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  • Babar and Rizwan reject sizable offers from betting companies

    Babar and Rizwan reject sizable offers from betting companies

    Despite Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) cooperation with surrogate betting companies in Pakistan, including their partnership with Dafa News, Babar Azam (Pakistan Cricket Team Captain) and Mohammad Rizwan together, rejected the offer of crores of rupees from these organisations, The News has revealed.

    Pakistan cricket team’s wicketkeeper Muhammad Rizwan came under intense pressure and was asked by the Board to delete his tweet in which he dedicated the team’s historic win against Sri Lanka to the Palestinians.

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has accepted sponsorship as a surrogate betting sponsor like Dafa News in flagrant violation of the rules, allegedly to operate on all digital platforms. It has opened the floodgates to more than 150 illegal surrogate betting sites and apps, and some PSL franchises are reportedly allowing individual players to accept shirt logos and give image rights to these illegal gambling companies.

    One player revealed on condition of anonymity that PCB came under pressure from ICC and BCCI, asking Mohammad Rizwan to delete his tweet in which Rizwan dedicated Pakistan’s victory against Sri Lanka in CCWC 2023 was named after the people of Gaza.

    However, Rizwan refused to delete his tweet. Sources from one of the gambling companies also revealed that Babar Azam turned down an annual contract worth Rs 250 million while Mohammad Rizwan turned down a surrogate betting company’s Rs 100 million annual contract because such sponsorships and contracts are against the law.

    Email sent by betting company to Babar Azam

    It should be noted that Multan Sultans captain Muhammad Rizwan refused to put WOLF777 logo on his kit during the last PSL tournament. An email sent by 1XBET betting company to Babar Azam said that the company was impressed by the player’s social media platform and wanted to work with the individual. However, Saia Corporation, which is responsible for Babar Azam’s individual sponsorships, responded by saying, “Thank you. As Muslims, we do not endorse any betting or surrogate betting brands. Thanks for getting in touch. Have a nice day.” This email is also available to The News. A similar offer was also made to Muhammad Rizwan, to which the answer was the same.

    PCB gave the image rights of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan to these betting companies against their will. Sources said that Babar, Rizwan, and others have categorically refused to sign contracts with such companies yet PCB has given us their image rights along with PSL franchises.

    Sources said that some Pakistan Super League franchises also forced players to wear the logos of these surrogate betting companies at any cost, which is a clear violation of the players’ rights to freedom of expression and liberty.

    PCB spokesperson statement:

    When contacted, a PCB spokesperson told The News that no such sponsor has been roped in since the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s zero-tolerance notification against surrogate betting companies.

    The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in a notification issued on September 25, declared Defa News as a surrogate betting company. The spokesperson said that PCB strictly prohibits any form of gambling or related activities. Some news sites may be sponsors but it is always ensured that their certificate of incorporation and shareholders do not have any ownership of alleged gambling concerns.

    He further said that there are allegations against these companies which the court has not confirmed. However, PCB will abide by all relevant laws and ethical provisions in seeking sponsors for all future events.

    The correspondent showed through WhatsApp to the PCB spokesperson the advertisements of these surrogate betting companies using the pictures of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan on social media and asked “How PCB is not responsible for this? These companies are clearly using pictures of Rizwan and Babar without their consent”.

    These surrogate betting companies entered Pakistan through cricket when advertisements started appearing in Pakistan Cricket around 2021. From PSL 2023, four of the total six PSL franchises have embarked on betting surrogates as their key sponsors and the PCB failed to regulate them. The News recently reported that the government of Pakistan It has started a crackdown against more than 150 surrogate betting companies operating in the country, which are causing billions of dollars in damage to the country’s economy.

    Information and Broadcasting Minister Murtaza Solangi revealed in a conversation with The News that all institutions are united with the military establishment in eliminating these betting companies. However, even after more than a month has passed since the notification was issued by the government today, all these betting apps are still running and no action has been taken by the authorities.

  • ‘The sun of February 8 will rise with the message of Bilawal’s victory’: Asif Zardari

    ‘The sun of February 8 will rise with the message of Bilawal’s victory’: Asif Zardari

    Former President Asif Ali Zardari said on Monday that he believes his son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, will win the next election.

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and President Arif Alvi recently decided that the election will take place on February 8, 2024.

