Blog

  • ‘Who was insulted?’: Opposition questions Asad Qaiser on postponing of joint Parliament session

    National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser has reportedly met with the United Opposition on Tuesday, reports Geo Urdu.

    Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz’s (PML-N) Rana Sanaullah, Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) senior leaders Khursheed Shah and Sherry Rehman were present in the meeting with Speaker.

    The Opposition was invited to discuss and negotiate on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and other legislation.

    “Now the government is calling for a joint session,” questions the Opposition.

    The Opposition raised the question to Qaiser that, “Who was insulted”? [Referring to the postponing of the joint Parliament session]. Upon this, the speaker replied, “I will call the ministers right now, “adding that things would have been better if the legislation had been passed by consensus.

    Last week, Qaiser wrote to the PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and invited the Opposition for talks after the government got seven bills passed in the absence of Opposition members from the lower house of parliament due to which the government was heavily criticised.

  • Number of smokers declining in the world, WHO report reveals

    Number of smokers declining in the world, WHO report reveals

    A report published by World Health Organisation has revealed that the number of smokers globally has declined in recent years, AFP has reported.

    According to a new WHO estimate, 1.30 billion individuals worldwide used tobacco in 2020, down from 1.32 billion two years earlier. The number is further expected to go down by 1.27 billion by the end of 2025.

    While about a third of the global population over the age of 15 used tobacco products in 2000, only about a fifth is predicted to do so by 2025, according to the report.

    Read more- Over 1,200 children start smoking every day in Pakistan

    “It is very encouraging to see fewer people using tobacco each year,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement, “we still have a long way to go, and tobacco companies will continue to use every trick in the book to defend the gigantic profits they make from peddling their deadly wares.”

  • ‘Those who brought Khan now admit they made a mistake’: Asif Ali Zardari

    ‘Those who brought Khan now admit they made a mistake’: Asif Ali Zardari

    Former president Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday while speaking to reporters during his appearance at an accountability court said, “Those who brought Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan are now admitting that they committed a mistake,” adding that they are now figuring out how to undo that mistake.

    “Only Allah knows best how they can fix this mistake,” said Zardari.

    When asked a question relating to Maryam Nawaz’s petition which was similar to that of former PM Benazir Bhutto, Zardari said he would not talk about it as “Maryam Nawaz is like a daughter to me. What comment should I make on my daughter?”

    Replying to a question about ex-chief justice Gilgit-Baltistan Rana Shamim’s affidavit, the former president said: “We have already seen this. Justice Qayyum had a tape with Saif-ur-Rehman and some friends as well.”

    A division bench of the Islamabad High Court comprising IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Amir Farooq heard the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) appeal against Zardari’s gold reference and Ursus tractors deal.

  • ‘Was breathless’: Mohammad Rizwan talks about health, pillow he carries

    ‘Was breathless’: Mohammad Rizwan talks about health, pillow he carries

    Pakistan’s wicket keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, who was exceptionally good at the T20 World Cup and scored 281 runs off his 6 innings, has recently talked about his health during the tournament in a media interaction on Monday.

    The record holder batter reportedly developed a severe chest infection just before the T20 World Cup semi-final. He narrated his journey from the hotel to the hospital and then to the cricket ground.

    Rizwan said that though he had told his family in the hotel that he is just going to have an ECG done downstairs to keep them calm, he had lost his breath by the time he reached the hospital.

    “My condition was not good,” said Rizwan. He said that the doctors told him that both his oesophagus and respiratory tract were blocked. The cricketer added that he cannot even recall their names.

    “They were not telling me anything and saying that I will get well by the morning,” said Rizwan.

    “The next afternoon, they told me that I will get discharged [from the hospital] by the evening.”

    The cricketer said at this point, he asked a nurse about his condition and she told him that “both his oesophagus and the reparatory tube would have burst if he got 20 minutes late” in reaching the hospital.

    The nurse told Rizwan that he would have to remain hospitalised as long as the doctors would advise.

    Rizwan said that the medical team performed different kinds of tests but he kept himself convinced that “this test or that test would make him better”.

    He said that the doctor told him that he wants him [Rizwan] to play the semi-final for Pakistan.

    “This gave me a boost,” said Rizwan, adding that one encouragement from the doctors made him take two steps towards the recovery.

