Tag: topnews

  • Army helicopter reaches Golain Glaciers to rescue PM Imran’s sister

    Army helicopter reaches Golain Glaciers to rescue PM Imran’s sister

    A helicopter of the Pakistan Army on Monday reached the Golain Glaciers to rescue Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan, who had been trapped there following a ‘burst’.

    A massive flood hit several villages in the Chitral district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) as a glacier melted near the Golen Gol area on Sunday. Roads, electric poles and farms were partially damaged around the forest area, police said.

    The premier’s sister, Aleema, who was in Golain for a tourist trip was stranded along with hundreds of other tourists and residents. According to Dunya News, an army helicopter was sent to rescue her; however, she refused to leave until other tourists and residents were evacuated.

    While Chitral’s deputy commissioner has confirmed the suspension of ground connection, the army has reportedly been reached out and a rescue operation will soon be conducted.

  • Ex-PPP leader Jamshed Dasti goes bald in protest against PM Imran’s ‘broken promises’

    Ex-PPP leader Jamshed Dasti goes bald in protest against PM Imran’s ‘broken promises’

    Awami Raj Party (ARP) chief and former Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Jamshed Dasti has gone bald to protest the “broken promises” of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and the rise in inflation under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rule.

    Speaking of his peaceful protest in a video message, Dasti, along with his shaved-head companions, said that inflation had spelled misery for the people.

    “PM Imran had made several promises to the people before elections, but even snatched from them the opportunity to earn bread after coming to power,” he said, requesting the people to shave their heads and join the peaceful protest campaign.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Elected to the National Assembly on a PPP ticket in 2008, Dasti resigned as an MNA in 2010 for possessing a fake Bachelors degree. He was re-elected to the lower house of the parliament in a 2010 by-election.

    In 2012, he quit PPP to join the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N); however, he was elected as an independent candidate in 2013. Starting his own party ahead of last year’s general election, he lost to a PPP candidate in the NA-182 constituency of Muzaffargarh.

  • US trip: PM Imran wants to stay at ambassador’s home instead of expensive hotels

    US trip: PM Imran wants to stay at ambassador’s home instead of expensive hotels

    Unlike his predecessors, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, during his maiden visit to the United States (US), is planning to stay at the residence of the Pakistani ambassador instead of some lavish hotel, a private media outlet reported.

    According to reports, the Pakistani Embassy in the US has been informed about the premier’s intentions; however, his stay at the ambassador’s residence might not be possible due to his planned meetings with top US officials.

    The residence is located in the heart of Washington’s diplomatic enclave, just off one of the city’s main arteries, Massachusetts Avenue, with at least a dozen embassies.

    If the premier stays at the ambassador’s residence, he will not be able to meet US officials there due to a shortage of staff, Dawn News reported, adding that such meetings can, however, be arranged at the Pakistani Embassy.

    While PM Imran’s plan to avoid a five or seven-star hotel in Washington, which comes amid his government’s aim to cut expenses and lighten the burden on the national exchequer, might not be achieved owing to security and logistical reasons, a final decision would be made soon.

    The premier can also choose to stay with one of the rich Pakistani-Americans in the suburbs of Washington.

    During his trip to Washington starting July 20, PM Imran is poised to discuss with US President Donald Trump the Afghan peace process along with regional issues.

    “At the invitation of US President Donald Trump, PM Imran Khan will visit Washington and hold a meeting on July 22, 2019,” Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal announced last week.

    Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and other officials will accompany the premier on the trip.

  • ‘Jang/Geo journalists forced to deactivate Twitter accounts’

    ‘Jang/Geo journalists forced to deactivate Twitter accounts’

    At least three journalists affiliated with the Jang/Geo Media Group have allegedly been forced to deactivate their Twitter accounts, Urdu News reporter Waseem Abbasi has claimed.

    According to Abbasi, Wajih Sani, Umar Cheema and Azaz Syed “suddenly and suspiciously” deactivated their accounts “amid concerns about increasing censorship in the country”.

    In a subsequent tweet, the journalist claimed that all three were safe and had “only been asked to deactivate their Twitter accounts”. He, however, did not disclose who exactly had “asked” the three journalists to deactivate the accounts.

    With the claim taking over the micro-blogging website by storm, Wajih Sani returned to tweet, “Thank you for all your love. I am perfectly fine.”

    Twitter handles of both Azaz Syed and Umar Cheema, on the other hand, remain deactivated. Meanwhile, it is being speculated that the journalists have been forced to deactivate the accounts by their employer.

    None of the journalists have confirmed or denied it.

  • Lahore High Court bans promotional texts to telecom customers

    Lahore High Court bans promotional texts to telecom customers

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) has directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to take action on complaints against unwarranted promotional text messages and calls to telecom customers.

    Hearing a citizen’s petition questioning business promotions by different companies on Friday, Justice Shahid Jamil Khan observed that mobile phone users frequently complained about receiving text messages from water tank cleaning service providers.

    The PTA representative stated that there was no mechanism to control such text messages being received on a daily basis. However, the judge said that the authority could take action against mobile numbers used for sending these unnecessary promotions.

    The petitioner’s lawyer, on the other hand, demanded that PTA being a regulatory body be ordered to ban such promotional activities on phones.

    The hearing was then adjourned till July 19 and the judge hinted at summoning the PTA chief if an action was not taken on complaints against unwanted text messages and calls.

