It seems even pets of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and Sindh Governor Imran Ismail enjoy police protocol in Karachi.
According to a video that went viral on social media, a dog can be seen enjoying a ride in a government SUV on the roads of the provincial capital, with its head hanging out of the window.
A police vehicle is also seen tailing the Prado as a part of its security protocol. No one can be seen accompanying the dog in the video, but the governor says that his family members were travelling in the vehicle when the video was shot.
The video was posted by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Taimoor Talpur. Talpur said that he filmed the video after he came out of the Chief Minister House following a meeting, as per a report in Geo News.
Subsequently, a clarification was issued by the governor on Twitter. Ismail clarified the police mobile was accompanying the vehicle to protect his family that was also travelling in it. “The police van was not there for protocol but to protect the family,” he said, adding that it is a “frivolous move” to make such videos.
“The person [Talpur] who made the video is part of a corrupt government,” he alleged.
Transparency International (TI) — a Berlin-based international non-governmental organisation combating global corruption — on Thursday released a new report, according to which, the country under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, for the second consecutive year, has witnessed more corruption than it did in the outgoing year of the former ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
According to TI’s global report on the 2020 Corruption Perception Index (CPI), while Pakistan’s ranking and CPI score in 2019 dropped from 117 to 120 and from 33 to 32, respectively, the ranking has now fallen down to 123 and CPI score to 31 in 2020.
The report comes at a time when the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan-led government boasts of the success of its promised accountability drive against opposition lawmakers and government officials. The same has time and again been termed as “political victimisation” by those on the radar of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
Before the second consecutive drop, Pakistan witnessed a slight improvement in the 2018 CPI, scoring a point higher than in 2017 but remaining unchanged in the rankings. The country scored 33 out of 100 on the index — one point better than its score of 32 in 2017 and 2016. Its ranking, however, remained unchanged at 117 out of 180 countries, in 2018.
TI’s annual report on CPI is formulated on the basis of input from 13 international agencies. In the case of Pakistan, however, the assessment of eight agencies is taken into account. These include the World Economic Forum Executive Opinion Survey; the World Bank Country Policy and Institutional Assessment; the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index; the Bertelsmann Stiftung Transformation Index; the Economist Intelligence Unit Country Risk Service; the Global Insight Country Risk Ratings; the IMD World Competitiveness Center World Competitiveness Yearbook Executive Opinion Survey; and the Varieties of Democracy project’s findings.
Pakistan in the last 11 years had improved its index score from 23 in 2010 to 33 in 2018. However, never in the said time period had Pakistan been assessed to have performed negatively when compared to the previous year, which has now happened twice.
Priyanka Chopra-Jonas has said that she has expressed her deep remorse for promoting skin-whitening creams in her upcoming memoir Unfinished. The book is scheduled to release on February 9 and will chronicle Priyanka’s childhood, facing racism during her teenage years in the US, winning Miss India and Miss World, and the challenges she faced while navigating a career in Bollywood and Hollywood.
Speaking to Marie Claire, Chopra-Jonas, said: [Skin lightening] was so normalized in South Asia; it’s such a large industry that everyone was doing it. In fact, doing it is still a check [mark] when you are a female actor, but it’s awful.”
“And it was awful for me, for a little girl who used to put talcum-powder cream on my face because I believed that dark skin was not pretty,” she said, adding that she hated being described as “dusky” by industry influencers and the media.
Priyanka further shared that her new sustainable beauty brand, ‘Anomaly’, is a metaphor for the self-acceptance she’s finally found. She is hopeful that men and women today don’t feel like they have to live up to the restrictive beauty standards that she used to.
“I’m an anomaly, and everyone else is in their own way,” says the actor.
Meanwhile, talking about her journey and accomplishments, Priyanka said: “For that girl who was so scared, I’m proud of the person that I evolved into. I dealt with a lot, and I came out thriving. I want little girls around the world to think about that. It doesn’t matter where you come from; it doesn’t matter what your circumstances are. Your grit matters, your ambition matters, your perseverance matters.”
Earlier on 2015, while talking to journalist Barkha Dutt about endorsing fairness creams, Priyanka had said: “I felt really bad about it, that’s why I stopped doing it.”
“All my cousins are gora-chitta (fair) I was the one who turned out dusky because my dad is dusky. Just for fun, my Punjabi family would call me ‘kaali, kaali, kaali’. At 13, I wanted to put fairness creams and wanted my complexion changed,” she shared further.
Later, sharing a screenshot of Priyanka’s statement on her Instagram story, Iqra Aziz wrote, “When will we [regret endorsing fairness creams]?”
It is pertinent to add here that Iqra is one of the few female Pakistani actors who has not endorsed a fairness product. Her husband Yasir Hussain had publicly lauded her for rejecting a lucrative offer to represent a fairness cream brand.
Fahad Mustafa has condemned the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for ignoring Fawad Alam for a decade.
