Author: newsdesk

  • Fawad Chaudhry’s wife launches fashion label

    Fawad Chaudhry’s wife launches fashion label

    Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry’s wife Hiba Fawad has debuted her fashion label Nisa Hussain at the 10th Hum Bridal Couture Week.

    Nisa Hussain closed Show 1 at the last day of the Hum Bridal Couture Week with a gorgeous collection of bridal and wedding outfits. Set in rich, luxurious materials and embellishments, the 16-piece collection had a diverse colour palette ranging from neutrals to red. Resham and Hareem Farooq were the showstoppers while Arif Lohar brought in some drama and energy to the ramp.

    In a statement, the brand said that “the collection reflects the brand’s take on traditional subcontinental bridalwear, infused with the designer’s signature silhouettes and embellishments. Set in rich, luxurious materials such as velvet, tissue, organza, cotton net, jamawar and shamoise, the collection features artisanal gold, copper, pearl, tilla and tabkakora embroideries with a diverse colour palette ranging from neutrals to red and everything in between.”

    Speaking about her debut, Nisa Hussain’s Creative Director Hiba said: “Pakistan’s fashion industry has gained remarkable ground all over the world, where our bridal wear is considered among the world’s finest couture. With my debut bridal collection at BCW, this marks a significant milestone for my young and emerging brand.”

    Read more – Farah Talib Aziz calls out Haris Shakeel for plagiarism

    Meanwhile, speaking at the event, Fawad said that his favourite collection from the day was the “one named after his daughter [Nisa Hussain]”. The minister also added that he was very happy to see designers showcase their creativity and talent at the event and that these outfits can prove to be a great export for Pakistan.

    When asked when he is launching at menswear line, Fawad said that his field is politics so we should not expect one anytime soon.

  • Mia Khalifa questions Mrs Jonas’ silence on farmers protest

    Lebanese-American media personality Mia Khalifa has left no stone unturned when it comes to extending her support to the Indian farmers as they continue to protest in Delhi. Despite immense backlash and death threats, Mia is standing strong for the farmers and is even urging people to join her and support them.

    While international stars and celebrities including Rihanna and John Cusack have been rallying for the farmers, Bollywood celebrities have chosen to either remain silent on the matter or act as a government mouthpiece. Mia recently questioned Priyanka Chopra’s silence on the matter, saying that it reminded her of “Shakira during the Beirut devastation.”

    Taking to Twitter, Khalifa wrote: “Is Mrs Jonas going to chime in at any point? I’m just curious. This is very much giving me Shakira during the Beirut devastation vibes. Silence.”

    Khalifa even shared a plate full of food on her Twitter timeline to highlight the importance of farmers, asserting that there will be no food without farmers.

    https://twitter.com/miakhalifa/status/1358248121856184322?s=19

    It is pertinent to add here that Chopra, in December 2020, had tweeted that farmers are “India’s food soldiers”.

    “Their fears need to be allayed. Their hopes need to be met,” the actor had said.

  • 1,000 bricks in 27 minutes: KP’s Neelofar Shirazi aims to set new record

    1,000 bricks in 27 minutes: KP’s Neelofar Shirazi aims to set new record

    In a bid to set a new brick smashing record in the Guinness Book of Records, Neelofar Shirazi smashed 1,000 bricks in 27 minutes at Islamabad’s multi-purpose sports stadium on Sunday. Shirazi had smashed 150 bricks last year so she decided to go for 1,000 now.

    As per details, it took Shirazi only 27 minutes to smash 1,000 bricks. The 32-year girl from Battagram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa won a cash prize of PKR 50,000 for her attempt.

    The organiser of the event, Imtiaz Ahmed said it was an honour to showcase Neelofar’s talent as she has made Pakistan proud.

    No one in the world has broken 1,000 bricks in a row.

    “We shall send the complete video recording of the event to the Guinness Book team so that they could include her name as the world record holder in the brick-breaking category,” he said.

    Later, while speaking to Gulf News Neelofar said: “My mother and members of the family, my coach Master Chen, friends and sponsors of the event are all here to support me and their presence is quite reassuring.”

    “In my childhood, I used to be a shy girl and always cried when someone bullied me,” she shared. “Whenever in class or playground someone intimidated me, I became so upset that I spent hours crying and rubbing my eyes and I did this so often that it affected my eyesight.”

