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Author: News Desk

  • Royal Visit Pakistan Day 1: Kate & William arrive in a rickshaw for grand reception

    Royal Visit Pakistan Day 1: Kate & William arrive in a rickshaw for grand reception

    Prince William and Kate Middleton’s maiden tour of Pakistan is in full swing and the two won the hearts of all the countrymen by arriving in a brightly-painted rickshaw for an event hosted by British High Commissioner Thomas Drew and his wife.

    While Kate shimmered in a dress by Jenny Packham, William looked absolutely dapper in a sherwani by Karachi-based designer Naushemian. Kate accessorised her look with bespoke earrings by Onitaa, which were sourced from Pakistan.

    Prince William also addressed the event which had Pakistan’s who’s who – from politicians to entrepreneurs – in attendance.

    He started his speech, which he had penned himself, with a “Shukriya” to the people of the country for a warm welcome, adding that he was enjoying the delicious food here.

    He then said: “For a country so young, Pakistan has endured many hardships, with countless lives lost to terror and hatred. Tonight I want to pay tribute to all those who have endured such sacrifice and helped to build the country that we see today.”

    “The challenges ahead are great. But we cannot be daunted, nor distracted.”

    He continued: “Instead we should draw strength from our shared bonds and heed the words of Muhammed Ali Jinnah as we do so. My message to you all is of hope, courage, and confidence.”

    The royal reception was the last event in their jam-packed schedule.

    The royal couple commenced their trip with a visit to Islamabad Model College for Girls where they interacted with the staff and students and visited classrooms.

    Kate looked stunning in a beautiful custom Periwinkle Silk outfit by designer Maheen Khan. Her nude court shoes were from British high-street brand New Look.

    Following their visit to the school, they went to Trail 5, Margalla to attend an event regarding environmental protection. They also set a leopard camera trap with children.

    After a change in outfit, Kate and William visited Aiwan-e-Sadr where they met with President Arif Alvi and his wife as well as Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and his wife.

    Following that, they arrived at the Prime Minister House for a lunch hosted by PM Imran Khan in their honour.

    Kate is wearing trousers by Maheen Khan and a tunic by Catherine Walker, with a scarf by Satrangi and earrings by Zeen.

    Several members of PM Imran’s cabinet were present on the occasion including Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari, Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood, Special Assistant to the PM for Overseas Pakistanis Sayed Zulfiqar Bukhari and Special Advisor to PM for Information and Broadcasting.

  • ‘60% of recent railways appointments from minister, his nephew’s own constituencies’

    ‘60% of recent railways appointments from minister, his nephew’s own constituencies’

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) has issued a stay order on 845 recent appointments in Pakis­tan Railways (PR) through “balloting” — a move that had earlier been challenged by PR Employees (PREM) Union, journalist Asad Malik tweeted Tuesday.

    According to Dawn, the PREM Union had last week pointed out that a majority of the newly appointed staff belonged to the two Rawalpindi constituencies of Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed and his nephew Sheikh Rasheed Shafiq.

    Filing the petition before the Rawal­pindi bench of the LHC through its counsel Imran Shafique, the union had requested the court to set aside the inductions.

    PR authorities had advertised 322 posts of different categories in BS-1 to BS-5 in October 2018, according to the petition. Another advertisement was published only a month later, with the number of vacant positions being increased from 323 to 845, the court was informed.

    The petition said thousands of people had applied for the posts, but the appointments were made through balloting rather than on the basis of merit.

    “The candidates who secured highest marks in the skill/written test and proved their mettle in the interviews deserved to be appointed on the basis of open merit, but the railways authorities, while changing the criteria, placed all successful candidates in the same position and decided their fate on the basis of draws/balloting,” it added.

    Informing the court that more than half of the so-called successful candidates belonged to the constituency of the incumbent railways minister and his nephew, MNA Shafiq, the petition said it was unfortunate how “secret balloting was staged to select the blue-eyed ones”.

    The LHC was informed that 58 per cent seats were to be filled on the basis of open merit, 20 per cent quota was reserved for the children of railways employees, 10 per cent was reserved for ex-employees, 5 per cent for orphans and handicapped, and 2 per cent for disabled persons.

    However, the petition maintained, even those quotas were not taken into consideration during the induction through balloting.

