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Author: News Desk

  • 10-day winning streak: Pakistani rupee soars to Rs294.90 against US dollar 

    10-day winning streak: Pakistani rupee soars to Rs294.90 against US dollar 

    In a noteworthy financial trend, the Pakistani rupee continued its upward trajectory against the US dollar, marking its 10th consecutive session of appreciation in the interbank market. On Tuesday, the rupee displayed resilience by appreciating by 0.36 per cent, settling at Rs294.9, following a notable increase of Rs1.05. 

    This positive momentum in the exchange rate follows the previous day’s gain, where the rupee had strengthened by 0.3 per cent to close at Rs295.95. This recent surge in the value of the Pakistani rupee comes in stark contrast to its earlier performance, when it reached an all-time low of Rs307.1 in the interbank market. 

    The shift in fortune can be attributed to government initiatives aimed at reforming the Exchange Companies’ (ECs) sector and cracking down on smuggling activities, both of which have bolstered confidence in the currency markets. 

    This development offers some relief to the prevailing economic outlook, which had been under pressure due to the easing of import restrictions, leading to a widening of the current account deficit in July. 

    Analysts at Topline Securities anticipate that the PKR/USD exchange rate in the inter-bank market will likely remain within the range of Rs320–340 by June 2024, providing a forward-looking perspective on the currency’s performance. 

    Meanwhile, on the global stage, the US dollar experienced a modest decline, albeit remaining close to its six-month peak against major currencies. This movement occurred ahead of the Federal Reserve’s highly anticipated interest rate decision scheduled for Wednesday. 

  • Autopsy reveals 10-year-old Fatima died of physical injuries

    Autopsy reveals 10-year-old Fatima died of physical injuries

    The post-mortem report of 10-year-old Fatima has been released, while the final post-mortem report has been submitted in the court of Judicial Magistrate, Ranipur.

    According to the autopsy report, Fatima died due to head and chest injuries, and she was not provided any treatment after being assaulted which eventually led to her demise.

    Marks of torture on her arm have also been identified.

    Fatima’s case

    A domestic maid, 10-year-old child Fatima Phuriro, was found dead under suspicious circumstances in Ranipur.

    The child had been working as a domestic worker at a haveli owned by an influential local, Pir Asad Shah Jilani.

    Fatima’s mother, Shabana, was informed about the death by the employer who asked her to remove the body from the premises where two of Fatima’s sisters were also employed.

    According to DIG Sukkur Javed Jiskani, the parents initially did not share the facts of the case with the police and claimed that the girl was suffering from gastroenteritis. While her diagnosis was also confirmed by Dr Abdul Fatah Memon who treated her, the DIG revealed that Fatima was taken to the hospital either by the Pir or his staff and that the SHO was present at the time she was pronounced dead.

    It was not until videos of the child were leaked by an unknown source and circulated in social media that the case caught the media’s eye. By then, the family had buried Fatima on August 15.

    The body was later exhumed and sent for an autopsy which revealed that the girl had been raped both vaginally and anally.

  • Number of voters reached 127 million this year: ECP

    Number of voters reached 127 million this year: ECP

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has released voter data of the country from 2018 to 2023. According to the data, the number of registered voters increased from 105.95 million (105,955,409) in 2018 to nearly 127 million (126,980,272) in 2023.  These numbers are according to the calculations done in July this year.

    The number of male voters is over 68.50 million (68,508,258), while female voters reached 58.47 million (58,472,014) in 2023.

    According to figures given by the electoral authority, the number of voters in Islamabad increased from 765,447 in 2018 to over 1.04 million (1,041,554) this year. This is one of the country’s major urban centres.

    The total number of voters in Punjab reached 72.3 million (72,310,582) this year, while the number was 60.6 million (60,672,771) in 2018.

    The number of voters in Punjab reached 72.3 million (72,310,582) this year. On the other hand, the number was 60.6 million (60,672,771) in 2018.

  • New Zealand awards SSP Sonia Shamroz Khan from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

    New Zealand awards SSP Sonia Shamroz Khan from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and District Police Officer (DPO) of Battagram district, Sonia Shamroz Khan, received ‘Officer of the Year’ award from International Association of Women Police (IAWP) in Auckland, New Zealand.

