The Staff Duties Directorate at the General Headquarters (GHQ) Rawalpindi on Friday permitted the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to organise its jalsa at Parade Ground in the federal capital.
PTI Central Secretariat President Ali Nawaz Awan was informed that permission to use Parade Ground had been granted by the GHQ.
A letter issued to Awan by the deputy commissioner said: “With reference to clause xlii mentioned in the NOC, you are hereby intimated that permission to use the venue i.e Parade Ground, Islamabad has been granted by the concerned quarters.”
The NOC was given on the condition that the public gathering shall not disturb or disrupt the fundamental rights of the citizens of Islamabad and adjoining areas nor shall it block Islamabad Expressway or any other road. The gathering shall end at midnight.
The permission shall only be valid for July 2. It was reiterated that Section 144 had been imposed on the gathering of persons within a one km radius of the Red Zone and the organisers will ensure that no participant entered there.
The Last Seen time in WhatsApp can currently be hidden from the public, but your contacts can still see it when you’re back online.
It appears that the most popular messenger will soon have the option to hide your online status, which has been long desired.
You can hide your online status from everyone in WhatsApp’s most recent beta version, according to WABetaInfo. This is fantastic if you’re being chased on WhatsApp and don’t want your bothersome relatives or friends bugging you all the time.
Over the past few months, the messaging service owned by meta has been testing a tonne of incredible new features.
You will have two options to choose from with the new feature. You have the option of making your online status public if you want it to function like Last Seen. This means that you have the option of letting anyone see your online activity, just your contacts, just your contacts with a few exceptions, or nobody at all.
Although the screenshot is of iOS, according to WABetaInfo, WhatsApp is also working on bringing the feature to Android and WhatsApp Desktop.
It is unknown when the feature will go live because it is still in development.
Unidentified men reportedly attacked senior columnist and analyst Ayaz Amir and his driver in Lahore on Friday.
Amir was leaving the office of Dunya News located at Lahore’s Abbott Road when unidentified men attacked him. The assailants also snatched his wallet and mobile phone.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the incident and asked Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz to hold a high-level investigation.
I strongly condemn the attack on senior journalist/analyst Ayaz Amir. Such attacks on media persons are totally unacceptable in a democratic society. On my directions, Punjab Chief Minister has ordered a high-level inquiry into the sad incident to bring perpetrators to justice.
CM Punjab ordered that the attackers should be arrested at the earliest. He condemned the attack on Ayaz Amir.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan also condemned the attack in “strongest terms”.
I condemn in strongest terms the violence against senior journalist Ayaz Amir today in Lahore. Pak descending into the worst kind of fascism with violence & fake FIRs against journalists,opp politicians, citizens.When the State loses all moral authority it resorts to violence.
The incident occurred a day after Ayaz Amir’s strongly-worded speech delivered at a seminar in Islamabad, where he had criticised the policies of former premier Imran Khan, accusing him of facilitating the realtors and property tycoons during his rule. He also criticised the extension granted to the army chief, criticising Khan’s decision.
According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), 818 cases of Covid-19 with a positivity rate of 4.47 per cent were reported in Pakistan on July 1.
Four deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. A total of 18,305 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours.
COVID-19 Statistics 02 July 2022 Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 18,305 Positive Cases: 818 Positivity %: 4.47% Deaths: 04 Patients on Critical Care: 126
This is the highest number of cases recorded in the last four months. Pakistan last recorded 796 cases on March 4. The same month, the government announced the closure of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) because of the decline in cases.
Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on June 19 urged Pakistanis to follow Covid-related standard operating procedures (SOPs) amid a surge in coronavirus cases.
Actor Sajal Aly took to her Instagram stories to slam the federal government on its announcement of another hike in petroleum prices.
The Mom star termed this announcement as a “petrol bomb”.
The federal government announced that there will be a new hike in the price of petroleum products on Thursday for the next fortnight, putting an additional burden of nearly Rs15-18 per litre on the masses.
The Finance Division, in its notification, said that in view of the fluctuations in petroleum prices in the international market and exchange rate variation, the government has decided to partially apply a petroleum levy, and revise the existing prices of petroleum products “as agreed with the development partners.”
With the fresh hike, the price of petrol will be Rs248.74/litre, diesel will be Rs276.54/litre, kerosene oil will be sold for Rs230.26/litre, and the price of light diesel oil will be Rs226.15/litre.
The coalition govt, since coming to power in April, has raised the price of petrol by Rs84. It had first raised the petrol price by Rs30 on May 26, followed by another increase of Rs30 on June 2. And on June 15, it hiked the price by another by Rs24 today.
Earlier this year the Khel Khel Mein star tweeted that in our society, parents need to learn how to treat their children right as well. These sensitive relations require effort from both sides.
“I believe, along with teaching children how to behave and conduct themselves, we should also teach parents how to treat their children,” she wrote in a tweet. “Parents should get weekly classes (one hour a week, minimum) on how to deal with children and their dilemmas.
The Aangan star highlighted the fact that children are not playthings that can be molded according to their parents’ liking they’re individuals who deserve the same respect and disciplined response that is expected of them. It is a two-sided relationship that requires effort on both sides but the greater side needs to be the parents, to bring another human being into the world is automatically shouldering the duty to raise them and do right by them.
This includes learning to give them the space and attention that they require to grow healthily.
Pakistani film and television production and distribution company, Eveready Pictures has lodged a formal complaint against actor Alizeh Shah.
According to the complaint, Shah left a drama’s shoot midway. The Ehd-e-Wafa star deserted the set unannounced which allegedly caused the production house huge monetary damages. The UPA confirmed receiving a complaint against Alizeh for having left the set without any prior information which resulted in serious production losses for Eveready Pictures.
She left the drama shoot of Mohabbat Ki Akhri Kahani, which was being shot in Kashmir, without any information and reason. Mohabbat Ki Akhri Kahani features Sami Khan in the lead.
The production house said that it had to suffer financial losses after she left the set without prior information.
According to the complaint, Shah left a drama’s shoot midway. The Ehd-e-Wafa star deserted the set unannounced which allegedly caused the production house huge monetary damages. The UPA confirmed receiving a complaint against Alizeh Shah for having left the set without any prior information which resulted in serious production losses for Eveready Pictures.
She left the drama shoot of Mohabbat Ki Akhri Kahani, which was being shot in Kashmir, without any information and reason. Mohabbat Ki Akhri Kahani features Sami Khan in the lead.
The production house said that it had to suffer financial losses after she left the set without prior information.
Earlier in June 2021, celebrity couple Yasir Nawaz and Nida Yasir appeared on Ahsan Khan’s show Time out with Ahsan Khan. During the interview, Nida revealed that Yasir had regrets about working with Alizeh Shah in the drama serial Mera Dil Mera Dushman.
On being asked by the host, Nida said that Yasir had some difficulty working with the Ehd-e-Wafa star and building chemistry with her since they played a married couple in the serial.
The Dil Mom Ka Diya actor then added that he regrets working with Alizeh and he wanted the show to be wrapped earlier than the makers because of this issue.
In July, the Ishq Tamasha star has shared her stance on the matter by saying that, “Everyone connects to a person differently, just like our families, we don’t get along with everyone.”
She added, “We can’t always get along and one should expect the same behaviour same as they behave themselves, if you misbehave with me, I will not stay quiet. I will respond back.”
Later their co-star from the same drama, Naveed Raza also spilled the beans on the matter on Ahsan’s show.
He stated, ‘Yasir is a veteran actor and director, who gave her the right to misbehave with him?”
He added, “She demanded to cut his lines and scenes with her.”
‘When the two used to be in the make-up room, and Yasir would dry his hair, she asked the assistant to shift Yasir’s seat somewhere far and cited that the heated air of the dryer is bothering her.”
“Talking to your senior actor like this is called rudeness, which is completely wrong.”
He concluded by saying that no matter how successful you are, you cannot talk to a senior like that.
She should be grateful that a star like Yasir worked with her.
Feroze Khan, who recently collaborated with the Bebasi actress for an endorsement jumped in to express his support for her on social media.
Adam Mohammed, a British citizen of Iraqi descent, has arrived in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, all the way on foot to perform Hajj. Adam started his journey last year in August.
He walked over 6,500 kilometres from Britain and crossed nine countries, including the Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Syria and Jordan.
In Makkah, he was greeted by a large crowd of pilgrims.
According to Mohammed, he completed his journey in 10 months and 26 days. “There was a loud voice inside me that said I could walk from my house to Makkah. I couldn’t deny that sound. It was burning inside me like a volcano,” he explained.
On reaching Makkah, he said, “I endured all kinds of hardships, including the harsh weather, to reach the House of Allah.”
He said that performing Hajj is his highest and dearest wish
The ex-wife of former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, Jemima Goldsmith, lashed out at Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for organising a protest outside her 88-year-old mother’s house this weekend.
In a tweet on Thursday, she said, “What the hell is wrong with these people (PML-N)? Another mass demonstration was announced outside my 88-year-old mother’s house this weekend.”
What the hell is wrong with these people @pmln_org ? Another mass demonstration announced outside my 88 year old mother’s house this weekend. This is the third time! What has my Mum got to do with Pakistani politics? It’s disruptive for her & a total waste of police time.
She pointed out that this is the third time that such a protest is being organised outside her mother’s home. She called out the ruling party members for dragging her mother into Pakistani politics: “What has my Mum got to do with Pakistani politics? It’s disruptive for her and a total waste of police time.”
