The green shirts defeated Turkmenistan by 3-1 in Central Asian Volleyball League securing their third consecutive win in the event. Pakistan having previously defeated Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
On the third day of the ongoing six-day league at the Pakistan Sports Complex Islamabad, Pakistan won against Turkmenistan by 25-23, 21-25, 26-24, 27-25 after a tough competition.
The first episode of the drama ‘Gentleman’ aired on Green Entertainment and it’s already getting rave reviews.
‘Gentlemen’ is written by Khalil Ur Rehman Qamar and features Humayun Saeed, who is coming back to TV, after five years. His last drama was the iconic ‘Meray Paas Tum Ho’.
In the first episode, fans loved the way it was filmed and how the director captured the environment. Humayun Saeed’s acting as Munna was very well received, with fans saying it was very natural.
The drama is directed by Haissam Hussain and produced by Samina Humayun Saeed and Sana Shahnawaz. The drama stars include well- known Pakistani actors like Zahid Ahmed, Sohai Ali Abro, Ahmed Ali Butt, Adnan Siddiqui, Khalid Anam, Saqib Sameer, Fahima Awan and Yumna Zaidi.
The story is about Munna, who is a troublemaker on the streets. He falls in love with Zarnab, a journalist who criticises people like him. Munna wants to win her heart, so he goes against his own gang, which is led by his older brother Rehmati. Their relationship goes through ups and downs, with Zarnab realizing that the real bad guys aren’t people like Munna, but people who use them for their own benefit.
Here are some comments from fans:
Actors Samina Ahmed and Manzar Sehbai, who are married to each other, recently came on Aamna Haider Isani’s show in which they openly talked about the importance of love, affection and compatibility in a marriage.
During the interview they said, “it’s not useful to stress about being compatibility before getting married because you won’t really know until you live together.”
Expressing their views on love,
Samina said, “Being in love means feeling completely at ease with someone, without having to pretend.”
Meanwhile, Manzar Sehbai said, “Love is defined differently for each individual; its definition is impossible to generalize. If you want to do something in life, go ahead and do it head on so you do not have any regrets later in life. Hustle and follow your dreams as time will never be in your favour but you will succeed if you keep pursuing your dreams.”
The government is poised to enact a significant reduction in petrol prices by approximately Rs12.8 per litre for the latter half of May 2024, aligning with the downward trend in international prices.
According to price estimates until May 13, 2024 (Monday), global petroleum product prices have experienced a notable decline compared to the previous fortnight.
This reduction will be in addition to the Rs5.45 decrease implemented in the preceding fortnight, when the government adjusted the price to Rs288.49 per litre.
Furthermore, there is an expectation that the government will also lower the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) by approximately Rs8.3 per litre due to a corresponding decline in its international price.
In the previous fortnight, the government had reduced the price of High-Speed Diesel (HSD) by Rs8.42 to Rs281.96 per litre.
Despite fluctuations in global markets, the local currency has maintained relative stability against the USD since the last pricing adjustment, with a weighted average rate hovering around PKR 278.2 per USD.
It’s noteworthy that three pricing sessions remain before the next update, indicating that the final prices will be contingent on further global market movements and the exchange rate.
The government is scheduled to unveil the new prices at midnight on May 15, 2024, and these adjustments will remain effective for the second half of May.
Gold prices in Pakistan witnessed a decline on Monday, mirroring the downward trend in the international market.
According to data provided by the All Pakistan Gems and Jewellers Sarafa Association (APGJSA), the local market saw a decrease in the price of gold per tola by Rs1,200, settling at Rs242,300 after a single-day fall.
Similarly, the price of 10 grammes of gold dropped to Rs207,733, marking a decrease of Rs943, as reported by APGJSA.
The international gold rate, as per APGJSA figures, was set at $2,349 per ounce, with a $20 premium, experiencing a $10 decrease during the day.
In contrast, silver prices remained steady at Rs2,650 per tola.
The recent decline comes after gold reached a record high of Rs252,200 per tola in the local market last month. Notably, on Saturday, gold prices in Pakistan had decreased by Rs300 per tola.
The fluctuation in gold prices reflects the ongoing dynamics in both domestic and global markets, impacting investors and consumers alike.
Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has resigned as Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president, Geo News reported on Monday.
