Blog

  • Netflix is releasing a film on the Panama Papers

    Netflix is releasing a film on the Panama Papers

    Remember the infamous Panama leaks? The same ones which ousted former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and made him na-ehl? Netflix has made a film on the incident and how it unfolded worldwide and the trailer of it has been released.

    The film titled The Laundromat has Meryl Streep in the lead as Ellen Martin, whose dream vacation takes a wrong turn and leads her down a rabbit hole of shady dealings that can all be traced to one Panama City law firm, run by seductive partners. She soon learns that her minor predicament is only a drop in the bucket of millions of files linking an off-shore tax scheme to the world’s richest and most powerful political leaders.

    Along with Meryl, the film also starres Gary Oldman, Antonio Banderas, Jeffrey Wright, Matthias Schoenaerts, James Cromwell and Sharon Stone.

    The film is based on the book by Jake Bernstein titled Secrecy World: Inside the Panama Papers Investigation of Illicit Money Networks and the Global Elite.

    The Panama Papers were leaked documents that showed how Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm, allowed the wealthy and the connected to funnel money illegally in and around the world. Along with Nawaz, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Jackie Chan, Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan were also among those named.

    We’ll be watching the movie to see if Nawaz will feature in the film and who’ll be playing him.

    Nawaz Sharif

    Watch the trailer here:

  • All traffic to be suspended for Kashmir Hour

    All traffic to be suspended for Kashmir Hour

    To observe Kashmir Hour, all traffic lights across Islamabad and Karachi will turn red at 12 pm on Friday and remain so for half an hour. During this time, the national anthems of Pakistan and Kashmir will be sung, traffic will be halted, sirens will be blared and demonstrations will be held across the country.

    PM Khan in his address to the nation on Monday had announced that an event will be held on Friday every week to show solidarity with the Kashmiri people and send out a strong message.

    In a follow-up tweet, the premier requested everyone to observe the Kashmir Hour and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan said that the PM will be outside the PM House to mark the occasion.

    Deputy commissioners in all the districts across the country have been directed to formulate a comprehensive plan for staging demonstrations against Modi-led Hindu nationalist Indian government’s illegal actions and gross violations of human rights in Kashmir.

    Meanwhile, local political leaders in their respective constituencies will lead protest rallies. Students and civil society have been appealed to participate in the demonstrations. Celebrities and sportsmen will also be present at prominent locations across different cities to express their solidarity and have also appealed to their fellow countrymen to do the same.

  • Celebrities request Pakistanis to respond to PM’s call for Kashmir Hour

    Celebrities request Pakistanis to respond to PM’s call for Kashmir Hour

    Prime Minister Imran Khan, while addressing the nation on Monday had announced that an event will be held on Friday every week to show solidarity with the Kashmiri people.

    Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor on Wednesday reiterated the government’s announcement and said that the first ‘Kashmir Hour’ will be held on August 30 at 12pm. During this time, national anthems of Pakistan and Kashmir will be played and sirens will be blared and everything is expected to come to a standstill, including the traffic.

    The first of such events will be held this Friday (Aug 30) between 12pm-12:30 pm and celebrities and sportsmen are appealing to the citizens to respond to the PM’s call and express their solidarity with Kashmir. Taking to Twitter, Shahid Afridi, Shehzad Roy and Bilal Ashraf among others shared where they will be observing the Kashmir Hour and asked the people to join them.

  • Govt collects total revenue of Rs4.9 trillion in FY2018-19

    Govt collects total revenue of Rs4.9 trillion in FY2018-19

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has collected a revenue of Rs4.9 trillion in the fiscal year 2018-19, out of which Rs4.5 trillion were collected as tax by the federal and provincial governments, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.

    According to the details, the total expenditure, however, exceeded the revenue by Rs3.44 trillion as it was recorded at Rs8.35 trillion. Out of this sum, the current expenditure accounts for Rs7.1 trillion, while development expenditure was recorded at Rs1.2 trillion.

    The highest-in-almost-three-decades budget deficit — the financial loss for a period when expenses exceed revenues — worth Rs3.44 trillion was mainly financed by local banks who lent around Rs2.3 trillion to the government. Other local institutions lent around Rs765 billion.

    External financing for the year has been recorded at Rs4.17 billion.

  • ‘Hussain Nawaz planning to come to Pakistan to strike deal with govt’

    ‘Hussain Nawaz planning to come to Pakistan to strike deal with govt’

    One of the jailed former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif’s sons, Hussain Nawaz, is planning to come to Pakistan to strike a deal with the government for his family members’ release, senior journalist Dr Shahid Masood has claimed.

    Speaking to a private media outlet, he said that Hussain was seeking a guarantee from the authorities that he would not be arrested upon arrival and was taking matters into his own hands because he “did not trust his uncle and incumbent party chief Shehbaz Sharif”.

