The United States (US) Mission in Pakistan has announced the expansion of the interview waiver for Pakistani citizens who are renewing B1/B2 tourist and business visas at the US Embassy in Islamabad and the US Consulate General in Karachi.
In a press release, the US embassy stated that Pakistanis who are 45 and older with valid or expired B1/B2 visas within the last four years are eligible to participate.
However, some eligible visa holders may be required to appear for interviews at the US Embassy or Consulate-General after submitting their applications as it is required by US law.
Applicants can check their eligibility for an interview waiver by visiting the website of the US Mission in Pakistan.
This step has been taken to improve customer service and speed up the procedure of the renewal of tourist and business visas for qualified and eligible Pakistani citizens.
In June 2022, overall sales of petroleum and lubricants were 1.93 million tonnes, down 11 per cent from the previous month but unchanged from the previous year.
Petrol and high-speed diesel (HSD) sales both experienced significant monthly declines, falling by 12 and 16 per cent, respectively.
Sales of all oil products rose by 16 per cent YoY to 22.595 million tonnes during FY22 from 19.45 million tonnes during the same period in FY21.
Analyzing the data demonstrates that expansion was seen in all categories, with offtake increasing to 8.95 million tonnes, 8.87 million tonnes, and 4.04 million tonnes, respectively, up by 9 per cent, 15 per cent, and 35 per cent on YoY compared to the same period last year.
Ismail Iqbal Securities analyst Abdullah Umer stated, “We believe that significant rise in both diesel and petrol prices are the main reason behind the decline in retail sales.”
According to the brokerage house, “Healthy economic activity, robust agricultural activity, upbeat automobile sales, and curb of HSD smuggling remained major drivers behind such stupendous growth.”
Although the current government has chosen to manage petroleum product prices by levying a Petroleum Development Levy (PDL) and sales tax even if international oil prices decline, the brokerage house anticipated a further slowdown in diesel and gasoline sales going forward.
In the coming months, retail fuel demand is likely to be further impacted by an increase in carpooling, increased use of public transportation, a change in consumer behaviour (moving from passenger cars to two-wheelers), high inflation, and a general slowdown in economic activity.
“We expect RFO sales to remain intact due to a likely decline in RLNG & imported coal-based power generation.”
The government announced a late-night price increase for petroleum products on Thursday, raising the ex-depot price of gasoline to Rs248.74 per liter (after an increase of Rs14.85) and diesel to Rs276.54 (after a hike of Rs13.23).
Diesel was previously priced at Rs263.31 per litre and petrol at Rs233.89.
The pricing structure included a Rs10 petroleum levy on gasoline. The cost of high-speed diesel, kerosene, and light diesel oil has also increased by Rs5 per litre.
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail announced the government’s decision, stating that these prices would go into effect at midnight in order to make up for the Rs-230 billion loss experienced during the fiscal year that ended on June 30th, 2022.
According to him, the country’s budget deficit, which reached a historic high of Rs5 trillion, made the increase in these prices inevitable.
Singer-cum-actor Farhan Saeed opened up on his professional equation with costars Hania Aamir, Iqra Aziz and wife Urwa Hocane in an interview. Saeed shared what’s most important to him when it comes to his co-stars.
He said, “The only thing I focus on when it comes to heroines is that their vibes and energy should be positive, not only with me, but overall they should be unproblematic, then I think I’ll click.”
Farhan added, “Until now all the heroines have been good to me, be it Iqra Aziz, Hania Aamir or even Urwa Hocane, they all are very nice people anyway but I really like unproblematic attitude, otherwise inner peace gets disrupted and I face problems in connecting with them.”
Last month he also issued a statement on his equation with his wife Urwa in a recent interview amidst the couple’s patch-up rumours.
The Mere Hamsafar star said, “The masses just have so much to say about everything, and some of their comments can be hurtful.”
“We just want to keep some parts of our lives to ourselves.”
Saeed further stated that the change came because of social media as the hate on the internet makes him panicky.
Earlier this year, he addressed the public speculation about his personal life and equation with Hocane.
While getting candid about it, he stated that the constant speculation and interference in his personal life is a part of his job as when fans shower him with so much love it is understandable that they are emotionally invested and want to know more.
“Ideally, I think to comment on the things which are shared but that’s idealism. When you are famous and in the public eye, there is always a price to pay. Criticism and praise come hand in hand. Just answer want you to want to and ignore other things.”
The Suno Chanda star added further that he just answers what he wishes to and ignores everything else as every job comes with its advantages and disadvantages.
