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  • Reema celebrates eight years of marital bliss

    Reema celebrates eight years of marital bliss

    Pakistan’s evergreen actor Reema Khan and her husband Dr Tariq Shahab celebrated their eighth wedding anniversary amidst family and friends in a grand party.

    Reema shared pictures of the event on social media.

    There was a cake with a picture of the couple from their wedding.

    Reema looked lovely in an outfit by HSY. Meanwhile, Dr Tariq wore an outfit by Munib Nawaz.

    Reema and Pakistani-American cardiologist Dr Tariq Shahab tied the knot in in November 2011. On March 24, 2015, Reema gave birth to their first child Ali Shahab.

  • Mohsin Abbas Haider or Fatima Sohail: Whose career are celebrities supporting?

    Mohsin Abbas Haider or Fatima Sohail: Whose career are celebrities supporting?

    Mohsin Abbas Haider aka DJ posted a picture on his Instagram titled rooh, his upcoming project. Surprisingly, many actors from the industry started congratulating him on his upcoming project. Nauman Ijaz, Nimra Khan, Abrar ul Haq and many other celebrities lent their support.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B41lCHlHBrI/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
    https://www.instagram.com/p/B43Eyfshmg9/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
    https://www.instagram.com/p/B45AdIZHdEN/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

    However, celebrities who protested
    against the actor during the time of domestic abuse allegations have not
    commented on the matter yet. While the last project Mohsin was seen working in
    was Deewar-e-Shab, following which he did not appear anywhere and was
    also fired from Mazaaq Raat.

    On the other hand, Fatima Sohail is all ready to come on TV. She also posted her picture on Instagram telling her followers that something big is coming.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B4_f8IChv18/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
    https://www.instagram.com/p/B5QwRXgBK7G/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

    Fatima and her husband were involved in
    a domestic dispute in which she charged Mohsin for domestic violence. Fatima
    Sohail came out about her abusive relationship with the actor and how he had
    mistreated her when she was married to the actor. 

    The two registered the case in court and
    Fatima was granted a divorce. After the divorce, both parties are ready to
    start afresh and turn over a new leaf in their lives. While Mohsin Abbas is
    making a comeback with his music, Fatima Sohail will be appearing on TV

  • ‘Stop using tomatoes as I did’, PTI leader advises people

    ‘Stop using tomatoes as I did’, PTI leader advises people

    Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Shaukat Yousafzai has suggested the public to use yogurt instead of tomatoes, which recently crossed Rs300 per kg in the domestic market. He advised the public to stop buying the overpriced tomatoes and use yogurt as its replacement in their daily meals.

    Video shows minster saying “We have stopped using tomatoes in our meals, we use yogurt instead. You should also stop using it until its prices come down to a normal level. It all depends on demand and supply … prices will go up due to increased demand and when you stop using it then automatically prices will decrease”

    The video came after the price of tomatoes skyrocketed and the price control committees failed to enforce the government-approved rates throughout the country.

  • Nimra Khan vows never to be fat

    Nimra Khan vows never to be fat

    Actor and model Nimra Khan has vowed never to be fat and she made that clear in a social media post.

    Sharing a picture of herself on Instagram, Nimra wrote, “I’ve always been a thin girl. I’m not going to be fat, ever. Let’s get that straight. Nimra Khan is not going to be fat, ever. Okay?”

    While Nimra may have decided to pen this caption randomly, the truth is that her statement comes across as problematic and appears that she is fat shaming. And people called out Nimra for doing just that.

    Nimra has a little more than a million followers, 1.2 to be exact, and the fact that she is propagating such ideas to them is kind of scary. People across the world are promoting body positivity and are looking beyond size. It is time Pakistan also accepts this whole-heartedly.

  • Fahad Mustafa calls out ‘kuttas’ biting the nation

    Fahad Mustafa calls out ‘kuttas’ biting the nation

    It appears that the current political scenario in Pakistan is irking actor Fahad Mustafa, who took to social media to express his frustration.

    Without taking any names, Fahad lashed out at the “so called leaders of Pakistan” tweeting, “National TV is all about how kuttay is qaum ko kat rahay hain. We have let too many kuttas out for so long it’s time to pay the price no surprises there.” (National TV is all about how dogs are biting his nation. We have let too many dogs out for so long, it’s time to pay the price.)

    Fahad’s followers appeared to agree with him.

    Earlier, sharing a video of students beating up a professor in Multan, Fahad had said, ‘What a shame. What have we become.”

