Author: newsdesk

  • PML-N MPA calls boss Nawaz a ‘lota’, says India taking advantage of his speeches

    PML-N MPA calls boss Nawaz a ‘lota’, says India taking advantage of his speeches

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MPA Jalil Sharaqpuri has slammed his boss and party’s supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, calling him a “lota”, saying that “India is taking advantage of his speeches”.

    The lota — a plastic vessel — is used figuratively in Pakistani politics as an insulting term for people who switch parties and loyalties quite frequently.

    Sharaqpuri is among the five PML-N lawmakers from Punjab who earned the ire of the party leadership when they met Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar without obtaining permission.

    “Did Nawaz not change his [loyalties]?” he asked while addressing a press conference, adding, “They are all lotas.”

    “In my opinion, Nawaz’s speeches were inappropriate,” he said, adding that the PML-N supremo, who has over the past month made headlines for his fiery speeches, should speak in the interest of Pakistan.

    Sharaqpuri said that while the party leadership makes decisions, a person should be able to express his reservations against them.

    The lawmaker said that he was a member of the PML-N earlier and had left the party after “ideological differences with Nawaz”, following which he was with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for eight years.

    “In the 2018 elections [PML-N lawmaker] Rana Tanveer asked me to opt for PML-N’s ticket and I agreed on the condition that I be allowed to hold on to my differences with Nawaz,” Sharaqpuri said.

    He added whatever the party, he had come into politics “to serve the country”.

    “For me Pakistan comes before anything or anyone else.”

    Talking about Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, he said that the premier has Pakistan’s interests at heart. “He raised the slogan of Islam in the United Nations (UN).”

    “If PML-N talks about honouring the vote, then respect should also be accorded to votes given to Imran Khan,” he said.

    Reacting to an event that took place a few days ago, where PML-N workers placed a lota on top of his head, Sharaqpuri demanded PML-N to take action against those involved.

    “I joined PML-N with good intentions, and I am still a part of it,” he said.

  • Women cricketers travel to Karachi ‘in bags’

    Women cricketers travel to Karachi ‘in bags’

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is at the receiving end of criticism after they posted pictures of bags to announce that women cricketers are all set to travel to Karachi for the National High Performance Camp. According to a press release by PCB, 27 women cricketers will take part in the National High-Performance Camp in Karachi from October 8 to 31. During the camp, players will do skill and fitness work and play practice one-day and 20-over matches which serve as an opener of the women’s domestic cricket season 2020-21.

    Social media users have shaded PCB for using pictures of bags instead of the cricketers to make the announcement.

    https://twitter.com/ArshadMMalick/status/1314560088129122306?s=20

    https://twitter.com/Hammaaaaad/status/1314157763044442112?s=20

    A Twitter user also joked how the pictures reminded him of a scene from an Indian serial which recently went viral on social media in which a woman falls into a suitcase which is then thrown into a pool.

    Meanwhile, cricketers taking part in the camp shared pictures of themselves travelling to Karachi wearing masks and gloves.

  • COVID-19: Five more educational institutions sealed in Islamabad

    Five more educational institutions have been shut down in Islamabad after cases of coronavirus emerged there, as experts have already warned of a second wave of the virus during winter.

    As per reports, the notification to seal educational institutions was issued by the district health officer and a circular has also been released to seal the concerned departments of Namal University due to a surge in coronavirus cases.

    The circular stated that two virus cases have been reported in Islamabad Model School in G-6/1-3 and two cases were also reported in a private school in the city’s G-11/4 area.

    Two cases each have been reported in two private colleges at H-8/1 and H-8/4, as per the circular.

    Furthermore, 15 coronavirus cases have also been reported in a private school in I-9/3.

    The affected educational institutes have been directed to disinfect their buildings after closing their locality.

    Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Fawad Chaudhry, also suggested that political parties should postpone rallies and processions for three months amid fears of a second Covid-19 wave in the country.

    Earlier today, the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) for marriage halls as cases of the pandemic continue to increase across the country.