    Rizwan said he was a bit “dismayed when the doctor told him that his condition was not stable enough for him to play”.

    Rizwan said that he missed few sessions of practice in Dhaka for the upcoming series with Bangladesh. But he shared that he will be going to the practice sessions after the rest he was advised by the doctors.

    While talking about his pillow, the 29-year-old said that this is a medicated pillow and a wicket-keeper always has a neck issue because of the keeping and batting as well. “I was referred this medicated pillow to tackle the stiffness due to the exertion.”

    He added: “It helps me a lot. When you are recovering, sleep is very much important and that is why I carry the pillow with me. It is spotted with me because I don’t want to miss it for even one night and send it with the bags.”

    “I just carry it with myself in my hands so I recover with its help to play the matches.”

    Playing in the first ICC semi-final of his career, Rizwan became the first player in the history of the game to score 1,000 T20I runs in a calendar year.

    Rizwan scored a half-century against Australia in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup. He was also the the third highest scorer of the tournament.

    Rizwan is included in the squad of Test matches and T20Is against Bangladesh, which is set to start from November 19.

  • ‘I am the spokesperson of the cabinet, words are not my own’: Fawad Chaudhry apologises to ECP

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has apologised to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) for his disrespectful remarks against the institution, reports Geo News.

    The minister arrived at the ECP today for the hearing before a two-member bench comprising ECP members Nisar Ahmed Durrani and Shah Mohammad Jatoi. During today’s hearing, the minister told members that he is a lawyer himself and does “not want to get caught up in show-cause notices”.

    The show-cause notices were sent in October to Fawad over calling ECP an “Opposition’s mouthpiece” and Federal Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati for accusing ECP of always “rigging polls” and his statement that “such institutions should be set on fire”.

    However, according to Swati’s co-counsel, he could not appear for the hearing as he was busy with the Senate proceedings and asked for more time, adding that a reply would be filed by tomorrow.

    Chaudhry, after the hearing, said, “I am sorry, I apologise for my words.”

    “I am the spokesperson of the cabinet. At times, I say things but the words are not my own,” he added while saying that he personally respects the CEC and did not abuse anyone.

    The members of the election commission directed Chaudhry to submit his apology in writing and warned that charges would be framed on the next hearing whether a reply was submitted or not and adjourned it to December 3.

    Before the show-cause notices, the election commission had issued notices to the two ministers on September 14, asking them to provide evidence about the allegations made by them against ECP and the CEC.

    Later, on September 23, Chaudhry had sou­ght six weeks to submit a reply but was given three weeks, which ended on October 19. However, Swati chose not to respond at all to the ECP notice. The ECP had then issued a notice to Chaudhry asking him to appear before it on October 27 but neither of them had turned up for the October 27 hearing, prompting the ECP to issue a show-cause notice for November 16 (today).

  • Ex-CJ GB’s son asked for permission to play ‘video’ in Saqib Nisar case

    Ex-CJ GB’s son asked for permission to play ‘video’ in Saqib Nisar case

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday issued show-cause notices during a hearing of the case relating to the allegations against ex-Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar by former Chief Judge of Gilgit-Baltistan Justice (retd) Rana Shamim.

    During the hearing, apologising for his father’s absence, Justice Shamim’s son asked the court staff for permission to play a ‘video’ in the courtroom.

    The video was in relevance to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Faisal Vawda’s comments where he said that Rana Shamim, should be beaten up in public.

    However, the court refused to include it in the case and told Shamim’s lawyer to file a separate appeal.

    Senator Vawda, while speaking on ARY News’ programme, Off the Record’, said: “These retired and retarded judges who are maligning courts and judiciary should be beaten up in public. They are paving the way for chaos in society. They are maligning the noble and honest judges and dragging Pakistan towards anarchy. That is why it is important to punish them.”

    “It is questionable why their conscience woke up after three years,” said Vawda and asked as to why they did not react at the time when it happened.

    The senator further said that there were many like them in all the departments who wake up to the call of their conscience after retirement and labelled them “shameless, and disgraceful”.

    Describing Rana Shamim as a ‘bhagora’ [absconder], Vawda said, “He is an absconder, for filing an affidavit in London after retirement,” adding, “there are places where a layman goes for justice, honest judges are present there who have a career ahead of them, and then you malign them.”

