Karachi recorded a doubling of its Covid-19 positivity ratio from 10.69 per cent to 21.23 per cent within the last 24 hours.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) reports that 268 new cases were reported in the country today (June 23). The positivity rate in the country is currently at 2.14 per cent, which is the highest it has been since March 5, 2022.
Pakistan also saw a surge in the positivity rate in the last few days. There has been an increase in hospitalisations due to Covid-19, primarily among older and unvaccinated patients.
In the last 24 hours, one person has lost their life to the virus.
A number of Pakistani users have regained cellular connectivity on smartphones that are not PTA compliant. This led many customers and sellers to believe that the PTA had unblocked all non-PTA-approved phones.
Unfortunately, all of the reports claiming that the PTA has unblocked non-tax compliant phones are false as the majority of imported phones with unpaid taxes, are still blocked by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and cannot work with any cellular networks in the country.
They can, however, continue to use Wi-Fi connections like before. Some people with unapproved phones had their phones unblocked at random in recent weeks, allowing them to reconnect to cellular networks.
The telecommunications authority has made clear that it has unblocked an undefined number of non-approved phones solely to motivate people to pay taxes and have their phones properly unblocked.
According to PTA spokesperson Khurram Ali Mehran, this was just a persuasive drill to get people to authenticate their phones and pay taxes, no matter how expensive they are.
He stated that the PTA chose to unblock the phones at random and that they will all be blocked again within two months.
Twitter announced on Wednesday that it is testing a new feature called ‘Notes’ that will allow users to create long-form content utilising rich formatting and uploaded media.
The new feature allows users to share ‘Notes’ up to 2,500 words long. Presently, posts on the social media platform are limited to 280 characters.
Once published, these notes can be tweeted and shared with followers. It will include embedded photos, GIFs, videos, tweets, etc.
According to Dr Laura Toogood, a social media specialist, the trial was an important step for Twitter. She stated that this feature would encourage users to stay on the platform rather than linking to other websites that could host long-format content.
“Adding this extra capability means that Twitter is now in a position to compete with some of the popular blogging platforms and potentially attract a new audience and a different type of user,” she added.
The two-month test will include a small group of authors from Canada, Ghana, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry said that the neutral (military) establishment in Pakistan is a political player. He asked how it can be neutral, as it is either on ‘this’ side or ‘that’.
“They are political players in Pakistan. They have to decide for themselves. The military and the judiciary have been political players in Pakistan’s 75-year history,” said Fawad.
Speaking on ARY news programme, ‘Off The Record’, Fawad said, “The monopoly on information, which belonged to the intelligence agencies previously, has been ended by social media now. The military and judiciary are powerful institutions, we can’t dictate them. Therefore, now they have to make this decision whether to keep on moving this way or adopt the path of modern institutions.”
Talking about neutrals and neutrality, Fawad said that there is a context to being neutral.
On the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) amendments, Fawad said the neutrals let the NAB laws to be amended. “If this is how the institutions have to remain neutral, then it will be a disaster.”
Fawad said that even he was shocked that Shehbaz Sharif was being considered to become prime minister of Pakistan.
During a seminar on “Regime Change Conspiracy and Pakistan’s Destabilization” on June 22, Imran Khan said, “People ask me if I knew about it, then why didn’t I do anything? Well, I never imagined that they would appoint Shehbaz Sharif as the prime minister.”
A man in Rajanpur sold his sister for Rs400,000. According to the police, a man named Bilal sold his sister with the help of his friends. A case has been registered on the complaint of the woman.
The police have arrested two people, including Bilal who is the prime suspect. The police are currently investigating the case and raids are being conducted to arrest the other accused who were involved in the crime.
Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt, who debuted withKaran Johar’s Student of The Year in 2012, is now the number one actress in Bollywood.
While Alia has proved her acting chops in various films, she sets the screen on fire with her toned body. The actress maintains her svelte figure with a high-intensity workout and nutritious diet.
As per her nutritionist Rutuja Diwekar, Alia eats jowar in the summers, bajra in the winters, and naachni-raagi during the monsoons. She also includes seasonal fruits, herbal tea, eggs, and some healthy snacking as part of her daily diet. Organic milk, lassi, and chhaas are also her favorites.
The Raazi star keeps herself fit by doing Pilates, yoga, weight training, core-strengthening exercises, Kick-boxing, and more at the gym.
The Dear Zindagi diva never fails to mix things up in her workout routine. She also inspires her Instagram followers to do the same by sharing her journey on social media platforms.
Gangubai Kathiawadi actor did a total of five exercises. Her trainer revealed their names and the number of sets and repetitions (reps). As per Sohrab Khushrushahi, Alia did 4 sets of 6-8 reps of HBT (Hanging Band Technique) Back Squats, 4 sets of 6-8 reps of Jefferson Curls, 4 sets of 6–8 reps of Elevated Sumo Squats + Sumo Deadlifts, 4 sets of 10-15 reps of Wall Sit Calf Raises, and 4 sets of 6-8 reps of Elevated Front Foot Banded Split Squats (each leg).
Alia hits the gym at least five times a week in spite of her busy schedules.
Bhatt likes to eat khichdi, dal-chawal, and curd rice with a tablespoon of ghee as well as other home-cooked dishes.
Finance Minister Miftah Ismail and Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb addressed a press conference in Islamabad today (June 23) about the economy.
When the press conference started, the official Twitter account of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) shared the live stream link but replaced the current finance minister’s name with PML-N’s former finance minister Ishaq Dar.
“Federal minister Information Marriyum Aurangzeb and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s press conference,” tweeted PML-N.
However, the tweet was deleted after users pointed out the faux pas. A new tweet with Miftah’s name was then shared.
In a joint press conference, the finance minister expressed hopes of the economy getting better with the expected Chinese loan and the ongoing dialogue with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Miftah Ismail revealed that they have reached an understanding with the IMF over the budget’s measures. The details of the discussion on the federal budget for the fiscal year 2023 would be revealed in the National Assembly and then they will close the budget, he added.
“It is a historic budget as we have neither increased indirect taxes not imposed taxes on commodities or consumption,” said Miftah.
Following the launch of multiple new models in the local auto market, the demand for cars has increased significantly since COVID-19.
According to a Business Recorderreport, volumetric sales in the auto industry have increased significantly Year Over Year (YOY) through the eleventh month of the fiscal year 2022 (11MFY2022).
According to the data, around 270,000 auto sales were made in the 11MFY2022. It also notes that Kia, Changan, and other new automakers’ sales are not included in these numbers. When their sales are taken into consideration, the total rises to almost 300,000 units.
With over 130,000 units sold and YoY growth of 62 percent, Pak Suzuki Motor Company (PSMC) continues to be in the lead. With almost 60,000 units sold and a YoY growth rate of 59 per cent, Toyota comes in second. Honda ranks third with over 30,000 units sold and YoY growth of 37 per cent.
Despite the fact that sales have been steady over the previous year, they are projected to start declining in the second quarter (Q2) of FY2023. The automakers also forecast a drop in sales of up to 25 per cent, citing escalating shipping, gasoline, and raw material costs as well as the consequent pricing hikes.
Conversely, many experts predict that pre-booked orders would help sales stay robust through Q1 FY2023. It would be fascinating to observe how the sales perform in Q3 FY2023 or Q4 FY2023, according to experts, as that is when the rise in automobile and gasoline prices will really start to have an impact on demand.
Pakistan’s fiscal year starts on July 1st and ends on June 30th. The rupee to US dollar exchange rate was Rs158.06 at the beginning of fiscal year 2021-2022, and it reached an all-time high of Rs212.103 in the inter-bank market on June 21, 2022. This represents a depreciation of more than 34 per cent in less than a year.
The graph below demonstrates how the PKR to USD exchange rate varied over time:
During the fiscal year 2020-2021, the local currency plunged 17.47 per cent from Rs158.062 to Rs184.159 in 9 months, from July 1, 2022 to April 11, 2022, under the PTI regime. Since PDM took over, the rupee has lost nearly 14.31 per cent of its value in just three months.
The table below compares PKR to dollar values over time, as well as the government in power at the time:
PKR to Dollar
Government
July 2021
158.062
PTI
August 2021
162.571
PTI
September 2021
166.872
PTI
October 2021
170.997
PTI
November 2021
170.92
PTI
December 2021
176.042
PTI
January 2022
176.214
PTI
February 2022
176.736
PTI
March 2022
177.573
PTI
April 2022
184.159
PTI and PDM
May 2022
185.794
PDM
June 2022
197.744
PDM
June 23 2022
207.516
PDM
Dollar demand remains strong in the market, pushing the greenback’s value higher against the rupee. The local currency is likely to remain volatile until the IMF agrees to disburse the next tranche of loans to Pakistan.
Dr Aamir Liaquat Hussain was found dead on Thursday at his residence. Aamir’s son Ahmed and daughter Dua Aamir refused the postmortem of their father. His funeral prayers will be held today.
The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday restrained the police from exhuming his body for a post-mortem examination to determine the “actual cause of his death”.
Following Hussain’s sudden death on June 9, the police had said an autopsy would be conducted but performed only a preliminary examination before relinquishing custody of the body to his family after they refused an autopsy. He was buried the following day.
His ex-wife Syeda Bushra Iqbal on Wednesday could not control her emotions and her eyes filled with tears after hearing the Sindh High Court’s ruling about suspending the orders for the exhumation of Hussain’s body for an autopsy.
In a video, Bushra Iqbal can be seen with tears in her eyes while standing with her daughter in the corridor of the SHC.
A two-member bench of the SHC suspended the judicial magistrate’s order. Aamir Liaquat’s children, Ahmed Aamir and Dua Aamir had moved the court against the order.
Last week, a Karachi judicial magistrate had ordered authorities to conduct a post-mortem on the televangelist’s body after which a six-member medical board was constituted for the purpose on June 23.
However, Hussain’s children, Ahmad and Duaa filed a petition in the SHC expressing that they were “aggrieved” and “dissatisfied” at the judicial magistrate’s “baseless and meritless” order and appealed for it to be dismissed.
When the news of the Aalim Online star’s demise surfaced, his third wife In a video message was seen weeping and pleading to “meet her husband for the last time”. She, however, asked the provincial government to “provide her security” so she could visit Karachi.
She further claimed that the couple was about to reconcile, adding that she had no idea that Hussain would “leave her behind” and bid farewell to the world.
Expressing her sorrows, Dania once again appealed to CM Punjab to allow her to be a part of Hussain’s last rites.
The PTI leader was found unconscious at his home in Khudad Colony in Karachi and was shifted to a private hospital in critical condition.
Hussain, 50, reportedly felt chest discomfort the night before but refused to go to the hospital. His employee, Javed, said he heard Hussain scream in the morning.
The TV personality’s domestic staff broke down his room’s door when they did not receive any reply from him. When rushed to the hospital, doctors said he had already passed away by the time he reached the facility.
He was found unresponsive at his house and was rushed to Aga Khan University Hospital.
The post-mortem examination of the politician was going to be conducted at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.
Liaquat had won the elections from National Assembly constituency NA-245 Karachi-I East-IV in 2018.
Earlier this year in April Liaquat was taken to the emergency room of a hospital in Karachi, when he complained of a heart ailment, with people speculating it was a heart attack.
