Category: Uncategorized

  • Three people shot to death in Balochistan

    Three people shot to death in Balochistan

    Three people were killed by gunfire in Jaffarabad, Balochistan on Monday, reports ARY.

    According to details, the incident took place in Dera Allahyar, Jaffarabad. Two men and a woman were killed by an unidentified man. Another woman was injured in the firing.

    She was moved to a hospital where the unidentified armed men tried to kill her too. The injured woman was saved by hospital staff.
    The police reached the location later and controlled the situation.

  • ‘Don’t even know Bipasha Basu’: Armeena Rana hits out at trolls for remarks on her pregnancy shoot

    ‘Don’t even know Bipasha Basu’: Armeena Rana hits out at trolls for remarks on her pregnancy shoot

    Actor Armeena Rana Khan faced flak for being “too western” in her maternity shoot, a netizen even accused her of plagiarising Bipasha Basu’s pregnancy shoot. However, the Janaan star clapped back at haters.

    Bipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grover announce pregnancy, shares maternity  photoshoot pics - CINEMA - CINE NEWS | Kerala Kaumudi Online

    While sharing a screenshot from the comment section of her maternity shoot picture, Khan showed how she shut a troll for being a “hypocrite” for wanting her to confide to his perfect ‘desi woman’ standard. “Troll me all you want, I don’t care and will never care,” she wrote reiterating that it’s her online space and she shares all updates with her fans and well-wishers and not with haters.

    She went on to share the brutal comments she has received on the post. A person commented on how her maternity shoot looked like a “Hollywood copy” and that women shouldn’t copy the “Kafir (sinners)” to feel empowered. “Hey ladies, Don’t be like Fatima. She’s a hypocrite,” wrote Khan.

    Triggered by the negative comments, Khan put up a PSA for everyone following her. “Next up, I will talk about my delivery and all of the details when it happens. [This is] my space, not yours,” she wrote in a series of Instagram Stories. “If I haven’t triggered you religious fanatics enough yet, watch this space.”

    She also went on to encourage other women to share their experiences of motherhood, and otherwise and claim their space after a fan congratulated her for finding the strength to do the same. “Claim your space, ladies. Motherhood and all its aspects are indeed beautiful. We should discuss our experiences. Let’s lift the ‘shame’ which isn’t even Islamic by the way, but has more to do with misogyny and our oppressive culture,” Khan exclaimed.

    Khan, on a roll, pointed out the lack of logic in a certain troll’s comment who insisted on her to feel “shameful because she’s a Muslim woman.” She said, “When you see a pregnant woman in public on the streets, do you wear those horse blinkers or do you avert your eyes? I doubt you do either. It all depends on how filthy your mind is,” she concluded her series of posts.

    The Daldal star

    Armeena was last seen in Mohabbatien Chahatein costarring Junaid Khan and Hira Mani.

  • Iran abolishes ‘morality police’

    Iran abolishes ‘morality police’

    After more than two months of protests triggered by the arrest of Mahsa Amini for allegedly violating the country’s strict female dress code, Iran’s local media said on Sunday that the country has suspended it’s morality police.

    “Gasht-e-Ershad,” which translates as “guidance patrols,” and is widely known as the “morality police,” was a unit of Iran’s police force established under former hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

    “Morality police have nothing to do with the judiciary,” and have been abolished, Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri said while answering a question from a participant at a religious conference.

    The announcement to disband the “morality police” came just a day after Montazeri told local reporters that “Both parliament and the judiciary are working [on the issue],” on whether the law requiring women to cover their heads needs to be changed.

    Following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police in September, the country has witnessed daily rallies, primarily spearheaded by women, calling for an end to the rule of hard-line clerics.

  • Bangladesh’s GDP is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2040 due to a fast-growing consumer market

    Bangladesh’s GDP is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2040 due to a fast-growing consumer market

    Bangladesh is on track to have a $1 trillion economy by 2040, owing to consumer confidence, innovation in growing economic sectors, and a young, energetic workforce.

