Tag: Pakistan

  • UAE President’s visit to Pakistan postponed

    UAE President’s visit to Pakistan postponed

    President HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will not visit Islamabad on Monday after his scheduled trip has been postponed to a later date, due to weather conditions.

    Nahyan was scheduled to pay an official visit today to Islamabad to discuss cooperation in relations between the UAE and Pakistan and ways to enhance them in various fields.

    Nahyan was to arrive in Islamabad today on a one-day visit. He was be escorted by JF-17 aircrafts to PAF Noor Khan Air Base where the distinguished guest was to be given a 21 gun salute; Prime Minister Muhammad (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and important members of the federal cabinet had to welcome the distinguished guest at the air base.

    It was expected that Nahyan will be presented a guard of honor by the armed forces of Pakistan at the Prime Minister’s House, after which he will have a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.

    Nahyan arrived in Pakistan on January 25, 2023 on a private visit. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif welcomed him at Rahim Yar Khan Airport. There was also a meeting between the two leaders in Rahim Yar Khan.

  • Khan lashes out at govt on fuel hike

    Khan lashes out at govt on fuel hike

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan lashed out at the incumbent government for Sunday’s surprise hike in petroleum prices.

    In a tweet, he said, “Total mismanagement of our economy by a corrupt and incompetent imported govt has crushed masses and salaried class with the latest hike in petrol and diesel prices”.

    Moreover, he claimed that 35 per cent “unprecedented inflation” is expected with Rs 200 billion mini-budget.

    Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced that the federal government has decided to hike the prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 35 per litre.

    The decision came days before International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) officials are scheduled to visit Pakistan to discuss the stalled ninth review of the country’s current funding programme.

  • India and Pakistan were close to nuclear war, claims former US Secretary of State

    India and Pakistan were close to nuclear war, claims former US Secretary of State

    Former United States (US) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo revealed on Tuesday in his new memoir that arch rivals— India and Pakistan— were on the verge of nuclear war in February 2019.

    Pompeo, who served in President Donald Trump’s tenure, has written in ‘Never Give an Inch: Fighting for America I Love’ that he does “not think the world properly knows just how close the India-Pakistan rivalry came to spilling over into a nuclear conflagration in February 2019.”

    He says at the time, he was informed by his Indian counter-partner that Pakistan had begun to prepare for a nuclear strike on India. However, he asked him to give it some time to sort out the matter. Later, he reached out to Pakistani former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Qamar Javed Bajwa.

    The ex-army chief told Pompeo that Indian allegations were baseless. He believed the Indians were preparing their nuclear weapons for deployment.

    Moreover, the former US official said that it took them a few hours and remarkably good work by their teams on the ground in New Delhi and Islamabad to convince both countries to desist.

    In February 2019, Delhi launched strikes to attack Pakistan after a militant attack on Indian troops in Kashmir. However, Pakistan shot down two Indian military jets and captured a fighter pilot who later was released.

    In 1974, India became the first country in the region to become a nuclear power while Pakistan attained nuclear power in 1998.

    It is pertinent to mention that neither India nor Pakistan has commented so far on Pompeo’s claims.

  • Sarfaraz Ahmed shows singing skills at Shaan Masood’s Qawali Night

    Sarfaraz Ahmed shows singing skills at Shaan Masood’s Qawali Night

    Sarfaraz Ahmed’s singing skills were on full display at the Qawali Night of the cricketer Shaan Masood’s wedding ceremony. A viral video shows Sarfarz singing the song “Mubarak Ho Tumko Yeh Shaadi Tumhari.”

    People on social media have been blown away by Sarfaraz’s singing skills.

    Shan Masood had an intimate nikah ceremony on January 22 with former all-rounder Shahid Afridi and Shadab Khan among the cricket players who were attended the exchange of vows.

    Tomorrow, January 27, the batter will throw a valima reception for his friends and family in Karachi.

  • Babar Azam becomes ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year for consecutive second time

    Babar Azam, captain and standout batsman of Pakistan team, was named the International Cricket Council (ICC) One Day International (ODI) Player of 2022 on Thursday, taking home the prestigious title for the second year in a row.

    In the year 2022 Azam amassed 679 runs from just nine games at an average of 84.87, including three hundreds in ODI matches.
    Adam Zampa of Australia, Shai Hope of the West Indies, and Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe were also contenders for the honour.

    “If you thought the Pakistan skipper had a year to remember in ODI cricket in 2021, then what he produced during 2022 was even better as the ultra-consistent right-hander maintained his lead as the No.1 ranked batter on the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings,” the ICC said in a press release.

    Stating that the Babar has firmly held on to the title since July 2021, ICC said that in his current form, the batsman has no intention of letting go easily.
    “It might be surprising to note that Babar only played nine ODI matches in 2022, but the 28-year-old made them count as he smashed three centuries, a further five half-centuries and only really failed with the bat on one occasion,” the cricket governing body said, lavishing praise on the Pakistani batsman.

  • Pak Suzuki increases motorcycle prices by up to Rs25,000

    Pak Suzuki increases motorcycle prices by up to Rs25,000

    Pak Suzuki Motor Company Ltd. (PSMCL) has increased motorcycle prices by Rs20,000-25,000, effective February 1st.

