The federal government on Tuesday declared 20 bottled water brands unfit for human consumption, Jamal Shahid reports for Dawn.
The Pakistani government had asked the Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) to evaluate bottled and mineral water brands every quarter and to report the findings to raise public health awareness.
Twenty-two cities provided 168 samples of mineral/bottled water brands for the quarter from October to December of the year 2022.
Twenty brands were found to be dangerous for human consumption due to microbiological, chemical, or both types of contamination when test results were compared to the bottled water quality criteria of Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA).
Here are the bottled water brands
Best Natural Klear Pinar Neno Ice Drop Premium Safa Orwell Indus Minwa Kashaf Barsay Nayab Pure Life Excellent Natural
Aqua One Alfa Premium Isberg Aqua pack Sip up Ever pure Noble Asha
Former finance minister Dr Hafiz Pasha on Tuesday warned that inflation in Pakistan may soar to 70 per cent in the event of a default.
Pasha predicted that Pakistan’s general economy would likely continue to experience severe stagflation in 2023. He was speaking to members of the Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF).
Due to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stringent requirements, inflation will still increase to at least 35 per cent even if the loan from international lender is restored, according to Express Tribune.
“If the government implements the key reforms agreed with the IMF, including a Rs50 levy per litre on POL, an electricity tariff hike of 40 per cent, doubling of the gas tariff, and shift to market-based exchange rate policy, the inflation rate could exceed 35 per cent,” Pasha cautioned.
If the government does not implement the agreed reforms, he said, “It will lead to a termination of the IMF programme and will virtually dry-up the country’s capital.”
According to Pasha, Pakistan’s reliance on pricey foreign loans has been disastrous. The nation’s debt in the first 65 years was $65 billion. In the following seven years, as we increased our reliance on costly loans with high interest rates, this amount increased to approximately $130 billion.
Actor Yasir Hussain called out Feroze Khan in his Instagram stories for leaking his private number to the public in a now-deleted tweet. Khan had shared a list of celebrities on Twitter, mentioning that he was sending them defamation notices. Hussain shared a screenshot of a man who was consistently spamming his messages with requests to be cast in TV serials. He criticized Feroze Khan for the breach of private data.
“A stupid man had first beat up his wife and then leaked our numbers to the public. Because of this now this child is asking me to cast him in some drama, or otherwise he wants Rs 1 lac. Now tell me what I should do.”
In the next post, he shared the list of messages the person had sent him, but pointed out that he refused to defame him by sharing his number, the way Feroze Khan had.
Hussain also shared a screenshot of Meesha Shafi’s Instagram post where she sent her solidarity and support to the ten actresses sent defamation notices by Feroze Khan, saying that she could empathize having also been in the same place.
“Having suffered the most malifide defamation case…I just want to tell anyone who might be stressing about this stupid case that he’s going to lose in every way in the end. Karma is real. All my solidarity to each and everyone of you, especially Alizeh.”
Hussain put up a screenshot of his messages where the spammer had apologized, stating he was a big fan of actor Falak Shabir and wanted Hussain to help him reach out to him.
‘Moron’, ‘Stupid’, ‘Despicable’; Celebs slam Feroze Khan for phone numbers leak
A growing chorus of disgruntled celebrities slamming Feroze Khan has now been joined by Sarwat Gillani and Mira Sethi. Khan had posted on Twitter the private phone numbers of 10 celebrities including Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Osman Khalid Butt and Minal Khan.
Actor Sarwat Gilani has slammed Feroze Khan in an Instagram post by sharing a screenshot of the numerous spam calls she had received since the leak, and in the caption she warned Khan that his illegal actions will now severely backfire on him
“It is bizarre and despicable that private information, including phone numbers, of various famous individuals has been publicly shared on the absurd pretext of issuing legal notice to them by @ferozekhan Not only are such actions clearly illegal but also demonstrates the total lack of maturity to handle matters in a civilized way.
Two days ago @ferozekhan had one ex wife and her lawyer now he will have to face 10 celebrities and their lawyers after him. Good luck!”
Oscar winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy had responded in the comment section, by writing that she had faced the same issue of numerous spam calls.
‘Wait till you see mine,” she wrote.
Actress and writer Mira Sethi has also responded to the leak by sharing Gilani’s post in her Instagram stories, and clarifying that she will continue to stand behind survivors of domestic violence despite the threat
“Echoing what Sarwat says here about leaked numbers. Unbelievable. My lawyer will respond to the notice, and I will continue standing with Alizeh Sultan.”
