Pakistan was retained in the “grey list” of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which examined its efforts to counter terror financing and money laundering. The decision was taken at the meeting of the multilateral watchdog on Thursday.
“Pakistan should continue to work on implementing the three remaining items in its action plan to address its strategically important deficiencies, namely by: demonstrating that TF investigations and prosecutions target persons and entities acting on behalf or at the direction of designated persons or entities; demonstrating that TF prosecutions result in effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions and demonstrating effective implementation of targeted financial sanctions against all 1267 and 1373 designated terrorists, specifically those acting for or on their behalf,” the FATF said in a statement.
The anti-terror financing organisation noted that Islamabad has largely addressed 24 of the 27 action items and gave Islamabad time till June 2021 to complete the full action plan.
FATF president Marcus Pleyer said that Pakistan has made “significant progress” but “some serious deficiencies remain” and all these deficiencies are “in the realm of terror financing”. Pleyer added that Pakistan “remains under increased monitoring”.
Reacting to the FATF decision, Federal Minister Hammad Azhar said Pakistan had completed “almost 90 per cent” of its current FATF action plan with 24 out of 27 items rated as ‘largely addressed’ and the remaining three items ‘partially addressed’.
Pakistan has completed almost 90% of its current FATF action-plan with 24 out of 27 items rated as 'largely addressed' and remaining 3 items 'partially addressed'.
FATF has acknowledged Pak's high level political commitment since 2018 that led to significant progress. 1/3
“FATF has acknowledged Pakistan’s high-level political commitment since 2018 that led to significant progress. It was also noted by FATF member countries that Pakistan is subject to perhaps the most challenging & comprehensive action plan ever given to any country,” he tweeted, saying the country was also subject to dual evaluation processes of FATF with differing timelines.
MOROCCO, SENEGAL ON GREY LIST:
The FATF during its plenary kept North Korea and Iran as the only two countries on its blacklist but added four new places to its watch list for increased monitoring, according to Pleyer.
The countries added to the grey list are Morocco, Burkina Faso, Senegal and the Cayman Islands.
With the four additions, the list now has 19 countries and territories that FATF said were only partially fulfilling international rules for fighting terrorism financing and money laundering.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has delivered results in many areas like medicine, defence, law enforcement, and education. But AI has shocked the researchers by producing an award-winning research paper.
According to the reports, an online educational research provider performed a trail to analyse the capacity of the deep learning language prediction model known as GPT-3.
A panel of professors was asked to create writing prompts. The prompts were then assigned to a group comprising of graduate and undergraduate level writers, apart from the GPT-3 model.
The experts concluded that the AI writing capability closely mimics human writing in terms of syntax, grammar and word frequency.
“Even without being augmented by human interference, GPT-3’s assignments received more or less the same feedback as the human writers,” said the report.
Moreover, the deep learning tool completed the assignment in less time, i.e., between three and 20 minutes. Whereas it took human to complete the assignment in three days.
The report expresses doubt about AI’s capacity to take over in this particular area. Despite its revolutionary output, GPT-3 will not earn college degrees on its own anytime soon.
When put up against human writers, GPT-3 secured some passing grades but failed to nail creative writing.
A declassified version of a US intelligence report expected to be released on Thursday finds that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, four US officials familiar with the matter said.
The officials said the report, for which the CIA was the main contributor, assessed that the crown prince approved and likely ordered the murder of Khashoggi, whose Washington Post column had criticised the crown prince’s policies.
President Joe Biden, a Democrat who succeeded the Republican Donald Trump five weeks ago, told reporters on Wednesday he had read the report and expected to speak soon by phone with Saudi Arabian King Salman, 85, father of the crown prince, the country’s 35-year-old de facto ruler.
The report’s release is part of Biden’s policy to realign ties with Riyadh after years of giving the Arab ally and major oil producer a pass on its human rights record and its intervention in Yemen’s civil war.
Biden is working to restore the relationship with Riyadh to traditional lines after four years of cozier ties under Trump.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday Biden would only communicate with the Saudi king and said the declassified Khashoggi report was being readied for release soon.
While Biden restricts his contacts to the king, others in the Biden administration are talking to Saudi officials at various levels.
“We have been in touch with Saudi officials at numerous levels in the early weeks of this administration,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price.