    In an official statement issued today, Zardari welcomed the announcement of the election date and said: “The sun of February 8 will rise with the message of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s victory.”

    “A few days of the public’s difficulties are left. The PPP will bring an end to the people’s ordeals,” he added.

    The former president went on to express his gratitude to the public for the party’s victory in by-elections held in Karachi’s nine local government constituencies.

    “Sindh’s heart, Karachi, also raised the slogan of ‘Jiye Bhutto’,” Zardari said while terming Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab and Deputy Mayor Salman Abdullah Murad’s wins a “special message for the opponents”.

    “Every party worker may become the ambassador of Benazir Bhutto shaheed and start the electoral campaign,” he added.

    In another statement, Bilawal also congratulated the Karachi by-election winners and said, “The public has given its verdict. Now, God-willing, the PPP’s victory on February 8 is also written on the wall.”

    Before the election, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had been arguing a lot.

    The PPP says the PML-N is secretly working with the current interim government. On the other hand, the PPP has said it is ready to work with the former ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party because they want the election to be fair for everyone.

    This shift in alliances and strategies underscores the dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of Pakistani politics, as the country gears up for a pivotal moment in its democratic journey.

  • Remember the Palestinian girl who stood up to Israeli soldiers? She just got arrested

    Remember the Palestinian girl who stood up to Israeli soldiers? She just got arrested

    Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi was arrested on Sunday night by Israeli forces in the West Bank, AJ Plus has reported. Tamimi’s house was raided at night while also arresting her mom. She was arrested under claims she was ‘inciting terrorism’.

    The arrest happens at a time Gaza suffers under severe Israeli bombardment, with 9,500 civilians killed, 4000 among them children.

    In the West Bank, where the Hamas has no authority, violence has soared after Gaza was attacked. On November 2, 3 Palestinians were killed during an Israeli raid.

    “Israeli soldiers raided Ahed Tamimi’s home, turned everything upside down and held her mother in another room, preventing her from being with her daughter,” Dena reported.

    The Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gabir posted a picture of Ahed caught by soldiers in her room where he was seen congratulating the IDF for capturing the ‘terrorist’. The post recieved extensive backlash for intentionally targeting innocent civilians over baseless charges..

    “ahed represents the spirit of resistance. she’s literally the definition of standing up against the oppressor……years after this photo these cowards STILL continue to arrest her time and time again not knowing there’s millions just like her,” a user wrote.

    Ahed made international headlines as the face of the Palestinian resistance when viral videos showed her confronting Israeli soldiers even slapped a soldier in December 2017.

  • Chutti Manao, Diwali Hai

    Chutti Manao, Diwali Hai

    The caretaker Sindh government has declared November 13 a public holiday for the Hindu community, marking the vibrant festival of Diwali.

    A notification issued by the provincial government confirmed the holiday, stating, “The Government of Sindh declares 13th November, 2023 (Monday) as Holiday for Hindu Community on the occasion of DIWALI for all Government offices, Autonomous Bodies, Semi-Autonomous Bodies, Corporations and Local Councils under the administrative control of Government of Sindh.”

    This decision by the Sindh government highlights a gesture of inclusivity and respect for the diverse religious festivities observed within the province.

    Moreover, provincial authorities had previously announced November 9 as a public holiday in honor of Iqbal Day, as per an official notification disseminated across various government departments.

    This measure aims to commemorate the influential legacy of Allama Iqbal, a renowned poet, philosopher, and politician, who played a pivotal role in shaping the ideological foundations of Pakistan.

  • Pakistan’s stock market surges to all-time high of 53,123.04 points

    Pakistan’s stock market surges to all-time high of 53,123.04 points

    The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continued its impressive performance, with the benchmark KSE-100 index surging by over 700 points and approaching the historic milestone of 54,000 during Monday’s trading session.

    As the closing bell neared, the KSE-100 Index stood at 53,860.36, reflecting a remarkable gain of 737.33 points, or 1.39 per cent.

    In the preceding week, the KSE-100 index achieved a then-record high, driven by robust buying primarily from local investors, bolstered by institutional support.

    The benchmark index witnessed a substantial week-on-week increase of 2,179.20 points, breaching the 53,000 mark and concluding at an all-time high of 53,123.04 points, a historic first.

