Author: newsdesk

  • Flood update: UN passes resolution urging countries to support rehabilitation efforts

    Flood update: UN passes resolution urging countries to support rehabilitation efforts

    The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution on Friday calling for an increase in humanitarian aid to help Pakistan. The resolution has been passed to provide full support to rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in Pakistan.

    The 193-member body unanimously adopted the resolution, which stated that improved access to international climate financing was crucial for assisting poor nations in reducing their emissions and adapting to climate change, especially the most vulnerable ones.

    159 nations representing all continents joined Pakistan in sponsoring the resolution. UNGA President Csaba Korosi asked the international community to assist the flood-devastated nation and stated that he stood with Pakistan in this hour of need.

    The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution on Friday calling for an increase in humanitarian aid to help Pakistan. The resolution has been passed to provide full support to rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in Pakistan.

    The 193-member organisation unanimously adopted the resolution, which stated that improved access to international climate financing was crucial for assisting poor nations in reducing their emissions and adapting to climate change, especially the most vulnerable ones.

  • ‘Want a guy who worries about my ketchup’, Twitter reacts to viral drama clip from Feroze-Ushna’s ‘Habs’

    ‘Want a guy who worries about my ketchup’, Twitter reacts to viral drama clip from Feroze-Ushna’s ‘Habs’

    A video clip from the popular drama series “Habs,” starring Feroze Khan and Ushna Shah, has gone viral on social media, sparking memes.

    In the humorous video, the girl can be seen leaving the dining room with two slices of pizza but no ketchup, which worries her husband, as if eating pizza without ketchup was a big deal.

    Here are some memes:

    https://twitter.com/7kayhan/status/1578310565952622599

    https://twitter.com/prg4949/status/1578355765223440384

  • PSL like women’s league announced by PCB

    PSL like women’s league announced by PCB

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the launch of a women’s T20 league modelled along the lines of Pakistan Super League (PSL). The inaugural edition is set to run alongside next year’s PSL. Twelve games will be played, all of them in Rawalpindi, with the final to take place on March 18, 2023, the day before the Pakistan Super League final. The league will comprise of four teams, with 18 players per side, including six foreign players.

    “I am delighted to announce the women’s league. This league will attract young women cricketers to this great sport and help our current players further enhance their skills when they will get to share dug-outs with the overseas players. The league will feature present and past trailblazers in women’s cricket in what promises to be an exciting 13-match event,” said chairman PCB Ramiz Raja.

    “To amplify the coverage and promotion of this initiative, some of the matches will precede the HBL Pakistan Super League 8 matches,” he said, adding that the event is aligned to the strategy of making Pakistan a stronger cricket playing nation across all formats and genders. “We are not only creating attractive brands to strengthen our cricket economy, but through this tournament are also providing career opportunities to our women cricketers. The more our women cricketers will participate in high-pressure events, the more they will learn,” he observed.

    Ramiz Raja also stressed that PCB is a strong proponent of empowering women. “By engaging our women, who form 49 per cent of the country’s population, we will enhance the economic and social prosperity of our country,” he concluded.

  • ‘You have to spoon-feed people’: Imran Khan in another explosive audio leak

    ‘You have to spoon-feed people’: Imran Khan in another explosive audio leak

    Another alleged audio of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has been leaked on Friday, purportedly featuring him and his former ministers Asad Umar and Shireen Mazari discussing the United States (US) cipher once again.

    Context of the audio:

    Asad Umar: Another point is, in hindsight, that whatever we are doing now should have been done at least ten days ago.

    Imran Khan: The impact of this letter is far-reaching and it has reached all over the world, more than we expected.

    Shireen Mazari: The Chinese have issued an official statement, condemning US intervention in the internal affairs of Pakistan.

    Imran Khan: The public is with us and we must ensure that the pressure must be at such a height that whoever goes to the assembly for voting must be branded for life and you have to brand them as Mir Jafar and Mir Sadiq. You have to spoon-feed people as their minds are currently fertile grounds.

    Both the former ministers can be heard agreeing with their party chief. Earlier in the day, another audio clip leaked that suggested Khan was involved in horse trading during his tenure at the country’s highest office.

    It is pertinent to mention here that this alleged audio leak is part three of PTI’s audio leak series regarding the US cipher.

    In the previous US cipher audio leaks, Imran Khan when he was Prime Minister, is directing his close aides not to take America’s name while talking about the US cipher in public.

    The PTI chief also told his then-principal secretary Azam Khan that, “We have to play with it [cipher]”.

    ‘Making a few moves of my own which we cannot make public’: Khan’s new audio leak

    Another alleged audio of former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan was released on Friday, purportedly featuring the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief talking about horse-trading in parliament.

