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  • Imran announces Rs30 billion subsidy for Naya Pakistan housing

    Imran announces Rs30 billion subsidy for Naya Pakistan housing

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has announced Rs30 billion in subsidy for his government’s flagship Naya Pakistan housing scheme project in line with helping the underprivileged class build their own homes.

    Addressing the nation after chairing a meeting of the National Coordination Committee on Housing, Construction, and Development, PM Imran on Friday said the scheme was aimed at the “working class, the welder, the small shop owner, who do not have a lot of money to build their own houses”.

    “The goal of the Naya Pakistan housing scheme was to construct houses for this strata of the society, which doesn’t have cash.”

    “We faced many hindrances while launching the scheme due to some existing legislation, such as the foreclosure law, which allows banks not to lend out money without a confirmation of repayment.”

    “[However] despite a lot of hurdles, we were successful in passing the law for Pakistan, which is now implemented around the world,” he said.

    The prime minister also spoke of the construction sector, saying it faced a lot of obstacles, but that the NCC had worked on formulating policies for its revival.

    “We have decided to revive our economy with housing and construction industry so that people can get jobs and we can generate revenue in times of global recession and pandemic,” he noted.

    “I, myself, will preside this meeting every week to supervise the working and progress of the committee regarding the Naya Pakistan housing scheme.”

    “We only have time till December 31 to provide incentives to the construction industry,” he added.

    PM Imran explained that under the Naya Pakistan housing scheme, Rs30 billion had been allocated as a subsidy, which would translate into Rs300,000 for each of the 100,000 households during the first phase of the programme.

    A 5% interest is levied on a five-marla house and 7% for 10-marla, he noted. “We have also directed the SBP [State Bank of Pakistan] to keep 5% of the portfolio for the construction industry, which is calculated to be Rs330 billion,” he said.

  • VIDEO: KP police constable rescues stray dog from canal

    VIDEO: KP police constable rescues stray dog from canal

    A video doing rounds on the internet shows a police constable rescuing a dog from a canal. Superintendent (SP) Hassan Jahangir Wattoo took to Twitter to applaud the police constable.

    He shared the video with the caption, ‘A dog fell into a canal and couldn’t get out. A KP Police Constable can be seen rescuing it to safety. Kindness towards all living beings is our motto.’

    In the video, the police officer can be seen pulling the animal from the canal as the stray dog was struggling to come out.

    People on the internet cannot stop praising the police constable for his kindness towards the animal.

  • A.R. Rahman weaves his magic in the title track of ‘Dil Bechara’

    A.R. Rahman weaves his magic in the title track of ‘Dil Bechara’

    Music maestro A.R. Rehman has weaved his magic, yet again, in the title track of Dil Bechara, which also happens to be Sushant Singh Rajput’s swansong (the final performance or activity of a person’s career). Rajput’s untimely demise by suicide on June 14, broke hearts across the world.

    Read more – Trailer of Sushant Singh Rajput’s last film ‘Dil Bechara’ trends at number one on YouTube Pakistan

    As the film gears up to stream on July 24, the makers of the film and the streaming platform are doing all they can to honour Sushant’s memory and make this film a heartwarming experience for this fans. When the trailer of the film released earlier this week, it set a new YouTube record by becoming the most-liked trailer ever in 24 hours – with 6.4 million likes – beating Hollywood blockbuster Avengers: Endgame. It also garnered more than 30 million views within 24 hours of being released besides also receiving millions of views on other social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram.

    The title track of the film, also titled Dil Bechara, has been composed, produced, arranged and sung by Rahman while the lyrics have been penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya. The tune has been composed with Rahman’s signature style and will at some point remind you of his other superhit song: Masakali from the Abhishek Bachchan-Sonam Kapoor starrer Delhi 6. It is infectious and you will definitely find yourself humming it.

    Talking about the song and the rest of the album, Rahman said: “It was a great experience collaborating with Mukesh [the director] on this film; his enthusiasm is infectious. This whole album is carefully curated because the film has so much heart, and now, memories of Sushant. It was a pleasure to work with lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya on this soundtrack of love. The songs are eclectic and feature an amazing line-up of India’s top singers and musicians. I hope you will like the album.”

