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  • Ali Noor responds to harassment controversy with picture of grave, says victim has ‘audacity not to accept his heartfelt words’

    Ali Noor responds to harassment controversy with picture of grave, says victim has ‘audacity not to accept his heartfelt words’

    Singer Ali Noor took to his Instagram to respond to his recent harassment controversy. The singer has been in the news after journalist Ayesha Binte Rashid accused the singer of sexual harassment. She took to her Instagram handle to share screenshots of an alleged WhatsApp conversation with the singer.

    Ali, while sharing a picture of a grave with his name written on it, said, “Ayesha Binte I am done being concerned about you. I sent you an apology for putting my entire life at stake and you have the audacity to not accept my heartfelt words.”

    The singer also denied allegations of sexual harassment, “I deny all allegations of sexual harassment against me I never admitted to them to start with. I was already not in a good place. Now I am gathering the courage to move on to the next word. I have absolutely no guilt. I hope you finally find your solace and an answer for my children,” he concluded. However, Ayesha has shared screenshots of Ali’s reply to her messages in which he thanked Ayesha for the “Wakeup call.”

    The singer also used the hashtag #stopmockeryofmetoo.

    In another story, he said, “To the few left that still loves me… Remember I am no sexual abuser. Also, remember.. every human being matters wishing better life for everybody.”

    It is pertinent to mention here that Ali earlier announced that his new song is going to be released on the 22nd. The month is not mentioned.

    People on social media have mixed reactions to Ali’s posts. Some are assuming that the singer is threatening suicide and others are of the view that the singer is “not sorry.”

    https://twitter.com/talkingcurves/status/1495614937481330691

    https://twitter.com/MehroozW/status/1495609804148326405

  • PM’s aide Razak Dawood encourages trade with India, calls it ‘need of the hour’

    PM’s aide Razak Dawood encourages trade with India, calls it ‘need of the hour’

    Adviser to Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Commerce, Textile, Industry, and Production, and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood said that trade with India is the need of the hour and beneficial to both countries.

    Dawood said “As far as the ministry of commerce is concerned, its position is to do trade with India. And my stance is that we should do trade with India and it should be opened now.”

    “Trade with India is very beneficial to all, especially Pakistan. And I support it.”

    Earlier this month, business tycoon Mian Muhammad Mansha claimed that he is aware of backchannel diplomacy being pursued by India and Pakistan.

    Mansha further insisted that the two countries need to resolve their issues and increase trade.

    “If things improve between the two neighbours, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi could visit Pakistan in a month,” said Mansha.

  • Video: Atif Aslam pays tribute to Lata Mangeshkar at Dubai concert, fans cheer

    Video: Atif Aslam pays tribute to Lata Mangeshkar at Dubai concert, fans cheer

    Singer Atif Aslam sang a few iconic songs of late singer Lata Mangeshkar at his recent concert in Dubai and paid a musical tribute to her.

    In the video, shared by multiple fan accounts on Twitter and Instagram, the Tu Jaane Na crooner can be seen performing on stage as a large picture of Lata Mangeshkar is projected on the screen behind him. 

    Lata Mangeshkar was one of the most acclaimed playback singers in the world, with over 6,000 songs and a bunch of top honours to her credit. She was the first Indian to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Her career spanned nearly 80 years and she believed there is no retirement for an artist.

  • ‘Will come back stronger’: Babar Azam’s note after unsuccessful PSL stint

    ‘Will come back stronger’: Babar Azam’s note after unsuccessful PSL stint

    Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam, who was leading Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Karachi Kings for the first time, did not have a great season this year and Kings lost nine out of 10 matches in this year’s edition, making an unwanted record.

    After their last defeat by the hands of Quetta Gladiators, Babar took to Twitter and penned a note in which he pledged to “come back stronger”.

    “We did not hold up our end. Lots to reflect, learn & improve from this entire experience of #PSL7. In sha Allah, we will come back stronger. Also, quite grateful to all the fans for their immense support and belief,” he tweeted.

    Karachi Kings was not only the team to have the longest streak of defeats with eight consecutive losses in the tournament but it created another unwanted PSL record on Sunday after losing to Quetta Gladiators.

    The Gladiators thrashed Kings by 23 runs in match 28 of the PSL at the Gaddafi Stadium, after which the team was also eliminated from the race to the playoffs in the tournament, with only two points in 10 games.

  • Former DG ISI had around $12.9million in offshore accounts in the1980s: Swiss Leaks

    Former DG ISI had around $12.9million in offshore accounts in the1980s: Swiss Leaks

    A leak from a Swiss bank has revealed that around 1,400 individuals residing in Pakistan are linked with around 600 accounts opened in Credit Suisse.

