Author: newsdesk

  • Twitter reacts to hike in petroleum prices, Fawad defends

    Twitterati reacted to the hike in petroleum prices in Pakistan, using the hashtag #PTIPetrolBomb, which is currently in the top trends.

    Musician and politician Jawad Ahmad tweeted: ”Petrol price is up by Rs 5/litre.It won’t affect the elite & ruling class whichever party they belong to. Youth of Pakistan! These people have so much money that their next many generations would live comfortably with it. They fight on TV & social media but actually, they’re all one.”

    Former anchorperson Gulmeenay tweeted, “My husband and I run a small food delivery service. We cannot currently afford a rider so he does the deliveries himself. This petrol price increase (and all the previous increases) literally impacts our income and our ability to pay bills and feed ourselves.”

    Apart from this, some people had hilarious responses to the petrol price hike.

    Senior journalist Mansoor Ali Khan quote-tweeted Punjab Police’s tweet about abandoned cars picture and said, “As petrol becomes more expensive, you will find most cars have been abandoned.”

    A parody news page tweeted: “The PM could not sleep all night as petrol was increased by Rs 5 per litre, say sources.”

    Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, while responding to a journalist on Twitter, has defended the hike in petroleum prices by the government.

    “Oil prices in Pakistan are still the lowest in the region. If we had oil wells, things would have been different but we have to buy it from abroad, so the price is bound to go up if it increases in the oil market. This is the case for the rest of the imports. The real achievement is that the income of 75 per cent of the population has also increased significantly,” tweeted Chaudhry.

    The government on Wednesday notified an increase in the price of petrol by Rs 5 per litre and diesel by Rs 5.1 per litre.

  • Yasir Hussain reveals the reason behind hiding Kabir’s face, Ahmed and Areeba adore

    Yasir Hussain has shared the reason for not revealing the face of his baby Kabir Hussain. The Baandhi star shared a picture of himself with wife Iqra Aziz and son Kabir, he chose not to reveal his face.

    The Jhooti actor stated that he is covering his child’s face because his maternal grandmother insists, he really wants to showcase Kabir to the world but he cannot.

    “Mai toh aaj tasweer laga doon bus bachy ki nani ne phasoori dali hui hai lo,” he mentioned.

    Fellow actors Ahmed Ali Butt and Areeba Habib expressed their love for little Kabir by commenting under the post.

  • ‘Trump administration enabled Taliban takeover, not Pak’: US Senator

    ‘Trump administration enabled Taliban takeover, not Pak’: US Senator

    United States (US) Senator Chris Van Hollen said on Tuesday that former US President Donald Trump’s administration had enabled the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, reports Dawn.

    The senator, a Maryland Democrat, argued at the first Senate hearing on the US withdrawal from Afghan soil that it was in Pakistan’s interest to “prevent chaos and civil war” in its neighbourhood.

    Responding to allegations that President Joe Biden’s administration was responsible for the chaos and the Taliban takeover, Senator Van Hollen engaged in a dialogue with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was the main witness.

    “Is it not the fact that the Trump administration asked the Pakistani government to release three top Taliban commanders as part of that process?” he asked.

    “That’s correct,” Blinken responded.

    Van Hollen asked Blinken that the former Afghan government was not included in the Doha talks and was pressurised to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners who were later involved in Kabul’s takeover, to which Blinken responded: “That’s correct.”

    The US senator also raised the agreement reached that said US forces would leave by May and would not be attacked but there was no such restriction on attacking Afghan forces, to which Blinken said he was correct.

    “And so, we pick a date. We say to the Taliban you can attack Afghan forces and then we say, now let’s negotiate the future of Afghanistan. Isn’t the way it was set up when you walked in?” the senator asked. “That’s essentially, yes,” Blinken replied.

    “There is a saying in Afghanistan, partners have watches, we have the time. So, the Trump administration, with this negotiation, set it up perfectly for the Taliban. Greenlight to attack the Afghan forces. No discussions going forward,” Van Hollen said.

    Blinken responded: “I believe that’s accurate.”

    Senator Van Hollen reminded Secretary Blinken that Trump even criticised Biden for not withdrawing the forces by May, as agreed in the US-Taliban agreement.

    He noted that the Biden administration now had both Pakistan and India on the table because the Afghan dispute could not be resolved without involving regional players.

    “I think a number of those countries, at least Pakistan — like India, like the others — have an interest in preventing chaos and civil war in Afghanistan,” he added.

