Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan in a consultative session with lawmakers from Bhakkar, Mianwali, Pakpattan and Sahiwal told them that the provincial assemblies being governed by his party will be dissolved this very month and the date of the dissolution will be made public prior to December 20.
The PTI earlier gave a deadline of December 20 to the federal coalition government of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to announce a date for general elections, otherwise, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Punjab assemblies will be dissolved.
In reply, the ruling coalition has told the PTI chairman to dissolve the assemblies.
According to the media reports, Khan said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Qauid (PML-Q) is on the same page with the PTI on the issue of Punjab assembly’s dissolution.
“The PML-Q is a vital ally. We have intimated them of our decision,” Imran Khan said.
“Our politics is not above the country. This government has destroyed the national economy,” he maintained.
Earlier, Senior Vice-President of PTI, Fawad Chaudhry, addressing the ruling coalition said, “Leaders of the imported government don’t want polls and they have no idea how to run the country.”
“If PDM doesn’t bring a formula for holding general elections by December 20, the Punjab and KP assemblies will be dissolved,” Fawad said.
The country representative for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ester Perez, has called the conversations with the Pakistani government regarding the ninth review “productive.”
“Discussions have enabled a revision to the macroeconomic outlook post floods as well as an in-depth evaluation of fiscal, monetary, exchange rate, and energy policies adopted since the completion of the combined seventh and eighth reviews,” said Perez.
The chief of the IMF in Pakistan stated that the international lender is eager to continue discussions about policies that effectively address the requirements for assistance and recovery after the floods while also maintaining external and fiscal sustainability based on the available resources.
Furthermore, a senior member of the Pakistani administration toldThe News that the IMF negotiations were doing well and that a staff-level agreement will likely be reached soon.
The ninth review was scheduled for November 3, 2022, according to the IMF seventh and eighth review documents, which were published on the website at the end of September 2022.
After discussions with Pakistani officials that ended on November 18, 2021, the executive board approved the sixth review on February 2, 2022. This delay was brought on by the inability to meet the ‘prior’ conditions.
The proposed dates for the seventh and eighth reviews were set for March 4 and June 3, respectively, in the staff report that was made public following the approval of the sixth review. However, after talks that ended on May 25, 2022, the IMF executive board accepted the seventh and eighth reviews under the EFF on August 29. This delay was once again caused by the failure to meet the ‘prior’ standards.
The Indian government has banned the Pakistani OTT platform Vidly, after the release of the first three episodes of the series —“Sevak: The Confessions”.
As per Kanchan Gupta, Senior Adviser at Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in New Delhi, the series is “determined to be detrimental to national security, sovereignty and integrity of India.”
“Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, using emergency powers under IT Rules 2021, has issued directions on 12 December 2022 for immediate blocking of the website, 2 mobile apps, 4 social media accounts, and one smart TV app of #Pakistan-based OTT Platform Vidly TV,’ he said in a series of tweets. “Govt of India action against Pakistan-based Vidly TV follows the web-series “Sevak: The Confessions”, which was determined to be detrimental to national security, sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the State, and public order in the country,” the tweet added. “Action against Pakistan-based Vidly TV follows the assessment that the provocative and wholly untrue web-series “Sevak” was sponsored by Pakistan’s info ops apparatus. First (of 3) episode was released on 26.11.2022, anniversary of Pakistani terror attacks on Mumbai in 2008,” it concluded. Sevak stars Amara Malik, Adnan Jaffer, Mohsin Abbas Haider and Hajra Yamin.
IMPORTANT Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, using emergency powers under IT Rules 2021, has issued directions on 12 December 2022 for immediate blocking of the website, 2 mobile apps, 4 social media accounts, and one smart TV app of #Pakistan-based OTT Platform Vidly TV. n1
Senior actor Firdous Jamal has recently been diagnosed with cancer. The news was confirmed by his elder son, actor Hamza Firdous in a social media post. He stated that the Mehboob star will start treatment soon.
Hamza, on Sunday, took to his Instagram and posted a picture with his father to share the unfortunate news. “My father is going through a cancer recovery treatment at Shaukat Khanum Hospital,” he wrote.
“I know… it’s life! But nothing to worry because we (his family) and you all (his dearest friends, work colleagues, fans, admirers, well-wishers) are here for him,” he added.
The Seerat actor assured that the odds are in Firdous’s favour. “He became an actor against all odds. Here’s to another battle but luckily the odds are in his favour. He will come out stronger,” he wrote urging everyone to pray for his recovery.
Please remember him and us in your prayers.
Firdous started acting with a Hindko drama Badnami Dey Toway in the mid-70s, and he has since then appeared in hundreds of television, stage, and radio projects.
