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  • The Current tours Pakistan’s Polio Lab

    The Current tours Pakistan’s Polio Lab

  • ‘No one can remove a constitutional PM,’ COAS reportedly tells Fazl in ‘important’ meeting

    ‘No one can remove a constitutional PM,’ COAS reportedly tells Fazl in ‘important’ meeting

    Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has been quoted as telling Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman that “there is no possibility of a minus-Imran concept”.

    In an “important” meeting held between the army chief and Fazl ahead of the latter’s Azadi March, a journalist affiliated with a private media outlet quoted the COAS as saying that he stood by the constitution and democracy.

    “We have been doing what the constitution asks for,” the army chief reportedly said.

    Gen Bajwa reminded Fazl that he was a responsible political leader and must be aware that the regional situation is critical. “The situation on the border with India is volatile due to the Kashmir crisis and Afghanistan’s situation is also a source of trouble.”

    The army chief reportedly also referred to Iran-Saudi Arabia affairs and told the JUI-F chief that it was not an appropriate time for staging the protest since the economy had been brought on the right track after herculean efforts within the country and abroad.

    The COAS made it clear that they wouldn’t permit destabilisation at this moment, the anchor claimed. “He [Imran Khan] is a constitutional prime minister (PM) and neither I nor you can minus him,” he quoted Gen Bajwa as saying.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    The anchor, who further claimed that Fazl’s meeting with the COAS was “common knowledge” and was held a few days ago, was also among the media persons who called on the premier in Islamabad on Wednesday.

    Speaking to senior journalists during the meeting, PM Imran had said that he wouldn’t resign under pressure from Fazl.

    The JUI-F chief has threatened to block the federal capital with his protest against the “illegitimate” government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). His Azadi March, which is expected to have hundreds of thousands of participants — mainly religious hardliners from the JUI-F — is expected to enter Islamabad on October 31.

  • Wasim Akram to make his acting debut alongside Fawad Khan

    Wasim Akram to make his acting debut alongside Fawad Khan

    Former Pakistani cricketer Wasim Akram is making his acting debut and will be sharing the screen with none other than national heartthrob Fawad Khan.

    According to a report in Gulf News, the two will feature in ad filmmaker and sitcom director Faisal Qureshi’s upcoming film titled Money Back Guarantee (MBG). Qureshi will be directing and scripting the film and will also act in it. Qureshi and Akram have previously worked together on a number of TV commercials.

    Akram will have a small but integral role in the film — he plays nemesis to Fawad Khan’s hero. A bank robbery is also part of the plot.

    Apart from them, the film has a star-studded cast which includes the likes of Mikaal Zulfiqar, Gohar Rasheed, Kiran Malik, Jan Rambo and Mani.

    Wasim’s wife Shaniera will also be making a guest appearance while the makers are trying to also get Mahira Khan to be part of the project.

    The report further revealed that the film’s genre will be a satirical comedy and will tickle your funnybones.

    Shooting is scheduled to begin in November, in Karachi, and the sets for it are currently being designed. The second spell of the film will be in Thailand.

    The film which is scheduled to release in 2020 will be co-produced by Zashko Entertainment (Canada).

    Meanwhile, this is not the first time Wasim and Fawad will be sharing the screen. The two were previously part of a Mobilink Jazz commercial. Watch it here:

    https://youtu.be/V8TkLftoUNY
  • How to apply for PM Imran’s Kamyab Jawan programme?

    How to apply for PM Imran’s Kamyab Jawan programme?

    Kamyab Jawan Programme launched by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan last week is offering soft loans to the unemployed youth of the country for business and other self-employment opportunities.

    It is expected that over 52% of the Pakistanis can benefit directly through the Programme. 25 % of loans will be provided to young women entrepreneurs for starting small businesses. The government aims to facilitate over one million youngsters in the country with this programme.

    Here is who can apply for the loan:

    Kamyab Jawan Programme is only for the resident of Pakistan and the minimum age for the applicants under this scheme is 21 years at the time of application submission.