    Also Watch: Sunday Superstar ft. Kulsoom Hazara

    Shirazi added that she wants to set a world record of breaking eight blocks with a single strike. At present, she is practicing five.

    Commenting on Pakistani women, Neelofar said that women of our country have great potential to make their mark in the world, we only need to support and acknowledge their talent.

  • 74-year-old man returns stolen handcuffs to police after 60 years

    74-year-old man returns stolen handcuffs to police after 60 years

    A 74-year-old man has written a heartfelt apology to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) while returning a pair of handcuffs that he had stolen more than 60 years ago.

    The elderly man reportedly from Vista in San Diego County has returned a pair of stolen handcuffs, $100 and an apology letter through a parcel to LAPD’s West Valley Station to teach his grandchildren that it is never too late to apologise for their mistakes.

    Photos of the interesting package were shared on social media by the police department, grabbing the attention of social media users.

    According to details, more than 60 years ago when the man was a teen, he was at a restaurant when he witnessed a fight involving an LAPD officer.

    He got his hands on the handcuffs after they flew off and slid toward him. He picked them up, took them home and kept them for all this time.

    “I have felt a little guilty each time I saw the handcuffs over the years but did nothing about it,” the man wrote in the letter.

    Recently, his grandsons aged 6 and 9 visited him and were playing with plastic handcuffs. That’s when the grandfather showed him the handcuffs he had and shared the story of how he got them.

    “They were aghast and asked me why I stole the handcuffs from a policeman. I, of course, had no good explanation and I told them it was the wrong thing to do and I wasn’t proud of it and then I danced around the subject,” read the letter.

    “The note is addressed to you but is partly intended for my grandsons,” the grandfather wrote.

    He later sent it back to the LAPD along with the donation and an apology letter. The letter was posted on social media by the police department, saying that it’s never too late to do the right thing.

    Netizens appreciated the act, finding it cute and sweet.

  • Porsche Pakistan CEO ‘runs off’ with Rs80 crores in booked orders

    Porsche Pakistan CEO ‘runs off’ with Rs80 crores in booked orders

    The chief executive officer (CEO) of Porsche Pakistan in Lahore has been accused of running off with nearly a billion rupees after conning people in the name of advance booking for high-end cars, whereas the company has termed these claims “false”.

    According to the police, while victims of the scam have registered complaints against Abuzar Bokhari in different police stations across the city, the department has informed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), seeking their help in informing Interpol.

    Help from the international criminal police organisation is being sought for Bokhari’s extradition from England where he allegedly flew off to a few days ago.

    Police further say that Bokhari collected Rs800 million (Rs 80 crores) from people in the name of car registrations and fled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after which he went to England and has not returned since.

    While Bokhari is the founder and CEO of Lahore-based, and Pakistan’s only, Porsche dealership based in Lahore, media reports say he started off with two partners but continued alone with the venture when Porsche formally entered the Pakistani market.

    Porsche’s presence in Pakistan was provisionally launched in 2006 and then formally launched in 2008. Since then, it has been running its operations rather successfully and has grown significantly.

    However, the luxury carmaker has now reportedly removed its official website page on Pakistan.

    “Porsche official website removes page on Pakistan which has details of its Pakistan representative Abuzar Bokhari — accused of leaving the country with Rs800 million in booked orders — here is a screenshot of the cached version of the page,” journalist Omar Quraishi tweeted.

    ‘ALLEGATIONS ARE FALSE’:

    In a statement, Porsche Pakistan said the said claims are false. It said that its CEO doesn’t owe car booking money to anyone and all the registration money was received in the account of Performance Automotive Pvt Ltd (Porsche Pakistan) on behalf of Porsche AG as their appointed representative.

    It said Porsche AG was refusing delivery of the vehicles to Pakistani customers for two years.

    A lull in supply is due to attempts to discredit Porche Pakistan by a ‘controversia;’ business group.

    The statement said Porsche Pakistan was in a legal battle with Porsche AG for this “illegal” refusal on all legal forums.

    The statement alleged that the delay was due to Porsche Middle East and Africa FZE’s alleged understanding with a rival local party it called “an influential and controversial business group” that seeks to get hold of Porsche distribution rights in Pakistan.

    The company concluded, “Porsche Pakistan and its legal team are fully available for any concerned parties or investigative authorities for any information or clarification they may require.

