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  • How do you beg with a smile? Man confronts Finance Minister in the US

    How do you beg with a smile? Man confronts Finance Minister in the US

    Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has been leading a Pakistani delegation to the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), being held in Washington DC from October 21-26, when he was confronted by Jalil Afridi, infamous for asking irrelevant questions from US State Department official briefing.

    At the Wilson Center, Afridi questioned the finance minister: “When you come to Washington to ask for money, how do you beg with such expensive hotels and big delegations and with such a smile?”

    Afridi further claimed: “Ever since Afghanistan became free [2021], its economy is performing better than Pakistan, especially the rates of dollars are better there than in Pakistan. Why is that?”

    However, his question did not stop there. He also stated: “The justice system in Pakistan is also bad, and just a few days ago, it was the second death anniversary of the killed journalist. [Arshad Sharif]”

    The Finance Minister did not get startled by this line of questioning. Rather, he calmly replied: “I’m not sure if I’m the right person to answer your questions because I certainly do not agree with you that Afghanistan’s economy is doing better than Pakistan’s. So we have a fundamental disagreement, but you’ll have to call the Finance Minister of Afghanistan to ask him what is happening there.”

    Two days ago, Reuters reported that Pakistan is targeting around $1 billion in a formal request for funding from the IMF facility that helps low and middle-income countries mitigate climate risk.

  • Cristiano Ronaldo seeks help from fans to find emotional fan

    Cristiano Ronaldo seeks help from fans to find emotional fan

    Cristiano Ronaldo has reached out to his fans for help in finding the guy who was seen crying with joy at a recent Al-Nassr FC match.

    The emotional moment it happened during the AFC Champions League game between Al-Nassr and Esteghlal on October 22, 2024. The fan, wearing Ronaldo’s jersey, went viral after being spotted in tears, leading Ronaldo to try and arrange a personal meeting with them. The touching video of the fan watching Ronaldo from the stands spread quickly online.

    Ronaldo, known for his strong bond with his fans and appreciation for their support, expressed his wish to meet the fans and thank them personally. This is not the first time Ronaldo has used his platform to connect with a special admirer.

    His social media post generated a huge response, with many users sharing the video and providing information to help locate the fan. Playing for Al-Nassr, Ronaldo showed gratitude for the support and is eager to meet the fans to show his appreciation.

  • Sindh High Court orders MDCAT retake across province

    Sindh High Court orders MDCAT retake across province

    The Sindh High Court has ordered the conduct of the Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) in four weeks for admissions in government medical and dental colleges.

    The court ordered a retake after petitions were filed against alleged irregularities in MDCAT.

    The court, while recalling that a committee had been formed on the previous hearing, asked, “Did they [the committee] do any work, or did they sleep at home?”

    The committee chairperson, Shireen Nareju, submitted the report to the court, according to which there was no irregularity in the system.

    Nareju also stated that some students had contacted the committee, contending against the retaking of MDCAT, statements of which were included in the report.

    The Sindh High Court, however, noted that flaws in the examination system were pointed out during the investigation, indicating the system has been compromised at various levels.

    The report stated that about 42 people have been involved in the examination system.

    The court asked Shireen if the paper was leaked, considering that the mechanism had been compromised, to which she claimed that answer keys and questions circulated on WhatsApp.

    The Sindh High Court, therefore, ruled that the MDCAT test should be retaken in one month.

    Read more: MDCAT trends on X as students get swamped with problems

  • Bilal Abbas Khan , Ayeza Khan also part of Fawad Khan’s new show ‘The Prisoner’

    Bilal Abbas Khan , Ayeza Khan also part of Fawad Khan’s new show ‘The Prisoner’

    Bilal Abbas and Ayeza Khan are reportedly joining Fawad Khan in the highly anticipated crime thriller series, The Prisoner, according to IMDB listings. This powerhouse cast bring fresh excitement to the series, which is based on Omar Shahid’s bestselling novel. The novel depicts two daring cops on a covert mission in the 90s to challenge Karachi’s powerful mafia like political party. Created by Parisa Siddiqi and Ahmer Khan, the series is sure to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

    Fans of Pakistan cinema and thrillers can look forward to The Prisoner delivering a captivating blend of action and drama, with a star-studded cast that promises exceptional storytelling.

    Fans will be excited to see Ayeza Khan and Fawad Khan together as they haven’t worked together since a commercial. In this series ‘The Priosner’ Fawad Khan plays DSP Akbar Khan, Ayeza Khan will play Mehreen Khan, and Bilal Abbas will portray DSP C Constantine D’Souza.

    A fan page of Fawad Khan named Dusty shared the story on his Instagram account:

  • Why is Ahsan Iqbal spamming American Congressmen with same message on X?

    Why is Ahsan Iqbal spamming American Congressmen with same message on X?

    Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal has sent the same reply to multiple United States congressmen on X (formerly Twitter) over the US lawmakers’ demand to release the incarcerated founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan from Adiala Jail.

    Previously, over 60 Democratic lawmakers of the United States House of Representatives called on US President Joe Biden in a letter to use Washington’s leverage with Pakistan to secure the release of incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

    Several congressmen, including Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and Congressman Greg Casar, posted messages on X in favour of Imran Khan, claiming that they are proud of signing the letter to President Joe Biden for an end to human rights abuses in Pakistan and the release of all political prisoners—including Imran Khan.

    Ahsan Iqbal wrote the same long message to multiple congressmen, claiming that Imran Khan had been facilitating all necessities in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi, while during his reign, Khan was cruel and aggressive towards the opposition.

    “Your tweet has come to me as a surprise because it seems you have heard only one side of the story. Imran Khan is being given far, far more facilities in jail than what he provided to me and other leaders of PMLN during incarceration at his hands in bogus & fictitious cases when he was the Prime Minister.”

    “He orchestrated attacks on the Parliament and Garrisons. I wonder if any politician will be spared in the US if he/she committed these crimes. As regards mistreatment in jail, he is in the same jail cell where he had confined me. So if that was good for me, it should be good for him too,” the Planning and Development Minister said added.

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra, while pointing out the spam message of Ahsan Iqbal, replied in a satirical critique, “full panic mode.”

    One social media user humorously claimed that the Minister of Development and Planning copy-pasted the same message on different tweets.

    Another netizen wrote: “Seems as if they only have one person to tweet in English, so he got a tough job to do.”

    “Baba Jee seems to have completely lost his marbles. Literally spamming the same copy-paste on every post,” another social media user pointed out.

  • Video: Falak Shabir surprises Sarah with an unexpected gift, leaving her in tears

    Video: Falak Shabir surprises Sarah with an unexpected gift, leaving her in tears

    Singer Falak Shabir, known for giving flowers every day to his wife, Sara Khan, surprised her with a special gift.

    Falak often shares videos of the thoughtful gifts he gives Sara to show his love. Recently, he posted a vlog on YouTube, revealing that he had gifted her a farmhouse.

    In the video, Sara was deeply moved and couldn’t hold back her tears when she saw the farmhouse.

    Falak shared, “I had been working on the farmhouse for the past year and a half as a surprise for her.”

    The farmhouse has a rustic exterior with modern features inside. It includes grapevines, fig, sugarcane, and falsa trees, creating a beautiful and natural atmosphere.

    Earlier this year, Falak had also gifted a Mercedes Benz to Sara and their daughter, Alyana Falak.


    Check the video below:

  • CJP brings back Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Munib Akhtar to bench-formation committee

    CJP brings back Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Munib Akhtar to bench-formation committee

    In an interesting development, newly-sworn Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi has reconstituted the Practice and Procedure Committee of the Supreme Court (SC).

    As per the details, CJP Afridi, on his first day as the top judge, brought back Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Munib Akhtar to the apex court committee that decides on bench formation and case fixation.

    This means that no bench can be formed, or cases can be heard without their assent.

    “In supersession of this court’s office order of even number dated 20-09-2024 and in the exercise of powers under section 2 (1) of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure Act) 2023 as amended by the Ordinance eight of 2024, the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan has been pleased to reconstitute the requisite committee,” read a notification issued by the SC on Saturday.

    “The committee stands constituted as under: Justice Yahya Afridi, chief justice of Pakistan, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, senior puisne judge and Justice Munib Akhtar,” it added.

    Originally, the committee was supposed to consist of the three senior-most SC judges to deal with cases under Article 184(3) of the Constitution — often referred to as the apex court’s suo motu jurisdiction.

    Following an ordinance last month to amend the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023 — a law that aimed to curtail the chief justice’s powers — the top judge could now pick any SC judge to be the third member of the body.

    Subsequently, Justice Isa had removed Justice Akhtar, the second in the line of seniority after the CJP, from the committee and made Justice Aminuddin Khan a part of it.

    At the time, Justice Khan was fourth in the line of seniority after the CJP, while Justice Afridi was the third senior-most judge.

    Speaking at the full court reference Friday, CJP Yahya had stressed that the “rule of law shall rule” and the principles of trichotomy of power shall prevail during the time ahead.

    He indicated that the immediate focus would be on districts furthest away, on improving the justice delivery system and facilitating the cases of women, children, and the disabled.

    During a hearing earlier this week, Justice Afridi said a separate category would be created for cases where any law had been challenged or needed constitutional interpretation — in line with the 26th Amendment that entailed the formation of constitutional benches.

  • Catch the first glimpse of Sheheryar Munawar and Ushna Shah in Aye Ishq E Junoon

    Catch the first glimpse of Sheheryar Munawar and Ushna Shah in Aye Ishq E Junoon

    The first look of the new drama Aye Ishq E Junoon featuring Sheheryar Munawar and Ushna Shah together for the first time, has been revealed.

    The teaser, released on Thursday, hints at a life-changing event that impacts everyone and has created excitement among ARY Digital viewers.

    Millions have watched the teaser, with fans eagerly expressing their excitement in the comments. Alongside Munawar and Shah, the drama stars Shuja Asad, Mahenur Haider, and seasoned actors Shabbir Jan, Irsa Ghazal, Mehmood Aslam, and Sohail Sameer.

    Directed by renowned filmmaker Qasim Ali Mureed and written by Sadia Akhtar, Aye Ishq E Junoon is produced by Humayun Saeed and Shahzad Nasib under Six Sigma Plus Entertainment. The drama will air soon on ARY Digital.

    Check the video below:

  • IND v NZ: India lose Test series at home after 12 years

    IND v NZ: India lose Test series at home after 12 years

    New Zealand defeated India in the second Test to take a decisive lead of 2-0 in the three-match series.

    In the match played in Pune, New Zealand defeated India by 113 runs.

    Chasing New Zealand’s 359 runs on the third day of play, the Indian team was bowled out for 245 runs.

    After 12 years, India has lost a Test series at home.

    New Zealand scored 259 runs in the first innings, in response to which the Indian team was reduced to 156 runs, while New Zealand scored 255 runs in the second innings and gave India a target of 359 runs to win.

    In the first Test played in Bengaluru, India was defeated by eight wickets; in the first innings of this test match, the Indian team was reduced to 46 runs.

  • Textile manufacturers unhappy as government policy threatens 18 billion dollar export sector

    Textile manufacturers unhappy as government policy threatens 18 billion dollar export sector

    Textile exporters expressed great displeasure over the government’s decision to stop the supply of natural gas to their power plants. Islamabad’s decision puts the USD 18 billion textile export industry at risk by leaving it to function on the national power grid.

    While the motivations are not entirely clear, experts believe that by cutting the gas supply to these independent power plants, the government is trying to increase its power supply revenues. This is because these power producers operate outside of the national grid, which makes it a tough activity to tax and regulate.

    For business owners in the textile sector, reverting to the national grid is a huge setback. This is due to the unreliability of the distribution companies that are infamous for power outages and fluctuations. While fluctuations might not be an alarming issue in residential areas, for the textile industry, they can render expensive machinery useless.

    This is primarily the reason why many textile manufacturers banded together to set up these independent power plants, as they were a stable source of power. However, with the government’s metaphorical axe coming down on these power plants, textile business owners will have no choice but to comply.

    Moreover, as per the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA), the national grid will result in higher production costs due to transmission and distribution losses – inefficiencies the grid is known for.

    For exporters, this spells bad news as a rise in production costs will result in a loss in the competitive edge that Pakistan’s textiles have in international markets. This is because Pakistani textiles will not be as attractive to competitors due to the higher price tag when compared to other countries offering the same product for less.

    With Pakistani textile company Keywin Trading Ltd and other local players signing USD 40 million worth of agreements with Chinese firms at TEXPO 2024 (Textile Expo), the decision to cut gas supply to independent power plants comes at a bad time.

    This is primarily because, aside from switching to the costlier national grid, textile manufacturers have no real alternative to turn to anymore. Exporters who lose out on international contracts due to higher prices might have to shut their factories down and lay off thousands of workers.

    Is the crusade against these power plants even worth it if it means that the textile sector gets caught in the crossfire? Before anyone jumps to answer this question, perhaps it is best to note that the textile sector is singlehandedly responsible for 60% of the country’s exports.