At a ceremony in Lahore, Sazgar Engineering formally unveiled the Haval H6, Pakistan’s first locally assembled hybrid electric vehicle (HEV).
By doing this, the business has significantly surpassed its competitors. This is a huge milestone because not even the top automakers in Pakistan considered releasing a hybrid automobile.
In a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the company said, “We are pleased to inform you that the company has successfully assembled/ manufactured locally the first Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) of Pakistan and is being launched under brand ‘Haval’ as of November 17.”
One of the four brands owned by the Chinese carmaker Great Wall Motors (GWM), “Haval,” reached the Pakistani market through Sazgar in early 2021.
A 1.5 turbocharged engine in the Haval H6 generates 152 horsepower (HP) and 233 newton metres (Nm) of torque. With that, there is a motor producing 174 horsepower and 300 Nm of torque. Excellent efficiency, low fuel consumption, high performance, and light weight are the engine’s four standout qualities.
The Haval H6 Hybrid SUV costs Rs9.75 million, yet the manufacturer charges Rs1.9 million for bookings.
Claim: A video of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (PM) in London is being shared on social media.
Users are claiming that the video depicts the Premier sitting in a court in the United Kingdom (UK) where he and his son-in-law, Imran Ali Yousaf, are being panelised in the Daily Mail defamation case.
Shehbaz Sharif had sued the Daily Mail in 2019 for an article which had suggested that he along with Yousaf “stole British taxpayers’ money” given to Earthquake Relief and Reconstruction Authority (ERRA) set up to help the victims of the 2005 Pakistan earthquake.
In this particular video, the man sitting next to Sharif can be heard saying, “Mr Sharif misappropriated UK taxpayers’ money and particular government aid intended for the victims of the devasting 2005 earthquake in Pakistan.”
Fact: The video is of a press conference held by Sharif himself in 2020, in which he formally launched a defamation suit against journalist David Rose and Daily Mail and Associated Newspaper Limited (ANL) — the publishers of Mail Online.
The disclosure of formal court action was made at a press conference at the offices of British law firm Carter-Ruck by Alasdair Pepper and Antonia Foster, who are representing Shehbaz in his legal case against the paper. Shehbaz was present with his lawyers at the press conference where the announcement was made.
The lawyer said that Carter-Ruck had decided to move the court after failing to get a substantive response from the newspaper despite several requests over a passage of several months. He said that in nearly seven months the Mail had refused to engage with Sharif’s lawyer.
Pepper argued that the article in the Mail, followed by a social media campaign launched by journalist David Rose, was gravely defamatory for Shehbaz, carrying false allegations that he misappropriated UK taxpayers’ money in the form of aid intended for the victims of the devastating 2005 earthquake in Pakistan.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) official Twitter account also corrected the false claim and blamed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for spreading “lies”.
#گھڑی_چور کا پراپیگنڈہ سیل ہمیشہ کی طرح جھوٹ پھیلانے میں مصروف ہے۔ یہ وڈیو کسی کورٹ روم کی نہیں بلکہ شہباز شریف کی طرف سے کی گئی جنوری 2020 کی پریس کانفرنس کی ہے۔ تحریک انصاف جس کا جھوٹا پروپیگینڈا تو پکڑا گیا ہے، اب یہ بتائے کہ عمران خان نے #ڈھائی_ارب_کی_گھڑی کیوں چوری کی؟ pic.twitter.com/whT67ezjTC
Toyota Indus Motor Company has announced a massive price hike for Corolla and Hilux variants.
The automaker blames rising manufacturing costs and the weakening rupee in a notification it has issued.
Here are the new prices:
Vehicle
Old Invoice
New Price
Difference
Toyota Corolla Altis 1.6 CVT
Rs4,789,000
Rs4,979,000
Rs190,000
Toyota Corolla Altis 1.6 CVT SE
Rs5,279,000
Rs5,479,000
Rs200,000
Toyota Hilux
Rs8,449,000
Rs9,069,000
Rs620,000
Toyota Hilux Revo G 2.8
R9,169,000
Rs9,839,000
Rs670,000
Toyota Hilux Revo G 2.8 AT
Rs9,609,000
Rs10,309,000
Rs700,000
Toyota Corolla’s new prices
Since January 2022, Toyota has raised the pricing of all of its vehicles by 32 to 7 per cent. Aspiring Toyota buyers are put into a worse situation by this additional price increase.
