In order to meet domestic demand, Pakistan will import an additional 20,000 tonnes of gas from Azerbaijan in the next two months, according to Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Malik.
The Russian Petroleum Minister will visit Pakistan next month to strike a deal for the purchase of Russian crude oil, the minister said in a statement. The state minister was confident that Russia will deliver discounted crude oil to Pakistan.
According to him, the government is working on the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline project to import 1,300 billion MF of gas from Azerbaijan per year to address the country’s gas shortfall.
Malik had before claimed that Russia will give Pakistan a discount on the purchase of its crude oil.
Musadiq Malik stated during a news briefing in Islamabad on Friday that Russian authorities had made it clear they will offer Pakistan cheap crude oil.
The State for Petroleum Musadik Malik stated, “We are taking talks [with Russia on crude oil] forward,” noting that two of Russia’s eight sorts of crude oil might be utilised in Pakistani refineries.
He continued by saying that Pakistan was also developing a framework for an LNG cargo arrangement with Azerbaijan.
Lawmakers from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have decided to appear before National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf for the verification of their resignations, reports Geo News.
The lawmakers are likely to appear either on Wednesday or Thursday.
The Speaker has yet to take action on the resignations as PTI legislators have failed to get a response after they wrote a letter to him
On December 15, PTI leader and former federal minister Fawad Chaudhry announced that the party would be seeking time from the National Assembly speaker for the verification of their MPs’ resignations.
He also denied speculations that the party’s lawmakers are still receiving salaries.
“Judges should verify the reports that show up on media. The reality is that this is another lie told by the government. The salaries of the resigned members are suspended and no member is getting any salary,” said Fawad.
A day earlier, the PTI chief announced that both Punjab and KP assemblies will be dissolved on December 23.
The Islamabad Police on Sunday discovered a child’s body hanging from a tree in Sector I-8’s forested region.
According to the authorities, the victim has been identified as Zubair, who is 14 or 15 years old. As per the details, the victim is from Afghanistan. The body has been taken collected by police and sent to the hospital for an autopsy.
According to representatives of the industrial police, they were informed that a child’s body was hanging from a tree.
Emergency personnel and cops then reached the place and found the boy’s body. .
According to the family of the child, he went missing on Saturday night.
The Taqdeer star made severe allegations against her daughter-in-law and defended her decision to make a video and asked people not to judge her family matters. She claimed that Neha was a bad person and such a kind of woman that she could disturb the peace of anyone’s house.
In a visibly emotionally shattered video, the television actor explained that her son wanted to live with Neha (her daughter-in-law) and both should live happily but she wanted to cut all ties with her son and her daughter-in-law. She said those who were commenting on the video of Neha, must be clarified that she was not associated with her anymore.
Saba Faisal claimed that people should not pass judgment and even they should not listen to the one-sided claims on the differences. She said the reality was quite graphic and she and her daughter had no association with Salman and Neha.
Latest Development
Saba has confessed on Nadir Ali’s podcast that she regrets posting videos against her son Salman Faisal and daughter-in-law Neha Salman. She regretted that she is Salman’s mother and she shouldn’t have posted a video against them. It was just at the moment she felt very weak and ended up posting that video which went viral and also talked about how posting the video resulted in a lot of backlash.
She also talked about how playing negative saas (mother-in-law) on television makes people think that she is like that and in real life, the actors who play negative characters are the victims.
Faisal also said the way she has brought her children up is visible that how they stand by their relationships like her son Salman has stood by his wife Neha. While she also revealed that she selected Neha and the decision was on her son’s.
She also shared in response to a question that she does not put one person as responsible for this fiasco and both Neha and Salman have equal responsibility for the decisions they take. Though she has always said she has had a successful journey this time she shared that she has only one regret in her life and it is sharing that video.
Arsalan’s Statement
In an Instagram post, her son and actor Arsalan Faisal claimed that his sister-in-law has been mentally torturing the family for the past four years. He also said the family had been tolerating her but they won’t do so anymore.
Neha’s Response
Amidst the ongoing controversy, Neha responded to a few netizens’ queries about her personal life. She even stated in reply to a follower that her in-laws will get punished for their deeds by God.
Salman Faisal’s Response
Taking to his Instagram handle, Salman wrote: “Enough is enough mind your language and your disgusting thoughts she is my wife and my son’s mother and you all should respect that fact.”
Earlier this year, Saba addressed the social media backlash for her alleged role in her son’s strained equation with his wife.
The Thora Sa Haq diva stated on Naumaan Ijaz’s show that the criticism and severe backlash put her in a depressive phase.
Netizens abused and blamed her for Salman and Neha’s alleged separation.
Saba’s son Salman married Neha in 2019 in a series of lavish events. The ceremony was attended by a plethora of celebrities including Cheekh‘s Saba Qamar. Earlier in July 2021, gossip mills were abuzz with the separation and divorce rumours of the young couple.
Earlier the Ishq Hai star hit back at multiple trolls.
Indian actor Rakul Preet Singh has been summoned by Enforcement Directorate (ED) over involvement in the 2017 Tollywood drug and money laundering case.
ED has summoned the Aiyaary star Rakul in connection with a high-end drugs racket. Several celebrities have been questioned in the alleged racket of supplying high-end narcotics such as LSD and MDMA.
Rakul was called in by the authorities back in 2021 as well. She claimed that they do not have any links with drug traffickers or consume any such substance.
Earlier, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Telangana’s Prohibition and Excise Department probed around 11 members of the Telugu film industry including Ravi Teja, Charmee Kaur, and Navdeep in the matter.
For the unversed, the drugs racket came to light back in 2017 after customs officials arrested musician Calvin Mascarenhas and two others with drugs worth Rs 30 lakh from their possession. On digging in a little deeper, the authorities reportedly found that a large number of Tollywood celebrities could be involved in this racket.
Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday called for political stability in the country and the slammed the Opposition for “spreading anarchy”.
In a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) the premier said, “It is required for the sake of loyalty to Pakistan and allegiance that there must be economic stability.”
PM Shehbaz said that only political stability and an economic charter could “strengthen Pakistan’s national solidarity”.
“The people who had laid land mines in the economic foundations of the country, are out to do the same in the political foundations of the country,” Shehbaz stated.
He said that it was “someone’s” desire that Pakistan should be pushed into (financial) default, however, he stressed that that scenario would never happen.
“The people who had hurt public confidence are now out to dissolve assemblies,” he stressed, claiming that their objective was to create political instability.
“There is no doubt that economic havoc was brought under an agenda and political instability is a continuity of that action,” he opined.
“The political miscreants wanted to force the world to not invest in Pakistan by spreading anarchy, besides hampering the efforts for rehabilitation of the flood-affected people,” Shehbaz said.
His remarks come on the same day as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) gears up to announce the dissolution of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assemblies. Party chairman Imran Khan is expected to announce his final decision on Saturday evening in Lahore.
To meet EU standards outlined in the Digital Markets and Services Act, Apple intends significant improvements to iOS and other services.
According to Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, Apple will redesign its platform to “open up key elements,” allowing users of the iPhone and iPad to download applications from third party app stores and websites.
Only the 27 European Union member states are expected to experience the changes, which would pave the way for a potential expansion of the services to other areas.
As corporations have time until 2024 to completely comply with the Digital Markets Act, plans for the changes are probably going to launch with iOS 17 in 2023. The implementation also includes adding new web browsing engines to iPhones and iPads as well as expanding access to the NFC chip, camera, Find My Network, and AirTag.
Gurman noted that even if developers choose not to make their apps available through the App Store, Apple still intends to charge them.
Both the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act aim to enhance privacy protection, foster fair competition, and do away with some intrusive targeted advertising. The first act, which is meant to provide improved interoperability with less significant competing services, is where Apple’s activities mostly come under.
Let’s say Cupertino chooses not to follow the regulation when it becomes effective on January 1, 2024. In that situation, regulators may impose a penalty equal to 10 per cent of the entire global turnover, up to 20 per cent for recurrent infractions.
The gas crisis has grown worse in the economic hub of Pakistan as the duration of gas load-shedding in Karachi industries was extended for up to two days.
The industrial sites in Karachi will be facing two-day gas load-shedding instead of one.
According to the information obtained, all industrial facilities and captive power plants in Karachi will not be supplied gas for two days.
From December 17 to December 19, seven industrial zones and captive power plants were instructed to refrain from using Sui Southern Gas Company’s (SSGC) gas supplies on Saturday and Sunday.
In addition to conducting unannounced raids on all industrial sites, the SSGC surveillance teams will also take legal action against those who violate the rules.
Imtiaz Shaikh, the energy minister for Sindh, criticised the gas load-shedding on December 13 and claimed that although the province is generating more natural gas than it needs, it is still being denied its legitimate right.
Imtiaz Shaikh, the energy minister, demanded that Sindh be given preference over other parts of the country in the provision of natural gas.
“We will take the matter to court if required,” Sindh’s energy minister said. “We are also considering raising the issue in the Council on Common Interest (CCI),” he said.
He said that the chief minister had discussed Sindh’s case regarding the gas issue during discussions between the state and federal governments. He expressed hope that the prime minister will pay attention to the situation.
The provincial minister stated that when additional petrol is provided to the province, Karachi’s industry will resume operation.
The most natural gas-producing province in Pakistan, Sindh, is now experiencing a severe natural gas shortage for home, industrial, and commercial customers.
Additional Inspector General of Police Jawed Alam Odho has advised the residents of Karachi to not resist robbers if they are being held up.
The police chief’s statement has come forward during a press briefing in Karachi on the killing of a young man in a mugging incident.
On Thursday, two robbers shot dead a 21-year-old student — Bilal Nasir — of the NED University of Engineering and Technology.
During the mugging bid, Bilal succeeded in getting hold of one of the robbers, but the robber opened fire from close range. The youth was shot in his chest and leg, killing him on the spot.
Police have managed to arrest one suspect in Bilal’s killing—Nizamuddin. According to Odho, the suspect is a teenager, an Afghan who has been illegally living in Karachi.
Odho remarked that this year, the situation of robbery, dacoity, and street crime had remained “stable” with an overall increase of 7 per cent.
He also said that in 2022, 518 people were severely injured or killed during street crimes. However, in 2021, the figure was 522.
Former senator, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, calling the coalition government a “hybrid 2.0” setup announced quitting Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) after differences arose between him and the leadership over his stance on government policies.
“I am as much part of PPP as Miftah Ismail is of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Let’s see where I head next from here,” Khokhar said while speaking on Geo News’ programme “Naya Pakistan”.
“I wish the best for Peoples Party. I feel honoured to serve as a member of the party, but I am no longer a part of it,” he confirmed.
Khokhar said if the party’s members do not talk about ongoing issues, then it would look like it’s more of a “monarchy than a political party”.
Criticising the current coalition government, Khokhar said that what happened during Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) tenure when Imran Khan was the Prime Minister, continues to happen in the present government as well.
“We managed what happened at Sindh House. [Some were out of free will], and some were forced. But whatever happened in [Khan’s] tenure is still happening today,” he lamented.
Taking a jibe at the incumbent government, Khokhar called it “hybrid 2.0” and noted that it was “resorting to the wrong moves” in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Azam Swati’s case — who is being transferred from one jail to another over his controversial tweets.
Khokhar formally resigned as a senator on November 10, stressing that he would try hard to maintain his “independence”.
