Author: News Desk

  • Divorce rates spike in Rawalpindi

    Divorce rates spike in Rawalpindi

    A noticeable surge in divorce cases has been reported in Rawalpindi. As per reports, as many as 550 couples parted ways, sought a divorce and received couples effectiveness certificates from the district court. In addition to that, over 250 couples have filed applications in MCR for issuance of khula certificates.

    As per details, over 2,900 divorce cases are still pending in Rawalpindi’s district courts.

    Talking to a local media outlet MCR Council Officer (CO) Noshia Afzal said: “The divorce ratio is increasing to an alarming level”. She further said that “it is unfortunate over 95 per cent of couples do not agree to live together insisting on the issuance of divorce effectiveness certificates.”

    Stating the reasons behind the increase in divorce cases, Afzal remarked that “poverty was not the reason for divorce, but a poor family structure, unacceptance, and misunderstandings.” She said that even highly educated couples were opting for divorce frequently, adding that people were not taking their marriages seriously.

    Meanwhile, 6,000 marriages were registered during this period.

    The lockdown period has seen a sharp rise in divorce cases worldwide. Here are some tips from renowned psychotherapist Omar Tauseef on how to keep your marriage intact in these testing times.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7Xf6m2JPGU&feature=youtu.be
  • Minal Khan’s ‘Pyaas’ to highlight plight of underprivileged women of Kohala Paien

    Minal Khan’s ‘Pyaas’ to highlight plight of underprivileged women of Kohala Paien

    Minal Khan’s upcoming project with Yasir Hussain Pyaas will highlight the life of underprivileged women of Kohala Paien, Haripur who walk many miles every day to fetch water for their daily use.

    Sharing pictures from the sets and details about her character, Minal said: “Shameem is a window for me to look into the life of underprivileged women of Kohala Paien, Haripur who walk through many miles to fetch water for their daily use.”

    “Portraying a girl who goes through all this was really a lifetime experience for me,” remarked the actor.

    Minal also shared that the film will highlight water crisis in the country.

    “Water we consume daily and don’t realise how precious it is for someone living nearby,” said Minal. “Pyaas is the first drop to a series by Wajahat Hussain who is aiming to highlight such issues through a number of plays/ short films.”

    Read more – Minal Khan says ‘Jalan’ is ‘forever special’

    Wishing Hussain good luck, Khan wrote: “Thank you for giving me a challenging character. I am available in all my capacity for any such opportunity next time too.”

    Earlier, Yasir had also shared a picture with his co-star Khan and Wajahat from the sets of the film.

    According to details, Pyaas is expected to release next month. Besides Yasir and Minal, the short film will also feature Nazar Hussain, Tipu Shah and Madiha Rizvi.

  • Opp putting ‘pressure on army’ for NRO: PM Imran

    Opp putting ‘pressure on army’ for NRO: PM Imran

    Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the Pakistan Democratic Movement, a joint opposition alliance, was putting pressure on the Pakistan Army for NRO [National Reconciliation Ordinance] after he refused to give them relief.

    Speaking during a meeting of the party spokespersons, the prime minister said he would never give an NRO to the opposition parties and they cannot blackmail him into doing so either.

    If the opposition was serious in its quest for free and fair polls, it should have supported the government in bringing about electoral reforms, he said, adding that the opposition has “always used parliament for their personal interests”.

    The opposition didn’t take part in legislation over the past two years, the PM added. He further said that they could never misguide the masses by telling lies. The premier said that the opposition would have stopped protesting had he accepted their proposals to amend the accountability laws.

    On Saturday, PM Imran had claimed that a forward bloc would be formed in the opposition parties if they tried to resign from the assemblies. “I can give you in writing that there will be a forward bloc in opposition if they move to resign from assemblies,” he had said while speaking to media persons in Chakwal.

  • Muneeb Butt savagely responds to troll who called him a ‘sasta marasi’

    Muneeb Butt savagely responds to troll who called him a ‘sasta marasi’

    Muneeb Butt did not hold back while replying to a social media user who wrote a scathing comment on one of his posts on social media.

    Sastay marasi. Tum jaisi elite class ko is se ghanta farq ni parna,” a social media user commented on Muneeb’s post. “Nach gana or talaqon walay dramay or filmon ke ilawa tum log krte hi kya ho?” [This will have no effect on people like you who belong to the elite class. What work do you have except dancing, singing and creating dramas & movies based on divorce?]

    “Ask a middle-class boy about his struggle who has lost his mother or a father or both the parents. Think before you speak,” added the user.

