The Good Morning Pakistan host celebrated her birthday on Sunday. The birthday party was a star studded event with prominent celebrities including Ayeza Khan, Danish Taimoor, Javeria Saud, Javed Sheikh, Sadaf Kanwal , Bushra Ansari, Ahsan Khan and many more were spotted at the birthday bash.
Have a look at the pictures:
Former Prime Minister (PM) Yusuf Raza Gilani announced in the Senate today that he has handed over his resignation to his party (PPP) as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.
Gilani’s statement comes after his absence from the Senate on January 28 when the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Amendment Bill 2021 was passed.
Addressing Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjarai, Gilani said, “When the voting happened [on January 28], you adjourned the session for 30 minutes, which means you facilitated the government, not the Opposition. During the first round, the majority was of the Opposition. When the House assembled again for the vote, there was a tie.”
“In the history of Pakistan Senate, it was the first time the Chairman senate had to give a vote. As a neutral person, you should have not done this. As the custodian of the House, you should have protected the rights of both sides of the House,” said Gilani.
“The role of the Speaker and Chairman Senate has to be totally neutral. They cannot be biased in any way.”
“I am not astonished by the harsh words of my opponents but I am astonished by the silence of my well-wishers. There are few ministers, if they would have said something [of this sort], it would have been an honour for me. But those who don’t have credibility, are turncoats, are saying that I helped the government. I am saying by your vote they won. At least the credit should be given to you [Sanjrani], not to me ke dhandali ho rahi hai [there is rigging]. There should be no rigging.”
“In the end, I will say that I have already submitted my resignation to my party that I don’t want to be the Leader of the Opposition,” said Gilani.
It is pertinent to mention here that it was Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) leader Dr Musadik Malik, who first pointed out the absence of Gilani from the Senate the day the SBP Amendment Bill 2021 was passed amid an outcry from the Opposition on suffering back-to-back defeats in the House, where it otherwise enjoys a dominating numerical strength.
Taking to Twitter Malik said, “Leader of the Opposition Yusuf Raza Gilani is missing. One vote, i.e. of Mr Gilani, is missing and the bill to make Pakistan a slave of the IMF was passed. And those who made him Leader of the Opposition voted for the government.”
Gilani later appeared on Geo News programme, ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, and said that he had not received the agenda of the Senate till 1am of the night between January 27 to January 28.
Speaking about his absence from the Senate as SBP Amendment Bill 2021 got passed, Gilani said, “It was humanly impossible for me to reach in six hours to Islamabad.”
“If and when can’t make history. There were a lot of honorable members who were missing. I will question the Dilawar Khan group as to why they voted in favour of the government. The Dilawar group was pressurised to vote for the government.”
Speaking on Dilawar Khan group, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani said, “The parties in the Opposition must carry out a purge of the soft-at-heart members and those senators who sit on the Opposition benches but vote for the treasury.”
“Friday (January 28) was a collective day of shame for the parliament, in particular the Senate, when it passed a document of surrender, a document which financially makes Pakistan a colony of the international donors and imperialists,” said Rabbani.
PPP Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar regretted that there was a group of people who sat on the Opposition benches but never voted for the Opposition on crucial occasions. He said these people came to the Opposition’s fold when they want to get some benefits and then they vote for the government to get benefits from it as well.
The Taliban acting Higher Education Minister Shaikh Abdul Baqi Haqqani has made an announcement that the public universities will be opened next month, i.e. February, across the country without specifying whether female students would be able to return or not.
According to Reuters, the minister said universities in warmer provinces will reopen from February 2, while those in colder areas would reopen on February 26.
The minister did not say what arrangements, if any, would be made for female students. However, earlier this month, government officials said that they hope to open all schools for girls and women in the country after March 21 but stressed that girls and boys must be completely segregated in schools.
Since Taliban’s takeover in August, girls in most of Afghanistan have not been allowed back to school beyond grade seven. However, private universities in Kabul are still operating.