    “You pit one institution against the other, you malign the military, certain elements are acting on behalf of hostile countries were maligning the institutions and pitting them against the other,” said Vawda.

    Vawda asked whether there was a video or it was money that stirred his [Rana Shamim’s] conscience, adding, “He was appointed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 2015 and benefitted throughout. His son was also made the advocate general. If a common thief is disgraced and criticised, then a judge who scandalises the judiciary and honest judges cannot be awarded for it. He is acting like a pimp.”

    Anchorperson Kashif Abbasi interjected and said, “I am saying this again to kindly mind your words. These are judges we are talking about, this is not how it works. Don’t do that, don’t do that.”

    “These retired and retarded judges who are maligning courts and judiciary should be beaten up in public,” asserted Vawda.

  • ‘My vulgarly edited pictures’: Humaima Malick threatens to take legal action over viral pictures

    ‘My vulgarly edited pictures’: Humaima Malick threatens to take legal action over viral pictures

    Actor Humaima Malick took to social media to warn some netizens for circulating her ‘vulgarly edited’ pictures. She has also threatened her fan pages that she will be seeking legal help against them.

     Last week she posted a picture of herself on a hospital bed after a successful appendix surgery. “Nazar can take lives,” she said, asking her fans to pray for her.

    The Dekh Magar Pyaar Say star added, “Allah has given me a new life, thank you for all those who have stood by me, my family who prayed for me, I request all my fans to pray for me. I have been given a new life from Allah.”

    According to her post, the Raja Natwarlal diva spent 22 hours in Istanbul with a ruptured appendix without knowing it. “I have seen death,” she wrote.

    “My God gave me a new life. Please be kind with everyone around you, life is too short. We don’t even know if we’ll be alive one moment to the next.”

    She was in Istanbul for the IPPA awards which were held on October 31st. She travelled there with her mother and a host of other celebrities.

    Emran Hashmi with Humaima Malik during a promotional event of their new movie Raja Natwarlal in Bengaluru09 | RITZ

    The Bol star also expressed her disgust after watching Noor Mukadam’s CCTV footage.

    Noor tried to run away from Zahir Jaffer’s house twice before she was murdered, the transcript of the CCTV footage has revealed. The prosecution in the murder case submitted the transcript of the CCTV footage of Zahir’s house in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Ata Rabbani, which shows the events that led to Noor’s brutal murder.

    As per the footage, Noor entered Zahir’s house at 10:18pm on July 18, Shehzad Malik reports for BBC Urdu. At 02:39am on July 19, the two could be seen coming out of the house with bags, which they placed in a taxi but they both went back inside the house at 02:40am.

    Noor was found murdered at a residence in Islamabad’s upscale Sector F-7/4 on July 20. Her death sparked national outrage, including protests and candlelight vigils across the country.

    Read More: ‘Nazar lagadi, Maut dekhi maine’: Humaima Malick hospitalised in Istanbul

  • ‘What can you say, you have already caused the harm you had to cause’: Athar Minallah grills Ansar Abbasi on Saqib Nisar affidavit

    ‘What can you say, you have already caused the harm you had to cause’: Athar Minallah grills Ansar Abbasi on Saqib Nisar affidavit

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday issued show-cause notices during a hearing of the case related to the allegations against ex-Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar by former chief justice (CJ) of Gilgit-Baltistan Justice (retd) Rana Shamim, reports Geo Urdu.

    Shamim’s lawyer appeared before the court on his behalf and informed that Justice Shamim wasn’t feeling. He said Shamim’s brother had passed away.

    IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah called Mir Shakil- ur-Rahman, editor-in-chief Jang, to the rostrum.

    “I have summoned you with a heavy heart,” Athar Minallah said, adding that there is a difference between social media and newspapers and that a newspaper has an editorial policy and editorial control.

    “The judges of this court are accountable and face criticism,” Justice Minallah said, adding that if the people do not trust the judiciary, there will be chaos in society.

    Justice Minallah said: “Please hold us [judges] accountable, but don’t create controversies.”

    IHC chief justice directed journalist Ansar Abbasi to read out the headline of his story published in The News.

    “Do you think the judges of our court take instructions from anyone?” Justice Minallah questioned, saying that this affidavit is not part of any judicial record.

