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  • Shireen Mazari bids farewell to PTI and politics

    Shireen Mazari bids farewell to PTI and politics

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senior Vice President Dr Shireen Mazari has announced that she is leaving the party and politics.

    During a short interaction with the media, the senior leader of the party unexpectedly called it quits, saying that she and her children went through a lot in the past few days because of her incarceration.

    She mentioned that her daughter, lawyer and activist Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir, went through a lot. The former minister also said that she is not in good health anymore.

    In the beginning of the presser, she pointedly condemned the violence on May 9 when supporters of PTI clashed with law enforcement agencies.

    “Not just May 9 and 10, but I have always condemned the violence on state symbols like GHQ, Parliament and Supreme Court,” she said.

    After the May 9 riots when PTI workers allegedly attacked military installations, many of the party’s senior leaders including Shireen were put in jail for inciting violence. Mazari was arrested several times in the past few days despite being given release orders by the court.

    Shireen also served as human rights minister during Imran Khan’s government till his ouster in April 2022. She joined the PTI in 2008 and since then has remained a vocal member of the party.

  • This is how much PTA tax you have to pay on your new iPhone 14

    This is how much PTA tax you have to pay on your new iPhone 14

    In 2019 Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) introduced a new tax mechanism called the Device Identification Registration and Blocking System (DIRBS) to regulate the usage of mobile devices in the country. The DIRBS system was designed to identify and register non-compliant devices with PTA mobile tax operating on local mobile networks and eventually block them to ensure that only compliant devices are used. With the implementation of the system, the FBR aimed to bring transparency and accountability to the mobile device market in Pakistan.

    With the latest tax burdens luxury phone users, whether an Apple fan or an android bunny, are now disappointed. Its not easy for every brand lover to pay the tax on a new phone he wants to buy.

    Tax rates change frequently so it is unclear when the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) will raise the taxes of your smarts phones.

    Here is a list of some smarts phones and the taxes applied on them to get approved from PTA on passports and CNIC.

    Here is the list of Apple IPhone taxes on Passport

    IPhone 14 PKR 125,751
    IPhone 14 Plus PKR 125,751
    14 Pro PKR 127,000
    14 Pro Max PKR 127,068
       

    Here is the list of Apple IPhone taxes on ID-Card  

    Iphone 14 PKR 131,126
    Iphone 14 plus PKR 131,126
    14 pro PKR 145,801
    14 pro max PKR 152,424

    Here is the list of Taxes on Samsung Phone

    Samsung Galaxy S23 All Model Tax with Passport 2023

    Samsung Galaxy S23 99,800
    Samsung Galaxy S23plus 127,000
    Samsung Galaxy s23 Ultra 131,000

    Samsung Galaxy S23 All Model Tax with ID Card 2023

    Samsung Galaxy S23 110,500
    Samsung Galaxy s23 plus 145,801
    Samsung Galaxy s23 ultra 152,424

    Suppose you want to import the recently announced Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus, S20 Ultra, or standard S20 to Pakistan. In that case, you may use the information above to estimate the tax and customs duty you’ll owe. This Galaxy smartphone’s tax rate is the highest allowed by FBR.

    Here is the list of Xiaomi Redmi 9 PTA tax
    Xiaomi all models Tax with Passport

    Xiaomi Redmi 9(3+32) Tax Payable PKR 9,802 (On Passport)
    Xiaomi Redmi 9(4+64) Tax Payable PKR 10,480 (On Passport)
    Xiaomi Redmi 9C Tax Payable PKR 8,584 (On Passport)

    Xiaomi all models Tax with ID cards

    Xiaomi Redmi 9(3+32) Tax Payable PKR 11,664 (On ID card)
    Xiaomi Redmi 9(4+64) Tax Payable PKR 12,471 (On ID card)
    Xiaomi Redmi 9C Tax Payable PKR 10,214 (On ID card)

    Xiaomi Redmi 9 PTA tax need to be paid if you are importing them to Pakistan.



    These taxes must be paid within 30 days if the phone is registered on your passport and if you have registered the phone on your ID card, you will have 60 days to pay the tax.

  • Twitter weighs in on the times movies and dramas downgraded from the originals

    Do you feel like sometimes the entertainment industry should maybe stop tearing apart masterpiece films by remaking them over and over again? Once a television show is done and over with, don’t try to re-vamp the hype by drawing up another couple of seasons. Instead maybe try to come up with more original shows?

    This debate began on Twitter when a user shared their distate with the recent season of ‘Khuda Aur Muhabbat’, starring Iqra Aziz and Feroze Khan, saying that Season 1, which had starred Imran Abbas, was much better.

    It led to more Twitter users coming up with their suggestions of shows and movies they feel weren’t necessary at all. Here are some of the replies, and honestly we’re shook.

    This even led to Bollywood fans jumping in to share their opinions about the films that had failed to surpass the original’s.

  • Fake image of major Pentagon explosion raises concerns about AI-generated misinformation

    Fake image of major Pentagon explosion raises concerns about AI-generated misinformation

    A fabricated image depicting a significant explosion near the Pentagon was circulated on social media platforms on Monday, triggering a brief decline in the stock market.

    Subsequently, a multitude of social media accounts, including several verified ones, shared the counterfeit image, exacerbating the state of confusion.

    Afterward, authorities officially confirmed that no such incident had taken place. Keen-eyed investigators on social media, such as Nick Waters from Bellingcat, an online news verification group, promptly identified several notable inconsistencies with the image.

    These included the absence of any credible eyewitnesses to substantiate the purported event, particularly considering the Pentagon’s busy surroundings.

    Waters tweeted, “This is why it’s exceedingly challenging (some may argue virtually impossible) to fabricate a convincing counterfeit of such an occurrence.”

    Additionally, discernible disparities between the depicted building and the actual Pentagon served as clear evidence. This disparity can be easily ascertained by employing tools like Google Street View to compare the two images.

    Furthermore, the presence of peculiar elements like a levitating lamp post and a black pole protruding from the pavement unequivocally exposed the image’s deceptive nature.

    The complexities faced by artificial intelligence in faithfully recreating locations without introducing sporadic anomalies persist.

  • Twitter demands release of Imran Riaz Khan

    Twitter demands release of Imran Riaz Khan

    Twitter users are demanding the release of anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan, who has been missing since May 11.

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah appeared on Munizae Jahangir’s programme on Aaj News on May 22. During the show, he was asked about Imran Riaz Khan’s whereabouts to which he said that there is a possibility that Imran Riaz Khan has planted his own abduction to defame ‘agencies’.

    Punjab Inspector General Dr Usman Anwar yesterday revealed that there was no trace him at any police department across the country.

    Imran Riaz Khan was arrested by the police on May 11 from Sialkot Airport.

    The vlogger is a prominent supporter of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    Have a look at the tweets demanding his release:

  • Buckingham Palace reject’s request to send remains of Ethiopian prince to family

    Buckingham Palace has once again rejected a request from Ethiopian officials to send back the body of Prince Alemayehu, who passed away at the age of 18 in the United Kingdom.

    Born in Magdala in 1861, Alemayehu was only seven years old when the British arrived in Ethiopia in 1868 and laid seige to Tewodro’s mountain fortress which led to a fierce battle that ended with the death of the emperor, Tewodros II.

    The British stole many valuable artefacts and heirlooms, along with the Empress Tiruwork Wube and her son, Prince Alemayehu. By the time the young prince arrived in the UK, he was an orphan after his mother died during the journey.

    After his arrival, Queen Victoria took sympathy upon the boy, taking up financial responsibility for his expenses.

    Alemaheyu was first sent to a public school, and then to a military college in Sandhurst where he was bullisd. A private tutor was hired to teach him at his home in Leeds, where he became ill and began refusing treatement, fearing he was poisoned.

    The prince also reportedly longed to go back home, as correspondence had shown, but this idea was constantly shut down.

    Alemayehu passed away at his home at the age of 18.

    Queen Victoria had written about her sadness in her diary:

    “Very grieved and shocked to hear by telegram, that good Alemayehu had passed away this morning. It is too sad! All alone, in a strange country, without a single person or relative, belonging to him,” she wrote.

    “His was no happy life, full of difficulties of every kind, and was so sensitive, thinking that people stared at him on account of his colour… Everyone is very sorry.”

    Demands for the return of the remains of Prince Alemaheyu date back to 2007, when the country’s then-president Girma Wolde-Gior sent a formal request to Queen Elizabeth II, but nothing came of it.

    Recently, a spokesperson from the Buckingham Palace sent a statement to the BBC explaining their refusal to send the remains back to his home, stating that shifting his remains would disturb the other bodies buried at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.

    “It is very unlikely that it would be possible to exhume the remains without disturbing the resting place of a substantial number of others in the vicinity,” the palace responded.

    They further mentioned in the statement that the Royal Palace has awlays accomodated those from Ethiopia who wished to visit the prince’s resting place, and were aware of the need to honor Prince Alemaheyu’s memory.

    Speaking to the BBC, Faisal Minas, a descendant of the Royal Family in Ethiopia, said:

    “We want his remains back as a family and as Ethiopians because that is not the country he was born in. It was not right for him to be buried in the UK.”

  • Uncertainty on Asia Cup about to end, India up for the hybrid model

    Uncertainty on Asia Cup about to end, India up for the hybrid model

    Sections of the Indian media have announced that India will agree to the hybrid model with a few caveats attached.

    The uncertainty surrounding Asia Cup 2023 hosting venue is seemingly about to be resolved amicably on some give and take conditions, the two neighboring boards Board of Control For Cricket In India (BCCI) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have decided, with both holding negotiations on what they can do for each other.

    Indian media reports have stated that if Pakistan will give written surety that they will travel to India for World Cup 2023 than they will accept the hybrid model proposed by PCB.

    BCCI will formally announce the decision at its May 27 meeting of the general body of the board.

    However, there are now questions on the statement of PCB management committee chairman Najam Sethi in which he said without mincing his words that if India agreed on hybrid model then Pakistan will also propose a similar model for the World Cup in which the country will play their matches in Dhaka.

    If India has security concerns in Pakistan, likewise Pakistan has security concerns in India.

    In a recent statement Mr. Sethi cleared that he has not said that Pakistan will not play the International Cricket Council (ICC) mega event. It is the decision of the government, he said.

    According to hybrid model, India will play their matches at a neutral venue like UAE or Sri Lanka.

    According to sources, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) will announce the Asia Cup schedule after India’s decision.

    It should be noted that the ICC World Cup is to be played in India this year, but before that, the Asia Cup will be hosted by Pakistan, in which India refused to participate, after which Pakistan also refused to go to India to participate in the World Cup. However, discussions are ongoing between the two boards on the hybrid model proposed by Pakistan.

  • Musarrat Jamshed Cheema to leave PTI along with husband

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders Jamshed Cheema and his wife Musarrat Jamshed Cheema have decided to quit PTI, their lawyer confirmed on Tuesday.

    “I am confident that they will quit PTI as soon as they come out of jail,” their lawyer said after he met them both in jail.

    The husband and wife duo have been in jail since the last 12 days. They were arrested after the May 9 protests in which PTI supporters clashed with law enforcement agencies.

    The Cheemas are not the first to leave the party which has been besieged by politicians leaving it in droves. In the past week, many leaders, including Imran Khan’s close friend Amir Kiyani and Malik Amin Aslam, have quit PTI.

    Party Chairman Imran Khan, in an informal conversation with media in Islamabad today, said that people are not leaving the party by choice, they are being forced to leave.

    A rather confident Imran further said that parties do not end like this, they end in the way Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is ending.

  • Govt to maintain 18% GST rate in upcoming budget 2023-24

    Govt to maintain 18% GST rate in upcoming budget 2023-24

    In the forthcoming budget for 2023-24, it is anticipated that the government will maintain the current standard rate of General Sales Tax (GST) at 18 per cent. Additionally, efforts are being made by the government to increase the rates of withholding taxes, where applicable, with the aim of augmenting tax revenues.

    Another aspect being considered is the implementation of amendments for retailers, with the objective of including a larger number of businesses within the tax bracket. It is worth noting that previous schemes designed to entice retailers into the tax system have proved unsuccessful over the past few decades.

    According to The News, various proposals are currently being deliberated upon for the imposition of Minimum Asset Tax (MAT) on both movable and immovable assets. However, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has been advised to seek constitutional validation for these proposed taxation measures in order to avoid potential legal disputes.

    Moreover, the government is exploring options to enhance documentation within the property sector, as part of its ambitious goal to achieve a tax collection target ranging between Rs9 and Rs9.2 trillion for the upcoming budget.

    These proposals were thoroughly discussed in a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, which focused on budgetary considerations within the Finance Division. Present at the meeting were State Minister for Finance Dr Ayesha Ghous Pasha, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Finance Tariq Bajwa, SAPM on Revenue Tariq Mehmood Pasha, Chairman of the Reforms and Resource Mobilization Commission (RRMC) Ashfaq Yousuf Tola, the finance secretary, FBR chairman, and other senior officials from the Finance Division and FBR.

    During the meeting, FBR Chairman Asim Ahmad provided a comprehensive presentation on the budgetary proposals for the Federal Budget 2023-24.

  • ‘What have you done to help?’: Twitter blasts Kim Kardashian for complaining about single parenthood

    Reality television star Kim Kardashian was recently a guest at the ‘On Purpose With Jay Shetty podcast‘ where she opened up about the challenges of being a single mom to four children, complaining about how difficult it gets:

    “It has been the most challenging thing,” the ‘Keep Up With The Kardashians’ star said. “There are nights I cry myself to sleep. Like, holy shit, this f—ing tornado in my house. Like, what just happened?

    “You know, with all the moods and the personalities and sometimes they’re fighting, and you know, there’s no one there. Like, it’s [just] me to play good police officer and bad cop.”

    When she was asked about how her nights go with four kids, the ‘Skims’ founder revealed:

    “If a tantrum comes in, oh my God, your life is completely upside down,” she said. “But it teaches you so much more about yourself than I think anyone, any parent, could have ever anticipated.”

    “I mean, there’s nights when you don’t wash your hair for days as a mom and you have spit up all over you and you’re wearing the same pajamas, especially in COVID. It was insane, you know?”

    Social media users have slammed Kardashian as an out of touch elite, inware of the privileges she has that other single mom’s don’t which is why they have to keep fighting to put food on the table every night.

    One user wrote:

    “Don’t think kim kardashian should be talking about single parenting when she has the resources and the village.”

    https://twitter.com/kgadi_ZA/status/1660345523121864707?s=20

    Some even criticised the podcast host Jay Shetty for choosing to interview a billionaire on the struggles of parenting, when most single mothers are financially struggling.