These models are now more competitively priced with their top-tier competitors in their respective categories. Toyota may therefore be using decoy pricing to steer client spending into their more expensive items as one of its goals.
IMC may also want to prepare customers for potential price increases that are even higher relative to those for the more expensive versions of these particular models.
Regardless of what Toyota hopes to accomplish with this price rise, the cause is most likely the same: its operational loss of Rs3.3 billion in Q1FY23. From Rs5.42 billion in Q1FY22 to Rs1.29 billion in Q1FY23, Toyota’s sales revenue fell by 76 per cent. Toyota would have ended the quarter with a total loss if it weren’t for its Rs5.16 billion in other income.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has begun discussions with the senior leadership of ruling parties on the appointment of the new army chief, sources have revealed to Geo news.
A report aired on the news channel has said that allied parties have fully mandated the Premier to make the nomination in accordance with established protocols.
Sources said that the leader of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), Maulana Fazlur Rehman, called the prime minister to inquire about his health.
The two leaders then discussed the state of the nation and the selection of the new army chief over the phone, according to sources.
Maulana urged the PM to choose the new army head in accordance with established protocols. Sources have also revealed that co-chairman PPP, Asif Ali Zardari, who is in Islamabad, may meet with Shehbaz Sharif and Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
Imran Khan, the Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had also acknowledged that Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has the constitutional right to appoint the army chief but questioned if he can “morally” appoint the right person.
Twitter has announced that its office buildings will be temporarily closed, effective immediately and that the offices will reopen on Monday, November 21.
Twitter employees were informed regarding the closure in a letter, but the company withheld an explanation for this.
The statement comes as there are rumours that several employees were leaving after the new owner, Elon Musk, told them to sign up for “long hours at high intensity” or quit.
Mr Musk stated that those who didn’t sign up by Thursday, November 17 would receive three months’ worth of severance money.
The corporation said earlier this month that it will be laying off almost 50 per cent of its workers.
The news that Twitter had temporarily closed its offices today coincided with indications that several employees had already left in protest at Mr Musk’s new contract terms.
To announce their departure from the company, employees have begun tweeting using the hashtag #LoveWhereYouWorked and a saluting emoji.
One former Twitter employee who wished to remain anonymous told BBC: “I think when the dust clears today, there’s probably going to be less than 2,000 people left.”
They added that everyone in their team had been terminated.
“The manager of that team, his manager was terminated. And then that manager’s manager was terminated. The person above that was one of the execs terminated on the first day. So there’s nobody left in that chain of command.”
Around 7,500 people worked for Twitter before Elon Musk took over. Thousands of contract workers were also reportedly employed by the company, the majority of whom are believed to have been let go.
Another person claimed that despite being ready to put in long hours, they had quit their job.
“I didn’t want to work for someone who threatened us over email multiple times about only ‘exceptional tweeps should work here’ when I was already working 60-70 hours weekly,” they said.
The richest person in the world acquired Twitter last month in a $44 billion deal, becoming the company’s CEO in the process.
In response to a query on worries that Twitter was set to shut down after the notification about the closure of Twitter’s offices was sent, Mr Musk tweeted: “The best people are staying, so I’m not super worried”.
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued tourist guidelines for people visiting popular holiday destinations such as Murree, Galiyat, Abbottabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, Naran, Kaghan and other northern areas.
Tourists have been advised to regularly check weather forecasts on Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) and NDMA’s website for updated weather information.
In addition the authority has advised tourists to check with National Highways & Motorway Police (NH&MP) on their website or helpline for the status / road condition of the intended route.
“Ensure proper checking and maintenance of vehicles from a mechanic. Also carry a spare tire (checked and filled with required air pressure), radiator fluids and lubricants, as advised by the mechanic,” reads the advisory.
