Tag: trending

  • 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.

  • Actor Randeep Hooda joins in on Pawri Ho Rai Hai, goes viral

    Actor Randeep Hooda joins in on Pawri Ho Rai Hai, goes viral

    Bollywood actor Randeep Hooda has joined the #PawriHoRaiHai bandwagon by sharing a video from the sets of his upcoming debut web series, Inspector Avinash.

    Sharing a version of the now popular social media trend on his Instagram account, the actor wrote, “Shoot par Bacha Pawri Ho Rai Hai.

    In the now-viral video, Hooda says, “Ye hum hain” (This is me) and then pans his camera to show the staff on the set and says, “Ye humare log hain” (These are my people). He once again pans his camera to reveal a group of children, cheering and says “Shoot par ye pawri ho rahi hai” (Party is going on during the shoot).

    The maker of this video, an Instagram influencer, Dananeer Mobeen also commented under his post, saying: “Dream come true.”

    The trend began after Mobeen’s video of having fun with her friends went viral. In the video, she was heard saying: “Yeh humari car hai, Yeh hum hain, aur yeh humari pawri ho rai hai” (This is our car, this is us, and this is our pawri going on).

    As ‘Pawri Ho Rai Hai’ became a major memes trend in Pakistan, the fever caught on in India after Yashraj Mukhate of Rasode Me Kaun Tha-fame dropped a funky mash-up of the viral video.

    With many celebrities and even Hassan Ali with the Pakistan Cricket team joining in on the trend, making the most out of it, Mobeen took the trend a notch higher after releasing a video of herself, grooving on Mukhate’s version of her clip.

  • 2018 vs 2020: Is Karachi done with Imran’s PTI?

    After a rather troubled polling day, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has managed to secure a comfortable win in Karachi’s PS-88 Malir by-election for a seat in the Sindh Assembly, unofficial results issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) have revealed.

    But does that mean that the people of Karachi are done with Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) amid economic among other challenges faced by the country?

    According to journalist Ajmal Jami, that might be the case, at least in Malir, and here’s why…

    The PPP was the only party that not only retained the number of votes received in the 2018 general election, but went on to secure even more.

    The PPP secured 24,251 votes in the 2021 by-election as compared to 22,561 in 2018, whereas the PTI and its allied Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) received merely 4,870 votes against 2018’s 16,386 and 2,635 votes against 5,207, respectively.

    Hardliner Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), which had received 7,694 votes in 2018, bagged only 6,090 this year.

    Earlier, polling for the PS-88 by-election — that was slated to be a hot contest between the PPP and PTI — was marred by allegations of vote rigging, violence and intimidation as all contesting parties traded charges against each other.

    The winning candidate, PPP’s Yousuf Murtaza Baloch, is the son of Murtaza Baloch, the former minister for human settlement.

    The seat fell vacant after Murtaza died of COVID-19 in June last year.

  • 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.

  • Meesha Shafi says ‘Groove Mera’ is a win over ‘classism & post-colonial inferiority complex’

    Meesha Shafi says ‘Groove Mera’ is a win over ‘classism & post-colonial inferiority complex’

    Meesha Shafi has said that Groove Mera is a win over classism and post-colonial inferiority complex.

    Sharing a behind the scenes (BTS) video of the song, the singer said: “Groove Mera isn’t just a musical win! It’s a win over classism, over post-colonial inferiority complex, over a rigged system that favours only a select few repeatedly.”

    “A shame that we deny ourselves legendary talent like Naseebo Lal over these hangups,” continued Meesha, adding: “Kudos to the whole team.”

    Meesha had earlier also praised the song referring to Naseebo as “Queen”.

    The official anthem of the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Groove Mera has stirred up a storm in the country. While some, including celebrities, have appreciated the song, others have strongly criticised the composition and choice of artists.

    After Shoaib Akhtar claimed he could have done a better job with the anthem, the speedster had to face immense backlash from Pakistani celebrities including Adnan Siddiqui, Farhan Saeed and Hira Mani.

    Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has defended its decision to hire Naseebo Lal, Aima Baig and Young Stunners to perform the anthem, saying that the three artists were chosen as the board wanted to feature voices that were new and had not sung any PSL anthem before.

  • ‘Imran govt received loans worth Rs15,000 Arab’

    ‘Imran govt received loans worth Rs15,000 Arab’

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz has accused the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government of seeking whopping Rs15,000 Arab (Rs15,000 billion) in loans while “not laying down a single brick, and launching only failed projects”.

    “The [government] took loans of Rs15,000 billion but did not lay a single brick,” Maryam reportedly said while addressing a rally in Wazirabad as part of the election campaign for PP-51.

    Alleging that the metro bus project started by the PTI government had also failed, she asked the crowd whether any of them had gotten a job from the 10 million jobs promised by the government or a house from the 5 million houses pledged at the start of its regime.

    She said the government had accused her of playing the “Punjabi card” after she raised her voice for the province, but said she would continue to speak for Punjab as well as other provinces being “the daughter of Pakistan”.

    “But when it comes to snatching Punjab’s bread and aata and rise in the price of Punjab’s sugar, Maryam will stand with Punjabis with her heart and soul,” she said.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    Maryam, speaking in Urdu interspersed with Punjabi, said farmers, labourers, daily wage workers, traders and businessmen were all frustrated today and could not afford basic utilities and food items.

    She called upon the “selectors” not to “make the mistake” of helping to bring the PTI into power again, saying: “I feel bad when people bad-mouth the selectors because after all, the institution is ours.”

    “The country has been worn out but my dear selectors, don’t do this with Pakistan again,” she said, referring to the PTI coming into power. “Do your own work that the Constitution has assigned to you, don’t interfere with people’s work.”

    Although things are broken, Maryam said, “Nawaz Sharif will come and everything will be fixed.”

    The PML-N leader alleged that electricity in the country was expensive because “those financing Imran Khan’s expenses deliberately imported expensive LNG”.

    The PML-N leader asked the administration of Daska and Wazirabad to serve the people and the law instead of the premier.

    “I say to Wazirabad police and administration […] I know that you yourself are frustrated [but] the nation is looking at you; if you instead of serving the country and the people try to serve anyone else, try to steal the vote and make a lost person win, then remember, Imran Khan came once but now at least Punjab won’t let him come [to power] again.”

    She said the next government in Pakistan and Punjab will be “of Nawaz Sharif”.

  • VIDEO: Buzdar’s driving skills on Cholistan Jeep Rally track go viral

    Driving skills of the provincial chief executive of Punjab, Sardar Usman Buzdar, on the track of Cholistan Desert Jeep Rally’s 16th edition have taken the internet by storm.

    The Cholistan rally started back in 2005 and has since progressed by leaps and bounds. The incumbent Punjab chief minister (CM) has shared plans to make it an international event.

    This year, the event was held from February 11 to 14 with the participation of over 100 racers from all over Pakistan in different categories.

    The rally route was extended to 500 kilometres and also included major forts of the desert, namely Dingarh, Marrot, Khan Garh, Bhijnot, Moujgarh and Jamgarh.

    It was won by Sahibzada Sultan while Mir Nadir Magsi and Jaffar Imran secured the second and third positions, respectively.

  • ‘Indian media is run by jokers’: Fawad reacts to absurd claims

    ‘Indian media is run by jokers’: Fawad reacts to absurd claims

    In the wake of months-long protests by the farmers, the Indian media has accused Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry of running an international disinformation campaign against India along with Khalistani leader Bhajan Singh Bhinder (also know as Iqbal Chaudhry) and journalist Pieter Friedrich.

    Friedrich became part of the investigation after his name was mentioned in the toolkit that Swedish climate change activist Greta Thunberg tweeted on February 4.

    The ‘toolkit’, which had the detailed plan of action for amplifying farmers’ protests and listed a number of social media handles to be followed, is now being probed by Delhi Police in connection with the tractor rally violence on Republic Day. The police had also announced to book Thunberg for conspiring against India.

    But now, the Indian police think that Fawad is the mastermind of this campaign while Friedrich, a critic of the Indian government, is the face of the campaign.

    According to News18, Bhajan Singh Bhinder is the “uncle of Fawad” and the mastermind of the slander campaign against India. It alleged that Fawad is helping the Sikh activists to run a campaign against India.

    The PTI minister, however, tweeted the news clip on his social media account, calling the claims “absurd”.

    Fawad said India doesn’t need foreign actors to sabotage its image, as its prime minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are enough to destroy India’s global standing.

    On Sunday, Delhi police arrested a young climate activist arrested over a farmers’ protest “toolkit” also shared by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. Delhi police confirmed the arrest of Disha Ravi, who is in her early 20s, in a tweet on Sunday that accused her of being a “key conspirator in (the) document’s formulation & dissemination.”

  • ‘Pawri Girl’ Dananeer Mobeen says she had ‘no idea’ her video would become a trend

    Dananeer Mobeen, the girl behind the viral ‘Pawari Ho Rai Hai‘ video says she is overwhelmed with the response her video has gotten.

    In a recent interview with BBC Urdu, Mobeen shared that she was visiting Nathiagali with her friends and was having fun when she decided to film the video.

    “When I uploaded the video, I had no idea it would go viral,” said Dananeer, adding that the only intention behind making the video was to make people “laugh and enjoy it.”

    “Allhamdulliah the response has been so overwhelming,” said Mobeen.

    The nineteen-year-old Instagram influencer further said that she is enjoying all the recreations which she is receiving from every corner of Pakistan, adding that her countrymen are very creative when it comes to memes.

    She also shared that her mother was ‘over the moon’ when celebrities recreated her video.

    “I’m so happy that my video is also being appreciated even across the border, especially at a time when there is a lot of tension and polarization in the world,” stated Mobeen.

    “After such an overwhelming response [on the video], I have realised that people are liking this side of my personality, so I think in the future I will show more of this side of my personality,” concluded Mobeen.

    Meanwhile, Pawri Ho Rai Hai has became a trend on social media with many people including celebrities sharing their own take on it.

  • Pakistan becomes the first T20 side to complete 100 wins

    Pakistan clinched a four-wicket win over South Africa in the third and final T20 international at the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore to not only win the three-match T20 series 2-1 but also become the first international side to post 100 wins in this format.

    Sunday’s win (February 14) was Pakistan’s 100th in 163 matches with India in second place with 88 wins in 137 matches.

    32-year-old leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood picked up 3-40 in his debut game, reducing South Africa to 65/7 before Miller’s clean hitting powered South Africa to a total of 164-8. Miller hit five fours and seven sixes in his unbeaten knock.

    South Africa’s Tabraiz Shamsi grabbed 4/25 in a game dominated by spinners, but Pakistan’s lower order hung in to reach 169/6 with eight balls to spare and record its 100th win in a T20 international.

    Hasan Ali (20 not out) raised the victory with two sixes and a four against Andile Phehlukwayo as seamers again found it difficult to grip the wet ball because of dew. 

    “Credit must be given to David Miller for playing an outstanding inning and making the match interesting,” said Pakistan captain Babar Azam. “We told the players to play fearless cricket and that’s why we finished on the right side.”

    Babar top-scored for the national side with 44 off 30 balls. While Mohammad Rizwan contributed 42 runs to the cause. He also scored 197 runs in the three-match series, becoming the man of the series and Nawaz became man of the match.

    The green side celebrated the victory over South Africa at home ground. The young cricketers recreated the trending ‘Pawri Ho Rhi Hai’ to celebrate their big win on the field.

    Pakistan beat South Africa 2-0 in the test series before completing the double by handing the Proteas its first defeat in a T20 series in Asia.

    After winning the series, players and fans are now gearing up for the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) set to begin next week on February 20.