Author: newsdesk

  • ‘Nawaz won’t come back, we will bring him back’: Fawad Chaudhry

    ‘Nawaz won’t come back, we will bring him back’: Fawad Chaudhry

    Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed has said that Nawaz Sharif’s arrival to Pakistan has been hyped for no reason. It does not make any difference whether he comes or not.

    “We have prevented the mafia group from establishing a foothold in any city,” he said.

    “We will contest the next elections with full force under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan,” he added.

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday said that the government will bring Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif back after the finalisation of an agreement with the United Kingdom (UK) government and ruled out the possibility of Nawaz’s voluntary return to the country.

    “We will bring back the PML-N leader and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif because he himself will never return,” said Fawad.

    “We have been addressing the legal lacunas relating to the matter for the last two years. Rest assured, he will not return, but we will bring him back,” Fawad said emphatically.

    Fawad emphasised that the opposition was not capable of toppling the government, as it required leadership which they did not have.

    “They are only issuing statements to appease their workers. Everybody knows that Imran Khan gave them [the] toughest time while in [the] Opposition,” he noted.

  • Twitter reacts after Shaheen ‘Test Player of the Year’ snub

    Twitter reacts after Shaheen ‘Test Player of the Year’ snub

    Pakistani Twitter has strongly reacted after Pakistani pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has not been named among the nominees for ICC ‘Test Player of the Year’.

    India’s spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, England skipper Joe Root, New Zealand’s all-rounder Kylie Jamieson and Sri Lanka’s Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne have been nominated for the award on Tuesday.

    Shaheen was the second highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, during 2021, with 47 wickets in 9 matches at an average of 17.06.

    Interestingly, the ICC decided to include New Zealand’s pacer Kyle Jamieson, who had bagged fewer wickets than Shaheen, in the list. The right-armer bagged 27 wickets in five matches.

    Explaining their decision, the ICC said, in a statement, that “in New Zealand’s finest hour, as they celebrated their ICC World Test Championship victory, Jamieson was the player who made the difference”.

    “Away from the seam-friendly pitches of New Zealand and England, Jamieson also impressed on the flat decks in India, getting the ball to shape beautifully,” the statement added.

    However, Twitter users were not happy with ICC’s decision to pick Jamieson over Shaheen.

    https://twitter.com/EhtishamEjaz051/status/1476052082163601408?s=20

    Some of the netizens were even questioning Hassan Ali’s exclusion from the nominees as the star Pakistani speedster has grabbed 41 wickets in 8 matches at an average of 16.07 which include five, 5 wicket-hauls and one 10 wicket-hauls.

  • PM Imran praises India tech, says India $150 billion, Pak $2 billion

    PM Imran praises India tech, says India $150 billion, Pak $2 billion

    Prime Minister Imran Khan, while addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Lahore Technopolis, a special technology zone (STZ) on December 23, praised India’s IT sector.

    “Unfortunately, Pakistan lagged behind in the sector despite having ideal conditions, including a huge population of young people,” he said, adding that within 15 to 20 years, Indian tech exports boomed to $150 billion while Pakistan’s could reach only $2 billion.

    PM continued by talking about the involvement of overseas Pakistan’s investing in Pakistan. “China and India had also first attracted their own firms operating abroad to invest at home,” he said, “Pakistani individuals, as well as the firms operating abroad including the Silicon Valley, were interested to invest in Pakistan which necessitated incentives and ease of doing business.”

    Talking about the project, PM said that the project would help provide incentives to the tech industry and bring ease for the businessmen, in accordance with the government’s vision.

    Exemplifying Amazon, Google and other tech giants, the prime minister said during COVID-19, all other businesses had faced a slump but the profits of the tech companies multiplied during the pandemic.

  • Are PTI’s MNAs joining PML-N? Shahid Khaqan responds

    While talking about Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) members, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi claimed that once their ‘support’ ends they will come out.

    In Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’ on Monday, Khaqan shed light on whether PTI’s Members of National Assembly (MNAs) are joining PML-N. According to him, time will tell.

    “They are afraid of calls and they will appear after they seize receiving the telephone calls as they know they have no political future with the ruling PTI”, he said while recalling the latest joint sitting, saying only 190 members showed up, but when the telephone calls started, all the members came.

    Answering about the passing of mini-budget in the House, he said that the party will try its best to be present in full numbers and according to him, the government tries to get bills passed through “browbeating”.

    Abbasi, who is the secretary-general of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) ruled out the possibility of any deal for a way into the power corridors.

    “We do not want a share in power nor do we seek interests. We can have negotiations while staying within the purview of the Constitution. We have nothing to give. What can we give to anyone?” he added.

    When asked about the proposed names for the post of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman by the Opposition. Khaqan didn’t give a clear answer and laughed it off.

  • Video: Aima Baig patiently hits back at an abusive man at her concert in Gujranwala

    Video: Aima Baig patiently hits back at an abusive man at her concert in Gujranwala

    Singer Aima Baig, during a concert schooled a man for misbehaving with her, the video has gone viral on social media. A front-row concert attendee misbehaved with the Sajna Door crooner. The singer did not shy away from expressing her anger over the boy.

    “Go at the back,” said the Do Bol diva said to him angrily.