Earlier last year it was reported that Farhan and Urwa have parted ways amicably, however recently some news portals informed that maybe the couple has reconciled. However the Udaari pair has never made a public statement about their split or alleged patch-up.
The Staff Duties Directorate at the General Headquarters (GHQ) Rawalpindi on Friday permitted the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to organise its jalsa at Parade Ground in the federal capital.
PTI Central Secretariat President Ali Nawaz Awan was informed that permission to use Parade Ground had been granted by the GHQ.
A letter issued to Awan by the deputy commissioner said: “With reference to clause xlii mentioned in the NOC, you are hereby intimated that permission to use the venue i.e Parade Ground, Islamabad has been granted by the concerned quarters.”
The NOC was given on the condition that the public gathering shall not disturb or disrupt the fundamental rights of the citizens of Islamabad and adjoining areas nor shall it block Islamabad Expressway or any other road. The gathering shall end at midnight.
The permission shall only be valid for July 2. It was reiterated that Section 144 had been imposed on the gathering of persons within a one km radius of the Red Zone and the organisers will ensure that no participant entered there.
The Last Seen time in WhatsApp can currently be hidden from the public, but your contacts can still see it when you’re back online.
It appears that the most popular messenger will soon have the option to hide your online status, which has been long desired.
You can hide your online status from everyone in WhatsApp’s most recent beta version, according to WABetaInfo. This is fantastic if you’re being chased on WhatsApp and don’t want your bothersome relatives or friends bugging you all the time.
Over the past few months, the messaging service owned by meta has been testing a tonne of incredible new features.
You will have two options to choose from with the new feature. You have the option of making your online status public if you want it to function like Last Seen. This means that you have the option of letting anyone see your online activity, just your contacts, just your contacts with a few exceptions, or nobody at all.
Although the screenshot is of iOS, according to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is also working on bringing the feature to Android and WhatsApp Desktop.
It is unknown when the feature will go live because it is still in development.
Unidentified men reportedly attacked senior columnist and analyst Ayaz Amir and his driver in Lahore on Friday.
Amir was leaving the office of Dunya News located at Lahore’s Abbott Road when unidentified men attacked him. The assailants also snatched his wallet and mobile phone.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the incident and asked Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz to hold a high-level investigation.
I strongly condemn the attack on senior journalist/analyst Ayaz Amir. Such attacks on media persons are totally unacceptable in a democratic society. On my directions, Punjab Chief Minister has ordered a high-level inquiry into the sad incident to bring perpetrators to justice.
CM Punjab ordered that the attackers should be arrested at the earliest. He condemned the attack on Ayaz Amir.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan also condemned the attack in “strongest terms”.
I condemn in strongest terms the violence against senior journalist Ayaz Amir today in Lahore. Pak descending into the worst kind of fascism with violence & fake FIRs against journalists,opp politicians, citizens.When the State loses all moral authority it resorts to violence.
The incident occurred a day after Ayaz Amir’s strongly-worded speech delivered at a seminar in Islamabad, where he had criticised the policies of former premier Imran Khan, accusing him of facilitating the realtors and property tycoons during his rule. He also criticised the extension granted to the army chief, criticising Khan’s decision.
According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), 818 cases of Covid-19 with a positivity rate of 4.47 per cent were reported in Pakistan on July 1.
Four deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. A total of 18,305 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours.
COVID-19 Statistics 02 July 2022 Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 18,305 Positive Cases: 818 Positivity %: 4.47% Deaths: 04 Patients on Critical Care: 126
This is the highest number of cases recorded in the last four months. Pakistan last recorded 796 cases on March 4. The same month, the government announced the closure of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) because of the decline in cases.
Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on June 19 urged Pakistanis to follow Covid-related standard operating procedures (SOPs) amid a surge in coronavirus cases.
Actor Sajal Aly took to her Instagram stories to slam the federal government on its announcement of another hike in petroleum prices.
The Mom star termed this announcement as a “petrol bomb”.
The federal government announced that there will be a new hike in the price of petroleum products on Thursday for the next fortnight, putting an additional burden of nearly Rs15-18 per litre on the masses.
The Finance Division, in its notification, said that in view of the fluctuations in petroleum prices in the international market and exchange rate variation, the government has decided to partially apply a petroleum levy, and revise the existing prices of petroleum products “as agreed with the development partners.”
With the fresh hike, the price of petrol will be Rs248.74/litre, diesel will be Rs276.54/litre, kerosene oil will be sold for Rs230.26/litre, and the price of light diesel oil will be Rs226.15/litre.