    While Nawaz’s daughter and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President (VP) Maryam Nawaz is already in National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) custody, his sons Hassan and Hussain Nawaz are wanted for their involvement in the Avenfield and other corruption references against members of the Sharif family.

    “Nawaz’s son is looking for a retired judge, bureaucrat or an ex-army official as a guarantor who can make sure that he doesn’t get arrested after reaching Pakistan,” the journalist claimed.

    “Only time will tell when the deal will be struck and how far will it go,” Dr Shahid added.

    He also criticised PM Imran Khan for “backtracking” on his stance against corrupt individuals. “He [the premier] had vowed to not strike a deal with anyone, but now he is offering to release them if they can return the looted money.”

  • I have seen good old days… Pakistan wasn’t like this: Gen Bajwa

    I have seen good old days… Pakistan wasn’t like this: Gen Bajwa

    Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said that the country is going through tough times, but it wasn’t always the case as he himself has seen the good old days.

    “Pakistan wasn’t like this. I was born in 1959 and I have seen the heydays of Pakistan,” the army chief said while addressing a gathering, a video of which has gone viral over the internet.

    “In 1962, PIA [Pakistan International Airlines] was one of the best airlines in the world. PIA and Japan Airlines were the only two Asian airlines flying jet aircraft 707. India, Taiwan [and] Singapore, they were all flying Dakota [aircraft],” he said while sharing memories from the good old times.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    https://twitter.com/ShamaJunejo/status/1166670723710107648

    Gen Bajwa said that Pakistanis had televisions in the year 1964, while Indians didn’t get any until 14 years later in 1978. “In 1964, we also had an electric train running from Lahore to Sahiwal.”

    “I have seen the heydays. Cinema halls used to be full, but so were mosques. The best movies were shown in the cinemas. You know… The Beatles… they visited Karachi,” he said and added that former United States (US) first lady Jacqueline Kennedy also travelled with the PIA.

    “[36th US] President Lyndon B. Johnson travelled to Karachi on PIA. Those were the standards of this country,” he concluded.

  • Nazish Jahangir responds to marriage rumours

    Nazish Jahangir responds to marriage rumours

    After comments by model Nazish Jahangir on a social media post gave rise to rumours that she was marrying Mohsin Abbas Haider, Nazish took to social media to slam the rumours and those spreading them.

    Tagging a few online publications, Nazish called them out for being hypocrites and not caring for “someone’s respect and personal life.”

    Meanwhile, Mohsin after his court appearance yesterday also refuted rumours that he was marrying Nazish. The actor remarked that the media sensationalised comments without confirmation. He added that everyone will know when he’ll be getting married but at this moment, all such stories are false.

    The speculations of their marriage came to light when a fan page in a social media post referred to Nazish and Mohsin as the “Best couple soon.” Under the picture, Nazish commented, “Soon inshaAllah,” and Mohsin liked her comment.

    Nazish is the same woman, Mohsin’s estranged wife Fatema Sohail accused him of having an affair with.

  • ‘Pakistan’s Shaheen-III can destroy Israel’s Tel Aviv in 12 minutes,’ ex-general says

    ‘Pakistan’s Shaheen-III can destroy Israel’s Tel Aviv in 12 minutes,’ ex-general says

    Defence analyst and former three-star general, Lieutenant General (r) Ghulam Mustafa, has said that “Pakistan, with its Shaheen-III missile, is capable to destroy Israel’s Tel Aviv in only 12 minutes”.

    “It [Shaheen-III] is 18 times faster than the speed of sound,” he said, adding that even on the night of February 27 — when two intruding jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) were shot down by Pakistan — Indian media claimed that Islamabad was ready to launch an attack against its enemies.

    Mustafa claimed that the United States (US), while fearing that Pakistan would attack Tel Aviv as well, handed over its Air-3 missile to Israel on the night of February 28.

    He said that February 14’s Pulwama attack affected Pakistan in many ways but the attack was “actually planned by India’s premier intelligence agency and Israel”.

    “The US was also involved,” he added.

    According to a notification issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in April, Mustafa is among the 26 retired officers of the armed forces who are allowed to appear on media as defence analysts.

    “Their views/comments/opinions on media shall remain personal/independent expression and not attributable to the institution,” read the notification issued four months ago.

  • The Current’s Roti Challenge

    The Current’s Roti Challenge

  • War with India in October, says Shaikh Rasheed

    War with India in October, says Shaikh Rasheed

    Railways Minister Shaikh Rasheed Ahmed has always been fond of announcing predictions and his latest one is predicting war between India and Pakistan.

    Addressing a ceremony in Rawalpindi, he predicted that there would be a “full-blown war” between Pakistan and India in October or November.

    He also said that this was a final freedom struggle for Indian Occupied Kashmir and the war with India would be the, “last this time”.

    “Jinnah had assessed the anti-Muslim mindset in India long ago. Those who still think about the possibility of dialogue with India are fools,” he added.