    Read more – Sheheryar Munawar hits back at troll who called him ‘ghareebon ka Bradley Cooper’

    In response to the user’s comment, Butt hit back and wrote: “Mehngey begairat! Naach ganey aur talaqon waley dramey dekhtey kyun ho [?] Dr ne kaha hai dekhna zaruri h phr bura b bolna jakey PTV p dekhlo urea se fassal ki tayyari aur ganney ki kaasht! (Why do you watch such dramas with divorce stories and dance in them? Has any doctor prescribed you to watch them and then criticise them? You should watch PTV’s (ads) on crop preparation(with the help of) urea and sugarcane cultivation).”

    The actor added that everyone struggles to achieve their goals and those who run away from the struggle often go to other people’s walls to depict their bizarre mindset.

    Picture via Galaxy Lollywood

    Meanwhile, Butt has announced that he has started working on his next drama in which he will be sharing the screen with Madiha Imam for the first time. The drama tentatively titled Mujhay Vida Kar has been written by Samra Bukhari and directed by Anjum Shehzad. Other cast members include Saboor Aly, Haris Waheed, Raza Talish, Shabbir Jan, Saba Hameed, Maira Khan and Paras.

  • PPP’s Mustafa, PTI’s Faraz apologise to each other, have coffee after on-air fight

    PPP’s Mustafa, PTI’s Faraz apologise to each other, have coffee after on-air fight

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and Information Minister Shibli Faraz, who exchanged heated words on Hamid Mir’s Capital Talk, have apologised to each other after the show and even shared a cup of coffee together.

    The lawmakers had coffee together at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf as they tried to make up after the verbal altercation on live TV, The Current has learnt.

    During the TV show, Faraz took offence when Senator Khokhar accused the prime minister of nepotism. Khokhar said PM Imran apparently rewarded Dr Humayun, who had handled his “hair transplant”. “Same goes for certain Mr Gilani, whose restaurants are frequently visited [by PM Imran],” claimed Khokhar.

    However, Faraz cut him off at this, saying that the PPP lawmaker shouldn’t bring up “personal things” during the TV show. “Is it not true,” asked Senator Khokhar. To which, the minister said it wasn’t true at all.

    Mustafa Khokhar also didn’t take lightly to remarks made by the minister, saying he was challenging the minister to take action against him. “You can do whatever you want, I am right here,” said Senator Khokhar, prompting an intervention from the host, Hamid Mir, asking the lawmaker to calm down.

    “I treat you as my elder brother and is this how you are going to treat me,” said Khokar, asking Shibli to take action against him if he was saying something that was wrong. Shibli responded that Khokhar shouldn’t have brought up personal things on live TV.

  • Farhan Ali Agha joins PTI

    Suno Chanda’s Farhan Ali Agha has joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI). In a press conference held in Karachi Monday, Farhan announced his decision to join the ruling party.

    During the press conference, Farhan thanked PTI for giving him the opportunity and shared why he took this step.

    “I decided to Join PTI because it is need of the hour that honest people come forward and be a part of the movement so that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision and Quaid-e-Azam’s dream can be fulfilled,” said Farhan. “A dream of a country where common people will get justice.”

    Farhan further said that his father was in armed forces and he grew up listening to stories of sacrifices for the country.

    He shared that he has been following Imran Khan from his cricketing days and believes the future of Pakistan is with PTI.

    Read more – Shaan says PTI is the ‘last hope’ for Pakistan

    The press conference was held at the PTI Sindh’s Insaaf House at Shahr-e-Faisal.

    It is pertinent to add here that Abrar ul Haq is also a member of PTI. Other celebrities who openly show support for PTI include Hamza Ali Abbasi, Farhan Saeed, Mawra Hocane, Shaan Shahid and Ali Zafar.

    Earlier, Shamoon Abbasi had also announced that he has joined the ruling party to revive the cinema industry.

    “I’ve joined PTI, not as a politician; I’ve joined the development department of the media industry. We’ve created and forwarded new policies that the government has accepted and started implementing. Thankfully, Prime Minister Imran Khan is supporting us,” Abbasi had said.

    “A department is being created which will visit sets without notice and make sure things are functioning professionally. If a producer has employed someone without an agreement, he will be questioned and we will work things out accordingly,” he added.

  • Shaan Masala spotted in Gigi Hadid’s spice cabinet

    Shaan Masala spotted in Gigi Hadid’s spice cabinet

    Gigi Hadid has revealed that she is a fan of spices and that too of Pakistani ones.

    Taking the viral ‘Post a Picture of’ challenge on Instagram, when a follower asked her to share a picture from September 15, Gigi shared a picture of her spice cabinet which was full of desi masalas including zeera, haldi, garam masala and tandoori masala. A box of Shaan Seekh Kabab masala was also spotted on the side. The supermodel shared that she ate them during her pregnancy.

    Gigi also shared unseen pictures of herself and baby-daddy Zayn Malik while taking the challenge.

    Before taking the challenge Gigi made it clear that she will not be sharing pictures of her baby daughter and requested followers not to ask for them. Gigi and Zayn welcomed their daughter on September 24. They have not yet revealed their daughter’s name or face, though fans fondly refer to her as baby Zigi.