    Monday’s trading session witnessed broad-based buying, with key sectors such as cement, chemicals, commercial banks, and OMCs all trading in positive territory.

    Market analysts attributed this positive momentum to an overall improvement in economic indicators, notably the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) decision to maintain interest rates at 22 per cent during the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.

    Additionally, a decrease in the inflation rate, with the October 2023 Consumer Price Index (CPI) at 26.9 per cent year-on-year and favourable feedback from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission currently visiting Pakistan, further enhanced market sentiment.

    Furthermore, the announcement of final election dates by the country’s election commission, signifying political stability, also played a significant role in creating favourable conditions within the market.

  • Terrorists attack police station in Dera Ismail Khan

    Terrorists attack police station in Dera Ismail Khan

    Suspected terrorists attacked a police station on Monday in Dera Ismail Khan, the third terrorist attack in the district since Friday. The militants attacked the Gul Imam police station in Tank area. 

    One police official was injured as a result of attack.

    Police Constable Waheed Gul was injured in the exchange of firing. He was then urgently shifted to District Headquarters Hospital in Tank.

    With reinforcement personnel,District Police Officer (DPO) Tank Iftikhar Ali Shah reached the spot immediately, and then a search operation was started to wipe out militants.

    On Sunday evening, another policeman was injured in a terrorist attack on a checkpost in the Roori area of the Kulachi tehsil.

    Earlier, At least six people were killed and 20 injured after a blast in Dera Ismail Khan targeting a police van on Friday.

  • Nawaz Sharif directs party leaders to start election campaign

    Nawaz Sharif directs party leaders to start election campaign

    Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) head Nawaz Sharif instructed party leaders to start preparations for the upcoming general election, due to take place on February 8 next year.

    Nawaz Sharif directed party leaders in a meeting to begin preparations for elections. PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif and party’s vice president, Maryam Nawaz, attended the huddle.

    Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, PML-N Election Cell Chairman Senator Ishaq Dar and Central Information Secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb also attended the meeting. 

    PML-N tweeted from its official X (previously Twitter) account that PML-N has entered a new phase of its election campaign as Nawaz Sharif has started meeting with party leaders.

    PML-N leaders discussed and planned further political activities for general election next year in February.

    The PML-N supremo told party leaders that they eill start development work from where we left off.

    This was the first meeting Nawaz Sharif held with party leaders at the central secretariat in Lahore after his return to the country.

    Khawja Asif has said that Nawaz Sharif will himself also contest next election.

  • Five suspects granted bail in two honour killing cases

    Five suspects granted bail in two honour killing cases

    Peshawar High Court has granted bail in two separate cases involving honor killings.

    The first case involved Swat resident, Akhtar Ali, suspected of being involved in the killing of his wife and another man over three months ago.

    The bail was granted by Justice Shahid Khan of a single-member bench, who directed the submission of two surety bonds of Rs200,000 each for Ali’s release.

    The incident, which took place on July 22, 2023, was initially reported at the Shaheedan Wenai police station in Swat under sections 302 and 311 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 15 of the Arms Act.

    The complainant in the FIR, station house officer of the police station, Mohammad Zaib Khan, claimed that he along with a police team went to the crime site after learning about the murder of a man and a woman and found out that the deceased were killed by the petitioner, who suspected that the two had an extramarital affair

    During the hearing, the bench noted that the case lacked substantial evidence against Ali.

    It added that the complainant in the case had neither disclosed the name of the person who informed him about the involvement of the petitioner nor did he produce any other “cogent and reliable information, which could prima facie spoke about the guilt or otherwise of the petitioner.”

    Lawyers Saeed Khan, Askar Khan, and Dunya Zeb, representing the petitioner, emphasized the absence of witnesses and evidence connecting Ali to the crime.

    They added that the murders took place at nighttime and that there was no evidence to connect the petitioner with the commission of the offense.

    Similarly, the court also granted bail to Habib Khan and his three sons – Talim Khan, Owais Khan, and Zarif Khan – from Lower Dir district.

    It accepted the joint bail petition of suspects on the condition of furnishing two surety bonds of Rs100,000 each.

    They were arrested on suspicion of the honor killing of Habib’s daughter-in-law, Nish Bibi, whose body was found at their residence on Sept 23, 2023.

    An FIR was lodged by the mother of the girl, who alleged mistreatment and torture by her husband and in-laws.

