Tag: Top News

  • Prime Minister Imran Khan: the leader we deserve

    Prime Minister Imran Khan: the leader we deserve

    PM Imran’s efforts are opening doors to the world – be it in terms of image-building or investment; with his farsightedness and consistent efforts, Khan is marking a time in history.

    From the chants of Capital One Arena to the high-end meetings with the United States (US) president, members of the US congress, business tycoons and investors, it goes without saying that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s US visit was a resounding success.

    His achievements
    resonated across the globe with worldwide Twitter trends, which astounded the
    international audience for a good three days. On the one hand, the Pakistani
    nation lauded his assertive meeting with President Trump, highlighting
    sensitive issues like Kashmir and the Afghan war.

    He was also admired
    for his honest and charismatic personality, which conveniently attracted overseas
    Pakistanis as well as the US business community.

    For decades, investors
    avoided Pakistan due to lack of trust in its leadership. However, Khan’s one
    visit has altered that perception.

    One can see that in the confidence reflected by US Senator Lindsay Graham’s tweet, which said: “Khan and his government represents the best opportunity in decades to have a beneficial strategic relationship with US.”

    In his next tweet, he said: “Tremendous business opportunities exist between Pakistan and the US through a free trade agreement tied to our mutual security interests.”

    In addition to
    government level summits, meeting with senior American business executives from
    Bower Group and US-Pakistan Business Council also took place. Discussions on business
    plans and investment opportunities in Pakistan were carried out, which further
    assured investor’s faith in Khan’s leadership.

    Businessmen, who
    previously never considered investing in Pakistan, expressed their inclination
    towards the very same country. For example, business tycoon Shahid Khan, who is
    the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL),
    Fulham F.C. of the English Football League Championship, and runs Flex-N-Gate
    (an automobile parts manufacturer company), had a meeting with the premier.

    Bearing in mind that Shahid Khan had been frequently approached by Pakistan’s former leadership, both Nawaz and Zardari, for talks but were denied attention, this very well-known and well-respected businessman not only exchanged his suggestions with PM Imran, but on his way out, shared his pleasure and belief in Khan’s honest efforts for the country in the following words:

    “I have hope, I think
    the future of Pakistan is going to be fabulous with Imran Khan. It is proud to
    be Pakistani again. Imran Khan is greater than life and the best thing that
    happened to Pakistan, at least in my lifetime.”

    PM Imran’s efforts are opening doors to the world – be it in terms of image-building or investment; with his farsightedness and consistent efforts, Khan is marking a time in history.

    Uniting the Muslim nations, showing solidarity with Kashmiris, instigating social justice and ensuring people’s prosperity, these are only a few accomplishments that are painting an image of Pakistan which will benefit generations to come.

    Any author’s views do not reflect that of The Current

  • Foreign cricketers refuse to play entire PSL in Pakistan

    Foreign cricketers refuse to play entire PSL in Pakistan

    Foreign cricketers have refused to play the fifth season of the Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Pakistan Super League (PSL) scheduled to be entirely held in Pakistan next year, Cricket Pakistan reported Friday.

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had earlier said that the fifth edition of the PSL will entirely be played in the country and is expected to take place from February 20 to March 22.

    Speaking to a private media outlet, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani insisted that there are no concerns regarding hosting the entire HBL PSL in Pakistan.

    “I took the approval of PCB’s patron-in-chief regarding holding the tournament in Pakistan, after consulting all franchise owners,” Mani said, adding that he had invited team owners for a meeting next week on Monday in Lahore, where the matter would be discussed again.

    “Till now, no franchise has shown any reservations, so there is no possibility of shifting the matches anywhere else,” he added.

    However, according to reports, franchises want to hold at least half of the PSL 5 matches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as they feel it is currently not viable to play the entire season in the country.

    They are of the view that it will be difficult to convince foreign players to stay in Pakistan for a longer period of time.

