Category: Uncategorized

  • Abbasi apologises to nation for appointing NAB chief

    Abbasi apologises to nation for appointing NAB chief

    Former prime minister (PM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has apologised to the nation for having appointed Justice (r) Javed Iqbal as the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), The News reported.

    A jurist and professor of law, Iqbal has served as a senior justice of the Supreme Court (SC). He was appointed as the NAB chief on October 8, 2017, by then Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government led by Abbasi.

    “The name of NAB chairman had come from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the appointment was made with consensus,” the former premier said in an informal talk with media outside an accountability court Thursday.

    The PML-N leader said the “main aim of NAB was to break the PML-N” and questioned the bureau’s actions for having “instituted the case after arresting an ex-PM”.

    Abbasi said he was accused of using a vehicle of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the PM and had he knew about such allegations beforehand, he would have hired a tonga or taxi for reaching the PM Office.

    “NAB is conducting investigation against me and remand is also continuing for 55 days, but it doesn’t know anything about the case,” he said further.

    Earlier in the day, an accountability court extended the physical remand of former PM Abbasi and former finance adviser Miftah Ismail in the LNG case. Both the leaders were presented before the court that approved NAB’s plea for remand extension and asked it to present the suspects once again on September 26.

  • VIDEO: Indian minister credits Einstein for discovering gravity

    VIDEO: Indian minister credits Einstein for discovering gravity

    Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal made a rather outlandish comment on Wednesday. He said that “maths never helped Einstein discover gravity”.

    Mr. Goyal was rubbishing TV reports that India’s economy wasn’t doing well given the statistics about India’s economic growth.

    “Don’t go by all these calculations you see on TV, that if the country has to become a $5 trillion economy, it will have to grow at 12% but right now it is currently growing at 6-7%,” said Mr. Goyal.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    https://twitter.com/bhayankur/status/1172068601995522048?s=21

    “Don’t get into those maths; those maths never helped Einstein discover gravity,” Mr. Goyal added. “If he had only gone by structured formulae and what was past knowledge, I don’t think there would have been any innovation in this world.”

    Twitter had a field day following these remarks. Many were quick to point out that Einstein indeed didn’t discover gravity; it was Newton!

    Memes and jokes followed after that.

    https://twitter.com/roshankrrai/status/1172074577075171328?s=21

    https://twitter.com/supariman_/status/1172142047462977537?s=21

    https://twitter.com/coldmine3/status/1172099226219597824?s=21

  • Deal struck, Nawaz to get bail on Sept 18, leave country: analyst

    Deal struck, Nawaz to get bail on Sept 18, leave country: analyst

    With the Islamabad High Court (IHC) set to hear former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif’s appeal against his conviction, an analyst has claimed that “a deal has been struck” and the former “will soon be leaving the country”.

    Earlier this week, IHC constituted a two-member bench to hear the appeal filed by Nawaz against his conviction in the Al-Azizia reference. The bench, comprising Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, will hear the appeal on September 18.

    This will be the first hearing of Nawaz’s appeal since the controversy regarding the leaked video of accountability court judge Arshad Malik surfaced in July.

    The video, purportedly showing the judge “confessing” that he had convicted Nawaz under duress, was made public by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President (VP) Maryam Nawaz.

    Malik had in December 2018 sentenced the former premier to seven years imprisonment in Al-Azizia reference. After the removal of the judge over the controversy, IHC had ordered to attach Malik’s affidavit with Nawaz’s plea against his sentence.

    Amid rumours that a deal was being struck between the government and jailed Nawaz, analyst and former Balochistan government adviser Jan Achakzai has claimed that the former PM and his daughter will soon be leaving the country.

    “Deal is done as earlier I claimed. Nawaz Sharif will be flying out of the country after bail. Maryam Nawaz will likely join him. Big hurdle in front of stressed govt is almost over. Expect Interesting political roller coaster and fireworks after November [sic],” he tweeted.