  • ‘Every story has an end’: Sania Mirza says she is proud of everything Shoaib Malik has achieved

    ‘Every story has an end’: Sania Mirza says she is proud of everything Shoaib Malik has achieved

    Indian tennis star and Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik’s wife, Sania Mirza, has said she is proud of her husband, who announced retirement from ODI cricket following Pakistan’s last match of the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

    “Today I retire from One Day International [ODI] cricket. Huge thank you to all the players I have played with, coaches I have trained under, family, friends, media and sponsors. Most importantly, my fans. I love you all. PakistanZindabad,” the all-rounder tweeted, ending his career spanning over 20 years.

    As soon as Malik announced his decision, Sania took to social media to congratulate the veteran on an astounding career.

    “Every story has an end, but in life, every ending is a new beginning.  Shoaib Malik, you have proudly played for your country for 20 years and you continue to do so with so much honour and humility. Izhaan and I are so proud of everything you have achieved but also for who you are,” she wrote.

    “I am retiring from one-day cricket. I’m sad as I’m leaving the format I loved the most but this will allow me to spend more time with my family and concentrate on the Twenty20 World Cup next year,” Malik had said in a press conference after the match against Bangladesh Friday.

    Malik played 287 ODIs and scored 7,534 runs with nine hundreds. His performance in the 2019 World Cup, however, left his fans disappointed.

  • Karachi teen accuses mother of ‘getting her raped for money’

    Karachi teen accuses mother of ‘getting her raped for money’

    A 15-year-old girl has accused her mother of having her “sexually assaulted for money” after she refused to get into a relationship with the alleged rapist, Geo News reported.

    Reports quoted the Gulistane Johar resident as saying that her mother was “a woman of bad character” and eight months ago had told her to get into a relationship with a man named Javed.

    “Upon refusal, she [the mother] beat me up and had me raped by Javed over and over for many months. In return, she took money from him,” the victim claimed in the First Information Report (FIR) against her mother.

    She further said that her mother had released a fake video of sexual assault on social media and filed a rape case against a man named Raza Bugti. “My mother had gotten into an argument with Bugti and forced me to support the allegations against him.”

    When the victim refused, her mother allegedly beat her up and threatened to make the same rape allegations against her brother, Kabeer.

  • Govt officials ditch Asad Umar at NA finance body meeting

    Govt officials ditch Asad Umar at NA finance body meeting

    Government officials have ditched former finance minister Asad Umar at a session of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Finance, Revenue and Economic Affairs, a private media outlet reported.

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA was appointed chairman of the NA finance body after he was sacked by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan as the country’s finance minister earlier this year.

    According to reports, Umar on Thursday expressed displeasure over the absence of government officials during a meeting of the parliamentary committee convened by him.

    The committee, in protest, has postponed its approval for the passage of government bills, including the Foreign Exchange Regulation Amendment Bill 2019, Anti-Money Laundering Amendment Bill 2019 and Asset Declaration Ordinance 2019.

    “We are postponing the passage of all government bills,” Umar was quoted as saying. “If the government is not serious about these bills, then they should at least take us [committee members] seriously,” he said.

  • Govt goes after parents paying Rs200,000 or more as kids’ annual school fee

    Govt goes after parents paying Rs200,000 or more as kids’ annual school fee

    Continuing to desperately look for potential taxpayers, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has dispatched letters to parents paying Rs200,000 or more as their children’s annual school fee, The Express Tribune reported.

    Aggressively digging the records of citizens who, at some stage, have come under prominent sections of the Income Tax Ordinance, the FBR has asked the parents to declare their hidden assets and become tax return filers.

    “Data available with the FBR reveals that advance tax under Section 2361 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 has been collected from you and deposited in the government treasury, meaning thereby that you are paying an annual fee exceeding Rs200,000 per child (student) to educational institutions,” said the letter sent by the FBR’s Corporate Regional Tax Office (RTO) in Lahore.

    According to Section 2361, every educational institution is required to collect advance income tax at the rate of 5% on the fee paid. The person responsible for preparing monthly, bimonthly or quarterly fee vouchers shall also charge withholding tax in case the fee exceeds Rs200,000 annually.

    “Please note that the FBR intends to register all those persons who are earning taxable income and are liable to file returns under the Income Tax Ordinance 2001, but have failed to do so,” it stated, adding the registration drive also included the persons who were liable to be registered under the Sales Tax Act 1990 or Federal Excise Act 2005.

  • ‘Thai Airways never stopped operating from Pakistan’, Sherry Rehman ridicules Fawad

    ‘Thai Airways never stopped operating from Pakistan’, Sherry Rehman ridicules Fawad

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman has ridiculed Federal Minister for Science & Technology Fawad Chaudhry over his claim regarding Thai Airways’ operations in Pakistan.

    “Thai Airways to start operation from Lahore to Bangkok and beyond with four flights a week starting July 16, 2019,” the minister had tweeted Tuesday.

    While a lot of people praised the “restoration” of Thai Airways’ operations after British Airways, that operated its first flight to the country in eleven years on June 2; some users, including Sherry, pointed out what was wrong with the claim.

    “Err, Thai Airways has been flying from Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi several times a week for over ten years. The Islamabad and Lahore flights were suspended due to [the] closure of air space recently. Islamabad flights have still not resumed,” she tweeted.

    Pakistan closed its airspace following an aerial engagement with the Indian Air Force (IAF) along the Line of Control (LoC) on February 27. On June 28, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced that the closure for overflight and transit flights will continue till July 12.