Category: Uncategorized

  • Five Pakistanis arrested for ‘suspicious’ remittances in Israel

    Five Pakistanis arrested for ‘suspicious’ remittances in Israel

    Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested five Pakistanis for working in Israel. They were sending ‘suspicious’ remittances to Pakistan, the BBC has reported.

    It is notable that no one can travel to Israel on a Pakistani Passport because the country has never diplomatically recognised Israel.

    Investigation officer Muhammad Iqbal told the BBC that the FIA received information from official sources about the ‘suspicious’ transactions in remittances to Pakistan from Israel. He further added that these transactions took place between 2016 and 2021.

    The FIA has detained five people, and raids are being conducted to arrest another three. According to the FIA, the arrested people belong to religious organisations. However, these religious organisations are not banned.

    The people who have been arrested are from the Mirpur Khas area of Sindh. Among the arrested people, four had ‘Schengen’ visas, which means they can travel to 27 countries in Europe.

  • River Chenab likely to experience ‘exceptionally high’ level flood, warns FFD

    River Chenab likely to experience ‘exceptionally high’ level flood, warns FFD

    The Flood Forecasting Division (FFD) has issued a warning that heavy rainfall may cause an exceptionally high level flood in River Chenab on Thursday.

    Weather conditions indicate of “very high to exceptionally high level flooding” in River Chenab from July 8 till July 10, FFD said, adding that there is also a high to very high level of flooding expected in the nullahs of rivers Ravi and Chenab.

    The flood alert stated that, “A deep trough of westerly wave along with strong incursion of monsoon currents from both sources and approaching upper air circulation, widespread heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy falls at scattered places is expected over the upper catchments of rivers Sutlej, Ravi and Chenab and up to some extent over River Jhelum.”

    Furthermore, the flood situation in rivers Ravi and Sutlej will depend upon releases from India.

  • ‘Pasoori’ virtuoso Sheema Kermani says she’s against remakes amid Bollywood controversy

    ‘Pasoori’ virtuoso Sheema Kermani says she’s against remakes amid Bollywood controversy

    The dancing virtuoso Sheema Kermani has thoughts about remakes after Bollywood remade the Coke Studio hit ‘Pasoori’ in which the dancing legend made an appearance.

    In the past few days, the internet became a battlefield after Bollywood music giant T-Series adapted the massive Ali Sethi and Shae Gill hit, with Ajit Singh for ‘Satyaprem Ka Katha’.

    It was a blazing hellscape, with Indian and Pakistani fans of the original track calling the remake distateful. Shae Gill had to step in to implore to fans to stop sending hate to the singers in a video:

    “And if it’s something you don’t like at all then I would say don’t listen to it. Instead of sending hate, don’t listen to it because not liking something and talking about it in your home is still fine but if you are publicly humiliating and insulting someone then it’s not very nice, is it,” she requested fans of the Pakistani hit.

    Now Kermani has given her two cents on the topic while speaking to Aaj Tak. The feminist activist said she has not watched ‘Pasoori Nu’, and is not a fan of remakes:

    “I haven’t even seen it, so I can’t comment. My feeling about remake songs has always been mixed. The toppers that are popular are remade. First of all, my reaction is that no brother, the original, is the best. The composition is so beautiful, so what is the need to remake it? I don’t like remake culture too much. Although seen in a way, the advantage is that young people are also listening to the old iconic songs. It’s a good thing. Personally, I am against it.”

    During the ‘Pasoori Nu’ controversy, an old video of Ali Sethi singing Arijit Singh’s ‘Aayat’ from the film Bajirao Mastani during an Instagram Live session went viral on the internet, where he praised the singer as one of the best ones from Bollywood:

    “Aapke mulk ke jo sabse zabardast singer he, sabse versatile… I have said this many times, but you know I feel like the sign of a great singer as opposed to say the sign of a very gifted singer, is that they can make it feel effortless and this is what Arijit Singh does with the song Aayat, which I am obsessed with. Which I think is one of the most beautiful songs to emerge from the Indian movie scene in years.”

