The local price of lemon increased by Rs105 per kg, to Rs770 to 775 per kg, and was sold at an unbelievable price of Rs1,100 per kg in open markets and a few online stores with available stock.
Due to the district administration’s inability to impose official rates at Ramazan bazaars, consumers are unable to get relief from overbilling and skyrocketing rates of fruits and vegetables in Lahore.
High prices of perishable commodities are massively affecting the urban population due to rising production costs and transportation costs from rural production centers to urban areas.
Senior administrators and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid surprise visits to Ramazan bazaars, but shoppers were not relieved. Containing volatility and successfully administering official rate lists to bring inflation relief to the public is a task for the new government.
Partial Eid-ul-Fitr is being celebrated in different in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal districts as different areas of the province decided to follow Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee that announced Eid on May 3.
In KP and several Balochistan regions, Eid prayers were held in open spaces, mosques, and Eidgahs. In Balochistan, Eid is being celebrated in Chaman, Pishin, Qilla Abdullah, Qila Saifullah, Zhob and other areas.
Special prayers were performed for the country’s well-being on the occasion, and scholars underscored the significance of this Eid in speeches. In their Eid sermons, the Ulema also condemned the episode of hooliganism at Masjid-e-Nabawi.
The main meeting of the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee was held at the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony in Islamabad with Maulana Abdul Khabir Azad in the chair, while the zonal committees met in their respective areas to sight the Shawwal crescent. After the meeting, it was announced that Eid will be celebrated on May 3 in Pakistan.
However, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan’s Special Assistant Barrister Dr Muhammad Ali Saif announced on Sunday that the province would celebrate Eid on May 2, after receiving at least 130 sightings of the moon.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is putting his plans into action after acquiring Twitter for $44 billion. In an attempt to obtain money for the takeover, he told banks that he wanted to cut the salaries of board members and executives and also pitched ideas for monetizing tweets.
Musk presented the pitch to the financiers just days after making his bid on Twitter on April 14. He previously stated that if the offer was accepted, board members’ wages will be cut to zero, saving Twitter $3 million per year. It seems clear that Musk plans to lay off people to save money.
The tech mogul also remarked that Twitter has a considerably smaller gross margin than similar sites like Facebook and Pinterest. He claimed that this freed up a lot of room for the corporation to run more cost-effectively.
Musk detailed his ambitions to create features that will help his company generate more money from tweets that contain essential information or become viral.
Omer Sarfraz Cheema, the governor of Punjab, has decided not to swear in the newly-formed provincial cabinet. According to him, the resignation of Usman Buzdar is illegal.
“Yesterday, a crime was committed at Governor House. My official residence was held under siege to hold the illegal oath-taking ceremony of a ‘fake’ chief minister,” said Cheema, while addressing a press conference.
In his statement he repeated that Buzdar’s resignation was addressed to the Prime Minister, not the governor, adding that the former governor Sarwar could not accept a resignation which was not addressed to him, he added.
“The oath-taking of Hamza Shahbaz was illegal after I rejected the resignation of Usman Buzdar on legal grounds.”
He questioned how Hamza’s cabinet could be legitimate when his election and swearing-in are both ‘unlawful’. He further added that he cannot endorse anything beyond the ambit of the constitution.
Honda Atlas, like its counterpart Indus Motor Company, announced a price hike for the second time in less than two months, increasing ex-factory prices up to Rs170,000, claiming rupee devaluation as the cause for transferring the burden to the consumers.
The ‘latest generation’ of Honda city in Pakistan is now priced at Rs3,264,000 after getting a hike of Rs135,000. Aspire 1.5 variants of Honda city witnessed a hike of nearly Rs150,000 in their previous rate.
Meanwhile, Civic prices increased by Rs150,000 across all three variants: the Civic 1.5L CVT, Civic 1.5L Oriel M CVT, and Civic RS 1.5L CVT. The top variant of Honda civic RS 1.5 LL CVT from May 1 will be offered at a price of Rs6,649,000 which was previously sold at Rs6,499,000.
Honda’s MPV, the BRV, is now priced at Rs4,249,000 after a price increase of Rs170,000. BRV was earlier sold at Rs4,079,000.
Eid ul-Fitr, a festival of joy is knocking at our door as Ramzan is about to end. The festival is not just about giving Eidis [cash] but one can also surprise their loved ones with a special Eid gift. However, sometimes a budget problem may arise suddenly but don’t worry, we’ve got your back.
Important: Keep in mind that the gifts are supposed to be thoughtful yet unique. So one should choose them carefully. The Current has compiled a list of gifts that you can give to your loved ones under Rs1500:
Customised Basket
Who doesn’t love customise gifts? You can go to your nearest supermarket and fill your trolley with goodies or some essentials which your beloved one loves. We suggest you choose one favourite colour which your person likes and buy all the things of that particular colour. This type of colour coordinated basket has become very trendy recently and it gives a very distinctive look.
Sweets
You can get different types of sweets or get a ready-made sweet box from a sweet shop (we like Bundu Khan) across Pakistan. Giving sweets on Eid is quite a common tradition but giving it will surely add an extra level of joy to your Eid. You can either order place online or can visit their shop.
Photo frames
Gift some memories. You can get many photo frames at the price of Rs1500. We suggest you buy minimalistic and light coloured frames. You can check them out on Daraz (they deliver all over Pakistan) or visit any nearest market.
Neon bangles
Getting chooriyaan (bangles) is a must for every desi girl, because what is Eid without chooriyan?
This year get a bit more creative and buy unusual coloured bangles for your female friends and family. You can get these from Khaadi. They brand offering bangles these days ahead of Eid in different branches or you cant just visit your local market.