Actor Minal Khan has uploaded a post on her Instagram page, where she critcized Feroze Khan’s ‘shameful act” for breaching her privacy and putting her family’s life in danger.
“Yesterday my private information including my personal phone number was leaked on social media. it was an utterly shameful act which was carried out intentionally by Feroze Khan on the absurd pretext of a legal notice.
This action of his has has caused me severe mental distress as I have been receiving hundreds of calls and messages. My personal security has been breached & out at risk as I have been mentally harassed, tortured & threatened by multiple numbers. Me and my family’s life has been put in danger.
Such actions are illegal- This being said I will be taking very strict legal action against Feroze Khan for leaking my private information on social media along with multiple other famous individuals.”
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Member National Assembly (MNA) and member Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Sheikh Rohail Asghar was denied service at the Islamabad Club for wearing a Dhoti, the traditional Punjabi attire.
Expressing his anger, Asghar said, “Shalwar Kameez is our national dress and Dhoti a cultural dress. If I don’t wear a suit, then no one serves food in the club.” He tainted the club’s management, remarking that the British left the country, but their “remnants” still followed their rules.
The club’s secretary said that a formal dress code was applicable in the formal dining hall, as it was part of the club’s tradition and hence Asghar was denied service. He observed that Islamabad Club is not a cultural club.
PAC directed the management of Islamabad Club to call a board meeting to review the dress code and resolve the issue. There were also concerns over the financial affairs of the Islamabad Club and the committee sought an audit report in the next meeting.
Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg was detained by the German police on Tuesday for participating in a coal mine protest in a village in Lutzerath. Thunberg was participating in the protest to stop authorities from demolishing the village for the coal mine’s expansion. Police representative Christof Huls while speaking to CNN, said that Thunberg was part of a large group of protesters who had broken through the police barrier and had settled around a coal pit. Huls further elaborated that police were concerned that the mass of protesters could set the ground in motion after it had been softened by rainfall in the last few days, leading to the detention of the protestors.
‘We knew who she was, but she did not get VIP treatment,’ Huls said.
Police also said that the activists detained would be released later in the day.
Thunberg had joined thousands of climate activists in Germany against the demolishing of a village in order to make way for the Garzweiler lignite coal mine, which is owned by the European multi-national corporation RWE. Climate activists had argued that the expansion of the coal mine will increase planet-warming emissions and violate the Paris Climate Agreement’s promise to bring the global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Thunberg had addressed the activists on Saturday, saying that their fight to save the planet was not over as long as people keep prioritizing short term economic growth and corporate greed. “We need to stop the current destruction of our planet and sacrificing people to benefit the short-term economic growth and corporate greed,” she said.
Climate strike week 230. We are currently in Lützerath, a German village threatened to be demolished for an expansion of a coal mine. People have been resisting for years. Join us here at 12 or a local protest tomorrow to demand that #LützerathBleibt !#ClimateStrikepic.twitter.com/hGrCK6ZQew
Korean actor Park Hyung Sik has shared a teaser of his upcoming fantasy drama ‘Our Blooming Youth’ on his Instagram page. According to details, Sik plays a prince who suffers from a mysterious curse and encounters a genius woman (played by Min Jae Yi) who is being accused of murdering her family members. Both of them agree to help each other and soon develop a closer bond.
Other prominent Korean actors like Choi Woo Shik (Our Beloved Summer) and Lee Young-Joon reached out to congratulate the actor in the comments
K-drama fans would remember Hyung Sik from the popular comedy drama “Strong Girl Bong-Soon” where stars as the CEO of a video game company who hires a woman with incredible strength Bong Soon (played by Park Bo-Young) to become his bodyguard.
The restrictions imposed for the letters of credit (LCs) facility for the telecom sector, according to IT & Telecom Minister Syed Aminul Haque, are insufficient.
“Without much-needed technical parts there are fears of service disruptions in many areas,” Mr Haque warned while presiding over the 44th Policy Committee meeting of the Universal Service Fund (USF).
He claimed that the restricted LC licenses were impeding the import of equipment for upgrading mobile networks and interfering with the general efficiency of the IT and telecom industries.
“Telecom companies were facing difficulty in importing parts and equipment due to limited permission of LCs and it may also result in a delay in projects for the provision of 4G services in far-flung areas of the country,” the minister noted.
The authorities reported to the meeting that telcos, IT firms, and their backend equipment suppliers had complained that it was impossible for them to import even the basic hardware required to run systems.
