Author: newsdesk

  • VIDEO: ‘Shoes, dresses and makeup don’t make you a leader,’ info minister to Maryam Nawaz

    VIDEO: ‘Shoes, dresses and makeup don’t make you a leader,’ info minister to Maryam Nawaz

    Going full sexist in his tirade against the opposition, Federal Information Minister Shibli Faraz has trained guns at Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz and said that “shoes, dresses and makeup do not make one a leader”.

    Addressing a press conference, Faraz, who is the top mouthpiece of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, said that Maryam owed her career to dynastic politics and thought of herself as the late prime minister (PM) Benazir Bhutto.

    “Benazir was a well-educated lady […] shoes, dresses and makeup do not make you a leader. To be one, you need to live like a common person,” he said while launching a verbal attack against thrice former PM Nawaz Sharif’s daughter, who has time and again been criticised for her luxurious lifestyle and rather expensive dresses, footwear as well as accessories.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    The minister also spoke at length against opposition parties’ alleged corruption and misuse of authority during their respective tenures in the past.

  • ‘IG kidnapping’: Fawad mocks Bilawal for approaching Gen Bajwa instead of PM

    ‘IG kidnapping’: Fawad mocks Bilawal for approaching Gen Bajwa instead of PM

    Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry has criticised Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for seeking the intervention of army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa over the alleged involvement of the Sindh Rangers in the “kidnapping” of the provincial police chief, Mushtaq Mahar.

    In a Geo News show with Shahzeb Khanzada, the federal minister said the PPP chief talks about civilian supremacy all the time, but instead of approaching the prime minister — the chief executive of the country — Bilawal approached the military chief with his reservations.

    The minister said the appeal to the army chief was in contrast to the views propagated by the PPP chief. “If you are such a champion of democracy, then you shouldn’t drag state institutions in politics,” Fawad said.

    When asked whether the federal government would help the provincial government in the matter, Fawad said it was an “internal matter” of the Sindh government, but the Centre would be more than willing to help if approached.

    Earlier,  Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had requested Gen Bajwa take notice of the treatment meted out to the Sindh police chief by the Rangers. Bilawal said that every police officer in Sindh, from a station house officer to senior police officers, were wondering who had “surrounded IG Sindh Mushtaq Mahar’s office at 2am on Sunday night”. “Who were the two persons who went inside the IG’s house at 2am and where was our IG taken at 4am in the morning?” he asked.

    Subsequently, Gen Bajwa ordered a probe into the alleged abduction of IG Mahar. According to a statement shared by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Gen Bajwa has directed Karachi Corps commander to “immediately inquire into the circumstances to determine the facts and report back as soon as possible”.

  • VIDEO: Fear among residents after lion spotted on streets of Rawalpindi

    VIDEO: Fear among residents after lion spotted on streets of Rawalpindi

    A lion was reportedly seen wandering freely on the streets in the outskirts of Rawalpindi causing fear and panic among the residents.

    According to reports, the lion can be seen in different parts of Khanpur, a suburb village in Rawalpindi.

     “It was seen by residents in Tarnawa and other areas in Khanpur,” the report said.

    Residents have claimed that the lion attacked livestock, street animals and pet dogs used to guard houses and fields in the area.

    They have demanded wildlife authorities to take measures to catch the lion so that residents can move freely.

  • At least 15 dead in stampede near Pakistan consulate in Afghanistan

    At least 15 dead in stampede near Pakistan consulate in Afghanistan

    At least 15 people were killed in a stampede among thousands of Afghans gathered outside Pakistan’s consulate on Tuesday as jostling broke out between people applying for visas, officials in the eastern city of Jalalabad said.

    An estimated 3,000 Afghans had congregated on the open ground outside the consulate, waiting to collect tokens needed to apply for a visa, two provincial officials told Reuters a day after the tragedy.

    The people had gathered to secure a permit after Pakistan introduced a new visa policy for Afghanistan to facilitate business and people-to-people contacts between the two countries. According to officials, the travel document, approved by the cabinet, will make it easy for Afghan citizens to acquire multiple entry visit visas, including those for long-term business, as well as investment and student visas.

    Sohrab Qaderi, a provincial council member in eastern Jalalabad city, where the incident occurred said of the 15 people dead, 11 were women and several senior citizens were wounded.

