Author: newsdesk

‘Must watch list’: Most promising dramas set to release in 2023

Be it daily soaps or serials, Pakistani dramas have an enormous viewership around the globe. In 2022, we witnessed blockbuster gems like Parizaad, Mere Humsafar, Hum Tum, and Pinjra, depicting unconventional stories that kept the audiences hooked to their screens.

While 2022 was a good year for Pakistani television, 2023 seems to be even better with a good line-up of projects with some fresh concepts and pairings.

Here’s a list of the year’s most promising serials:

Tumhare Husn Ke Naam

Currently, in its last leg of the shoot, Saba Qamar, Sidra Niazi, and Imran Abbas starrer, THKN has already become the talk of the town, ever since it was announced. The project will touch on themes like jealousy, friendship, and complicated love.

Kuch Ankahi

Although its first episode aired last week, the drama is purported to be a social comedy with a message. Written by Mohammed Ahmed and directed by Nadeem Baig, it is co-produced by Kashf Foundation and Six Sigma Plus. Kuch Ankahi is about family values, women empowerment, and strong female characters. While the cherry on the top is its hit-leading pair. The drama stars Bilal Abbas Khan, Sajal Aly, Mohammed Ahmed, Irsa Ghazal, Mira Sethi, Adnan Samad, Babar Ali, Vaneeza Ahmed and Qudsia Ali.

Main Manto Nahi Hoon

Director Nadeem Baig, superstar Humayun Saeed, and writer Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar will be reuniting for this project after London Nahi Jaunga. Saeed has roped in Maya Ali as his romantic interest in the play. Contrary to the title, the plot is not based on Manto’s life but will have a symbolic representation of the writer in a contemporary narrative, and you won’t regret setting the bar of your expectations high.

Chaand Tara

Celebrity spouses, Danish Taimoor and Ayeza Khan are set to star in a Ramadan 2023 serial, Chaand Tara. The series is set to be directed by Danish Nawaz and written by Saima Akram Chaudhry, the maestro of Ramadan serials. While this is Danish’s first Ramadan play, Ayeza has earlier wowed her fans with comic characters in Chupke Chupke and Chaudhry & Sons.

22 Qadam

This is a project that is being awaited for the longest time, featuring Wahaj Ali as a cricketer, opposite Hareem Farooq, and Kinza Razzak. ’22 Qadam’ is directed by Anjum Shahzad of ‘Pehli Si Mohabbat’.

Serial Killer

Another Saba Qamar starrer, this one is certainly a unique and promising show, which is evident in the title. Saba plays a cop alongside Daniyal Raheal. Serial Killer is written by Umera Ahmed and will hit our screens soon on ‘Green channel’.

Jo Bachay Hain Sang Samait Lo

Ever since Farhat Ishtiaq announced her next novel that is going to have a drama adaptation is JBHSSL, fans and viewers have been speculating a mega blockbuster. Be it Ahad Raza Mir and Mahira Khan’s debut project together or Mohammed Ehteshamuddin’s supposed direction, the project has been in the news for a long.

Seems like Pakistani television has an exciting lineup of star-studded upcoming dramas that will hopefully set new benchmarks of viewership and success in the near future.

January 16, 2023
Export industry is one of the highest priorities of govt: Ishaq Dar

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Ishaq Dar on Monday said that the government will make it easier for all exporters to import the raw materials, components, and accessories they need to meet their demands, including five previously zero-rated export-oriented sectors.

“Export industry is one of the highest priority of our government,” the minister wrote on Twitter.

“Five (previously) zero-rated export-oriented sectors and all other exporters will be given complete facilitation for import of raw material, parts, and accessories to meet their export requirements,” Dar added.

The announcement comes as the country battles a dire foreign exchange crisis and industries, notably exporters, struggle to get their Letters of Credit (LC) issued

At Karachi port, thousands of containers containing raw materials, food items, and medical supplies are stranded due to a shortage of dollars.

Banks are refusing to grant fresh letters of credit for importers due to a shortage of needed dollars, which is undermining an economy already under pressure from high inflation and weak GDP.

January 16, 2023
Elahi gives names for caretaker Punjab CM

Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi on Sunday said that three names for the caretaker CM have been agreed upon after the consultation with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

Elahi revealed the three names – Ahmed Nawaz Sukhera, Naseer Ahmed Khan and Nasir Saeed Khosa- and said that one of the three would be finalised.

“We are sending these names to the [Punjab] governor and if the opposition thinks broadly, the agreement upon the suggested names seems likely,” tweeted Elahi.

عمران خان سے مشاورت کے بعد نگران وزیر اعلی کے لئے تین نام احمد نواز سکھیرا، نصیر احمد خان اور ناصر محمود کھوسہ پر اتفاق کیا گیا ہے۔ ہم یہ تینوں نام نگران وزیر اعلی کیلئے گورنر کو بھجوا رہے ہیں۔ اپوزیشن کھلے دل سے سوچے تو ان میں سے ایک نام پر اتفاق ہوتا ہوا نظر آرہا ہے۔

— Ch Parvez Elahi (@ChParvezElahi) January 16, 2023

Punjab Assembly got dissolved after 48 hours after the governor didn’t sign the summary sent by the former.