    According to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) analysis released on Friday, the South Asian country has beaten rivals including India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, and Thailand with average annual growth of 6.4 per cent between 2016 and 2021.

    The domestic consumer market in Bangladesh is expected to expand to be the ninth-largest in the world. The survey also noted that between 2020 and 2025, a quickly growing middle class and wealthy class are expected to increase significantly, with a thriving gig economy supporting a workforce where the average age is only 28, according to Bloomberg.

    “The country could have easily been overshadowed by its neighbor to the northeast — China — or its continental cousin to the west — India — but in this region of economic powerhouses, Bangladesh stands tall,” BCG wrote.

    In 2015, Bangladesh moved up the income scale from poor to lower-middle income. Bangladesh’s GDP per capita is already larger than its neighbour, even though it is five years later than India. By 2031, the country hopes to reach upper middle income status.

    Some obstacles still exist. According to BCG, recent liquidity problems, as well as pressures from foreign exchange and inflation, could shorten growth. However, Bangladesh has made steps to prepare its $416 billion economy for a prosperous few decades, provided it keeps its average growth rate around 5 per cent.

    According to a BCG survey study, 57 per cent of respondents “continue to feel that, especially as the nation shifts to a skill-based economy, the next generation would have better lifestyles than themselves.”

    “Though the economy faces some near-term volatility, we are confident that this highly resilient economy will continue to demonstrate robust growth in the long term,” the report said.

  • ‘We will be dissolving the assemblies this month’: Imran Khan

    ‘We will be dissolving the assemblies this month’: Imran Khan

    Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan asked his party members to get ready for elections as Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) assemblies will be dissolved this month

    In an address to the Parliamentary Party of KP, Imran asked party workers to prepare for elections and begin campaigning in their constituencies. “Whether they [the government] come towards elections or not, we will be dissolving the assemblies this month and moving towards elections.”

    He reiterated that PTI is only ready to talk to the coalition leader on elections, warning that he will otherwise dissolve the assemblies in the provinces where his party was in power.

    He also said that Chief Minister (CM) Punjab Pervaiz Elahi had given him the go-ahead to dissolve the assembly. “He has said he is standing with me and would dissolve assemblies on my call,” he emphasized.

    Moreover, Imran warned that “if something happens to [PTI senator] Azam Swati, we will go after everyone responsible for arresting him”.

    Imran further said that the people who took Swati to Quetta had turned Pakistan’s justice system into a “joke”.

    “I am once again saying this with great respect to the judiciary, if you won’t protect the rights [of people] then who will,” he asked senior judges.

    Imran then instructed all his party members and supporters to come out to protest against Swati’s arrest.

    On Saturday, the government turned down Khan’s invitation to parleys for early elections, arguing threats and talks could not go together.

  • Poliovirus detected in sewage samples from 2 cities in Pakistan

    Poliovirus detected in sewage samples from 2 cities in Pakistan

    Polio virus has been discovered in sewage samples taken from Peshawar and Faisalabad, a source in the Ministry of Health Sciences has said, Express Tribune has reported.

    WPV1 has been found in sewage samples collected from Peshawar and Faisalabad. The samples were taken on November 11.
    65 polio sewage samples were discovered from around the country last year.

    Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio has not yet been eradicated. To formally eradicate the disease, a nation must be polio-free for three consecutive years. Nigeria was declared free from wild polio in August 2020

  • Shaan Shahid slams Fawad Khan, Hamza Ali Abbasi for ‘bad’ Punjabi dialogue delivery in ‘TLOMJ’

    Shaan Shahid slams Fawad Khan, Hamza Ali Abbasi for ‘bad’ Punjabi dialogue delivery in ‘TLOMJ’

    Star-actor Shaan Shahid believes that box-office kings Fawad Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi should have worked harder on their Punjabi diction in The Legend Of Maula Jatt.