“Keep passage for fresh air circulation through the air conditioning mechanism or keep a window slightly ajar,” it added. Earlier this year in January, a traffic jam in Murree turned deadly after 23 people, including children, were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning as they waited for roads to clear in their cars with engines running.
Popular TikToker Jannat Mirza is generating negative comments for her series of posts about her relationship with TikToker fiance Umer Butt.
The Tere Bajray Di Raakhi recently announced that she has ended her relationship with Butt. In an Instagarm story, she stated, “I am not in a relationship anymore, I am single, don’t ask me why?”
This generated a lot of attention on social media. Here are both her post and her fiance’s posts.
When people were on the verge of accepting the rumor, Jannat and Umer corrected it and said that the status was made in jest because Jannat had rejected Umer Butt’s decision to go clean-shaven, which led to the sarcastic status.
Mirza further clarified her relationship with Umer.
Netizens trolled the duo for their ‘immature’ gimmick.
Former Senator of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Faisal Vawda has said that his party’s ongoing long march is sparsely attended, remarking that, “Long march mein aanay walay logon se ziada mere mulaazim hain,” (I have more employees than the number of people who attend the long march).
During Samaa News‘ show ‘Nadeem Malik Live’, Vawda criticised his former party members without naming them, calling them “snakes”. He said that these leaders claimed that there would be hundreds of thousands of people participating in the long march. “Jitny log long march main a rahy hain is se zyada toh school ke bachay assembly mei hotay hain,” (More children attend school assembly than the number of people attending the long march).
Vawda confirmed the meeting between PTI Chief Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Qamar Javed Bajwa at the President’s House.
“I helped in arranging that meeting. There were misunderstandings between the two parties but the meeting went well.”
He claimed that PTI is popular among the people right now, however, he raised questions about why the party is carrying out the long march.
Last month, Vawda had predicted that PTI’s march would be a bloody one. After that, the former ruling party terminated Vawda’s basic membership.
PTI said that he would not be allowed to hold any party office or represent the party in the media as he had “grossly violated discipline by giving statements against party policies and guidelines”.
Senior leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Fawad Chaudhry, landed in hot water on Wednesday night after Geo News‘ Shahzeb Khanzada revealed WhatsApp conversations the former minister had with Dubai-based businessman Umar Farooq Zahoor.
پبلک میں اس کو فراڈیا اور انٹرنیشنل مجرم کہتے اور ذاتی پیغام رسانی میں دوستیوں کے ناطے پیار سے درخواستیں کرتے ہیں۔ 2 ملین ڈالر کی گھڑی کے خریدار عمر فاروق سے فواد کے بات چیت کے بعد بھی اگر کسی کو اصلیت پتا نہ چلے تو پھر دعا ہی کی جا سکتی ہے۔ فواد عمر فاروق کا مہمان بھی بنا رہا۔ pic.twitter.com/LgxdbiUGKo
The alleged Whatsapp conversations show that Fawad Chaudhry was in contact with Zahoor who claimed this week that former Prime Minister Imran Khan sold him a precious Graff set gifted to him by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2019. Fawad, who had called Zahoor a “liar” after his explosive claims about the sale of the state gift, refers to the businessman as “brother”.
When Zahoor revealed that he had bought state gifts from Imran Khan, Chaudhry denied the allegations. However, he acknowledged that the gift was “legally” sold in the market.
In the chats, Fawad said to Zahoor that “It seems the watch alleged to be of IK is not the same”. He also requested him not to take Khan’s name.
During the show, Khanzada said Chaudhry also promised to help Zahoor get contracts from the Government of Pakistan.
On Tuesday, Zahoor revealed to Shahzeb Khanzada how that he had bought the Graff set from Khan. Immediately afterward, Chaudhry contacted him and asked what had happened. “[Taking the name of] Shahzad Akbar is understandable, but why Imran Khan?” Chaudhry asked the businessman.
Zahoor and Chaudhry met in Dubai several times. During the PTI government, the two also exchanged messages.