    In the audio recording, a voice believed to be Imran’s says: “You have a misunderstanding that now the number game is complete […] don’t think this is over.”

    The voice in the audio, allegedly of the PTI chairman, can be heard strategising on horse-trading in parliament.

    It is being suggested that the recording is from before the vote of no-confidence against Khan.

    Context of audio:

    Imran Khan: You are greatly mistaken that the number game is now complete.

    Imran Khan: It’s not like that…don’t think that it’s over because 48 hours from now is a long time.

    Imran Khan: Big things are happening. I am making some moves of my own which we cannot make public.

    Imran Khan: I am buying five, I have five. [We need] to give the message that the five are very important.

    Imran Khan: And tell him if he secures five more and it turns to 10, the game will be in our hand.

    Imran Khan: The nation is alarmed right now.

    Imran Khan: Across the board people want us to win in any way possible, so no one needs to worry if this is right or wrong – whatever the tactic.

    Imran Khan: Even if someone breaks one, it will have a big impact.

    The audio clip released on Friday is the third such leak featuring the PTI chairman. Last week, an audio clip purportedly revealed a conversation between Imran and then principal secretary Azam Khan about the cipher — shared by Asad Majeed, the then envoy to the US — which Imran has used to peddle his foreign conspiracy narrative.

    PTI leader Fawad Chaudhry on Friday did not disavow the contents of the latest audio clip but said that “Everyone knows where and how the audios are being made”.

    In a tweet, the former minister asked: “By joining together voices such as these will you prove NRO 2 to be valid?”

  • Rana Sanaullah says that PTI Senator Saifullah Nyazee has been taken into ‘protective custody’

    Rana Sanaullah says that PTI Senator Saifullah Nyazee has been taken into ‘protective custody’

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nyazee has been taken into “protective custody” by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for questioning in the party’s foreign funding case.

    In a press conference on Friday, the minister said, “He has been taken into protective custody, so he can be questioned.” He added that legal formalities will be fulfilled before arresting the senator if the agency deemed it necessary.

    Earlier, it was reported that the PTI senator was arrested in the foreign funding case. According to Geo News, he was arrested for the $625,000 transferred to the Insaf Trust account in 2013 in violation of rules and regulations.

    Prior to the minister’s clarification, FIA, in a tweet, said that no arrest has been made.

    “The senator has not been arrested by any FIA wing as yet,” the agency’s spokesperson said and condemned the reports circulating in the media.

    Earlier today, PTI leaders claimed Nyazee has been “picked up” by “unknown men” from outside the Senate premises in Islamabad.

    Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, PTI General Secretary Asad Umar said: “I have just received news that Saifullah Nyazee has been picked up from the Senate.”

    https://twitter.com/ShehzadGul89/status/1578290516856229893?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1578290516856229893%7Ctwgr%5Ecbcda1c3c0964b5c3947ce41901c263275373bea%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dawn.com%2Fnews%2F1713931

    Former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry called Chairman of the Senate Sadiq Sanjrani to take notice of the incident.

    On September 13, the FIA Cyber Crime Wing raided Nyazee’s house. Two days later, Nyazee submitted a privilege motion against the Islamabad police and FIA over the breach of his privilege.

    He said the behaviour of the FIA and Islamabad police, including alleged harassment of his wife and daughters, was tantamount to the breach of privilege of the house of the federation and its member. Hence, the Senate chairman should take appropriate action on this breach.

  • ‘People behind my assassination plot will claim that a religious fanatic has killed me’: Khan

    ‘People behind my assassination plot will claim that a religious fanatic has killed me’: Khan

    Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, has said that a tape containing the names of four people who are planning to assassinate him, will be released if anything happens to him.

    “The tape, which includes the names of four people, will be released if something happens to me,” said the former prime minister while addressing a jalsa in Mianwali.

    Without providing the names of the four persons, Khan said at today’s rally that if he were to be assassinated, then the people behind the plot will claim that a “religious fanatic has killed me”.

    “The people making plans against me will fail,” the PTI chairman, who has been at loggerheads with the incumbent government and plans to hold a long march seeking to oust the rulers from office, stressed.

    This is not the first time that the PTI chairman has claimed that his life is under threat, as after his ouster from the Prime Minister’s Office, Khan and his party’s leaders have time and again stated that plans were being hatched to assassinate him.

  • Women’s Asia Cup 2022: Pakistan beats India by 13 runs

    Women’s Asia Cup 2022: Pakistan beats India by 13 runs

    On Friday, Pakistani women defeated Indian women in the Women’s Asia Cup T20 match in Sylhet.