Elahi will remain serving as the Punjab CM until the name for the caretaker CM is finalised.

January 16, 2023
PSL-like first women’s league to be held in September

The Women’s League will no longer be a part of the 2019 Pakistan Super League, according to the management committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which is chaired by Najam Sethi.

The first Women’s Super League, which will be conducted as a distinct event from the PSL, has been scheduled for September this year by the PCB.
There will be separate bids for each of the five franchise teams in the women’s league.

World-class female cricketers have already expressed interest in taking part in the PCBs tournament.

Earlier, In October Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had announced the launch of a women’s T20 league modelled along the lines of Pakistan Super League (PSL). The inaugural edition was expected to run alongside PSL 2023.

January 16, 2023
Russian delegation will visit Pakistan tomorrow to discuss long-term oil and gas deal

The much-touted $3 billion Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline (PSGP) project, as well as a long-term trade agreement for oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), will be the topics of bilateral negotiations between Pakistan and a Russian delegation that will arrive tomorrow.

The team, which consists of 80 personnel, will land in Pakistan on Tuesday for three days of bilateral discussions through the Inter-Governmental Commission forum (IGC).

For the IGC negotiations, the Pakistani delegation will be led by Federal Minister Sardar Ayaz Sadiq. Both states must first negotiate the IGA (inter-governmental agreement), which was finalised and signed in the case of the Pakistan Stream Gas Pipeline Project (PSGP), formerly known as the North-South Gas pipeline project, in order to import Russian oil and LNG on a GtG basis.

According to The News, the shareholding and facilitation agreement for PSGP was still in draught form on February 24, 2022, when former prime minister Imran Khan travelled to Moscow. Both parties wanted to sign the PSGP agreement during the Imran and Putin meeting, but it was not able to be done since the experts from both sides could not agree on several terms of the shareholding agreement.

Currently, the G7 nations have capped the price of Russian crude oil at $60 per barrel and forbade the use of Russian ships to carry oil. In exchange, Moscow promised to stop selling oil to nations who agree to a Western price restriction on its petroleum.

The Pakistani side will talk about the shipment costs, the premium by the shipping trader, the insurance coverage, and the payment options.

Agribusiness, energy, customs, industry, education, research and technology, information and communication technologies, communication, roads and postal service, railroads, and finance are all included in the IGC’s agenda as areas for cooperation in trade and investments. Additionally, Pakistan’s debt to Russia will be settled and discussed.

The potential for cooperation in the areas of electric power, hydropower, renewable energy sources, and oil and petrol production will also be discussed by the two sides.

In their response, the Pakistani team proposed to change the model of the PSGP project. The Russian side said that the model of the project under GtG (government-to-government) arrangement had already been settled, save for some clauses of the shareholding agreement, which would soon be finalized.

January 16, 2023
Earthquake of magnitude 6.0 strikes Indonesia’s Sumatra

A 6.0-magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of Indonesia’s Sumatra island early Monday, the US Geological Survey has reported.

The seismic activity occurred around 6:30 am local time (2330 GMT). There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage. In addition, no tsunami alert was issued.

“The earthquake caused people to panic. It was felt between 3-10 seconds in four districts in Aceh and North Sumatra province,” Abdul Muhari, a spokesman for the BNPB disaster mitigation agency, said in a statement.

Earlier on 10 January, a powerful deep-sea earthquake of 7.6 magnitude had damaged village buildings in a lightly populated island chain in eastern Indonesia and was widely felt in northern Australia.

January 16, 2023
Prince Harry breaks silence about the deleted content from his tell-all memoir

On Tuesday, 10 January 2023 Prince Harry finally released his much-talked-about tell-all memoir titled Spare. The memoir not only offers details about the Duke of Sussex’s childhood, but it also includes vivid and controversial details about his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales and her death, his relationship with his brother, Prince William, and his father, King Charles III. In fact, the memoir also makes serious revelations about his controversial courtship and marriage to the American actress Meghan Markle and inside details on how and why the royal couple stepped back from their royal roles.

In a recent interview with Telegraph, Prince Harry made the revelation that while the released version of his book is just 416 pages long, he along with his ghost-writer J. R. Moehringer penned an initial draft for Spare that was 800 pages long. Prince Harry revealed that he cut plenty of content from his recently released memoir Spare that he could have easily released as a whole other book.

In the interview, the royal actually disclosed that while he could have shared so much more, plenty of stories in the first draft were actually to provide a backstory for the writer and not intended for publication. In fact, Prince Harry went ahead and said that he made the cuts according to “the scale of things (he) I could include for (his) family members.”

He explained, “Look, anything I’m going to include about any of my family members, I’m going to get trashed for. I knew that walking into it. But it’s impossible to tell my story without them in it, because they play such a crucial part in it.”

Prince Harry added, “But there are some things that have happened, especially between me and my brother, and to some extent between me and my father, that I just don’t want the world to know. Because I don’t think they would ever forgive me.”