    The average maximum balance in accounts held by Pakistanis was 4.42 million Swiss francs (Rs841 million) compared with the overall average of the leaked data, which stood at 7.5 million Swiss francs (Rs1.42 billion). Almost 200 clients found in the data are worth more than 100 million Swiss francs (Rs19 billion) and more than a dozen had accounts valued in the billions, reports The News.

    Senior intelligence officials and their offspring from several countries that cooperated with the United States (US) in the war on terrorism also had money stashed at Credit Suisse.

    General Zia-ul-Haq’s closest aide and former Director-General (DG) of the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI) General Akhtar Abdur Rahman Khan’s name was also part of the list.

    “As the head of the Pakistani intelligence agency, General Akhtar Abdur Rahman Khan helped funnel billions of dollars in cash and other aid from the United States (US) and other countries to the mujahedeen in Afghanistan to support their fight against the Soviet Union,” reports The New York Times (NYT).

    According to the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project’s (OCCRP) report, the Saudi Arabian and US funding for mujahideen fighters battling Russia’s presence in Afghanistan would go to the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) Swiss bank account. “The end recipient in the process was Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence group (ISI), [at the time] led by Akhtar,” the report said.

    “The report states that by the mid-1980s, Akhtar was adept at getting CIA cash into the hands of Afghan jihadists. It was around this time that Credit Suisse accounts were opened in the names of his three sons.”

    OCCRP’s report stated that one of the two Akhtar family accounts at Credit Suisse — held jointly by three of Akhtar’s sons — was opened on July 1, 1985. That same year, US President Ronald Reagan would raise concerns about where the money intended for the mujahideen was going. By 2003, this account was worth at least five million Swiss francs ($3.7 million at the time). A second account, opened in January 1986 in Akbar’s name alone, was worth more than 9 million Swiss francs by November 2010 ($9.2 million at the time).”

    Two of the general’s sons, Akbar and Haroon Khan, did not respond to requests for comment from the reporting project. In a text message, a third son, Ghazi Khan, called information about the accounts “not correct,” adding, “The content is conjectural.”

  • Saudi Arabia announces new rules for pilgrims in Makkah, Madina

    Saudi Arabia announces new rules for pilgrims in Makkah, Madina

    Saudi Arabia has announced new rules for pilgrims. Whether they are coming from inside the Kingdom or from other countries, pilgrims have been seen using mobiles during the call of prayer (Azan). Saudi Arabia has warned the public against playing or turning up the volume of music inside residential areas during Azan and Iqamah (the first and second calls to prayer, respectively), saying it is punishable by law.

    “Anyone who is caught playing ‘music’ of any kind during the call of prayer from mosques will now be fined SAR 1000 (Rs46,730) for a first-time violation and if violation repeats SAR 2000 (Rs93,461) will be charged,” announced the Twitter account of Haramain Sharifain.

    The Saudi Arabian government has also introduced a new fine ranging from SAR 250 to SAR 500 for anyone wearing shorts inside mosques or government offices.

    However, the government has clarified that men wearing shorts in public won’t be considered a violation of public decorum, except in mosques.

    Earlier, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah issued new guidelines for Umrah pilgrims. All pilgrims will have to get the status of their vaccination checked six hours before performing Umrah.

    It made negative PCR test reports compulsory for pilgrims. The test should be taken no more than 48 hours before arrival even if they are vaccinated.

    There were 19 violations on the list of public etiquette violations approved in 2019. With the new decision, the list of public etiquette violations now stands at 20.

  • Osman Khalid Butt calls out Qandeel Baloch’s brother

    Osman Khalid Butt calls out Qandeel Baloch’s brother

    Actor Osman Khalid Butt tweeted on Qandeel Baloch’s brother Waseem’s acquittal last week, “Qandeel Baloch’s murderer walks free today after serving less than six years of his life sentence. He is on record admitting to drugging and murdering his sister. Someone please make this make sense to me.”

    He went on to comment, “We are in the concluding stages of a high-profile and incredibly brutal murder case even now – how does this ruling inspire any confidence (except to the guilty) in our judicial system? Six years – and an anti-honour killing Bill – later, we’re back to square one.”

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) acquitted the prime suspect and brother of model Qandeel Baloch, Waseem Azeem, in her murder case, abolishing the life imprisonment awarded to him by a sessions court.

    The LHC’s Multan bench cancelled life imprisonment of the accused after witnesses deviated from their statements in the trial court and Qandeel’s mother submitted a reconciliation agreement stipulating parental pardon.