    Following a shocking loss to Thailand on Thursday, Pakistan came back with a 13-run victory to stay in the competition. Pakistan and India each have six points after four games in the competition.

    India’s winning streak of five straight T20I matches dating back to 2016 was broken against Pakistan. During the Women’s T20 World Cup in Delhi on March 19, 2016, India suffered its most recent loss to Pakistan. In T20Is, India still has an advantage over Pakistan because of 10 victories in 13 games.

    India has two games left in the group stage, taking on Bangladesh on Saturday and Thailand on Monday. Pakistan’s last group matches will pit it against Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates.

    The semifinals will thereafter be attended by the top four teams from the group round. The final will take place on October 15 at the same location.

  • Who won the Nobel Peace Prize 2022?

    Who won the Nobel Peace Prize 2022?

    This year’s Peace Prize is awarded to human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties.

    Ales Bialiatski:

    Ales Bialiatski was one of the initiators of the democracy movement that emerged in Belarus in the mid-1980s. He has devoted his life to promoting democracy and peaceful development in his home country. Among other things, he founded the organisation Viasna (Spring) in 1996 in response to the controversial constitutional amendments that gave the president dictatorial powers and that triggered widespread demonstrations. Viasna provided support for jailed demonstrators and their families. In the years that followed, Viasna evolved into a broad-based human rights organisation that documented and protested against the authorities’ use of torture against political prisoners.

    The Center for Civil Liberties:

    The Center for Civil Liberties was founded in Kyiv in 2007 for the purpose of advancing human rights and democracy in Ukraine. The center has taken a stand to strengthen Ukrainian civil society and pressure the authorities to make Ukraine a full-fledged democracy. To develop Ukraine into a state governed by rule of law, Center for Civil Liberties has actively advocated that Ukraine become affiliated with the International Criminal Court.

    After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Center for Civil Liberties has engaged in efforts to identify and document Russian war crimes against the Ukrainian civilian population. In collaboration with international partners, the center is playing a pioneering role with a view to holding the guilty parties accountable for their crimes.

    The Memorial:

    The human rights organisation Memorial was established in 1987 by human rights activists in the former Soviet Union who wanted to ensure that the victims of the communist regime’s oppression would never be forgotten. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov and human rights advocate Svetlana Gannushkina were among the founders. Memorial is based on the notion that confronting past crimes is essential in preventing new ones.
    Since its inception in 1901, about 109 individuals and 25 organisations have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

  • Ishaq Dar denies allegation of taking any money, says ‘Imrandos’ are spreading fake news

    Ishaq Dar denies allegation of taking any money, says ‘Imrandos’ are spreading fake news

    Finance Minister Ishaq Dar called Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) a “disinformation army”.

    In a media talk on Thursday, responding to a question by a journalist about him taking Rs72 crore in back salary, the minister said, “This is the disinformation army of PTI who malign everything” and termed them as “imrandos”.

    “I didnt take a single penny and don’t have any intention to take any money,” he added.

    During the talk, when asked about decreasing petrol prices, he said, “Abhi kal toh ki hai”. (We reduced the prices just now).

    The finance minister also addressed the continuous depreciation of the US dollar against the rupee, saying that the greenback depreciated without him doing anything.

    He also announced a power subsidy package for Pakistan’s export industries with per unit electricity cost set at Rs19.99.

    Dar said the annual burden of the subsidy would amount to around Rs90-100 billion, adding that the “all-inclusive” package was announced for the five major exporting sectors, and not just the textile sector.

    Meanwhile, in response to a question on whether the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was taken into confidence on the package, the finance minister said: “I don’t need to take the IMF into confidence, when I know what I am doing then it is my responsibility to create fiscal space for it and I have done so.”

    Moreover, the minister said the market is now going in the “right direction” and correcting itself.

  • Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari reveals her second son’s name

    Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari reveals her second son’s name

    Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari, the daughter of late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and former President Asif Ali Zardari, announced the birth of her second child on Instagram on Thursday.

     Her second son is named Mir Sijawal Mahmood Choudhry.

    She took to Instagram and made a prayer for his name. “Named by and after his nana baba, sij is Sindhi for sun. Sijawal means the rising sun.”

    Bakhtawar Bhutto announces birth of second son

    Bakhtawar posted, the news with caption, ” We are happy to announce the birth of our second baby boy.”

    The baby, a boy, was born on October 5.

    Announcing the birth of his new-born nephew, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari tweeted, “Mamu 2.0”.

    Her first child, Mir Hakim, was born on October 10, 2021. Back then, Bakhtawar also used Instagram to make the surprise announcement of his birth.

    It is likely that her second son, whose name has not yet been revealed, was also born in Dubai as Bakhtawar and her husband, Mahmood Choudhry, are based there.