    When approached, PR Chairperson Sikandar Sultan Raja told Dawn that the directions to fill the vacancies from BS-1 to BS-4 through balloting were issued by the federal government.

  • Happy Birthday Babar Azam: Lord’s wishes ‘one of the finest in the world’

    Happy Birthday Babar Azam: Lord’s wishes ‘one of the finest in the world’

    It’s Pakistani Cricketer Babar Azam’s birthday today and with all of the wishes pouring in for the batsman, Lord’s, which is considered as the “Home of Cricket”, has also forwarded its greetings to the vice-captain of the men-in-green.

    Lord’s Cricket ground from its Twitter handle has posted a video of Babar Azam playing in a Test match and wrote, “One of the finest in the world at the moment Wishing Babar Azam a very happy birthday!”.

    The video shows right-handed batsman playing during a test match in Lord’s cricket ground between Pakistan and England in 2018.

    A day earlier, Lord’s cricket ground from its account had also wished Pakistan’s former cricketer and right-arm off-spin bowler, in which they wrote, “Here’s a throwback to his battle with Adam Gilchrist in the Lord’s Bicentenary Match in 2014”.

  • Buzdar-led Punjab govt’s tax collection jumps 44%

    Buzdar-led Punjab govt’s tax collection jumps 44%

    Chief Miniter (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar-led Punjab government has registered a 44% growth to Rs77 billion of tax collection in the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal year, The Express Tribune reported.

    According to the details, the Finance Department on Monday held a review meeting during which Finance Minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht briefed the members about the performance of the provincial government.

    The meeting was told that despite the financial backlog left by the previous government, the incumbent government gave a surplus budget of Rs233 billion in order to meet financial requirements of the federal government to comply with conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme.

    Meeting participants also noted that a revenue collection target of Rs388 billion was fixed for Punjab for the fiscal year 2019-20, which was 44% higher than the previous fiscal year.

  • Deadman wakes up during final rites

    Deadman wakes up during final rites

    55-year-old Simanach Mallick presumed dead by his family members but he suddenly woke up before his cremation in India.

    As per reports, villagers rushed Simanach Mallick to the nearby community health center of the district after he woke up ahead of the cremation in the village. His condition was stated to be stable after treatment.

     Reports reveal that Mallick had gone to graze goats on Saturday but he did not return home, even though the animals returned on their own. When his family members and villagers searched for him, they found him unconscious at farmland.

    Apparently, instead of taking him to hospital, his neighbors and family members assumed that he was dead and so decided to carry out his last rites.

     Following the completion of funeral rites when Simanchal’s kin lit the pyre, he suddenly woke up, shocking mourners and all others present at the spot. Soon after the incident, Simanchal was rushed to Sorada Community Health Centre (CHC) where he underwent treatment. His health condition is stated to be stable now.

    The man had fallen unconscious due to high fever and weakness and his condition has improved after getting proper treatment, said a doctor who attended him. He was later discharged.

    Happy to see her husband alive, Mallick’s wife Soli regretted that as she did not take him to the hospital before presuming him dead.

  • Prince William to honour Diana on Pakistan tour with a special visit

    Prince William to honour Diana on Pakistan tour with a special visit

    With the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton, arriving in Islamabad as part of their royal tour of Pakistan, the former will be honouring his late mother and Princess of Wales, Diana, with a special visit.

    The five-day visit to the country — which has been described by Kensington Palace as their “most complex” to date — will see William and Kate attend a series of engagements focusing on security and the effects of climate change beside education for girls and young women.

    According to reports, during the trip that will see the couple visit Islamabad, Lahore, the mountains in the north and regions bordering Afghanistan in the west, the Queen’s grandson will also seek to honour his late mother Princess Diana’s humanitarian work.

    In 1996 and 1997, shortly before she died in a fatal car accident, the princess visited the country to see her friend Jemima Goldsmith and then-husband Imran Khan, who is now the prime minister (PM).

    During the latter trip to Lahore, Diana had helped Imran with raising funds for his Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital.

    William is now due to meet the premier, who he has known since childhood, as well as President Dr Arif Alvi. It is also thought the Duke and Duchess, who have left their three children at home, will see sites visited by the Queen during tours in 1961 and 1997.

