Category: Uncategorized

  • Pak-US relations back to normal: PM Shehbaz

    Pak-US relations back to normal: PM Shehbaz

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday that Pakistan wants to improve its mutual relations with the US in multiple fields. He further added that the relations between the nations are “back to normal” now.

    Addressing a ceremony of celebration of the 247th Independence Day of the US, Sharif said that Pakistan and the US made many efforts to make their relations better by putting aside any misgivings and misunderstandings.

    “Over the last 75 years, our relations have had ups and downs, but on the whole, we have been very good friends,” he stated.

    He said that the US was the largest trading partner of Pakistan, and both countries have played a major role in the war against terrorism.

    The prime minister also appreciated US support for 2022 flood victims. “We value the support of the US, which had been the biggest donor and very helpful in providing relief to millions of flood-affected people,” he observed.

    The US ambassador to Pakistan, Donald Blome, said in his remarks that the economic partnership between the countries is expanding.

    Shehbaz Sharif also congratulated US President Joe Biden and the people of the United States on their 247th Independence Day.

  • Woman forced to drink acid by husband, father-in-law

    Woman forced to drink acid by husband, father-in-law

    Trigger Warning: Acid attack

    A woman in Islamabad was forced to drink acid by her husband and father-in-law over a trivial issue.

    Police said the incident was reported on Thursday at Malot area of the capital city. The dispute started during a discussion related to milk for a child, upon which the husband Wahab, along with his father Abid Ali, tortured the woman and attempted to kill her.

    The officials further said Abid Ali grabbed her while Wahab brought acid from the washroom and forced it down her throat. The suspects escaped afterwards. The woman was shifted to a hospital as her condition worsened.

    A case has been filed by the acid attack survivor at the Police Station Bani Gala.

  • Gold market bounces back with second consecutive price increase of Rs1,800 to Rs207,800 per tola

    Gold market bounces back with second consecutive price increase of Rs1,800 to Rs207,800 per tola

    The price of gold in Pakistan has experienced a notable increase for the second consecutive session, following a prolonged period of decline subsequent to the $3 billion deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

    Data provided by the All-Pakistan Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association (APSGJA) reveals that the price of 24-carat gold rose by Rs1,800 per tola and Rs1,543 per 10 grammes, reaching Rs207,800 and Rs178,155 respectively.

    Simultaneously, the international market witnessed a decrease in the price of gold by $23, resulting in a settlement at $1,905 per ounce.

    The gold market in Pakistan has exhibited volatility recently due to persistent political and economic uncertainty, along with high inflation. Consequently, individuals seek to invest in this valuable commodity as a means of safeguarding their assets and hedging against market fluctuations.

    The APSGJA’s data also indicates that the price of silver has remained unchanged at Rs2,380 per tola and Rs2,126.20 per 10 grammes. Notably, the previous day witnessed a Rs1,000 increase in the price of gold.

    Furthermore, the Pakistani rupee displayed a marginal recovery of 0.13 per cent against the US dollar on Thursday. The interbank market, as reported by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), recorded the local currency closing at Rs277.04 in relation to the greenback.

  • Is McDonald’s closing operations in Pakistan? We have the real story

    Is McDonald’s closing operations in Pakistan? We have the real story

    McDonald’s Pakistan’s recent social media posts triggered rumors of the company shutting down its operations in the country.

    The first post in question read: “It’s time to pause for a while.”

    The Second post which was done 20 hours after first post read, “Pause to indulge.”

    Here’s how social media reacted to the possible shutdown of McDonald’s:

    https://twitter.com/daactarrsaab/status/1676922233393156097

    However, The Current’s sources have revealed that McDonald’s is not shutting its operations in Pakistan and the posts are a part of an upcoming campaign.

  • 50-year-old chokes to death while swallowing goat’s eyeball

    50-year-old chokes to death while swallowing goat’s eyeball

    A man choked to death while trying to swallow the eyeball of a goat at a small village in India on Thursday.

    A 50-year-old man known as Bagar Sai, who belonged to Chhattisgarh region of Surajpur, travelled to Khopa Dham with other people of Madanpur hamlet to sacrifice a goat at a temple after having his desire granted.

    After the sacrificial ritual, they all gathered to enjoy a meal. Bagar Sai excitedly picked up one of the goat’s eyeballs from the cooked flesh and as he tried to swallow it, the eyeball got stuck in his throat.

    The 50-year-old was rushed to a nearby hospital but he could not survive.

  • Sindh CM orders immediate arrest of Karachi harasser caught stripping on video

    Sindh CM orders immediate arrest of Karachi harasser caught stripping on video

    Trigger Warning: Assault

    Murad Ali Shah, Chief Minister of Sindh, has on Thursday issued directions to arrest the suspect who tried to sexually assault a girl in Karachi.

    The man was caught on camera stopping his motorcycle, stripping off, and then trying to assault a girl who passed him by. The girl fought back, repelling the attack.

    According to Sharjeel Inam Memon, the Information Minister of the province, the Chief Minister has taken notice of the matter and ordered the police to arrest the suspect immediately.

