Author: newsdesk

  • PM Khan to reportedly watch PSL 7 final at Gaddafi Stadium

    PM Khan to reportedly watch PSL 7 final at Gaddafi Stadium

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan will reportedly watch the final of the ongoing seventh edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.

    PM Khan, who is the patron in chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has been officially invited by PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja to watch the match live at the stadium.

    As per Geo News, the PCB will invite other government officials and major personalities from other walks of life to Gaddafi Stadium to watch the final game.

    The report further stated that the representatives of Cricket Australia, who will be in Pakistan by the day of the PSL 7 finale to participate in the upcoming Pakistan vs Australia series, will also witness the closing ceremony.

    The PSL Lahore-leg matches will kick off today with 50% spectators capacity and children under 12 in the stadium under the updated National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) protocols.

    The unbeaten Multan Sultans will lock horns against Peshawar Zalmi on the first game of the second leg matches, which will be staged completely under the lights of the Gaddafi Stadium.

    PSL 2022 final is scheduled to be played at the Gaddafi Stadium on February 27.

    Earlier, PM Khan had also revealed that Lahore is his favourite team and will win this year’s league.

  • Faisal Javed consoles Fawad Chaudhry for not getting appreciation certificate from PM Khan

    Faisal Javed consoles Fawad Chaudhry for not getting appreciation certificate from PM Khan

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Thursday awarded appreciation certificates to the “top 10 best performing federal ministries” under his government, with the communications ministry, planning ministry, and poverty alleviation division getting top honours of first, second and third respectively.

    “When I came [into power] I had very revolutionary ideas to bring sudden changes but I realised our system doesn’t have the capability to absorb sudden shocks [and only by] incentivising will we bring positive changes in our bureaucracy and ministries,” said PM Khan.

    Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry, whose own Ministry of Information and Broadcasting was missing in the top 10, congratulated the award recipients.

    Taking to Twitter, Fawad wrote, “We could not make it this time because performance is measured by the implementation of projects that the ministry gives to the PM’s office. Next time inshallah :).”

    Replying to Fawad’s tweet, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Faisal Javed Khan said, “Brother, the job of your ministry is to highlight the performance of other ministries.”

    “Your performance has also been excellent – Keep it up,” said Javed.

  • Australia prioritises Pakistan tour over IPL, players to miss a few matches

    Australia prioritises Pakistan tour over IPL, players to miss a few matches

    The Australian team will prioritise their national duty and several prominent players from Australia will miss out the first few matches of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 action due to the series against Pakistan.

    Read More – Australia announces full-strength squad for Pakistan tour

    Australian skipper Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, David Warner and others are all included in the auction. Cricket Australia (CA) laid down a strong ruling that their players were not allowed to abandon international duty for the IPL.

    Earlier, George Bailey, Australia’s chairman of selectors had said that IPL is a good enough “development opportunity” but CA would not release players when Australia was playing.

    “We do see the IPL as a really good development opportunity when it fits, but there’s obviously a huge amount of cricket with a series (in Sri Lanka) planned for immediately-post the IPL as well.”

    He later reiterated and passed a clear ruling on the matter.

    “So, it will be about working with the individuals to ensure they’re getting the preparation they need, but we certainly won’t be releasing players to the IPL while Australia are playing.”

    The Test leg of Australia’s tour of Pakistan, featuring three matches, is scheduled to end on March 25. Australia will then play a three-match ODI series in Rawalpindi, which will also host the only T20I on April 5. In an e-mail to the franchises on Wednesday, the IPL said Cricket Australia had permitted players who were part of both the Test and white-ball leg in Pakistan, to travel from April 6.

    This is a clear statement to IPL and to world cricket that Australia has refused to surrender to BCCI’s foothold in the cricketing world.

    The series is set to kickoff with the first Test match to be played on March 4 in Rawalpindi.