  • US media praises Pakistani female footballer for her social work amid COVID-19 pandemic

    US media praises Pakistani female footballer for her social work amid COVID-19 pandemic

    A 23-year old footballer, Karishma Ali, is winning praise for the exemplary social work she has been doing in her hometown in Chitral Valley. The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown had badly affected the lives of the people in the area.

    Ali is the first girl from her area to have played football at a national and international level. Last year she was also listed among Forbes’ ’30 Under 30′ in Asia, along with the tennis star Naomi Osaka and K-pop band Black pink.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B94glcEJDiI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

    After being admired for her football talent, Ali has been profiled by CNN for her selfless philanthropy work in her area.

    According to the report, when the COVID-19 pandemic handicapped the lives of many, Ali would spend hours driving on bouncy, mountainous roads with her father and uncle distributing essential supplies to the local hospital and underprivileged villagers. She raised money via social media to buy those items.

    “As of August, they had supplied one month’s worth of rations to 300 families and donated 155 N95 masks, 53 goggles, 250 PPE suits, 650 surgical masks, 400 pairs of surgical gloves and 76 face shields to the DHQ Hospital Chitral,” the report stated.

    Ali, while discussing how things changed in her area when the lockdown was imposed, said: “The men work as daily wage laborers in different cities in Pakistan and what happened after the lockdown, many industries and businesses shut down, they had to return home, and people were finding it difficult, a lot of families were in need.”

    The footballer hopes to empower women through education and skills. Sharing her dreams and futures plans, Ali said, “Ten years from now I want to see at least 10-20 more girls like myself who come back here [Chitral] after they’ve achieved their dream and work for the other girls that I was not able to reach out to and, slowly, I see a progressive society where men and women are working equally, where women do not have to stress about traditional customs and be able to freely do what they can and see that I was part of all of this change.”

    “I want to see more women in leadership positions and then sit back and enjoy. This is what I wanted to fight for,” she added.

    Ali has represented Pakistan at the Jubilee Games in Dubai. Her team was the first women’s team from Pakistan to participate in the AFL International Cup. Ali is also the founder of the Chitral Women’s Sports Club.

  • Dhoni’s 5-year-old daughter gets rape threats

    Dhoni’s 5-year-old daughter gets rape threats

    In a disturbing development, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s five-year-old daughter has received rape threats from social media trolls following Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) loss to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Tuesday night match of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

    CSK failed to chase a 168-run target, losing the game by 10 runs. Dhoni’s wife, Sakshi, got the threats on her Instagram account.

    The threats created an outrage on social media, especially from women, as support poured in for the Dhonis, especially little Ziva.

    Actor-turned-politician Nagma tweeted, “Where are we headed as a Nation? It’s disgusting Dhoni’s 5-Year-Old Daughter Ziva is Getting Rape Threats after CSK Lost IPL Match to KKR. Mr #PM what is this happening In our country?? [sic]”

    Sowmya Reddy, member of the legislative assembly (MLA) from Karnataka, said, “This is just nasty! What’s happening to our country? Where are we heading?”

    Rajya Sabha [upper house of the bicameral Indian parliament] lawmaker Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeted, “This has to be the most disgusting example of how social media platforms are being misused.”

    Fans have often taken out their ire on the players. In earlier days, they have even pelted stones at players’ homes, burnt posters and shouted abuses.

    However, targeting the daughter of a player in such a way has been unheard of before.

  • British-Pakistani millionaire and owner of 61 Papa John’s franchises involved in fraud?

    British-Pakistani millionaire and owner of 61 Papa John’s franchises involved in fraud?

    A multi-millionaire British-Pakistani owner of the Papa John’s restaurants in the United Kingdom (UK) has denied allegations that he took more than £250,000 of taxpayers’ money in cash by claiming fake ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ meals during the British government scheme that lasted for five weeks from August to September.

    Eat Out to Help Out aimed to help protect the jobs of 1.8 million employees in the hospitality industry by encouraging people to return to local eateries in times of COVID-19.

    A British daily, the Daily Mail, had alleged that Raheel Choudhary, who owns 61 Papa John’s franchise restaurants across the UK, instructed staff to record thousands of fake ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ entries while the government scheme — funded by the taxpayers — was running.

    Originally from Lahore, the self-made millionaire is the largest UK franchisee of the United States’ (US) pizza giant. He has been hailed as a success story and the poster boy of the famous pizza chain for his hard work that took him from working with his dad in a laundrette to becoming a franchisee giant.

    Choudhary currently employs above 800 people in his business and didn’t lay off any staff member during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Papa John’s said it has launched a probe into the franchise owner over allegations regarding the Eat To Help Out discount deal. It has been alleged that Choudhary’s most restaurants were takeaway or delivery only, hence there were no seatings available.

    The paper alleged that most of Choudhary’s restaurants were not eligible for the offer – which required diners to eat in – because they were collection and delivery joints only, and that Choudhary promised his managers bonuses for putting in large numbers of fake orders, Geo reported.

    “Like so many industries this year, hospitality has been hit hard by coronavirus restrictions. Of my 61 franchises, 40 have seating capacity and we implemented the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme in all of those 40 stores from Monday to Wednesday throughout August. All customers who benefited from the scheme ate in stores and we are confident that we were fully compliant with the criteria set by the UK government. Total sales from the scheme accounted for 6% of our August turnover,” the report quoted Choudhary as saying.

    “When the government’s scheme ended, we followed up with our discount offer in September. We are pleased that customers have been able to take advantage of these opportunities to make savings at a difficult time, and we are determined to continue offering customers the best deals possible”.

    He said that the claims published in some right-wing press were not true as additional seating was added to 10 of the venues throughout August to support demand for the ‘Eat Out’ scheme.

    He explained that the paper published false information as the value of the Eat Out claim vouchers was £185,015, not £250,000 equating to 32 claims per day for each of the participating stores, and added that the paper focused on his Tunbridge Wells restaurant where the total claim for 13 days was £6,825.00 (daily average value of £525.00) with additional seating placed in an adjacent unit in addition to the waiting bench in the 1,500 sq feet main store.

    Choudhary, who continues to deny the allegations that he misused the scheme, says that Papa John’s was investigating the allegations and “we are cooperating fully with the investigators”.

  • VIDEO: ‘ISI keeps a check on prime ministers,’ Imran reveals

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has revealed that Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), keeps a check on the country’s chief executives and is the first to know when any government is involved in corruption.

    Addressing a ceremony organised by the Insaf Lawyers Forum (ILF) in Islamabad on Friday, he claimed that ISI’s check on the integrity of PMs was the actual reason behind opposition parties’ clash with the security establishment. Reports quoted Imran as saying that if he too “started laundering money” out of the country, the ISI would find out about it before anyone else “because it is the world’s top agency”.

    “Military is unlike other institutions. They [former ruling parties] manipulated all institutions that were responsible to keep checks and balances, except one. They know the ISI is aware of all their theft. They try to control it and that’s where the conflict starts,” he said.

    Mocking Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and deposed PM Nawaz Sharif, who, in recent weeks, has levelled serious allegations of political interference against the armed forces, the premier commented on the claim that Nawaz was asked to step down by ex-ISI chief Zaheerul Islam.

    “Why did he [Islam] say that? And why did you [Nawaz] silently hear that? Because Zaheerul Islam knew how much money you had stolen,” PM Imran said and added that Nawaz “fought with every army chief” because he wanted to turn the military into Punjab police.

    Referring to what he termed Nawaz’s “attacks” on the Pakistan Army, he said, “If anyone is going around with India’s agenda, it is the [opposition].” He added that if the Pakistani military was weakened, the country would see similar turbulence as in other Muslim countries such as Libya, Syria and Yemen.

    “We are safe today because of the sacrifices rendered by our armed forces,” the premier stressed.

