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Author: News Desk

  • Six sentenced to death in Sialkot Sri Lankan’s mob lynching

    Six sentenced to death in Sialkot Sri Lankan’s mob lynching

    An anti-terrorism court on Monday sentenced to death six accused involved in Priyantha Kumara, a Sri Lankan national working in Pakistan who was lynched by a mob in Sialkot on Dec 3, 2021 .

    The ATC also handed down life imprisonment to nine co-accused persons each, jailed one co-accused for five years and sentenced to two years in prison each 72 other co-accused persons.

    “The prosecution team testified a total of 43 witnesses in the court to prove the crime against the suspects,” Punjab Prosecution Department Secretary Nadeem Sarwar informed media persons during a press conference.

    “In less than a month, the prosecution completed the testimonies of witnesses. After that, the court gave them a full chance to defend themselves. Today, the ATC Gujranwala, upon the crime being proven, has punished 88 accused while one has been acquitted”, he informed.

    Read more- Priyantha Kumara lynching trial case shifts to Lahore Kot Lakhpat Jail

    In December, last year, 49-year-old Priyantha Kumara was tortured to death on the alleged charges of blasphemy by an angry mob. He was working as a manager at a private sportswear manufacturing factory in Sialkot.

  • Shah Rukh checks co-star’s phone, Salman bonds with Shehnaaz, what happened at Baba Siddiqui’s iftaar party?

    Shah Rukh checks co-star’s phone, Salman bonds with Shehnaaz, what happened at Baba Siddiqui’s iftaar party?

    Every year, politician Baba Siddique holds an Iftar party that witnesses the royalty of showbiz marked their presence including Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt Shilpa Shetty, Shehnaaz Gill, Zareen Khan and Karan Kundra were amongst others who graced the red carpet.

    Shah Rukh Khan checked his co-star Sayani Gupta’s phone while enjoying cold drinks at the star-studded event.

    Sayani Gupta Takes Dig at Shah Rukh Khan's Gandhi Jayanti Post, Asks Him to 'Speak Up for Truth'

    The Don 2 star’s fans are delighted to see their much loved King Khan back in spotlight again as he made his first public appearance after a long time.

    Another highlight of the event was Salman and Shehnaaz’s bonding. The Bigg Boss 13 star donned a beautiful silver traditional piece.

    Salman Khan Ensured Shehnaaz Gill Was Comfortable, Was Really Protective Of Her At Baba Siddique’s Iftar Party: Reports

    Reportedly, the duo spoke to each other for hours and even had food together. The Dabangg star made the Bhula Dunga diva sit next to him and ensured she was comfortable during the entire bash. They were talking to each other non-stop and the beauty was visibly happy.

    Salman was quite concerned about Shehnaaz and was continuously seen taking care of her. Many people came to his table to meet him but Gill was a part of the conversations like any family member.

  • PKR declines against US Dollar after winning for a week

    PKR declines against US Dollar after winning for a week

    The winning days for Pakistani currency are over. On April 18, the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) overturned gains against the US Dollar (USD) and registered losses in the interbank market.

    At the completion of the session, the local currency had lost 99 paisas against the US dollar. It declined by 0.54 per cent versus the US dollar, closing at Rs182.54.

    The rupee declined by 0.54 per cent versus the US dollar, closing at Rs182.54 after winning three paisas and settling at Rs181.55 on Saturday, April 16. During the open market session, the Indian rupee (INR) touched an intraday high of Rs181.00 versus the US dollar.

    After the International Monetary Fund (IMF) decided to resume talks with Pakistan under the $6 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme, the rupee’s seven-day winning streak versus the dollar ended today.

    Considering global variables influencing the local currency, crude prices declined as concerns about slowing demand in China outweighed support despite a constrained global supply situation and the escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict.

    Read more: Global oil prices climb to highest in three weeks

    It is worth noting that the local currency has depreciated by 15.85 per cent (Rs24.98) since the beginning of the current fiscal year on July 1, 2021.

  • ‘We are BulletProof’: BTS set to release a new album in June

    Korean pop group BTS’s agency, BigHit Music has posted a montage video on Twitter which hints that something special is coming soon. This video was first dropped at their concert, ‘Permission To Dance on Stage’ in Las Vegas.

    Their agency also posted an official statement on the fan community platform, ‘Weverse’ along with the teaser.

    “Hello. This is Big Hit Music. BTS will be back with another new album on June 10, 2022. Details on the new album will be provided in a separate notice at a later date. We look forward to your love and support for BTS’s new album. Thank you.”

    BTS dropped its last album, BE in November 2020 which includes its most listened song, Live Goes On, which depicted the impacts of covid-19 on human lives around the world.

    BTS just finished their Las Vegas Concert series, ‘Permission To Dance on Stage’ in The United States (US). The group performed for four days on the stage. According to the data compiled by the agency, around 624,000 fans joined the K-pop group BTS concerts series both online and offline.

    The agency official said, “According to Allegiant Stadium, BTS has been the one and only music act that has performed solo concerts at the venue four times in a row and attracted 200,000 people through four sessions of the show.

    “Permission to Dance on Stage” series was first launched in October last year in Seoul, Korea through Livestream. Then, they later performed in Los Angeles in November/December and then in Seoul in March 2022. BTS wrapped the concert series in Las Vegas this month.

  • ‘Establishment offered us three options, not us’, Imran Khan maintains his stance

    ‘Establishment offered us three options, not us’, Imran Khan maintains his stance

    While talking to reporters, former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan insisted that the establishment gave him three options, contradicting the Pakistan military’s statement that the options were presented by Khan himself.

    Khan said, “The establishment gave me three options, so I agreed with the election proposal. How could I accept the resignation and no-confidence suggestion?”

    Last week, Director-General (DG) Major General Babar Iftikhar said that the PM Office had contacted the military leadership to help resolve the ongoing political crisis. He added that the army chief and DG ISI visited the PM office at “their” request to play the role of “mediator”.

    The former prime minister said that the military was onboard over the Russia visit. He said, “Gen Bajwa said we must visit Russia.” The army has also confirmed that they agreed with the decision to visit Russia.

    Responding to the recent Toshakhana (state gifts) controversy, the PTI chairman said they were his gifts, so it was his choice whether to keep them or not. “Meray tohfay, meri marzi [my gift, my choice],” he added.

    According to media reports, the former PM received gifts worth more than Rs140 million from world leaders during his tenure and he kept them all either by paying a minor amount or without any payment.

    “Whatever I took from Toshakhana is on record. I purchased the gifts after paying 50 per cent of the cost,” Khan said.

    Regarding Farah Khan, he said that she had no position or ministry, how could she take money, if anyone has any evidence, bring it forward.

    About his party’s rallies in Peshawar and Karachi after the removal of his government, Imran Khan said: “I have never seen such a large number of people coming out in Pakistan.”

    He maintained his stance that the PTI government was removed as part of an “international conspiracy” and urged the nation to not accept this.

    The former prime minister also admitted that the filing of a reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa was a “mistake”. The reference against the SC judge should not have been filed, I have no personal enmity with anyone, it was sent by the law ministry”, the PTI chairman cleared.

  • PTI’s Shahzad Akbar leaves for Dubai after name removed from ‘no-fly list’

    PTI’s Shahzad Akbar leaves for Dubai after name removed from ‘no-fly list’

    Special Assistant to former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Accountability and Interior Shahzad Akbar left for Dubai on Sunday after his name was removed from the FIA’s ‘stop-list’ on the order of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

    According to Express Tribune, Akhbar departed via Islamabad International Airport for Dubai on an international airline at 3:30 am, from where he is expected to depart for the United Kingdom (UK).

    Last week, the FIA had put names of four Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members including former aides — Shahzad Akbar and Shahbaz Gill on “no-fly list.”

    However, on April 12 the Islamabad High Court suspended the notification. IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah remarked that the court has already declared the blacklist illegal.

    He said, “We have already issued a verdict that no one’s name can be placed on this list.”

    IHC also suspended the ban on three other persons— former principal secretary Azam Khan, Khan’s ex-focal person on Digital Media Dr Arslan Khalid and Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment Chairman Mohammad Nafees Gohar.

  • Govt decides to restore departmental cricket structure

    Govt decides to restore departmental cricket structure

    The newly formed coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to restore the departmental cricket structure, which has been dysfunctional as a result of the implementation of the 2019 constitution, ARY News reported on Monday citing sources.

    The departmental cricket was banished in 2019 under the then patron-in-chief of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Imran Khan, leaving thousands of players and officials jobless.

    Sources privy to the development told ARY News that the new government has also decided to restore first-class cricketers fired from government departments under Mani’s tenure as a result of new PCB constitution.

    It is pertinent to mention here that departmental cricket, which has played a pivotal role in the promotion of the sports in the country for last 45 years, was ended with former prime minister Imran Khan’s approval in 2019.

    According to the new domestic structure, only six teams eligible to play the First Class Cricket in the country, two from Punjab and one each from Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces and the federal territory.

    On the other hand, reports are circulating regarding the resignation of the current chairman of the PCB – Ramiz Raja, who was nominated by the ex-PM Imran Khan. Reports further suggest that former PCB Chairman Najam Sethi is a strong candidate for the position.

  • Social media influencers share first glimpse of Twitter’s edit button

    Social media influencers share first glimpse of Twitter’s edit button

    Social Media influencers have shared the first glimpses of the social microblogging site, Twitter’s edit button which is under testing progress. Earlier this month, Twitter announced that they are working on the edit button’s feature.

    Social media influencer, Alessandro Paluzzi shared a screenshot of Twitter’s edit button which is in progress.

    Another social media influencer, Matt Navara shared a video of the edit button feature.

    Twitter announced on April 1 that they are working on the edit button but many users thought that its a prank. However, on April 6, Twitter confirmed that they are currently testing a new feature of the edit button for Twitter.

    https://twitter.com/TwitterComms/status/1511456430024364037?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1511456430024364037%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.samaaenglish.tv%2Fnews%2F2022%2F04%2Ffirst-glimpses-of-twitters-edit-button%2F

    Twitter’s Vice President of a consumer product, Jay Sullivan said that editing has been “the most requested Twitter feature for many years”

  • Pakistani govt seeks help for balance of payments: IMF

    Pakistani govt seeks help for balance of payments: IMF

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has confirmed that the new government in Pakistan has reached out to it, seeking support for the country’s balance of payments. It said a delegation of the country would be in Washington this week for a follow-up meeting.

    “The IMF looks forward to continuing supporting Pakistan’s authorities on economic policies and reforms to ensure macroeconomic stability in the country amidst the current challenging global economic environment,” IMF’s Resident Representative in Islamabad Esther Perez Ruiz told Dawn News.

    She also confirmed that as part of the IMF’s “continued engagement with Pakistan” she last Friday met with finance minister-designate Miftah Ismail, ahead of the visit of Pakistan’s delegation to Washington during Spring Meetings.

    Top government sources confirmed that a delegation also comprising Secretary Hamed Yaqoob Shaikh and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr Reza Baqir would be meeting the new IMF mission chief to Pakistan Nathan Porter on Monday evening, besides other fund officials.

    Pakistani delegation likely to meet fund officials this week

    Efforts were on to ensure that Mr Ismail also joins the Washington meetings physically and hopefully take this opportunity to call on IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and seek her support for the revival and completion of the stalled fund programme. These sources said former finance minister Shaukat Tarin had sought to arrange a meeting with Ms Georgieva during these meetings as negotiations with the fund staff had stalled following Feb 28 fuel subsidies and tax amnesty announced by former prime minister Imran Khan.

    The new finance minister would be more eager to seek blessings of the IMF’s top management at the outset for smooth engagements with the staff to put the programme back on track and ensure foreign inflows for the direly needed balance of payment support. There are, however, at least three issues that the authorities are trying to resolve as the spring meetings (April 18-24) are opening today.

  • ‘We still want immediate elections,’ Maulana Fazl tells the new govt

    ‘We still want immediate elections,’ Maulana Fazl tells the new govt

     Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has demanded immediate elections.

    Addressing his party workers in Islamabad, Maulana said that the maximum time this new government would be in power for is a year.

    “In this new setup, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam has its own identity and we are telling them [new government] that we still want immediate elections.”

    READ MORE: Zardari, Nawaz, Maulana have all been ruined by one man: Saleem Safi

    Maulana said that continuing to stay in power unnecessarily is not his party’s stance. The new government, he added, can take some time for electoral reforms but Maulana said that Imran Khan was ousted so that the people of Pakistan could be given their mandate back.

    “Now it is our responsibility to give back the nation what we promised.”

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has also been demanding early elections. However, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said that elections cannot be held before October as it needs four months to complete the process of delimitation of constituencies.