    SSP Battagram Sonia Shamrose has been awarded for excellence in policing strategies and prevention of violence against women.

    She previously worked as DPO Chitral during which she actively worked on local social issues, including establishment of a complaint cell to prevent forced marriages.

    While speaking to Geo News, SSP Sonia Shamzroz Khan dedicated her award to all the women victims of gender discrimination and diligent women police officers who are working tirelessly to ensure peace and security.

    She added that she has always been mindful of cultural norms and sensitivity attached to certain issues while working. Previously, she highlighted, women in Battagram did not approach the police, but now, there is an increase in crime reports pertaining to their issues.

  • Pakistan to launch digital rupee to reduce printing and distribution costs

    Pakistan to launch digital rupee to reduce printing and distribution costs

    The government has opted to introduce a digital currency as a strategic move aimed at reducing expenses associated with currency printing and distribution.

    According to The News, this digital currency initiative is expected to contribute to the appreciation of the rupee’s value, bolster the overall economy, and facilitate extensive financial transactions.

    Much like the Chinese digital currency, where one unit is equivalent to one Chinese Yuan, the value of this digital currency will be pegged to the Pakistani rupee. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will be the driving force behind this endeavour, offering government-backed guarantees similar to traditional currency notes. The SBP has already begun its efforts, enlisting the expertise of professionals for its development.

    To oversee this transformation, a specialised department known as the Central Bank Digital Currency has been established. This department is diligently assessing the cost benefits and feasibility of the digital currency to ensure seamless transactions upon its launch.

    The government’s objective is to gradually replace physical currency notes with digital currency while maintaining an 80:20 ratio, allowing currency notes to coexist as a backup in unforeseen circumstances.

    The adoption of digital currency will also yield significant savings by eliminating the expenses associated with printing, distributing, and disposing of physical notes. Additionally, every digital transaction will be meticulously documented, enhancing the effectiveness of monetary policy enforcement.

    Furthermore, digital currency holds substantial potential for advancing cross-border trade and investment and extending access to financial services for the unbanked population. The World Bank acknowledges its potential to enhance the financial industry’s efficiency, resilience, and reliability, with blockchain technology serving as one of the pivotal distributed ledger technologies supporting these advancements.

  • Naseem Shah bowls over another Bollywood ‘maiden’

    Naseem Shah bowls over another Bollywood ‘maiden’

    Looks like Naseem Shah is not only raking up trophies, but also the hearts of millions of girls, Bollywood being no exception.

    After actress and model Urvashi Rautela, another Indian actress, Isha Shah, has expressed her admiration for the cricket star.

    According to The Times Of India, the ‘Hate Story 4’ actress told media outlets she admired the cricket player “He (Naseem) is very good looking…  and woh bahut zyada reels pe India me bhi trend kar rahe hain.”

    Isha Shah definitely confirmed that she has a thing for the 20-year-old bowler when she said: “Khuda ne banaya to kya banaya, Naseem Shah banaya.”

    Previously, model and actress Urvashi sparked rumors about having a crush on Naseem, when during the exhilarating match between India and Pakistan on September 3, she shared a post on her Instagram stories of her watching the match on the screen where Naseem Shah was featured.

    READ MORE: Urvashi Rautela is still crushing on Naseem Shah and here’s proof

    Naseem Shah had denied reports that he was linked with the Bollywood actress in a press conference.

    READ MORE: Naseem Shah breaks silence on romantic reel with Urvashi Rautela

  • Deadly virus kills 35 ibex in Kirthar

    Deadly virus kills 35 ibex in Kirthar

    Ibex goats are dying in large numbers in Kirthar National Park, authorities have confirmed.

    According to local sources, four more ibex were found dead on Sunday while nine infected animals were traced by wildlife officers.

    Local sources have also reported that dead ibex are being cremated and buried, while efforts are being made to clean the ibex’s watering holes.

    The water in which the dead ibex were found has been blocked by planting bushes around it. While the water has become very polluted after decomposing ibex were found in it, locals claim the water will clean naturally with rains.

    Ibex are apparently suffering from an epidemic called Peste des Petits Ruminants, or PPR.

    Locals explain that this ‘goat plague’ is a virus that spreads rapidly, usually infecting sheep and goats. It is thus feared that the disease has been spread to ibex from goats

    Currently, there are around 25 thousand ibex in Kirthar and so far, 35 have died.

