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  • Board exams to be held after June 15, announces Shafqat Mahmood

    Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood has announced that board exams will start after June 15 with priority for Grade 12 and 10 so that they can take admissions in universities without any delay.

    The minister said the decision was taken in an Interprovincial Education Ministers Conference (IPEMC) that took place on Wednesday.

    “Intermediate and Matric exams would be given priority so that results can come in before university admissions,” said Mahmood, adding that respective boards will announce the exact date of the exams later.

    In lieu of rising cases of COVID-19, Shafqat Mehmood earlier announced that no examinations will take place in the country until June 15. The decision came after increased pressure by students for the cancellation of exams.

    However, after the cancellation of exams, students are now demanding Teacher and School Assessed Grades, arguing that their study schedules have been disrupted because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

  • ‘You won’t be able to escape, I will kill you’ says Mayra’s alleged killer

    ‘You won’t be able to escape, I will kill you’ says Mayra’s alleged killer

    A 24-year-old girl, Mayra Zulfiqar, was found dead in Lahore on Monday. She had recently been threatened by two men who both wanted to marry her.

    Prior to her brutal murder, she had asked police for protection after accusing a man of abducting her at gunpoint.

    In Pakistan, the chief investigating officer in the murder inquiry told the BBC that police teams were targeting addresses in Islamabad and Lahore. So far no arrest had been made.

    In a police report filed before her murder, Ms Zulfiqar named and accused a man of abducting her at gunpoint and attempting to sexually assault her.

    She said she managed to run away by alerting people around but the man threatened her, saying “You won’t be able to escape, I will kill you.”

    Mayra’s uncle Mohammad Nazeer found her body after receiving a phone call from her father, who lives in London, to say she had been killed.

    The initial postmortem report said that Mayra had received two bullets, one to her neck and another to her arm.

    Mayra Zulfiqar’s funeral took place in Lahore, while a special memorial service has been held at a mosque in Hounslow, west London. Her brother Faizan Muhammad said his father had left for Pakistan

    The deceased woman had arrived from the UK, where her family is settled, some two months back and shared the upper portion of the rented house with a friend. Police have taken her housemate into custody as part of the probe.

    Late on Monday, Defence-B police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against two purported friends of Mayra on murder charges on the complaint of the deceased woman’s uncle.

    In a statement, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said, “our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time. We are urgently seeking more information from the local authorities.”

  • Ayeza Khan was reportedly not the first choice for Meenu in ‘Chupke Chupke’

    Ayeza Khan was reportedly not the first choice for Meenu in ‘Chupke Chupke’

    With Chupke Chupke continuing to dominate television ratings and Ayeza Khan receiving a lot of appreciation for her performance as Meenu, it has been revealed that Khan was not the first choice for the character of Maneeha Kifayat Ali.

    Read more – ‘Chupke Chupke’: Feenu, Hashi and the evil nands keep the madness going

    As per reports, Sohai Ali Abro was the first choice and the actor had even shot a few scenes for the drama before the shoot was halted due to COVID-19 and lockdowns. Later, Abro had to exit the show due to personal reasons.

    A source also confirmed to The Current that Sohai was the original choice for the character.

    Meanwhile, netizens are divided over Ayeza’s casting in the show. While many are praising her for her performance, there are some who are criticising the makers for casting Khan as a young, 20-something clumsy girl, given that she has two children and her last roles in Meharposh and Meray Paas Tum Ho were mature ones.

    Written by Saima Akram Chaudhry of Suno Chanda fame and directed by Danish Nawaz, Chupke Chupke airs on Hum TV at 9 pm daily. The ensemble cast also includes Osman Khalid Butt, Mira Sethi, Asma Abbas, Uzma Beg, Arslan Naseer, Aymen Saleem, Ali Safina and Salman Mani Shaikh among others.

  • Javeria Abbasi explains stepsibling relationship with ex-husband Shamoon Abbasi

    Javeria Abbasi, who is currently being lauded for her performance in Tanaa Baana, recently opened up on her complicated relationship with ex-husband Shamoon Abbasi.

    Talking to Nida Yasir on her Ramzan special show Shaan e Suhoor, Abbasi explained how Shamoon is not only her former husband but also her stepbrother.

    Yasir explained to the viewers that Javeria’s mother and Shamoon’s father were married which makes them stepsiblings but they both had different sets of parents. The host further clarified that Javeria was the child of her mother’s first husband and Shamoon was child of his father’s first wife. The two also have siblings together.