    The Oscar and Grammy-winning Indian composer added that all the music he has worked on for the film is filled with memories of late actor.

    The song has been choreographed by Farah Khan, who revealed that Sushant shot the entire song in one take. Sushant was a gifted dancer and the actor perfectly demonstrated his skills in the song with fluid movements and flexibility.

    Farah also shared why this song was special for her.

    “This song is particularly close to me because it was the first time I was choreographing Sushant,” said the award-winning choreographer. “We were friends for a long time but never worked together. I had also promised Mukesh that when he makes his directorial debut I would do a song for him.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CCc9QDrAOmN/

    Chabbra also shared that Farah did not charge a penny for her services.

    Though the makers of the film announced that they will only be releasing the title track on June 10, they later dropped the entire music album of the movie. Unfortunately, it is not available to stream in Pakistan.

    Dil Bechara, which also stars Sanjana Sanghi, is the official Hindi remake of 2014 Hollywood romantic drama The Fault in our Stars. It has been directed by renowned casting director Mukesh Chhabra, who makes his directorial debut with the film.

    The film is slated to release digitally on July 24 on Disney+ Hotstar. As a tribute to the late actor, the film will be made available to everyone including non-subscribers. It was initially scheduled to release on May 8 but due to the coronavirus pandemic, its release was pushed.

  • Did COVID-19 peak in Pakistan in June?

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (PM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza on July 1 said that the number of coronavirus cases was rapidly increasing by mid-June but the country was now in a better position than it was two weeks ago in the continuing battle against COVID-19.

    “The ratio of confirmed infections has gone down from 22% to 15% while the number of suspected cases has also decreased,” the premier’s aide said in an interview, adding that the rate of fatalities was also lower than before.

    READ: Govt is grossly under-reporting coronavirus deaths and infections: PM’s task force head

    Dr Mirza maintained that the government was to now determine over the next couple of days if Pakistan had passed the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak or was still only heading towards it. “If the situation remains stable in the coming days and the number of coronavirus cases continues to decrease, it would be good news for us.”    

    While the number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan is steadily declining amid selective lockdowns across the country and an increase in the number of recovered patients, it is not necessarily due to a decline in the rate of infections and an alleged lower testing rate could be the actual reason.

    However, according to official numbers, in June, a total of 140,726 confirmed cases of coronavirus were reported in Pakistan with at least 2,804 deaths.

    The second week of the said month proved to be the worst in terms of infections as 40,604 were reported. The third week was the most deadly as at least 856 people lost their lives to the virus.

    The last week of June saw 24,324 infections while the number of fatalities stood at 591 — 40 more than those recorded in the first week of the same month.

    It merits a mention that while PM Imran Khan and some members of his team, including senior doctors and other health experts, seem to believe that the virus peaked in Pakistan, especially in Punjab, during the second week of June and the curve has now started to flatten, Pakistan on Friday overtook Italy to become the 11th worst affected country from COVID-19.

  • Asim Azhar responds to plagiarism allegations

    Asim Azhar responds to plagiarism allegations

    Not too long ago, Asim Azhar was celebrating 100 million views on YouTube on his song Jo Tu Na Mila and now the same song is embroiled in a plagiarism controversy.

    According to social media users, Jo Tu Na Mila has been loosely copied from Studio Ghibli’s Kiki’s Delivery Service. Kiki’s Delivery Service is a 1989 Japanese animated film about a young witch, Kiki, who moves to a new town and uses her flying ability to earn a living. The soundtrack of the anime was composed by Joe Hisaishi.

    https://twitter.com/starryasui/status/1281198862577864708?s=20
    https://twitter.com/notsoblondegirl/status/1281238555365425162?s=20

    After the allegations surfaced, Asim while speaking to a local media publication said that the rights for the music had been acquired through legal means.

    “That part of the song has been sampled through proper and legal means under Universal Music India, who released the song,” he said, adding, “Such a big company won’t let such a big release go just like that.”

    It is pertinent to mention here that the song’s music in the video is licensed to UMG (on behalf of Universal Music India).

    Jo Tu Na Mila is a love ballad which talks about unrequited love. The song, which features Iqra Aziz, has been composed and sung by Asim while the lyrics have been penned by Kunaal Vermaa.

