Author: newsdesk

  • Marwat huay udass, Khan kay faislay say

    Marwat huay udass, Khan kay faislay say

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Sher Afzal Marwat, who previously received a show-cause notice from the party, said on Friday that he is saddened by the way former Prime Minister Imran Khan made party decisions about him.

    “I am not upset with him; however, why were these decisions made without hearing me out,” asked the politician while speaking with journalists outside the Parliament House in Islamabad.
     
    “If [people] think it is better for me to stay sidelined, then so be it. I said I would resign if they want me to,” he told the members of the press, adding that he hasn’t met the former prime minister as of yet. 

    The famous PTI leader expressed sadness after being removed from the party’s core and political committees at the direction of PTI founder Imran Khan.

  • American cricketer accuses Haris Rauf of ball tampering

    American cricketer accuses Haris Rauf of ball tampering

    American cricketer Rusty Theron has accused national fast bowler Haris Rauf of ball tampering during the match against USA in the T20 World Cup.

    The cricketer wrote on X (Twitter), “Are we just going to pretend Pakistan aren’t scratching the hell out of this freshly changed ball? Reversing the ball that’s just been changed 2 overs ago? You can literally see Harris Rauf running his thumb nail over the ball at the top of his mark.”

    Yesterday, the USA surprised Pakistan in a Super Over after a thrilling match.

    The national team will face India in the second match of the T20 World Cup on June 9.

  • ‘Just empowering women’: Hamza Sohail on playing Dr. Nofil in ‘Zard Patton Ka Bunn’

    ‘Just empowering women’: Hamza Sohail on playing Dr. Nofil in ‘Zard Patton Ka Bunn’

    Heartthrob Ahad Raza Mir, who played the character of Dr. Asfandyar in ‘Yakeen Ka Safar’ remains an unforgettable character for fans as does his on-screen chemistry with Sajal Aly. The role catapulted Ahad’s career to stardom.
    Now, meet Dr. Nofil in ‘Zard Patton Ka Bunn’, played by Hamza Sohail. He’s on a mission to empower women, while starring alongside Sajal Aly. Recently he gave an interview to BBC Urdu, where he was asked if Dr Asfandyar was the inspiration for his character.

    Hamza Sohail said, “I haven’t seen Yakeen Ka Safar, and I didn’t know people would compare my character to Dr. Asfandyar. I’m glad I didn’t know, or I would have felt pressure to live up to expectations. I’m happy with my character and the chance to support women’s empowerment.”

  • Forced begging now non-bailable offence

    Forced begging now non-bailable offence

    The Punjab Home Department has sent amendments to the anti-rape law to the Cabinet for approval.

    According to the spokesman of the Punjab Home Department, under the new law, forced begging has been declared a non-bailable offence.

    The spokesperson said that those who force children, the elderly and women to beg will be severely punished, while the gang leaders of beggar mafias will face 10 years of imprisonment with a fine of 20 lakh rupees. In case of non-payment of fine, three additional years of punishment will have to be served.

    Similarly, apart from forcing children to beg, those you physically harm minors are also in for a tough time.

    The Home Department noted that previously, there was no law to punish the gang leaders of the beggar mafia.

  • George Clooney called White House to blast Biden for calling wife’s work on Israel ‘outrageous’

    George Clooney called White House to blast Biden for calling wife’s work on Israel ‘outrageous’

    Hollywood superstar George Clooney reportedly rang up one of President Joe Biden’s top aides to complain about the president’s criticism of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) warrants against Israeli leaders — a case his wife, Amal Clooney, worked on, Washington Post has reported after talking to three people familiar with the conversation.

    Clooney called Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president, to blast Biden’s condemnation of arrest warrants sought by ICC prosecutors for Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and especially his use of the word “outrageous” to criticise the court’s decision.

    His wife, Amal Clooney, is an International Human Rights Lawyer and runs the Clooney Foundation for Justice. She said in a statement that the prosecutor’s office had enlisted her to help with the investigation, asking her to review evidence of suspected war crimes and provide legal analysis. The Clooney Foundation for Justice published the statement, which said the team’s legal findings were “unanimous.” ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced on May 20 that he was seeking to charge Netanyahu, Gallant, Hamas leader Yehiya Sinwar, and two other top Hamas leaders with war crimes.

    “I do not accept that any conflict should be beyond the reach of the law, nor that any perpetrator should be above the law,” Amal Clooney wrote in the statement. “So I support the historic step that the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has taken to bring justice to victims of atrocities in Israel and Palestine,” she added.

    Washington Post revealed that the actor was “upset” about the administration’s initial openness to imposing sanctions on the ICC because his wife might be subjected to the penalties. Clooney has long been known for backing Democrats and is due to appear at a Biden campaign fundraiser in Los Angeles.

    The concerns expressed by the actor spread throughout Biden’s campaign as some officials were worried that he would withdraw from participating in the high-profile fundraiser, which will also feature former president Barack Obama, late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel, and actress Julia Roberts.
    However, both the White House and Clooney declined to comment on the matter.