    “The duke and duchess will be covering a lot of ground and are keen to put Pakistan back on the map as a country that is now much safer than people expect it to be,” reports quoted a royal source as saying.

    Precise details of the trip — the first royal tour to the country in 13 years after Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall — haven’t been released for security reasons.

  • PICTURES: Royals arrive in Pakistan

    PICTURES: Royals arrive in Pakistan

    The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton, touched down in Islamabad Monday night on their first official visit to the country.

    The royal couple was welcomed by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, his wife and British High Commissioner in Pakistan Thomas Drew after their airplane landed at the Nur Khan Airbase.

    Kate looked resplendent in a sky blue flowy outfit by Catherine Walker accessorised by earrings and clutch by Zeen.

    Here’s a closeup of the Duchess’ accessories:

    The five-day visit, which will end on October 18, has been organised at the request of the United Kingdom’s (UK) Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The last royal visit was in 2006.

  • Ushna Shah responds to ‘pizza guy’ Twitter backlash

    Ushna Shah responds to ‘pizza guy’ Twitter backlash

    Balaa and Bewafa actor Ushna Shah found herself in hot waters after she made some questionable comments about her late-night pizza delivery experience.

    Her comments outraged Twitter users who remarked that Ushna’s comments were sexist and privileged.

    https://twitter.com/AnamTrqKhan/status/1183648543212494848?s=20

    Following that, Ushna defended herself and said that she was holding the dog as the pizza guy made his way inside and that he only came in when she challenged his masculinity.

    However, the matter didn’t appear to settle down, so Ushna shared a lengthy note explaining her actions and why she had shared the story on social media.

    https://twitter.com/ushnashah/status/1183740411401199616?s=20
    https://twitter.com/ushnashah/status/1183740421572321280?s=20

    Despite all that, people still refused to buy her explanation.

    https://twitter.com/daanistan/status/1183761262892781568?s=20
  • Here’s who will be meeting the Royal couple

    Here’s who will be meeting the Royal couple

    With the Royals due in Pakistan, excitement levels in the country are high as everyone waits for the historic moment. Their schedule is being tightly guarded due to security reasons which means we don’t exactly know what is on their itinerary but media and social media has been lit with speculations of their four-day visit.

    Kensington Palace in an official statement had shared that the royal couple’s trip “will range from the modern, leafy capital of Islamabad to the vibrant city of Lahore, the mountainous countryside in the North, and the rugged border regions to the West.”

    UK envoy Thomas Drew said that Kate and William “hope to meet as many Pakistanis as possible during the course of the visit. They are looking forward to building a lasting friendship with the people of Pakistan.”

    While the full guest list has not yet been revealed, here’s who is expected to meet the Duke and Duchess, according to our social media sleuthing:

    Hina Butt

    PML-N MPA Hina Butt, in a Tweet, shared that she will be attending a reception in honour of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the Pakistan Monument on Tuesday.

    Maheen Khan

    Fashion designer Maheen Khan recalled Queen Elizabeth II’s first visit to Pakistan and said that she looks forward to meeting “TRH the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in person.”

    Khadija Shah

    In response to Maheen’s tweet, Khadija Shah of Elan said that she’ll also be there at the [under wraps] event.

    https://twitter.com/khadijah_shah/status/1183358920796131329?s=20

    Besides, Kate and William are scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Dr Arif Alvi on October 15.

  • Osman Khalid Butt explains ‘Ehd-e-Wafa’s horse shooting scene

    Osman Khalid Butt explains ‘Ehd-e-Wafa’s horse shooting scene

    Last night’s episode of Ehd-e-Wafa was a rollercoaster – the SSG fought and broke up and Osman Khalid Butt’s character Shahzain shot dead a horse for losing a race.

    Those invested in the drama were naturally upset with the way things progressed and the scene in which Shahzain shot the horse triggered many. No disclaimer was given before the scene. However, the gun was blurred out.

    As social media users took to Instagram to express their disgust at the scene, Butt explained to them the context and other details behind it.

    While he was at it, Osman also decided to answer some other questions.

    Like how he made Ahad slap him for the scene.

    And how it was DG ISPR who decided the cast of the drama.

    How it was like working with Ahad.