    Deputy Conservator of the Department of Wildlife, Hyderabad, Wahid Shaikh told Geo News that samples of the dead ibex have been sent to the laboratory for analysis, adding that the Sindh Wildlife Department has sent more teams to the affected area.

  • Bilalwal asks ECP to announce poll dates

    Bilalwal asks ECP to announce poll dates

    Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), has stated that he will only be able to remark on making “alliances” with other political parties when the election date has been made public.

    While addressing a press conference in Okara, the former foreign minister once more urged that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to announce the election date so that the party could plan and launch its election campaign.

    “It is our request to the ECP to announce the election schedule,” the PPP chief said, emphasising that the matter of alliances can only be addressed once the election timetable is established.

    When asked about the expected return of Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif, Bilawal stated: “Mian Sahib’s return has been a long-standing demand of the PPP.”

    “The PPP is not being pushed to the wall, we didn’t even back out from the 2007-2008 elections,” the party chairman stated in response to a question.

  • ‘Take the money and run’; Danish artist submits blank canvasses to museum

    ‘Take the money and run’; Danish artist submits blank canvasses to museum

    A Danish artist owes around 500,000 kroner (Rs14,408,870) to Kunsten museum in Aalborg after submitting two blank canvasses as part of a project called “Take the Money and Run”.

    Conceptual artist Jens Haaning presses upon the issues of power and inequality through his work and one of his projects was commissioned by by the Kunsten Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg, Denmark, in 2021 in which he had to recreate banknotes in two pieces.

    Haaning, instead, gave two blank canvasses.

    He said, “The work is that I have taken their money.”

    While the museum did put his work on display, Haaning refused to return the money which he owes. Resultsntly, the museum has taken legal action against the artist.

    A court has now ordered him to return the cash – but keep some for expenses.

    The court has deducted artist fee and mounting fee from the total sum and order Haaning to refund 492,549 kroner.

    BBC spoke with Museum director Lasse Andersson who said that he had laughed out loud when he first saw the two blank canvasses in 2021, and decided to show the works anyway.

    “He stirred up my curatorial staff and he also stirred me up a bit, but I also had a laugh because it was really humoristic,” the museum’s director, Lasse Andersson, told BBC’s Newsday programme in 2021.

    Haaning, on the contrary, said that he did not intend to pursue the case any further, “It has been good for my work, but it also puts me in an unmanageable situation where I don’t really know what to do.”

    While talking to TV2 Nord on Monday, Hanning said that the museum had made “much, much more” money than what was invested because of publicity.

  • ‘Dilip Kumar once told me I smelt like Lahore’: Meera

    ‘Dilip Kumar once told me I smelt like Lahore’: Meera

    Actress Meera recently appeared on Mohsin Abbas Haider’s show ‘Public Demand’ where she opened up about meeting various Bollywood actors during her trip to India.

    Meera also met the legendary icon Dilip Kumar who invited the actress to dinner at his house, where she met his wife Saira Banu, staying there for three days. The ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ actor told Meera he knew she was from Lahore, because he could smell the scent of the city from her.

    “Aap kay badan say khushbu arahi hai Pakistan aur Lahore ki. Mehak raha hoon mein,” Meera recalled the ‘Tragedy King’ telling her.

    Meera also revealed that during her trips to India, she met Bollywood Badshah Shah Rukh Khan three times. The first time was after completing her film ‘Nazar’ and met the actor in London. The second time was at a dinner with celebrated director Yash Raj, Dilip Kumar and actress Rani Mukherjee. Her last meeting was at a birthday party held for actor Abhishek Bachchan, where she was invited along with actor Moammar Rana and singer Rafaqat Ali Khan by Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, who had personally called the ‘Baaji’ actress and requested her presence at the party.

    Previously the ‘Mushkil’ actress was a guest at the comedy talk show ‘Hasna Mana Hai’ where she revealed that Shah Rukh Khan had personally wanted to cast her in his film ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’, but the offer didn’t work out as Meera revealed she wasn’t able to secure a visa to London.

    READ MORE: ‘Shah Rukh Khan, 365 days star Michele Morrone wanted to work with me’: Meera