    “If you guys misbehave, I’ll go back…”

    “Because of one person like him, everything gets ruined for everybody else who’s here to enjoy,” added Aima.

    The audience apologised to Aima, she then continued her singing.

    Earlier, star singer Atif Aslam left a concert midway to protect female participants of his audience.

  • Is cricketer Haris Rauf crushing on Maya Ali?

    Is cricketer Haris Rauf crushing on Maya Ali?

    Pakistani pacer Haris Rauf recently posted a picture in which he can be seen watching one of actor Maya Ali’s drama serial with complete devotion.

    This isn’t the first time Haris has revealed his admiration for Pakistani star Ali.

    The bowler came in the news limelight after showing his admiration for ace actor Maya, he then wished to have a dinner date with the Mann Mayal lead. Ali however, kept quiet about it. The bowler, then once again said that he’s still waiting for a dinner with her. Now, the bowler has posted the story while watching Ali’s latest drama Jo Bichar Gaye.

    Netizens are coming up with funny reactions on his desperation for Pehli Si Muhabbat diva. Fans are tagging Ali in the post as well, they are also saying that he will win Ali’s heart. They also urged Maya Ali to listen to him. They also praised them and said that the two will make a cute couple. Here are the comments.

  • PM Khan says bank staff wearing ‘shalwar kameez’ won’t ‘frighten’ Pakistanis

    PM Khan says bank staff wearing ‘shalwar kameez’ won’t ‘frighten’ Pakistanis

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, during a ceremony held to approve the Rs100 billion in the Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar initiative on Friday, said that he was happy to see that banks have now started to converse in Urdu with their customers.

    “Banks have started talking to customers in Urdu, so now make the staff wear shalwar kameez [national dress of Pakistan], this will not frighten the people,” said PM Khan.

    “There were several hurdles earlier, as when a common person would go to the bank, they would suffer from anxiety,” said the premier, adding, “I see Pakistan now moving in the direction it should have been headed in a long time ago.”

    “Pakistanis who worked as labourers overseas had one dream — to build a house for themselves and their families,” the prime minister said, regretting that past governments did not pay heed to this issue.

    PM Khan said that past governments did not focus on the lower classes as they had only paid attention to the elite in every sector — education, health, and other facilities.

    PM Imran Khan said this project would lift Pakistan’s economy, as construction of homes would increase.

  • Gas leak causes death of six in a family

    On Tuesday, six members of a family including three children suffocated to death while sleeping due to a gas leak in Hagnu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

    The victims reportedly switched on the gas heater in their bedroom at night to protect themselves from the severe cold. Afterward, they went to sleep while the gas heater was left on.

    There was gas load shedding due to which the flame died out. However, the gas fumes did not burn again when the gas resumed. Instead, it keep on filling in the room causing them to suffocate which ultimately led to their death.

    The neighbours got suspicious when the family did not wake up late in the morning. They banged at the door but when they didn’t get a response, they decided to break down the door. When locals entered the room, the victims were lying on their beds.

    The deceased included a man, two women, and three children. Their dead bodies were shifted to the hospital by a rescue team.

  • MNAs only come to mark attendance, third parliament session adjourned

    National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser adjourned the session on Monday due to lack of quorum in the lower house for the third consecutive day.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Sheikh Fayyazuddin mentioned the empty treasury benches and said that he is “ashamed”, reports Dawn.

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmakers were not present in the assembly on Monday because of the 14th death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto.

    For the quorum of the lower house, the presence of 86 members (one-fourth) out of the 342 members is necessary.

    On December 22nd and 24th, the sessions were adjourned because of the same reason.

    However, the assembly record shows that on Dec 22, a total of 219 members had marked their attendance. On Dec 24, 176 members had marked their attendance.

    Moreover, it shows that on the opening day of the NA session, 89 lawmakers belonging to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and its allies were present. Similarly, a great number, i.e. 105 treasury members, were present when the session was called the second time.

  • Jaffer roasts Vaughan, digs out old ‘India 92 all out’ tweet after England defeat

    Jaffer roasts Vaughan, digs out old ‘India 92 all out’ tweet after England defeat

    Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer has teased former English cricketer Michael Vaughan after England’s defeat in the Ashes.

    Jaffer got the opportunity today (Tuesday) to hit back at Michael Vaughan who had mocked Men in Blue in 2019.

    English team was bowled out for 68 on the third day of the Melbourne Test, handing a 3-0 victory to Australia in five-match Ashes series.

    The Joe Root side failed to live up to the expectations in the third Test after losing the first two matches and succumbed to Australian bowling.

    Jaffer got the opportunity today to hit back at Vaughan who had mocked the Men in Blue when they were bowled out for their lowest-ever ODI total (92) in New Zealand in 2019.

    “92 all out India… Can’t believe any team would get bowled out for under a 100 these days !!!” he had tweeted.

    The former Indian batter took to Twitter and said: “England 68 all out @MichaelVaughan [See-no-evil emoji] #Ashes.”

    In the video, Wasim Jaffer can be seen opening the Twitter app and winking towards the camera.

    Vaughan too responded to the tweet and said: “Very good Wasim.”

    Meanwhile, in another tweet, Vaughan lauded the Australian team saying “well done Australia .. Far too good for England.”