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Author: News Desk

  • Arshad Sharif murder: Govt forms new investigation team after SC suo motu

    Arshad Sharif murder: Govt forms new investigation team after SC suo motu

    The federal government has formed a new Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the murder of journalist Arshad Sharif after the Supreme Court (SC) took suo motu of the slaying and ordered that a new team be formed.

    Chief Justice of Pakistan, (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, is heading the five-member bench that is hearing the suo motu case.

    During Thursday’s hearing, the federal government informed the apex court that a new JIT has been constituted, including members DIG Islamabad Owais Ahmed, Director Cybercrime FIA Waqaruddin Syed, Sajid Kayani from Intelligence Bureau, Murtaza Afzal from Military Intelligence and Mohammad Aslam from Inter-Services Intelligence.

    Additional Attorney General (AAG) Chaudhry Amir Rehman informed the court that an investigation into the murder is being launched immediately, specifying that the JIT would first record the statement of the slain journalist’s mother.

    “The JIT will probe all relevant persons in Pakistan and then start investigations in Kenya,” the AAG added.

    The chief justice stressed an impartial and transparent investigation and directed the JIT to submit a progress report fortnightly. The top court also said that “JIT can approach the Supreme Court in case it faces any hurdle.”

    Moreover, the SC stated that the team should submit progress reports to judges in chambers for review.

    A day earlier, the apex court sought the names of senior and competent for the JIT from the government.

  • Lahore Traffic Police issues 99,000 challans to motorcyclists in less than a month

    Lahore Traffic Police issues 99,000 challans to motorcyclists in less than a month

    In the last three weeks, 99,000 motorcyclists received challans from the Lahore City Traffic Police (CTP) for not wearing helmets. Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Dr Assad Malhi emphasised the value of wearing helmets during his interview with the media.

    He claimed that after the enforcement effort, 95 per cent of motorcycle riders on Mall Road are now wearing helmets. Helmets should be used for self-defense and to prevent Challan since they shield the head from 70 per cent of fatal injuries, he continued.

    As more people wear helmets, the number of head injuries treated in Lahore hospitals has fallen. It noted that both senior and junior physicians have praised CTO for tackling this issue.

    According to Pakwheels, the entry of bikers without helmets was completely prohibited last month by the Lahore City Traffic Police. No biker would be permitted on Mall Road without a helmet, according to CTO Lahore, Dr Asjad Ahmed Malhi, in a statement to the media.

    Malhi warned, “In case of violation, there will be a heavy fine.” He further said this is a model stage and will be spread across the city in the next phase.

    The CTO continued by saying that the new law will be fully implemented and would have 100 per cent continuity.

    In order to make helmets mandatory, the traffic police have started a number of projects and initiatives in the city. More motorcyclists have started using helmets over time. There are still a sizable amount who don’t, though. A few years ago, the police started the “no helmet, no petrol” campaign to encourage people to use helmets.

  • Audio leak: Bushra Bibi allegedly discussing selling Toshakhana watches with Zulfi Bukhari

    Audio leak: Bushra Bibi allegedly discussing selling Toshakhana watches with Zulfi Bukhari

    An audio recording for former First Lady Bushra Bibi has surfaced online on Thursday.

    In the brief clip, Bushra Bibi can be heard allegedly discussing selling Toshakhana watches with Zulfi Bukhari, a close confidant of her husband, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, and leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    Following is the audio transcript of the clip.

    Bushra bibi: Hello

    Zulfi Bukhari: Asalam-o-Alikum Jee

    Bushra Bibi: Jee Waalikum Asalam. How are you?

    Zulfi Bukhari: I am well Murshad. How are you are?

    Bushra Bibi: All is well by the grace of God. There are a few watches of Imran Khan Sahib. He has asked me to send them to you so that you can sell them. They are not of his use.

    Zulfi Bukhari: Yes

    Bushra Bibi: He wants that you take them somewhere.

    Zulfi Bukhari: Yes Murshad. I will do so.

    On November 15, Dubai-based businessman Umar Farooq Zahoor claimed in the Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, that the PTI government had sold the expensive Graff wristwatch gifted by Saudi Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, for a cash amount of $2 million or Rs.280 million at the time of sale in 2019.

    Zahoor claimed that he had bought the watch through former accoun­ta­bility minister Shahzad Akbar and Farah Khan, a close aide of Imran’s wife Bushra Bibi.