Western governments have made education for female students a part of their demands as the Taliban seek more foreign aid and the unfreezing of overseas assets for which they have called Muslim countries to recognise them and made a recent visit to Oslo, Norway, where they presented their demands.
After battling verbally with the chair umpire, crowd and even ball kids during his Australian Open final, Daniil Medvedev wasn’t done.
The Russian was seen mouthing the words ‘boring’ while standing in the background early in the trophy ceremony after the men’s singles final.
Tennis Australia chair Jayne Hrdlicka was delivering the opening speech after Rafael Nadal’s five-set win when she began to address Medvedev.
Medvedev didn’t appear to enjoy the message, pulling faces and turning to the side to say “boring” to no one in particular.
He then repeated it before muttering something that couldn’t easily be lip-read but quite clearly wasn’t positive.
The Russian star, while thanking Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley, said: “I want to thank Tennis Australia, especially Craig. I think tournament director is a tough job, and this year, you will be able to tell me if it was the toughest in your career. I think you are an amazing tournament director, and I hope you stay at least 15 years that I am here, or maybe 10 years.”
By tough, he most likely meant Novak Djokovic’s visa fiasco.
Medvedev did not have a great time with the crowd of Australia. In his speech after losing the match, he talked about many things but did not thank the Australian Open crowd.
While talking about the reality of the most testing loss of his career, having already thanked his team during the speech, Medvedev appeared to be building up to thank the crowd, beginning, “Last but not least”, before saying, “just wanted to thank my team again.”
Twitterati reacted to his trolling.
Even in the post-match media talk, Medvedev was lamenting about crowd’s behaviour. He said: “Before Rafa serves even in the fifth set, there would be somebody like one guy screaming, ‘C’mon Daniil’ but a thousand people would be ‘Tsss, Tsss, Tsss’. That sound. It’s disappointing, it’s disrespectful. I’m not sure I’m going to want to play tennis.”
Earlier in the semi-final, Medvedev got involved into a heated exchange with match referree, calling him ‘stupid’ and ‘bad’.
General Headquarters (GHQ) has approached National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) for a 50 per cent rebate to commissioned officers on electricity bills, sources told Bussiness Recorder.
Director Works and Chief Engineer (DG&CE) said, “Military Engineering Services (MES) is giving 50 per cent refund but on the basis of energy charges instead of variable unit charges. This has curtailed the electricity bills rebate to around 3.5 per cent instead of 50 per cent to Army officers.”
Previously, a percentage of 50 per cent refund was set for the officers on electricity units consumed. Later, an amendment was made and the bills started to come in the name of the variable and other charges, i.e., variable charges, sale rates of electricity per Kwh, which covers the unit price.
Last year, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had drafted a summary for the Cabinet seeking a 50 per cent rebate to commissioned officers on electricity bills and sent it to the Finance Ministry for comments. The ministry of finance then asked MoD to approach NEPRA.
Electricity prices have been increased about 60 per cent by the government. Another increase of Rs0.95 per unit for consumers is yet to be effective from February 1.
The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday suspended the ruling of the Lahore High Court (LHC) in the Ravi Urban Development Plan case and allowed the Punjab government to continue work on the project, reports The Express Tribune.
The bench was hearing appeals against the annulment of the project, earlier declared “unconstitutional” by the Lahore High Court (LHC) on January 25 as the project lacked a master plan.
The court allowed the provincial government to continue construction activity on plots of land for which dues have been cleared. However, the apex court restricted the Punjab government from continuing construction activity on plots for which dues are still pending.
During today’s hearing, notices were also issued to the respondents in the case and stated that a review will be done to determine if it constitutes an intra-court appeal. If it is an intra-court appeal, the case will be referred back to the LHC, added to the bench.
Earlier in the hearing, the apex court reprimanded the legal team of the Punjab government for appearing before the bench in the case unprepared.
“You do not know what the case is?” asked Justice Ijazul Ahsan when AGP Owais was unable to answer the question. “It seems that you have not prepared.”