    Javeria said that Shamoon was the only man she ever knew and that their marriage lasted for 10 years. The former couple had welcomed their first child after two years of marriage.

    The veteran also joked that when she got married, her mother, who was also her mother-in-law gave her a tough time because she wanted to prove that her daughter can do anything.

    “I used to work 12 hours a day [on set] and then after coming back home, I used to prepare the food and iron clothes as well.”

    Javeria also shared that Shamoon and her began their career together and that she was fortunate that she did not have to go through the casting couch.

    Meanwhile, Yasir also revealed that a drama serial titled Hum Tum was also made inspired by Javeria’s life and relationships.

  • Sumbul Shahid loses battle with COVID

    Sumbul Shahid loses battle with COVID

    Veteran actor and Bushra Ansari and Asma Abbas’ elder sister Sumbul Shahid has passed away after a long battle with COVID. The actor has been on the ventilator for several days now with Bushra and Asma requesting fans and followers for prayers.

    According to reports, Shahid was admitted in a local hospital in Lahore. Further details are not known as yet.

    Sumbul was last seen in Nand in which she played Faiza Hassan and Shahroz Sabzwari’s mother.

    Asad Siddiqui took to Instagram stories to announce the demise of Sumbul Shahid. He wrote: “Zara’s Khala Sumbul Shahid passed away. Please pray for her and the family.”

    Later celebrities turned to their social media to pay tribute to the departed soul.

  • Crystal artist Sara Shakeel makes it to ‘British Vogue’

    Crystal artist Sara Shakeel, who has been making waves with her artwork in Pakistan, has been featured in British Vogue. Sara’s crystal magic on Billie Eilish’s pictures caught the attention of the bestselling magazine, which then interviewed Sara about her work and process.

    “Little did I know, my love and mad respect for Billie Eilish would land me an interview with one of my favourite magazines British Vogue,” said Sara, while sharing a screengrab of her interview in Vogue.

    Speaking to the publication about her Eilish artwork, Shakeel said: “It’s the first time we have seen Billie in this way, so I wanted to create something new for her.”

    “I don’t care who the person is, as long as they inspire me,” said Sara further, adding: “No matter how ordinary someone or something is, I try to make it extraordinary.”

    Talking about the love and appreciation she receives, Sara said: “I’m a happy-go-lucky person who never dreamt of being famous, but now I’m so humbled; my work exists because of them.”

    Meanwhile, this is not the first time Sara made waves internationally. In December 2020, she collaborated with French luxury brand Lancôme for their digital Christmas campaign, which featured Hollywood celebrities Julia Roberts and Amanda Seyfried. 

  • PML-N wins PP-84 Khushab by-poll

    PML-N wins PP-84 Khushab by-poll

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Moazzam Sher Kallu has won the PP-84 Khushab by-election with a significant margin. Kallu came out on top with 73,081 votes and retained the seat that was vacated after the death of PML-N lawmaker Malik Muhammad Waris Kallu in March.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Ali Hussain Baloch was the runner-up with 62,903 votes. Kallu’s margin of victory is 10,178 votes.

    PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif congratulated the public and winning candidate Moazzam Sher Kallu. “The people of Khushab have rejected the wheat and sugar thieves,” Sharif was quoted

    Maryam Nawaz celebrated the Khushab victory on Twitter. She said “people in every city have declared Nawaz Sharif’s victory” and derided those who wanted to “minus Nawaz Sharif”.

    “Look at the works of Allah! Only Nawaz Sharif is left [standing], while everyone else has been cut out,” added Maryam.

    A total of eight candidates stood in the race. Besides the PML-N and PTI candidates, PPP’s Ghulam Habib Ahmed was in the running, as well the banned TLP’s Asghar Ali. The independents included Amjad Raza, Aurangzeb, Imran Haider Khan, and Ilyas Khan Azad.

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said in a statement that “no untoward situation of law and order has been reported at the polling station”.

    Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari congratulated the President PML-N Shehbaz Sharif, for the win in PP-84 by-polls.

  • People are demanding more Cocomo in one packet

    When lawyer and analyst Reema Omer posted a Twitter update complaining about getting only three Cocomos in a 5-rupee packet, little did she know that her tweet would blow up and people would start demanding PML-N’s Miftah Ismail [owner of Bisconni] to investigate the matter.

    Omer also posted a video to prove that she received only three Cocomo instead of the promised four.