  • Imran govt steps up to support former military ruler in high treason case?

    Days after former dictator General (r) Pervez Musharraf petitioned the Lahore High Court (LHC) to challenge the reservation of a special court verdict in the high treason case against him, the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan-led government has also sought postponement of the same.

    According to media reports, the Interior Ministry on Monday also challenged the forthcoming November 28 verdict in a high court and said that Musharraf’s co-accused were not made part of the trial.

    In its petition, the ministry requested that the verdict in the high treason case be stopped until a new prosecution team was formed as the government had last month sacked the entire prosecution team formed by the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government.

    On October 23, the Interior Ministry had denotified the prosecution and constitutional teams, as well as the research assistant working on the high treason case against Musharraf. The notification said that the step was taken under Section 4-A of the Central Law Officers Ordinance, 1970, which deals with appointments made by the president. It says that the services of the teams have been “disengaged”.

    “The prosecution team was denotified on October 23, but it pursued the case a day later on October 24 and submitted written arguments without any authority to do so,” the Interior Ministry, led by Brig (r) Ijaz Shah of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), reportedly said.

    Hearing Musharraf’s separate petition challenging the forthcoming verdict, the LHC, earlier in the day, directed the counsel of the former military dictator to present arguments on the maintainability of the petition seeking suspension of the ex-army chief’s high treason trial in a special court.

    Justice Sayyed Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi told Musharraf’s counsel to argue on the maintainability of the petition on Tuesday. “How can the LHC hear this petition when matters relating to Musharraf are pending in the country’s top court [Supreme Court of Pakistan]?” asked Justice Naqvi.

    “Also, how is the petition maintainable in LHC when the petitioner is a resident of Islamabad?”

    The ailing former military ruler had last week petitioned LHC to stay the proceedings of a special court trying him for “subverting the Constitution on November 3, 2007” until he recuperates and appears before the court in person.

    Citing the example of cases against former PM Nawaz Sharif, Musharraf’s counsel argued that the LHC had found Nawaz’s petition maintainable although his cases were also being heard in Islamabad.

    “Nawaz Sharif is a resident of Lahore while Musharraf is a resident of Islamabad,” replied Justice Naqvi.

    The counsel further contended that the treason case against Musharraf was filed without following due process. “The case was filed with only the approval of then-premier Nawaz. His cabinet’s approval was never sought,” said Musharraf’s lawyer.

    Justice Naqvi adjourned the proceedings till Tuesday and directed the former army chief’s counsel to explain why his petition should be heard by the LHC.

    On November 19, the three-judge special court, which has been hearing the high treason case against Musharraf since 2013, reserved its verdict after six years.

    The verdict is likely to be announced on November 28 in the absence of Musharraf, who went to the United Arab Emirates in May 2016 for ‘medical treatment’ and has not returned since to face the court. The high treason charge carries capital punishment in Pakistan.

    MUSHARRAF CASE:

    The PML-N government had filed the treason case against Musharraf over the president’s imposition of an extra-constitutional emergency in November 2007.

    Earlier this year, head of the prosecution, Mohammad Akram Sheikh, tendered his resignation. In his resignation letter sent to the interior secretary, Sheikh expressed his inability to proceed with the case after the imminent change of government at the centre.

    Sheikh was appointed as the head of the prosecution in the case in November 2013, by the then-PML-N led government.

    The former army chief was indicted in the case in March 2014 after he appeared before the court and rejected all charges.

    On March 18, 2016, the former president left Pakistan for Dubai for medical treatment after his name was removed from the Exit Control List on the orders of the Supreme Court.

    A few months later, the special court had declared him a proclaimed offender and ordered the confiscation of his property owing to his no-show. Later, on orders of the Supreme Court, Musharraf’s passport and identity card were also cancelled.

  • K-pop accuses Alkaram of plagiarism

    K-pop accuses Alkaram of plagiarism

     Alkaram has released a new collection and it looks like they copied a design from a Korean band’s album cover.

    A kurta on their website had delicate floral embroidery and local fans noticed that the designs look exactly like K-pop band’s album cover from 2017.

    BTS (K-pop band) fandom in Pakistan called out Alkaram for plagiarising the design.

    https://twitter.com/asakk1313/status/1197877148868104198

    Soon after the backlash, the brand removed the kurta from its website.

    One of the fans also shared a conversation with the brand that claimed the design is original and genuine.