    “The visa applicants jostled to secure their token from the consulate officials […] the crowd got out of control, leading to a stampede,” said an official in Jalalabad said.

    Tens of thousands of Afghans every year travel to neighbouring Pakistan to secure medical treatment, education and jobs. The two countries share a nearly 2,600-kilometre border.

    Pakistan hosts about 3 million Afghan refugees and economic migrants, who have fled violence, religious persecution and poverty in their war-torn country.

    Officials in the Pakistan embassy in Kabul were not immediately available for comment.

  • Shahid, Nadia Afridi celebrate 20 years of marital bliss

    Shahid Afridi and his wife Nadia are celebrating 20 years of marital bliss.

    Posting pictures from the celebrations, Afridi, affectionately known as Lala shared that he forgot their anniversary but his wife still forgave him.

    “Today marks 20 years of marital bliss. Alhamdulillah blessed to have a life partner so caring, understanding, and a wonderful mother to our children,” wrote Afridi. “Despite me forgetting our anniversary today she still forgave me; another one of her beautiful qualities.”

    Pictures from their anniversary celebrations viral on social media.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CGk8KIilXWG/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    Meanwhile, Nadia pulled her husband’s leg for forgetting their anniversary and wrote: “With the passage of time one has to remind you of things”.

    She then went on to wish Lala, saying that she feels blessed to have found “a good husband, a best friend and a confidante” in him.

    The couple have five daughters together. The fifth one arrived this year in February.

    https://twitter.com/SAfridiOfficial/status/1228358607948984322?s=20
  • VIDEO: India loses it again, claims Sindh govt overthrown by army, civil war in Karachi

    VIDEO: India loses it again, claims Sindh govt overthrown by army, civil war in Karachi

    Amid the controversy surrounding Sindh police following Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Captain (r) Safdar’s arrest in Karachi, India has once again lost it and is claiming that clashes are taking place between the army and provincial police as a civil war erupts in the port city.

    According to a report now retracted by News 18, Karachi is burning with shootouts between civil and military bodies after the army took over the provincial metropolis and the control of all police stations as well as government buildings.

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    Here’s a screenshot of the tweet that has now been deleted:

    This time, however, it isn’t just Indian media that is making baseless claims that will crack you up…

    READ: After police’s rebellion, army to probe ‘kidnapping’ of Sindh IG

    “10 police officers of Sindh police martyred during their line of duty of saving people of Karachi from atrocities of army [sic],” prominent Indian lawyer Prashant Patel Umrao claimed.

    https://twitter.com/ippatel/status/1318743674105233408

    He went on to say that the United States (US) Navy may enter Karachi port soon, drawing strong reactions from Twitterati, and not just those from Pakistan.

    READ: IG among senior officials of Sindh police seeking leave after Capt (r) Safdar’s arrest controversy

    “Indian disinformation accounts are exploiting Pakistan’s current political crisis and falsely claiming that the country is now experiencing urban warfare and other serious instability,” tweeted the deputy director of the Asia Program and senior associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center, Michael Kugelman.

    “Dangerous and disturbing; several of these accounts are verified, with large followings. Ugh,” he added.

  • Khawaja Asif claims PM Imran wants to harm him, wife

    Khawaja Asif claims PM Imran wants to harm him, wife

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Khawaja Asif has alleged that Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to harm him and his wife by using his political opponents.

    Speaking on a TV show, the PML-N leader claimed the prime minister wanted his rivals to hold a protest outside his residence, target him in a road accident, and harass his wife by forcing her out of the vehicle.

    Asif further alleged that the PM desired to get him beaten up or implicate in a narcotics case in order to teach him a lesson. He said that he wanted to raise these issues in the National Assembly, but he was not allowed by the NA speaker to talk. The lawmaker, however, said he has spent a lifetime on the opposition benches and will not cower down by such tactics.

    On Monday, the PM mocked Asif over his claim that he had called army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa over reports of rigging on the election night. Imran claimed that Asif called Gen Bajwa on election night in 2018, crying while fearing defeat, and seeking his help to win from the NA-73 constituency of Sialkot.