    Then returning to Pakistan, he said: “Obviously, we asked them to release prisoners that they had locked up, Taliban prisoners. So, obviously, we have to keep an eye on the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence), [I] get that, but let’s all work together to achieve the goal of a stable Afghanistan that protects the rights of its people.”

    On the other hand, National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf on Wednesday said that the US should listen to Pakistan’s message as it reassesses its relationship with the country.

    “If there has to be a reassessment, the reassessment has to conclude that what Pakistan was saying made sense. So now what Pakistan is saying we should give a fair hearing to,” he said.

    On Monday, Antony Blinken said the US would be looking at its relationship with Pakistan in the coming weeks to formulate what role Washington would want it to play in the future of Afghanistan.

  • India world’s top source of misinformation on Covid-19: Study

    India world’s top source of misinformation on Covid-19: Study

    India disseminated the largest amount of Coronavirus misinformation on social media due to the country’s higher internet penetration rate, increasing social media usage and users’ lack of internet literacy, according to a new study.

    The study titled ‘Prevalence and Source Analysis of COVID-19 Misinformation in 138 Countries’ was published in Sage’s International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions journal.

    As per details, the study examined 9,657 pieces of misinformation made in 138 countries. They were fact-checked by 94 organisations to understand the prevalence and sources of misinformation in different countries.

    “Of all the countries, India (18.07 per cent) produced the largest amount of social media misinformation, perhaps thanks to the country’s higher internet penetration rate, increasing social media consumption and users’ lack of internet literacy,” the study stated.
    The results also showed that India (15.94 per cent), the US (9.74 per cent), Brazil (8.57 per cent) and Spain (8.03 per cent) are the four most misinformation-affected countries.

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    Based on these results, the study stated that it is presumed that the prevalence of Covid-19 misinformation can have a positive association with the pandemic situation.

    “Social media (84.94 per cent) produces the largest amount of misinformation, and the internet (90.5 per cent) as a whole is responsible for most of the Covid-19 misinformation. Moreover, Facebook alone produces 66.87 per cent of the misinformation among all social media platforms,” it added.

    Earlier, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had also cautioned that false information on the virus is spreading and putting people in danger. WHO had advised people to make sure to double-check everything they hear with trusted sources before believing or sharing them with others.

  • Senior Afghan Taliban leader named among Time’s 100 most influential people of 2021

    Senior Afghan Taliban leader named among Time’s 100 most influential people of 2021

    Taliban co-founder and now Deputy Prime Minister of Afghanistan, Abdul Ghani Baradar, has been named among the “100 Most Influential People” of 2021 by Time magazine, reports Dawn.

    Veteran journalist Ahmed Rashid wrote Baradar’s profile for Time’s list.

    Rashid mentions Baradar as having “a charismatic military leader and a deeply pious figure”, who “is revered” among the Afghan Taliban as a founding member of the movement in 1994.

    “A quiet, secretive man who rarely gives public statements or interviews, Baradar nonetheless represents a more moderate current within the Taliban, the one that will be thrust into the limelight to win Western support and desperately needed financial aid. The question is whether the man who coaxed the Americans out of Afghanistan can sway his own movement,” the profile said.

    “When the Taliban swept to victory in August in Afghanistan, it was on the terms Baradar negotiated. He was said to be making all the major decisions, including the amnesty offered to members of the former regime, the lack of bloodshed when the Taliban entered Kabul and the regime’s contacts and visits with neighboring states, especially China and Pakistan,” read the profile.

    “Now he stands as the fulcrum for the future of Afghanistan. In the interim Taliban government, he was made a Deputy Prime Minister, the top role given to another leader more acceptable to the younger, more hard-line generation of Taliban commanders.”

    Baradar appears to be the first Taliban leader to make it to the list.

    In 2004, Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden was included in the list, with the magazine noting that he “galvanised disparate organisations in dozens of countries into one network, sharing a vision, logistics, and Afghan training camps”.

    “The malcontented son of a wealthy Saudi construction magnate, bin Laden found meaning in the Afghan war,” wrote Richard Clarke, the former head of counterterrorism for America’s National Security Council.

  • PM Imran shares pictures of Bushra Bibi

    Yesterday, Prime Minister, Imran Khan took to Instagram and posted a few pictures of his wife, Bushra Bibi, visiting the Punjab Institute of Mental Health in Lahore.

    The premier captioned the pictures, “First Lady, Bushra Bibi visited the Punjab Institute of Mental Health, Lahore and was briefed on the facilities provided there.”

    First Lady Bushra Bibi visited the Punjab Institute of Mental Health in Lahore on Wednesday. The video of her visit shows Bushra Bibi visiting different departments and checking the facilities at the institute.

