Author: newsdesk

  • Atiqa Odho praises Saba Hamid’s stellar performance as ‘Noor Jahan’

    Atiqa Odho praises Saba Hamid’s stellar performance as ‘Noor Jahan’

    Renowned actress Atiqa Odho is all praise for veteran colleague Saba Hamid portrayal of the lead role in ‘Noor Jahan’.

    After episodes 20 and 21 aired this past weekend, Odho took to Instagram to highlight Hamid’s brilliance, calling it an “acting masterclass” for aspiring actors, noting how Saba’s controlled, silent expressions were truly captivating.

    “I’m so inspired watching my friend Saba Hamid in #NoorJahan. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime role, and what she has done with it is amazing. She mesmerizes with just her expressions! Well done!”

    She also encouraged new actors to view Saba’s performance as a valuable lesson in acting.

    Atiqa concluded with, “So proud of you, Saba.”

    Many of her Instagram followers agreed, praising Saba’s performance as well.

    ‘Noor Jahan’ features a strong cast, including Kubra Khan, Ali Rehman Khan, and Noor Hassan. Directed by Musaddiq Malek and written by Zanjabeel Asim Shah.

  • The government has only two months, Imran Khan predicts

    The government has only two months, Imran Khan predicts

    Founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan has predicted that the incumbent government, led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), will last only two more months.

    Inside Rawalpindi Adiala’s jail, the former Prime Minister told journalists, ‘’The government is plunging into a quagmire; however, the rulers are fools and unable to understand this.’’

    ’I am predicting this from prison that this government has only two more months.’’
    He also said he has enough time, but the incumbent rulers are running out of time.

    Earlier, Imran offered to negotiate with the stakeholders in power by selecting Chief Milli Awami Party (MAP) Mahmood Khan Achakzai from his side.

  • Why do Pakistanis want to leave their country?

    Why do Pakistanis want to leave their country?

    To understand the reasons, we first need to understand the accelerating crisis in Pakistan. A big number of people are trying to leave Pakistan as economic conditions worsen day by day. The country is drowning in debts.

    According to the Business Recorder, Pakistan’s external debt and liabilities have soared to 130.179 billion dollars in May 2024 and total public debt at the end of Mar 2024 was 67.525 trillion rupees. Plus Consultant, a research organization, says that 74 percent of Pakistanis cannot meet their expenditures.

    Economic stability comes with political stability. The country is facing political instability from inside and outside its borders. There is no political consensus on defining national interest and political rivalry creates more chaos.

    The impact of this situation can be seen in different social entities. Worst kind of intolerance is being observed in the society. An alarming situation for rapidly growing population and very limited opportunities. Conclusively, multiple factors linked to the economic and political instability in Pakistan are being observed the middle class. They try to find ways to avail opportunities available in the global market.

    According to Bureau of Immigration and Overseas Employment, 13.65 million skilled and educated people were working abroad till June 2024. Among those, 78185 are accountants, 36731 doctors, 10932 engineers, and 23027 teachers. 13 million of them went to Gulf countries. These are the registered number of employees. Remittances data shows that in the FY23, total remittances were 2187.1 million US dollars which increased to 3158.3 million US dollars in the FY24.

    This year, more than 700,000 people already left Pakistan for a better future. This number was 862625 and 832339 in the years 2023 and 2022 respectively. However, politicians consider overseas Pakistanis as an asset as they contribute a lot in the economy of Pakistan.

  • Asad Shah charged in Fatima’s murder

    Asad Shah charged in Fatima’s murder

    An Anti-Terrorism Court in Khairpur has convicted four individuals in the case involving the death of a minor maid, Fatima Fariro, from last year. The convicted are Pir Asad Shah, Hina Shah, Pir Fayaz Shah, and Imtiaz Mirasi.

    The four offenders have been charged by the court in connection with Fatima’s murder that happened at Ranipur Haveli in Ranipur village near Khairpur city in Sindh province.

    The hearing has been adjourned until August 12. The witnesses’ statements will be recorded at the next hearing.