“If you want to witness what a failure of our system really is, watch Fawad Alam playing like a champ that he really is. We have wasted 10 years of this incredibly talented athlete,” wrote Fahad on social media.
If you want to witness what a failure of our system really is watch @iamfawadalam25 playing like a champ that he really is. We have wasted 10 years of this incredibly talented athlete.@TheRealPCBpic.twitter.com/yDS0o9YLV2
Fawad, who was ignored for almost eleven years, has gone on to score a century during the Pakistan vs South Africa series, happening in Karachi. This is the cricketer’s third century. He scored his first in 2009 when he hit 168 on his Test debut against Sri Lanka while opening the innings. Since then Alam has played just six Tests having made a comeback in 2020. He scored his second hundred in New Zealand during the Pakistan vs New Zealand Test series after he got a chance to play when Babar Azam was ruled out due to his thumb injury.
Meanwhile, Pakistanis including celebrities, politicians and sports analysts cannot stop praising Alam for his brilliant feat and many have called out the previous selectors for ignoring his talent.
Fawad Alam resilience is exemplary. Shining star indeed!!! A hall mark of talent & hard work. Shine on & make Pak proud.
Fawad Alam = resilience we can all learn from his journey to never give up & only focus on hardwork till your last breath in life not only cricket #PAKvsSA
Superb performance Fawad Alam!!! @iamfawadalam25 Brilliant Knock!!!! Not only justifying his inclusion but also raising questions why he has been out of the test team for so long. A great innings and hope he remains consistent. Keep Rocking!!! Very well done!!!
What a gratifying story. Every time I see Fawad Alam score runs, my heart rejoices. 10 years denied him will never be returned, but all we can do is celebrate these apogee moments with him. Well played; #Fawadever .
Fawad Alam is the sign of a fighter, Pakistan was 27 for 4, under pressure at home but the experience stands tall of Fawad against South Africa and he brings up hundred from 220 balls including 8 fours and 2 sixes. What a knock, one of the best. #PAKvSApic.twitter.com/DUpzNWNUWi
SO FREAKING HAPPY FOR FAWAD ALAM!! A fighting century! Showed what it is to have home ground advantage- scrappy- gritty- brilliant knock under pressure! Nobody deserves it more than him- the hero we all needed to save this match. #PAKvsSA#fawadalam
What a comeback from Pakistan on day 2! Fawad Alam leading the way with Azhar, Rizwan and Faheem playing key knocks. We’ve got a decent lead and with the rough built outside the left handers off stump things look tough for SA. Well played Pakistan ❤️#PAKvsSA
Good morning *|MERGE1|*. It’s the 27th of January. And it’s Wednesday — a day that makes you look forward to the weekend. Today is the second day of the first PAKvSA Test. Having bowled the visitors out for 220, Pakistan is at 33 for 4 at stumps. There will be plenty of sunshine in all major cities except Peshawar where it will be cloudy.
Morning Meme
‘Saudi crown prince desperate for patch up with Pakistan while Imran, Gen Bajwa may have moved on,’ claims journalist
Hamaare aik senior sahafi Usama Ghazi ka kehna hai ke Saudi Arabia is desperate to improve ties with Pakistan as it needs to get closer to the new Biden administration in the US. Iske ilaawa unhon ne aur bhi bohot kuch claim kia hai. To learn more, checkout the story below.
Hussain Nawaz challenges govt to trace Sharifs’ alleged $1 billion
Mian sahab ke baitay Hussain Nawaz has challenged that the government can keep 90 per cent of the amount if it can trace the $1 billion allegedly stashed by the Sharif family in offshore accounts.
Ayeza Khan says she always wanted a husband ‘jis per saari larkian marti hon’
In a recent interview with Ahsan Khan, Ayeza Khan and Dainsh Taimoor opened about their relationship, and interview mein Ayeza Khan said ke she always wanted a husband jis per saari larkian marti hon. Danish Taimoor said ke one should not disclose their relationship before marriage.
Good news is that CDA has decided to impose a complete ban on shooting stray dogs in Islamabad. We hope a similar ban is imposed in other cities too because we should not be cruel to animals
Today you may face a loss in your past investments, as your ex will ask you to return all the gifts they have given you.
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Federal Information Minister Shibli Faraz was on Wednesday caught visibly annoyed on camera when he expressed displeasure over his colleague and Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s special assistant, Dr Shahbaz Gill, having an informal conversation with media persons.
In videos of the episode doing the rounds on social media, Faraz was seen asking Gill as to what he was doing.
“I was just giving them [journalists] economy-related points,” PM’s aide tells the government spokesperson over which the latter tells him that he was headed for the scheduled post-meeting presser.
WATCH VIDEO:
“If you want to talk to journalists, join me for the press conference,” the information minister can be heard as adding after saying that it was his job but Gill had been doing so for quite some time.
“I won’t join you [for the presser],” Gill says after continuing to explain for a while that he was only updating journalists on facts and figures regarding the country’s debts.
