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  • Pakistan asks Afghanistan to take strict action against those responsible for Chaman attack

    Pakistan asks Afghanistan to take strict action against those responsible for Chaman attack

    Pakistan has condemned the unprovoked and indiscriminate firing on civilian population by Afghan border forces in Chaman, in which six Pakistani nationals were killed and seventeen others wounded.

    In a press release, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that such unfortunate incidents are not in keeping with the brotherly ties between the two countries.

    She said that the Afghan authorities have been informed that recurrence of such incidents must be avoided and strictest possible action must be taken against those responsible.

    The spokesperson stated that both sides are accountable for safeguarding residents at the borders.

    She noted that in order to prevent a further escalation of the situation and a repetition of similar situations, the relevant authorities from both nations continue to be in communication.

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also condemned the attack.

    “Unprovoked shelling & fire by Afghan Border Forces at Chaman resulting in martyrdom of several Pakistani citizens & injuring more than a dozen is unfortunate & deserves the strongest condemnation. The Afghan Interim government should ensure that such incidents are not repeated,” wrote the PM in a tweet.

  • ‘Meri gharri hai, mai bechoon ya jo marzi karoon’: Imran Khan

    ‘Meri gharri hai, mai bechoon ya jo marzi karoon’: Imran Khan

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has accused the media of looking the other way on important matters and instead focusing on what he implied were trivial issues, such as the Toshakhana watch scandal.

    “The channels that used to bash the PTI government for inflation, those channels are quiet now and are instead focused on a watch,” he said in a press conference in Lahore.

    “It’s my watch. I can sell it, or do whatever I want. No one is talking about the economic murder being committed right now.”

    Referring to his opponents, Imran Khan said the “gang of thieves” has properties in foreign countries worth billions of dollars, hence they do not care about the economic collapse of the country.

    He added that the US dollar will further shoot up and there would be no foreign investment “if Pakistan defaults”.

    “A group of thieves has been imposed on us,” the deposed premier said, adding that the gang has been stealing national wealth for the past 30 years. He also said they were laundering the looted money abroad via illegal means including hundi and hawala.

    He again criticised the Election Commission of Pakistan and the establishment of supporting the ruling alliance led by the PML-N during the recent by-polls in the country.

    “Maryam Nawaz reached [homeland] first, then Ishq Dar was dry cleaned and now Suleman Shehbaz will be dry cleaned,” Imran Khan said.

    “We all knew who gave them NRO-II,” the former Prime Minister said and asked if the Constitution has room for NRO-II.

    The PTI chairman feared that PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari will not move towards elections.

    Addressing the new military leadership in the presser, the former premier said: “The new regime which has recently taken over should think about the country for God’s sake. National security institutions should see what is happening with the country.”

    He also stressed that the nation and army go hand in hand, not separately.

  • Police ranked Pakistan’s most corrupt sector once again in 2022

    Police ranked Pakistan’s most corrupt sector once again in 2022

    Police were found to be on the top rung of the corruption ladder in Pakistan, according to Transparency International Pakistan’s (TIP) National Corruption Perception Survey (NCPS).

    The police ranked the highest in the previous year’s survey as well.

    According to Geo, education was identified as the “most corrupt” sector in Sindh, followed by the police and tendering and contracting, according to a provincial analysis of the three “most corrupt” sectors.

    In Punjab, the police once more took first place, followed by tendering and contracting and the courts.

    The judiciary was thought to be the most corrupt institution in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with the police coming in second and tendering and contracting coming in third.

    In Balochistan, contracting and tendering claimed the top spots, with the judiciary and police coming in second and third, respectively.

    The 2022 survey was given to partner organisations by TI Pakistan’s chairman, Justice (retd) Zia Pervez, with the aim of boosting the NCPS’s legitimacy and educating partner organisations on public survey processes.

    He hoped that other government agencies would use the survey’s findings to implement reforms.

    “This will help in reducing corruption and making the lives of the public a little better,” he said.

  • Nadia Jamil extensively scrutinises Danish Taimoor’s ‘Kesi Teri Khudgarzi’ character

    Nadia Jamil extensively scrutinises Danish Taimoor’s ‘Kesi Teri Khudgarzi’ character

    ARY drama serial Kaisi Teri Khudgarzi just aired its second last episode recently and it has naturally left the viewers in an informal panel of their own, discussing the trajectory of the drama. Actor Nadia Jamil shared her thoughts on the show and called out the male leads for being cloaked with toxic masculinity. She said that our dramas are setting the bar too low for heroes.

    Kaisi Teri Khudgarzi stars Danish Taimoor (Shamsher), Dure Fishan (Mehak), Nauman Ijaz (Dilawar), and Atiqa Odho (Shamsher’s mother). The drama is about the son of a business tycoon, Shamsher, falling in love with Mehak, who belongs to a middle-class background. His family does not approve of their relationship and drama ensues.