The 59-year old Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist, was lured to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2018, and killed by a team of operatives linked to the crown prince. They then dismembered his body. His remains have never been found.
Riyadh eventually admitted that Khashoggi was killed in a “rogue” extradition operation gone wrong, but it denied any involvement by the crown prince. Five men given the death penalty for the murder had their sentences commuted to 20 years in jail after being forgiven by Khashoggi’s family.
In 2019, a UN human rights investigator, Agnes Callamard, accused Saudi Arabia of a “deliberate, premeditated execution” of Khashoggi and called for further investigation.
“There is sufficient credible evidence regarding the responsibility of the crown prince demanding further investigation,” Callamard said after the six-month probe.
A classified version of the report was shared with members of Congress in late 2018.
But the Trump administration rejected demands by lawmakers and human rights groups to release a declassified version, seeking to preserve cooperation amid rising tensions with Riyadh’s regional rival, Iran, and promote US arms sales to the kingdom.
Biden’s new director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, committed at her confirmation hearing to complying with a provision in a 2019 defense bill that required the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to release within 30 days a declassified report on Khashoggi’s murder.
Biden pledged during the 2020 presidential campaign to reassess US-Saudi ties in part over Khashoggi’s murder. Since taking office, he has ended sales of offensive arms that Riyadh could use in Yemen and appointed a special envoy to boost diplomatic efforts to end that country’s grueling civil war.
Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s ongoing tour of Sri Lanka cost taxpayers a mere $34,800 (Rs5,507,771 or Rs5.5 million), his special assistant on political communication, Dr Shahbaz Gill, has revealed in a tweet.
The 2016 visit of former premier Nawaz Sharif to Sri Lanka, on the other hand, had cost the treasury $276,266, he stated further.
وزیراعظم عمران خان نے ایک بار پھر سادگی کفایت شعاری کی اعلی ترین مثال قائم کر دی۔نواز شریف مفرور نے 2016 میں سری لنکا کا دورہ 274,000.00 میں کیا۔عمران خان نے سری لنکا کا دورہ صرف 34,000 ڈالر میں کیا-2016 کے دورے کی نسبت اس دورے میں زیادہ کام ہوا زیادہ events ہوئے۔زیادہ فائدہ ہوا pic.twitter.com/hEbyEbsLVC
During his two-day-long visit to the country, PM Imran met President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his Sri Lankan counterpart besides notable business personalities.
While Gill went on to say that PM Imran’s trip had proven to be more fruitful as compared to that of Nawaz, Minister for Communications and Postal Services Murad Saeed also claimed that the incumbent premier’s Sri Lanka visit cost the treasury “just $34,000”.
The minister further said the premier had cut his office’s expenses by 49%. He maintained the incumbent government was carefully spending public funds that were a sacred trust.
Saeed’s statements come a week after it was reported that the expenditures of PM House and Office have reportedly reduced by 49% and 29%, respectively.
According to reports, the total expenditure of the PM House narrowed down to Rs280 million (Rs28 crores) in 2020 from Rs339 million (Rs33 crores) in 2019 and Rs590 million (Rs59 crores) in 2018 — the year when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was handed reins of the country.
The PM Office witnessed a considerable decrease in its expenditure from 2018 to 2020, but last year was slightly more than in 2019. It stood at Rs334 million (Rs33 crores) in 2020, Rs305 million (Rs30 crores) in 2019 and Rs514 million (Rs51 crores) in 2018.
The premier, since assuming office in 2018, has been pushing for austerity measures to save taxpayers’ money and reduce the burden on the national exchequer.
Despite the steps taken by PM Imran in this regard, the austerity drive has faced multiple setbacks owing to the apparent reluctance of the lawmakers in cutting down expenses.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Test Cricketer of the year 2020, Mohammad Rizwan, has been promoted to Category A of PCB’s Central Contract List 2020-21 following stellar performances across all formats in the ongoing season. In the elite category, the 28-year-old has now joined Pakistan captain Babar Azam, former captain Azhar Ali and star fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Since the current central contracts were announced on May 13, 2020, Rizwan is Pakistan’s leading run-scorer in Tests with 529 runs in seven matches at an average of 52.90, while he is overall the third leading run-scorer in T20Is with 325 runs at an average of 65 and strike-rate of just under 139. In the three ODIs against Zimbabwe, he scored 25 runs.