    The Waar hero was recently invited to the show Super Over, where the host of the show asked for his views on Bilal Lashari casting Khan for the role of “Maula Jatt” and not him.

    Shaan hasn't watched The Legend Of Maula Jatt.. He tells why - Lifestyle -  SAMAA

    Hosted by Ahmed Ali Butt, Shaan stated that casting depends on the director’s vision, however, Shaan said he feels that Hamza and Fawad didn’t do justice to the Punjabi language and accent. As actors, one must not give excuses that they don’t speak a particular language. If Pakistani actors are cast in an English movie, would they have the same issue? he asked.

    In an exclusive interview with The Current, host Uzair Anwer asked him, if a biopic gets made on him, which young actor would he want to essay him in the film? The veteran artist was given four options (Hamza Ali Abbasi, Ahad Raza Mir, Bilal Abbas, and Imran Ashraf). The Majajan hero wasn’t too excited about these younger actors playing him in his biopic. He In fact hinted that it should be Shaan himself who should feature in a film based on him.

    Shaan stated, “I think if they would have cast Sanjay Dutt in Sanju (2018), it would have been better.”

    The actor said that it was difficult for him too in his initial days in the industry as he had come to Pakistan from New York. He told that he had to watch many Punjabi movies to learn the trait.

    Humaima Malik On The Legend Of Maula Jatt: “I Was Bilal Lashari's First  Choice To Play Daaro Nattni

    Shaan, however commended Humaima Malick on her incredible acting in The Legend of Maula Jatt.

  • Asad Qaiser says giving extension to Gen (r) Bajwa was ‘mistake’

    Asad Qaiser says giving extension to Gen (r) Bajwa was ‘mistake’

    Former Speaker of the National Assembly, Asad Qaiser, has said that the then-Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s decision to extend the tenure of ex-chief of army staff (COAS) retired General Qamar Javed Bajwa in 2019 was “wrong”.

    When asked about background discussions leading to the extension, Qaiser responded: “It was the wrong decision, no matter why or how it was taken.”

    While making a candid admission that they [PTI] “regret the mistake”, Qaiser said, “Everyone [in the party ranks] is realising that it was a mistake to grant him (Bajwa) an extension.

    Gen (r) Bajwa was appointed as the army chief by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in November 2016. In 2019, then-premier Imran Khan approved an extension in his tenure as COAS for another term — just three months before he was due to retire.

  • Humayun Saeed opens up about his deleted scene from Netflix’s ‘The Crown’

    Humayun Saeed opens up about his deleted scene from Netflix’s ‘The Crown’

    The reigning king of Pakistani cinema, Humayun Saeed is currently basking in the glory of his last blockbuster film London Nahi Jaunga and season 5 of Netflix’s globally successful web series, The Crown.

    For his part in Season 5 of The Crown, Humayun Saeed recently disclosed on Mazaaq Raat that he had to go through several auditions. When he submitted his initial audition, he was shortlisted. When he was eventually chosen for the series, he then re-auditioned with a romance scene.

    An extremely emotional moment that was left out of the series, according to Humayun Saeed, was also disclosed. They had to remove the sequence because they were unable to make the episodes of the television series longer than an hour. Diana informs Dr. Hasnat that she would be willing to convert to Islam for him at the moment. Although Humayun claimed to have appreciated the moment, it was ultimately removed.

    Prior to the series’ release, Humayun chatted with Dawn’s Maliha Rehman and talked about Netflix’s award-winning juggernaut.

    On being asked about the casting process, Humayun said, “It started with a call from Hamid Hussain, who is now my talent agent. He used to manage Bollywood star Nargis Fakhri, and I was in touch with him earlier to cast Nargis in my film. We had remained in touch since then.”

    He added: “One evening, I got a call from him, and he informed me that there was a really important international project that he had in mind for me, but I would need to send an audition for it. I only remember auditioning for the first few projects at the start of my career, but I know this is a norm in the West and agreed to it.”