    It may lessen to 18 years in case of applicants applying for IT or e-commerce related businesses. The maximum age limit is 45 years at the time of application submission.

    There is no general requirement of minimum educational qualification. However, in case of businesses which compulsorily require certain qualification,  diplomas or licenses.

    Persons employed in private jobs, startups, as well as existing micro and small business enterprises, can also apply for loans.

    More than one person of the same family can apply for this loan individually and independently, however, a single person can only avail one loan at a time.

    Anyone guaranteeing a loan for another person cannot himself apply for a loan under this scheme.

    Applicant’s Husband/Wife/Father/Brother/ Son/ Daughter/ Son in law/ daughter in law/Father in law/Mother in Law cannot become his/her guarantor for the loan. A person can be the guarantee only for one loan/applicant.

    How to apply?

    To apply for this programme, all you need to do is visit the official website of “kamyabjawan.gov.pk” and apply for the loan.

    You cannot download the form so you have to apply online.

    Scroll down the homepage and press “Read More” button below the “Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme (Yes)”  initiative.

    You will have to give your basic information with your CNIC number, a selected bank and the nearest branch to your given address will be automatically selected.

    You will receive a message on your given contact number with confirmation of application submission and details of your selected bank and assigned branch.

    Here is the official website:

    https://kamyabjawan.gov.pk/

  • ‘You don’t want change’: Meesha Shafi condemns critics of #MeToo

    ‘You don’t want change’: Meesha Shafi condemns critics of #MeToo

    In a rare social media interaction, Meesha Shafi slammed those criticising director Jami and the #MeToo movement in Pakistan.

    Taking to Twitter, Meesha said that she feels sorry for those who will believe everything except the victim and extended her support for Jami, who in an explosive social media post Sunday night revealed that he had been raped by a powerful media magnate.

    Meesha also addressed her own harassment case and explained why her petition was rejected by the Lahore High Court.

  • NAB officials step up to donate blood to ailing Nawaz

    NAB officials step up to donate blood to ailing Nawaz

    At least five officials of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) have stepped up to donate blood to ailing Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, ARY News reported.

    According to reports, the blood group of the former prime minister (PM) is O+ve and Lahore’s Services Hospital — where Nawaz is admitted — has already cross-matched it with that of the five NAB officials.

    The jailed ex-PM was shifted to the hospital after a precarious drop in his platelet count on Monday night, requiring an emergency response.

    Punjab Health Minister Yasmin Rashid has said that a six-member medical board comprising senior doctors is examining Nawaz and trying to figure out the cause behind his deteriorating health.

    A VVIP room of Services Hospital has been declared as sub-jail for the former premier, while PM Imran has wished him good health and ordered the provincial government to ensure best treatment facilities.

  • PTI govt denotifies prosecution team in Gen (r) Musharraf’s high treason case

    PTI govt denotifies prosecution team in Gen (r) Musharraf’s high treason case

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government on Thursday denotified the prosecution team in the high treason case against former military ruler Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf.

    According to The Express Tribune, the prosecution team was hired in November 2013, during the tenure of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif.

    The special court — hearing the treason case against Musharraf for violating Article 6 of the constitution — adjourned the hearing without any proceedings on Thursday and was informed that the government had dismissed the prosecution team, reports said.

    The court was told that Reza Bashir — the government lawyer provided to the former dictator — was ill and was unable to attend the previous hearing.

    The three-judge special tribunal also summoned secretary interior on November 19.

    Justice Waqar Ahmed Seth asked the prosecutor if any notification was received, to which prosecutor Tariq Hassan said that he had not been notified.

    “Can the prosecution team be dismissed in this manner?” asked Justice Waqar Ahmed. “I sat all night preparing for this case,” responded the prosecutor.

    The court also asked to be informed under which law the prosecution team was denotified by the government.

    Approving the lawyers’ request, the court gave Reza Bashir one more chance to attend the next hearing on November 19.