Behind the wickets, Rizwan has accounted for 16 batsmen in Tests, three in ODIs and eight in T20Is in the season during which Pakistan played international cricket against England, Zimbabwe, New Zealand and South Africa. Their upcoming assignments are in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
As part of its policy to acknowledge, incentivise and reward high-performing cricketers, the PCB has also elevated Fawad Alam from A+ domestic contract category to Category C of the PCB Central Contract List 2020-21, while it also offered Category C contract to T20I specialist Mohammad Hafeez, which he politely turned down.
Fawad Alam scored centuries against New Zealand and South Africa and has now aggregated 320 runs in 11 innings of six Tests. His 102 against New Zealand in the Boxing Day Test earned him the PCB Individual Performance of 2020 award.
🔹Mohammad Rizwan has been promoted to Category A of the PCB’s Central Contract List 2020-21
🔹PCB has also elevated Fawad Alam from A+ domestic contract category to Category C of the PCB Central Contract List 2020-21
PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan while talking about the promotions said: “I want to congratulate Rizwan and Fawad for earning well-deserved and well-earned promotions. This is a reward for their hard work and high-quality performances during the difficult and challenging bio-secure environments that tested their determination, resolve, commitment, mental toughness and physical fitness to the limits.
“The decision to promote the players was made during a meeting with the Chair of the Selection Committee, Muhammad Wasim, while we were reviewing player performances in the 2020-21 season and discussing the upcoming commitments.
“It was agreed during the meeting that three players were the most deserving and outstanding performers in the season to date and, as such, they needed to be rewarded now instead of waiting for the time when PCB Central Contract List for 2021-22 will be reviewed and announced.
“However, Mohammad Hafeez declined the reward and while I am disappointed, I fully respect his decision. He wants to wait for the PCB Central Contract 2021-22 list, which he is fully entitled to. Hafeez has been one of our star performers of the season and we hope he will carry the form and momentum to Africa.
“I am sure this merit and performance-based decision will once again send out a loud and clear message to all professional cricketers that the PCB will not only recognise, appreciate and acknowledge their performances and achievements, but will also reward them so that they can strive to do better next time.”
Taking to Twitter, Alam expressed his happiness over the promotion, writing: “Alhamdulillah! Can’t thank Allah enough for always being in my favour and granting me successes. Hard work pays off indeed. Thank you PCB for elevating me to category C of the PCB’s Central Contract list 2020-21.”
Alhamdulillah! Can't thank Allah enough for always being in my favour and granting me successes. Hard work pays off indeed. Thank you @TheRealPCB for elevating me to category C of the PCB’s Central Contract list 2020-21.
Updated PCB Men’s Central Contract List for 2020-21:
Category A: Azhar Ali (Central Punjab), Babar Azam (Central Punjab), Mohammad Rizwan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
Category B: Abid Ali (Central Punjab), Asad Shafiq (Sindh), Haris Sohail (Balochistan), Mohammad Abbas (Southern Punjab), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh), Shadab Khan (Northern), Shan Masood (Southern Punjab) and Yasir Shah (Balochistan)
Category C: Fakhar Zaman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Fawad Alam (Sindh), Iftikhar Ahmed (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Imad Wasim (Northern), Imam-ul-Haq (Balochistan), Naseem Shah (Central Punjab) and Usman Shinwari (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
Emerging Players’ Category: Haider Ali (Northern), Haris Rauf (Northern) and Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh)
Yasir Hussain should just add ‘controversy’ as his middle name given the number of controversies he is involved in. The actor is famous for his online banters and heated exchanges with followers and colleagues. This time, the actor has gotten into an online feud with Nausheen Shah after he claimed that she attended his wedding as an uninvited guest.
While appearing on Vasay Chaudhry’s new talk show Ghabrana Mana Hai, when the host asked Hussain if anyone from the entertainment industry attended his and Iqra Aziz’s wedding uninvited, Yasir went on to name Nausheen Shah. A series of wisecracks followed after which Yasir tried to gloss over the matter by saying that he admired Nausheen’s sense of style. This made the situation even worse.
As expected, the clip from the interview went viral on social media with people criticising Vasay and Yasir for their crass comments.
Nausheen initially ignored the matter, opting to post two quotes on her Insta-story instead.
“Weak people revenge. Strong people forget. Intelligent people ignore,” read one, while another said: “When you are building an empire you don’t pay attention to nonsense. I am too busy to get distracted.”
Later, while speaking to a local media publication, Nausheen said that there was no truth to Hussain’s claims.
“Would anyone go to someone’s house uninvited? I wouldn’t go to anyone’s house if I wasn’t invited, let alone someone’s wedding,” she said. “A fool is known by his speech and a wise man by his silence. Yasir called me himself and invited me. I feel so sorry for Yasir because certainly has serious memory issues. I also feel really sorry for Iqra. She is taking one for the team,” she snapped back.
Later, responding to Nausheen’s comments and social media outrage, Yasir said that social media needs to get over the whole issue. In a series of Insta-stories, he defended his comments saying that he was telling the truth and if that made him wrong, then the TV channel airing the show was also wrong and the bloggers and Instagram pages pumping up the issue were also at fault.
“Poora system ghalat hai mai akela nahi (the whole system is wrong and not just me alone),” said Yasir, adding that if audiences wanted to watch shows following the Koffee with Karan format, they needed to be able to bear with the answers as well.
“Enjoy the show and move on,” said Yasir. “Sarr per sawaar na ho jao.”
The actor further went on to say that he once requested a blogger to publish a poem on rape victims that he read, asking them to also post good things about him, “Magar nahi. Negativity hee bikti hai, positive cheez post kar k likes lena mushkil hai toh enjoy karen sab.”
“Ghussa aur sawal kyon?” he questioned.
In another story, Yasir stood by his stance and asserted that Nausheen did attend his wedding uninvited.
“I shared the truth about senior actor Nausheen ‘that some people came forcefully’,” wrote Yasir.
“If Miss Shah insists, then I can share the voice notes she sent after which I sent her the location of the wedding. She continued to annoy everyone at the event. She was desperate to come to my wedding just as she is being right now. After sharing to ignore things, she couldn’t even resist herself for 30 minutes,” continued the actor.
“And Miss Shah please stop using my wife’s name for views. You feel sorry for her? Good… After your voice note, she also felt sorry for you,” he added.
Meanwhile, speaking to another publication, Shah said: “I am just shocked. I am following a different path than this and I really don’t want to get involved in this sort of controversy. Yasir and the host chose to discuss all this and they can keep discussing it if they like. I was ignoring the whole matter but I am thankful for all the support that I have gotten from the media and from my fans commenting on social media.”
“If I had known that going to Yasir and Iqra’s wedding was such a big problem, I wouldn’t have come. I don’t really want to get involved in this,” she repeated. “The only reason why I am saying all this is that you reached out to me.”
While the industry till now has chosen to remain silent on the matter, Noor Bukhari commenting on a post said: “I have worked with Yasir and Nausheen Shah. We were in London and Yasir and Nausheen were good friends. And Nausheen is not somebody who will go anywhere without an invite. But this shouldn’t be dragged this much. He should have apologised politely.”
Anoushey Ashraf, who had earlier gotten into a spat with Yasir on social media, also lashed out at the actor, saying: “People don’t remember what you said and what you did but they certainly remember how you made them feel.”
What are your thoughts on the matter? Let us know in the comments below.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s decision to air Diriliş: Ertuğrul on state-run Pakistan Television (PTV) has opened new doors for the Pakistani entertainment industry with a new alliance formed between Pakistani production house Ansari Films and Turkish production house Tekden Films.
According to a press release, “Countering the narrative of Islamophobia and highlighting the teachings of Islam and the goodness the religion propagates will be a key focus of the new alliance between Pakistan-based Ansari Films and Turkish production house Tekden Films. This was discussed during one of the many meetings held during the recent Turkey visit of Pakistani delegation to Turkey.”
The Pakistani delegation comprising of Adnan Siddiqui, Humayun Saeed, producers Dr Kashif Ansari of Ansari Films and Dr Junaid Ali Shah met senior ministers in the Turkish government and discussed an upcoming series Turki Lala, which will be a joint production venture between the two countries. Turki Lala is expected to go on floors soon. The plot of the upcoming venture is based on “Turki Lala who is considered to be one of the most glorious Muslim nationalists to have assisted Turkey during the Balkan War and World War I.”