  • Imran Ashraf’s ex reveals her biggest regret is changing herself for a man

    Imran Ashraf’s ex reveals her biggest regret is changing herself for a man

    Actor Imran Ashraf and his former wife Kiran Ashfaque announced their divorce in October 2022, after being married for four years. Recently, Kiran created a stir on her Instagram account where she wrote that she deeply regretted changing herself for a man, and vowed to never take such a step again.

    “I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.
    Do not change ur personality or anything for anyone ❤️
    I did it and i regret it.”

    While it may or may not have been a direct reference to her ex, many Instagram users lauded the influencer’s brave stand on embracing your own body and learning never to change to make others happy

    Previously, Kiran did a Q & A on Instagram with her followers where, after months of silence, she finally opened up about why she chose to divorce the actor. Some of her responses made users feel like that not everything was glamorous behind the scenes as it is in front of the cameras.

    When a user asked Kiran why she had divorced her husband, she snapped back “Go and ask him why did he divorce me.”

    When another user asked Kiran on whether she got a divorce because of her bold nature, her response was:

    “I was always a bold person, but I had changed myself for someone. My advice to everyone is to never change yourself for someone else. Check my old photos on Google babe.”

  • Bushra Bibi, Imran Khan illegal marriage case: Revision appeal filed against Imran Khan

    Bushra Bibi, Imran Khan illegal marriage case: Revision appeal filed against Imran Khan

    A petitioner has filed a revision appeal in an illegal marriage case against Chairman Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan in a district and session courts in Islamabad.

    Petitioner Muhammad Hanif filed the revision appeal against the decision of Civil Judge Nasrmanullah. Session Judge Azam Khan will hear the revision appeal on July 13.

    Session Judge Azam Khan has also issued a notice to Imran Khan and the petitioner.

    It has been stated in the petition that Bushra Manika got separated from her husband, Khawar Manika, without any reason and married Imran Khan. After nikkah with Khan, they remained in Bani Gala.

    The petitioner has requested in the petition that the decision of the civil judge regarding Imran Khan’s marriage be annulled.

  • Court releases ADC after rape survivor deviates from accusation

    Court releases ADC after rape survivor deviates from accusation

    Trigger warning: Rape

    A rape survivor retracted her statement before the Additional Sessions Judge in the case she had filed against the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) in Mianwali.

    A hearing was held on the rape case in a Mianwali court on Thursday, in which the petitioner appeared before the judge and deviated from her statement.

    She told the court that no rape had taken place.

    After the woman’s statement, the court dismissed the case and the ADC was released.

    A day earlier, the government official was arrested after a woman from Lahore mentioned in the FIR that the ADC raped her on the pretense of job, as reported by Geo News.

  • Zaka Ashraf takes charge of Najam Sethi’s vacant position in PCB

    Zaka Ashraf takes charge of Najam Sethi’s vacant position in PCB

    Zaka Ashraf has assumed the role of the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee on Thursday, following the departure of his predecessor, Najam Sethi.

    The PCB confirmed that all the necessary procedures for appointing Ashraf as the committee’s chief have been completed.

    Upon his arrival at the PCB headquarters in Lahore, Ashraf received a warm welcome from senior officials of the cricket board. He was scheduled to preside over a meeting of the 10-member committee which had received approval from the Cabinet Division on Wednesday.

    The 10-member Management Committee formed for a period of four months consists of Zaka Ashraf (ex-chairman PCB), Kalim Ullah Khan, Ashfaq Akhtar, Muhammad Mussadiq Islam, Azmat Pervez, Zaheer Abbas, Khurram Karim Somroo, Khawaja Nadeem, Mustafa Ramday and Zulfiqar Malik.

  • Protests against loadshedding turn violent in Lyari

    Protests against loadshedding turn violent in Lyari

    Residents of Karachi’s Lyari staged a protest against prolonged load-shedding in their area on Wednesday, blocking both tracks of Mauripur Road and stopping vehicular traffic, Dawn reports. Police were allegedly forced to fire tear gas shells and baton charge the protestors to clear the road. 