    On Friday, she retweeted a tweet by journalist Fifi Haroon describing the drama as ‘well developed’, saying it was very much possible for Mehak to fall for the first man she gets close to despite all his red flags. Jamil responded by bringing up all the messed up things the male lead has done to manipulate the woman he loves into staying with him.

    In response, the journalist said that her point was not to romanticize the behaviour, to say that it wasn’t “implausible” for a girl with such a background to develop feelings for a guy like that.

    The Mujhay Jeenay Do actor said that though she is horrified, it is entirely plausible that she did. “Many many women forgive their abusers. Low worth. The ultimate fantasy being validation from the abuser,” she wrote, adding that what was actually implausible was the personality change the guy went through “from the extreme devil to extreme angel”.

    Referring to real-life cases of abusive men, she said that compared to other horrible crimes, Shamsher could be considered a hero, which sets such a low bar for men.

    She affirmed that it was Stockholm syndrome on the woman’s part and said it was entertaining since there was some sense of justice around the end. Calling toxic masculinity “nauseating”, the Behadd actor said that so many dramas propagate it, such as Habs starring Feroze Khan and Ushna Shah and Fraud starring Saba Qamar, Mikaal Zulfiqar and Ahsan Khan.

    She criticised Shamsher’s “change”, terming it “a bit far fetched”. Bringing up his obsessive codependent love, she also called out Mehak’s father for the toxic elements in his personality. “CONSTANT crying about being a dad of daughters. That was the worst. Much as I love the actor playing the dad — and he’s acted well. But those dialogues against being a dad of two daughters, uff.”

  • Fact Check: Morocco is not the first Muslim country to reach FIFA World Cup Semi-Finals

    Fact Check: Morocco is not the first Muslim country to reach FIFA World Cup Semi-Finals

    Morocco advanced to the FIFA World Cup semi finals on Saturday, defeating Portugal 1-0 and becoming the first Arab and African country to make it to the round of four in tournament history.

    Since the stunning victory, various news reports have stated that Morocco is the first Muslim country to reach the World Cup semi-finals. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan also wrote the same in a tweet.

    Fact: In 2002, Turkey became the first Muslim country to qualify for semi-final.

    Twenty years after Turkey’s feat, Morocco has became only the second Muslim country to qualify for the semis. Turkey finished the 2002 tournament in third place, after losing their semi-final clash 1-0 to eventual champions Brazil

    Verdict: False

  • Why do you want to leave Pakistan?

    Why do you want to leave Pakistan?

    The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) found that 62 per cent of the male population of Pakistan aged between 15 to 24 years wants to leave the country. The survey reveals that slightly more people in urban Pakistan (40 per cent) than in rural Pakistan (36 per cent) desire to leave the country.

    The question we need to ask is: why do these young men have a desperate urge to leave Pakistan?

    The thing which is most striking in this scenario is that they are young boys and have a full life ahead of them. Yet the need to leave? The only thing that might make sense is that these young individuals want a better lifestyle and for that they need better opportunities. They want a better chance at life itself. Unfortunately in Pakistan, there are hardly any opportunities available for our younger generation. With a struggling economy, these educated youngsters with college and university degrees are unable to either find jobs in the first place and if they do, those jobs hardly pay well. With rising inflation, it is already difficult to make ends meet for most people but with no jobs in the market, the younger generation’s disillusionment and disappointment with the country is understandable.

    Life in Pakistan is a struggle for everyone now. People want to leave the country to carve out a better financial future for their families. They choose to be away from family, leave their comfort and not live in their own homeland just to ensure that their next generation’s future is secure.

    Pakistan takes pride in its men and women. Yet there is so little the governments have done to improve the quality and standard of the people’s lives. How hard will it be to provide a place filled with opportunity, a strong education system and a strong economy. Is the youth asking too much for survival? Or is it just the bare minimum? From what we see, it’s the bare minimum. Our governments and leaders have an obligation towards the youth. To provide and nurture them. To give them the belief that their motherland holds them near and dear, so that they can grow and become successful in life.

    Despite trying, we are failing the youth. Maybe the problem lies somewhere else. The younger generation deserves leaders who are genuinely willing to invest in their people. We hope the future is better for the young men and women. May they always choose their country above anything else in life. May Pakistan not let the dreams of the young shatter.

  • Twitter to relaunch its subscription service on Monday at higher price for Apple users

    Twitter to relaunch its subscription service on Monday at higher price for Apple users

    After many failed attempts, Twitter announced on Saturday that its subscription service, which features a procedure for platform account authentication, will be relaunched on Monday.

    “We’re relaunching TwitterBlue on Monday — subscribe on web for $8/month or on (Apple’s) iOS for $11/month to get access to subscriber-only features, including the blue checkmark,” the company tweeted.

    In an attempt to prevent impersonation and false information, Twitter now only allows organisations and public figures to use the blue checkmark that signifies their accounts have been verified.

    Elon Musk announced his plan to diversify Twitter’s revenue source beyond advertising after purchasing the firm in October. He would do this by implementing additional payment methods for premium services.

