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Author: News Desk

  • Rupee depreciation may lead to an increase in petroleum prices, says Musadik Malik

    Rupee depreciation may lead to an increase in petroleum prices, says Musadik Malik

    Dr Musadik Malik, the State Minister for Petroleum, issued a warning on the potential increase of petroleum product prices due to the significant decline in the value of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar.

    During an appearance on the Geo News program “Capital Talk” on Thursday, Dr Malik stated that the depreciation of the rupee could lead to an upsurge in the prices of petroleum products in the upcoming days. He also shared that the negotiations between Pakistan and Russia on oil imports were progressing well.

    According to Dr Malik, the sudden increase in the US dollar’s price was due to political instability, making it difficult to govern the country in such an uncertain environment. Notably, during the last fortnight’s review, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced a reduction in petroleum prices.

    As a result, the government cut the price of petrol by Rs5 per litre, setting it at Rs267 per litre, while the price of diesel remained steady at Rs280 per litre.

    In addition, the price of light diesel oil decreased by Rs12 per litre, bringing it down to Rs184.68 per litre. Furthermore, the cost of kerosene oil was reduced by Rs15 per litre, bringing its price to Rs187.73.

  • Charles facing trouble finding performers for coronation

    King Charles III’s coronation is finally taking place on May 6, however, the royal family has had to face disappointment as their preferred British singers were either unavailable or declined the invitation to perform.

    According to Mail Online, Charles was very keen to have Adele and Ed Sheeran on board. However, they both are unavailable. Adele has not given a reason, but Sheeran has said that he will be performing in Texas on the date.

    Harry Styles and Elton John will also be on tour and unavailable in May.

    The Spice Girls had agreed to perform but are now out of the lineup after Victoria Beckham once again refused to do a live show.

    Despite the absence of some big names in the industry, the concert will still feature impressive headliners, including Gary Barlow, Mark Owen, Howard Donald, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and more.

    Performers from across the pond, including Lionel Richie and Kylie Minogue, are in talks for an appearance.

  • Ranbir Kapoor opens up about how fatherhood has changed him

    Ranbir Kapoor opens up about how fatherhood has changed him

    Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor was a guest on the BBC Asian Network where while promoting his upcoming movie ‘Tu Jhooti Mein Makaar’, the actor opened up about the birth of his daughter, Raha.
    Kapoor and actor Alia Bhatt got married last year and announced that they were pregnant in June. They told their fans the name they had chosen for their baby in an Instagram post.


    Speaking on how fatherhood had changed him, Kapoor revealed that he was feeling overwhelmed with the amount of love he felt for his baby:
    “There’s nothing that matters anymore but yet everything matters also. It’s a new emotion and it’s something that even I’m scared to talk about because it fills you up so much that you get scared thinking ‘will this go away?’”


    Kapoor also confessed that the love he felt towards his daughter was not something he had experienced before.
    “In the back of my mind I know there’s one thing that’s gonna live eternally with me till the day I die which is the love, and joy and the gratefulness that I feel. I haven’t felt that towards anything, any person, any movie, anything professionally,” the new father said.

    Watch the complete interview here:

  • Court summons Maryam Nawaz for insulting ‘state institutions’: report

    Court summons Maryam Nawaz for insulting ‘state institutions’: report

    An additional sessions court in Sukkur sent a notice to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice-President Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday, summoning her on March 10 over allegations of insulting “state institutions”, reports Geo News.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) District President Zaheer Muhammad filed a petition in the court, seeking registration of a case against the PML-N leader under section 22-A and 22-B.

    The petition filed against Maryam stated that she spoke against institutions in her speech. It added that she tried inciting people towards revolt against the institutions.

    “That proposed accused Maryam Nawaz Sharif addressed the people of [Sargodha] and cued the alleged pictures included ex-Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lieutenant General (retd) Faiz Hamid, former chief justice Asif Saeed Khosa, Justice (retd) Saqib Nisar, and presently two sitting Supreme Court judges who are part of a top court bench hearing a suo motu case to determine who has the constitutional responsibility and authority to announce the date for elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” the plea read.

    In his application to the court, the petitioner stated that the PML-N stalwart “addressed hate speech with the intention to provoke the general public to spread hate and chaos against the highest state institutions”.

    It mentioned that the petitioner approached the FIA director to lodge a first information report (FIR) against Maryam, but he first “kept the applicant in hallow hopes and then clearly refused”.

  • Is Shoaib Malik going to test his fate in acting?

    Former captain Shoaib Malik might be making his way to the big screen soon.

    Talking about his future plans while hosting a talk show with his wife, Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, Malik expressed an interest in pursuing a career in acting. The all-rounder has already made his acting debut with the Pakistani film “Saya-e-Khuda-e-Zuljalal” in 2016, in which he played the role of a Pakistani soldier. Malik has also appeared in TV commercials in Pakistan. However, it is not clear if he intends to pursue acting as a full-time career or if he will continue to focus on cricket.

    Malik made his acting debut with a guest appearance in Mahira Khan’s drama series “Baarwan Khiladi”.

    “I can’t say yes or no right now. If any good project is offered, I will think about it. Maybe I do some good acting,” he hinted when asked about pursuing a career in showbiz.

    While talkin about the controversy surrounding former seamer Shoaib Akhtar’s statement about national team skipper Babar Azam, Malik supported the former speedster.

    “I have known Shoaib Bhai for a very long time. He gives blunt statements but never tries to hurt anyone,” Malik said.

    He said that he believes that the “statement was taken wrongly” while it might have been said for “betterment”.

    However, he added that in his view, English language shouldn’t be the criteria to judge someone.

    Malik has also worked in the 2019 movie “Silsilay”, in which he played the lead role. Malik has also made special appearances in other Pakistani movies, including “Punjab Nahi Jaungi” and “Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2”.

  • All economic indicators moving in right direction: Dar dismisses rumors of Pakistan’s default

    All economic indicators moving in right direction: Dar dismisses rumors of Pakistan’s default

    According to the announcement by Pakistan’s Federal Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, negotiations between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are about to conclude, and a staff-level agreement is expected to be signed soon.

    The minister also dismissed rumours of Pakistan defaulting as completely false and stated that all economic indicators are moving in the right direction. He highlighted that the State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves have increased and that foreign commercial banks have started extending facilities to Pakistan.

    However, the Pakistani rupee has plunged to a new all-time low of Rs290.18 against the US dollar in the interbank market, which is causing concern among importers who are panic buying dollars while exporters are reportedly withholding selling the greenback in anticipation of a higher exchange rate.

    It is reported that the IMF wants the value of the rupee in the interbank market to match its value in the black currency market.

  • No loadshedding during Sehri and Iftar times, PM Shehbaz passes instructions

    No loadshedding during Sehri and Iftar times, PM Shehbaz passes instructions

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has directed his government to ensure that there is no loadshedding during Sehri and Iftar times in the holy month of Ramzan— set to start at the end of March.

    He also gave directions that there should be minimum loadshedding in the upcoming summer season and directed authorities to accelerate the process of solarising government buildings.

    He asked for the completion of all projects in the power sector and solarisation in the country within the stipulated time.

    Earlier this year, Pakistan faced an energy crisis when a major power outage left the entire country without electricity for more than 12 hours.

    Amid the energy crisis, last year, the premier formed a committee that worked on reducing electricity consumption in government offices by 30 per cent. He also ordered officials to convert federal government buildings to solar energy at the earliest.

  • SBP jacks up policy rate by 300 bps to 20%

    SBP jacks up policy rate by 300 bps to 20%

    In a meeting held today, the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) increased the policy rate by 300 basis points (bps) to 20 per cent as a measure to curb inflationary pressure.

    The meeting’s result matched the market’s predictions, with analysts expecting the State Bank of Pakistan’s Monetary Policy Committee to implement a significant hike of 200-300 basis points.

    During today’s meeting, the MPC acknowledged that recent fiscal adjustments and depreciation of the exchange rate have resulted in a significant deterioration of the near-term inflation outlook. This has also led to an increase in inflation expectations, as indicated by the latest survey results.

    The committee anticipates that inflation will continue to rise in the coming months due to the impact of these adjustments, before gradually decreasing. The projected average inflation rate for this year is now estimated to be between 27 per cent to 29 per cent, compared to the November 2022 projection of 21 per cent to 23 per cent. Given this context, the MPC stressed the importance of stabilizing inflation expectations and implementing strong policy measures.

    On the external front, the MPC acknowledged that while there has been a substantial reduction in the current account deficit (CAD), there are still some vulnerabilities present. In January 2023, the CAD decreased to $242 million, the lowest level since March 2021.

  • Qalandars vs Gladiators; who will win today?

    Qalandars vs Gladiators; who will win today?

    Tournament favourites Lahore Qalandars will face a team in trouble on Thursday. Quetta Gladiators are at the bottom of the points table while Qalandars are right on top.

    Lahore Qalandars fans are excited to watch Lahore vs Quetta in their home ground, but they are likely relaxed too after their team performed extraordinarily well in their first 4 games.

    Last time Lahore palyed against Quetta at the National Stadium, Qalandars thrashed the Gladiators, winning the match by 63 runs. Now Quetta Gladiators are ready to take revenge.

    Experts say that there is a strong chance of Lahore Qalandars maintaining their winning streak, with a complete batting and bowling line up. Spinner Rashid Khan can change the game single handedly, Shaheen Afridi is famous for grabbing first over wickets and the king of seam, Haris Rauf.

    Their batting line up is also strong in term of hitting in power play, with powerful hitters Fakhar Zaman and Kamran Ghulam.

    Shaheen Afridi’s team heads into the fixture after thumping Islamabad United by 110 runs in their previous outing. Quetta Gladiators have managed to win just one match in the tournament so far, with their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages of the competition looking increasingly bleak with each passing game.

  • Hazim Bangwar reveals why he chose to leave Hollywood and start working in Pakistan

    Hazim Bangwar reveals why he chose to leave Hollywood and start working in Pakistan

    The past month, Assistant Commissioner Hazim Bangwar broke the internet with his larger than life personality and fashion choices. The government official has been a model, rapper and music producer in Hollywood.


    Bangwar showed up on Mathira’s show, where the former singer opened up about why he had decided to leave behind his career in Hollywood and come Pakistan to do his CSS. Bangwar revealed that it was the realization that he wanted to help his country that made him want to come back:
    “I completed my Bachelors in Fashion Marketing, my second degree was LLB. My mind would keep fluctuating between art and academia…Then I got signed to a music label. So I was travelling, limousines, first class, this and that…So when I came to Pakistan, reality would hit me. I’m first class in Emirates and here people would get pushed around while travelling on buses. I’m eating the best food from the best restaurants, and here people don’t have anything to eat. So I would ask myself ‘What am I doing?’ I was disconnected from reality, and somehow felt like I was wasting my time. So while I was on my break, I came back to Pakistan and decided to stop complaining and take action.”


    Bangwar also ta about how shocked other people in his life were when they found out about his decision to stay in Pakistan.
    “People would say to me ‘Why have you come back? You’re set in life go back! A government job?!’ Because of that I was absolutely determined to show them that why not? If someone wants to do something good for their country then why can’t they come back?”

    Watch the full interview here: