Current Final

Author: News Desk

  • State should handle PTI in the same way it handles terrorist organisations: Maryam Nawaz

    Senior Vice-president of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Maryam Nawaz, has said that the state should handle arch-rival Imran Khan and his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in the same manner that it handles terrorist organisations.


    The PML-N leader sat down with Mansoor Ali Khan for a long interview about a host of topics including her promotion in the party, PTI’s clashes with the police outside Zaman Park in Lahore and judiciary, the first part of which has gone on air.

    “I stood by Hamza when he became Chief Minister”

    When asked whether she deserves the spot of Chief Organiser of the party, Maryam referred to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s interview with Hamid Mir. “I spent 5-6 years working very passionately for the party. This is an acknowledgment of my relation with the people that was forged in what was the toughest period of my life and for the party,” she observed.


    Mansoor pointed out that she is now holding a position above her cousin Hamza Shehbaz. “When he became Chief Minister, which is a big post, I stood by him like an elder sister,” Maryam pointed out.

    Dispelling a question about whether Hamza was upset with the decision, Maryam Nawaz said that he has only one daughter who has heart problems and had surgery for it two years ago. “His daughter is unwell,” she revealed. The host asked that if the two cousins both win their respective seats to reach Punjab Assembly, who will be the candidate for Chief Minister. Maryam demurred and said the party will decide.


    On the matter of PML-N losing the 2022 by-elections, Maryam said that their own workers did not accept the candidates who were from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). She also rejected that the Vote of No Confidence was a mistake, implying that there was a 12-year-long plan to rig multiple elections.


    “The entire front line of PML-N was put in jail. I spent five months in jail once and then give months again. Whoever was put in jail could not come out before six months,” she reminded the anchor.

    “Let’s build a bullet-proof court inside Zaman Park”

    Dismissing the 84 cases filed against Imran Khan, Maryam Nawaz said that if he was innocent, he should prove it in court. “We showed up in court for 200 hearings,” she reminded Mansoor.


    About whether it was fair to use pictures of sitting judges while criticising the judiciary, she said, “When the law will have double standards, then it is Maryam Nawaz’s right to speak up about it.”

    Referring to Imran Khan’s reluctance to attend court proceedings, she said that she went again and again to court hearings herself when she was facing a trial. “If his life is under threat, are his workers also not facing the same who fight outside?” The host said that was there a need for such vindictiveness when Pakistan had already lost a former Premier, Benazir Bhutto, to an assassination. “Let’s then build a bullet-proof court inside Zamam Park,” she sarcastically replied.

    “State should handle Imran Khan and PTI in the same way it does terrorist organisations”

    She did not hold back when it came to the Supreme Court bench that disqualified her father Nawaz Sharif when asked about the “atmosphere of civil war” at Zaman Park when police clashed with PTI protestors. “Justice Khosa who led the Panama bench must have realised who is ‘Don’, ‘Sicilian Mafia’ and ‘Godfather’.” She said that terrorists were hiding inside the house in Zaman Park while police from Gilgit Baltistan was also there. Pointing out that this is the first time any political party had used petrol bombs to fight the police, Maryam Nawaz said only terrorists and proscribed organisations do so. “I think the state should handle Imran Khan and PTI in the same way as it does terrorist organisations,” she stressed.

    “This is cowardice”

    When Mansoor Ali Khan asked her why her party was reluctant to name former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, Maryam Nawaz said that he himself had admitted to mistakes in interviews. “No he hasn’t,” the host said. The PML-N leader responded that her father had named General Bajwa in a rally and she had given an application against the then Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence General (retd) Faiz Hameed in court. Stating that she does not agree with Imran Khan’s criticism of Bajwa, she reminded viewers that he used to praise the former army chief when he was prime minister. “Till one day before his retirement, they were meeting him, to ask him to bring them back into power” she stated, adding that now Imran Khan was demanding court martial for General Bajwa. “This is a huge dichotomy, this is cowardice. I do not take a coward’s statements seriously,” she firmly said.


    However, Maryam Nawaz did not give a direct reply when Mansoor Ali Khan asked whether her govt will court martial Generals Bajwa and Hameed. “Bravery is to challenge cruelty when it is in full might,” she said.

  • Clash of the titans as Qalandars and Sultans clash in PSL final

    Clash of the titans as Qalandars and Sultans clash in PSL final

    On the final day of Pakistan Super League, (PSL) Season 8, the two best teams of the event, defending champions Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans, will clash for the title.

    The PSL final will be played between Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans for the second consecutive year.

    The winner will be crowned champions for the second time, but the Qalandars could become the first team to successfully defend the title.

    Apart from the covered trophy, the champion team will get prize money of Rs12 crore while the runners-up will get Rs4 crore, 80 lacs.

    Tomorrow lahore Qalandars brilliantly chase the and knocked out Zalmi ruthlessly

    Zalmi give the the target of 172 Lahore Qalandars chase the Target and step in to the finals to clash the horns with Multan Sultans again.
    “May the best Team win”

  • Short-term inflation skyrockets to record 45.64% in Pakistan: What’s causing the surge?

    Short-term inflation skyrockets to record 45.64% in Pakistan: What’s causing the surge?

    The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has released data revealing that short-term inflation based on the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) rose to a record 45.64 per cent for the combined income group on a year-on-year basis for the week ending March 16.

    This increase was driven by the consistent rise in the prices of essential commodities. However, on a week-on-week basis, short-term inflation increased by 0.96 per cent due to the rising cost of tomatoes, potatoes, cooking oil and fruits.

    The SPI is expected to intensify further as the full impact of depreciation, an increase in petroleum products, a hike in general sales tax and higher energy costs has yet to be reflected in official data. Commodity prices are likely to increase rapidly with a spike in demand. The year-on-year SPI surged to 45.5 per cent during the week ending September 1, 2022, and stayed above 40 per cent for the first time since August 18 last year when the reading was 42.31 per cent.

    Of the 51 items in the SPI basket, prices of 28 items soared, while those of 11 items decreased, and rates of 12 items remained unchanged. During the week under review, the prices of onions, cigarettes, gas charges for Q1, diesel, tea Lipton, petrol, rice irri-6/9, rice basmati broken, bananas, eggs, pulse moong, wheat flour and bread increased the most over the same week a year ago.

    On a week-on-week basis, the biggest change was observed in the prices of tomatoes, tea Lipton, potatoes, bananas, sugar, wheat flour, cooking oil 5 litre, vegetable ghee 2.5 Kg, lawn, diesel, shirting, and petrol. Products whose prices saw the highest decline over the previous week were onions, chicken, garlic, pulse masoor, eggs, LPG, vegetable ghee 1 Kg, pulse gram, pulse mash, pulse moong, and mustard oil.

    The government has been taking strict measures, such as hikes in fuel and power tariffs, withdrawal of subsidies, market-based exchange rate, and higher taxation, under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme to generate revenue for bridging the fiscal deficit, which may result in slow economic growth and higher inflation in the coming months. The increase in the policy rate to 20 per cent, general sales tax rate from 17 per cent to 18 per cent on most items, and to 25 per cent on more than 800 imported food and non-food items will further increase the retail prices of consumer goods.

  • Pakistan receives $500 million in second disbursement from Chinese bank ICBC

    Pakistan receives $500 million in second disbursement from Chinese bank ICBC

    On Friday, Pakistan received a sum of $500 million, which is the second disbursement of the $1.3 billion facility from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). Senator Ishaq Dar, the Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, announced this development on his Twitter handle, adding that the funds will help shore up Pakistan’s forex reserves.

    The Chinese bank made this critical disbursement after Pakistan completed the necessary documentation. Earlier in March, the ICBC approved a rollover of a $1.3 billion loan for Pakistan, following which the bank deposited $500 million, the first disbursement on March 4, which helped the foreign exchange reserves exceed $4 billion.

    Pakistan, which has been facing growing economic challenges such as high inflation, sliding forex reserves, a widening current account deficit, and a depreciating currency, has made payments of around $5.5 billion (excluding the $1 billion sukuk payment) to China Development Bank and ICBC, with $3.5 billion given to banks in other countries. To reduce the debt stock, Pakistan has been paying off debts in tranches, and now the country will receive the $1.3 billion back in three tranches.

    The current foreign exchange reserves of Pakistan stand at $4.3 billion as of March 10, which is barely enough for less than a month of imports, while the liquid foreign exchange reserves stand at around $9.8 billion, including $5.5 billion in net reserves held by commercial banks. According to a report published in The News, a Chinese bank has given assurances that it will provide another refinanced $500 million loan in the next few days, bringing the total of commercial loans up to $1.7 billion out of the total committed amount of $2 billion.

    According to The News, Pakistan has also requested a rollover on the Chinese SAFE deposit of $2 billion within the ongoing month. These actions, such as the refinancing of commercial loans and rollovers on SAFE deposits, are pre-requisites for moving towards the signing of a staff-level agreement between the IMF and the Pakistani side. Currently, Pakistani authorities are waiting for confirmation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, as well as from the World Bank and the AIIB, to fulfill their external financing needs of $6 billion until the end of June 2023, and the situation remains tense.

  • 2 underaged girls married off by jigra as tribal fine in Jacobabad

    A jirga in Thull, Jacobabad decided to marry off two minor girls as punishment for their parents’ elopment. According to Aaj News, both the girls are seven years old.

    The jirga had decided on the case of Hajira Mangi, a 30-years-old widow and mother, had eloped with a man, Dadu Mangi, who was also married and had daughters. They were accused of committing karo kari.

    In order to appease Hajira’s family who said that she had gotten married without their permission, village head Zukfiqar Khan Sarqi was asked to step in and resolve the issue. It was decided that both Hajira’s and Dadu’s daughters from their previous marriages would be wedded off to Hajira’s brothers. Furthermore, the couple were ordered to pay Rs 200,000 as a fine. They paid Rs 50,000 and promised to pay the rest in installments.

    According to Aaj News, although jirgas were banned by the Supreme Court in 2019, there has not been a police case filed against the village head or the family for this forced marriage.

  • ‘Yeh toh dracula ban gaya hai’: Khawaja Saad lashes out at Imran for chaos in Zaman Park

    Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique has lashed out at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, calling him “Dracula”.

    The minister started off by saying that his party leaders “never shed a tear or created drama when the court asked them to appear”, however, he was of the view that “Khan pressurised the courts.”

    He said that police reached Imran Khan’s residence in Zaman Park on the court’s order with arrest warrants. Emphasising that the police was unarmed except for shields, Rafique said that PTI loyalists injured not only the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) but also 65 other officers.

    “Imran hasn’t done it for the first time, he has become Dracula”, said the minister.

    He also claimed that there are some people within the establishment, judiciary and media who are still in Khan’s favour.

    It is pertinent to mention here that since Tuesday the Islamabad police and Rangers have been trying to arrest Imran but failed to do so.

    The police arrived with Khan’s arrest warrant which was issued by a court in Islamabad on Monday, March 13, due to his continuous absence from the hearings of the Toshakhana case. The court had also directed police to present the ex-premier in court by March 18.

    A case was registered against Khan that he hadn’t disclosed gifts that he received and was supposed to deposit in Toshkahana before selling them. Despite the court’s numerous warnings, Khan didn’t appear before the judge.

  • Islamabad High Court saves Imran Khan from getting arrested

    Islamabad High Court saves Imran Khan from getting arrested

    Islamabad High Court (IHC) has stopped police from arresting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

    The court has said that Khan should be given a chance to present himself before the Islamabad sessions court which issued the non-bailable arrest warrants for Khan and directed the police to present him before them on March 18 (Saturday).

    Imran en route to LHC to offer assurance that he will go to Islamabad tomorrow

    Khan will also present himself before the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday afternoon (today) to assure the judge that he will appear before the Islamabad sessions court — which has issued non-bailable arrest warrants for him— tomorrow.

    It is pertinent to mention here that since Tuesday the Islamabad police and Rangers have been trying to arrest Imran failed to do so.

    The police arrived with Khan’s arrest warrant which was issued by a court in Islamabad on Monday, March 13, due to his continuous absence from the hearings of the Toshakhana case. The court had also directed police to present the ex-premier in court by March 18.

    A case was registered against Khan that he hadn’t disclosed gifts that he received and was supposed to deposit in Toshkahana before selling them. Despite the court’s numerous warnings, Khan didn’t appear before the judge.

  • National Refinery halts fuel supply to Pakistan State Oil over unpaid dues

    The National Refinery Limited (NRL) has decided to suspend the supply of fuel to Pakistan State Oil (PSO) due to the state-owned oil marketing company’s failure to make payments to the refinery.

    PSO has encountered a severe financial crisis, leading to outstanding payments owed to various sectors as a result of the supply of petroleum products.

    The amount owed to NRL by PSO is currently Rs3.469 billion. NRL has conveyed its decision to stop the supply of fuel to PSO in writing, according to a report by a national daily.

    Notably, PSO has recently stopped making payments to refineries, including those that supply diesel, gasoline, aviation fuel, furnace oil, and other petroleum products to the state-owned company.

    As per the company’s receivables, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) is the largest defaulter of PSO, with an outstanding amount of Rs492.102 billion as of March 8, 2023. In response, the Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet has authorized a sovereign guarantee of Rs50 billion in favor of SNGPL for commercial borrowing on an immediate basis to meet PSO’s liquidity requirement.

    The power sector remains a significant source of difficulty for the state-owned oil marketing company, with outstanding payments of Rs178 billion, followed by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and the government of Pakistan, both of which owe PSO Rs92.5 billion. The total receivables, which have risen to Rs762.653 billion, include the most critical payment of Rs124.666 billion in late payment surcharge (LPS).

  • Will Shehbaz and Imran sit together for talks? PTI gives green signal

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Fawad Chaudhry has claimed that party chairman Imran Khan is open to negotiating with the incumbent government.

    He said that Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and Law Minister Azam Tarar had stressed on holding talks and PTI welcomes these developments.

    “I hope Shehbaz Sharif will invite PTI for talks on the elections schedule. However, we have one proviso: we will not discuss their corruption cases and those have to be out of talks,” said Chaudhry.

    Moreover, Pakistan Bar Council urged all the political parties to set aside their differences and talk in order to solve the disputes which have plunged the country into a constitutional crisis.

    The bar council said that “they are “ready to call/arrange All Parties Conference (APC) and invite all the central leadership of parliamentary parties to reconcile their disputes through dialogue and to hold free, fair and transparent elections to all Assemblies on a mutually agress timeframe.”

    The bar council stressed that the reconciliation process should be held “for the sake of the country as it cannot afford to further linger on prevailing tensions.”

    Last month, in the wake of rising terrorist attacks, PM Shehbaz Sharif called for all parties conference and invited PTI chief Imran Khan as well. However, at the time Khan refused to take part in it.

  • Baarish nahin, rehmat for Lahoris; LQ will qualify for PSL final if rain washes out match

    Baarish nahin, rehmat for Lahoris; LQ will qualify for PSL final if rain washes out match

    A spell of rain that begun in the early hours of Friday morning in the provincial capital has come as a blessing for Lahore Qalandars after getting routed by Multan Sultans in the previous game. Qalandars were in hot water as they faced a do or die game to qualify for Pakistsn Super League (PSL) 8 final.

    The important playoff between Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi will likely be affected if rain continues in Lahore. The home team will directly qualify for the PSL eighth edition finals if the match is washed out.

    The meteorological department has predicted rain again in the afternoon.

    Based on the latest updates, it seems that the match is expected to commence as scheduled, despite the ongoing rainfall.

    However, if there is a further downpour, it could exacerbate challenges for the ground crew. In such a scenario, the Lahore Qalandars may have an advantage over their opponents.
    After the league matches, Qalandars has 14 points on the points table while Peshawar Zalmi has 10 points, and this advantage is enough for them to qualify for the final of the PSL eight.

    On the other hand, all the tickets for the match between Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi have been sold, but fans are eager to see the match between the teams of Shaheen and Babar.