    Ten days after Musk assumed leadership at the beginning of November, the first version was released, but there was a stir when several phoney accounts that claimed to represent businesses or celebrities started to appear.

    The version was abruptly halted.

    As part of the new deal, Twitter will once more assess accounts that want blue checkmarks, according to the company. Later in the week, the checkmark will change from grey for government organisations to gold for companies.

    Additionally, subscribers will have access to features like the ability to download higher-quality videos and modify tweets after they are published.

    “Thanks for your patience as we’ve worked to make Blue better,” the company tweet said.

    Musk first stated that Twitter Blue will be back by the end of November but then revealed a few days later that the project had been put on hold temporarily as specialists worked to create a method to combat impersonation.

  • ‘Singham 3’: Deepika Padukone enters Rohit Shetty’s cop universe as the first female cop

    ‘Singham 3’: Deepika Padukone enters Rohit Shetty’s cop universe as the first female cop

    Bollywood director Rohit Shetty has revealed at the trailer launch of Ranveer Singh starrer Cirkus that actor Deepika Padukone has joined his cop universe. She will play the role of a cop in Ajay Devgn’s Singham 3.  

    Singham 3: Rohit Shetty confirms Deepika Padukone to headline the third installment as a lady cop

    At the event, Rohit Shetty said, “We are making Singham next. Everyone kept asking me who is the lady cop in my universe. So today, let me confirm that Deepika Padukone will be the lady Singham, the lady cop in Singham 3. We start shooting next year.”

    Ranveer said that Deepika Padukone’s performance as Meenaamma in Rohit Shetty’s Chennai Express is one of her best performances. He also expressed that he can’t wait for Deepika and Rohit to join forces once again. “Deepika’s best performance for me is Meenaamma from Chennai Express. She has done so many great films, but this one is just special. I can’t wait for Rohit Shetty and Deepika to team up on a feature film.”

    Singham 3 marks Ajay Devgn and Deepika’s first on-screen collaboration.

    In 2011, Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn and director Rohit Shetty collaborated on the cop entertainer, Singham, followed by its sequel which culminated into a cop universe today with Simmba and Sooryavanshi joining in.  

    “Singham was set in Goa, followed by Singham Returns which went a notch higher with the premise being set in Mumbai. And now, Rohit and Ajay are all set to take things to the next level as Singham 3 is set again the backdrop of terrorism with the protagonist traveling all the way to Pakistan to grab hold of terror outfits,” reported Pinkvilla.

    Azad Kashmir - Wikipedia

    In Singham 3, it’s going to be a battle between Ajay Devgn and Jackie Shroff. “The story takes off from where Sooryavanshi ended.  The lion-hearted cop will be off to Azad Kashmir to trace down the head of terror outfits, who have an eye to destroy India from the world map,” the source added.

  • Lahore gets its first transgender school, will provide free education

    Lahore gets its first transgender school, will provide free education

    The Punjab School Education Department (SED) has opened the first school exclusively for transgender people in Lahore on Wednesday. The school was inaugurated in New Garden Town near Barkat Market by
    Provincial Education Minister Punjab Murad Raas.

    The school, which was opened on Wednesday, will work in two shifts where the first half will be dedicated to imparting mainstream education while the second half will focus on teaching technical skills. Students will be provided with free books, uniforms, school bags, and pick and drop service.

    Three transgender schools in the province are already being run in Multan, Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi Khan.

  • Number of Pakistanis who think the country’s economy will become worse reduces by 20 per cent

    Number of Pakistanis who think the country’s economy will become worse reduces by 20 per cent

    About 57 per cent of Pakistanis currently hold the opinion that the country’s economic situation will continue to worsen in the future, down from 77 per cent in September. This is a 20 per cent decrease in the percentage of people who think this would happen.

    This information was provided in the quarterly report of the IPSOS Pakistan study 2022 on Consumers Confidence Survey, which included responses from over a thousand participants. In 2022, the survey was carried out between November 29 and December 4th.

    According to The News, for the first time since the PDM-led government took office, the respondents expressed optimism about the improvement of the nation’s economic and general circumstances.

    According to the survey, the per centage of people who believe that the economy will improve in the future has climbed from 10 per cent to 17 per cent, while the per centage of people who hold a moderate view has gone from 10 per cent to 26 per cent.

    Additionally, the per centage of people who are dissatisfied with the country’s present economic position has decreased from 61 per cent to 55 per cent, while the per centage of people who describe it as stable has climbed from 1 per cent to 4 per cent. In the most recent study, the per centage of people who have a moderate opinion of the economic condition in the nation has climbed by 5 per cent to reach 41.

    The IPSOS survey shows that for the first time since the PDM took office, the per centage of Pakistanis who believe their country is heading in the wrong direction has decreased by 2 per cent to 86 per cent, while the per centage who think it is heading in the right direction has increased by 2 per cent to 14 per cent.

    According to the research report, 74 per cent of Pakistanis thought the country was headed in the right direction during the 2018 elections, but the trend continued to drop following the elections.