    Police said that they had taken notice of the incident after the video started circulating on social media, but a formal complaint was not filed against the harasser yet. 

    Police officials further added that following the directions by the CM, two teams have also been formed to nab the suspect. The teams include station house officers (SHOs) of two police stations.

    The horrifying incident was allegedly recorded on Wednesday in the Gulistan-e-Johar area of Karachi.

  • Accountability court acquits Nawaz Sharif in plot allotment case

    Accountability court acquits Nawaz Sharif in plot allotment case

    An accountability court has acquitted former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday in a case pertaining to a reference on illegal plot allotment.

    The judgement said that the record shows that Nawaz Sharif was subjected to political revenge, blaming the government of the time for forcing National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officials to destroy the political career of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) head.

    The accountability court has declared that the role of Nawaz Sharif in the allegations of the reference is less than that of his co-accused.

    The court has ordered the restoration of the Sharif’s properties and those of 27 shareholders, while emphasising that NAB should release the property after the time of appeal expires.

    The accountability court has also said in the decision that the court cannot be a silent spectator.

  • On Ranveer Singh’s birthday, here are the five times he made the internet sob with declarations of love for wife Deepika Padukone

    On Ranveer Singh’s birthday, here are the five times he made the internet sob with declarations of love for wife Deepika Padukone

    Everyone knows who Ranveer Singh is: a man of many talents including amazing acting skills, vibrant and eccentric fashion taste, but most importantly, adoration for his wife Deepika Padukone.

    Which is completely not weird because when you have a hottie for your wife, its your essential responsibility to keep worshipping the ground she walks on. And Ranveer proves that he is nothing but completely dedicated to the responsibility of being a simp husband.

    To celebrate his birthday, we have listed the five times Ranveer and Deepika took couple goals to a new level, and kept us muttering “me and who” while starring at them through our mobile screens.

    1 When he snuck in during Deepika’s Time magazine interview to give her a kiss and wish her best of luck

    And then later shared the cover on his Instagram page with the caption: “World at your feet! Proud of you, babygirl!”

    2 And then this moment during the Indian Sports Honors Awards

    3 This tear jerking moment at the Filmfare Awards when he brought Deepika out on the stage and called her his “lakshmi”, the secret behind his success and seriously someone get us a husband like Ranveer.

    4 Or this moment when he came up on the stage to give Deepika a shawl, and publicly declared how proud he was of her and seriously we’re not crying. It’s the onions.

    5 Or this moment while playing a game with Alia Bhatt

  • In 11 hours, Khan followed by 18k, Shehbaz Sharif by 417 followers on new social platform Threads

    In 11 hours, Khan followed by 18k, Shehbaz Sharif by 417 followers on new social platform Threads

    Threads, Meta’s rival to Twitter, has gained at least 10 million users since its launch on Thursday. Pakistani Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan are also among the newly joined users.

    The PTI chairman has 18,000 followers in the first eleven hours of the launch whereas the PM’s following list was limited to 417.

    The app went live on Apple and Android app stores in 100 countries at 7:00 pm EDT and 4:00 am Pakistan time.

    PM shared a picture of himself working out in his first post on Threads.

    Read more: Twitter’s worst nightmare: Facebook to launch Threads on Thursday as a rival to Musk’s platform

    In response to the growing popularity of Snapchat, Instagram introduced a feature called “stories” in 2016, allowing user posts to disappear after a certain period. More recently, Instagram’s “Reels” feature has aimed to compete with the rising prominence of TikTok.

    The launch of Threads poses a credible threat to Twitter under Musk’s leadership. His attempts to boost revenues and reshape the platform in his own image have faced significant criticism. Following the acquisition last year, Musk downsized the company by approximately 80 per cent and reinstated several banned accounts, including those of former US President Donald Trump and the conservative satirical news site Babylon Bee.

  • 2013 elections were better than 2008, 2018: EU Parliaments head of Election Observation Mission

    2013 elections were better than 2008, 2018: EU Parliaments head of Election Observation Mission

    Michael Gahler, the head of the Election Observation Mission (EOM) of the European Union (EU) Parliament has said while talking to a group of journalists that the EU will not send its election observer mission to Pakistan for the upcoming elections.
    When asked which elections were better, Gahler said 2013 was better than 2008 and 2018.

    Gahler said he had established 30 recommendations after observing the last few elections.

    “Military doesn’t want to take over because they’d be blamed but they still want to control their areas of interest to ensure they’re not touched,” he commented, adding that media and press was more vivid in 2008 and 2013 but it was to the contrary in 2018.

    He wished that for the next elections, every candidate can stand/contest elections without any influence of a third force. “People deserve proper elections.”

    European External Action Service (EEAS) does annual work plans to decide which countries to send EOMs to. Criteria to take into account: previous quality of elections, political significance, follow-up on past EOMs and its recommendations, logistics (costs, security etc).

    Pakistan elections of 2018 has been one of the largest, most complex and expensive EOMs of the EU.

    For 2023, HRVP decided to send only an expert mission (EMM) to Pakistan.