    Background:

    On August 14, 2023, 10-year-old Fatima was allegedly tortured to death in a mansion in Ranipur.

    Pir Asad Shah, Fayaz Shah, Hina Shah, and Compounder Fayaz have been named as the main suspects in the murder case.

    The case of the young maid’s murder is currently under review in the anti-terrorism court in Khairpur.

    Main suspect Asad Shah was arrested after the case was highlighted, and a video revealing the girl’s suffering before her death was also released.

  • Saba Faisal shares how her relationship with her second daughter-in-law started improving

    Saba Faisal shares how her relationship with her second daughter-in-law started improving

     
    Veteran actress Saba Faisal has always been open about her personal life.
    Recently, she appeared as a guest on ‘Good Morning Pakistan,’ where host Nida Yasir asked, “Does a mother-in-law also need to prepare herself before the wedding takes place?”
    Discussing her son’s first marriage,

    Faisal said, “I was so excited about my elder son’s wedding that I ignored preparing myself for my new role as a mother-in-law. My mistake caused problems with my daughter-in-law, but we worked things out and our family is happy again.”
       
    Reflecting back on her own experience, the Sultanat actress said, “Women should prepare themselves before welcoming a new member from a different background. I learned this with my second daughter-in-law. I had expectations from my elder daughter-in-law, Neha, to manage the household like I did, which was wrong. But eventually, things settled down.”

  • Which Pakistani cricketer is behind Sri Lanka’s historic win against India?

    Which Pakistani cricketer is behind Sri Lanka’s historic win against India?

    On Tuesday, Sri Lanka defeated India in an ODI series after 27 years. Sri Lanka won the three-match series with a 2-0.

    The first match between India and Sri Lanka was a nail-biting tie. In this match, Sri Lanka played first and scored 230 runs while losing eight wickets. In response, India needed just one run off five balls with two wickets in hand, but the match took a dramatic turn as both wickets fell without scoring any runs.

    In the second match, Sri Lanka defeated India by 32 runs, while in the last match, they defeated India by 110 runs.

    Sri Lankan bowlers were a nightmare for Indian batters throughout the series. They were a step ahead of the batsmen. Sri Lankan spinners, especially Dunith Wellalage and Jeffrey Vandersay, were outstanding.

    All credit should go to the coach, right? Interestingly, Pakistan’s former cricketer, Aqib Javed was their bowling coach. He was appointed as bowling coach of the Sri Lankan cricket team in March this year before the T20 World Cup 2024.

    He is associated with the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Lahore Qalandars.

    From 1988 to 1998, he played 22 Test matches and 163 One-Day Internationals for Pakistan. He was also on the Pakistan team that won the 1992 Cricket World Cup.

  • Boy steals mother’s jewellery to gift iPhone to girlfriend

    Boy steals mother’s jewellery to gift iPhone to girlfriend

    A ninth-grader boy in India stole his mother’s gold jewellery to gift his girlfriend an iPhone for her birthday.

    The incident occurred in the Najafgarh area of the Indian capital, New Delhi, as per Indian media.

    The police said that on August 3, the woman filed a complaint stating that on August 2, between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., an unknown person stole two gold chains, gold earrings, and a gold ring.

    During the investigation, the CCTV footage showed no one entering the house or leaving.

    However, the police then turned the scope of the investigation inside the house and found that one of the woman’s sons was missing.

    The investigation team then started gathering information about the boy and questioned his school friends.

    The boy’s friends told the police that he had a close friendship with a girl in his class and that the two liked each other.

    The investigation team then learned that the woman’s son had bought a new iPhone worth Rs 50,000. The team conducted several raids to search for the boy, but each time he managed to escape from the scene.

    “We received a tip-off on Tuesday that the boy would come home around 6 pm.

    However, as soon as he came home, he was taken into custody, and later, an iPhone was recovered from his possession,” the police stated.

    The young boy is a student in class 9 and studies in a private school in Najafgarh.