    The new rate for GD110 S, GS150, GSX125, and GR150 is Rs264,000, Rs286,000, Rs384,000, and Rs410,000.

    However, the company’s communication to authorised dealers lacked any explanation for the price increase.

    PSMCL had temporarily ceased taking new bike orders as of January 20 due to supply chain constraints based on imports and unpredictable production capacity in the current economic climate.

    Read more: Latest Suzuki car prices

    Pak Suzuki has been enjoying a smooth journey, recording sales of 20,762 units in FY23 compared to 18,030 at the same time last fiscal year, as sales of all two-wheeler assemblers have remained flat due to rising prices, quality problems, and affordability difficulties.

    The assembler of Hi-Speed motorcycles has also increased the rate by Rs25,000 of 150cc Infinity and 200cc Freedom followed by a Rs2,500-Rs3,500 hike in 70cc-125cc motorcycles.

  • Polio detected in Lahore’s environmental sample

    A strain of wild poliovirus has been detected in an environmental sample in Lahore, Razya Khan has reported for Express Tribune.

    The Pakistan Polio Laboratory at the National Institute of Health said in a statement on Tuesday that the virus discovered in Lahore’s Gulshan-e-Ravi had connections to a poliovirus discovered in Nangarhar, Afghanistan last November.

    “While the isolation of the virus is a cause of concern, it is excellent to note that it was detected promptly. This timely detection of the virus in the environment is crucial to protecting children from being paralysed by the poliovirus,” said Federal Minister for Health Abdul Qadir Patel.

    Up to 44 million children would be immunised across Pakistan as a result of anti-polio campaigns in 2023.

    Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio has not yet been eradicated. To formally eradicate the disease, a nation must be polio-free for three consecutive years. Nigeria was declared free from wild polio in August 2020.

  • Nawaz directs Rana Sanaullah, Maryam Nawaz to lead PML-N

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz have been given instructions by party supremo Nawaz Sharif to lead rallies and meetings ahead of the upcoming general elections in Punjab.

    Rana Sanaullah met the father and daughter in London where Nawaz briefed the two senior members of the party on what their roles would be.

    Nawaz instructed the interior minister to mobilise party workers in the province for the upcoming elections. Moreover, PML-N leaders also held consultations on party appointments in Punjab and on inter-party elections.

    The federal minister and Maryam Nawaz both are expected to land back home on January 28.

    Taking to Twitter, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb wrote: “There has been a change in the time of PML-N’s senior vice president and chief organiser Maryam Nawaz’s return home. Maryam Nawaz sahiba will now reach Lahore at 3:50pm on Saturday, January 28.”

    On January 12, Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi signed the summary for the dissolution of the provincial assembly. Elections are now set to take place in the province within the next three months.

    Maryam Nawaz likely to return back on January 22

    Earlier, it was reported that Maryam is likely to return to Pakistan on January 22.

    According to media reports, the senior leadership of the party decided on Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s return to the political fray while her father, Nawaz Sharif, has given her essential tasks related to the PML-N mobilisation.

    Maryam Nawaz Sharif will be visiting Punjab and meeting senior leaders.

    It is pertinent to mention here that PML-N senior vice president Maryam Nawaz underwent throat surgery in Switzerland. She travelled to Geneva from London where she stayed with her father and brothers.

  • Mickey Arthur set to return as Pakistan’s cricket team head coach, hints Najam Sethi

    Mickey Arthur set to return as Pakistan’s cricket team head coach, hints Najam Sethi

    Mickey Arthur is set to return as Pakistan men cricket team’s head coach for the second time, PCB’s Chairman Najam Sethi hinted on Monday.

    The South African will replace Saqlain Mushtaq whose contract expires next month.

    However, Mickey Arthur’s contract as head coach is still being negotiated. Talking about the hiring, Najam Sethi said at a press conference, “I am personally in negotiations with Mickey and we have resolved 90% of issues,” adding that he has appointed former Test cricketer Haroon Rasheed as the new chief selector, replacing former all-rounder Shahid Afridi who held the post on an interim basis.

    “Hopefully, we will very soon share the news that Mickey will be joining us and I’d like him to build his own team of coaches once he is here,” Sethi told the members of the press.

    Formerly the coach for South Africa, Australia and Sri Lanka, Arthur was in charge of the Pakistan team from 2016 to 2019 when the team won the 2017 Champions Trophy and became the top-ranked T20 team in the world.

    The Johannesburg-born 54-year-old currently has a long-term contract with Derbyshire.

  • PM Shehbaz regrets ‘inconvenience’ to Pakistanis from major power outage

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has addressed Monday’s major power breakdown that left most of the country without electricity for more than 12 hours.

    In a tweet, the Premier expressed his “sincere regrets”. He wrote, “On behalf of my government, I would like to express my sincere regrets for the inconvenience our citizens suffered due to the power outage yesterday.”

    He added that an inquiry is going on to determine what led to the sudden blackout.

    A day after the power outage, Minister for Energy Khurram Dastgir said that electricity has been fully restored at grid stations across the country. However, the minister pointed out that there will be a shortage of electricity for the next two days.

    Residents complained of increased load-shedding even after the restoration, laying doubt on the government’s claims that power was fully restored.

    In a televised address on Tuesday, the minister explained said that there was a “delay in synchronisation” between Tarbela and Mangla power plants.