Author: newsdesk

  • COVID-19: Pakistan ranks number 2 in performance for measures taken against the virus

    COVID-19: Pakistan ranks number 2 in performance for measures taken against the virus

    Pakistan has been ranked number two in The Economists’ world normalcy index, that measures recovery and opening up of society and economy post COVID-19. The Economist has compiled data from January 2021 to January 2022.

    Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and head of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), Asad Umar, while sharing the screenshot of the report wrote. “Pakistan ranked number 2 in the world in Economist global normalcy index measuring recovery post covid opening up of society & economy. Pak was 3rd in the first evaluation and number 1 in the second. Pakistan is the only country in the world to be in top 3 in all three rankings.”

    Read more- NCOC bans indoor events in cities with Covid positivity rate over 10%

    Yesterday, NCOC announced a ban on indoor gatherings and events have been banned in the districts and cities with Covid-19 positivity rate exceeding 10 per cent. 

  • Justice Ayesha Malik confirmed for Supreme Court Judge, needs President’s formal approval

    Justice Ayesha Malik confirmed for Supreme Court Judge, needs President’s formal approval

    The Parliamentary Committee on Wednesday confirmed the nomination of Justice Ayesha Malik to the Supreme Court (SC).

    Justice Malik only requires the president’s formal assent to become the first woman to be elevated to the country’s top court.

    Justice Malik will remain a judge of the Supreme Court until March 2031 and may even have a chance to become the first woman to hold the post of chief justice.

    After a session on January 6, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) recommended Justice Malik’s name by a majority of five votes to four.

    Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, senior judge Justice Umar Ata Bandial, former judge Sarmad Jalal Osmany, Law Minister Barrister Farogh Naseem, and Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan had supported Justice Malik’s candidature, while Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Maqbool Baqar, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Pakistan Bar Council representative Akhtar Hussain opposed the selection.

  • ‘Told to get done lips and nose surgeries, plastic doll’: Kriti Sanon opens up on Bollywood’s dark secrets

    ‘Told to get done lips and nose surgeries, plastic doll’: Kriti Sanon opens up on Bollywood’s dark secrets

    Bollywood actor Kriti Sanon has opened up on facing body-shaming and criticism about her looks in her latest interview.

    Recently, during her chat with Bollywood Bubble, the Housefull 4 diva talked about facing comments on her appearance as she was criticised for her nose, gummy smile, and lips and how she tackled it with grace.

    Kriti Sanon's Weight Loss Journey After the Release of Mimi Was a 'Real Task'

    The Dilwale star said, “There had been times when I was told to line my lips to (make it) look fuller. It didn’t make sense to me. I did try it once (she laughs).”

    She further added, “I was also told that my nostrils flare up a little bit when I smile. So, yes there will be criticism from everywhere. When I smile or laugh, sometimes they do but that’s normal na. I am not a plastic doll.”

    “People told me ‘You have gummy smile’. That I am born with, I can’t do anything about it. These are little things that people don’t say directly ki ‘yeh change karo (change this)’. I feel like those things everyone hears,” she revealed.

    She went on to say,” Someone was telling me now it’s not the pressure, but I think the pressure is increasing with all these Instagram filters and everything coming, everyone wants to be perfect all the time. So, I have gone through that, heard things. Someone asked me to make my waist a little more in. Sometimes random people also say things. You have to make sure that you are not listening to just everybody.”

    On the work front, Kriti was seen in Mimi last year and is now gearing up for her next film Adipurush with Prabhas.

  • Nadia Khan responds to Sharmila Faruqi’s legal action plan against viral video

    Nadia Khan responds to Sharmila Faruqi’s legal action plan against viral video

    Pakistani TV host, Nadia Khan has finally spoken up about the controversy surrounding her viral video with Pakistan People’s Party leader (PPP) Sharmila Faruqi’s mother, in which she was sarcastically praising her makeup.

    While talking to Samaa News, Nadia Khan said, “Sharmila can go to the cybercrime authorities if she wants to but it’s redundant to drag this issue on after the video has been deleted.”

    She added, “Things could escalate if I would have said anything further on the issue.”

    RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: ‘I’m going to fight it out with this woman’, Sharmila Faruqi slams Nadia Khan for trolling her mother

    Sharmila Faruqi, while talking exclusively with The Current expressed her anger saying, “I inboxed [Nadia] and said it is very shameless of you to do this.”

    To which Nadia, as per Sharmila, replied, “There is nothing wrong in this. I have not asked anything wrong and I have not done anything wrong. Stop using harsh words with me.”

    Sharmila continued by saying, “She is shameless and heartless and it’s very very unfortunate,” adding, “I have a lot of respect for people in showbiz, they work really hard.”

    She then said that her mother is a very “simple woman.” She said that she lost her father and her mother lost her husband three months ago. My mother was at Saboor Aly’s wedding.”

    “She [Anisa] is trying to survive without her husband,” she said adding, “You [Nadia] don’t have anything else to do so you want to get publicity and ratings by making such videos,” said Sharmila.

  • Wife breaks husband’s fingers when he reveals intentions to remarry

    Wife breaks husband’s fingers when he reveals intentions to remarry

    The quarrel between an Asian couple in Dubai took a violent turn when the husband told his wife that he intended to marry another woman in Dubai. After the revelation, the wife physically abused her husband and broke his fingers. In response, he slapped her on the ear, causing a 2% hearing loss, Gulf Today reported.

    A Dubai court has sentenced the couple to six months in prison for assaulting each other, after which they were deported.

     The report said that the 25-year-old wife was shocked when her husband revealed his intention to marry another woman and that he would no longer fulfill his marital rights to her.

     The report added that the altercation turned into a fight, with the man slapping his wife in the face, beating her and trying to strangle her. On the other hand, the 24-year-old husband said that his wife did not accept his decision to marry another woman and when he pushed her, he broke her fingers, attacked her and insulted her. 

     The wife had multiple wounds on her forehead, nose, neck and chest, as well as holes in her left eardrum.

  • ‘No shoes’, PCB shares Shahnawaz Dahani’s story of becoming a cricketer

    ‘No shoes’, PCB shares Shahnawaz Dahani’s story of becoming a cricketer

    Shahnawaz Dahani is a young Pakistani cricketer, born near a village in Larkana. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has shared his story of becoming a cricketer through a video ahead of the seventh edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL).

    In the video, the journey of Dahani from playing in his village to the PSL is shown where it can be seen that he was opposed by his late father when he wanted to play cricket.

    Lack of proper facilities might have stopped the young Shahnawaz to get opportunities at a young age, just like many other boys from the city. But Shahnawaz seems to be making up for lost time. His story is one for the ages as someone who found it difficult to buy shoes to play cricket and is now one of the most celebrated young players.

    Ahead of the sixth edition of the PSL 2021, he was picked up as an emerging player by the Multan Sultans and the decision proved to be worth it. He ended up becoming the first emerging player to become the highest wicket-taker in the tournament’s history.

    He was a key member in the Sultans’ impressive turnaround and helped them clinch their maiden title. Now, Dahani is one of the most celebrated young cricketers. Yet, just a few years back, he was like any other young Pakistani boy, living in a small village near Larkana, dreaming to play cricket for Pakistan.

    Read more – Shahnawaz Dahani to make his T20I debut today against Bangladesh

    The 23-year-old made his international debut for the Pakistan cricket team in November 2021 in a series against Bangladesh.

    The young speedster is set to represent his franchise Sultans again in the latest edition of the league, starting from January 27 in Karachi.

  • FBR freezes all bank accounts of singer Aima Baig

    FBR freezes all bank accounts of singer Aima Baig

    The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has frozen all bank accounts related to Pakistani singer, Aima Baig over unpaid taxes on Wednesday. She has not paid her taxes from the years 2018, 2019, and 2020.

    She allegedly withdrew Rs 25 million from her bank accounts and emptied them before FBR attempted to recover money from the accounts.

    Now FBR is planning to seize all vehicles belonging to the singer.

    On January 14, 2022, Aima received a notice from the FBR for non-payment of taxes worth Rs 85 million.

