Tag: Pakistan

  • Zoya Nasir says ‘yes’ to Christian Betzmann

    Zoya Nasir and Christian Betzmann are engaged after the Pakistani actor said “yes” to the German Vlogger. The news of their engagement comes just a few days after Christian announced that he has converted to Islam.

    Read more – Zoya Nasir slams troll for giving Christian Betzmann ‘criminal advice’

    Sharing pictures of himself and Zoya standing on a beach in the Bahamas, Betzmann revealed the big news, saying: “SHE SAID YESSSSS! The best day of my life.”

    “I love you Zoya Nasir,” he added.

    Zoya also shared similar pictures with the caption: “He asked and I said yes. Thank you for being my light in the darkest hours and showing me the true meaning of happiness.”

    “Here’s to a forever with you, my soulmate,” she added.

    Later, in a video posted to her YouTube channel, Zoya shared her friends and family’s reaction to the news. In the video, Zoya video-calls her family and friends including Ushna Shah, Zaid Ali T, Shahveer Jafry, Hajra Yameen and Zara Noor Abbas and reveals the big news to them. Needless to say, all her friends were shocked yet ecstatic over the news of their engagement.

    Zoya and Christian have often made the news with pictures of their trips going viral on social media. The couple is currently in the Bahamas after travelling across the United States in the past couple of months.

    To know how Chris proposed Zoya, check out in the video below:

    https://youtu.be/23ch1JoMp5k
  • Citizen sues govt over low gas pressure

    Citizen sues govt over low gas pressure

    A Karachi resident named Kamran Iqbal has sued the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) over low gas pressure in his area.

    According to details, the SSGC failed to resolve the low gas pressure issue, which is causing problems, despite a number of complaints submitted by Iqbal over the issue.

    Also Read: Man takes shop owner to court for selling poor quality shoes to his wife

    The citizen requested the court to take action against the SSGC for its failure to provide a stable supply of gas to the citizens. In today’s hearing, a lawyer submitted his paper to represent the SSGC in the court.

    The court after summoning a detailed reply from SSGC’s counsel postponed the hearing of the case till March 4.

  • Pervaiz Rasheed’s Senate nomination papers rejected over unpaid Rs26 lacs in room rent

    Pervaiz Rasheed’s Senate nomination papers rejected over unpaid Rs26 lacs in room rent

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stalwart Pervaiz Rasheed’s nomination papers for the upcoming Senate polls were on Thursday rejected over non-payment of room rent to Punjab House in Islamabad.

    According to reports, the Punjab government has accused the ex-information minister of defaulting on payments over Rs2.6 million (Rs26 lacs) for his stay at the residency for 759 days.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Zainab Omar had filed an objection against Rasheed through her lawyer Rana Mudassar to the returning officer/provincial election commissioner in Lahore.

    Speaking to media, Rasheed described the move to reject his nomination papers as a vindictive act on behalf of the government. 

    The PML-N leader accused Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan of not tolerating criticism, adding that efforts were being made to keep him out of the parliament. 

    Rasheed accused the government of preparing a fake “demand” against him. “To dispose of this fake demand, I am ready to make the payment,” said the senior PML-N leader.

    The PML-N leader said that he wanted to pay the dues to the Punjab House but its management was not accepting it. “You can close the doors on me, but you can’t stop my voice,” he said, addressing the government.

    “I will appeal against the decision to reject my nomination papers,” he said and alleged that fake cases against PML-N leaders were being made, accusing the government of keeping political opponents at bay.

  • Naya Pakistan: PM House expenditure falls from Rs59 crores in 2018 to Rs28 crores in 2020

    Naya Pakistan: PM House expenditure falls from Rs59 crores in 2018 to Rs28 crores in 2020

    With Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s government still seeming determined to relieve the treasury of some of its burden as part of the ruling party’s austerity drive, the expenditures of PM House and Office have reportedly reduced by 49% and 29%, respectively.

    According to reports, the total expenditure of the PM House narrowed down to Rs280 million (Rs28 crores) in 2020 from Rs339 million (Rs33 crores) in 2019 and Rs590 million (Rs59 crores) in 2018 — the year when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was handed reins of the country.

    The PM Office witnessed a considerable decrease in its expenditure from 2018 to 2020, but last year was slightly more than in 2019. It stood at Rs334 million (Rs33 crores) in 2020, Rs305 million (Rs30 crores) in 2019 and Rs514 million (Rs51 crores) in 2018.

    In a first, the premier has not used any discretionary funds in the form of cash awards, gifts etc. He has made around 26 official visits till now, but their combined cost stood at a mere Rs176 million (Rs17 crores) as compared to his predecessors.