The Waris actor appeared in nearly 50 films, some of his notable work includes Sayeeban Sheeshay ka, Man Chale Ka Sauda, Mehboob, Pagal Ahmeq Bewakoof, Saahil, Piyari, Dhoop Deewar, and Ruswaiyan.
Firdous was honoured with the Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan in 1986 for his notable achievements in showbiz.
Actor Faysal Qureshi spread awareness on Jamal’s plight and shared an Instagram story for him.
In an apparent instance of name confusion, Norway’s foreign ministry complained to Twitter on Tuesday that it had been mistakenly labeled as representing Nigeria.
Both the foreign minister Anniken Huitfeldt and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere’s Twitter accounts were also identified as representing Nigeria.
Some accounts on Twitter have labels and little flag icons to indicate their association with governments; however, this appears to be a significant blunder that surely cannot be expected from a billion-dollar platform.
“Dear @TwitterSupport, as much as we enjoy our excellent bilateral relations and close alphabetical vicinity with Nigeria, we would much appreciate if you could label us as Norway,” the Norwegian foreign ministry tweeted.
Dear @TwitterSupport, as much as we enjoy our excellent bilateral relations and close alphabetical vicinity with Nigeria, we would much appreciate if you could label us as Norway😉
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has revealed that India was behind the Johar Town blast in Lahore— a powerful blast in 2021 near the residence of Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, which resulted in three deaths.
He held a joint press conference on Tuesday with Punjab Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Additional Inspector General Imran Mehmood, during which he said that there is “clear evidence” of India carrying out terrorist activities in Pakistan.
The minister further added that India’s footprints are seen in all terror activities carried out in Pakistan and New Delhi’s activities have gone “beyond that of an enemy state” just to hide its atrocities in Indian-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
He said that Pakistan will raise this matter before the world. The minister also mentioned that the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had support from the foreign intelligence agency of India, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), to carry out terrorist activities in Pakistan.
Mehmood also briefly explained who were the culprits behind the Johar Town blast.
He said that in the initial 24 hours, CTD arrested three terrorists. However, Sami ul Haq — the main handler of RAW-sponsored terror activities in Pakistan — was arrested a year later in April when he was trying to enter Pakistan via Balochistan
According to Mehmood, his Red Warrants were issued through Interpol. Mehmood added that his brother-in-law, Uzair Akbar, assisted Sami in terror activities and his Red Warrants were issued as well. CTD also got information about Naveed Akhtar — who did the surveillance and selected the target.
“We also found out that close to a million dollars of terror financing was done through India to spread terrorism in Pakistan through different channels,” he revealed, adding that all the arrested persons have been sentenced to death three times by the court.
Prior to this, days after the incident, the then information minister Fawad Chaudhry and National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf said that the mastermind of the attack was “an Indian citizen and he is associated with RAW”.
Actor Kate Winslet spoke about her special training and preparation for James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way Of Water” in which she held her breath underwater for seven minutes and 15 seconds. She has set a new record on a film set, and has also beaten her fellow actor Tom Cruise’s record.
Tom Cruise had previously set the record for six minutes while filming an underwater stunt for his film, “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation”. The average time a person can hold their breath for is around one or two minutes.
Kate recently appeared on “The Graham Norton Show” ahead of the release of the “Avatar sequel” and shed light on several topics, including her record along with the possibility of season 2 of “Mare of Easttown”.
Kate also shared a video of her training with an instructor and holding her breath underwater for seven minutes and 15 seconds. After doing some breathing exercises, Kate asks, “Am I dead?”
When she learns how long she held her breath, the actor gets all excited.
The actor mentioned that holding her breath for extended time needs both physical and mental conditioning. “It’s something that you have to learn how to do.”
Celebrity athletes Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza carved their own unique cross-border love story when they announced their marriage 12 years back.
The tennis star and veteran cricketer are parents to a son Izhaan Mirza Malik.
However, netizens started to express their concern for the duo’s marriage after Mirza shared some cryptic posts on Instagram.
Sania Mirza has been sharing posts about rough times on her social media:
She also shared a picture with her son Izhaan with a caption that moments with her son help her get through the hardest times:
According to some local publications, Sania was affected by Shoaib’s budding friendship with a female contestant on his show, The Ultimate Muqabla. However, the authenticity of this matter is doubtful.
These posts made social media users furious.
Latest Development:
Shoaib was recently asked to address the alleged divorce in an interview, he slammed the constant media pressure on the topic. Shoaib said, “It is our personal matter. Neither I, nor my wife is answering this question. Leave it alone.” He neither denied the news, nor accepted it.
When questioned about stepping into showbiz, Shoaib said that he will always be open to any prospect saying, “I do not close any door for myself. If a good opportunity comes up, I will not refuse.” He added that he has already hosted a couple of shows.