    Meanwhile, Gigi also gave a shoutout to Pakistani artist Misha Japanwala, who thanked Gigi for helping her when she needed it the most.

  • Iftikhar Thakur to set up hospital for children with thalassaemia

    Iftikhar Thakur to set up hospital for children with thalassaemia

    Iftikhar Thakur has expressed his desire to build a hospital for children suffering from thalassemia in his native town Mian Channu.

    According to reports, the veteran comedian has said that he wants to build a state-of-the-art facility that would provide free of cost treatment to children with thalassaemia. He said that work on the hospital, which would also provide liver transplant facility to the patients in need, would begin in January 2021.

    Thakur said he decided to build the facility while doing charity work at a hospital in Multan. He shared that he felt that there was a lack of treatment facilities for children with thalassaemia in the country.

    “When I worked on this subject, I came to know that there were mobile hospitals for such children [in some countries],” said Thakur.

    The comedian further said that later during a show in the United Kingdom (UK), he appealed for donations for a mobile hospital, adding that responding to his appeal one of his fans donated funds for the facility that was working here. Thakur said over 25,000 children were registered as thalassaemia patients only in south Punjab.

    Thakur also hailed late journalist, poet and playwright Munno Bhai for establishing the Sundas Foundation which works for children with thalassaemia.

    Meanwhile, responding to a question, Thakur suggested that in order to bring improvement in the local commercial theatre, there should be proper script scrutiny committees to eliminate “vulgar content”.

    To another question regarding the Artist Support Fund, Thakur suggested that the government should create job opportunities for artistes, instead of giving them Rs5,000 per month scholarships.

  • Blind mystic woman who foresaw 9/11 predicts cure for cancer, assassination attempt on Putin in 2021

    Blind mystic woman who foresaw 9/11 predicts cure for cancer, assassination attempt on Putin in 2021

    A blind Bulgarian mystic Baba Vanga who allegedly foretold the event of 9/11 has predicted a cure for cancer and the attempt to murder Vladimir Putin in 2021.

    She has also claimed that a “strong” dragon will overcome humanity next year.

    The “Nostradamus of the Balkans”, Baba Vanga died in 2000 but is thought to own a mysterious skill to see the coming events.

    Her history, as far as her followers tell, is that this shadowy woman was brought up on a farm known as Macedonia now and was blinded in a dust storm giving her the very “second sight”.

    People say that she foretold the President Donald Trump’s coronavirus illness in October earlier this year and that the Russian submarine Kursk would sink in 1989.

    Preceding her death at the age of 75 in 1996, the Bulgarian mystic told that 2021 would be the year when a cure for cancer would be known claiming that with the start of the 21st century, people will get rid of cancer. “The day will come when cancer will get tied with iron chains.”

    One of her predictions included that the Russian President Vladimir Putin will be the target of an assassination attempt next year, also said that Islamic radicals will step to attack Europe and that the extremists will use an collection of chemical weapons on Europeans also that the world will go through a lot of calamities and excessive tragedies.

    She claimed that the perception of people will have a transformation.

    “Difficult times will come. People will be divided by their faith.”

    The strangest of all her predictions yet is that a dragon will be overcoming humanity in 2021.

    “A strong dragon will seize humanity,” she says. “The three giants will unite. Some people will have red money. I see the numbers 100, 5, and many zeros.”

    Followers of the mystic like to point to her 85 percent accuracy in previous predictions, drawn from research by a former director of the Bulgarian Institute of Suggestology, Professor Georgi Lozanov.

    However, a 2012 Washington Post investigation uncovered that many of the predictions attributed to the mystic have their origins in viral Russian social media posts.

    No credible written version of the Baba‘s predictions is available to view, either.

    According to one Bulgarian newspaper, her neighbours were quick to spike the idea that she predicted 9/11 or the sinking of the Kursk.

  • Highest COVID-19 positivity rates recorded in Karachi, Abbottabad throughout December

    Highest COVID-19 positivity rates recorded in Karachi, Abbottabad throughout December

    The National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) announced on Monday that the highest COVID-19 occurrence has been recorded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s city of Abbottabad and the city of lights Karachi for the month of December. 

    The positivity rate is obtained by dividing the number of people who test positive for the coronavirus with the total number of tests conducted in 24 hours.

    As per reports, Abbottabad’s positivity rate on Sunday was 25.5% and Karachi has been reporting positivity rate of above 12% in the last 10 days.

    The NCOC said the national positivity rate, however, has decreased in the past few days. The month’s highest coronavirus ratio was recorded at 9.71% on December 6 while the number stood at 6.13% on Sunday.

    The country has reported 1,974 cases in the past 24 hours while 55 people lost their lives and 1,760 recovered. Pakistan has reported 473,309 cases so far.