  • Momina Duraid cancels Firdous Jamal from Hum TV for his comments on Mahira Khan

    Momina Duraid cancels Firdous Jamal from Hum TV for his comments on Mahira Khan

    Veteran actor Firdous Jamal’s comments on Mahira Khan have frankly been blown quite out of proportion.

    After the clip in which Firdous said Mahira that she is too old to be a heroine went viral, Mahira’s fans and colleagues went into overdrive to defend the actor and call out Firdous Sahab for his outdated and sexist comments. The matter became so controversial that Mahira had to step in and settle the issue. In a note shared on her Instagram, Mahira had said that she is grateful to all her seniors and that “in a world full of hate, let’s choose to love. Let’s be tolerant of other people’s opinions.”

    While Mahira continued to share her feelings on the issue, in various interviews that followed, the matter appeared to have more or less settled down. But, kyunkay Pakistan hai, twist toh aana hota hai.

    Yesterday, the CEO of MD Productions which comes under the HUM Films umbrella, Momina Duraid, took to social media to share her thoughts on the matter. It is pertinent to mention here that Momina is producing Mahira’s upcoming film Superstar and the two have worked on several projects in the past including Bin Roye.

    Momina began her note by praising Mahira for being “a woman with immense integrity, self-control, and solid principles.” She then went on to say that she is ashamed that Firdous Sahab is part of “our fraternity” and that his comments were “disrespectful and regressive” before announcing that her company “would not work with him again in any capacity.”

    Momina’s comments blew up a whole new controversy with some members of the film fraternity coming defending Jamal Sahab and calling out Momina for being extreme. The hashtag #SupportFirdousJamal also began to trend on Twitter soon after.

    Hamza Ali Abbasi asked everyone to be responsible.

    Firdous’ son Hamza Firdous who was part of a few Hum TV productions, most notably O Rangreza, also shared a video of himself in which said that he is ashamed that he was part of their dramas. He said that Firdous is a self-made man and he doesn’t need to stoop down to gain some fame.

    https://twitter.com/hamza_firdous/status/1156695645333458946?s=20
  • India divided after Hindu man refuses to accept food from Muslim rider

    India divided after Hindu man refuses to accept food from Muslim rider

    Neighbouring India has been left divided ever since a Hindu man refused to accept his order from a Muslim food delivery guy.

    “Just cancelled an order on @ZomatoIN. They allocated a non-Hindu rider for my food they said they can’t change rider and can’t refund on cancellation [sic],” Amit Shukla of Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur city tweeted Tuesday.

    Zomato is an Indian restaurant search and discovery service that operates in 24 countries. It provides information and reviews of restaurants as well as images of menus where the restaurant does not have its own website and also online delivery.

    Shukla, through the app’s customer support, requested another rider and when asked what was wrong, he replied, “We have Shravan [month of fasting] and I don’t need a delivery from a Muslim fellow.”

    The company refused to change the rider on the basis of religion and the customer care executive’s response was widely shared over social media.

    “Food doesn’t have a religion. It is a religion,” Zomato tweeted.

    https://twitter.com/ZomatoIN/status/1156429449258250240

    The company’s founder, Deepinder Goyal, also tweeted:

    “We are proud of the idea of India — and the diversity of our esteemed customers and partners. We aren’t sorry to lose any business that comes in the way of our values,” he wrote.

    While Zomato’s stand against religious intolerance won many hearts, some stood up in Shukla’s support.

    https://twitter.com/ubereats_ind/status/1156552511509024768?s=21

    https://twitter.com/dnaasingh29/status/1156496007674208257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1156496007674208257&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fgulfnews.com%2Fworld%2Fasia%2Findia%2Findia-man-cancels-order-over-non-hindu-rider-zomatos-response-wins-the-internet-1.65549839

  • Senator vs ISPR: Army rejects claims that Senate vote was ‘hijacked by ISI’

    Senator vs ISPR: Army rejects claims that Senate vote was ‘hijacked by ISI’

    Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Asif Ghafoor has rubbished Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo’s remarks that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief was “involved in manipulating the results” of the no-confidence motion against the Senate chairman.

    The National Party president and losing candidate for Senate chairman slot had on Thursday accused the country’s premier spy agency of hijacking the Senate vote by indulging in horse-trading.

    “Remarks by Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo implicating head of national premier institution are unfounded,” the military spokesperson tweeted Thursday night.

    “The tendency to bring [the] entire democratic process into disrepute for petty political gains doesn’t serve democracy,” he added.

    The response came as Bizenjo’s reply to a journalist’s query, following his shocking defeat in the upper house, started doing rounds over the internet.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    “[ISI DG] General Faiz’s people are behind this,” he was heard as saying when asked to name those responsible for the defeat.

    Earlier in the day, Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani survived a no-confidence resolution tabled against him by the joint opposition.

    The opposition’s no-trust motion against Sanjrani failed to receive the 53 votes required for his removal even though at the start of the session, 64 senators had stood up in support of the motion.

    Following the secret balloting, it was revealed that the motion received only 50 votes in its favour.

  • ‘Petrol should be sold at Rs58 per litre, demands Imran Khan’

    ‘Petrol should be sold at Rs58 per litre, demands Imran Khan’

    With Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan approving the Rs5.15 hike in petrol price, yet another tweet from the past has come back to haunt the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    On Wednesday night, the premier approved an Oil and Gas Development Authority (OGRA) summary recommending an increase in per litre prices of all petroleum products.

    The prices of petrol, diesel, kerosene oil and light diesel were jacked up by Rs5.15, Rs5.65, Rs5.38 and Rs8.90, respectively.

    With people starting to express their frustration over the development that could result in yet another inflation bomb, some took to Twitter to share a statement by the premier from back when he sat in the parliament on opposition benches.

    “Petrol should be sold at Rs58 per litre, demands @ImranKhanPTI [sic],” the 2015 tweet on PTI’s official handle read.

    This isn’t the first time an old tweet has come back to bite the PTI government.

    “All over the world, just on an incident of railway accidents, minister resigns. This is real democracy, says Imran Khan [sic],” a tweet from August 2014 stated.

    It had started making rounds last month after the tragic train accident in Sadiqabad, which claimed over 20 lives.

    Prior to this, as PM Imran reached China amid Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan’s (TLP) nationwide protests last year, a 2012 tweet of his, went viral. In the tweet, he had criticised the then premier for traveling abroad as the country “burned”.

    It was aimed at criticising former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, who had traveled to China for the Boao Forum while violence linked to sectarian, ethnic and political tensions continued in different parts of the country.

  • Ancient Buddhist caves in Islamabad to be developed as a tourist spot

    Ancient Buddhist caves in Islamabad to be developed as a tourist spot

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration to develop the historic Buddha Caves in Shah Allah Ditta as a tourist spot.

    According to details, PM Khan has directed both CDA and ICT to collaborate with the national history and literary heritage ministry for the restoration and development of the Buddha Caves to promote tourism.

    PM Khan’s government is actively working to open and develop historic religious sites across the country. Recently, a 1000-year old Hindu Temple was reopened in Sialkot. Plans to open a Gurdwara in Jhelum are also underway.

    The caves, located about half an hour from Faisal Masjid, are an important site for the followers of Buddhism and many worshippers who visit the caves often complain about the neglect.

    Archaeologists say that the Shah Allah Ditta caves date back to the Stone Age, while the Buddhist murals inside the cave are at least 2,500 years.

    The caves were used in various eras. Some of the surviving frescos depict images of Hindu deities, while a stream in front of the caves also shows that the site remained in the use of Hindus before partition.

    The area surrounding the caves is also rich in history. Marked on the ground close to the caves is the location where Alexander arrived and was received by King of Taxila Raja Ambi. Meanwhile, the road next to the caves that leads to the main top of the mountain is said to be built on the exact path followed by Pashtun emperor Sher Shah Suri during his visit.

    In the past, several calls for the preservation of the caves have been made but with little success.