    The complainant claimed that her daughter was married to Dawood six years ago but she didn’t have kids and she often asked her husband for medical treatment.

    She claimed that for the same reason, relations between the couple were strained and that she was mistreated by her husband and in-laws and was also tortured by them.

    Legal counsel Shabbir Khan Daulatkhel defended the petitioners, maintaining that the prosecution’s case was founded on rumors, lacking any concrete evidence against the accused.

    The initial bail application of the petitioners was rejected on Oct 12, 2023, by an additional sessions judge in the Chakdara area of Lower Dir district.

  • ‘PUBG Mobile Global Championship’: Updates on Pakistani teams

    ‘PUBG Mobile Global Championship’: Updates on Pakistani teams

    Pakistani PUBG mobile team Agonxi8 has been eliminated from PMGC (PUBG mobile global championship) in the league stages.

    PMGC’s 48 teams were divided into three groups, GREEN, RED, and YELLOW. Team i8 was in group green and their matches were scheduled from November 2-5.

    A total of 16 teams from group green were competing in their group stage matches. 11 teams from the top would’ve qualified for the next stage. The top 3 teams from the group stages directly qualified for finals while the remaining 8 teams had to qualify for the survival stage. Team i8 was on the 15th spot and got eliminated.

    Team Agonxi8 is a good team from Pakistan and from the South Asia region. They have won PMPL (PUBG mobile pro league) Pakistan three times (PMPL fall 2022, PMPL spring 2023 and PMPL fall 2023) also PMCO (PUBG Mobile Club Open) fall 2021.

    They faced many difficulties before this mega event like visa issues and the gaming devices on which this event was to be played.  

    All the teams reached the event venue 5-6 days ago, collected their devices, and started practicing. On the other hand, i8 team’s three players reached 1-2 days ago due to visa issues, while two players didn’t get visas and played from Pakistan. Both players who were playing from Pakistan collected their devices just a few hours before the event had started.

    Another problem they faced was the communication gap, which meant all teams were sitting at one table and playing the game at the event venue, while our players were playing from different countries.

    Two teams from Pakistan qualified for PMGC. Our second team is 7E (Seventh Element) and they are also very aggressive players. Their gun skills are next level and they are too good in rotations.

    They have qualified through PMPL South Asia and are playing for the first time on a global stage like PMGC. They are placed in group Red, and their matches are scheduled from November 9-12.

    We wish you the best of luck with team 7E and players Aliyan, Ashad, Divine, Goku bot, and T24 op for their PMGC journey. We hope they will give their best and make our country proud.

    PMGC is a LAN (Local Area Network) event in Malaysia, starting from November 2, having a prize pool of $3 million.

  • Petition filed in Indian High Court claims Shah Jehan didn’t build Taj Mahal

    Petition filed in Indian High Court claims Shah Jehan didn’t build Taj Mahal

    A petition filed in the Indian High Court on November 2 by Surjit Singh Yadav, the president of the Hindu Sena, claims that the Taj Mahal wasn’t built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan.

    According to India Today, Yadav asserted that the monument was originally the palace of Raja Man Singh which was refurbished by the Mughals, hence there is no mention of his name in Shah Jehan’s books.

    “Further, the book titled Taj Museum mentions that the dead body of Mumtaz Mahal was interred under a temporary domed structure within the land premises of Raja Jai Singh. It is pertinent to mention that there is no account which states that the mansion of Raja Man Singh was demolished to construct Taj Mahal,” the petition explained.

    Yadav urged the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), the Central government, the National Archives of India and the Uttar Pradesh Government to correct “historically inaccurate facts” related to the history behind Taj Mahal’s construction. Yadav further said he had done an indepth study of Taj Mahal. He felt it was necessary to fix historical inaccuracies in order to provide accurate information to the public.

    On Friday, the Delhi High Court directed the ASI to examine the representation.

    In 2022, the Supreme Court of India rejected a plea filed by Yadav where he claimed there were “wrong historical facts” regarding the construction of the Taj Mahal.

    “What kind of PIL is this,” the bench responded according to The Wire. “The PILs are not meant for fishing enquiry. We are not here to reopen history. Let history continue. The writ petition is dismissed as withdrawn. The petitioner is granted liberty to make representation to the ASI. We have not expressed any merits on the same.”