    Bushra Bibi was briefed about the facilities provided by the institute. The staff told her about the timings when patients are fed and the activities of the women admitted there.

  • Video: Hamza, Naimal share adorable moments with son Mustafa

    Verna star Naimal Khawar recently shared a video of husband Hamza Ali Abbasi doing a guitar session with son Mustafa. The video went viral on social media. In the video Hamza can be seen playing guitar to his son.

    Have a look at some other moments of Naimal and Hamza with their only child.

    Hamza and Naimal recently celebrated their third wedding anniversary. The couple tied the knot on August 25, 2019 in a simple yet elegant ceremony with only their closest friends and family members present at the events. The couple welcomed their first child Musatfa Abbasi in July, 2020.

  • ‘Ignorants’: Mohammad Amir hits out at PCB

    ‘Ignorants’: Mohammad Amir hits out at PCB

    Pakistani speedster Mohammad Amir has slammed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after his name was included in the list of players who received domestic contracts for the upcoming season.

    “If I’m not playing international cricket, then what’s the point of featuring in domestic cricket. They want to control me by offering this contract but that’s not going to happen. PCB should have contacted me before including my name in the domestic contracts list,” said Amir in a recent interview.

    “They [PCB] have well-educated people in their ranks but they still behave like ignorants,” he added.

    The 29-year-old also asked the PCB to give his contract to a young cricketer.

    “The PCB should give my central contract to a young cricketer to help him and so that he can support his family,” he said.

    Amir also stated that he is enjoying playing league cricket all over the world.

    “Maybe they [PCB] haven’t accepted the fact that I have retired from international cricket, which is why they take such steps,” he said. “I am enjoying playing league cricket and spend the rest of the time with my family.”

    Amir retired from international cricket in December last year due to reservations with Pakistan’s team management. He represented Pakistan in 36 Tests, 61 ODIs and 50 T20Is.

  • Indian celebrities shower praise on Yumna-Bilal’s ‘Pyar Ke Sadqay’

    Indian celebrities shower praise on Yumna-Bilal’s ‘Pyar Ke Sadqay’

    Indian celebrities have praised Pakistani drama, Pyar Ke Sadqay on social media. Bollywood writer and critic Salil Arunkumar expressed his appreciation for the hit serial on his twitter handle.

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    A-List Indian television actor Helly Shah also commented her feelings for the show. The Ishq Mein Marjawan 2 star stated that she loved every bit of the Farooq Rind’s directorial.

    Pyar Ke Sadqay starred Yumna Zaidi, Bilal Abbas Khan and Yashma Gill in lead roles. The ensemble cast also featured Atiqa Odho, Omair Rana and Srha Asghar in pivotal characters.

    In July 2021, Indian actor Ammy Virk expressed his appreciation for Humayun Saeed’s Meray Paas Tum Ho, also featuring Ayeza Khan, Adnan Siddiqui and Hira Mani.

    While talking to BBC Urdu Amitabh Bachchan shared how he felt about Pakistani dramas and also about Pakistani actors and singers coming to India to work. He said, ”I like it when people from Pakistan come to work in India. We have seen the work done in Pakistan. The drama serials that are shown on Pakistani television are exceptional. A channel in India is dedicated to showing Pakistani drama serials which are very fine and I accept the fact that Pakistani TV serials are far superior to those which are being made in India. The artist in Pakistan are brilliant too. Even very long ago many Pakistani serials were extraordinary”.

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    Bollywood Actress Meera Chopra, who is a cousin of Priyanka Chopra and Parineeti Chopra praised Meray Paas Tum Ho. The actress was massively impressed by Humayun and Adnan Siddiqui’s performance in the drama.

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    She turned to her social media handle and wrote, “Watching Meray Pass Tum Ho, finding the show extremely slow. But both these men Humayun Saeed and Adnan Siddiqui, you guys are amazing. Can’t help to hate one and love the other, what performances. I’ve become fan for life.”

    Read More: Ten Bollywood superstars who love Pakistani dramas

  • ‘Khao begum’: Falak, Sarah enjoy their romantic getaway, flaunt over 15 dishes on table

    ‘Khao begum’: Falak, Sarah enjoy their romantic getaway, flaunt over 15 dishes on table

    Celebrity couple Sarah Khan and Falak Shabir shared special moments from their romantic getaway on their Instagram handles. The Zindagi duo are expecting their first child.

    The pair munched on some delicacies together.

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    On the work front, Sarah can be seen in Khizer Idrees’ Laapata co-starring Ali Rehman Khan, Ayeza Khan and Gohar Rasheed.