    So, he sent the audition in, and soon after he was asked to do an online reading with Elizabeth Debicki, who jas essayed Princess Diana in the latest season. After ten days of waiting, he was told that he has bagged the role of Dr. Hasnat Khan.

    See the Cast of 'The Crown' vs. the People They Play in Real Life

    The Crown’ follows the lives of the British Royal Family and Season 5 sees us in the 1990s nearing the end of Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s marriage. Enter Dr. Hasnat Ahmad Khan, played by Saeed, a British-Pakistani lung and heart surgeon who is most well-known for his romantic relationship with Princess Diana from 1995 to 1997, referred by her as “Mr. Wonderful”.

    We just got a first glimpse of his character where he looks barely recognizable. Attention to detail in a show like ‘The Crown’ of course is incredible and it’s the same for Humayun’s look. 

    When asked about his research and prep work before stepping into the role, he had this to say:

    “Before filming began, I got to do a workshop with a real surgeon in the UK to understand how a surgeon would behave and react on the job. Of course, I knew about Dr Hasnat Khan even before I got this role. After my casting was confirmed, the team shared research material with me on the doctor. It included a few interviews, as well as, some images.

    “Dr Hasnat Khan is a very private person, which was why he and Princess Diana broke up — he couldn’t handle being in the limelight. Due to this, there is very limited material on him available in the public domain. So, I had to study whatever was shared with me in detail.”

    Humayun, for most of his career, is seen playing the hero, so when asked about his transformation into a down-to-earth not very fashionable doctor, he had this to say:  

    “I would sometimes try to push up my hair right before a scene,” he laughs, “but the stylists on set would immediately notice and they would put my hair back in place. When I saw myself on screen for the first time, I was completely taken aback! I didn’t look like Humayun Saeed at all but like the doctor.

    “On a serious note, the makers of ‘The Crown’ are extremely particular about details, and the look that they had created for the doctor had to be followed to the tee. It was very impressive seeing firsthand how they looked into every tiny nuance.”

    Humayun also talked about how he could let his diet go for a change, seeing as how he’s often playing the hero which requires strict regimental diets. 

    “More than being intimidated, I feel that this show puts extra responsibility on anyone who is part of it,” he mused. “People naturally have strong feelings about characters in the show, and memories of the events that we are depicting. Also, some of the people we are representing are alive or have family members who are still alive and that means all of us who are part of this show has to take the responsibility of our roles seriously.”

    He also lauded the screenwriter Peter Morgan for handling each character’s portrayal sensitively, calling it the show’s biggest highlight.

    Speaking about the energy on set, Humayun revealed that most of his scenes were opposite Elizabeth Debicki, and that he was in awe of her commitment to her craft. Elizabeth of course, is best known for her work in ‘The Great Gatsby,’ ‘Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2’ and ‘Tenet.

    The artist doesn’t think that the series will give him a boost as an actor, rather he hopes to apply all his learnings from this experience to his future projects.

  • ‘October 2023’: PML-N unmoved by Khan’s offer to govt

    ‘October 2023’: PML-N unmoved by Khan’s offer to govt

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) adamant that the next general elections will be held as per schedule in October 2023.

    The Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, has offered the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government to discuss the possibility of early general elections.

    However, the olive branch comes with a threat. “Give us a date for elections or we will dissolve Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab assemblies,” Khan said in a video address to the PTI’s Punjab parliamentary party.

    Marriyum Aurangzeb, Interior Minister, took to Twitter and wrote, “October 2023” as a response to Khan’s offer.

    Ishaq Dar, Finance Minister, said the government stuck to its stance that elections would be held in Oct 2023.

    “We can sit for talks with PTI but on any other issue except snap elections,” he said when asked about PML-N meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister.

    He said the coalition government came into power through a constitutional way and it reserved rights to complete its constitutional term [till Oct 2023].