The Duke of Sussex explained, “Now you could argue that some of the stuff I’ve put in there, well, they will never forgive me anyway. But the way I see it is, I’m willing to forgive you for everything you’ve done, and I wish you’d actually sat down with me, properly, and instead of saying I’m delusional and paranoid, actually sit down and have a proper conversation about this, because what I’d really like is some accountability and an apology to my wife.”

However, regardless of plenty of cuts, the book holds all the major details about the British royal family from Prince Harry’s own point of view which will definitely be a new perspective. Reportedly, the book spills details on how Prince Harry admits he actually experimented with cocaine, cannabis, and magic mushrooms. Other revelations in the book include, how he lost his virginity, how he killed over 20 people, how he discovered Queen Elizabeth’s demise from the BBC, and how he was pretty uncomfortable when he saw one of Meghan’s “love-making scenes” among several other things. Harry’s memoir titled Spare was officially released on January 10th, 2023, and has been in the tabloids ever since.

January 16, 2023
‘Us ne hmein test kiya, ab us ki bari’: Khan says vote of confidence will be tabled against PM Shehbaz

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, in an exclusive interview on Saturday, said that Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif will be tested through a no-confidence motion.

Speaking on Hum News’ programme Hum Meher Bokhari Kay Sath, Khan said, “Uss ne humein test keeya, abb uski baari” (He tested us, now it is his turn).

He said the party would hash out the details of the move in a meeting on Sunday (today) and carry out planning for not only the trust vote but also “other plans to fully thrust them in a testing situation now”.

When asked about the late-night voting on a confidence vote in Punjab Assembly, Khan said not many people knew this would happen at night, his party kept it secret. According to him, the party completed the numbers first without any bribes and horsetrading and then took the vote of confidence.

The PTI chief also praised the way Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) stood behind the PTI and supported it. “The way Elahi is standing with us, there was immense appreciation in the party. He was the chief minister and made a real sacrifice. We are recommending he merges the party with ours.”

About the KP assembly, he said that it will be dissolved within a week.

During the interview, Khan mentioned that he spent his three and a half years in power in difficulty because his government was a coalition. He said that’s why his party has insisted on a merger between PTI and PML-Q.

The former prime minister said that PM Shehbaz’s conference in Geneva was equivalent to making fun of Pakistan. He warned that there will be consequences to it in the future.

Opening up about the extension given to former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, he termed it his “mistake”. He revealed that at the time Bajwa himself sent a message that if he doesn’t get an extension, it will be difficult for him [Bajwa].

He said that after securing the extension Bajwa changed as he begun asking Khan to give NROs to the Opposition.

January 15, 2023
Pakistan to immunise 44 million children against polio in 2023

Up to 44 million children would be immunised across Pakistan as a result of anti-polio campaigns in 2023, ARY has reported.

The federal government has created a schedule for the campaign through to 2023.

Six campaigns will be carried out nationwide to eradicate the polio virus in the future year 2023, with the first one scheduled to begin in January.
The rest of the immunisation efforts will be held in March, May, July, October, and December.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio has not yet been eradicated. To formally eradicate the disease, a nation must be polio-free for three consecutive years. Nigeria was declared free from wild polio in August 2020.

January 15, 2023
YouTube to launch free ad-supported TV channels

YouTube is testing new content on its platform with a hub of ad-supported TV streaming channels. The company is actively working with various companies in order to bring TV shows and movies to the platform. While it is currently just being trialed, there is the possibility that it could be offered to the public for free at a later date.

A YouTube spokesperson corroborated the report with The Wall Street Journal, stating that “a small experiment that lets a subset of viewers watch free, ad-supported channels” is currently in progress and that it is “using it to gauge viewer interest.” The addition of free and ad-supported channels could be a big one, adding to the already large amount of revenue that the platform generates from ads.

Similar to its agreement with content creators on its platform, YouTube is seeking to collect a 45 per cent cut of the ad revenue while talks are still in progress. Despite the fact that this would be an uncharted area for YouTube, businesses like Roku, Samsung, and others have long provided free, ad-supported TV channels through their own platforms. The ability for YouTube to seamlessly provide consumers with simple access to a range of other material on its platform might differentiate the user experience.

The recent multi-year agreement that was signed to provide NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV and YouTube Primetime Channels starting in 2023 is just one example of the extensive work that YouTube has done in recent years to enhance its content.

Additionally, the company has grown by introducing YouTube TV, a distinct online TV streaming service that offers over a hundred TV channels much like your local cable or satellite provider. The platform has expanded to include short-form user-created videos in addition to more traditional user-generated content.

It launched Shorts last year in an effort to take on TikTok, and it appears to be succeeding. As YouTube has begun the process of sharing ad revenue with Shorts producers by altering the conditions of its YouTube Partner Program, this year might be even better. This might be a significant step over the coming year that puts TikTok and its neck and neck. Things might get hotter for YouTube in 2023 if it is successful in integrating free ad-supported channels into its platform.

January 15, 2023