  • Hassan Ali seals the deal for Pakistan

    Hassan Ali seals the deal for Pakistan

    With two five–fors, Hassan Ali has sealed the deal for Pakistan, beating South Africa by 95 runs in second Test and won the series 2-0.

    The first series as captain for Babar Azam in Test cricket starts with a win – credit to hundred from Muhammad Rizwan and 10 wicket haul by Hasan Ali made the difference in the Test match.

    Babar has also been added to the list of Pakistani captains who won their debut Test series.

    Read more – Babar Azam opens up on his journey from ‘ball-picker’ to Test captain

    Pakistan won its first series against Proteas since 2003 by 2-0 with a 95-run victory in the second Test on the fifth and final day.

    Set 370-run to win, the Proteas were bowled out for 274 with Pakistan medium pacer Hasan Ali taking 5-60 — his best match figures of 10-114.

    Opener Aiden Markram scored a fighting 108 and Temba Bavuma 61.

    They put on a 106-run stand for the fourth wicket but Hasan struck with the second new ball to end Markra’s resistance.

    The 2-0 win is only Pakistan’s second over South Africa in 12 Test series, having lost eight and drawn three. Pakistan won the first Test by seven wickets in Karachi. Pakistan’s only previous series win over South Africa was in a two-match series at home in 2003.

    The series against South Africa – who were touring Pakistan for the first time in 14 years – is the biggest hosted by the home side since a deadly 2009 militant attack on Sri Lanka’s squad in Lahore halted international tours.

    With the brilliant 10-for, Hassan Ali became man of the match. While with his maiden Test match ton, Rizwan was declared man of the series.

    Meanwhile, the Pakistan cricket team regained its place among top 5 Test teams of the world with a 2-0 series win against South Africa.

    Pakistan earned 8 rating points after beating Proteas in Karachi and Rawalpindi to jump to 5th position in the ICC Test Team Rankings.

    The hosts were at the 7th position in the charts before the start of series while South Africa was at 5th. With the help of star performers – Rizwan, Hassan, Faheem Ashraf and Shaheen Shah Afridi, Pakistan has gained this position.

    The two teams will now play three Twenty20 internationals on February 11, 13 and 14, all in Lahore.

    Following Pakistan’s win several celebrities, politicians and congratulated the team for the effort.

  • PM Imran shares unseen 1984 picture

    PM Imran shares unseen 1984 picture

    People are swooning over a 37-year-old picture shared by Prime Minister Imran Khan on his Instagram account.

    The photo, which was taken in Imran’s cricketing days, shows him sitting at a press briefing. PM Imran has at least 4million followers on Instagram.

    The caption of the picture read: “October 22, 1984.”

    This is not the first time that the PM has shared his photos on the social media site. A few months ago, he took to Instagram to share a picture taken with his parents and sisters when he was only three years old.

    Recently, Imran shared a picture that was taken in 1989 while he was travelling the country for research on his book, Indus Journey.

    For this, Imran revisited “those places that meant most to him along the great Indus river, from its delta on the Arabian Sea to its headwaters in the Himalayas, by way of the mysterious ruins at Mohenjodaro, the plains of Sindh and Punjab, the Khyber Pass, and his home town of Lahore.

  • Models thank Imran Ashraf for appreciating their efforts

    Models thank Imran Ashraf for appreciating their efforts

    After walking the ramp at the Hum Bridal Couture Week 2021, Imran Ashraf has lauded and appreciated models for making all fashion shows successful with their hard work and dedication. Ashraf walked the ramp for Uzma Babar wearing a greenish-gold sherwani with Yumna Zaidi.

    In an Instagram post, the Ranjha Ranjha Kardi actor wrote: “This applause is solely for the models of the fashion week. You deserve all the credit for making the show successful.”

    “The celebrities are just mere guests at such events. It’s the models who are the real kings and queens, who deserve all the appreciation,” he added.

    Soon after Imran’s posts, models thanked the actor for appreciating and acknowledging their efforts.

    “This means so much,” said Maha Tahirani. “Absolutely glad to hear it and pleased to have people like you to look up to!”

    “You’re the sweetest Imran,” said Farwa Kazmi. “Indeed very humble. Thank you for acknowledging our hard work and respecting our platform. It was so great meeting you, you’re a wonderful person.”

