Pakistani actors are making a significant impact in the joint Pakistan-Turkey TV series ‘Selahaddin Eyyubi,’ which tells the heroic story of Sultan Selahuddin Eyyubi.The first season, shot in Turkey, aired there a few months ago and is now being broadcast on Hum TV with Urdu dubbing. Pakistani actor Noor Ul Hassan joined the series later, making a strong debut as Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jillani in season 1.
On Instagram, Ahmed Ali Akbar posted a story of Selahaddin Eyyubi posters. Meanwhile, entertainment journalist Maliha Rehman spilled the beans that the talented Durefishan Saleem has also joined the cast.
The federal cabinet has approved a significant increase of Rs5.72 per unit in the basic power tariff through a circular decision. This decision, finalised via a circulation summary, aims to address financial challenges within Pakistan’s power sector.
Sources familiar with the matter confirmed that the proposal will now be forwarded to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) for uniform implementation across the board.
According to official sources, the Power Division will formally submit an application to NEPRA to initiate the process of implementing the revised tariff structure.
This adjustment, slated for the fiscal year 2024-2025, is scheduled to come into effect starting July 1, 2024. The approved increase will raise the average basic electricity tariff from Rs29.78 to Rs35.50 per unit.
A recent report from NEPRA revealed that Pakistan’s power sector incurred a staggering Rs403 billion loss during the fiscal year 2022-2023.
The report, which assessed the performance of power distribution companies, including K-Electric, highlighted that nine out of these companies failed to achieve full recovery targets. It attributed the financial strain partly to inefficiencies such as line losses and inadequate revenue collection.
Furthermore, the report underscored that these companies did not fulfill their electricity procurement obligations as per assigned quotas, leading to deliberate load shedding practices. This situation has exacerbated financial losses, amounting to billions in national revenue.
The Sindh High Court has ruled that gifts given by a husband to his wife at the time of marriage or before separation cannot be rescinded.
The Sindh High Court conducted a hearing on a petition about the return of gifts given to the wife either at the time of marriage or before separation.
The court dismissed Arshad Jameel’s plea against the trial court’s decision and issued a detailed judgement on the appeal.
According to the court’s decision, gifts given to the wife at the time of marriage or before separation cannot be reclaimed; gifts given during the marriage become the personal property of the wife.
An official notification of a “sale tax invoice” from the Punjab Ombudsman placing an order of five Samsung Galaxy S24 and seven iPhone Pro Max worth Rs. 76 lacs created a stir on social media. Netizens criticised the government for wasting money, but the government claimed otherwise.
A number of X (formerly Twitter) users criticised the government for spending extravagantly on such accessories. Journalist and academic Ali Moeen Nwazish posted on X: “This is exactly why people don’t pay tax in Pakistan. If you want people to pay tax, show that it is being spent on people like their healthcare and education, and not on land cruisers, iPhones, servants, luxuries and plots for the elite bureaucrats, judges and military officers.”
Another user named Osama Yawar shared the notification with the caption, “Is this how taxpayers money is being wasted by officials who can’t even write an email?”
To put more fuel to the fire, a citizen named Sohaib Qureshi, claiming to be an expert on E-Commerce, shared that the company The Laptop Store, with which the Ombudsman has placed an order, is allegedly non-filer. To prove his claim, Sohaib attached a screenshot from the FBR website where the company has no record of tax to its name. “More than one million is a sales tax but this laptop store is non compliant in sales tax,” Sohaib wrote.
Punjab’s Information Minister Azma Bukhari told The Current that Punjab’s Ombudsman is an autonomous body and does not come under Punjab government, “It’s from an autonomous body, not by Punjab government,” she said.
However, the Punjab Ombudsman was reluctant to respond to our request for confirmation of the viral notification. Even after multiple calls, there was no explicit answer, but an inside source revealed that this is a normal process and it seems authentic as it has the signature of the accounts officer of Punjab’s Ombudsman. The same source elaborated that the Punjab Ombudsman has its own budget and works independently. The phones are not for personal use but for official use only.
An account titled Jmhoori Martial Law asked people to explain the difference between Iphone 15 pro max with 512 GB and Samsaung Galaxy with the same storage. “Other Pakistani brands available in Pakistan, do they have better capability to record videos?” the handle asked.
The Ombudsman office is empowered to entertain complaints against any department commission or office of the Provincial Government or a statutory corporation or other institution established or controlled by the Provincial Government but does not include the High Court and the Courts working under the supervision of High Court and Provincial Assembly and its Secretariat, explains the official website as its primary function.
Momina Iqbal has asked her fans to stop sharing edited videos and pictures of her late father on social media. After her father’s passing, Momina took to Instagram to write about being upset about the edited posts.
“Please do not edit and share any videos of my father on social media, nor tag me in such videos. This time is very difficult for me,” Momina said in her Instagram story. She explained that sharing these videos is disrespectful and very hurtful while she is grieving.
She also said, “If you cannot do anything else, please pray for my father. I can’t even imagine that he is not in this world anymore.” Momina shared how deeply sad she is and how hard it is to believe her father is gone. She said she still feels like her father is with her all the time
“My father can never leave me because he is with me at every moment. I can feel him, so please do not tell me where my father is,” she said, showing how connected she still feels to her late father.
Pakistan cricket captain Babar Azam has met Australia’s famous power-hitting coach Shannon Young at a local cricket club in Lahore.
The famous power hitter has come to Lahore on a private visit. Australia’s new opener Jake Fraser-McGurk, gives all the credit to Shannon Young for his power-hitting.
Young also coaches Maxwell and Marnus Labuschagne in power-hitting.
Babar Azam is often criticized for his strike rate.
A petition challenging tax exemption conferred to bureaucrats and military officials in the federal budget has been filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC).
Advocate Nadeem Sarwar has submitted a plea challenging tax exemption given to certain individuals on behalf of citizen Mashkoor Hussain.
“The federal government has provided relief to the bureaucracy and military officials in the budget,” the plea read.
“In the constitution, all citizens are equal; thus, offering tax exemption has been a violation of the constitution,” the petitioner maintained in the filed plea.
Mashkoor Hussain requested that the court strike down the amendment in section 236 of the Income Tax Ordinance as invalid.
The moon of the new Islamic year 1446 Hijri is likely to be seen in Pakistan on Sunday, July 7.
Thus, the new Islamic year will start in Pakistan on Monday, July 8, and Ashura Days will be on Wednesday, July 17 and 18.
However, the meeting of the central moon sighting committee, which is chaired by Maulana Abdul Khabeer Azad, will be held in Quetta on July 6, while the zonal committee meetings will also be held in the zonal headquarters in Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore.
In the UAE, the moon of the new Islamic year, 1446 Hijri, is likely to be sighted on Saturday, July 6.
The UAE government has already declared a public holiday on July 7 in the private sector.
Chief Minister of Punjab Maryam Nawaz said on Thursday said that when the Punjab government pursued a sexual assault case, it was turned into a “religious issue.”
Maryam stated at the Etihad Bainal Muslimeen Conference in Lahore today, “A child was raped, and a religious person who was connected to a seminary was found guilty of it. He was just a little child who was kidnapped from outside the mosque.”
She further explained, “When the suspect was found guilty, and Punjab Police arrested him – it was twisted into a religious issue. Since then, Fatwas against me have been issued on social media.”
The Chief Minister said that everyone knows when any person is found guilty of a crime, their punishment according to the law is necessary to uphold the sanctity of religion.
Milk prices in Pakistan have surged by over 20 per cent following the introduction of a new tax, making the essential dairy product more expensive than in many developed nations, according to a report by Bloomberg.
In Karachi supermarkets, the price of ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk has risen to Rs370 ($1.33) per litre. In comparison, the price stands at $1.29 in Amsterdam, $1.23 in Paris, and $1.08 in Melbourne, as per Bloomberg’s data.
This sharp increase is attributed to an 18 per cent tax imposed on packaged milk as part of the recent taxation changes approved in the national budget. Previously, packaged milk was exempt from tax.
Muhammad Nasir, a spokesman for the local unit of Dutch dairy producer Royal FrieslandCampina NV, noted that prior to this tax, milk prices in Pakistan were on par with those in developing countries such as Vietnam and Nigeria. The new tax has led to retail prices escalating by up to 25 per cent.
The hike in milk prices is expected to exacerbate inflation in Pakistan, where stagnant wages have already diminished purchasing power.
Additionally, the higher cost of milk may further deteriorate child health, a significant concern in a country where approximately 40 per cent of the population lives in poverty.
