Category: Uncategorized

  • US Dollar continues to slide, reaches Rs183

    US Dollar continues to slide, reaches Rs183

    The US Dollar fell by Rs1.43 shortly after the interbank market opened, and is now being traded at Rs183.25.

    Following days of depreciation, the Pakistani rupee (PKR) rebounded against the US dollar in the interbank market on April 11, signaling that the currency value is stabilizing.

    On Friday, the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) index KSE-100 reversed course and experienced an uptrend, adding 657.75 points, or 1.50 per cent, to close at 44,444.58 points, up from 43,786.83 points the previous working day.

    The KSE-100 index began on Monday morning to strong investor optimism, following a historic weekend in which Imran Khan became the first prime minister in Pakistan’s history to be removed by a vote of no confidence, putting an end to the country’s ongoing political crisis.

    According to foreign currency dealers, the greenback is now selling at Rs183.20, after weakening Rs1.83 versus the PKR in early trade.

  • Who is going to be in new PMLN, PPP cabinet?

    Who is going to be in new PMLN, PPP cabinet?

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif is likely to be get elected as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan today (Monday).

    According to Geo News’ sources, PML-N will have 12 cabinet ministers. The PPP will have seven, and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) will be given four ministries. Meanwhile, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) will have two, and Awami National Party (ANP), Jamhoori Watan Party and Balochistan Awami Party will have one each.

    It has been reported that the Governor of Punjab will be from PPP and the Governor of Sindh from MQM-P. Similarly, JUI-F has demanded the seat of Governor of Balochistan or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) from their allies.

    PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari could be the next foreign minister.

    PML-N’s Khawaja Asif, Saad Rafique, Khurram Dastgir, Ahsan Iqbal, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Shaista Pervaiz Malik, Rana Sanaullah and Murtaza Javed are likely to join the cabinet. 

  • ‘Martial law or elections – your choice’: Khan threatened to impose martial law, states report

    ‘Martial law or elections – your choice’: Khan threatened to impose martial law, states report

    Imran Khan, who was ousted as Pakistan’s prime minister (PM) on Saturday, April 9, had threatened to impose martial law rather than facing the no-trust motion and handing over the power to the Opposition, reports The Guardian.

    The news outlet writes, “On Friday, a senior minister from his ruling government sent a message to an Opposition leader that read: “Martial law or elections – your choice.”

    “It appeared to threaten the Opposition with the ultimatum that they should agree to Khan’s demand for fresh elections or he would bring in Pakistan’s powerful military to take control, as has happened repeatedly in the country’s history,” writes The Guardian.

    “Imran Khan believed it should be him or no one,” says the news report, attributing, to one figure from the Opposition who said he had refused the demand.

    The news report also states that the premier had attempted to sack Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa in order to provoke the military into taking control and imposing martial law.

    “Imran Khan wanted to sack the army chief, but the forces received information about it and they thwarted his plan after they came to know about it,” said a security official on condition of anonymity. “Khan wanted to create a huge crisis to remain in power,” writes The Guardian.

    There were also reports that the COAS and the former PM had 45 minutes meeting in Prime Minister House. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR)  has dismissed BBC Urdu’s story that claims that Khan was pushing for the removal of COAS.

    The Opposition’s no-confidence motion against former Prime Minister Imran Khan succeeded on Sunday with 174 members voted in favour of the motion. The magic number to oust Khan was ‘172’. The National Assembly debated on the matter for more than 12 hours and the political situation in the country took a critical turn.

    Later, PM Khan was voted out as Prime Minister of Pakistan a little after midnight with 174 votes.

  • Top ten billionaires: Elon Musk tops the list, India’s Mukesh Ambani at number 10

    Top ten billionaires: Elon Musk tops the list, India’s Mukesh Ambani at number 10

    The Forbes’ has published its 36th annual World’s Billionaires List recently, revealing a total of 2,668 billionaires with 236 newcomers. As per the report, “America still leads the world, with 735 billionaires worth a collective $4.7 trillion, including Elon Musk, who tops the World’s Billionaires list for the first time.”

    India’s Mukesh Ambani is listed on number 10 on the list.

    Profile of the richest man Elon Musk:

    • Elon Musk is working to revolutionize transportation both on Earth, through electric car maker Tesla — and in space, via rocket producer SpaceX.
    • He owns 21% of Tesla but has pledged more than half of his stake as collateral for loans. Forbes has discounted his stake to take the loans into account.
    • A regulatory filing in early April 2022 revealed that Musk had purchased 9.2% of Twitter. The company invited him to join its board the next day.
    • SpaceX, Musk’s rocket company, is valued at $74 billion after a funding round in February 2021.
    • He grew up in South Africa, then immigrated to Canada at age 17. He landed in the U.S. as a transfer student to the University of Pennsylvania.
    Top 10 Billionaires:
    1. Elon Musk

    2. Jeff Bezos

    3. Bernard Arnault and family 

    4.Bill Gates 

    5.Warren Buffett

    6.Larry Page 

    7.Sergey Brin

    8.Larry Ellison

    9.Steve Ballmer

    10.Mukesh Ambani

  • Thousands rally in Sri Lanka, asking Rajapaksa family to quit politics

    Thousands rally in Sri Lanka, asking Rajapaksa family to quit politics

    Thousands of people demanding “total system change” have rallied in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, calling for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his powerful brothers to quit politics amid a deepening economic crisis.

    At the Galle Face Green on Colombo’s waterfront, students, teachers, lawyers, actors and architects – many of whom said they were protesting for the first time – chanted “madman Gota” and “Go home Gota”, referring to the president’s nickname, as they gathered under a blistering sun.

    They waved the Sri Lankan flag and held up hand-written placards in Sinhalese and English that carried messages such as “No more corrupted politicians” and “Save Sri Lanka from the Rajapaksa family”.

    “This is a do-or-die moment,” said 29-year-old Buddhi Karunatne, who works in advertising.

    “For the first time, people of all kinds of political and social beliefs are coming together, with non-negotiable demands for the president to resign and hand over power to people who are capable of getting us out of this socioeconomic crisis.”

    The display of anger marked a stunning reversal for Rajapaksa, 72, who won the presidency in 2019 by a big margin and whose party went on to secure a two-thirds majority in the parliament less than a year later. Those victories allowed Rajapaksa to appoint his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister and amend the constitution to strengthen the president’s powers.

    He also went on to hand three other Rajapaksa family members key positions in his cabinet, including the finance, agriculture and sports portfolios.

    ‘No Rajapaksa should be there’

    Sparked by a foreign exchange crunch, the economic downturn is Sri Lanka’s worst in decades. It has resulted in soaring inflation that has left the poor struggling to afford enough to eat and caused fuel shortages and hours-long power cuts that have threatened to close down businesses.

  • Pakistan to choose its new Prime Minister today

    Pakistan to choose its new Prime Minister today

    The National Assembly is set to choose a new Prime Minister (PM) of Pakistan today (Monday) at 2pm after the removal of Imran Khan from the premiership in a no-confidence vote.

    On Sunday, the Joint Opposition’s candidate and Pakistan Muslim-League (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and PTI’s Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s nomination papers were accepted.

    The former minister for information and broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry also announced that PTI’s MNA will resign from their posts on Monday.

    In the early hours of Sunday, Imran Khan was ousted as the PM of Pakistan from office through a no-confidence motion after a 12-hour heated NA session.

    The session was chaired by Ayaz Sadiq after the resignation of NA speaker Asad Qasier.

    “174 members have recorded their votes in favour of the resolution, consequently the resolution for the vote on no-confidence against Mr Imran Khan, the prime minister of Pakistan, has been passed by a majority,” Ayaz Sadiq announced after the process of voting was completed.