  • Bilal Ashraf shares fun behind the scenes from ‘Superstar’

    Bilal Ashraf shares fun behind the scenes from ‘Superstar’

    Bilal Ashraf and Mahira Khan’s latest release Superstar has been a stellar success both critically and commercially. And the one thing that everyone has agreed on is how lit Mahira and Bilal’s onscreen chemistry is and how well the two have acted in the film.

    Now that the pre and post-release promotions for the film have wrapped up, Bilal has been sharing some fun BTS of the cast’s shenanigans from the sets of the film. We have to say, BTS is often more fun than the film itself.

    So this is how it rains on set.

    Bilal and Mahira sharing a laugh while shooting

    The lead stars being goofy

    So that’s how he always has perfect hair

    When Mahira and Bilal twirled on the stage

    Oh damn! That looks pretty scary.

    We even got to see Mahira shooting Noori

  • Mathira lashes out at Malala for not talking about Kashmir

    Mathira lashes out at Malala for not talking about Kashmir

    Apple’s latest iPhone 11 Pro has been at the receiving end of jokes ever since the company unveiled its first look. The tech giant was mocked for its redundant change in designs and their triple-camera ended up being the victim of memes on all the social media platforms.

    Among the social media users making fun of Apple’s new design was Malala Yousafzai.

    Taking to Twitter, the humanitarian shared a picture of her kurta which had a similar design on it.

    Malala’s tweet might have been in good humour but it started a debate on how Malala should be calling out the cruelty in Indian occupied Kashmir instead of commenting on the new iPhone.

    Among the critics was actor Mathira who expressed her outrage at Malala’s tweet. 

    Meanwhile, the public had different opinions. Some were fine with Malala cracking a joke and some began to argue on what a peace representative should and should not focus on.

    Malala has not responded to Mathira’s or any other tweet
    yet

  • Earthquake causes panic in Punjab, KP, Azad Kashmir

    Earthquake causes panic in Punjab, KP, Azad Kashmir

    An earthquake of high intensity jolted the federal capital besides various districts of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Thursday, but no causalities or property damages were reported.

    According to the geological wing of Pakistan Meteorological Department, the earthquake was felt in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Mardan, Abbottabad, Swat, Upper Dir, Malakand, Rawlakot, Peshawar, Charsadda, Mansehra, Mohmand, Bajaur and parts of AJK with the intensity of 5.2 on the Richter scale.

    People of the areas where the quake was felt rushed out of their homes and other buildings in panic reciting verses from Holy Quran. The epicenter of the quake was Hindu Kush mountain range in Afghanistan, 251 meters deep in the ground.

    An earthquake was also felt in Swat, Mingora and adjoining areas a few days back. The intensity was recorded at 5.5 on the Richter scale.

  • VIDEO: ‘Troops ready to make Azad Kashmir part of India,’ army chief says

    VIDEO: ‘Troops ready to make Azad Kashmir part of India,’ army chief says

    Amid heightened tensions and Narendra Modi-led Indian government’s threats of “invading” Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) region of the country, Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat has said his “troops are ready to make the territory a part of India”.

    “Indian troops are ready to retrieve Pakistan occupied Kashmir and make it a part of India, but it is the government which takes decisions in such matters,” Gen Rawat said while speaking to an Indian news agency.

    He said that the institutions of the country will work as per the orders of the government, but the army is always ready.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Earlier, a similar statement was made by Indian Union Minister Jitendra Singh, who had said that after the abrogation of Article 370 in India Held Kashmir (IHK), the next agenda of the government was to “retrieve Pakistan-administered Kashmir”.

    Singh, however, was brutally trolled by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Asif Ghafoor, who suggested him “to consult Indian Air Force (IAF) before taking any such steps”.

    https://twitter.com/peaceforchange/status/1171493626024587270

    He had ridiculed the Indian minister while mentioning failed Indian airstrikes from February 2019, which resulted in two IAF jets being shot down by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and capture of pilot Abhinandan Varthaman.