The coalition govt, since coming to power in April, has raised the price of petrol by Rs84. It had first raised the petrol price by Rs30 on May 26, followed by another increase of Rs30 on June 2. And on June 15, it hiked the price by another by Rs24 today.
Earlier this year the Khel Khel Mein star tweeted that in our society, parents need to learn how to treat their children right as well. These sensitive relations require effort from both sides.
“I believe, along with teaching children how to behave and conduct themselves, we should also teach parents how to treat their children,” she wrote in a tweet. “Parents should get weekly classes (one hour a week, minimum) on how to deal with children and their dilemmas.
The Aangan star highlighted the fact that children are not playthings that can be molded according to their parents’ liking they’re individuals who deserve the same respect and disciplined response that is expected of them. It is a two-sided relationship that requires effort on both sides but the greater side needs to be the parents, to bring another human being into the world is automatically shouldering the duty to raise them and do right by them.
This includes learning to give them the space and attention that they require to grow healthily.
Pakistani film and television production and distribution company, Eveready Pictures has lodged a formal complaint against actor Alizeh Shah.
According to the complaint, Shah left a drama’s shoot midway. The Ehd-e-Wafa star deserted the set unannounced which allegedly caused the production house huge monetary damages. The UPA confirmed receiving a complaint against Alizeh for having left the set without any prior information which resulted in serious production losses for Eveready Pictures.
She left the drama shoot of Mohabbat Ki Akhri Kahani, which was being shot in Kashmir, without any information and reason. Mohabbat Ki Akhri Kahani features Sami Khan in the lead.
The production house said that it had to suffer financial losses after she left the set without prior information.
According to the complaint, Shah left a drama’s shoot midway. The Ehd-e-Wafa star deserted the set unannounced which allegedly caused the production house huge monetary damages. The UPA confirmed receiving a complaint against Alizeh Shah for having left the set without any prior information which resulted in serious production losses for Eveready Pictures.
She left the drama shoot of Mohabbat Ki Akhri Kahani, which was being shot in Kashmir, without any information and reason. Mohabbat Ki Akhri Kahani features Sami Khan in the lead.
The production house said that it had to suffer financial losses after she left the set without prior information.
Earlier in June 2021, celebrity couple Yasir Nawaz and Nida Yasir appeared on Ahsan Khan’s show Time out with Ahsan Khan. During the interview, Nida revealed that Yasir had regrets about working with Alizeh Shah in the drama serial Mera Dil Mera Dushman.
On being asked by the host, Nida said that Yasir had some difficulty working with the Ehd-e-Wafa star and building chemistry with her since they played a married couple in the serial.
The Dil Mom Ka Diya actor then added that he regrets working with Alizeh and he wanted the show to be wrapped earlier than the makers because of this issue.
In July, the Ishq Tamasha star has shared her stance on the matter by saying that, “Everyone connects to a person differently, just like our families, we don’t get along with everyone.”
She added, “We can’t always get along and one should expect the same behaviour same as they behave themselves, if you misbehave with me, I will not stay quiet. I will respond back.”
Later their co-star from the same drama, Naveed Raza also spilled the beans on the matter on Ahsan’s show.
He stated, ‘Yasir is a veteran actor and director, who gave her the right to misbehave with him?”
He added, “She demanded to cut his lines and scenes with her.”
‘When the two used to be in the make-up room, and Yasir would dry his hair, she asked the assistant to shift Yasir’s seat somewhere far and cited that the heated air of the dryer is bothering her.”
“Talking to your senior actor like this is called rudeness, which is completely wrong.”
He concluded by saying that no matter how successful you are, you cannot talk to a senior like that.
She should be grateful that a star like Yasir worked with her.
Feroze Khan, who recently collaborated with the Bebasi actress for an endorsement jumped in to express his support for her on social media.
Adam Mohammed, a British citizen of Iraqi descent, has arrived in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, all the way on foot to perform Hajj. Adam started his journey last year in August.
He walked over 6,500 kilometres from Britain and crossed nine countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Syria and Jordan.
In Makkah, he was greeted by a large crowd of pilgrims.
According to Mohammed, he completed his journey in 10 months and 26 days. “There was a loud voice inside me that said I could walk from my house to Makkah. I couldn’t deny that sound. It was burning inside me like a volcano,” he explained.
On reaching Makkah, he said, “I endured all kinds of hardships, including the harsh weather, to reach the House of Allah.”
He said that performing Hajj is his highest and dearest wish