    The Dubai-based businessman also claimed that Farah wanted to sell the watch for $4-5 million “but after negotiations, I purchased it for $2 million”. The payment, he added, was made in cash on Farah’s insistence.

    It is pertinent to mention here that earlier in the year, another alleged leaked audio of the former First Lady came to light in which Bushra Bibi could be heard saying, “Khan Sahib told you to run a hashtag of treason. I have been getting calls from people that your social media was very active but after a week, it is not. You should have been very active nowadays.”

  • Lahore to become Pakistan’s first smart city

    Lahore to become Pakistan’s first smart city

    The CEO of the Aga Khan Cultural Services Pakistan, Khawaja Tauseef Ahmad, paid a visit to Chief Minister of Punjab (CM) Ch Parvez Elahi at the CM Office. 

    The key decision to transform Lahore into a smart city in collaboration with the AKCSP was taken during the meeting.

    In this regard, the CM also sought a project plan. He said that Lahore would have the honour of being the first smart city in Pakistan.

    According to The Nation, he continued by saying that the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) will assist in the digitalization of the city of Lahore and that urban utilities will be provided via a mobile application.

    Moreover, Baba Bulleh Shah’s tomb in Kasur will also be renovated to resemble the architecture of the Wazir Khan Mosque.

    Last week, CM Punjab attended the induction ceremony of MPA Khayal Ahmad Kastro as minister at the Governor House. Khayal Ahmad Kastro was sworn in by Governor Balighur Rehman.

    The CM congratulated the newly appointed minister on taking the oath and expressed confidence that he will execute his duties responsibly while working to serve the people. The administration is focused on the welfare of the public, and it is taking every effort to provide assistance to the citizens.

    CM Elahi earlier said that Punjab is the most suitable province for investment and we have formulated a policy to give on lease uncultivated land on 30-year period.

  • Japan announces $38.9 million grant for Pakistan flood victims

    The Japanese embassy in Pakistan said on Tuesday that Japan would provide the country with a grant assistance of $38.9 million as part of efforts to provide life-saving relief to flood victims.


    According to a statement issued by the Japanese Embassy, the projects will commence in January 2023 and Tokyo “will support the affected population in various social and economic dimensions in partnership with WHO, UNFPA, FAO, UNDP, UNICEF, WFP, UNWOMEN, UNHCR, and IPPF in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Punjab provinces, as well as the Islamabad Capital Territory.”


    The announcement made by the Japanese Embassy said, “The unprecedented levels of flooding have triggered a multi-dimensional humanitarian crisis, leaving the affected population with increased health risks and food insecurity, insecure livelihoods, and heightened vulnerabilities to gender-based violence.”

    The statement further clarified that for the total grant assistance of USD34.2 million, the proposed areas of support include emergency medical assistance, food distribution, agriculture and livestock restoration, livelihood recreation, and gender-based violence risk mitigation and response, with projects commencing from January 2023.

    Torrential monsoon rains triggered the most severe flooding in Pakistan’s recent history. Hundreds of thousands of homes have been damaged or destroyed, while many public health facilities, water systems and schools have been destroyed or damaged. More than 33 million people have been affected by floods and flash floods in 94 districts.

  • IHC orders Suleman Shehbaz to surrender; bars authorities from arrest

    IHC orders Suleman Shehbaz to surrender; bars authorities from arrest

    The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday has ordered Suleman Shehbaz, son of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to surrender before it on December 13 and barred authorities from arresting him till then.

    The court has also asked authorities not to arrest the petitioner at the airport. The orders were given by IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq while hearing a plea filed by the prime minister’s son for protective bail.

    During the hearing, Suleman’s lawyer Amjad Pervez told the court that his client is abroad since October 2018 while all cases against him were registered after that.

    However, the court informed the lawyer that it cannot grant bail in absence of the petitioner.

    Suleman Shehbaz is set to return to Pakistan after ending his self-exile of over four years in the British capital, London.

  • ‘Defence walon ka Karachi’: Twitter expresses anger over article about Karachi

    ‘Defence walon ka Karachi’: Twitter expresses anger over article about Karachi

    Artist Osman Yousefzada is being criticised for a piece he wrote about life in Karachi for the Financial Times. The article is being panned for presenting an elitist point of view about Pakistan’s largest city.


    “I also go to Café Flo. It is a little taste of France in Karachi, with white linen tablecloths and a leafy outdoor terrace. It’s run by Florence Villiers, the daughter-in-law of popular singer Noor Jehan who was probably the Édith Piaf of Pakistan. I always order the tuna tartare – it’s amazing. For traditional Pakistani food I go to the Village Restaurant, one of the oldest in Karachi. They grill all the food in front of you, and everything is served on tin plates with elegant earthenware finger bowls. Burns Road, which was recently pedestrianised, is the street food mecca. Everywhere you look there are bun kabab coming out of ovens and skewered chickens being barbecued over open fire pits. Don’t miss Waheed Kabab House’s chapli kababs,” read the article.


    As per Twitter users, Osaman’s guide is actually a ‘misguide’ to Karachi and one can not describe the metropolis by talking about ‘Okra’, an expensive, higher end bakery cafe in Karachi.
    Have a look at the reactions.

    https://twitter.com/MerryBaloch/status/1600259296947712000
  • Business confidence in Pakistan drops to negative 4%

    Business confidence in Pakistan drops to negative 4%

    Major multinational companies with operations across a variety of sectors in Pakistan have lost faith in the country’s economy. In the previous six months, the Business Confidence Score (BCS) as a whole decreased by 21 percentage points to a negative 4 per cent.

    In the earlier survey, which was conducted in March–April 2022, the score (BCS) was positive 17 per cent. In general, more than half of respondents (56 per cent vs. 19 per cent in the prior study) had a “poor” opinion of the business environment in the previous six months.

     “Going forward, only a net 2 per cent (versus 18 per cent in the previous survey) were ‘positive’ for the next six months and 35 per cent of respondents cited no plans to invest,” according to the “Business Confidence Index Survey Wave 22” of the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI), which was held from September to November 2022.

    According to Express Tribune, political unrest, currency depreciation, and rising fuel prices were the top three factors contributing to the recent drop in business confidence. The other two top-five factors contributing to the recent drop in company confidence were the current energy crisis (high power costs) and inadequate commercial and trade policies.

    The services industry experienced a confidence decline of 24 per cent, followed by the retail and wholesale trade sectors (22 per cent), and the industrial sector (20 per cent). 25 per cent of respondents were from the retail and wholesale trade, 33 per cent from the services industry, and 42 per cent from the manufacturing sector.

    Commenting on the survey results, OICCI President, Ghias Khan said in a statement that “The substantial decline in the overall business confidence to negative 4 per cent is regrettable but not surprising considering the highly challenging political and economic situation witnessed during the past six months.”

    “The record level of rains during August leading to severe flooding in Sindh and other parts of the country further restricted business activities,” he added.

    “Foreign investors’ feedback could have been more positive but for serious concerns on a few critical issues like the undue delay in revising the pharma pricing and the extreme delays in overseas (outward) remittances for goods, services and dividends. Such actions are seriously counter-productive when trying to attract FDI (foreign direct investment) into the country,” Khan expounded.

    The main factors affecting business confidence in the country are anticipated to remain political unrest, rising fuel prices, and rupee depreciation.

    OICCI Vice President, Amir Paracha noted that “These are challenging times. Authorities are doing all they can to navigate the situation, including controlling inflation, managing the economy with restricted availability of foreign exchange and other resource constraints.”

    “The key stakeholders, especially foreign investors, will continue to support the authorities in taking long-term policy measures to streamline the economic fundamentals, including fair taxation for all, and facilitate business and investment into the country,” he added.

    According to the most recent survey results, the confidence index for business expansion (extra investment) plans over the next six months has decreased to 18 per cent from 34 per cent in the previous survey/W21.

    Similarly, capital investment (new) plans for the following six months fell sharply to 2 per cent (from 21 per cent in the previous wave).

    Compared to Wave 21, just 7 per cent of respondents in Wave 22 reported an increase in overall employment. A drop in overall employment over the previous six months was mentioned by almost 11 per cent of respondents.

    According to the trade body, “OICCI is the collective voice of major foreign investors. Over 200 members, from 31 different countries, have a presence in 14 sectors of the domestic economy and contribute over one-third of Pakistan’s total tax revenue.”

    In the meantime, on Wednesday, the interbank market saw the rupee fall 0.02 per cent (or Rs0.05), falling to a two-month low of Rs224.16 against the US dollar.