Eidi envelopes
Give Eidi envelopes without Eidi in them. There are several websites out there that sell such envelopes. This year our favourite variety of envelopes is from Mytype.store. They offer very cool neon coloured envelopes with English and Urdu greetings. You can place an online order of a pack of 10 for Rs1250 and guess what: they offer free delivery.
Flowers are everyone’s best friend. Take flowers to someone’s home this year as a gesture of love. Zahra Aslam’s shop in Model Town, Lahore has an amazing variety and the prices are comparatively low. From their website, we have found you a classic red roses bouquet for only Rs1500. You can also place an order online or try out https://theflowerstudio.pk/ they have some amazing collection too.
Mini cake or cupcakes
Add some more meetha in life! Either you can buy a mini cake or some cupcakes from Layers. Recently, the cake shop has become everyone’s favourite mainly because of their reasonable prices yet high-quality products. Its Lotus-flavoured cake and cupcakes are extremely popular.
You can gift a tie to a man in your life. Ties are a good gift and can give an extra oomph to an outfit. You can check the ties under Rs1500 from Uniworth.
Actor Ghana Ali took to her Instagram stories to slam Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz for her recent statements about former PM Imran Khan.
After the oath of Hamza, PML-N Vice-President Maryam Nawaz told media that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is devoted and hardworking person, whose governance as Punjab Chief Minister was called the ‘Punjab speed’ which would now soon be called ‘Pakistan speed.’ She said that Shehbaz Sharif had set high standards of governance and he would also deliver as the Prime Minister of the country through good governance.
Maryam claimed that the whole nation had seen that PTI Chairman Imran Khan had spread ‘mischief’ (Fitna), and the sooner this ‘Fitna’ is crushed, the better it is for the country.
Calling PTI the party of ‘jokers’, Maryam said the way its so-called leaders had flouted the courts’ decisions on voting on the no-trust motion and the oath-taking of Hamza was simply childish. “Kids behave the way PTI leaders have behaved in the last few weeks,” she said, adding, “Today’s oath-taking was not important only for Hamza, but for the people of Punjab, who now have got their rights.”
She said, “If the PTI leaders did not reform themselves and continue to show same hostile behaviour, they should all be thrown in prisons.”
Referring to sad incident at the Masjid-e-Nabvi, she said, “It was planned beforehand, it brought a bad name to the country. Arrests have been made in Saudi Arabia in this connection, and here in Pakistan, too, the law will take its course.”
Minister of State for Petroleum Massadaq Malik told media that focus of the government is resolution of public issues. “There would be relief in load-shedding during Eid holidays and after Eid, the situation vis-à-vis load-shedding would further improve,” he said.
Malik also criticized PTI and its leaders for flouting the Constitution and law. He expressed displeasure over mockery of law in Punjab. He said the country can only move forward by following the Constition and ensuring rule of law. PML-N MNA Shaista Pervaiz Malik said the people of Punjab got the Chief Minister and now is the turn of PML-N to deliver top the masses.
Recently she reacted to Shehbaz Sharif taking over the Prime Minister’s coveted seat.
Ghana took to her Instagram stories to state that now that Shehbaz has taken over she wants him to complete the motorway projects.
Samsung does not like surrendering its position as the world’s leading smartphone manufacturer. Even though Apple temporarily dethroned it, the firm has fought back and reclaimed what it considers to be its rightful position.
1st quarter of 2022 According to data from market research organisations Canalys and Counterpoint, Samsung is the global leader in smartphone shipments. Apple did well as well, but it was only able to finish second to the Korean behemoth.
Samsung’s Galaxy S22 series has contributed to the company’s strong performance in the first quarter of this year. Many Galaxy Note fans were enticed back to Samsung with the Galaxy S22 Ultra in particular.
According to Canalys, worldwide smartphone shipments hit 311.2 million units in the first quarter of 2022, down 11 per cent year on year. While Samsung regained the lead, delivering 73.7 million units, the company saw a 43 per cent drop in sales.
Xiaomi came in third place in the ‘top 5 shipping’ list, with 39.2 million units shipped, a 20 per cent decrease. Oppo shipped 29 million units, a decrease of 27 per cent, and Vivo’s growth slowed by 30 per cent.
Former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan termed the incident of hooliganism in Masjid-e-Nabwi a public reaction, saying it was the “consequence” of their [rulers] own deeds.
In an interview with Arshad Sharif on ARY programme ‘Power Play’, Imran Khan pointed out that the masses have never reacted in such a manner in the entire history of the country, which has been observed outside Masjid-e-Nabwi. “We are not asking people to come out and the public is taking to the streets on their own as they are in pain and anger. However, I can challenge they [the rulers] won’t be able to show their faces in any public place,” the PTI chairman claimed.
This week, a group of Pakistani protesters violated the sanctity of Masjid-e-Nabwi in Madina by chanting ‘chor chor’ slogans against newly-elected PM Shehbaz Sharif and members of his delegation.
“Neither can I think of inciting people to hooliganism at Masjid-e-Nabwi, nor can a true lover of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) think of doing this,” he said.
“The place I have in my heart for Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), I don’t need to prove it, and I have raised my voice around the world against islamophobia,” the PTI chairman said, adding, “I believe that Iman [faith] cannot be completed until you love Prophet (PBUH).”
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday met Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman (MBS) in Jeddah.
According to the Prime Minister’s office twitter account, during the meeting, both the leaders discussed issues of mutual interest including global and regional issues.
A 13-member delegation including federal ministers accompanied Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the meeting that took place in Jeddah.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has been on a three days visit to Saudi Arabia on the invitation of the Saudi crown prince.
Earlier, upon his arrival at the Palace, the prime minister was warmly welcomed by the crown prince. He was given a guard of honour.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Tahir Ashrafi and others accompanied the PM.