After excerpts from this interview went viral, Shoaib surprised his fans by updating his Instagram Bio. Malik added, “Husband to a superwoman, @saniamirza”.
Actor Mehwish Hayat even liked this update when a portal posted this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=votNCjjDXxI&t=33s
However, the all-rounder added that he barely gets much time to dedicate to a showbiz career with his family.
The duo recently announced their chat show for an online platform. This cross-border couple would be hosting The Mirza Malik Show together for Urduflix.
In an interview with Gulf News, the couple shared the show will not be controversial in any way and aims to spread the cross-cultural love they experience in disguise. “It will be a whole lot of love and laughter. I think those two things are very important to us, even as people,” revealed Mizra, explaining the concept. “Everybody that we know, knows that we deal with most things with humour and that is something that helps us a lot.”
Both ace sportspersons, with their demanding careers, deal with a high emotional quotient on a daily basis and the couple shared that their collective coping mechanism is humour and that will be evident in the show as well “The goal is to try to bring that laughter, love and joy, not just to the audience but also to the guests that are going to come on the show,” shared Mirza. “We don’t want to reveal everything. It’s not a comedy show but it is a show where we are going to try to have as much fun as possible and still try to find meaning in it.”
Malik sheepishly shared how Mirza has been coaching him on acting and hosting given her past appearances in many talk shows, including the most-talked-about notorious chat show, Koffee With Karan.
“I have been taking classes from her as she’s good! It’s going to be great fun for me. I’ve done some shows, but it was only on a social media platform and all those shows were with my friends. I had so much fun while doing them (interviews), and a lot of people enjoyed it also. I always wanted to do a show from the studio and that’s what is going to happen,” shared the cricketer.
Shoaib also wished his ladylove on her Birthday with a special post.
The celebrity pair were glimpsed together in a recent behind-the-scenes clip of their upcoming reality show The Mirza Malik Show.
The two can be seen posing with actors Fahad Mustafa, Humayun Saeed, and Adnan Siddiqui. The picture was posted on Instagram by Pakistan’s first Urdu OTT platform Urduflix. Another image was also posted, drawing interest from fans who got a first look at the pair’s forthcoming talk show.
The celebrity couple appeared together on Ahsan Khan’s talk show earlier this year, where the duo displayed their fun camaraderie.
During a segment of the show, the Indian Tennis star stated that “Shaoib Ke par nikal ayen hain, kuch zyada hi nikal ayen hai, lagta haikatnay parenge.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FmBEJ1J8CU&t=24s
She also revealed on the show that Shaoib spends a lot of time in the toilet, surfing the internet, and getting all the news updates.
While Shoaib spilled the beans about their first meeting in 2004, he said that a media person introduced the two to each other and Sania showed him a lot of attitude.
However, when they met the next time in 2009, Sania thought him to be very good looking and the duo fell in love after developing an understanding.
Indian and Chinese troops clashed at the disputed Himalayan border on December 9.
Indian Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said soldiers of both countries sustained injuries. However, he said that no Indian soldiers had been “hurt or seriously injured” in the clash.
“PLA troops attempted to unilaterally change the status quo by encroaching on the Line of Actual Control, in the Yangtse area of Tawang sector,” he said while referring to China’s People’s Liberation Army.
Both sides’ military commanders met right after the clash to maintain peace and stability on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
According to reports, an Indian army source mentioned six Indian troops were injured.
In their last face-off in 2020, at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in Ladakh Galway Valley.
According to the BBC, “China and India share a disputed 3,440km (2,100 mile) long de facto border – called the Line of Actual Control, or LAC – which is poorly demarcated. The presence of rivers, lakes and snowcaps means the line can shift. The soldiers on either side – representing two of the world’s largest armies – come face to face at many points.”
Former Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed said that he saw people crying for Pakistan at Khana Kaaba in Makkah. He broke down while narrating the story on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’.
“I have seen people crying for Pakistan in Hateem [a low wall originally part of the Kaaba]. People were screaming and crying under the door of the Khana Kaaba. This shows the pain people are carrying in their hearts for Pakistan,” said Rasheed.
عمران خان آرمی چیف کوخداکاواسطہ دیکر مداخلت کا بھی مطالبہ کررہے ہیں اوریہ بھی کہہ رہےہیں کہ انہوں نے بڑی انکی تعریفیں سنی ہیں۔ مگرماضی میں خودعمران خان نے کیوں انہیں ڈی جی آئی ایس آئی کے عہدے سے ہٹایا اوراُن کے آرمی چیف بننے کی مخالفت کی؟ دیکھیے
Talking about general elections, Rasheed said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government also thought that its government would complete its tenure but “people pulled the carpet from under their feet”.
He also said that the sitting government will not do well in the upcoming elections. “All the sitting government is trying to do is cling to power. They will be terribly defeated by Imran Khan.”