    While another fan told that they are working on the issue after talking to the brand.

    https://twitter.com/PakBangtan/status/1197842249201139713

    K-pop
    is a genre of popular music
    originating in South Korea.

  • Pakistan wins Rs1 billion damage claim against Chinese energy company

    Pakistan has clinched a favourable ruling in an international court regarding its one billion rupees of liquidated damage claim against a Chinese energy conglomerate for delaying renewable power projects, The News reported.

    According to reports, officials have said that London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) issued its final awards related to a dispute between Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA-G) and Zonergy Company Limited last week.

    In the determination of the disputes between the parties, the sole arbitrator decided the required commercial operations date, “as agreed between the parties under the respective energy purchase agreements, represented a valid and binding obligation”.

    “Consequently, CPPA-G’s imposition of liquidated damages for the power projects’ delay in achieving COD (commercial operations date) by RCOD (required commercial operations date) was justified,” the official said, citing the awards.

    The CPPA-G and three subsidiaries of Zonergy approached the London Court of International Arbitration earlier this year to agitate their disputes under three identical energy purchase agreements signed between CPPA-G and the subsidiaries of Zonergy in June 2015 to set up 300 megawatts of solar power project. Each solar independent power producer has the capacity to generate 100 megawatts.

    The final hearing for the LCIA arbitration numbers (183,881, 183,884 and 183,885) initiated by the independent power producers took place from April 29, 2019 to May 3, 2019 in Islamabad. The sole arbitrator appointed by the LCIA issued his final awards in the LCIA arbitration on November 19, 2019.

    The federal cabinet has approved a draft of a renewable energy policy, envisaging 20 percent clean energy by 2025 and 30 percent by 2030, up from around 4 percent currently. The government would soon convene a meeting of the Council of Common Interests to finalise the renewable energy policy.

    Consequent to expiry of RE Policy 2006 in March 2018, AEDB initiated the formulation of a new policy in view of government’s decision to come up with a policy aimed at creating conducive environment supported by a robust framework for the sustainable growth of renewable energy sector.

    London Court of International Arbitration further determined that the identical liquidated damages provision in the energy purchase agreements was legal and enforceable.

  • Imran’s aide differs on inflation statement, says govt cannot give any timeframe

    Two days after Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan said that his government will soon overcome inflation in the country “caused by the flawed policies of previous regimes”, his adviser on commerce, textile, industry and production, Abdul Razak Dawood, has said that no timeframe can be given in this regard.

    Addressing a public gathering in Mianwali last week, the premier said that his government had inherited multiple economic issues, including low foreign exchange reserves, a huge circular debt and fiscal as well as current account deficits.

    “Previous administration had been spending reserve dollars to stabilise and maintain the value of the local currency. The PTI [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf] government had not found enough dollars to follow suit so a correction strategy followed,” he said.

    The premier also blamed rupee devaluation for inflation, adding that his government had nothing to do with it and the genie will soon be put back in the bottle.

    Speaking at a prize distribution ceremony at the concluding day of three-day 11th “Interiors Pakistan” international exhibition at the Expo Center organised by Pakistan Furniture Council (PFC), Dawood on Sunday said that inflation was a very big issue and the government was trying to control it.

    He said that no timeframe could be given in this regard, however, “prices of food items will soon be controlled”. “The price of dollar has stabilised, fluctuation has been brought under control,” Dawood maintained, adding that escalating prices will be controlled with the efforts of the government in near future.

  • Paresh Rawal speaks up for Muslim professor’s hiring in India

    Paresh Rawal speaks up for Muslim professor’s hiring in India

    Bollywood’s veteran actor Paresh Rawal is raising his voice in support of an Indian Muslim university professor Feroz Khan. According to reports, Dr Feroze was being hired to teach Sanskrit and people were protesting against that because they thought that the language needed to be protected.

    Paresh voiced his disbelief at the protest and highlighted the “irony” that Professor Feroze had done his Masters and PhD in Sanskrit.

    He added that if that if the protestors logic was to be followed, the “late Shri Mohammad Rafi ji should not have sung any BHAJANS and Naushad Saab should not have composed it!”

    Hardline Hindu students at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) are holding a sit-in outside the vice-chancellor’s office against the appointment of Professor Feroz Khan. Their stance is that since most Hindu religious text is in Sanskrit, they don’t want a Muslim professor for teaching linguistic lessons about Sanskrit.

    On the other hand, there were a few students who were in favor of the Muslim professor’s appointment.