    “There’s a prominent rangbaaz [charlatan] from Sialkot who thinks highly of himself… makes tall claims… but it was revealed that on election night he called Gen Bajwa at 8 pm, weeping and seeking his help to win the election,” the premier said during an animated address to a Tiger Force convention in Islamabad.

    Calling him “Rangbaaz Khawaja”, PM Imran quoted Asif as appealing to the army chief that he would be destroyed if Gen Bajwa didn’t help him win the election against Usman Dar of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

  • Pakistan records highest one-day COVID-19 death toll in 7 weeks

    Pakistan records highest one-day COVID-19 death toll in 7 weeks

    COVID-19 claimed 19 more lives across the country during the past 24 hours, taking the death toll from the disease to 6,692.

    According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 660 fresh infections emerged during this period, lifting the national tally of cases to 324,744. As many as 26,670 new tests were conducted over the previous 24 hours.

    There are a total of 9,378 active cases of the coronavirus as 308,674 patients have recovered from the virus.

    Sindh has reported 142,348 cases so far, followed by Punjab that reported 101,936 cases while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 38,779, Balochistan 15,717, Islamabad 18,309, Gilgit-Baltistan 4,091 and Azad Jammu and Kashmir 3,564.

    In a special session, the NCOC hinted that drastic steps including the closure of all services will be taken to curb the spread of the virus as the public is not complying with the SOPs.

    “NCOC is closely monitoring the situation. If there is no improvement in SOPs compliance, the NCOC will have no choice but to revert to strict measures leading to re-closures of services,” said the centre, in a statement.

    Earlier, Minister for Planning and Development and Chairman NCOC Asad Umar had said that daily COVID-19 death rate witnessed a spike of 140 percent last week as compared to the mortality rate recorded a few weeks back.

  • ‘Qubool Hai’: Sana Javed, Umair Jaswal are married

    ‘Qubool Hai’: Sana Javed, Umair Jaswal are married

    Sana Javed and Umair Jaswal have made it official. The couple made hearts flutter with pictures from their nikkah, which reportedly took place in Karachi Tuesday night.

    The couple look absolutely stunning in their wedding finery and glowed. While Jaswal donned a self-worked white sherwani, Sana wore a pale peach outfit with gold detailing.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CGk8jIkhEqc/

    Umair’s brother Uzair Jaswal also shared a picture of the ‘baraati boys’ from the nikkah.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CGky-QeAURR/

    Friends and members of the entertainment industry including Feroze Khan, Bilal Abbas Khan, Ayesha Omar, Aiman Khan and Sadaf Kanwal congratulated the newlyweds on their social media post.

    Meanwhile, Natasha Ali Lakhani of Natasha’s Salon revealed that she did Sana’s makeup for her big day.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CGmO4z7DEEx/

    Umair and Sana had sparked rumours of a relationship in December last year, when Umair thanked Sana for his birthday cake and giving him ideas for his next bike.

  • ‘Bakwas band karo’: PTI’s Waleed Iqbal threatens to hit PPP leader with glass on live show

    Senior leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Waleed Iqbal, who is also the grandson of 20th-century poet and philosopher Allama Iqbal, has threatened to hit former Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) senator Mukhtiar Ahmed Dhamrah with a glass on live television.

    As per the details, the two, along with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Khurram Dastgir, had appeared on senior journalist and analyst Nasim Zehra’s show when a war of words turned ugly after Iqbal was told to shut up.

    Speaking of Capt (r) Safdar’s “inappropriate” arrest for raising political slogans at the mausoleum of Quaide Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Iqbal quoted Bilawal as saying that it did not merit the door of PML-N leader’s hotel room being knocked down.

    “Does he not get it? Let’s see how he reacts if someone does this at the tomb of his grandfather [ex-prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto] or mother [ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto],” a visibly annoyed Iqbal said, which was met by a “bakwas band karein [shut up]” from the PPP leader.

    “You can’t talk about Bilawal’s grandfather. Talk about the topic at hand,” an angry Dhamrah told Iqbal, leading to an on-air spat between the two.

    It took an uglier turn when Iqbal picked up a glass and threatened to hit the PPP leader with it had he been present in the studio and not appearing via videolink.

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    The anchorperson was seen trying to tell both the politicians to calm down but to no avail.