  • PM cannot read his oath correctly in Urdu, PPP responds to PM Khan’s comment on BBZ

    PM cannot read his oath correctly in Urdu, PPP responds to PM Khan’s comment on BBZ

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Wednesday mocked Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s Urdu accent without mentioning his name.

    The premier said, “It has been 13 years and you [Bilawal] still cannot speak in Urdu,” he said and repeated Bilawal’s infamous dialogue “barish ata hai tou paani ata hai [more water accumulates when it rains more].”

    “He (Bilawal) claims that his government will spend money on hospitals and not on health insurance,” the premier said. “You have been in power for the 13 years in your province, so who is stopping you from visiting villages and seeing people’s living conditions?”

    Responding to PM Khan, PPP leader Manzoor Ahmed while speaking on Dawn News programme, ‘News Eye with Absa Komal’ said, “I have never commented on someone personally but I am disappointed today. He [PM Khan] is making fun of Bilawal Bhutto and he himself does not know how to pronounce ‘roohaniyat [spirituality]’, he does not know how to pronounce ‘Khatam-an-Nabiyyin [Seal of the Prophets]’.”

    “He [PM Khan] does not know how to read his own oath in Urdu. He cannot pronounce ‘khatarnak [dangerous]’ correctly in Urdu, and he is mocking others for speaking in Urdu,” said Manzoor.

    “I can take several words which he [PM Imran Khan] speaks incorrectly every day. He should at least have some mercy on himself. When he will talk about others, people will talk about his wrongdoings as well,” said Manzoor

  • Video: Camilla is my ‘Mehbooba’, says Prince Charles

    Video: Camilla is my ‘Mehbooba’, says Prince Charles

    On Wednesday, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall attended a reception hosted by the British Asian Trust at the British Museum. During his speech, Prince Charles referred to Camilla as his “mehbooba,” which means ‘beloved,’ and emphasised the importance of the next generation in the future of South Asia.

    “I can not believe it is almost two years to the day that both my mehbooba and myself, are able to be with all of you to celebrate the work of the Asian Trust,” he said.

    “The future of South Asia truly deepened upon the children and the young people of the region,” he added.

    He lauded British Asian trust for helping those in need.

    The British Asian Trust was founded in 2007, by HRH The Prince of Wales and a group of British Asian business leaders, to tackle widespread poverty, inequality and injustice in South Asia

  • Pakistan announces ‘Solidarity Day’ to support Indian Muslim women

    Pakistan announces ‘Solidarity Day’ to support Indian Muslim women

    Pakistan’s government announced a ‘Solidarity Day’ to show support to Indian Muslim women which will be observed on Friday. This announcement was made by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Religious Harmony, Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi on Wednesday.

    The decision was made after an incident with an Indian Muslim girl, Muskan Khan who was harassed and bullied by saffron-wearing Hindu boys in the Indian state, Karnataka on her college premises.

    He also condemned the discrimination and brutal treatment against the Muslim community on a basis of religion.

    Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi said, “One daughter bravely challenged the violent mob and she made proud all the Muslims.”

    While giving an interview to NDTV, Muskan Khan revealed that she only came to college to submit an assignment.

    She was praised for her bravery and courage in standing against saffron-wearing boys across the border by several Pakistani politicians and journalists.

    Last week, the Indian state, Karnataka, banned religious clothes in educational institutions amid a controversy over the hijab and saffron scarves.

  • PM Khan gives ‘appreciation certificates’ to 10 ministers for their outstanding performance

    PM Khan gives ‘appreciation certificates’ to 10 ministers for their outstanding performance

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has given appreciation certificates to the best-performing ministers.

    The premier presented “appreciation certificates” to 10 ministers for their outstanding performance in their respective ministries.

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, Shehzad Arbab, has submitted the report to the Prime Minister’s Office.

    A ceremony to distribute appreciation certificates was held in the Prime Minister’s office today, while ministers and concerned officials from the ministries have been invited to attend the ceremony.