    On the work front, the singer will feature in Pakistan Super Leagues’ (PSL) Anthem along with Atif Aslam. The music will be produced by Abdullah Siddiqui.

    She was recently in the news over a controversial video where she showed her middle finger to a person in the crowd during her concert.

    Aima clarified the reason for her actions, saying she did it because someone in the crowd did it first to her.

  • Meesha Shafi wins case against stay order obtained by Ali Zafar

    Meesha Shafi wins case against stay order obtained by Ali Zafar

    Singer, Meesha Shafi has won a civil revision challenge at the Lahore High Court against a stay order obtained by Ali Zafar against a defamation suit which Meesha had filed against him.

    The stay order that was issued on February 13, 2020 issued by the trial court had stopped the proceedings of a civil defamation case filed by Meesha Shafi in 2019 under the Defamation Ordinance 2002 for false and defamatory statements made by Ali Zafar in the media and social media.

    In its application for a stay order against Meesha’s defamation case, Ali Zafar had argued that Meesha’s suit should be stayed until a separate defamation case filed by Ali Zafar is decided. However, the Lahore High Court has overturned this order by accepting a civil revision challenge which has stated that the cause of action of the two suits is sufficiently different and the trial against Ali Zafar can proceed and Meesha Shafi’s legal team can now pursue the case against Ali Zafar.

    What is Meesha’s defamation suit?

    Meesha Shafi had filed a case on September 17, 2019 pertaining to a defamatory smear campaign by Ali Zafar. In the suit, Meesha contended that statements made by Ali Zafar on a private Pakistani news channel on falsely stated that she was a “liar” and that she made sexual harassment allegations to obtain fame and Canadian immigration.

    Ali also stated that Meesha wanted to “become another Malala Yousafzai”, implying that Malala fabricated her assassination attempt.

    Meesha Shafi reacted to the news, thanking her legal team and all those who support her.

  • ‘Authorities were unable to perform their duties’: CM Buzdar suspends 15 officials responsible for Murree tragedy

    ‘Authorities were unable to perform their duties’: CM Buzdar suspends 15 officials responsible for Murree tragedy

    Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar on Wednesday ordered the suspension of 15 officials for being negligent towards their duties.

    CM Buzdar,while addressing a press conference, revealed the findings of the inquiry report and said that Rawalpindi’s deputy commissioner has been removed and disciplinary action has been ordered against him.

    The Murree assistant commissioner has also been suspended along with Murree’s assistant superintendent of police (ASP), said the CM.

    Buzdar further said that the Rawalpindi chief traffic officer (CTO), traffic deputy superintendent of police (DSP), Murree divisional forest officer, Murree district emergency officer, Murree Rescue 1122 in charge, and Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) director have also been suspended and disciplinary action has been ordered against them.

    The chief minister said that disciplinary action has been ordered against these 15 officers over the Murree tragedy as “concerned authorities were unable to perform their duties.”

    “The government has fulfilled its promise of a transparent inquiry into the Murree tragedy,” Buzdar said, adding the inquiry report has highlighted the shortcomings of the authorities.

  • Senate passes resolution regarding artist royalties, celebrities laud

    Senate passes resolution regarding artist royalties, celebrities laud

    The Senate of Pakistan has passed a resolution that ensures royalties for artists, Senator Faisal Javed announced on Tuesday.

    The resolution, passed unanimously, would empower the Copyright Board to fix royalties for licensing and assignment of work and to ensure payments to artists, according to actor Humayun Saeed.

    Until now, artists only get paid once for their work but the media houses are free to re-run plays and movies featuring them and earn more money.

    Royalties are payments that artists receive on the reruns of their projects.

    Royalties had been the subject of debate since the death of actor Naila Jafferi, who had publicly appealed to the government that artist be given royalties. Her video came at a time when she was battling cancer.

    The resolution was introduced by Senator Javed. He congratulated the entertainment industry on Twitter.

    “Congratulations as the resolution has been passed by the Senate unanimously today. Appreciate the support from all the members of the house.”

    Celebrities such as Mikaal Zulfiqar Humayun Saeed, Adnan Siddiqui and Ramsha Khan lauded the development.