    Listen to the song here:

  • Teenager accidentally kills himself while recording TikTok video

    Teenager accidentally kills himself while recording TikTok video

    A student of 10th grade accidentally shot himself while recording a video for TikTok.

    As per reports, the boy Abdul Samad, a resident of Abbottabad was filming a video with a pistol when he accidentally pulled the trigger, critically injuring himself.

    The body was taken to a nearby hospital for medico-legal formalities. The body of the deceased has been handed over to the family after post-mortem.

    TikTok is a Chinese video-sharing social networking application used to create short dance, lip-sync, comedy and talent videos.

  • Man’s fourth wife beats him for marrying a minor for fifth time

    Man’s fourth wife beats him for marrying a minor for fifth time

    A resident of Okara allegedly married a minor after which he was mishandled by his previous wife in public.

    According to reports, the man named Jamal was getting married for the fifth time to a 13-year-old girl. He had already married and divorced four women in the past. The woman who assaulted Jamal claimed that she was his fourth wife.

    The fourth wife had brought along marriage and divorce documents of Jamal’s previous marriages.

    She said that the man has had a history of such short-term marriages and had a reputation for marrying and divorcing women after a few days.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtCHlBcmaWA
  • US bans PIA

    US bans PIA

    Following footsteps of the European Union (EU), the United States on Thursday banned all flights of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) with immediate effect.

    The US Transport Department said in a statement that special permission given to PIA had been suspended due to safety concerns.

    The move follows the grounding of 262 airline pilots in Pakistan over fake licences in a decision made by the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan.

    PIA said on Thursday it would ground pilots with “dubious” licences.

    As per sources, Kuwait Air has grounded at least seven Pakistani pilots and 56 engineers, while Qatar Airways, Oman Air and Vietnam Airlines have compiled lists of Pakistani pilots, engineers and ground staff.

    The UAE’s Emirates airline has also put a halt on all Pakistani airline flights, barring them from using the airports for destination and transit flights.

    This has been done after the Imran Khan-led government announced and notified various countries about the actions it took against the alleged 141 pilots, who have been grounded and were under investigation.

    As per officials of Kuwait Air, Omar Air and Vietnam Airlines, “employees whose name are on the lists will remain grounded till a report is received from the Pakistani authorities”.

    Moreover, the European Union (EU) has also put a ban on Pakistani airlines while many other Pakistani pilots working on other airlines have also been barred from flying till the investigation into the fake licenses is concluded and results are revealed by the Pakistan government.

    This action was taken after Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) wrote to foreign missions and global regulatory and safety bodies, notifying them that it grounded all 141 pilots suspected of obtaining licenses through unfair means.

    “It is also ensured that pilots flying PIA flights are having genuine licenses endorsed by the government of Pakistan and are in physical possession of the same during all domestic and international flights,” said a copy of the letter sent to the US Embassy in Islamabad.

    Pakistan grounded at least 262 pilots, 109 commercial and 153 airline transport pilots as an investigation to verify their license was initiated.

    The 262 pilots include 141 from PIA, nine from Air Blue, 10 from Serene Airlines and 17 from Shaheen Airlines, which has closed down.

    The step has brought global embarrassment for Pakistan as serious questions are bring raised over the safety of passengers, who use Pakistani airlines services for domestic and international travelling.

    On the other hand, the pilots whose names have been listed and have been grounded, have rejected the claim stating that the government’s issues list is based on wrong and false facts.

    “The list of grounded pilots has stated that many pilots were found guilty of falsely clearing nine papers, while there are eight papers in total required to get a pilot license from Civil Aviation Authority (CAA),” said one of the pilots whose name is in the list.

    “There are many others, who have not even given eight papers till now and are co-pilots, they have put their names in there too,” he added.

    As per Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) followed by the CAA, a pilot is required to pass all eight papers to become fully qualified, after completing at least 1,500 hours commercial flying time.

    Pilots association has called on the government to form a judicial commission and inquire into the matter, adding that they do not trust the transparency of the government-led investigation.

    The incumbent Pakistan government is also suffering to major criticism by the opposition political parties, who are now accusing the aviation minister and the government for bringing global embarrassment to the country.

