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  • ‘People gathered in the public meeting will thrash the Oppostion’: Asad Umar

    Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar in a public meeting on Friday warned the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) if it staged a long march to Islamabad to topple the government, “the people gathered in the public meeting will thrash you,” reports Dawn.

    His comments come after the Opposition is considering bringing a no-confidence motion against Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani or National Assembly(NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser as a tester to confirm the present strength of treasury in parliament.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Khurram Dastagir said on a Dawn News TV show that the motion would be moved soon. They said if the motion became successful, then a similar motion could be moved against the prime minister.

    Dastagir said: “The motion can be moved within two months against the Senate chairman or the NA Speaker.”

    Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said at a press conference that “the coalition parties have also expressed confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan”.

    The minister said these words after the premier held a third meeting on Friday with the leaders of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in a week amid “shattered” confidence of allies in the government’s working and the Opposition’s threat to topple the government.

  • ‘Not happy’: Shahid Afridi schools Shaheen for bad bowling in semi-final

    ‘Not happy’: Shahid Afridi schools Shaheen for bad bowling in semi-final

    Former Pakistan captain and T20 World Cup winner, Shahid Afridi is upset by the dismal performance of Shaheen Shah Afridi, as the young pacer conceded three back to back sixes off Matthew Wade, who guided Australia to their first T20 World Cup Final on Thursday.

    Read More – ‘No one should point fingers, I back everyone’: Babar Azam talks to team after losing semi-final

    The former all-rounder asserted that even if Hassan Ali dropped an important catch, it doesn’t mean that Afridi should have lost hope.

    “I am not happy with Shaheen in one area. Okay, so Hassan Ali dropped a catch but that does not mean you will bowl badly and get hit for three successive sixes,” Shahid Afridi said on Samaa TV.

    “Shaheen has so much pace and he should have used it sensibly. Even if the catch was dropped. He should have used his head and tried to bowl outside off stump fast Yorkers with his pace. He is not that sort of bowler to be hit like that,” the former Pakistan captain said.

    Shaheen set the World Cup on fire when he got rid of top players like Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul with a new ball in Pakistan’s big match against India. In the semi-final against Australia, he sent back the Australian captain Aaron Finch in the first over.

    Cracking the three balls for sixes, the Australian keeper-batter sealed their spot in the final.

    Read More – Hayden lauds ‘warrior’ Rizwan, who was in hospital the night before Pak-Aus match

    Australia will be facing New Zealand in Final of the T20 World Cup 2021 on Sunday at Dubai International Stadium.

  • ‘That’s the spirit’: President Alvi praises Mohammad Rizwan for his performance despite bad health

    ‘That’s the spirit’: President Alvi praises Mohammad Rizwan for his performance despite bad health

    President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi has praised Mohammad Rizwan for his outclass performance in the semi-final against Australia despite the fact that he was was not well and admitted in hospital for two days before the match.

    Taking to Twitter, President Alvi wrote: “That’s the spirit. This is symbolic of the emerging ‘Brand Pakistan’. And my friends it is the new Pakistan.”

    Rizwan scored a half-century against Australia in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup, beating captain Babar Azam. He became the player who scored a thousand runs in the calendar year.

    He also broke the record of England’s Jos Buttler, who had just set it for the most runs by a keeper in a Men’s T20 World Cup. Buttler broke Craig Kieswetter’s record from 2010 in this year’s edition, had scored 269 runs to his name before England crashed out Thursday night in the semi-final.

  • NCOC approves Chinese vaccine for children aged 12 and older

    The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) announced on Thursday that its committee of health experts has approved two Chinese vaccines to be administered to children aged 12 years and older from November 15.

    The Chinese vaccines approved by the committee are Sinopharm and Sinovac.

    “Chinese vaccines Sinopharm and Sinovac have been approved by NCOC Health Expert Committee for administration to children above 12 years of age from 15 November onwards,” NCOC tweeted.

    “Now, these vaccines will also be available in addition to already approved Pfizer for children above 12 yrs,” tweeted NCOC.

    Earlier, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar, who also heads NCOC, said more than 50 per cent of students between the ages of 12 and 18 have received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine across the country.

  • Jokhio murder case: Alleged suspect MNA gets pre-arrest bail from court

    Jokhio murder case: Alleged suspect MNA gets pre-arrest bail from court

    A senior police officer confirmed that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Member of National Assembly (MNA) Jam Karim Jokhio has obtained bail before arrest, reports Dawn.

    Karim was nominated along with his brother Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Jam Awais Jokhio in the murder case of Nazimuddin Jokhio who was found tortured to death at Awais’ farmhouse earlier this month.

    Currently, Awais is under police custody.

    The officer, who wished not to be named, told Dawn that the police was trying to frame Jam Karim’s role in the alleged kidnapping and murder case of Nazim.

    However, in the preliminary investigation, it was revealed that Nazim was tortured to death for recording MPA Jam Awais’ hunting expedition of a highly rare bird species along with his Arab guests.

    The victim’s family has also accused the MPA and his henchmen for torturing Nazim to death.

  • Artificial rain planned in Lahore after November 19

    Artificial rain planned in Lahore after November 19

    An experiment of artificial rain to combat the smog will be carried out for the first time in the country’s history, under supervision of Punjab University’s (PU) Centre for Integrated Mountain Research, Express Tribune has reported.

    Professor Munawer Sabir who is heading the team has said that the experiment will be carried out in the Khanspur mountainous area. According to reports, the preparation to demonstrate the technology will happen in an area of one square kilometre.