    At this, Abbasi asked if he could say something.

    “What can you say, you have already caused the harm you had to cause,” the IHC CJ responded.

    After being allowed to speak in court, Abbasi said he respects the IHC chief justice and the story was his and so if the court wants to take any action, it should be against him.

    “The editor and editor-in-chief are not to be blamed in this matter,” said Abbasi, adding that this was not his statement and that it belonged to the former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Gilgit-Baltistan.

    “I am a journalist, my job is to convey the message. I also confirmed this from Justice Shamim,” he added.

    Abbasi further added that he did not even mention the name of the high court judge in his story.

    However, Justice Minallah said that this charge has been levelled against the court, it has been alleged that [the] High Court takes directions from others. “We will not compromise on the dignity of this court.”

    “We had no such intention as you think,” Justice Minallah told Abbasi, adding that it is constantly being reported that it was said that do not release them [Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz] before the election.

    He also asked Abbasi whether he had checked who was part of the bench hearing the cases against the PML-N leaders, adding that he and Justice Aamer Farooq were abroad when the appeal was filed and the case was fixed for hearing.

    “Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Miangul Hassan were present in the country at the time. Did you inquire about this from the high court registrar?”

    He observed that noted lawyers were part of the case against the PML-N leaders. “Did you ask them if they had requested a date before the general elections?”

    He said that Khawaja Haris was the petitioner at the time. “Did you check with him about the bench hearing the case?”

    “If another judge spoke like this in front of me I would get in touch with the Supreme Judicial Council,” he said.

    “A person witnesses the CJP asking someone to commit a crime. The person stays silent for three years and an affidavit concerning the incident surfaces. How can a newspaper publish such a document?” he asked.

    Earlier it was reported that on directions of the ex-CJP Saqib Nisar, a high court judge did not release Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz on bail at any cost before the 2018 general elections. A news report was published in The News, based on a signed affidavit of the ex-CJ Gilgit Baltistan.

    “Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz Sharif must remain in jail until the general elections are over. On assurances from the other side, he (Saqib Nisar) became calm and happily demanded another cup of tea,” said the affidavit.

    The affidavit contains the signature of the ex-CJ of Gilgit Baltistan as well as an image of his CNIC. The notary public stamped the affidavit and recorded that it was “sworn under oath before me” on November 10, 2021.

  • Pakistan names 20-member squad for Bangladesh Tests, including Imam

    Pakistan names 20-member squad for Bangladesh Tests, including Imam

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced 20-member squad for Bangladesh Test match series. Opener Imam-ul-Haq is making a comeback to the national team.

    The opener has been recalled on the back of a blistering form in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, where he has so far amassed 488 runs in five innings. Middle-order hitter Kamran Ghulam and off-spinner Bilal Asif likewise track down a spot in the 20-part crew.

    Bilal Asif has replaced leg-spinner Yasir Shah who is yet to fully recover from the thumb injury he suffered while playing in the domestic T20 tournament. Kamran also returns to the squad after being left out during Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies. Pacers Haris Rauf and Shahnawaz Dahani have been left out and will be allowed to travel back to Pakistan after the T20I leg of the tour.

    The first Test will take place in Chittagong from November 26 with the second match taking place in Dhaka between December 4-8.

    Pakistan squad:

    Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan, Abdullah Shafique, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Bilal Asif, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Zahid Mahmood

  • ‘I am appalled’: Yashma Gill reacts to pregnant woman being strangled to death

    ‘I am appalled’: Yashma Gill reacts to pregnant woman being strangled to death

    Actor Yahsma Gill has reacted to the news of a pregnant woman being strangled to death. The Pyar Ke Sadqay diva took to her Instagram stories to share the screenshot of the news report, along with an extensive note.

    “With time, Pakistan makes no progress in terms of deep-rooted misogynistic beliefs. I am appalled to see incidents like this still taking place. The collective thinking of deeming females inferior needs to be eradicated from this society.”

    A woman was allegedly strangled to death in Narowal by her husband and mother-in-law just two days before she was expected to give birth to a daughter.

    On the work front, the Phaans star was last seen in ARY’s drama serial Azmaish opposite Fahad Sheikh.

    The actor recently celebrated her birthday with over 20 celebrities gracing the event.