    The vice chairman of UC-7 in  Lyari, Zohaib Baloch, who is one of the organisers of the protest, reportedly told Dawn that Lyari residents were facing up to 16 hours of load shedding daily, which exacerbated the crisis of water in the locality. 

    A large number of people, including women and children, staged a sit-in on Mauripur Road near Dua Hotel, blocking one of the busiest thoroughfares in the city. 

    A police officer, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that they were compelled to take aggressive action when protestors started ‘smashing’ cars and other vehicles on the road.

    Baloch, however, claims that the police charged the locals with batons and fired tear gas at them in order to disperse the protest. He adds that their protest would continue until their demands were fulfilled. 

    According to Dawn, Baloch said that residents at Mira Naka in Lyari were protesting the same problem. Alas, this is not the first time residents of what is considerably one of Karachi’s oldest neighbourhoods have staged protests against insufficient facilities and provisions. 

    In fact, just earlier this week on Monday, residents of Lyari staged a protest against long hours of gas shortages, claiming that and the scarcity of fuel forces them to burn wood to cook meals. 

    The smoke that rises from the burning wood has caused sickness in children, while the infrastructure of houses has also been affected due to the use of wood fire. 

    Residents of Mandra Para, Rahiman Soomra and Baloch Mohallo placed gas cylinders and gas stoves on the road to protest, and the protestors included women and children.

    Karachi Press Club president Saeed Sarbazi said that K-Electric might have reasons to resort to load-shedding on the pretext of ‘losses’, but a host of issues must be considered for the problem to be resolved, Dawn reports. 

    He added that residents of Lyari were of a working-class background and thereby could not afford exorbitant electricity bills, saying that the problem required a political and social initiative.

  • Police to include Imran Khan as accused in GHQ attack case

    The police have decided to include Imran Khan, Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), as an accused in the May 9 case of the attack on the General Headquarters’ (GHQ) gate and the office of a sensitive institution, Samaa has reported. According to sources, Chairman PTI will be named as an accused in light of the statements of the suspects under investigation.

    Sources say that the decision to nominate Imran Khan was taken after consulting legal experts.

    Cases of attacks on GHQ gate and buildings are registered at RA Bazar police station and Newtown police station.

    It should be noted that more than 100 accused have been arrested in the GHQ attack case; three female accused have been identified so far; one suspect has obtained bail from the court; and the case has been registered under the Terrorism Act.

    Former provincial minister Raja Basharat is also named as an accused in the case.

  • Is Barbie banned in Pakistan? We investigate

    Is Barbie banned in Pakistan? We investigate

    Everything was fine and handy dandy on the internet when suddenly fire started spewing on the bird app that the upcoming film ‘Barbie’ is banned in Pakistan

    https://twitter.com/notbabyze/status/1673642005820317696?s=20

    https://twitter.com/garbajjj/status/1676269902347345926?s=20
    https://twitter.com/olivescoil/status/1672895133354979331?s=20

    This has to be a joke pulled by the Oppenheimer marketing team, because when it comes to Barbie and the sacred Greta Gerwig, our claws are out.

    Since our occupation is journalism, we got out our pink notebooks and glittery pen, and investigated this nonsense rumor to tell you guys that there is no such thing happenening. From the major cinemas we have spoken to in Lahore and Karachi, we can confidently say Barbie is not banned in Pakistan.

    In Lahore, here are some of the places where it is confirmed that the film will release on July 21:

    Xinhua Mall

    Emporium Mall

    Cue Cinema

    Chalo Cinema at Fortress Stadium is only showing Oppenheimer. When we spoke to an employee of the organisation, they said that there was no current confirmation about whether or not Barbie will be playing in their theatre.

    Whereas in Karachi, we had reached out to Nueplex Cinemas where although Barbie and Oppenheimer are grouped under the category of movies coming soon, but two employees at the cinema said that currently there was no confirmation about whether the movie will play in their cinema or not. Fans of the film can call them three days before the release to confirm.

    But there you have it folks. This Barbie has proven that the film was not banned in Pakistan.