    Similarly, another model Raahima Ali, commenting on Ashraf’s post, wrote: “Always had mad respect for you as a person and as an actor, but today that respect has skyrocketed. You are what they call a star sir. Thank you for acknowledging our work that’s barely ever shed any light on.”

    Supermodels Mushk Kaleem and Amna Baber also thanked Imran for his kind words.

    “Thank you for speaking up for the backbone of our fashion shows,” said Mushk. “Our models deserve so much applause and thank you for bringing that to everyone’s notice.”

    Read more – Mushk Kaleem opens up about taking drugs to lose weight

    Imran started his career as an actor in 2011 with supporting roles. His strong and heartfelt performances won the audience’s hearts making him an established actor in the field.

  • Sindh health official suspended after out-of-turn vaccination of PML-N leader’s daughter

    Sindh health official suspended after out-of-turn vaccination of PML-N leader’s daughter

    The Sindh government has suspended a senior health official over out-of-turn vaccination of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former Sindh governor Muhammad Zubair’s daughter and son-in-law against COVID-19.

    As per the details, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho took notice of the incident after the couple posted on social media pictures of them receiving the vaccination shots.

    Reports quoted provincial government sources as saying that Karachi East Deputy District Health Officer Dr Anila was suspended as coronavirus vaccines were administered to acquaintances at other centres as well.

    A three-member committee has been formed to report its findings to the Sindh health minister within 72 hours.

    “If Mohammad Zubair had his family administered the vaccines privately then there is nothing wrong in it,” Information Minister Shibli Faraz told SAMAA TV.

    “But if it were the government-procured vaccines, then this was not the right thing to do,” he added.

    Earlier, a team of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) led by Dr Faisal Sultan also met Sindh health officials and Planning Minister Asad Umar on Sunday.

    It directed the Sindh government to only vaccinate frontline health workers for now.

    The Sindh government on Friday had announced launching COVID-19 vaccination programme in 10 districts of the province and unveiled a detailed phase-wise plan to inoculate people, beginning with 170,000 frontline health workers.

    According to Dawn, In addition to the 82,359 doses to be received from the Centre, the provincial government also shared its plan for the procurement of the vaccine on its own though federal authorities are yet to respond to its request for permission for the procurement.

    “We are starting the vaccination from Wednesday [next],” Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah at a press conference. He was accompanied by a member of the Sindh vaccination taskforce and provincial lawmaker Qasim Soomro.

    Shah said 10 districts had been identified in Sindh where COVID-19 jabs would be provided. “This programme will be initiated in all the seven districts of Karachi along with Hyderabad, Jamshoro and Shaheed Benazirabad.

  • Islamabad lawyers storm high court building after CDA demolition drive

    In a protest against the demolition of their chambers by the Capital Development Authority in F-8 sector of Islamabad, a number of lawyers stormed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) building on Monday.

    The lawyers chanted slogans against IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah as they barged into the chief justice block, trapping the Justice Minallah into his chamber. They also broke the windows and doors of the building.

    The special security police were also absent from the scene when the building was stormed by the lawyer as they arrived much later. Female employees were evacuated from the Chief Justice block and other IHC judges also arrived at the scene.

    Due to the violence, the proceedings at both the high court and district courts remained suspended, with roads outside the court blocked for traffic.

    The lawyers also misbehaved with journalists who were present on the scene and were recording videos.

    According to Dawn, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kiyani and IHC Bar Association President Haseeb Chaudhry urged the lawyers to opt for talks. “Until you people put your stance before us, we will not be able to solve the problem,” said Justice Kiyani as per the report.

    The deputy commissioner, Hamza Shafqaat, also arrived on the scene to placate the angry lawyers. He said that the administration was trying to resolve the situation within half an hour.

    NO TALKS TILL RESTORATION OF CHAMBERS:

    The protesters, however, refused to back down. They said they “will not talk until our chambers are restored”. They also claimed that some of their colleagues were arrested.

    Justice Kiyani said the detained lawyers will be released, adding that lawyers shot themselves in the foot by attacking tyhe chambers of the IHC CJ.

    “Lawyers have crossed the head of their house, now I will have to placate him as well,” he was quoted by Dawn as saying.

    Meanwhile, a notice was issued by IHC Bar Association Secretary Suhail Akbar Chaudhry, announced a strike and saying that not only will the body protest against the “injustice”, it will also take “strict action if needed”.