    The premier, since assuming office in 2018, has been pushing for austerity measures to save taxpayers’ money and reduce the burden on the national exchequer.

    Despite the steps taken by PM Imran in this regard, the austerity drive has faced multiple setbacks owing to the apparent reluctance of the lawmakers in cutting down expenses.

  • Boy from Thar sets world record for fastest Periodic Table arrangement

    Boy from Thar sets world record for fastest Periodic Table arrangement

    A Pakistani boy has set the world record for arranging the fastest periodic table. The existing record was two minutes and 42 seconds while the youngster from Thar arranged the table in one minute and 58 seconds.

    The school student, namely Rohan Khatwani, set the record at the Islamabad Science Festival. The event was arranged at the Pakistan National Council of Arts on February 13.

    In an official tweet, the government also congratulated Khatwani, saying that he had made the nation proud by setting the new world record.

    According to the details of the event, around 80 schools participated in the festival and displayed their projects.

    A range of innovative ideas, including walk-in sanitising stations, precautions against coronavirus, and myth-busting related to COVID-19 remedies, were also featured.

  • Bakery owner kills labourer, burns his body in bakery oven

    Bakery owner kills labourer, burns his body in bakery oven

    Police on Tuesday found the bones of a missing man from the oven of a bakery.

    As per the details, the 40-year-old labourer, namely Syed Jan Agha Kochi, was murdered, after which his body was burned in a huge oven at a bakery owned by suspect Malik Safeer near Dari Chowk in Khalabat Township.

    Police recovered the victim’s bones from the kiln and arrested the bakery owner Safeer.

    According to reports, the victim worked at a junkyard. He went missing on Sunday evening. His family registered a complaint at a police station and also posted on social media.

    Saddar Circle DSP Sajjad Khan constituted a team under Khalabat SHO Ali Farman to start the search for the missing man. Police found out Kochi’s daily routine after speaking his family, neighbours and shopkeepers close to his junkyard.

    All the clues hinted that somehow the baker was involved.

    A police team searched the bakery and its premises. To their horror, they found human bones inside the kiln, SHO Farman said.

    Police arrested the bakery owner and took him to the police station for the inquiry. Safeer confessed to his crime after police interrogated him, saying it was a monetary clash.

    Safeer had first shot and killed the victim and then stuffed the body inside the huge oven in which he used to bake bread, buns and biscuits. He kept using the same oven that had a corpse in it for making bread and then selling it to his customers.

    The suspect also told the police about the murder weapon. The police squad found a pistol and an empty shell. They also found the victim’s cellphone and other belongings.

    SHO Farman said that samples of the remains of the body will be sent to Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Peshawar for DNA test. The forensic experts will also give a report on the murder weapon, he said.

  • Malala calls out PM Imran, army over escape of ex-Taliban spokesperson

    Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai has asked Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and the army as to how did former Pakistani Taliban spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan escaped Pakistan’s custody.

    “This is the ex-spokesperson of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who claims responsibility for the attack on me and many innocent people,” Malala tweeted after a Twitter handle “impersonating the former TTP spokesperson” threatened her.

    “He is now threatening people on social media,” Malala said further, after which she went on to ask the military’s media wing and PM Imran as to how did the Ehsan even escape.

    While the tweet by Ehsan, which Malala was responding to, has been deleted as a consequence of account suspension by Twitter, in it the ex-TTP mouthpiece had asked her father and her to return to Swat, saying they still “owe a massive debt”.

    Ehsan is infamous for issuing claims of carrying out TTP attacks and has been linked to some of the country’s most deadly incidents of terror. These include the massacre of children at Army Public School (APS) Peshawar, bombing at a park in Lahore on Easter in 2016, and the targeting of Malala.

    He surrendered to authorities in 2017 and later gave interviews to a Pakistani TV channel, leading to criticism and controversy that a terrorist was given airtime. It angered many in the country who believed he was being pampered by authorities after years of helping lead a violent insurgency.

    Ehsan mysteriously escaped custody in February 2020, which, according to SAMAA, was also confirmed by the army.

    While the now-suspended Twitter handle bearing Ehsan’s name was rather active, it has been dubbed as a fake one by many, including PM Imran’s focal person on digital media, Dr Arslan Khalid, who reacted to Malala’s statement.

    “It’s a fake account @Malala and there is zero tolerance for extremism in Pakistan,” he tweeted.

    However, Malala’s father Ziauddin Yousafzai responded to Dr Khalid, saying that they know for sure that the account belonged to Ehsanullah Ehsan.

  • Pakistan, IMF agree on reforms for release of $500m

    Pakistan, IMF agree on reforms for release of $500m

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistan on Tuesday reached a staff-level agreement over reforms that will lead to the release of around $500 million in funds, the IMF and the finance ministry said.