    In 2016, Muhammad Waseem was arrested after he confessed to killing Qandeel Baloch, 26, for posting what he called ‘scandalous’ pictures on social media. The case became Pakistan’s most high profile “honour killing” of recent years.

    The Baaji star also recently commented on Zahir Jaffer’s on-going case. He took to his Twitter to lash out at primary suspect, Zahir Jaffer in the Noor Mukadam murder case.

    He penned, “After all this time, not a hint of remorse. Not a hint of shame. I hope you rot in the deepest pits of hell, Zahir.”

    The actor made his remarks in the response to Jaffer who retracted his confessional statement and refuted all the allegations of the murder of Noor Mukadam.

    'Rot in the deepest pits of hell': Osman Khalid Butt lashes out at Zahir Jaffer

    Zahir recently said that Noor called her friends at his house for a drug party, and she was murdered by someone else, maybe someone present at the drug party, and not him.

  • Pak ‘least costly’ country claims Shaukat Tarin, website he refers to says cost of living is 171 thousand rupees per month

    Pak ‘least costly’ country claims Shaukat Tarin, website he refers to says cost of living is 171 thousand rupees per month

    Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, while sharing a table with the title “The Cost of Living Index by Country 2021 Mid-Year”, has claimed that Pakistan is the “least costly” country across the globe.

    In the chart, Pakistan has been ranked on 139th number among 139 countries with only 21.88 cost of living. The table Tarin shared was taken from the website NUMBEO.

    https://twitter.com/shaukat_tarin/status/1495274739991867401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1495274739991867401%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftribune.com.pk%2Fstory%2F2344435%2Fpakistan-cheapest-country-says-tarin

    However, according to the website, this is the summary of Pakistan. The ranking comes with comparison to other countries.

    • Family of four estimated monthly costs are 171,936.39Rs. without rent.
    • A single person estimated monthly costs are 51,837.84Rs. without rent.
    • The cost of living in Pakistan is, on average, 71.36% lower than in the United States.
    • Rent in Pakistan is, on average, 90.59% lower than in the United States.

    Last month, the Quarterly Performance Evaluation Survey (QPES), a Pulse Consultant’s indigenous tracking tool of public perceptions and opinions about the government’s performance and current political situation, stated that 84 per cent of Pakistanis consider inflation as the biggest problem of the country.

  • Multan Sultans first team of PSL to win nine matches in group stages

    Multan Sultans first team of PSL to win nine matches in group stages

    Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) franchise Multan Sultans has made a record of PSL history after becoming the first team to win nine out of 10 matches in the group stage of the league.

    Read More – Sultans’ skipper Mohammad Rizwan adds another record to his name

    After defeating Islamabad United on Sunday by six wickets, defending champions Multan Sultans produced another stellar all-round performance to finish the double-league round-robin stage of the PSL 7.

    United set an easy 106-run chase, Sultans had crashed to 43 for four in 7.2 overs as Dawson followed-up on his 22-run batting contribution with three wickets in his opening spell with the new ball.

    Skipper Mohammad Rizwan came to his side’s rescue with an unbeaten inning of 51 off 42 balls.

    Rizwan added 68 runs in the unbroken fifth-wicket stand with David Willey who made 28 off 32. Rizwan finished the match with a majestic six over the extra cover boundary that took him past his 50.

    Sultans finished their chase with 16 balls to spare.

    Meanwhile, Rizwan is at number two in the PSL 7 batting charts with 479 runs behind Qalandars’ Fakhar Zaman, who has scored 521 runs.

    Multan will be playing the Qualifier match on Wednesday with Qalandars or Zalmi, whoever ends on the second spot of the table.

    United will be playing Eliminator 1 against Qalandars or Zalmi on Thursday.

  • Revealed: Where did Shehbaz Sharif meet Jahangir Tareen?

    Revealed: Where did Shehbaz Sharif meet Jahangir Tareen?

    Punjab’s Minister for Prisons Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan has revealed new details about a secret meeting between Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) disgruntled leader Jahangir Khan Tareen that took place recently. The two leaders discussed a plan to oust Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion.

    Chohan revealed that Shehbaz and Tareen met at Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood’s residence. He made these revelations in Geo News‘ morning show, ‘Geo Pakistan‘.

    Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood is former Governor Punjab and belongs to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). Last year in December, Makhdoom Ahmed met Mian Nawaz Sharif in London. He is said to be one of Shehbaz Sharif’s oldest friends and is also a brother-in-law to Jahangir Tareen.

    Chohan said that Jahangir Tareen should not trust the Sharifs and added that there will not be any no-confidence move against PM Khan.