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  • 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.

  • Jail reforms: Bakeries to be established in Punjab prisons

    Jail reforms: Bakeries to be established in Punjab prisons

    The Punjab care-taker government has decided to decision has been made to establish bakeries in prisons across Punjab to enroll the inmates in different courses.

    The decision was made during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister of Punjab, Mohsin Naqvi.

    During the meeting, it was decided to initiate a program for setting up bakeries in prisons with the cooperation of volunteers.

    During the meeting, it was decided that in the initial phase, a bakery will be established in Lahore’s Camp Jail.

    According to the decisions made in the meeting, the duration of monthly telephone calls for prisoners has been increased to 300 minutes.

    Modern kitchens, laundry rooms, meeting rooms, and facilities will be built in 16 jails.

    Toyota and the Jail Department have also reached an agreement to provide technical courses to prisoners in 10 more jails.

    Chief Operating Officer of Toyota, Ahmed Khawar, and Inspector General of Prisons, Farooq Nazir, have signed the agreement.

    Under this agreement, prisoners in 10 additional jails in Punjab will undergo 16 Toyota courses.

    Upon completion of the courses lasting from 3 to 6 months, prisoners will be awarded certificates, and leniency may be granted in their sentences.

  • 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.

  • AI’s disruptive power hits tech industry: Job cuts and demand for AI experts

    AI’s disruptive power hits tech industry: Job cuts and demand for AI experts

    The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has sparked concerns about job displacement in the future. However, it is already having an impact in the tech industry, where employees once seemed secure in their positions. 

    A growing number of tech companies are attributing layoffs and reevaluations of new hires to AI advancements happening right in Silicon Valley.

    For example, Chegg, an education technology company, recently announced in a regulatory filing that it would be cutting 4 per cent of its workforce, around 80 employees. The reason given was to align the company with its AI strategy and create sustainable value for students and investors.

    IBM’s CEO, Arvind Krishna, stated in a May interview with Bloomberg that the company plans to pause hiring for roles that could be potentially replaced by AI in the future. However, in a subsequent interview with Barrons, Krishna clarified that his comments were taken out of context, emphasising that AI will generate more jobs than it eliminates.

    In late April, Dropbox, a file-storage service, revealed that it would be reducing its workforce by approximately 16 per cent, or 500 employees, also citing AI as a factor. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that in May alone, 3,900 individuals were laid off due to AI, marking the first time job cuts were specifically attributed to this factor. All of these layoffs occurred within the tech sector.

    These developments in Silicon Valley not only demonstrate its leadership in AI development but also provide insight into how businesses might adapt to these tools. Rather than rendering entire skill sets obsolete overnight, AI is currently compelling companies to redirect resources to maximize its potential. Consequently, workers with AI expertise are in high demand.

    Dropbox CEO Drew Houston, in a note announcing the job cuts, acknowledged that AI has captured people’s imagination and expanded the market for AI-powered products. He highlighted the need for a different skill set, particularly in AI and early-stage product development, for the company’s future growth.

    Dan Wang, a professor at Columbia Business School, believes AI will lead to organizational restructuring but does not foresee machines entirely replacing humans just yet. He suggests that AI enhances human work rather than replaces it. Wang argues that the real competition lies in human specialists who can effectively leverage AI tools.

    Overall, the influence of AI is already evident in the tech industry, prompting companies to adapt their strategies and prioritize workers with AI expertise, rather than causing immediate job obsolescence.

  • Pakistani rupee closes at Rs277.41 as US dollar recovers by nearly Rs2 in interbank trade

    Pakistani rupee closes at Rs277.41 as US dollar recovers by nearly Rs2 in interbank trade

    The US dollar appears to have bounced back on Wednesday at the opening of interbank trade, as it gained 31 paisas. The American currency closed at Rs277.41 after gaining Rs1.97 against the local unit. The dollar was exchanged for Rs275.75 at the start of the trading session on Wednesday.

    However, later the greenback gained even more value with Rs1.31 in interbank trade and was being traded at Rs276.75. In just a short while, the currency gained even more strength with Rs1.56 and was traded at Rs277.

    Owing to the strengthening of the dollar in the interbank trade, the currency’s value stopped falling in the open market also. Its value remained stable at Rs280 in the open market. On Tuesday, the greenback had lost a massive Rs10 in the interbank market.

    On the other hand, the Pakistan Stock Exchange continued its bullish trend. The shares of energy, oil and gas, and refinery companies were shared in the market.

    The stock exchange retained its limit of 44,000 points on Wednesday morning. The KSE-100 index rose with 472 points to 44,030 points. At the start of the trading session, the index gained 200 points to reach 43,770 points.

  • 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.