    The investigation further revealed that the boy had asked his mother for money to buy a gift on his girlfriend’s birthday, but due to her limited resources, the mother refused to give him the money.

    Enraged at the refusal, the boy stole the gold ornaments from the house, sold them to a goldsmith, and bought an iPhone.

    Delhi police have arrested the goldsmith and recovered the woman’s jewellery.

  • It is law: President approves bill restricting ‘lawmakers’ from changing parties

    It is law: President approves bill restricting ‘lawmakers’ from changing parties

    President Asif Ali Zardari has approved the Election Act Amendment Bill 2024, which aims to restrict independent lawmakers from changing parties.

    According to Geo News, the bill has been sent to the Senate Secretariat for official notification today.
    The approval comes when the Election Commission Pakistan (ECP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have approached the Apex Court regarding the decision on reserved seats.
    The bill proposes that if a candidate does not submit a declaration of his affiliation with a political party to the returning officer (RO) before seeking allotment of the election symbol, they shall be “considered as an independent candidate and not a candidate of any political party.’’

    It further states that if a political party fails to submit its list for reserved seats within a prescribed time, it will not be eligible for reserved seats.
    Lawmakers also cannot change to another party after joining one within three days of winning the election.

  • Turkey joins South Africa’s case against Israel

    Turkey joins South Africa’s case against Israel

    Turkey has filed an official request to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague.

    In a statement, the Turkish foreign ministry announced that it had decided to join the case—formally known as submitting a declaration of official intervention—and would make the necessary legal preparations.

    Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said it had made the formal request on Wednesday.

    “The international community must do its part to stop the genocide and exert the necessary pressure on Israel and its supporters,” Fidan said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

    “Turkiye will make every effort to do so,” he added.

    The court will make the final decision of admission to the case.

    South Africa brought its case against Israel in December, accusing it of state-led genocide in Gaza.

    To read more: All you need to know about South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at ICJ

    However, in January, the ICJ ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians.

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that in January, Turkiye provided documents for the case at the ICJ, also known as the World Court. In June, Spain said it had asked to intervene in the case at the ICJ.

    Israel has repeatedly dismissed the case’s accusations of genocide, claiming its right to self-defence after Oct 7 last year that killed 1,200 Israelis and foreigners. In 10 months of subsequent Israeli attack, more than 39,600 Palestinians have been martyred in Gaza. Hundreds of thousands are displaced, and most of the strip suffers from a humanitarian crisis.

  • ‘Apologizing for wearing choli was mistake’; Defiant Ushna Shah slams trolls

    ‘Apologizing for wearing choli was mistake’; Defiant Ushna Shah slams trolls

    Ushna Shah has never shied away from speaking her mind, never allowing trolls to dictate anything to her. If social media creeps think they can troll her into changing who she is, they’ve got another thing coming.

    On Wednesday Ushna posted a video of herself with the caption, “@livgolf_league was such a vibe! They’re really on to something. Got to watch some incredible golf, made some lovely friends & spectated elite #currypower ! ⛳”

    In the video, the actress was seen wearing shorts, accompanied by her husband. The clip sparked a wave of trolling from social media judgemental users.

    In response to the backlash, Ushna took to her X (formerly Twitter) account and defiantly wrote, “A girl from a liberal background, who grew up in Canada & wore shorts etc with her friends is now married to a white man who is from a similar background & doesn’t care if she shows her legs when they’re abroad..and her Pakistani audience looses their minds. ”

    Refusing to give an inch to internet creeps, she said, “The biggest mistake I ever made was apologising for wearing a red choli on my wedding & dancing, to the same people who will drool over the Nargis Fakhris of the world (also Pakistani, also Muslim) but will annihilate us for having a liberal upbringing that differs from theirs. I’m in my “over it” era. Go watch some item numbers & keep searching for po*n, I’m too old to cater to your hypocrisy, I choose to live my life & be happy. ”

    Many people have spoken out in favor of the actress and her right to dress however she prefers.
    Here is the video shared by Ushna Shah:

    Here is the tweet shared by Ushna Shah: