Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan destroyed the respect that Pakistan had.
Talking about the economic situation of Pakistan, PM Shehbaz said that when he took over as the premier of Pakistan, the country was on the brink of default.
He said that the ruling coalition saved Pakistan from default with the help of friendly countries.
عوام پریشان نہ ہوں ہم پاکستان کو مشکلات سے ضرور نکالیں گے، وزیراعظم شہباز شریف pic.twitter.com/fdCMpriIAV
The Premier said that the government will not tolerate rise in terrorist attacks and vowed to crush it by developing liaison between government and law enforcement agencies (LEAs).
He assured the people of Pakistan that the coalition government will rescue them from economic quagmire.
PM Shehbaz also accused Imran Khan’s government of neglecting the western route of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, Moscow is ready to resume gas supplies to Europe via the Yamal-Europe Pipeline and can also send supplies to Pakistan and Afghanistan in the long term.
“The European market remains relevant, as the gas shortage persists, and we have every opportunity to resume supplies,” TASS cited Novak as saying in remarks published by the agency on Sunday.
“For example, the Yamal-Europe Pipeline, which was stopped for political reasons, remains unused.”
The Yamal-Europe Pipeline normally flows westward, but it has been mostly reversed since December 2021, when Poland chose to draw on stored gas in Germany rather than buy from Russia.
Warsaw canceled its arrangement with Russia in May, after previously rejecting Moscow’s demand that it pay in roubles.
Gazprom, Russia’s largest supplier, responded by cutting off supply and announcing that it would no longer be allowed to export gas through Poland after Moscow slapped sanctions on the company that operates the Polish section of the Yamal-Europe pipeline.
Novak also stated that Moscow is exploring increased gas deliveries via Turkey following the establishment of a hub there.
He also stated that by 2022, Moscow intends to have exported 21 billion cubic meters (bcm) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe.
“This year we were able to significantly increase LNG supplies to Europe,” Novak said. “In the 11 months of 2022, they increased to 19.4 bcm, by the end of the year 21 bcm are expected.”
Novak also stated, in a wide-ranging interview with the TASS news agency, that in the long run, Russia can provide natural gas to the markets of Afghanistan and Pakistan, either through Central Asian infrastructure or through an exchange from Iranian territory.
He also stated that Russia and Azerbaijan have agreed to enhance gas supplies for domestic usage.
“In the future, when they increase gas production, we will be able to discuss swaps,” he said.
Moscow is also discussing higher supplies of its gas to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, he said.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has broken a 16 year old record held by master batsman Mohammad Yousuf, scoring the most runs by a Pakistani player in a calender year.
Babar, made the new record during the first innings of the first Test against New Zealand in Karachi.
After surpassing Mohammad Yousuf’s total of 2435 runs in 2006, Babar Azam currently owns the record for the most runs scored by a Pakistani batter in a single year. Babar is currently batting on 54* and has 2477 runs across all formats in 2022.
He now owns the record of being the highest Pakistan run scorer in one calendar year. Previously, Mohammad Yousaf made the record in 2006 with 2435 runs.
New York magazine cover story “The Year of the Nepo Baby” broke the internet, providing audiences with an in-depth investigation in to how nepotism thrives within Hollywood. The article explored how young stars with connections within the acting industry because of their famous parents or relatives, were able to quickly cement a career for themselves in comparison to anyone else with limited networking.
The article and it’s implications have now made its way to Pakistani Twitter, where one user decided to ask her followers about Pakistani entertainment figures who were able to break into the industry because of their familial connections. And the numbers are extraordinarily large.
We need to do a vulture inspired nepo chart for Pakistani celebrities too! To start off: Sethi siblings Shafi siblings Asim Azhar Danyal Zafar Ahad Raza Mir Azaan Sami Khan Haroon Kadwani Zaviyar Ejaz
Meesha Shafi and Faris Shafi are the children of veteran actress Saba Hameed. In February, Meesha defended her brother against academic Nida Kirmani’s complaints that he was an “elite rapper” by saying that both had been raised by a financially stressed single-mother, and had worked hard to arrive where they are now.
That’s a bit flat and problematic as a general perspective. Faris and I were raised by an extremely hard working, very financially stressed single mother. We do not come from money. Are you suggesting, just because she put her sweat and tears into
Asim Azhar is the son of veteran actress Gul-e-Rana and musician father , and had spoken in an interview with Dawn Images in 2018 about how nepotism allegations did not take account of how hard he had worked in order to establish his career:
. I have put in a lot of hard work into my career. For about three years, I was just spending money on music that I would put out on the net and earn nothing back from it. And yes, I managed to get popular with a niche, mostly female, crowd but there were many more people who hated me and they were very vocal about it.”
Singer Danyal Zafar is the brother of singer and actor Ali Zafar, and has also addressed nepotism privileges. In an interview withDawn Imagesin 2017, he stated that he had a different style from his brother, so he won’t be using his sibling for connections. “I just feel the shoes are not in the same spot. One thing that he made sure I knew was that my struggle and journey will be my own. I will use my own style to mark my own space in the industry,” Danyal had stated at the time.
Ahad Raza Mir, the son of famed veteran actor Asif Raza Mir, during a talk show with Anas Bukhash, pointed out that no one bats an eye on nepotism in fields like medicine or military, not in the same way everyone criticizes children of actors for following their parents footsteps. “I was doing well so people said it’s because I’m a star kid. But there are doctors whose kids are doctors, there are generations in the army and generations in politics, no one bats an eye. But as soon as there’s a child of an actor who starts doing well, everyone starts yelling ‘nepotism’,” he said of his critics.
Azaan Sami Khan is the son of acclaimed singer Adnan Sami Khan and famous actress Zeba Bakhtyar. The actor was accused of nepotism when he was cast for the Hum TV drama Ishq-e-Laa with Sajal Aly and Yumna Zaidi. However, the director of the series had addressed the controversy on an interview with Fuchsia magazine, and revealed that Azaan had been cast in the role only after he had passed a screen test.
Haroon Kadwani is the son of actor and founder of Pakistan’s leading production house, 7th Sky Entertainment, _. He was accused of nepotism after he was cast in the drama “Ruposh”. but he rejected these claims in an interview with Fuchsia Magazine, saying that being the child of a star parent means a lot of expectations are placed on you. “People think it is easy to be a star kid but instead it is very hard for me. Being a star kid has its pros and cons. My father can give me one or two roles but after that it depends on talent. If your audience accepts you then you don’t need to be afraid of anything. However, if you are not talented, your audience will reject you and you will surely be aware of it,” Haroon emphasized.
Soon other users began naming famous celebrities within the Pakistani entertainment industry who have benefited from having famous parents and connections in the industry.
Ammar Khan is the daughter of veteran actress Fariha Jabeen. The actress had been questioned about the existence of nepotism in the industry last month in an interview at the show “Hasna Mana Hai” and simply said she was not a by-product of nepotism.
Zara Noor Abbass is the daughter of powerhouse actor Asma Abbas and is the niece of superstar Bushra Ansari. In the show Time Out with Ahsan Khan, Abbas and her husband Asad Siddiqui discussed the topic of nepotism with the actress sharing that she had stopped asking her aunt from picking her up from school after realizing how famous she was:
“Bushra Ansari was always just my khala to me. It’s only when I grew up that I realized the level of her popularity and would ask her not to pick me up from school. That’s when I really understood,” she said.
Ushna Shah is the daughter of radio and television actress Ismat Tahira, and had previously addressed the pressence of nepotism and the casting couch in the entertainment industry in an interview with The News, stating that she saw a lot of girls exploited in the business. “It is not necessarily by the top level people but the lower tier that these girls have to go through to get to the meetings and auditions,” she revealed, then went on to detail the sexism that actresses have to deal with. “Men like to pass comments that at some point were considered funny by our society. But it is not funny anymore.”
Several musicians like Bilal Maqsood and Jaffer Ziadi also made an appearance on the list. Bilal Maqsood is the son of veteran television scriptwriter and presenter Anwar Maqsood, while Jaffer is the son of lehendary singer Nayyar Noor and actor Shehryar Zaidi.
Nepotism doesn’t define a person’s career as a whole as a Twitter user wrote in reply to the thread that people like Bilal Maqsood and the Shafi siblings had worked hard and created their own career without the press linking them to their famous parent. However, it is also a shocking fact how the demand for connections lead to adults from ordinary families to be pushed to the sides. Last year, it was actress Saba Bukhari who had shed light on the prevailing discrimination based on family background in the entertainment industry. In an interview with BBC Urdu, the actress revealed instances of bullying she had encountered from actresses who demanded that she leave acting because of her limited connections. “There are some actors who make film sets a quite difficult place. I remember this accomplished actress was sitting right in front of me and she began insulting my face, and complained ‘where do they even pick up these useless girls from’. She said it directly to my face that I should leave acting, because I will never be able to make it here,” Saba revealed.
Claim: A poster which stated that United Arab Emirates (UAE) has banned visas for people belonging to various cities in Pakistan, has gone viral on social media. Some media outlets have also reported the news.
The cities include Abbottabad, Attock, Bajaur Agency, Chakwal, Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan, Hangu, Hunza, Quetta, Kasur, Kohat, Kotli, Khushab, Khurrum Agency, Larkana, Mohmand Agency, Muzaffargarh, Nawabshah, Parachinar, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Skardu and Sukkur.
A warning on the poster stated, “Dont apply visa for a person who has been born in any of the above-mentioned cities, your visa will be rejected and the fee is non-refundable.”
Fact: Speaking to Geo News, Consulate General of the UAE Karachi Bakheet Ateeq Al Remeithi denied the news and termed it fake.
Remeithi said that Pakistani citizens can apply for a visit visa and visas of other categories.
He also revealed that he has issued visas to citizens born or residing in the aforementioned cities, from the Karachi consulate.
The consulate general also said that rumours like this are spread from time to time.
President Dr Arif Alvi has said that he had made it a point to discuss the “game of audio and videos leaks” with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir.
“I am surprised why this is going on. It should not continue in any sense of morality,” said Dr Alvi during a wide-ranging conversation with journalists, leaders of business community and foreign diplomats at a dinner on Saturday.
Alvi revealed that former army chief General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa and his team helped Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in the Senate and during the elections as well.
The president that Khan had no thought of sacking Gen (retd) Bajwa, stating, “No, I don’t think so. That was a rumour.”
The president said that we should let go of the past and forgive people for the mistakes they had committed earlier, so a new beginning could take place.
“Let’s make a country that we deserve,” the President said. He rued that institutions had not played their role, even the judiciary, pointing out that the courts had given verdicts allowing a dictator to change the constitution. He referred to the Reko Diq case in which Pakistan had to pay a fine of $7 billion.
“If you criticise the judiciary, it will reduce the efficacy of the entire judiciary. If you criticise the army, it becomes a matter of disrepute and we don’t want that,” the president said. He, however, added that this principle was often stretched and applied to every situation, due to which one could not say anything against them.
Discussing Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s response to India, Dr Alvi remarked that the minister had done the right thing. He said the world and the global order was based on vested interests. “A good reply was given by Bilawal sahib,” he stated.
The embassy of the United States of America (USA) has warned its Islamabad-based staff of a possible attack on the Marriott Hotel and “prohibited” them from visiting the hotel during the Christmas holidays.
On Sunday, the embassy issued a security alert stating: “The US government is aware of information that unknown individuals are possibly plotting to attack Americans at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad sometime during the holidays. Effective immediately, the embassy in Islamabad is prohibiting all American staff from visiting the hotel.”
The US also urged its staff to refrain from non-essential travel in Islamabad during the holiday season.
Meanwhile, the Islamabad police raised security levels to high alert in the capital. The police said that checking was increased at all entry and exit points, requesting residents to cooperate with law enforcement agencies.
The capital administration has also put a ban on all types of gatherings for two weeks and declared a high alert in the city for 48 hours.
The American embassy directive followed a suicide bombing in I-8, a residential area of Islamabad on Friday, which killed a police officer and wounded 10 people.
Pakistan is facing a resurgence of terrorism since the militant Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) called off its ceasefire with the government in late November.
Seven separate blasts ripped through Balochistan on December 25 killing six soldiers and injuring dozens of others.
Last week, TTP militants seized control of the Counter-Terrorism Department’s (CTD) compound in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and held hostages inside the compound for almost two days.
Yearly Horoscope Org has made its annual predictions about which zodiac signs will have an unlucky 2023. The website has made predictions about which signs will have bad luck in money and luck.
Top Three signs that will be unlucky with money:
Aries
According to the website it will be a “wasteful year” for Aries. However, it says that it will be less hard for married people than single people.
Libra
The Air sign will find it hard to save money in 2023 and they will spend it on “pretty things”.
Aquarius
Aquarians will waste money on looking for adventures and they will be one of the unluckiest zodiac signs when it comes to money.
Top three signs which will be unlucky with Love:
Aries
It is hard for Aries people to find suitable partners. When they do, they demand so much for them that they feel suffocated. In terms of love, it will be a bad bad year for all Aries.
Gemini
Geminis do not give their heart to someone who deserves it, and they will continue making bad decisions in 2023 as well.
Capricorns
Capricorns enjoy solid marriages but this zodiac sign will always be unlucky in love. Capricorns lack passion and 2023 will be a hard luck for them in terms of finding love.
The Federal Government has launched an internship program for over 20,000 engineers across Pakistan, providing them with a monthly compensation of Rs. 40,000.
Speaking at the 56th Annual general meeting of Institution of Engineers Pakistan, the Federal Minister for Planning and Development, Ahsan Iqbal, revealed that the government is working on promoting the engineering sector of Pakistan.
Iqbal further stated that a budget amounting to Rs 6.5 billion has been approved for five universities, with the government also deciding to establish an institution bearing the name of the late nuclear scientist Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan. Ahsan Iqbal had stated last month that over 20,000 scholarships would be offered to unemployed graduates in Pakistan, and under the Youth Development Initiatives program launched by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, these scholarships will be offered to students from remote parts of Pakistan.
Lahore Traffic Police has initiated a crackdown on drug-impaired drivers. The operation is currently underway on major roads in Lahore, including Mall Road, Jail Road, and Canal Road.
According to reports, traffic officers have been issued digital alcohol testers, which will be used on drivers to assess if they are drunk or high on narcotics.
Anyone caught driving under the influence of drugs will face severe penalties under the motor vehicle ordinance.
Lahore Traffic Police has also instructed motorists to drive at a speed of 40–60 km/h on the stated roads and to maintain a safe distance, especially during fog. It advised motorists to drive with low beams and avoid switching lanes frequently.
Owing to dense fog and low visibility, traffic police prohibited entry on the Lahore Ring Road Eastern Bypass to the Sialkot Motorway on Sunday night.
