Current Final

Author: News Desk

  • ‘Imran more popular than rivals’: Miftah Ismail cites survey

    ‘Imran more popular than rivals’: Miftah Ismail cites survey

    According to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Miftah Ismail, the chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, is more popular than his political rivals, The News has reported.

    The PML-N leader also disclosed that he conducted a survey in July to get public opinion, and according to that survey, Imran Khan is more popular than his political rivals.

    Miftah Ismail also said that PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and former member of the Senate Mustafa Nawaz Khokar agreed that there is space for a new political party in the country. “The question now is whether they have the capacity to attract people to join a new political party or not,” he added.

    However, the PML-N leader told The News that no decision has been taken about the launch of a new political party, stating that they are seriously thinking about the matter.

    Miftah Ismail also criticised the policies of former finance minister Ishaq Dar, alleging that his criticism of Dar’s policies alienated him from the Sharifs.

    Earlier, PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said that there is a space for a new political party in Pakistan.

    According to the sources of The News, Mustafa Nawaz Khokar is more keen to launch a new political party than Abbasi and Miftah. The other two are not completely sure yet whether to go for it or not.

  • K-dramas ‘Reborn Rich’, ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ bag nominations for International Emmy awards

    K-dramas ‘Reborn Rich’, ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ bag nominations for International Emmy awards

    Popular Korean dramas ‘Reborn Rich’ and ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ have been nominated for the prestigious International Daytime Emmy awards. ‘Reborn Rich’ which starred Song Joong-Ki and Lee Sung-Min, was nominated for the category of Best TV Movie/ Mini-Series while the Netflix series ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ is nominated for the ‘Best Drama Series’ category.

    ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’ received critical acclaim for its exploration of autism and bullying. The series depicted the struggle of a woman Woo Young Woo (played by Park Eun-Bin), an aspiring lawyer with Asperger’s Syndrome, who applies for a job at Seoul’s prestigious law firm.

    ‘Reborn Rich’ centeres around Yoon Hyun-Woo (played by Joong-Ki), an employee working for the elite Soonyang Group, who is betrayed and murdered by a member of the Soonyang family to cover up a tax fraud. However, Hyun-Woo is re-born as the youngest grandson Jin Do-Jun, and plots his revenge to expel members of the family and take over the family company.

    Meanwhile prominent Bollywood stars have also been included as the final nominees for the Emmy awards. Actor Jim Sarbh secured a nomination for ‘Best Performance by an Actor’ for his portrayal in the series ‘Rocket Boys’, while actress Shefali Shah was nominated for the category of ‘Best Performance By An Actress’ for her role in the Netflix series ‘Delhi Crime’ Season 2.

  • New tax to be imposed on citizens soon

    New tax to be imposed on citizens soon

    The local government has unveiled a new tax that has drawn mixed reactions from citizens. 

    This latest tax, to be imposed in lieu of garbage collection, will be collected from households, shops, petrol pumps, and industrial units on a monthly basis.

    Starting from October, Multan and its neighboring areas will see this sanitation tax in effect. The tax rates are set at Rs50 for houses, Rs200 for shops, Rs1,000 for petrol pumps, and Rs2,000 for industrial unit owners on a monthly basis. 

    The government anticipates an annual revenue boost of approximately Rs4.28 billion through this tax initiative. However, the move has not been met with unanimous approval among citizens, many of whom have criticised it. 

    Meanwhile, amid ongoing discussions concerning the surging costs of electricity production in Pakistan, the Kot Addu Power Company has submitted an application to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), seeking approval for what could potentially become the country’s most expensive electricity generation tariff.

    The proposal suggests an electricity tariff of Rs77.31 per unit, a significant increase from the current rate of twenty-eight rupees per unit. The power company attributes this substantial hike to rising production costs.

    Notably, the Kot Addu Power Company recently secured a sixteen-month extension during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) administration. However, this extension has not escaped controversy, as the Senate Power Committee has declared it illegal, further fueling the debate over electricity tariffs in the country.

  • Punjab govt ‘pleased to announce’ school holiday tomorrow due to pink eye

    Punjab govt ‘pleased to announce’ school holiday tomorrow due to pink eye

    Government and private schools across Punjab will remain closed on Thursday after Punjab government issued an alert in the light of increasing cases of the viral infection, pink eye.

    The Punjab Education Department has issued a notification to announce the closure.

    Teachers have been instructed to thoroughly check students at the main entrance of schools from Monday in order to detect any patients suffering from pink eye and stop the spread of the eye infection.

    The Punjab Health Department has reported 85 new cases of conjunctivitis within the past 24 hours.

  • Here is a complete list of the nominations from the Lux Style Awards 2023

    Here is a complete list of the nominations from the Lux Style Awards 2023

    The final nominations for the prestigious Lux Style Awards 2023 are finally here, celebrating the best of the art and culture of Pakistan. The 22nd award ceremony will be held in Karachi, attended by the creme de la creme of the entertainment industry.

    This year marks a cultural shift as Pakistani entertainment is fresh off the high of global praise. Songs from Coke Studio like ‘Pasoori’ by Ali Sethi and Shae Gill received international acclaim, and the later was also the subject of a controversial re-make in the Bollywood film ‘Satyaprem Ki Katha’.

    Pakistani films like Kamli by Sarmad Khoosat were well received , as well as ‘The Legend Of Maula Jatt’ which was sadly not included in the nominations after the producers released a statement saying the ceremony’s limited film categories honoring writers and directors is the reason why they did not submit their film as consideration.

    READ MORE: Why wasn’t ‘Maula Jatt’ nominated for the Lux Style Awards?

    ‘Joyland’ by Saim Sadiq which featured the transgender actress Alina Khan, is among the most nominated films in the awards ceremony. The movie received a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival, and was shortlisted as a nomination for the Academy Awards.

    Check out which one of your favorite film, drama or actors made it as the final nomination.

  • Karachi ranked most polluted city in world, second day in row

    Karachi ranked most polluted city in world, second day in row

    Karachi has been at the top of the list of the world’s most polluted cities for the past consecutive two days.

    Dawn newspaper quoted ‘IQAir.com’, an air quality monitoring website, stating that Karachi topped the chart, followed by New Delhi.

    The concentration of 2.5 particulate matter (pm) in Karachi is 20.3 times higher than the annual air quality guideline value of the World Health Organization (WHO) as last night it recorded an air quality index of 175.

    Air quality index readings in the range of 151 to 200 are considered unhealthy, while air quality index readings between 201 and 300 are dangerous and severely harmful to health.

    According to the annual report released by ‘IQ Air’, the level of pollution in Karachi has not improved over the past few years, in fact it has increased.

  • Shahid Khaqan Abbasi criticises Rana Sanaullah’s warning to Sarfraz Bugti

    Shahid Khaqan Abbasi criticises Rana Sanaullah’s warning to Sarfraz Bugti

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has denounced the statement of former interior minister Rana Sanaullah against interim security czar Sarfraz Bugti.

    “Rana Sanaullah is a sensible man but he should not have said something which has multiple meanings,” Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said while responding to a question on Geo News’ Capital Talk show programme on Tuesday.

    The caretaker interior minister had angered PML-N ranks by stating that if Nawaz Sharif is not granted bail, authorities will arrest him from the airport on October 21, when he arrives back in Pakistan.

    PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah took exception to the statement, responding to Bugti’s remarks by saying, “Sarfraz Bugti should see the fate of former interior minister Sheikh Rashid before issuing such remarks.”

    However, Abbasi also criticised Sarfraz Bugti, stressing that it’s not the responsibility of the interim interior minister to arrest someone. The caretaker security czar is only responsible for ensuring the implementation of the law in the country, Abbassi said.

    “If you want to arrest Nawaz Sharif and there is also a court order [regarding arrest], then you will have to implement it,” he maintained.

  • ‘Will die here but not go back’: Indians seek asylum in Pakistan

    ‘Will die here but not go back’: Indians seek asylum in Pakistan

    Two Indian citizens who illegally travelled to Karachi last week have asserted that they would rather go to jail in Pakistan than go back to their own country.

    Identified as Mohammad Hasnain and Ishaq Ameer, the father and son want to seek asylum as their lives are threatened in India with increased religious extremism and Islamophobia, Karachi police have said.

    Dawn spoke with Karachi Deputy Inspector General of Police (South) Asad Raza who stated that the two are not suspected spies, “but were considered victims of religious bias and persecution in India”.

    For now, both the Indians have been sent to an Edhi Shelter home. According to IGP Raza, they seem to want to seek asylum here.

    The duo also protested outside Karachi Press Club on September 25 against the Indian government and its persecution of Muslims.

    “We are ready to go to jail but not back to India,” the police quoted them in a statement. “We will be killed as soon as we step on Indian land if we are deported.

    “If you want to kill us, kill us in Pakistan. At least we will get some land (for burial). In India, we won’t even get that,”

    The father-son also spoke with the media.

    The two left New Delhi on September 5 for the UAE and approached Afghanistan embassy for a visa. They then travelled to Kabul followed by air travel to Kandahar where they spent a night.

    Shedding light on the atrocities committed in India against Muslims and the lack of media coverage, Hasnain states that they are not the first ones to flee the country, stressing that many others have left before them but they could afford foreign citizenship in Europe, America, Britain, Germany, or Canada.

    “Those who are well off migrated to Turkey, Azerbaijan, or Malaysia. I did not have that stature. I had less money,” he added.
    They were not allowed to check in a hotel room in Karachi since they did not possess an identification card.

    Hasnain’s son Ameer said that they directly went to the office of IG Sindh on reaching Orangi Town, Karachi.

    “As soon as we reached there, we kept our baggage on the side, raised our hands, and said we are here to surrender.”

  • Pakistani Hajjis to get special perks to make pilgrimage easier

    The Ministry of Religious Affairs has unveiled its Hajj policy for 2024, designed to bring a revolutionary transformation to the pilgrimage journey for Pakistani pilgrims.

    Caretaker Religious Affairs Minister Aneeq Ahmed announced this game-changing policy, which will be presented to the cabinet for approval within the next 10 days.

    The most striking feature is the introduction of a short Hajj option, where pilgrims have the flexibility to go for Hajj from 18 to 30 days, which empowers pilgrims to customise their journey as per their preference.

    QR codes for suitcases

    The new policy also introduces technological advances in which each Hajj pilgrim will be provided with two specially designed suitcases adorned with QR codes. These QR codes will contain essential information such as the pilgrim’s name, passport number, residence, school number, and other pertinent details. This innovation aims to streamline logistics and enhance security during the pilgrimage.

    Special Mobile Package

    In a significant step towards connectivity, the ministry has secured an agreement with a Saudi Arabian mobile phone company to offer a special mobile package exclusively for Hajj pilgrims. Priced at Rs 4,000, it enables pilgrims to make audio and video calls, ensuring they can stay in touch with their families back in Pakistan throughout their Hajj journey.

    Minister Aneeq Ahmed expressed his optimism about these advancements, stating, “Now Pakistani pilgrims will not be lost in the crowd. These changes are designed to simplify the Hajj experience, enhance communication, and provide pilgrims with peace of mind.”

    Additionally, the Saudi government has offered official residences for Pakistani pilgrims, further easing their accommodations during their sacred journey.

  • ‘Pakistani men will ogle Gigi Hadid but insult me if I wear revealing clothes’: Zainab Raza

    ‘Tamasha Ghar’ contestant and model Zainab Raza recently gave an interview to Irfanistan where she addressed the consistent online backlash to her choice of outfits, and shut down her haters by reminding them that what she chooses to wear is her own choice.

    “My life, my rules. I know what I have to wear at any place. I wouldn’t walk in Khadda Market wearing a skirt; I’d wear normal clothes. I know that it’s comfortable to wear what I want, so I do it.”

    The model went on to criticise the hypocrisy of Pakistani men by pointing out how they will ogle and appreciate pictures of models Gigi and Bella Hadid, who are both Muslims, and have been spotted wearing revealing clothes, but will slut-shame Pakistani women endlessly if they do the same.

    “Gigi Hadid and Bella Hadid are both Muslims. The same men will like their pictures but since we’re Pakistani Muslims, they’ll insult and slut-shame us if we do the same.”

    Zainab urged all haters to remember to stop criticising anyone for dressing the way they want to, and said it is up to the person to decide how they want to present themselves. She urged everyone to be kind and stop hating on others.

    Watch the complete interview here