    Imran said the reason he did not have any “problems” with the army and the military supported every agenda of his government was because of his clean record.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Furthermore, the PM sent a warning to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) — an opposition alliance launching anti-government protests next week. “The moment you break the law, you will go straight to jail — and not to a VIP jail, but where the poor are sent,” he said.

    The premier said that all the “employed” opposition politicians had united on one platform because “they consider themselves above the law” and “unanswerable”.

    PM Imran said that the PDM was the latest attempt by the opposition to obtain an NRO-like agreement. He drew parallels between the PDM and the opposition’s attempts to “blackmail” the government over the passage of legislation concerning the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

    “The day they get an NRO would be the downfall of Pakistan,” he added.

    Referring to the opposition’s allegation of the vote having been stolen in the 2018 elections, the premier said he had gotten “the most votes in Pakistan and won from five constituencies.”

    “I am democracy,” he declared.

  • Esra Bilgiç reportedly refused to work with Pakistani makeup artists

    Esra Bilgiç reportedly refused to work with Pakistani makeup artists

    Esra Bilgiç, who has become immensely popular in Pakistan after Diriliş: Ertuğrul aired on PTV in Urdu, has reportedly refused to work with Pakistani makeup artists and photographers.

    Lahore-based photographer Natasha Zubair, in a message shared to her Instagram stories, claimed that Esra refused to “work with Pakistani makeup artists and photographers.”

    She continued, “[She] is still wearing our clothes…and we’re still paying her…the amount we must be paying her.”

    In another story, Zubair lamented how Pakistanis tend to ignore their own local talent and continue to run after international stars, despite the disrespect they receive from them.

    Later, when a local media outlet reached out to Natasha for more details, the photographer refused to comment on the matter.

    Read more – Yasir Hussain is angry with QMobile for appointing Esra Bilgiç as brand ambassador

    Esra has been chosen as the brand ambassador for several Pakistani brands including Khaadi and Q Mobile.

  • Govt bans TikTok

    Govt bans TikTok

    The Government of Pakistan has banned TikTok due to “immoral/indecent” content being shared on the social media platform. 

    According to details, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued instructions for the blocking of the application across the country. 

    Keeping in view the complaints and nature of the content being consistently posted on TikTok, PTA issued a final notice to the application and gave it considerable time to respond and comply with the Authority instructions for the development of an effective mechanism for proactive moderation of unlawful online content.

    However, the application failed to fully comply with the instructions, therefore, directions were issued for blocking of TikTok application in the country.

    TikTok has been informed that the Authority is open for engagement and will review its decision subject to a satisfactory mechanism by TikTok to moderate unlawful content.

    According to Tiktok’s transparency report, the social media app had earlier issued a statement that the company had “removed 3,728,162 user videos that were found in violation of regulations from Pakistan from July 1 to December 31, 2019, 

    Earlier, in an interview, Minister for Information Minister and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz said that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan had remarked that the video-sharing app is affecting society’s values badly and should be blocked.

     “PM Imran is extremely concerned about the ‘growing obscenity and vulgarity’ in the society and has directed all relevant sections to check the trend before it destroys the socio-religious values of Pakistani society,” Senator Faraz had said. 

  • VIDEO: University student ‘harassed’ by police in hotel room

    VIDEO: University student ‘harassed’ by police in hotel room

    A young woman has allegedly been harassed and mistreated by police officials at a local hotel in Lahore. 

    The university student, named Kinza, has revealed in a video message that she booked a room at Lahore’s Hilton Grand hotel.

    Around 2:30 am, the police chowki in-charge, Arshad Bhatti, along with other cops arrived there and started knocking on the door of her room.

    She alleged that Bhatti harassed her and offered her to book a new room for her at another hotel. The police officer also allegedly kept on asking the girl for her contact number. Kinza maintained that the officers also abused her and called her names.

    She has demanded justice and asked the authorities concerned to take notice of the incident. 

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Reports say that Punjab inspector general (IG) has taken notice of the incident and ordered an investigation.