The minister promised to speak with the Ministry of Finance again and let them know about the critical circumstance.
Out of the budget of Rs32.13 billion set aside for the Universal Service Fund (USF) for 2022–2023, the meeting approved the release of a development fund of Rs5 billion for the second and third quarters, while Rs8.25 billion had already been released for the first quarter.
Pakistan star-cricketer Babar Azam has landed in a controversy as his alleged personal videos and photos went viral on social media.
According to Fox Cricket, Azam is being accused of allegedly sexting a teammate’s girlfriend after videos and voice recordings went viral online.
While the authenticity of the material remains unclear, it allegedly shows a topless Babar in intimate chats with a woman.
One of the accusations is that Babar promised the woman that her boyfriend’s spot in Pakistan’s XI was safe if she kept sexting him.
The accusation was first posted by verified Twitter account Dr Nimo Yadav, saying: “Babar Azam sexting with GF of another Pakistan cricketer and promising her that her bf won’t be out of the team if she keeps sexting with him is just.”
Babar posted a happy snap while appearing to be on holiday in Sydney on Monday.
“Doesn’t take too much to be happy,” he captioned the photo with the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background.
Pakistani cricket fans took to their social media and started supporting Babar Azam after the video and photos went viral on social media. The alleged viral video of Babar caused a stir among the netizens. Some of his fans claimed that this is a conspiracy against Babar to spoil his image while others said the video has been morphed and urged not to spread lies against the star batter.
Babar has been trending on Twitter since under the hashtag #StayStrongBabarAzam.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has hinted at the possibility that his party may return to the National Assembly (NA) to table a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif.
The PTI fears that its dissenting member Raja Riaz who is holding the parliamentary party leader’s position in the NA may decide to vote in favour of PM Shehbaz if President Dr Arif Alvi asks Shehbaz Sharif to take the trust vote.
Talking to the media at his Lahore residence, Khan said planning and consultations with party leaders and legal experts are going on to strategise how PTI’s turncoats can be stopped from siding with the ruling coalition of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).
“He [Shehbaz Sharif] will have sleepless nights in the days to come”, Khan reportedly said to journalists.
He claimed that some Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNAs want to join the PTI.
“Some PML-N members of the National Assembly are in contact with the PTI and they have expressed their interest in joining our camp. We will test them before giving them party membership,” Imran said, adding that he saw elections taking place in March or April.
The former ruling party is considering “testing” PM Sharif’s strength in the house sensing that cracks are appearing in PDM’s ranks.
PTI’s senior leader Fawad Chaudhry has said that the party’s return to the National Assembly was linked with its plan to oust PM Sharif, reports Dawn.
He said PTI was seeking legal opinion on how it could bind its MNAs to vote in line with the party policy in case of a no-trust move, and if that can be achieved without joining the assembly.
Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Pervaiz Elahi on Monday clarified that no final decision has been taken yet on a merger between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q).
Clarifying that consultations are still underway, Pervaiz Elahi said that Imran Khan first offered Moonis the invitation to merge the two parties and then asked to be the president of the party.
However, he added that yesterday a meeting between the two parties took place in which all 10 PML-Q Members of the Provincial Assembly (MPAs) were present. “It was mutually decided that we will ask the people in our constituents first,” he said.
Reacting to the show-cause notice sent to him by PML-Q, he said “Nothing as such has happened yet and they already have a problem,” he retorted.
Earlier, PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain suspended Elahi’s party membership after he hinted at a merger between his party and ally PTI.
The PML-Q issued show-cause notices to Elahi as well as Moonis Elahi, Hussain Elahi and Senator Kamil Ali Agha.
The notice gave Elahi seven days to provide an explanation for his comments, otherwise, proceedings would be initiated against him.
PML-Q electoral college office-bearers authorised Elahi, the party’s provincial president, to make decisions on behalf of the party with regard to its merger into the PTI.
However, Express Tribune has reported that according to sources within the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the PML-Q could not be merged with the PTI on Elahi’s wish as the party is registered in Shujaat’s name.
PML-Q ready to merge with PTI, decision expected today
On Monday, it was reported that PML-Q is ready to merge with PTI.
According to news reports, the majority of PML-Q is in favour of the merger. Elahi summoned a meeting to discuss the matter with his party.
PML-Q leader Moonis Elahi, son of Pervaiz Elahi, was reportedly ready to merge with PTI and a formal announcement was expected on Monday.