  • ‘Paancho judge (Sharif) hain’: Anwar Maqsood and son Bilal share sarcastic take on political scenario in viral video

    Veteran Pakistani scriptwriter, satirist, and humorist Anwar Maqsood has given his opinion on the Supreme Court (SC) verdict regarding the no-trust motion and dissolution of the National Assembly by saying that the ‘judges are also sharif’.

    An interesting video on social media was posted by his singer son Bilal Maqsood to get the father’s opinion on the current political crisis.

    Bilal Maqsood questioned his father, Anwar Maqsood to share some words on the top court’s ruling.

    Anwar replied, “I’m very happy. I was expecting the same verdict [from the Supreme Court]. Because it has to come this way. Because the respectable and honourable five judges are also sharif.”

    The 85-year-old legend was recently honoured at the Lux Style Awards with the Unilever Chairman’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

  • ‘Safe exit, resignation, boots’: Rumours related to Khan on social media

    ‘Safe exit, resignation, boots’: Rumours related to Khan on social media

    The historic session of the National Assembly (NA) session to decide the fate of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is taking place today as per the Supreme Court’s orders. The Opposition came out in full force but twelve hours later, there was no vote in sight.

    While parliamentarians are still waiting to vote, different rumours are circulating on social media as to what is going on – and what does PM Khan want?

    RUMOUR ONE: PM Khan is seeking a ‘safe exit’

    Different news reports are making rounds on social media suggesting that Imran Khan is looking for a ‘safe exit’. Journalist Murtaza Ali Shah in a tweet claimed: “Credible source says Imran Khan ready to step down but wants NRO (guarantees) that cases will not be registered against him & his family members; he’s fine for cases against his cabinet members etc; seeking assurances about his safety and stay. This was discussed several times.”

    https://twitter.com/MurtazaViews/status/1512786769816821761?s=20&t=Z82CW90atNGgGmJ5fiaVHA

    Jouranlist Najam Sethi confirmed the news saying, “IK seeking safe exit for self and family. Last minute moves.”

    RUMOUR TWO: PM evaluating dismissal of Chief of Army Staff

    “As per the reports received by journalists, severe differences have emerged in the cabinet of Prime Minister as he is possibly evaluating dismissal of Chief of Army Staff at 2100 Hrs. PM has been reportedly informed to ensure VONC by 2100 Hrs or he will be shown the way out,” tweeted Muhammad Ibrahim Qazi.

    https://twitter.com/miqazi/status/1512808328107278347?s=20&t=GANIZ-yA3SSg8P4Kz2EUsg

    “Chief of General Staff, Commander of X Corps, and DG ISI have pledged support to the Chief of Army Staff. Executive Offices responsible to maintain law and order have the mandate to aid the Supreme Court under Article 190,” writes Qazi.

    “The President may invoke Article 232 and proclaim emergency consequently the Prime Minister will impose Article 245 calling upon the military to act in aid of civil power. The invocation of Article 232 will have to be placed before National Assembly in 30 days.”

    RUMOUR THREE: 111 brigade takes control of PM House, Presidency

    “IK and cabinet will resign after the cabinet meeting. 111 brigade took control of the PM House and Presidency, sources,” tweets a broadcast journalist.

    RUMOUR FOUR: Imran Khan is seeking security in the capacity of “Former Prime Minister”

    Journalist Azaz Syed has claimed that Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Azam Khan has written a letter to write to the Secretary Interior, asking for security for ‘Former Prime Minister Imran Khan’.

    RUMOUR FIVE: Imran Khan to resign

    Some rumors are suggesting that Prime Minister Imran Khan will resign before the voting on the no-confidence motion against him will take place. Islamabad based journalist, Haider Sherazi in a tweet said: “Imran Khan is going to submit the resignation.”

