Author: newsdesk

  • Police releases plan for twin cities ahead of Pak- Sri Lanka Test series

    Police releases plan for twin cities ahead of Pak- Sri Lanka Test series

    The Sri Lankan cricket team has landed in Pakistan and the matches are scheduled from 11th to 15th December. Surely there will be strict security checks and also some traffic problems. Therefore, Deputy Commissioner Islamabad, Hamza Shafqat, has shared the traffic plan for the Pakistan-Sri Lanka match.

    The traffic plan, planned by
    Islamabad Traffic Police and City Traffic Police Rawalpindi, will be from 10th
    December to 15th December from 6 am to 6 pm.

    Murree Road will be blocked from
    Faizabad to 6th Road

    Stadium Road from IJP Road to Murree
    Road will also be blocked

    Ghousia Chowk turn towards Murree
    Road will be shut

    People would have to take alternate
    routes from Haroon Chowk and Dhoke Kala Khan Chowk towards Ghousia Chowk.

    Turns towards Murree Road on Islamabad highway – for traffic coming from Zero Point and Koral will be blocked.

    Rawalpindi to Islamabad:

    If you are entering Islamabad from
    Rawalpindi, these are the alternate routes.

    A U-turn in front of Kidney Center
    on Murree Road will be used to divert traffic towards Islamabad.

    Traffic from Sadiqabad will use
    Farooq-e-Azam Road/Kurri Road to merge onto the Islamabad motorway.

    Islamabad to Rawalpindi:

    For those coming to Rawalpindi from
    Islamabad, these are the alternate routes

    Traffic coming from Rawal Chowk will
    be averted to Islamabad motorway and they can enter Rawalpindi from the
    following points:

    Dhoke Kala Khan

    Khanna Pul

    Koral Chowk

    Traffic from IJP-9th Avenue Chowk
    will use Pindora Chungi, Katarian Market, Pirwadhai Mor, Carriage Factory and
    Pirwadhai to enter Rawalpindi

    The authorities have also advised
    the citizens to cooperate with the traffic police for uninterrupted traffic
    flow.

  • Mehwish Hayat is thinking of becoming an artist by ‘taping karela’ to wall

    Mehwish Hayat is thinking of becoming an artist by ‘taping karela’ to wall

    The banana duct-taped to a wall has been an internet sensation from the last few days and honestly, we all have wondered how this piece of artwork can be worth $120,000 equivelant to approximately Rs18618312.

    Mehwish Hayat voiced our collective concern on social media.

    Mehwish wrote that she was thinking of becoming an artist and taping a karela to the wall.

    “If the Banana was sold for $120K wonder how much that would make…,” she wrote.

    The work of Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan was sold for $120,000 last week at Miami’s Art Basel.

    What’s interesting is that the banana was, in fact, a work of
    art by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan titled “Comedian” and sold to
    a French collector for $120,000.

    In a video posted on his Instagram account, David Datuna, who
    describes himself as a Georgian-born American artist living in New York, walks
    up to the banana and pulls it off the wall with the duct tape attached.

    “Art performance … hungry artist,” he said, as he
    peeled the fruit and took a bite. “Thank you, very good.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B5yIFp2hyE-/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
  • Pakistan falls at 152 on UNDP’s human development index 2019

    Pakistan falls at 152 on UNDP’s human development index 2019

    Pakistan remains among the medium human development countries with its position falling from 151 to 152, according to the 2019 Human Development Index (HDI) released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Geo News reported

    According to the details, the UNDP’s Human Development Report (HDR) –launched on Monday in Colombia — gave Pakistan a score of 0.560.

    The score puts the country as the second last country among the Medium Human development countries. Solomon Islands is the only country behind Pakistan in the category.

    The HDI classifications are based on HDI fixed cutoff points. Countries which are below the cutoff points of less than 0.550 are categorised as low human development, while medium human development are categorised within the range of 0.550–0.699. Scores of 0.700–0.799 is for high human development and 0.800 or greater for very high human development.

    As per data, Pakistan’s life expectancy stands at 67; while the expected years of schooling was at 8.5 years, with the mean years of schooling standing at 5.2 and the country’s Gross National Income (GNI) per capita was $5,190.

    When the report was first published in 1990, Pakistan scored 0.404. The latest report gave the country a score of 0.560 which shows an overall increase in the score by 1.17%.

    However, the trend from 1990 till 2018 showed that Pakistan had steadily improved from being a low human development country to a medium development country.

    Speaking on the release of the report, Resident Representative of UNDP Pakistan Ignacio Artaza has stated, “The HDR shows us that inequality is not ‘natural’ or inevitable. However, governments, civil societies, and ordinary citizens need to work together and translate words into concrete actions to ensure that people all over the world can live their lives to their fullest potential”.