The Punjab AGP replied that the provincial government was not a party to the case in the high court’s verdict. “Not being party to one of 18 petitions does not matter,” Justice Ahsan remarked, adding that the Punjab government had presented its position in the high court.
The petitions were against the public hearing of the environment agency, AGP Punjab stated further.
The justice replied that according to the records, acquisition of lands for the project was also challenged and added that the provincial government’s legal team should not misrepresent in court.
Last week, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan said that the government would move to the Supreme Court after LHC nullified the Ravi Urban Development Project.
The prime minister during his visit to Rakh Jhok forest said that the case would be presented in a better manner to appraise the court about the significance of the project in view of urban development and civic facilities, further saying that the case was not presented correctly in LHC.
Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has taken notice of the unavailability of fever medicine in the province. He has demanded a report from the Health Secretary about the shortage.
The CM has directed the health department to ensure the availability of fever medicine at medical stores and to take the necessary steps in this regard. He stated that manufacturers of the medicine should be contacted to increase production.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb on Sunday said that non-availability of a pill commonly used to treat fever is “shameful” amid the surge in coronavirus across the country.
She further said Prime Minister Imran Khan’s administration has reduced employment opportunities for the country’s youth, medicine for the sick and fertiliser for the farmers.
Celebrity couple of Arez Ahmed and Hiba Bukhari are currently ringing in their honeymoon in Sri Lanka. The Inteha-e-Ishq duo shared their special moments on social media and the couple is oozing couple goals in their viral pictures.
The couple tied the knot earlier this month in Karachi.
Hiba wore a bright red Lehenga paired with heavy gold jewelry and Arez wore a black sherwani.
A former Al Jazeera pregnant journalist, Charlotte Bellis, who is a New Zealand national, was denied re-entry by her home country on the basis of strict Covid-19 protocol. She was offered refuge by the Taliban government in Afghanistan.
While speaking to Radio New Zealand(RNZ) from Kabul, she said, “This just feels like such a breach of trust.”
Bellis said that the Taliban told her, “We’re happy for you, you can come and you won’t have a problem”.
She did not get to know about her pregnancy until she returned back to the Al-Jazeera headquarter in Doha, Qatar.
She kept quiet about her pregnancy as it is unlawful to conceive a baby out of wedlock in Qatar.
She left Al Jazeera in November 2021 while working in Afghanistan as a journalist and went to Belgium, the home country of her partner, Jim Huylebroek. As Bellis is not a resident of a country, she could not stay for a longer period.
She was left with only one option: to travel to Afghanistan with her partner as they had visas. She is currently in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, she started her preparation to return back to New Zealand.
Her application was rejected by authorities in New Zealand for an emergency return.
New Zealand’s Covid-19 response minister, Chris Hipkins, said on Monday, “I understand she wanted to return on a specific date and that officials reached out to her for more information shortly after looking at her application. The emergency allocation criteria includes a requirement to travel to New Zealand within the next 14 days. Ms Bellis indicated she did not intend to travel until the end of February and has been encouraged by MIQ (Managed isolation and quarantine) to consider moving her plans forward.”
Bellis applied for a MIQ option through the medical treatment pathway however authority asked her to sign up under the different category where its nationals are in a location that is under serious risk to their safety, she told to RNZ.
Currently, she is in contact with officials in New Zealand who claimed her rejected application is under review now.
The New Zealand government has closed down its borders after the emergence of the omicron variant, including for its nationals who want to return back to the country except for special circumstances.
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Sunday took a jibe at the Opposition.
Questioning the leadership qualities of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz, Fawad said that the two leaders were not competent enough for the general elections and should try their luck and contest in mayoral elections and make their way up the leadership ladder.
“The leadership of this great country cannot be handed over to incompetent people like Bilawal and Maryam Nawaz,” said Fawad.
“Both Maryam and Bilawal should strive to climb up the ladder of their political careers,” Fawad said, adding, “Maryam does not have the stature to call herself a national leader.”
“Her [street power] depends on the students of Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s madrassas alone,” he said.
Criticising the Opposition’s way of working, Fawad said that they did not have any policy to abide by.