    In an exclusive interview with The Current, Ismail had said that there are supposed to be four cocomos in each packet. The businessman turned politician said that he wants to have at least five in each packet but due to an increase in the price of ingredients used, they cannot afford to increase the number of cocomos in one packet.

    Meanwhile, PML-N’s Maiza Hameed Gujjar promised that when the party wins the NA-249 recount, she will request Ismail to add “one more cocomo” in the packet.

    Others including Ali Gul Pir demanded answers from Ismail.

  • Amazon’s entry to Pakistan expected to create thousands of jobs

    Amazon’s entry to Pakistan expected to create thousands of jobs

    Amazon has finally added Pakistan to its list of seller countries with Pakistanis now able to create accounts using Pakistani credentials and details.

    As per details, several officials including Aisha Moriani (Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce), Omer Gajial (Ex-Amazon Category Development Head for Amazon North America division), and Shoaib Sarwar (deputy Consul General, Consulate General Pakistan, Los Angeles) along with the team members of NECC (National Ecommerce Council) and Badar Khushnood from Pakistan Software Houses Association have played an important role in this development.

    This is a huge milestone and will transform Pakistan’s economy as more sellers from the country will visit the platform.

    Earlier, advisor to Prime Minister (PM) Iman Khan on Commerce and Trade, Abdul Razak Dawood stressed that e-commerce has changed the business practice and that Pakistan must pay attention to it.

    Besides, after COVID-19 e-commerce practices have increased by many folds, and it is a great oppertunity for women, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs.

    On this occasion, Special Assitant to PM, Dr Shahbaz Gill said: “The contemporary government has achieved a milestone that the country had been unable to achieve for more than ten years.”

    “Pakistan will enter into the global market, and it will generate economic activity of millions, that will also create many employment opportunities, thank you, Imran Khan,” he added.

    In addition, Pakistan’s largest EdTech platform, Extreme Commerce has trained millions of people for Amazon selling and trading and complete e-commerce.

    The company has said that “The new era of e-commerce boom for Pakistan is about to start. Get your agencies ready for more business, aa you are about to get flooded with Pakistani manufacturers and brands who would need your services to take them to Amazon. Do your best, do not let the brand Pakistan down ever again, please.”

    In less than 24-48 hours, Pakistan will hopefully show up in the list of allowed countries for Amazon sellers. You…

    Posted by Extreme Commerce on Wednesday, May 5, 2021

  • PM chastises envoys for indifferent attitude towards expats

    PM chastises envoys for indifferent attitude towards expats

    Prime Minister Imran Khan virtually addressed Pakistani ambassadors and high commissioners from across the globe on Wednesday.

    PM tweeted that he told all Pakistani missions abroad that their priority “must be the welfare and well-being of our greatest asset, overseas Pakistanis”.

    “Overseas Pakistanis are precious assets of the country,” the premier said, adding that it is unfortunate that Pakistani ambassadors do not treat them well.

     He read out complaints received on Citizens Portal and condemned the “callousness and insensitivity” displayed by embassy workers.

    “Expats face unnecessary delays and complications in availing routine services,” PM Imran said. He further added that complain resolution of the embassy is mostly firefighting and lacks a passion to solve these issues. “The job of embassies is to serve their citizens.”

    PM had recently recalled Pakistan’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Raja Ali Ejaz and six staff members after reports of their alleged mistreatment of the Pakistani expat community surfaced. The Foreign Office said there is zero tolerance for any lapse in public service delivery. “The feedback provided by Pakistani expats living in Saudi Arabia was shocking,” said PM. He added that an indifferent attitude towards the expat community is “unforgivable”.

    PM Imran in particular acknowledged the services of labour working abroad in tough conditions . “These workers deserve our utmost respect and the government will not spare anyone misbehaving with them.”

    Former diplomats react to PM’s comments

    Former Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua tweeted she was deeply dismayed at the unwarranted criticism of the foreign ministry.

    Former Foreign Secretary and Ambassador of Pakistan to the US Jalil Abbas Jilani does not completely agree with PM Imran. In a tweet, the former diplomat said that he wished the PM was properly briefed about working of Missions. “Services like attestation of degrees, marriage certificates, licenses etc are referred to HEC, Interior or Provincial govts for verification. You don’t get timely response. Hence delays. Blaming envoys unfair.”

    Jilani also said that the foreign service of Pakistan suffers from “decades of neglect, political paralysis and resource constraints”.

    Jilani and Janjua were not the only former diplomats to be irked by PM’s comments. Former Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir also tweeted that PM’s ire and critique of the foreign ministry and envoys is misplaced.