  • Priyanka Chopra opens up on the ‘Girl, don’t yell’ controversy

    Priyanka Chopra opens up on the ‘Girl, don’t yell’ controversy

    Priyanka Chopra in a new interview has addressed the controversy that erupted after Pakistani woman Ayesha Malik had accused her of promoting war during an event in Los Angeles in August.

    Speaking to the Daily Beast, Priyanka when asked about this said, “A couple of things. I feel like this is not an opportune moment to talk about it. Second of all, it was unfortunate what happened, and third of all, I never have, never was, and never will be pro-war and that is in my statements itself. My work for all of these years is a testament to that, and I don’t feel I need to keep regurgitating it.”

    In July, as Chopra was taking questions at BeautyCon, Ayesha had called the Bollywood star a hypocrite for “encouraging nuclear war against Pakistan.”

    “So it was kind of hard hearing you talk about humanity because as your neighbour, a Pakistani, I know you’re a bit of a hypocrite,” Malik can be heard saying in the video posted on Twitter. “You tweeted on February 26, ‘Jai Hind #IndianArmedForces.’”

    Malik continued, “You are a UNICEF ambassador for peace and you’re encouraging nuclear war against Pakistan. There’s no winner in this. As a Pakistani, millions of people like me have supported you in your business of Bollywood and you wanted nuclear war.”

    However, the microphone was taken away from Malik before she could make any further comments.

    READ MORE: Priyanka Chopra’s response to a Pakistani woman on war infuriates people

    Priyanka had started off her response by saying “Whenever you’re done venting… got it, done? Okay, cool.”

    “So, I have many, many friends from Pakistan and I am from India, and war is not something that I am really fond of but I am patriotic. So, I’m sorry if I hurt sentiments to people who do love me and have loved me, but I think that all of us have a sort of middle ground that we all have to walk, just like you probably do as well,” she continued.

    “The way you came at me right now?” Chopra had remarked. “Girl, don’t yell. We’re all here for love. Don’t yell. Don’t embarrass yourself. But we all walk that middle ground, but thank you for your enthusiasm and your question and your voice.”

    Priyanka’s response and comments had not impressed anyone and people were mostly infuriated with her condescending tone and attitude.

  • On Human Rights Day and In Data: Rape Cases in Punjab

    On Human Rights Day and In Data: Rape Cases in Punjab

    In a report, done by the University College of Lahore, ‘Accountability for Rape: A case study of Lodhran’, the numbers show that rape cases in Punjab were staggeringly high in 2016-2017. The study is thorough and looks at court judgements to show how alleged rapists were acquitted. And a whole lot of them were set free.

    Police submitted reports on more than 7,000 new rape cases during 2016-17, cases that had a verdict were more than 5,800. Out of the ones that were given a verdict, only 216 cases had a conviction.

    The police did its job and submitted reports in more than 7,000 cases but only 216 were convicted.

    The study revealed that major cities had more rape cases, as expected, but what was not expected was the amount of convictions in relation to the cities.

    Lahore tops the list with the most amount of cases and the least amount of convictions

    Lahore, Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur had the highest number of rape incidents and a very low conviction rate. But

    The highest number of contest acquittals was in Lodhran, which means that when the case went to trial, an acquittal took place when the judge decided that the prosecution had not proved that the defendant was guilty.

    These areas were highlighted because the cases going to court were fewer than larger cities

    The report also showed the cities with the lowest amount of cases with Mianwali and Jhelum topping the list as ‘safer’ cities.

    Cities with the lowest amount of rape cases reported

    Interestingly the study also shows judgments that listed the ‘character’ of the women who were raped.

    How many cases were individual or gang rapes, with individual rapes being the most common type of rape in Punjab.

    79 percent were individual rapes and 16 percent were gang rapes

    The marital status of the women was also documented and most of the women who were raped were married when the incident took place.

    41 percent of the rape victims were married women

    More than half of the incidents that took place involved a man who knew the victim.

  • WATCH: Shah Rukh Khan redefines husband goals

    WATCH: Shah Rukh Khan redefines husband goals

    We all know Shah Rukh Khan is the perfect gentleman and he proved it once again recently at an awards show where he picked up the train of wife Gauri’s gown so that he doesn’t end up stepping on it.

    Watch the video below:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B55L7COhnX6/

    Shah Rukh and Gauri made a grand entry at an award show on in colour-coordinated outfits. At the event, they also received the Most Stylish Couple Of The Year award.

    Previously, Fawad Khan also won hearts when he was caught fixing his wife’s hair on camera. People couldn’t get enough of his cute gesture.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BuhBw12BZtS/?utm_source=ig_embed

    Meanwhile, SRK is still on an acting break – he is yet to announce his next acting project. He was last seen in Zero, which performed badly at the box-office.

