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Author: News Desk

  • VIDEO: Babar Azam recalls the time when his cousins refused to lend him shoes

    VIDEO: Babar Azam recalls the time when his cousins refused to lend him shoes

    A video of Pakistan skipper Babar Azam is being widely shared on Twitter from an interview with former Pakistan Cricket team captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, in which he can be seen talking about his past and recalled an incident when he requested his cousins to lend him an extra pair of shoes and they refused to give them to him.

    While in conversation with Inzamam, Babar said that he used to play cricket in the streets and then he joined a cricket club. He said: “When you join a club, you need kits for that. Firstly, I used to borrow kits from fellow trainees but after a month I realised that I also need one. I told my papa that I need a kit but he said that he can not afford it. My mother got to know about this and told me she has saved some money. She gave me about 3500 rupees and I bought a bat worth rupees1500. That was the best moment for me.” Babar shared he still has that bat in his old house.

    He further shared: “When I was first selected for under 15, I asked my cousins if they have extra pair of shoes for me but they said ‘No, we don’t’. That is when I decided not to borrow anything and will do everything on my own from here.”

    He made his Test debut for Pakistan against the West Indies in Dubai on 13 October 2016 and scored 69 runs in his first innings. He was the first player to score a fifty on his Test debut through a day/night Test.

    In September 2019, before the home series against Sri Lanka, he was named as the vice-captain of Pakistan cricket team in both ODIs and T20Is, on the back of his consistent performances in these formats. In October 2019, he was named captain of the Pakistan cricket team in T20Is, ahead of a series with Australia.

    Recently, the all-format captain was also given the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) ODI Player of the Year award.


  • Second marriage of a woman without completing ‘iddat’ is not zina: LHC rules

    Second marriage of a woman without completing ‘iddat’ is not zina: LHC rules

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that the second marriage of a woman without completing iddat (period a Muslim woman has to observe after the dissolution of marriage) cannot be considered “void” and does not constitute the cognisable offence under Hudood Ordinance i.e. Zina (adultery) in Pakistan.

    Judge Justice Ali Zia Bajwa on Friday heard the case in which the petitioner, Amir Baksh, filed a case of Zina against his ex-wife Amina and her new husband Ismail, reports Dawn.

    In the petition, Baksh argued that his wife unilaterally took a verdict of annulling the marriage from the court and tied the knot with Ismail the very next day. He termed the new marriage “null and void” as well as Zina.

    While dismissing his petition, the high court said that such a marriage cannot be considered Batil (invalid) but without the completion of iddat would be considered Fasid (corrupt or irregular).

    “Fasid marriage is the one where the impediment to the validity of such marriage is temporary, while in case of a Batil marriage, such impediment is permanent,” Judge said.

  • Politics on Murree tragedy: Opposition criticises PTI for negligence, incompetence

    Politics on Murree tragedy: Opposition criticises PTI for negligence, incompetence

    Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif, condemning the massive tragedy in Murree said, “What a massive tragedy Murree is turning out to be! Heartbroken to learn about the loss of so many precious lives.”

    Taking to Twitter the PMLN leader wrote, “My profound condolences & sympathies are with the bereaved families.”

    Criticising the government for its negligence and not ensuring the safety of the people, Shehbaz tweeted, “Where do you pin the responsibility of these deaths? Where was the government all the while? What arrangements did it make to deal with such an influx? Incompetence is fast turning into criminality.”

    “Prior arrangements & round the clock supervision were the normal SOPs in the past,” said Shehbaz.

    PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz paying her respects to the ones who have lost their lives said, “The tragic death of entire families in Murree, helpless in the snow, has shaken my heart.”

    “There is no point in cursing the government because this dead conscience government has died long ago,” further wrote Maryam.

    Reminding the government of its negligence, Maryam said, “The job of governments is not only to count tourists but also to make advance arrangements and security measures for them.”

    “These deaths are not due to snowfall, but due to government negligence,” tweeted Maryam.

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman tweeted, “Heartbreaking, Govts surely need to be more vigilant about the flood of tourists on the Galiat routes in extreme weather.

    “Instead of seeking more tourists, Govt should have given a warning for jammed roads. This is the norm in perilous weather in all such destinations,” said Sherry.

    Meanwhile, the federal government has deployed the Pakistan Army and other civil-armed forces for rescue operations after 16-19 tourists died in their vehicles in Murree due to heavy snowfall in the hill station.

  • Punjab Govt imposes emergency in Murree, issues order to open govt offices and rest houses

    Punjab Govt imposes emergency in Murree, issues order to open govt offices and rest houses

    The Government of Punjab has imposed emergency in Murree after at least 16 people died of the extreme cold, while in their cars, during the snowstorm.

    However, as per some reports most people did not die of cold, but because of the fumes from their car heater.

    Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has directed officials to open the government’s offices and rest houses for the stranded tourists amid chaos and an emergency situation in Murree.

    Army and Rangers have also been called in Murree for rescue operations.

    Read more- At least 18 tourists die in Murree snowfall as situation worsens

    Moreover, the government has appealed to people to postpone their plan to visit Murree.

    Rawalpindi Police have also issued a travel route for all tourists visiting Murree.

  • Shoaib Akhtar left England matches for Pakistan to give his mother a bag of flour when she needed it

    Shoaib Akhtar left England matches for Pakistan to give his mother a bag of flour when she needed it

    Veteran Pakistani actor and comedian Sohail Ahmed had an interesting story to share about former fast bowler of the national cricket team Shoaib Akhtar and his unwavering love for his late mother.

    “I want to tell the next generation how Shoaib Akhtar loved and served his mother. He is one of a kind,” shared the legendary actor on his television show Hasb-e-Haal.

    “Let us provide the youth an example of how to respect and serve mothers,” he remarked, narrating a story first told by Saqlain Mushtaq, a former Pakistani cricketer and coach, about Akhter’s love for his mother.

    As per Sohail Ahmed, Akhtar along with his family devoured a mix of big quantity of flour which Shoaib had to get for his family.

    Quoting Mushtaq, Ahmed said that “Akhtar had left us in England while the matches were being played and had come to give wheat to his mother as she called him and informed him that she was running out of flour.”

    “He left the match and went to give flour,” said Mushtaq to Ahmed.

    Akhtar, according to the actor, expressed his love for his mother through actions and not just words. “He was an obedient child.”

  • At least 18 tourists die in Murree snowfall as situation worsens

    At least 18 tourists die in Murree snowfall as situation worsens

     Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed said that at least 1,000 cars are still stuck in Murree and “around 16 to19 deaths have occurred in cars,” he said.

    Thousands of tourists are trapped on the roads in the area since last night. At least 16 to 19 people died of the extreme cold, while in their cars, during the snowstorm. The victims were stuck in their vehicles due to heavy snowfall at the tourist spot.

    Administration of Rawalpindi and Islamabad closed the roads going to Murree due to large number of vehicles entering the hill station.

    Thousands of tourists entered the hill station on Friday to witness the snowfall causing heavy traffic jams on the Murree-Islamabad Motorway. The authorities decided to close all kind of traffic going towards the hill station to avoid a further brutal traffic jam.

    “We request all motorists and tourists to cooperate with the authorities,” the NHMP wrote on its official Twitter account. 

    Furthermore, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed has said that all the routes from Islamabad to Murree have been closed. The decision was taken keeping in view the rush of tourists and traffic jams in Murree. Sheikh Rasheed has also requested citizens to postpone their plans to visit the hill station.

    Journalist Benazir Shah tweeted that SHO Murree told her that people did not die due to the extreme cold but because they left their car heaters on and the fumes caused their death. She also mentioned that the SHO told her that Muree had a 4000-5000 car parking capacity and the area has seen a record snowfall in the area.

    TRIGGER WARNING: The following video has graphic, distressing content of cars in which passengers have died due to the extreme cold. The Current has blurred the video.

    https://youtu.be/f06XodyHoyM

    Meanwhile, Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Taimoor Khan also left for Murree to monitor the traffic situation in the area.

    Rawalpindi Police also issued a travel route for all the tourists visiting Murree.

     Islamabad and Murree administrations are working to facilitate tourists round the clock.

  • PM Khan likely to attend Beijing Olympics 2022 in China next month

    PM Khan likely to attend Beijing Olympics 2022 in China next month

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan could well be one of the leading dignitaries watching the Winter Olympics, which start in Beijing on February 4.

     The government of China and China Sports Authority are looking forward to Pakistan’s PM Khan’s attending the opening or the closing ceremony or attending during the event. The invite was sent to the Pakistan Cricket Board, reports The News.

     “Yes, we are in contact with the Chinese authorities and have received a communication. We have forwarded that to the foreign ministry through the official channel,” said Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official.

    The United States, Britain, Australia, and Canada have announced a diplomatic boycott of the event, while North Korea was the latest country to pull out, citing the pandemic.

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Khalid Mansoor, a couple of days back, had revealed the prime minister’s plan to visit Beijing early next month.

  • Pakistanis lose almost 1800 crore in crypto-related scam

    Pakistanis lose almost 1800 crore in crypto-related scam

    Pakistanis have lost almost 18 crore in a crypto currency related scam. Almost 55,000 people have become the victim of the scam, Samaa has reported. In total, 11 mobile applications have been identified as part of the fraud.

    As per FIA Cyber Crime Reporting Sindh chief Imran Riaz the applications that are involved include, MCX, HFC, HTFOX, FXCOPY, OKIMINI, BB001, AVG86C, BX66, UG, TASKTOK, 91fp.

    The victims of the scam were promised excessively large returns on their investments by the companies involved, in exchange for bringing in additional investors.

    “They used to give assurance that you won’t lose your money,” said one of the victims. “Some of the users even went all the way to level-8 and when they lost their money, they [the scammers] refunded them.”

    However, on December 19, the apps went down, and everybody who put money into them lost it all. (FIA) has written to international company Binance, requesting an explanation of how money was transferred from Binance accounts to other apps.

    On January 12, 2022, Hamza Khan, the general manager of Binance in Pakistan, has been summoned to appear before the agency.

  • Pakistan loses $250m worth of textile exports due to gas shortage

    Pakistan loses $250m worth of textile exports due to gas shortage

    Pakistan has lost $250m worth of textile exports in December 2021 when the gas supply was suspended for 15 days in the Punjab textile sector.

    Executive Director of All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), Shahid Sattar also confirmed the loss of millions of dollars by saying that it will “never be recovered.”

    The government restored gas supply on December 29 with the supply of 75 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) by mid-January and ensured that the supply would be increased up to the finest level after the extreme winter season was over.

    On the other hand, the sources said that the gas being supplied to the export sector is less than the government announced despite the industry purchasing gas at $9 per Metric Million British Thermal Unit (MMBTU), instead of $6.5 mmcfd during the winters.

    The ministry of Commerce sources also revealed that the smooth supply of electricity was not received by the textile mills in Punjab from the national grid due to interruptions. They further added that it is causing huge losses to the industry, which may go up to $250-400 million per month.

    The textile mills association also sent the letter to the Advisor to Prime Minister on Commerce and Textiles Abdul Razak Dawood on January 7, in which they expressed their serious concern over the interruptions in the supply of electricity.



    The letter said, “Each interruption wastes half an hour and up to two hours in restarting the machinery, resulting in losing material and rendering capacity grossly underutilized.”

    It further added that mills were currently running on 80% capacity, which signifies a 20% loss of exports. “And this adds up to losses between $250-$400 million in exports lost every month”.

  • ‘If law can apply to Nawaz Sharif, why not Imran Niazi?’ Shehbaz demands action against PM

    ‘If law can apply to Nawaz Sharif, why not Imran Niazi?’ Shehbaz demands action against PM

    Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif on Friday demanded legal action and “daily court proceedings” against Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

    In a series of statements shared by the party’s official Twitter account, “A person who hides facts, steals, and lies, cannot hold constitutional, governmental or political office,” said Shehbaz.

    Shehbaz asked, “if the law can apply to a popular leader like Nawaz Sharif, why not Imran Niazi?”

    “If a Panama Papers JIT can be formed against Nawaz Sharif, and can be overseen by the honourable judges of the Supreme Court (SC), then why can this not be done for Imran Niazi?” he further questioned.

     “Under the Constitution of Pakistan and its laws, “no thief can be a prime minister. Imran Niazi, who has been proven a thief and a liar under the law, must resign,” he added.

     

    The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president demanded that a probe be initiated against PM Imran Khan and his case be heard on a daily basis — like against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

    He said equal treatment under the Constitution and law is a fundamental principle of Pakistan’s laws and one that must be fulfilled.

    “The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP’s) scrutiny committee has charged Imran Niazi and his party under the law,” he said.

    The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) hid 53 bank accounts and funds worth millions of rupees from the ECP.

    The report of an ECP scrutiny committee probing the party’s funds revealed the following details.

    The committee’s report showed that the PTI had only disclosed 12 out of its 65 accounts, which are registered with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).