  • Imad Wasim is getting married

    Imad Wasim is getting married

    Pakistani cricket Imad Wasim is all ready to tie the knot.

    According to details, the 30-year-old sportsman will be exchanging vows with London-based Sania Ashfaq on August 26 in Islamabad.

    Imad and Sania met in London and have known each other for a while now. Interestingly, Imad was also born in Swansea, Wales where his father briefly worked in as an engineer. However, his parents moved back to Pakistan soon after his birth. Imad was studying medicine before making his Twenty20 International debut in May 2015.

    Speaking about his marriage, the all-rounder who is currently playing for Nottinghamshire in the T20 Vitality Blast, said, “I will get a week’s break from my professional commitments for the marriage ceremony and will rejoin Nottinghamshire for the remaining matches.”

    Just two days back, marriage rumours of fast bowler Hassan Ali had taken the cricket world by storm. Ali is also reportedly getting married in Dubai to an Indian girl named Shamia Arzoo. However, Hasan later clarified the reports saying that the families are yet to meet.

  • Numbers’ game: Opp likely to defeat govt in Senate showdown

    Numbers’ game: Opp likely to defeat govt in Senate showdown

    All eyes are on the upper house of the parliament on Thursday as senators from opposition parties, in a first, attempt to oust through a no-confidence motion its chairman, who enjoys the support of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led ruling coalition.

    According to the numbers’ game, the joint opposition is in a comfortable numerical position to turn the tables on the senators from treasury benches and remove Sadiq Sanjrani.

    The opposition parties, in the 103-member house, enjoy the support of 67 senators while the governing alliance has the backing of 36 members.

    The chairman can be removed by the majority of the total membership, and so, the support of at least 52 senators will be required to carry the no-trust motion.

    OPPOSITION:

    The opposition alliance in the upper house comprises of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 30 senators, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) with 20, Mir Hasil Khan’s National Party (NP) with five members, Jamiat Ulemae Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) with four senators, Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) of Mehmood Achakzai with four and Asfandyar Wali’s Awami National Party (ANP) with one member.

    With the inclusion of two senators from Jamaate Islami Pakistan (JIP) and an independent senator, the tally stands at 67. However, PML-N’s Ishaq Dar has still not taken oath and the two belonging to JIP have reportedly decided to abstain from the proceedings.

    GOVERNMENT:

    The government alliance, on the other hand, is in a weaker position, with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) 14 senators. Its ally Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has five, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) has eight and Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) and Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) have one senator each in the house.

    Seven independent senators also sit on the government benches.

    While the opposition alliance is apparently in a stronger position, the primary condition remains that all opposition members, in the secret ballot, cast their votes in the favour of the consensus nominee that is Bizenjo.

  • ‘Drugged’ pictures of Deepika, Ranbir among others create a stir

    ‘Drugged’ pictures of Deepika, Ranbir among others create a stir

    It’s a well-known fact that Karan Johar’s hosts the wildest parties in Bollywood. Also that the industry’s who’s who is part of those. Pictures and videos from the parties often go viral on social media as fans and followers love to watch candid moments of their favourite celebs.

    When Karan uploaded a video from the previous weekend’s party on Instagram, he may not have imagined the furore it would cause.

    Featuring several celebrities like Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Arjun Kapoor, Malaika Arora, Vicky Kaushal, Varun Dhawan and Shahid Kapoor, the video captioned “Saturday night vibes” has Johar showing the Bollywood actors in conversation with each other or laughing at the camera.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B0bn6fpnRk-/

    The clip, which has been viewed 2 million times, was widely-circulated and caught the attention of an MLA, Manjinder S. Sirsa who criticised it and accused the actors of abusing drugs. He even threw in a Bollywood reference by naming Shahid Kapoor’s film Udta Punjab in this tweet. The film was based on drug abuse in India.

    The actors are yet to respond, but another politician Milind Deora has tweeted in support of the celebs saying that his wife was also present that evening and that nobody was in a ‘drugged state.’