    RUMOUR SIX: Martial Law

    Though, no journalist or news report is hinting towards the possibility of interference of the Army in the current political scenario, it seems like social media is hearing the noise of boots. PPP’s Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also stated that he thinks PM Khan wants martial law in the country.

    https://twitter.com/ali_abbas_zaidi/status/1512820059785527300?s=21&t=jyBA9xDPmHvrwvXQWAbqzQ

  • ‘Mujhe Sunita pe tars aata hai’: Shaista Lodhi makes revelations about arch-rival Sunita Marshall

    Morning show host and actor Shaista Lodhi is currently hosting PTV’s morning show, she recently invited celebrity couple of Faizan Sheikh and Maham Aamir and played a customised rapid fire round with them.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZTRd-Bowg4

    While talking about stereotyping actors who don’t fit the prototypes of being a mainstream lead in local dramas, the Pardes diva stated that, “I feel pitty on Sunita Marshall as producers have stereptyped her in ‘sister-in-law’ characters.”

    She added, “Bus bhabhi ke role de rahay hain usko jub ke she is a talented actor. mujhe bohat tars aata hai uspe.”

    The Qaid-e-Tanhai star recently did sister-in-law characters in hit serials like Khuda Aur Mohabbat 3 and Aulaad.

    You can get exclusive details in our new show, Maslay Aur Masala:

    Actor Faisal Quraishi stated recently that working with married actresses who have children can at times become a challenge.

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is WhatsApp-Image-2021-12-09-at-01.55.20-1024x512.jpg

    “Most actresses get married and are investing time in bringing up their children and some actresses working on sets are keeping a check on their kids. It is always difficult for girls because they have other responsibilities.” said Faysal.

    “I was recently working with Sunita Marshall and I always found her worried about her kids on the set. When I was working with Shaista, she also shared that she had a hard time focusing on her job since her kids were always on her mind, ” added the Fitoor hero.

    Hence he prefers working with single actresses.

    He also cited Sunita Marshal’s example that while shooting, she was mentally occupied with her children’s activities.

  • Fact check: Have three popular TV anchors been taken off air?

    Fact check: Have three popular TV anchors been taken off air?

    Claim: Imran Riaz Khan, Irshad Bhatti and Maleeha Hashmy have been sacked by Geo News, Samaa TV and Public News for their political biases

    Fact: Maleeh Hashmy was fired, Irshad Bhatti still works at Geo News and Imran Riaz Khan did not respond

    Minister of Human Rights Shireen Mazari in a tweet expressed her displeasure over the silence of journalists representative bodies and human rights organisations against the sacking of three journalists and TV show hosts/analysts, Imran Riaz Khan, Irshad Bhatti and Maleeha Hashmi.

    “Samaa News sacked Imran Riaz Khan. Geo News sacked Irshad Bhatti while Public News sacked Maleeha Hashmi. Not a word of condemnation came from the media, journos & all other self-proclaimed human rights defenders,” the minister wrote in a tweet.

    Were they all really fired from their jobs? We find out.

    Irshad Bhatti- Geo News

    Truth: He is on leave until Monday April 11, 2022

    Social media reports started circulating yesterday, suggesting that Irshad Bhatti has been sacked from Geo News. Shireen Mazari in her tweet also said the same. However, Bhatti in his reply to Mazari clarified that he has not been taken off-air and he is on leave for three days. He further said that he will be back on-screen on Monday.

    Imran Riaz Khan- Samaa TV

    Truth: He has not confirmed whether he was actually fired from Samaa TV.

    Imran Riaz Khan is a Current affairs host at Samaa TV. He has not confirmed the news yet.

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Political Communication Dr Shahbaz Gill in his tweet said that Imran Khan has been off-aired from Samaa Tv. However, no official statement has been issued from the channel.

    Maleeha Hashmi- Public Tv

    Truth: She has been fired

    Maleeha Hashmi used to host a tv show on Public News. Yesterday, the news of her being fired off from Public News, started circulating on social media. Later, she confirmed the news on Twitter. “Public News has OFF AIRED me because I REFUSED to ATTACK Imran Khan & Defend the Culprits of the foreign conspiracy,” she wrote. The channel is yet to give an official statement.

    Verdict: PARTIALLY FALSE