed to host the MPC if “major political parties respond to this call”.