“Then don’t,” the information minister says and storms out, leaving Gill rather embarrassed in front of media persons.
It may be noted that Faraz is the third information minister after Fawad Chaudhry and Firdous Ashiq Awan, who discharged her duties as the pemier’s special assistant on information in the absence of a minister.
Gill, on the other hand, was called to centre after spending some time in Punjab as Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar’s spokesperson.
After a powerful acting debut in Hum TV’s Raqeeb Se, Hadiqa Kiani has enthralled fans with her first qawaali Jaanay Iss Dil.
In an exclusive interview with The Current, Hadiqa revealed that Jaanay Iss Dil is Indo-Pak’s “first-ever female qawwali“.
The composition is nothing like anything has Kiani has ever done before. The award-winning singer collaborated with the legendary qawaali icon, late Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s patent Tabla player, Ustad Dildar Hussain for Jaanay Iss Dil.
“Qawaali is indeed the purest form of music. Having had the opportunity to jump into a genre that is somewhat outside my comfort zone, I have an even greater appreciation for the art that is Qawaali,” said Kiani while talking about her latest venture. “The opportunity to work with Ustad Dildar Hussain, someone who has been an important part of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s entourage was nothing short of extraordinary.”
Later, while celebrating the qawwali’s success and the response it got, Hadiqa said that “this was a project of love”, adding that she is grateful that her audiences “were able to connect to our message through the power of pure music.”
“No auto-tuners, no heavy machines, just the beauty of our regional music, our language, our instruments,” she added.
Meanwhile, the poetry of the qawwali has been selected by Abrar Hussain and verses of numerous classic poets have been incorporated to enrich it with Girah Bundi.
The qawwali has been musically arranged and recorded live by one of Pakistan’s leading music producers and Hadiqa’s long-time collaborator and brother, Irfan Kiani, without the use of click track or auto-tuners. Kiani also incorporated the all-elusive Sarangi instrument to add to the beauty of this qawaali. The sound has been mixed and mastered by Eva Kiani.
The qawaali has been produced by Mian Yousaf Salahuddin for Sufiscore and has been visually captured by director Abdullah Haris. Mohsin Naveed Ranjha did the wardrobe while Shahama Sajid designed the set.
The National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) has finalized the COVID-19 vaccination strategy as the country expects the first batch of a Chinese vaccine by January 31.
The government has approved three COVID-19 vaccines including Russia’s Sputnik-V, China’s Sinopharm and UK’s Oxford-AstraZeneca so far.
Here is a step-by-step guide to get coronavirus vaccine:
Step 1: Citizens including frontline healthcare workers will send CNIC number to 1166 through SMS or use NIMS website for registration.
Step 2: After necessary verification, designated AVC (Adult Vaccine Centre) (based on “Present Address” and PIN Code will be sent to the citizen through SMS)
Step 3: If the designated AVC is outside the current tehsil of the citizen, he/ she can change the designated health facility by visiting NIMS web portal or by calling 1166 helpline within 5 days of receipt of the first SMS.
Step 4: Upon availability of vaccine at the Designated Vaccination Centre, SMS will be sent to the citizen to intimate appointment date for vaccine administration.
Step 5: After successful registration, the citizen will visit AVC on date of appointment along with original CNIC and received PIB Code (mandatory).
Step 6: Vaccination staff will verify the CNIC and PIN code.
Step 7: After successful verification, the citizen will be vaccinated. Upon vaccine administration, vaccination staff will enter the details in NIMS and confirmation message will be sent to the citizen through SMS. Citizen will stay in AVC for 30 min for the post-inoculation monitoring.
Step 8: Real-time dashboard for the federal, provincial and district health department will be generated automatically.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker Raja Riaz has asked the prime minister to make estranged PTI leader Jahangir Khan Tareen the chairman of the committee formed to choose candidates for the upcoming Senate elections.
During a parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday with PM Imran Khan in the chair, the PTI lawmaker, who hails from Faisalabad, said that Tareen’s services for the PTI cannot be ignored and demanded that the senior leader be made the head of the committee.
He also asked the PM to include Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Amir Kiyani, and Ijaz Chaudhry in the body formed to choose Senate candidates.
In November last year, Tareen, who had drifted away from Imran Khan after he was named in a sugar scam, had returned to Pakistan after spending five months in London.
Tareen, once a close confidant of PM Imran Khan, had a falling out with the prime minister and party leaders after he was named in an inquiry ordered by the PM over hike in sugar prices. The report made public by the government had named other politicians as well.
A news report claimed that Tareen took this decision to end his self-imposed exile after Imran assured him a free trial about the ongoing issues among other things.
Following the report against Tareen, Raja Riaz had defended him at the time as well. He had warned of huge loss to the PTI if Jahangir Tareen parted his ways with the party. He had claimed that some people were providing wrong information to PM Imran Khan about Tareen.