    The package strikes an appropriate balance between supporting the economy, ensuring debt sustainability and advancing structural reform, the fund said in a statement.

    “Pending approval of the Executive Board, the reviews’ completion would release around US$500 million,” the IMF said.

    Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh also confirmed the agreement on Twitter, saying that “overcoming the challenges created by the pandemic has required concerted effort”.

    “This is a good development for Pakistan,” he added.

    In a statement, IMF said that Pakistan’s progress under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) had been temporarily disrupted by the shock of the pandemic.

    “The Pakistani authorities remain committed to ambitious policy actions and structural reforms to strengthen economic resilience, advance sustainable growth, and achieve the EFF’s medium-term objectives,” the statement noted.

    Last month, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Dr Reza Baqir had said that Pakistan was in talks with the IMF to put the financial support programme back on track.

    “We hope to have good news for the market and the world that we are putting the programme back on track,” Baqir had said.

    Last year, staff from the IMF and Pakistani authorities reached an agreement to pave the way for a disbursement of $450m in IMF funds pending approval from the global lender’s executive board.

    Pakistan and the IMF have been working to implement IMF-supported economic reforms, in particular tax collection, aimed at stabilising the economy and shoring up a yawning fiscal deficit.

    Pakistan entered a $6 billion IMF programme in 2019.

  • Man accuses ex-wife of arranging ‘incestuous marriage’ as revenge

    Man accuses ex-wife of arranging ‘incestuous marriage’ as revenge

    A man from a village in Sargodha has registered a complaint claiming that two half-siblings have tied the knot with the support of his divorced wife and her relatives.

    The father, Sooba Khan, had reportedly been married three times.

    He first got married to Khurshid Bibi in 1992. The wedding was part of an exchange marriage known as ‘Watta Satta’. Sooba Khan’s sister was married to Khurshid’s brother.

    After the marriage, Sooba and Khurshid had a son named Sikandar. Shortly after Sikandar’s birth, Sooba’s sister got divorced due to a family conflict and then Sooba also decided to divorce his wife Khurshid.

    Sooba then married Shahnaz Bibi and had a daughter named Zahra.

    However, Sooba got divorced from his second wife and later married for the third time with a woman he currently lives with.

    According to the complainant, around five months ago, Sikandar and Zahra got married to each other without informing him.

    Sooba told The Express Tribune that he learnt about the marriage after five months.

    He told that he came to know about the marriage via a WhatsApp message where he saw the marriage certificate of his two children.

    Sooba also alleged that his ex-wife Khurshid was majorly responsible for the marriage as she was telling others in the family that she had supported the act in revenge for the unfairness she was subjected to by Sooba.

    According to Sooba, Khurshid was also sending money to her son while also fully encouraging him.

  • Court acquits couple accused of blackmailing NAB chief

    Court acquits couple accused of blackmailing NAB chief

    An accountability court Tuesday acquitted the couple accused of blackmailing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairperson.

    According to journalist Zahid Gishkori, the two suspects, namely Tayyaba Gul and Farooq Nol, were acquitted over lack of evidence.

    In connection with the leaked scandalous audio-video tapes being associated with its chairman, NAB had filed a reference in an accountability court in 2019 against a gang allegedly involved in blackmailing several people, Justice (r) Javed Iqbal.

    In the 630-page reference, NAB had nominated Gul, the woman seen and heard on the tapes, and her husband, Nol, as the main suspects.

    According to The Express Tribune, the graft buster stated in the reference that the couple had defrauded several citizens of around Rs24.4 million.

    It added that NAB had received six complaints against Gul and Nol and 36 witnesses had recorded their statements against them.

    On May 23, News One had aired the purported conversation of the NAB chairman with a woman. However, it was left red-faced and had to tender a public apology after the bureau denied the story.

    The NAB issued a statement, rejecting the report and saying that all such reports were baseless, contrary to facts, fabricated and part of a false propaganda.

    “This is work of a group of blackmailer, who want to tarnish reputation of NAB and its chairman. Disregarding all the pressure and blackmailing, NAB has not only arrested two members of the group but also approved a reference against them,” the statement read.

    The channel admitted that it had not done due diligence and therefore needed further substantiation regarding the videos. The channel management also apologised for any inconvenience caused to the NAB chairman.

    NAB had said there were a total of 42 FIRs registered against members of the racket in different parts of the country.

    “The group is involved in blackmailing, kidnapping for ransom, scamming and looting of billions of rupees from government servants as well as private individuals by impersonating FIA personnel and NAB has evidence in this regard,” it said.

    It said the report was a tactic to escape a NAB reference through blackmailing. According to the statement, the kingpin of the group, Farooq, is currently incarcerated at Kot Lakhpat Jail.