Zahoor claimed that he had bought the branded set through former accountability minister Shahzad Akbar and Farah Khan, a close aide of Imran’s wife Bushra Bibi. He said that he had paid the equivalent of $2 million in cash for the set.
The government of Pakistan banned Saim Sadiq’s Oscar contender “Joyland” for containing “highly objectionable” material, earlier this month.
An order dated Nov. 11 from Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting says that the country’s censor board had granted a censor certificate to the film on Aug. 17. But it has since reversed the decision.
“Written complaints were received that the film contains highly objectionable material which do not conform with the social values and moral standards of our society and is clearly repugnant to the norms of ‘decency and morality’ as laid down in Section 9 of the Motion Picture Ordinance, 1979,” the order states. “Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 9(2) (a) of the said Ordinance and after conducting a comprehensive inquiry, the Federal Government declares the feature film titled ‘Joyland’ as an uncertified film for the whole of Pakistan in the cinemas which fall under the jurisdiction of CBFC with immediate effect.”
Head of Prime Minister of Pakistan’s Strategic Reforms, Salman Sufi publicly requested the current federal minister of Information & Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb to review the ban and meet the film’s team.
PM @CMShehbaz has constituted a high level committee to assess #Joyland and review its ban.
The committee will assess the complaints as well as merits to decide on its release in Pakistan.
— Salman Sufi (Get New Covid Booster Today) (@SalmanSufi7) November 14, 2022
Sufi later revealed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted a committee to assess Joyland and review its ban.
Latest Update (Ban Reversed)
The globally acclaimed and multiple award-winning Pakistani film Joyland has been given green signal by the censor board of Pakistan after reviewing it on the Prime Minister’s directions.
The full board has allowed the local screening of Joyland after deleting some parts. The film was initially set to have a commercial release in Pakistan on November 18.
PM Shehbaz Sharif formed a cabinet committee to look into the matter after some schools of thought had objected to the movie.
Release Stopped By Punjab Government
Following yesterday’s clearance by the censor board, Joyland’s theatrical release has once again been halted, this time by the government of Punjab.
The Government of Punjab has retracted its No Objection Certificate (NOC) issued to the movie Joyland. The notification issued by Information and Culture Department reads that Punjab government, in the wake of complaints, has decided to ‘recall’ the movie by “exercising powers conferred under Section-9 (1 and 2) Motion Pictures Ordinance, 1979.” “You are therefore directed not to exhibit above titled film in the jurisdiction of Punjab province till further orders of the Govt,” reads the notification.
Reactions On The Ban
Saim and his team members raised their voices against the ban imposed by the government. Terming the ban a “grave injustice,” Sadiq, in an Instagram post, says that the ban is “absolutely unconstitutional and illegal” and has urged the country’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to review the decision.
Apart from the film’s team, A-list celebrities and media personalities also reacted to the news and expressed their support for the film.
#ReleaseJoyland ! There is no reason not to. Be proud of the work that our artists create not afraid! Give your own people the respect they get in foreign lands. Support us, stand by us and we as Pakistani artists will make this country proud! https://t.co/6jQizg0Xbx
Set in Lahore, the film revolves around Haider, the youngest son of the middle-class, patriarchal Rana family. As the Ranas yearn for the birth of a baby boy, Haider secretly joins an erotic dance theater and finds himself falling for a fiercely ambitious trans starlet. Their love story illuminates the secrets and desires of the entire Rana family.
The film debuted at the Un Certain Regard strand at Cannes earlier this year, where it won the jury prize. Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai later joined the project as an executive producer. It is Pakistan’s entry in the Oscars’ international feature category.
Recently it also won the Asia Pacific Screen Awards’ young cinema award, given in partnership with critics’ association NETPAC and the Griffith Film School.
After hearing of the ban, APSA said in a written statement: “ ‘Joyland’ represents a significant new cinematic talent in Saim Sadiq from Pakistan, who has crafted a moving and entertaining drama about family in his debut feature film. The Young Cinema Award Jury commends Saim Sadiq for his brave and joyous celebration of community diversity and the universality of love.”