  • Ayeza Khan sets the internet on fire with her latest shoot

    Ayeza Khan sets the internet on fire with her latest shoot

    If Ayeza Khan stealing our hearts and setting our TV screens on fire as Mehwish in Meray Paas Tum Ho was not enough, the actor decided to raise the hotness bar further up.

    Ayeza’s latest shoot with husband Danish Taimoor has gone viral and that’s honestly no surprise given the pictures.

    Check them out below.

    The intensity in that gaze though
    New ways to workout?

    Solo shots of the two are equally lit.

    Wish we looked half as good while squatting.

  • Pacer Hasan Ali trolled for walking down the ramp with ‘rib fractures’

    Pacer Hasan Ali trolled for walking down the ramp with ‘rib fractures’

    Fast bowler Hasan Ali has come under heavy criticism after he walked the ramp at a fashion show in Lahore while nursing fractured ribs.

    The 25-year-old bowler had been ruled out of the home Test series against Sri Lanka following a medical examination last month which revealed that the bowler sustained multiple rib fractures.

    Hasan had begun his rehabilitation process at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore and was told to rest for six weeks.

    However, the fast bowler was brutally trolled on social media over the fact that he chose to not only walk the show but to flaunt his signature celebratory pose, appearing as though he were physically fit.

    Fans further accused Hasan Ali over his change in priorities and claimed that the injured bowler looked to gain monetary benefit off of walking the ramp.

    The first Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka begins on Wednesday in Rawalpindi. The second Test will be played in Karachi from December 19.

    Watch Video:

  • US threatens India with sanctions over ‘anti-Muslim’ citizenship bill

    US threatens India with sanctions over ‘anti-Muslim’ citizenship bill

    The United States (US) has threatened Indian government officials with sanctions for failing to list Muslims among ‘persecuted’ minorities, RT reported.

    According to the details, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has claimed that it was “deeply troubled” by the citizenship bill, which passed the Indian parliament’s lower house, the Lok Sabha, in a 311-80 vote, calling it nothing short of a “religious test for Indian citizenship” which “excludes Muslims.”

    The commission said, “The United States government should consider sanctions against the home minister and other principal leadership if the bill passes”, insisting that it knows how Indian internal politics works best.

    Dubbed the Citizenship Amendment Bill, the new law will fast-track Indian citizenship for immigrants facing religious discrimination in several neighboring countries.

    The bill provides that Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians fleeing persecution in Muslim-majority Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan can be granted citizenship of India but there are no similar provisions for Muslim refugees.

    Indian Home Minister Amit Shah, who introduced the law, has rejected the US butting into India’s internal affairs, insisting the bill is solely intended to protect those facing persecution.

    The bill also has backing from Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, who, like Shah, belongs to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

    Meanwhile, PM Imran Khan has strongly condemned controversial legislation passed by the Indian Parliament, terming the move as “part of the RSS Hindu Rashtra design of expansionism propagated by the fascist Modi government.”.

    “We strongly condemn Indian Lok Sabha citizenship legislation which violates all norms of international human rights law and bilateral agreements with Pakistan,” PM Imran tweeted on Monday.

    The USCIRF was earlier established in 1998 to monitor and evaluate religious freedoms in other countries and to make policy recommendations to the US president, the State Department and the House of Representatives – routinely calling for sanctions against those countries who don’t live up to American standards.

    The commission had earlier placed India on a “watch list” in 2009 over what it said were “largely inadequate” protections for minorities.

  • Tourists from 50 countries can now avail visa on-arrival

    Tourists from 50 countries can now avail visa on-arrival

    To boost the tourism industry and foreign investment, the government has announced a new visa policy encouraging the tou­rists from 50 countries to avail visa-on-arrival facility.

    The visa-on-arrival facility was previously available to nationals of 25 countries only. As per reports, Sikhs holding Canadian and British passports would be allowed to avail of the offer and the e-visa facility will also be provided to the citizens of 175 countries.

    While talking to the media Vice Chairperson Overseas Pakistanis Commission Ch Waseem Akhtar said that the country is progressing due to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s “public-friendly economic policies” and that “major steps” are being taken to promote tourism.

    He added that the promotion of tourism is the need of the hour and the issuance of on-arrival visa to 50 countries by the government of Pakistan is a breakthrough and this will not only portray the soft image of Pakistan but will also bring foreign exchange and investment into the country.

    The plan to introduce on-arrival visa was first revealed in December 2018 by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood. The minister had stated that the government was considering initiating a visa-on-arrival facility for almost 55 countries to strengthen the tourism sector of Pakistan.