Jemima tweeted after the PML-N announced a protest in response to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) call to gather in Hyde Park on July 2 and then march to Nawaz Sharif’s London residence.
Since the removal of Imran Khan through a vote of no-confidence, several times PTI protested in London outside PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s residence. Similarly, PML-N workers have protested in front of Goldsmith’s residence and her mother’s in response.
Back in April, a video shared by Jemima on Twitter showed a man threatening to break into a bedroom in her house. She had stated that her children were being targeted by protesters and that she was facing anti-semitic abuse on social media.
After the incident, the act was widely condemned on social media as people were of the view that Jemima is not related to Pakistani politics anymore and she shouldn’t be dragged into this matter.
It is pertinent to mention that after her divorce from Khan, Jemima moved to London and since then she has been living there with her sons.
Instagram is testing a feature that converts video posts into Reels. According to the company, the modification is a part of Instagram’s plan to streamline video on the app and is currently being tested with a small number of users worldwide.
With the most recent move made by the blogging platform, Instagram’s efforts to surpass TikTok are clearly growing.
A representative from Meta stated, “We’re testing this feature as part of our efforts to simplify and improve the video experience on Instagram.”
The social media consultant Matt Navarra shared a screenshot of an in-app message that reads, “Video posts are now shared as Reels,” on Twitter. Participants in the test will see this message.
The message warns that anyone can find your Reel and use your original audio to make their own Reel if your account is public and you post a video that ends up being turned into one. Only your followers will be able to see your Reel if your account privacy setting is set to private.
The message also mentions that if your account is public and you post a reel, anyone can remix it. In your account settings, you can, however, stop people from remixing your Reels.
As Meta has placed significant wagers on Reels, the test is now. Reels now account for more than 20% of people’s Instagram usage, according to the company’s Q1 2022 earnings report.
It is not surprising that Instagram wants to completely replace video posts in order to expand Reels. People may spend even more time watching Reels if the company ultimately decides to make this change permanent, which would be something to brag about.
Instagram’s video components would be even more consolidated if it decides to convert all video uploads into Reels.
When Mosseri outlined Instagram’s goals for 2022 last year, he said the company would increase its investment in video and concentrate on Reels.
This change may have been intended all along, as he even made a hint that Instagram would center all of its video products around Reels and continue to expand the short-form product.
In June 2022, Pakistan’s yearly inflation rate reached a 13-year high of 21.3 per cent, up from 9.7 per cent in June 2021 and 13.8 per cent in May 2022, according to the most recent data made public recently by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
According to PBS, monthly CPI-based inflation rose by 6.3 per cent in June 2022 as opposed to a 0.4 per cent increase the month before and a 0.3 per cent decrease in June 2021.
Compared to increases of 14.1 per cent a month prior and 17.6 per cent a year prior, the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) inflation on a YoY basis increased by 21.7 per cent in June 2022. On a month-over-month basis, it increased by 6.2 per cent in June 2022 compared to a 0.6 per cent increase the previous month and a (-)0.4 per cent decrease in June 2021.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) reached 21.3 per cent on a year-over-year (YoY) basis as Pakistan’s economy battles a widening current account deficit brought on by a high import bill, rising inflation has become a major concern.
In an effort to combat economic headwinds, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased the key interest rate by 150 basis points to 13.75 per cent earlier in May. At the time, the central bank predicted that as electricity and fuel subsidies are eliminated, inflation is likely to spike briefly, remain high through FY23, and then drop precipitously in FY24, according to Brecorder.
The SBP is currently scheduled to decide the key interest rate at its upcoming Monetary Policy Committee meeting on July 7.
On the other hand, the current administration increased the price of petroleum products in an effort to resurrect the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, which is anticipated to drive up inflation even further.
The government announced a late-night price increase for petroleum products on Thursday, raising the ex-depot price of gasoline to Rs248.74 per liter (after an increase of Rs14.85) and diesel to Rs276.54 (after a hike of Rs13.23).
CPI inflation in urban areas
In contrast, year-over-year CPI inflation in urban areas increased by 19.8 per cent in June 2022 as opposed to increases of 12.4 per cent in May 2022 and 9.6 per cent in June 2021.
In June 2022, it increased by 6.2 per cent month over month, compared to a 0.3 per cent increase the month before and a 0.4 per cent decline in June 2021.
CPI inflation in rural areas
In contrast to the previous month’s increase of 15.9 per cent and the increase of 9.7 per cent in June 2021, the CPI inflation rate in rural areas increased by 23.6 per cent on an annual basis in June 2022.
Comparing June 2022 to June 2021, it increased by 6.6 per cent month over month, compared to increases of 0.6 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively.