According to the Ansari-Tekden team, this will [the partnership] start a new chapter in the cross-border talent exchange including actors and writers and more programmes on popular names in the history.”
During their three-day visit, the Pakistani delegation also met several Turkish dignitaries including Governor of Istanbul Ali Yerlikaya, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Youth and Sports Minister M. Muharrem Kasapoglu.
Speaking about the project, Humayun said: “Turkey has very graciously extended its cooperation to us when we start shooting the series. Turki Lala is a formidable figure in Pak-Turkey relations that go back centuries. The programme will be a tribute to his heroics as well the great friendship between the two nations.”
Similarly, Adnan while sharing his thoughts on the project said: “Plans are afoot to create content that breaks the myth surrounding Muslims which, unfortunately, has led to unnecessary hatred towards the community. We want people to know that Islam is all about purity of thought and deeds through our future productions. We had a detailed dialogue on the same with the communication director of Presidency Fahrettin Altun.”
Bugün, Turki Lala’nın hayatını konu eden dizi projesini Pakistanlı yapımcılardan dinleme imkanı bulduk. Türk ve Pakistanlı oyuncuların bir arada olacağı dizi projesi Pakistan’la olan kültürel bağlarımızı inşallah daha da güçlendirecek. Emeği geçenlere teşekkür ederim. pic.twitter.com/FYksOyfJ9u
Earlier, Turkish actor Celal Al warmly welcomed Humayun, Adnan, Reema Khan and Sadia Khan in Turkey.
In January when a Turkish delegation visited Pakistan, Humayun had announced that he and his “friend Adnan Siddiqui” are bringing the biggest project ever in collaboration with Kashif [Ansari] and “our Turkish brothers”. He revealed that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) would be signed between Tekdin Films and Dr Kashif Ansari of Ansari Films and TRT Films which would lead to a collective project and Adnan and Humayun would be overseeing casting and production-related decisions in Pakistan.
While a release date for the project has not been announced, it is being speculated that the series will begin to air some time in 2023.
Meanwhile, Adnan and Humayun have been sharing pictures of themselves enjoying the beauty of Turkey.
Audiences have often witnessed batsmen celebrating a failed DRS call against them after surviving a loud shout, or even the fielding side. But during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 match between Karachi Kings (KK) and Islamabad United (IU) on February 24, it was the umpire who surprised everyone with a mini celebration.
Pakistan’s renowned umpire Aleem Dar was delighted after his call for not-out remained unchanged despite it being referred to the third umpire. It was the first delivery of the last over in United’s innings when they scored the remaining one run to chase down 197 runs.
Kings’ bowler Waqas Maqsood bowled a yorker as batsman Asif Ali tried to get the final run for the victory. The game was done and dusted right there but Karachi decided to go for a DRS thinking they might get the batsman out LBW.
Replay showed there was a thick inside edge and also the ball had hit the boot well outside off; ruling out the possibility of a dismissal. The on-field umpire Dar was happy after confirmation from the third umpire and celebrated by pumping his fist before signalling the failed DRS. It was a win for Islamabad by 5 wickets.
Later netizens picked up on the celebration and expressed happiness over Dar’s little jubilation move.
Expression to know that his was the right decision 😇 Aleem Dar, thy name of precision and Professionalism as “ Umpire “ in history of Cricket. https://t.co/dezWsShuIf
Ayesha Omar is all set to turn entrepreneur with her new organic skincare line scheduled to launch on March 8 on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
Named ‘Ayesha O Beauty’, the brand will focus on natural and organic products, though the exact details of the products are not yet known.
Announcing the news on social media, Omar shared a promotional video of her upcoming brand with the caption: “Been working on something very very close to my heart. Cannot wait to share it with all of you, very soon.”
As per details, Ayesha’s line is being launched in collaboration with Hemani, the same group behind Waseem Badami’s skincare line.
Meanwhile, Ayesha is not the first celebrity to introduce her own beauty line. Last year, Aijaz Aslam launched his own brand of natural health and skincare products under the name of ‘Aijaz Aslam‘, while Shoaib Malik, earlier this year introduced a line of skincare products for men in collaboration with Komal Rizvi.
