Tag: topnews

  • ‘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.

  • 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.

  • PM Imran’s US trip cost taxpayers Rs11 million

    PM Imran’s US trip cost taxpayers Rs11 million

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s visit to the United States (US) has cost the national treasury around Rs11 million ($67,180), it was revealed Thursday.

    According to the breakdown of expenses released by the government, Rs1.35 million were spent on accommodation for PM’s 27-member delegation, while the PM chose to stay at Pakistan Embassy.

    An amount of Rs92,120 were incurred on transport, Rs142,000 on gifts, Rs6,075,800 on airfare, miscellaneous expenditures stood at Rs1,287,460, tips at Rs706,001 and meals at Rs1,389,077.

    There was no TA/DA for any official and the ministers accompanying PM Imran.

    WAY LESS THAN NAWAZ, ZARDARI’S EXPENSES:

    The premier set an example of simplicity and austerity by saving millions of rupees of the national exchequer as he spent much less than the visits of former PM Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari.

    His spendings were 11 times less than Zardari and eight times less than Nawaz, who spent $752,688 and $549,853 on their visits to the US, respectively.

    Earlier, PM Imran travelled to the US on a commercial flight instead of a special aircraft. He stayed at the residence of Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington DC instead of a 7-star hotel, while he bore his family’s expenditure himself.

    His visit was termed a success owing to the mammoth crowd he pulled at Washington’s Capital One Arena and his meeting with President Donald Trump wherein the two leaders forged good chemistry.

  • Coke’s Ad gets banned by PEMRA

    Coke’s Ad gets banned by PEMRA

    Extremism is no joke. Pakistan has suffered for the larger part of its history because of extremists. It’s something every single Pakistani is aware of and it’s nothing new. But using it as a casual term in a soft drink advertisement is.

    On July 28, after the Ad was released in a big social media and television campaign, singer and politician Jawad Ahmad tweeted: “The new #Coke Ad is an ugly interpretation of the word ‘Extremism’. It shows how low can marketing of a brand stoop to, just to make more money.

    It is dumb & immature of marketing team of Coke to use such a highly socially sensitive word so non-seriously just to sell their bottles.”

    Pakistan’s Electronic Media Regulatory Authority also found the advertisement to be problematic and has ordered that the Ad not be run on television or the radio until they review it. The Authority stated in their notice that they had gotten many complaints against the Ad and that, “the content of the advertisement is not only offensive but also tantamount to demeaning Pakistanis, as a nation.”

    PEMRA’s notice available on @ReportPEMRA ‘s twitter feed
    PEMRA’s notice available on @ReportPEMRA ‘s twitter feed

    It’s not clear what clause PEMRA has used to ban the Ad. The Authority will make it clear when the Ad is reviewed and the controversial content is omitted (which might be difficult in this case). Until then, judge for yourself.

    Watch the Ad here:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIuU_kKWYZs
  • Tareen’s Multan Sultans played PSL 4 without depositing franchise fee

    Tareen’s Multan Sultans played PSL 4 without depositing franchise fee

    Ali Khan Tareen’s Multan Sultans participated in the fourth edition of the Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Pakistan Super League (PSL) without depositing the mandatory franchise fee, Cricket Pakistan reported.

    Tareen-led Multan Consortium had won the franchise rights for the sixth team of the cricketing tournament, however, reports claim that the annual franchise fee of $6.35 million has not yet been paid to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

    According to PSL rules and regulations, every franchise is required to deposit the fee before the start of the season. But despite the passage of over four months since the league’s final match, Sultans have not yet cleared the dues.

    “Multan Sultans is in compliance of their franchise agreement,” the report quoted PCB as saying while neither confirming nor denying the news.

    Meanwhile, Tareen tweeted:

    PCB had previously terminated the franchise agreement of the Multan Sultans franchise ahead of the fourth season. The termination was brought about due to the franchise’s inability to meet its financial obligations under the agreement.

    In the new bidding process, the PCB had set the reserve price at $5.21 million per annum for a period of seven years. This reserve price had been exceeded by the Ali Tareen-led group.

    The new owners had decided to continue with the same name for the franchise.

  • PIA is offering up to 20% discounts for certain destinations

    PIA is offering up to 20% discounts for certain destinations

    The Eid Al Adha 2019 holidays are just around the corner,
    and Pakistan International Airlines has made sure that you get Eid bonus.

    PIA is offering a 10% discount to all the customers traveling from Pakistan to London till 10th August. For people traveling to the UAE, there is a 20% discount till 12th August.

    From September 24th to 30th November, PIA will be offering its passengers a 10% discount for London to Sialkot flights.

    Senior citizens will also get a special discount of up to 10% and school students will receive a 10% discount on international and domestic flights.

  • ‘Pakistan Post entering $34.2bn logistics market, expecting investment up to $1.5bn’

    ‘Pakistan Post entering $34.2bn logistics market, expecting investment up to $1.5bn’

    Federal Minister for Communications and Postal Services Murad Saeed has said that Pakistan Post was entering the country’s logistics market, which at present is worth $34.2 billion and is growing at a rate of more than 18 per cent per year.

    “Pakistan Post is expecting up to $1.5 billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on public-private partnership model for its capacity building in the logistic sector,” Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) quoted the minister as saying.

    FDI is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country.

    Within past one year, Pakistan Post has introduced revolutionary initiatives, including Electronic Money Order (EMO) at doorstep, Mobile App, E-Commerce and Same Day Delivery services, to improve efficiency and expand its network across the globe.

    According to Pakistan Post Director General (DG) Dr Naseer Ahmed Khan, the national postal operator is adopting new communication and information technologies to move further.

    He said that on the special directives of the federal minister, Pakistan Post has initiated inclusive measures to develop a better perception of its services among the public by ensuring timely delivery of mail, money and other articles.

  • PTI govt excludes ‘most corrupt govt of last 19 years’ from its investigation: report

    PTI govt excludes ‘most corrupt govt of last 19 years’ from its investigation: report

    The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has excluded from its probe the country’s “most corrupt government of the past 19 years” as it investigates foreign loans obtained by previous governments, The News reported.

    As per the details, the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan-led government has formed a high-powered commission to probe Rs24,000 billion loans acquired during the past 10 years.

    While the PTI is only focusing on the last 10 years of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) governments, last 19 annual reports of Transparency International (TI) — a Berlin-based global watchdog — show that corruption was at its peak in Pakistan during General (r) Pervez Musharraf’s military rule.

    According to The News, TI, which publishes annual Global Corruption Barometer and Corruption Perception Index (CPI) to give a comparative listing of corruption worldwide, shows more corruption in Musharraf’s tenure as compared to the latest of the two former ruling parties.

    The least corruption in terms of the best CPI score was attained by Pakistan in 2018, the year which was shared by the rule of the outgoing PML-N, caretaker setup and the PTI.

    Although the last tenure of the PPP was generally dubbed the most corrupt in the country’s history, the TI annual reports record shows that the lowest score during the last PPP regime has been 24 out of 100 (2.4/10) in 2009 as against 21 under Musharraf.

    It means that the last PPP tenure’s lowest score is three points better than Musharraf’s lowest score.

    HIGH-POWERED COMMISSION:

    The ruling PTI recently formed a high-powered commission, headed by National Accountancy Bureau (NAB) Deputy Chairman Hussain Asghar, to probe the soaring loans piled up over the past 10 years.

    The 12-member commission includes officials from NAB, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Intelligence Bureau (IB), Military Intelligence (MI), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

    According to a government notification, the federal government would hire national and international experts to conduct forensic audits of investment and expenditure of the past governments during the last 10 years.

    The commission will have to submit interim reports of progress every month and a final report within six months.

    It would also probe all development projects, kickbacks and contracts during 2008-2018. Embezzlement of government funds and alleged corruption in the development projects would also be investigated.