  • Consult Indian Air Force before ‘invading’ Azad Kashmir, ISPR chief trolls Indian minister

    Consult Indian Air Force before ‘invading’ Azad Kashmir, ISPR chief trolls Indian minister

    Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Asif Ghafoor has trolled Indian Union Minister Jitendra Singh by asking him “to consult Indian Air Force (IAF) before invading Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK)”.

    “After Article 370, Pakistan occupied Kashmir is our next agenda,” the Modi-led Hindu nationalist government’s minister had been quoted as saying.

    Taking to Twitter to ridicule Singh while mentioning failed Indian airstrikes from February 2019 — which resulted in two IAF jets being shot down by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) and capture of pilot Abhinandan Varthaman — the ISPR chief wrote:

    https://twitter.com/peaceforchange/status/1171493626024587270

    “Please always consult IAF before talking about such agenda. As regard 370…. and siege, what you couldn’t suppress through overt & covert physical efforts for 72 years, this paper work can’t do that either. You shall see the just struggle succeeding. IA [sic].”

  • ‘The world believes India, not us,’ says interior minister

    ‘The world believes India, not us,’ says interior minister

    Federal Minister for Interior Brigadier (r) Ijaz Ahmed Shah has said that the world believes India, not Pakistan.

    “Who is responsible for earning this name, that people don’t believe us [Pakistan] in the international community?” the former spy asked in an interview to a private media outlet.

    “We say India has enforced a curfew in Kashmir, it is not providing medicines, is killing people, there is nothing to eat. People don’t believe us. They believe India, even though we are right.”

    WATCH VIDEO:

    When asked by the interviewer about who was responsible for it, Ijaz blamed the ruling elite of the country. “This is not the work of a single day,” he said. “Over a period of time, the ruling elite destroyed the country. The people thought we are not a responsible nation. That is what we are facing.”

    “It is very unfortunate that we worked hard, and we made the most sacrifices in the war on terror,” he said further.

    “We became a frontline state. Around 80,000 of our people were martyred. Are we getting the same response from the world community? No. We must have a soul-searching. You [the media] should also think about it.”

  • Here are the best universities in the world

    Here are the best universities in the world

    Prospective students heads up! The Times Higher Education (THE) has released its annual World University Rankings after analysing more than 1,300 institutions across the world.

    Considered the most comprehensive global ranking, it uses 13 “performance indicators” to judge institutions’ excellence in terms of teaching, research, job placement, income and international outlook.

    This year’s ranking was along the same lines as last year – there was no change at the top this year – European and North American universities continue to dominate.

    The University of Oxford took the top spot for the fourth year in a row, with its traditional rival the University of Cambridge dropping to third place behind the California Institute of Technology.

    UK’s highest-ranked universities including Imperial College London, UCL, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the University of Edinburgh have all dropped by one place.

    Switzerland was the only country outside the United Kingdom and North America to break into the top 20, with the ETH Zurich coming in joint 13th place. Ellie Bothwell, THE’s rankings editor, said that while Europe continued to perform “extremely well” and attract academics from around the world, there could be challenges ahead.

    Seven territories included in the analysis for the first time were Bangladesh, Brunei, Cuba, Malta, Montenegro, Puerto Rico and Vietnam. Iran was one of the biggest overall climbers, overtaking France and Australia with 40 universities included.

    Asia is the only region posing a serious threat to Anglo-American dominance in the rankings, now in their 16th year. China has grown to be the fourth-most-represented country in the world, while Japan has strengthened its position as the second, though it lags behind countries such as Denmark and Belgium in terms of top-200 representation.

    Meanwhile, in Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam University (401-500) was the highest-ranked in the country followed by COMSATS University (601-800), Islamabad and University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Lahore University of Management Sciences, National University of Sciences and Technology and the University of Punjab in the 801-1000 bracket.