    The former army chief, who took power in 1999, is facing a treason trial under Article 6 of the constitution as well as Section 2 of the High Treason Act on a complaint moved by the federal government.

    Article 6 of the constitution deals with matters of “high treason” and states that “any person who abrogates or subverts or suspends or holds in abeyance, or attempts or conspires to abrogate or subvert or suspend or hold in abeyance the constitution by use of force or show of force or by any other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason.”

  • Senior State Life official ‘jumps off’ Karachi building

    Senior State Life official ‘jumps off’ Karachi building

    A senior official of State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan (SLIC), allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the 11th floor of a multi-storey building on Karachi’s I.I. Chundrigar Road on Wednesday, Dawn has reported.

    According to the details, Zafar Iqbal, age 55, was serving as the deputy manager administration at SLIC and was reportedly facing an inquiry over some “personal activities”.

    However, the family of the deceased has disputed the claim that Iqbal had committed suicide and suggested that his death was a murder.

    But City Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Muquddus Haider has said that initial investigation and eye-witness accounts showed that Iqbal, the father of four children, did commit suicide.

    SSP Haider also said that a guard deployed at the SLIC office tried to persuade Iqbal not to jump from the building, but the latter proceeded to do so anyway.

    “Further investigation into the incident is underway because the family had disputed the police version”, the police official added.

    The deceased official’s body was shifted to the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi for autopsy and Mithadar Station House Officer Rizwan Patel has said that they were waiting for a doctors’ report to know more about the death.

  • ‘Am I the doctor?’ asks Imran Khan after hearing about Nawaz Sharif’s failing health

    Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s conditioned worsened as his platelet count fluctuated and his daughter Maryam Nawaz, who was earlier denied permission to meet him, was allowed to do so. After her meeting with her father, she was admitted in the same hospital but family sources are now saying that the government wants to take Maryam back to the hospital “at any cost”.

    Earlier, on Wednesday, a judge had denied Maryam’s request to meet her father but the government gave her permission last night.

    VIDEO: Maryam Nawaz reaches the hospital last night

    Senior leadership, including Nawaz’s brother, Shehbaz Sharif, also went to visit Nawaz at Services Hospital in Lahore.

    Sources say that Nawaz says that he wants to die in jail and that people have died in jail before. According to journalist Zahid Gishkori, doctors have said that Nawaz should get treatment abroad but the former PM is refusing to go out of the country. Reporters are also stating that a doctor has been flown in from Karachi to conduct further tests.

    Journalist and senior anchor, Meher Bokhari tweeted about PM Khan’s reaction to the news, saying that the Prime Minister asked how he could be blamed for Nawaz’s health. She said that when she asked him about it, he “threw his arms up with a bewildered look on his face,” and said, “Am I the doctor? Am I the court? How am I being blamed for this?” and then called “Buzdar to arrange for Maryam to see NS”.

    As #NawazneedsUNhelp starts trending on Twitter last night, people have also started Whatsapp groups to pray for Nawaz’s health and others are asking for international help, claiming that Nawaz has been poisoned.

  • Facebook rolls out dark mode for desktop

    Facebook has begun rolling out a new interface for desktop users, with an optional dark mode in addition to the traditional white design, Tech Radar reported.

    According to the details, after logging into the desktop site, some users have reported seeing a pop-up asking whether they would like to try the new design, which is referred to as ‘Facebook Beta’.

    Since the new update is on trial bases, therefore it is only available for a few people. The users who were invited to use the new interface have shared screenshots of the dark mode and they reveal that there are few problems with the new update.

    Users are facing problems in reading the text in the new dark mode on the desktop, so people who accepted the invitation and currently using the new interface.

    But they can also revert their decision by simply going to the quick settings option through your picture in the top right corner.

    Earlier in the Developer conference, the social media giant had announced to bring a new interface for Android and Desktop users just like Twitter. The dark mode, however, is not yet available to the Facebook mobile app users.