    The top 10 ministries recognised for their performance at a ceremony held in Islamabad were as follows:

    Ministry of Communications (Murad Saeed)

    Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives (Asad Umar)

    Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (Dr Sania Nishtar)

    Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (Shafqat Mahmood)

    Ministry of Human Rights headed (Dr Shireen Mazari)

    Ministry of Industries and Production headed (Khusro Bakhtiar)

    National Security Division headed (Dr Moeed Yusuf)

    Ministry of Commerce (Abdul Razak Dawood)

    Ministry of Interior (Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed)

    Ministry of National Food Security and Research (Syed Fakhar Imam)

    The premier hailed the initiative as a “great opportunity” since every ministry would get to know how much the others worked. “Our ministries will get incentives to work hard, the more we publicise this,” he added.

    The prime minister said that when “marks” — referring to a story from his own days as a student — would be publicised and there would be a corresponding system of rewards and penalties, it would bring an improvement in the governance system’s performance.

  • Selected schools in Lahore to be closed due to PSL at 1pm from today

    Selected schools in Lahore to be closed due to PSL at 1pm from today

    With the Lahore-leg of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2022 slated to kick-off from today (February 10), the deputy commissioner (DC) of Lahore has ordered the closure of schools at eleven different streets of the city at 1pm.

    Read More – Here is how to avoid traffic jams in Lahore during PSL matches

    As per details, the DC has sent a letter to the director colleges and other officers in view of the matches.

    According to the letter, the decision has been taken to ensure smooth flow of traffic.

    Educational institutions on Davis Road, Main Boulevard, Wahdat Road, Shimla Pahari, Canal Road, and Zahoor Elahi Road will be closed at 1pm.

    The Lahore-leg matches will be held from February 10 to 27, and preparations are in full swing ahead of the first match today, which will see Peshawar Zalmi locking horns against the in-form Multan Sultans.

    In their last encounter in the Karachi leg, Sultans beat Gladiators by six runs.

  • Noor was murdered by someone else at a drug party: Zahir Jaffer

    Noor was murdered by someone else at a drug party: Zahir Jaffer

    Zahir Jaffer, the prime suspect in the Noor Mukdam murder case, has retracted his confessional statement. Zahir said that Noor called her friends at his house for a drug party, and she was murdered by someone else, maybe someone present at the drug party, and not him.

    “Hours later, when I regained consciousness, I found myself tied up in the lounge,” Zahir’s statement added, which he gave before an Islamabad court. “She [Noor] came to my house with a large number of drugs and asked me to throw a drug party, but I refused,” claimed Jaffer. He further added that he was “rescued” by the police.

    Zahir said that Noor’s father is an influential man, and he has fabricated charges against him with the help of the police.

    Earlier this month, a local court in Islamabad, requested the Islamabad High Court (IHC) grant additional time to complete the trial. The murder trial began in October 2021.

    Noor Mukadam was brutally murdered at a residence in Islamabad’s upscale Sector F-7/4 on July 20. Her death sparked national outrage, including protests and candlelight vigils across the country. The Islamabad police arrested main suspect Zahir on the night of July 20 from his house.

  • Is Shahid Afridi going to cook in his restaurant ‘Lala Darbar’?

    Is Shahid Afridi going to cook in his restaurant ‘Lala Darbar’?

    Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has announced that he will be opening a restaurant, ‘Lala Darbar’, in Dubai. He has also shared a video in which he can be seen wearing an apron and slicing tomatoes.

    Sharing the video, Afridi wrote: “One step closer to the big announcement. Revealing Soon.”

    Afridi further added: “Get ready to give your taste buds a mouth-watering triple tarka!”

    Afridi asked his followers to follow it on social media and he also revealed that the restaurant will be in Dubai.

    This is not the first time that the former all-rounder has tried a venture. He had opened a restaurant ‘Splice’ in Lahore and earlier in March 2021, he had also launched a range of skincare products. Announcing the news on social media, Afridi shared that the new line, from the world of Hope Care, is named ‘Ooh Lala‘.

    Besides this new skincare line, Afridi also has a clothing brand, ‘Hope Not Out’.