    The team plans to test artificial rain in Lahore after November 19, to counter the smog in the city.

    Read more- Lahore tops the worst air quality list, again

    Lahore on Wednesday topped the list of the most polluted cities in the world with the worst air quality levels. The United States Environmental Protection Agency regards air quality as satisfactory if the AQI is under 50.

  • ‘No one should point fingers, I back everyone’: Babar Azam talks to team after losing semi-final

    ‘No one should point fingers, I back everyone’: Babar Azam talks to team after losing semi-final

    Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam has given a pep-talk to the team in the dressing-room after they lost the semi-final to Australia in Dubai on Thursday. The young captain stressed it’s important to not point fingers at each other and that the entire team failed to play up to its potential in the heartbreaking loss on Thursday.

    Read More – Hayden lauds ‘warrior’ Rizwan, who was in hospital the night before Pak-Aus match

    Talking about unity in the team, Babar said: “Everybody is sad, everybody is feeling the pain. We need to figure out where we went wrong and where we have to improve. No one will tell us this, we all know this. But we have to learn from this.”

    “We have created a unit at the World Cup and this shouldn’t break. There should be no finger-pointing. We should not go into saying ‘he did this, he did this and all that’. We, as a team, did not play well. No one should point fingers at any other person.”

    “We lost, it’s okay but we have to learn from this. We will. In the times to come, we shouldn’t make the same mistakes,” added the captain.

    “I am telling you again, we shouldn’t let the unit break. We have worked hard to create this. One loss shouldn’t force anyone to leave this unit. As a captain, I am backing everyone. We have created a very good atmosphere in the dressing room, one that feels like family. Everyone has put in the effort. Every match, every player has taken up responsibility,” said Babar.

    “We will put in the effort, that is in our hands but the result is not. I know everyone is sad. But this will last for a short while. We will start thinking about where we went wrong and where we should have improved. Don’t get bogged down. Try lifting each other. Learn, there is a bit of sadness but we have to overcome that,” Babar concluded.

    Pakistan posted 176 runs for the loss of 4 wickets on the board in their quota of 20 overs, thanks to fifties from Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman. However, defending a total in Dubai proved difficult yet again as Pakistan paid the price for some ordinary effort with the ball and on the field.

    Australia will face New Zealand in the final of the T20 World Cup in Dubai on Sunday

  • Bilawal Bhutto meets Maulana Fazlur Rehman

    Bilawal Bhutto meets Maulana Fazlur Rehman

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari meets Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman today in Islamabad.

    Geo News reported that the PPP made contact with PDM after having resigned from all PDM offices in April 2021, saying that no party “should try and impose their will and dictation on any other political party”. 

    The meeting comes after the Opposition parties have “united” to adopt a joint strategy against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

    Members of the united Opposition on Thursday met National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser twice and asked him to give them in writing the terms of engagements, which should include a categorical statement that it was the government that approached them for dialogue.

    “We are going to communicate to the Speaker that he should give us in writing because we do not want to hear that we (the Opposition) have been pressing for a dialogue,” said Sherry Rehman.

  • Video: Mehwish Hayat, Sadia Khan spotted dancing at Dubai’s nightclub

    Video: Mehwish Hayat, Sadia Khan spotted dancing at Dubai’s nightclub

    A-list actresses Mehwish Hayat and Sadia Khan partied together at a club in Dubai. The Jawani Phir Nah Aani diva even danced to her hit track from Fahad Mustafa starrer Load Wedding with stylist Rao Ali Khan and actor Momin Saqib.

    Mehwish Hayat Partying With Her Friends In Dubai | Dope Desi

    The Dil Lagi star even went to the stadium to watch the semi final of T20 World Cup with her brother Danish Hayat and other friends.

    Saida is currently vacationing in Dubai, the Khuda Aur Mohabbat star met a spree of Bollywood celebrities there. From Aishwarya Rai to Jaaved Jaafery and Amaal Malik.

    Sadia Khan narrates her cutest fan moment with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

    On the work front, Mehwish is all set to play the role of Pakistan’s first and only female Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in her forthcoming film. She will also be seen next in Humayun Saeed’s London Nahi Jaunga.

  • Govt plans to provide gas three times a day for cooking only

    The government has decided to provide gas to the residential sector only three times a day for cooking purposes throughout December to March to minimise gas shortages in Pakistan, reports Dawn.

    “Gas to residential sector shall be provided three times a day for cooking only,” the meeting was informed by the Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Divi­sion), who added that Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas (RLNG) diversion to domestic consumers is to be made bare minimum for stability.

    Gas supply to power and fertiliser sectors of the country is expected to remain stable. Their supply and demand would remain unchanged.

    This was all decided by Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCoE) during a meeting presided over by Minister for Planning and Develop­ment Asad Umar. This is part of the Gas Load Management Plan for winter 2021-22, which was presented to the committee.

    It should be noted that the world is experiencing a fuel and gas shortage as recently it has been reported that the United States (US) government urged its citizens to leave Haiti because of the severe lack of fuel and closing down of gas stations in the country that have affected hospitals, schools, and banks.

    During the meeting, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) also presented their additional measures against illegal gains and other revised rules according to which fines have been revised for licensees. The maximum penalty for major violations now starts from Rs10 million to Rs500 million.

    Like every year, Pakistan is expected to be hit by a major gas crisis, reports Geo News.

    One of the reasons is that local discoveries of gas have witnessed a dip, so the domestic gas reserves are reduced, the sources explained, adding that the local gas supply stood at 4,300 mmcfd a few years back but now it has depleted and stands at 3,300 mmcfd.