    In 2020, George Clooney donated more than $500,000 to Biden’s campaign effort and co-hosted a virtual fundraiser for him that raised $7 million.

  • Govt tables controversial NAB & Election ordinances before NA

    Govt tables controversial NAB & Election ordinances before NA

    The federal government tabled the Election (Amendment) Ordinance 2024 and National Accountability (Amendment) Ordinance 2024 on Thursday through a supplementary agenda with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) calling the move “politically motivated.”

    The amendments in the NAB law would increase the remand period from 14 days to 40 days; whereas amendments in the election law would allow the government to appoint retired judges to the election tribunals – a move already challenged in Islamabad and Lahore high courts.

    PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council Chief Whip Aamir Dogar strongly criticised the proposed ordinances saying that the government was tabling them because it was afraid of Imran Khan.

    Interestingly, Dogar pointed out that in April 2023 the PDM government reduced the period of physical remand from 90 days to 14 days but now it is trying to change its own previous amendments.

  • More time to shop as Eid-ul-Adha around the corner: LHC

    More time to shop as Eid-ul-Adha around the corner: LHC

    Lahore High Court (LHC) has extended the hours of markets on the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha. Shops will now remain open till 12 midnight and 1 am on the weekends.

    The order came during a hearing on the petitions filed for countering smog.

    During the hearing, Punjab Food Authority also submitted a report on the dead chickens case in the court, detailing 46 thousand 670 kg of dead chickens were disposed off from Tollington market.

    94 cases have also been registered against meat sellers while raids are being conducted on a daily basis to keep meat in check.

  • Jawad Ahmed vs Abrar Ul Haq: The war of words goes on

    Jawad Ahmed vs Abrar Ul Haq: The war of words goes on

    Music legends Abrar Ul Haq and Jawad Ahmed ruled the 90s with their catchy bhangra and pop tunes. However, the two have been at odds since many years now, often exchanging harsh words.

    In a recent appearance on Public News, Abrar Ul Haq addressed allegations made by Jawad Ahmed, providing his side of the story. “When Jawad Ahmed called me a religious hypocrite, I was taken aback. I believe only Allah can judge me. Even if Jawad thinks I’m a hypocrite, I’ve reflected on my actions and don’t agree with his assessment. I often mention Allah in my statements, which seems to bother Jawad. He says a sinner like me shouldn’t talk about Allah. But I think people are just jealous. I pray to Allah to protect me from their envy. It’s a well-known saying that jealous people are consumed by anger due to their own failures.”

    Abrar then said he used to feel bad forJawad, “since I used to win honors based on the public’s vote, the jury’s verdict, or my popularity.” He alleged that Jawad copied him when it came to charity. “First he said that those who gave to charity were the ones who had failed in their careers. He used to pretend to be a caller in order to disrupt my charitable efforts, but it never hurt me.”

  • Khan tells Supreme Court that country under unannounced martial law

    Khan tells Supreme Court that country under unannounced martial law

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan on June 6 told Supreme Court judges that the country was facing an “unannounced martial law” during the hearing of the NAB amendments case hearing.

    Khan also talked about the “victimisation” he had to face since his ouster from power in April 2022.

    The jailed PTI founder appeared before the Supreme Court’s five-member bench via video link from Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, where has been incarcerated since his conviction in the Toshakhana case last year.

    The SC bench headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Aminuddin, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi heard the case.

    Interestingly, Khan quoted India’s example during his argument that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was released on bail ahead of the Indian elections to run his campaign.

    Furthermore, Khan expressed dissatisfaction with the top court’s judgement rejecting Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s government plea requesting the live streaming of the case saying to CJP Isa, “You wrote [in the judgment] that I did political point scoring during the last hearing. I did not get it, what political scoring did I resort to?”

    CJP replied that a judge does not owe an explanation to anyone and that he can “file a review petition.”

    Criticising alleged political victimisation, the PTI chairman suggested that the Supreme Court should appoint a NAB chairman.

    “When opposition and government fail to evolve consensus on the name of NAB chairman appointment then a ‘third umpire’ makes the decision,” he said, adding that the NAB is working under the “third umpire”.

    “Solve the problems by sitting in parliament. This country needs to move forward,” the CJP said to Khan.

  • 85 per cent of Pakistanis content with their mental health: Survey

    85 per cent of Pakistanis content with their mental health: Survey

    85 per cent of Pakistanis are fully satisfied with their mental health while 14 per cent have expressed concerns, reveals a new survey by Gallup Pakistan.

    50 per cent of the people admitted to facing stress in their daily life — often or sometimes — while 50 per cent said that they do not have any stress.

    In the survey, 17 per cent of Pakistanis cited their family or domestic problems as the main cause of mental stress, 15 per cent cited lack of money, 14 per cent said unemployment, 13 percent cited their job, and eight percent cited their health as the main cause of mental stress.

    The rate of Pakistanis suffering from mental stress is clearly lower than the global opinion as a total of 79 per cent are suffering from mental stress globally, while 24 per cent deem their job as the main reason for mental stress.

    Globally, 21 per cent are affected by lack of money while 19 per cent quote family problems as the main cause of mental stress.