  • Will Smith reveals the aftermath of his slapping controversy, gets emotional

    Will Smith reveals the aftermath of his slapping controversy, gets emotional

    Actor Will Smith appeared on The Daily Show With Trevor Noah in the first late-night interview since the Oscars controversy.

    Promoting his new historical drama Emancipation, Smith’s conversation with the late-night host naturally dug into his Oscars night controversy, in which he slapped Chris Rock onstage as the comedian was introducing the category of best documentary feature.

    Will Smith appears on 'The Daily Show' in first late-night interview since Oscars slap

    “I have been away,” Will Smith said, drawing a laugh from the crowd when the topic of his absence from the public eye came up, reports Variety.

    “That was a horrific night, as you can imagine. There’s many nuances and complexities to it. But at the end of the day, I just – I lost it, you know?” Will Smith continued.

    “I was going through something that night, you know? Not that that justifies my behaviour at all… It was a lot of things. It was the little boy that watched his father beat up his mother, you know? All of that just bubbled up in that moment. That is not who I want to be.”

    Trevor Noah interjected, offering his own perspective on the situation and recalling the discussions he had with peers about the controversy.

    “I love Chris. I’m friends with him. I love you, but this is fucked up… I know that as Black people, Black people get together and go, ‘What was Will doing? What the hell happened?’ A lot of Black people were like, ‘He should go to jail, Like, you need to relax yourself’,” Trevor Noah said, earning a laugh from Smith.

    “Some people were overreacting, which made some people underreact.”

    Will Smith shared an anecdote from the aftermath of Oscars evening when he was already having to deal with the consequences of his outburst in his private life.

    “I was gone. That was a rage that had been bottled for a really long time,” Smith said, “My nephew is nine. He is the sweetest little boy.”

    “We came home. He had stayed up late to see his uncle Will and we are sitting in my kitchen and he is on my lap and holding the Oscar and he is just like, ‘Why did you hit that man, Uncle Will?’ Damn it. Why are you trying to Oprah me?”

    Will Smith also discussed Emancipation, sharing the decision-making that led him to the project. Based on true events, the film stars Smith as a runaway slave who becomes known to the world as “Whipped Peter,” as widely distributed photographs of keloid scarring on his back exposed the extreme brutality of slavery.

    First seeing that image was one of the things that really got me excited to explore this, because you see the image, but you don’t know who he is, you don’t know what the story is,” Will Smith said. “American slavery was one of the most brutal aspects of human history… It is hard to understand the level of human cruelty. My daughter asked me, daddy, do we really need another slave movie? I said, Daby, ‘I promise you, I wouldn’t make a slave movie. This is a freedom movie’.”

    The Aladin star shocked everyone when he slapped Chris Rock during the 94th Academy Awards’ live broadcast.  

    https://twitter.com/AkronTees2020/status/1508304686339743747?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1508304686339743747%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcurrentold.perceptiond.net%2Fvideo-when-will-smith-slapped-a-reporter-for-kissing-him-in-public%2F

    Before presenting an award at the Oscars 2022, Chris joked about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, looking like ‘GI Jane 2’. This enraged the Aladin star who stormed the stage, lapping Chris and warning him to keep his wife’s name out of his ‘f*cking mouth’.

    Although Will posted an apology on social media.

  • ‘Na hamara koyi favourite hai, na hum kisi ke khilaaf hain’: Election commissioner

    ‘Na hamara koyi favourite hai, na hum kisi ke khilaaf hain’: Election commissioner

    Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja has said that his commission is not against or in favour of any political entity.

    At ‘National Voter’s Day’, an event organised by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the chief said: “Na hamara koyi favourite hai, na hum kisi ke khilaaf hain” (Neither do we have any favourites nor are we against anyone).

    Raja said that the ECP had already informed the Punjab government that the commission would make use of previous laws under Article 283 of the Constitution if the administration attempted to amend the local government law again.

    He said local government elections in Punjab will take place in the last week of April and emphasised the urgency of those polls.

    Moreover, the ECP chief was of the view that the commission has faced “unwarranted criticism” for allegedly opposing the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and balloting rights for overseas Pakistanis.

    “I challenge all critics to show one instance where the ECP opposed electronic voting machines or voting rights for overseas Pakistanis. However, there should be a procedure in place,” he said.

    He underlined that the commission is in support of the use of technology in elections, but said it must be backed by all stakeholders.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, on multiple occasions, called out the commission for allegedly scuttling the introduction of EVMs in support of his political rivals.