Tag: Pakistan

  • Judge in Toshakhana case denies he posted against Imran Khan on his Facebook page

    Judge in Toshakhana case denies he posted against Imran Khan on his Facebook page

    Justice Humayun, the judge presiding over the Toshakhana trial, has disowned anti Imran Khan posts made on his Facebook page when he was sensationally shown the social media material by the former Prime Minister’s lawyers.

    Imran Khan’s lawyer, Gohar Ali, showed the Facebook posts in court to argue that the Judge should not be hearing the case. In reply, Justice Humayun admitted that the Facebook page was his, however, he denied making the posts.

    He also asked the PTI lawyer if he thought that a judicial inquiry should be made about the Facebook posts.

    Gohar Ali replied that it was upto the judge to send the posts through a judicial inquiry, but stressed that it was appropriate if the court did not continue to hear the case.

    The court reserved it’s verdict on the plea as well as another plea by Imran Khan to exempt him from in-person hearings.

  • Mawra Hocane’s ‘Nauroz’ wows audience with promising start

    Mawra Hocane’s ‘Nauroz’ wows audience with promising start

    The newly launched serial ‘Nauroz’ is based on the effects of social media in our daily lives, with an approach that is definitely out of the box. Mawra Hocane has opted for a very different role, a fierce character based in the beautiful northern areas of Pakistan. The cast of the drama is phenomenal with names like Manzar Sehbai and Shamil Khan attached to it. The drama is written by Kashif Anwar and directed by Shahzad Kashmiri.
    The show opens with Shamyl Khan’s character, Ramish Khan, telling his daughter a story of a post-apocalyptic world. He then mentions the year is 2046 which is bound to get your gears turning.

    The show does deserve credit for bringing the audience in with these reveals and making you question everything that him and his wife are telling their daughter. The story also seems heavily inspired by Rapunzel, of a girl trapped in a closed room with no access to the outside world.

    We then get a Disney-esque montage of the little girl growing up in the confines of her room into a twenty-year-old Mawra Hocane. We also find out that the year is not decades in the future.

    The first half of the episode is exciting and revealing, while the second half with flashbacks gives you context.

    The episode also got positive reviews from social media.

  • PCB will receive more than twice the revenue from ICC

    PCB will receive more than twice the revenue from ICC

    The annual conference, board, and committee meetings of the ICC were held in Durban, South Africa, from July 10–13, 2023. At these meetings, the ICC Financial and Distribution Model 2024–27, Amendments to the ICC Sanctioning Regulations, and Modifications to the Over Rate Sanctions in Test Cricket, among other topics, were discussed. Pakistan was represented at these meetings by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) delegation.

    The new ICC finance and distribution model offers a crucial chance for the game to grow and anticipates the largest-ever investment to go into global cricket.

    In accordance with its constitutional right, the PCB has repeatedly asked for more information over the past few weeks at the ICC Meetings to better understand the justification for assigning weights to each of the criteria and determining the distributions.

    The PCB believed that such a critical choice shouldn’t be made in a hurry in the lack of all pertinent facts, data, and formulas. Therefore, the PCB suggested that this matter be tabled until the next ICC meeting.

    Therefore, the PCB was ranked among the top-four countries in this Model as a result of the performance of the Pakistan cricket team in men’s ICC events and in bilateral cricket, as well as the PCB’s own enormous fan following, which results in significant commercial value. As a result, compared to the previous cycle, the PCB will earn more than twice as much money.

    This increased revenue can be helpful for Pakistan cricket, and it’s good news for the Pakistani fans as well as the whole nation.

  • In aftermath of Masood’s suicide, govt blocks 43 loan apps

    In aftermath of Masood’s suicide, govt blocks 43 loan apps

    The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) on Tuesday blocked 43 illegal loan apps operating in the country following Masood suicide case.

    The Ministry has initiated a crackdown on illegal loan apps operating in Pakistan. The Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication stated that the ministry has acted swiftly to implement instructions for blocking these apps.

    The suicide of an unemployed man, Masood, in Rawalpindi who became a victim of an illegal loan app, has jolted the government into action. In a significant move against such scams and to save people from falling prey to online loan sharks, the government has decided to take the matter very seriously and therefore, the IT minister has instructed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to take action against such entities without waiting for complaints.

    The minister stressed the importance of launching an awareness campaign to protect people from falling prey to such fraudulent activities.
    A survey conducted earlier this year by Karandaaz Pakistan, a nonprofit organization, revealed that the number of Pakistanis using personal finance apps has more than doubled to 19% in 2022 compared to two years prior. To thwart this growing menace, a crackdown is being carried out nationwide, and citizens are advised to check the SECP website to verify whether a company’s app is licensed or not.

    It has been strictly advised that the individuals should report complaints to relevant authorities, including the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cybercrime Division, and local police, in order to take appropriate action against such apps.

    In this regard, FIA Director General has also instructed all cybercrime units to take strict action against companies and individuals offering loans through unregistered and illegal mobile applications.

  • Meray Pass Old Gentleman Hai? Yumna Zaidi, Humayun Saeed pairing draws mixed reviews

    Meray Pass Old Gentleman Hai? Yumna Zaidi, Humayun Saeed pairing draws mixed reviews

    Yesterday, it was officially announced that actress Yumna Zaidi and Humayun Saeed will be pairing up for an upcoming drama for Green Entertainment, penned by the ‘Mere Pass Tum Ho’ screenwriter Khalil-ul-Rehman Qamar, and produced by Saeed’s wife, Samina Humayun.

    This is the first time the two will be coming together on the screen together. Social media users were thrilled that the actress never stops dominating the screen.

    https://twitter.com/kyakaruun/status/1681005153023926273?s=20

    However, not everyone agreed that the news was exciting, slamming screenwriter Rehman and Humayun Saeed for once more, pairing an older actor with a woman decades younger than him. Yumna Zaidi is currently 33 years old, while Humayun is 51.

    Many were happy with the casting because of the stellar performances both actors have given in past projects, but were concerned because of the age difference.

    Saeed has been criticised in the past for working with younger women as romance leads in films, like Ayeza Khan is 32 years old but had played his wife in ‘Mere Pass Tum Ho’. While in the film ‘London Nahi Jaunga’, Kubra Khan was 30 years old.

    https://twitter.com/xakyanaseem/status/1681199828414476290?s=20

    If we revert back on Pakistan’s pop culture history a bit, then some would remember in 2019, veteran actor Firdous Jamal was a guest on an ARY show where he said that Mahira Khan is of the age where she should be playing grandmother roles. A bit rich considering that men of the same age are still romancing younger women?

    Hopefully, Pakistani dramas can listen and get out of this creepy mindset!

  • Khan, Bushra Bibi to go to court in two days over illegal Nikkah case

    Khan, Bushra Bibi to go to court in two days over illegal Nikkah case

    A District and Session Court of Islamabad has declared the alleged illegal nikkah case of Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi admissible on Tuesday.

    According to the details, notices have been issued to Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to appear in court on July 20.

    Civil Judge Qudratullah handed down the decision, deeming the case worthy of further investigation.

    The court announced its reserved decision today.

    Earlier, on May 13, the court reserved its judgement and then announced that the petition was “inadmissible”.

    The petitioner’s lawyer, Rizwan Abbasi, revealed that the marriage of PTI Chief Imran Khan with Bushra Bibi had taken place during her Iddat, which is not permissable according to Sharia and Islamic tradition.

    It is alleged in this case that Bushra Bibi’s iddat was not completed when she married former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

  • America, Pakistan both agree: Taliban need to make sure Afghanistan isn’t used for deshatgardi

    America, Pakistan both agree: Taliban need to make sure Afghanistan isn’t used for deshatgardi

    The United States of America has reiterated that the Taliban administration is responsible for ensuring that Afghanistan is not used for terrorist activities against other countries.

    The development comes as Pakistan blames the Taliban government of harbouring terrorists linked to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

    “Taliban has the responsibility to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a safe haven for launching terrorist attacks,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a press briefing.

    Earlier, in an unusual statement, the Pakistan Army slammed the sanctuaries available to TTP in Afghanistan for harming Pakistan’s security.

    At the 258th Corps Commanders Conference (CCC) under the chairmanship of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir, the army noted that the TTP had obtained access to the latest weaponry due to their sanctuaries in Afghanistan.

    The military also threatened to take an “effective response” after 12 soldiers were martyred in two attacks.

  • ‘Ask Javed Sahib,’ Khaqan Abbasi says doesn’t know when Nawaz will return, hints at staying away from politics

    ‘Ask Javed Sahib,’ Khaqan Abbasi says doesn’t know when Nawaz will return, hints at staying away from politics

    Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said in an interview with ARY News that he is not going to take part in the upcoming general elections.

    “I don’t want to be a part of such a system, perhaps I will work better outside of it,” Abbasi said. “It is my personal assessment that current politics won’t resolve national issues,” he added.

    “This reality seems to me, at least my contesting the election won’t bring any solution,” the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader said.

    “I would not contest an election if all stakeholders would not sit together. What will I will do by contesting election in the absence of thinking to resolve the national problems,” he questioned.

    The PML-N leader said that no party can be fragmented, and we should also learn from past experiences.

    On a question about his theory party head Nawaz Sharif’s return to Pakistan, the former prime minister said that “This is Javed Latif’s department, contact him”. “I also used to ask Javed Sahib about the date of Nawaz Sharif’s return,” he said. “This department remained with Ayaz Sadiq for some time, but now Javed Latif is fully in charge”, he added.

  • Ready to hold elections in 60 or 90 days: ECP Secretary

    Ready to hold elections in 60 or 90 days: ECP Secretary

    Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Secretary Umar Hamid has said while talking to SAMAA TV that ECP is ready to hold election in 90 or 60 days after the end of the tenure of the coalition government.

    The ECP secretary said that holding election in 60 or 90 days is a prerequisite of the constitution of Pakistan.
    “ECP has been trying to hold polls, whether the assemblies are dissolved or complete their term,” he added.

    He further added that “The government will tell whether the assemblies will complete their term or not.”

  • Factcheck: Is Afghan singer Hasiba Noori dead?

    Factcheck: Is Afghan singer Hasiba Noori dead?

    Claim: Afghan singer Hasiba Noori had been killed in Peshawar

    On Monday, social media was ablaze with news that Afghan singer Hasiba Noori had passed away in Pakistan under mysterious circumstances, having taken refuge here after the takeover of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Conflicting news reports emerged on social media where accounts said she had passed away in Peshawar, while others said that she had been killed in Quetta.

    A journalist, Izharullah, shut down rumors of Noori’s death in Peshawar, saying that there was no such information available with the police.

    However it was senior journalist Iftikhar Firdous who took to his Twitter account to say that the news was fake, and the Afghani singer is alive and well in Quetta.

    The Current spoke with Firdous on how he reached out to the Afghan singer, and he revealed that he had managed to get in touch with Noori after contacting at least 300 people for 12 hours. Firdous had a video call with Noori, which confirmed that his source was reliable and the news that she died was fake.

    On the viral picture of Noori’s alleged corpse lying in a hospital bed, Firdous revealed that it was taken after a surgery in Karachi, the singer had clarified.

    Currently, Noori is in Quetta, and has informed Firdous that she will post a video to squash these rumors.

    The claim is false.

    The singer also shared a video on her TikTok account to silence the rumors.