  • Shah Mahmood Qureshi rubbishes rumours of his death after Wikipedia page edited

    Shah Mahmood Qureshi rubbishes rumours of his death after Wikipedia page edited

    Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who contracted COVID-19 last week, has rubbished rumours of his death after his Wikipedia profile was edited, and said there was no truth to them.

    In a statement issued on Thursday, the Foreign Office (FO) said that “mischievous” elements had edited Qureshi’s profile on the site. “Many complications were created, and it caused distress to my loved ones and family members,” FM Qureshi said in a separate statement, adding that he also started receiving phone calls.

    “There is no truth to these reports, and I am doing well,” he said.

    While Qureshi did not specify the changes that were made, the page’s history showed that the edits were made on July 5 to reflect that the foreign minister had died on July 4.

    “We strongly condemn attempts by mischievous elements to hack [the] Wikipedia page of the foreign minister and spread rumours on social media about his health and well-being,” said FO spokesperson Aisha Farooqui in a tweet.

    “By the grace of Almighty Allah, [Qureshi] is recovering fast. Everyone’s prayers, from Pakistan and abroad, are deeply appreciated.”

    The FM had tested positive for coronavirus on July 3 and announced quarantining himself.

  • Naumaan Ijaz slams Pakistani dramas for spreading negativity

    Naumaan Ijaz is not one to mince words and more often than not speaks his mind.

    Read more – Humayun Saeed vs Naumaan Ijaz: What’s going on?

    In a recent interview with director and producer Rafay Rashdi, Ijaz slammed Pakistani dramas for failing to educate audiences and being limited to the four walls of the house.

    Responding to Rafay’s question on how content has changed since he entered the industry, Ijaz said, “If you watch our dramas on YouTube or television, you will see that our characters move from the lounge to the drawing-room, from there to the kitchen and from the kitchen to the bedroom. And from the bedroom, it ends.”

    “They don’t want to go outside; they don’t even want to look outside the window. How many stories can you make within the four corners of a house?” asked Ijaz.

    Ijaz said that things took a turn for the worse after the arrival of private TV channels.

    “Almost all the issues they highlight are similar. Before these private channels came in, dramas used to come in from all four provinces. Because of which one got a chance to learn about their cultures, their customs, their folk stories, and sitting at home just watching those dramas you used to get so much knowledge.”

    Ijaz continued to slam private channels and said that nowadays, they only inform the audiences about how someone was having an affair with someone else’s husband or got married to some other irrelevant person. “Or you end up seeing someone take revenge from someone else for somebody else, or a mother hating on this person’s daughter. What is happening? What are we doing?” he said.

    Read more – Bushra Ansari says she is done with ‘saas-bahu’ dramas

    “Your dramas have diminished, you need to wake up! These people are just sleeping and feeding an empty box,” said the actor, adding that audiences nowadays have access to Netflix and Amazon Prime and that channels need to work harder to provide quality and informative content to them so that they return to Pakistani television.

    “You can’t hold the private/independent producer responsible, you are responsible – the broadcasters are responsible,” Ijaz pointed out. “I remember when Sultana aapa made her first private production which was on the concept of khula, it became so controversial that people stood up, it created awareness. But what is this father taking revenge from his son or mother taking revenge from her daughter or bahu, where does this happen?” said an exasperated Ijaz, adding that drama producers are not even attempting to educate their audiences.

    Ijaz added that through such dramas, private television channels are instilling hatred into the audience.

    “These kind of things happen on a small scale, but if you start showing such negativity on a channel watched by the masses, they will adopt it.”

    “I personally think our media should be hanged, they’re not educating anyone,” he remarked. “They think their audience is not smart enough, the audience has become aware but the media is still stuck. They are not interested in experimenting or growing – they just want volume.”

    “For example, we talk about women empowerment but in our dramas we show women being insulted, beaten up and abused.”

    When asked if lack of professionalism is the reason behind this problem, Naumaan said: “This industry – producers, broadcasters, actors – don’t know what professionalism is. Producers have to beg the broadcasters to pay them their money that is due. Directors are also not as respected as before. Unfortunately, we have lost everything including morals, values, respect, norms, everything.”

    Naumaan concluded by saying that the country is it’s own worst enemy and that we don’t need any external enemies.