The development comes after president PML-N Punjab chapter Rana Sanaullah announced that party supremo Nawaz Sharif will lead the party.
PML-N’s central committee will meet on May 18 in Lahore at 11:30am.
PML-N secretary general Ahsan Iqbal sent notices to the central committee about the meeting under Article 15 of the party constitution.
Nawaz Sharif stepped down as prime minister in 2017 when the Supreme Court (SC) disqualified him for life for not declaring his receivable salary.
The apex court also disqualified Nawaz Sharif in 2018 as PML-N president in the Panama Papers case.
The top court said in its verdict that a person can’t lead a political party who is disqualified under Articles 62 and 63.
On January 8, 2024, the top court abolished bans on people with criminal charges from taking part in polls.
Actress Hiba Bukhari is all praise for one actor that she has worked with.
She talked about acting alongside Sheheryar Munawar for the first time in ‘Radd’.
In a behind-the-scenes video from the sets, Bukhari shared her thoughts on working with Munawar for the first time. She said, “I was actually surprised by how positive he is. He brings a lot of positivity.”
Bukhari added, “Even though he’s been in the movies for a while now, I thought it might take some time to get used to working with him, but he’s really nice, sweet, and cooperative. He’s great at discussing scenes and rehearsing dialogues with me to make our on-screen chemistry work.”
“Many actors don’t prepare like this, even though it’s a basic requirement in our field. Usually, actors don’t like it,” said the ‘Radd’ actor.
“But Sheheryar does, and it lets us talk about changes before telling the director,” she finished.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday approved an urgent grant of Rs 23 Billion to resolve the issues of people in Azad and Jammu Kashmir (AJK).
The development came after violent protests erupted in the AJK on the Awami Action Committee’s (AAC) call against high electricity bills and taxes.
PM Shehbaz presided over a meeting on Azad Kashmir’s protests in which the grant was approved.
However, AAC leader Shaukat Nawaz said that he refuses to end the protest until they receive a notification affirming that their demands have been accepted.
“Promises have been made in the past as well to dissolve protests. (This time) we will not return believing the political promises,” he said, adding that the government’s seriousness would be trusted when a notification regarding the resolution of their demands would reach them.
The AAC called for a shutter down and wheel-jam strike across the state to protest the electricity price hike and taxes.
India’s six-week election resumed Monday including in Indian-occupied Kashmir, where voters were expected to show their discontent with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cancellation of their disputed territory’s semi-autonomy and the security crackdown that followed.
Modi remains popular across much of India and his Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is widely expected to win the poll when it concludes early next month.
But his government’s decision in 2019 to bring IOK under its direct rule — and the subsequent clampdown — have been deeply resented among the region’s residents, who will be voting for the first time since the move.
“What we’re telling voters now is that you have to make your voice heard,” said former chief minister Omar Abdullah, whose National Conference party is campaigning for the restoration of IOK’s former semi-autonomy.
“The point of view that we want people to send out is that what happened… is not acceptable to them,” he told AFP.
IOK has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947. Both claim it in full and have fought two wars over control of the Himalayan region.
Rebel groups opposed to Indian rule have waged an insurgency since 1989 on the side of the frontier controlled by New Delhi, demanding either independence or a merger with Pakistan.
India accuses Pakistan of backing the insurgents, a charge that Islamabad denies.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands of soldiers, rebels and civilians in the decades since, including a spate of firefights between suspected rebels and security forces in the past month.
‘Referendum’
Violence has dwindled since the Indian portion of the territory was brought under direct rule five years ago, a move that saw the mass arrest of local political leaders and a months-long telecommunications blackout to forestall expected protests.
Modi’s government says its cancelling of IOK’s special status has brought “peace and development”, and it has consistently claimed the move was supported by Kashmiris.
But his party has not fielded any candidates in the IOK valley for the first time since 1996, and experts say the BJP would have been roundly defeated if it had.
“They would lose, simple as that,” political analyst and historian Sidiq Wahid told AFP last week, adding that Kashmiris saw the vote as a “referendum” on Modi’s policies.
The BJP has appealed to voters to instead support smaller and newly created parties that have publicly aligned with Modi’s policies.
But voters are expected to back one of two established IOK political parties calling for the Modi government’s changes to be reversed.
“I voted for changing the current government. It must happen for our children to have a good future,” civil servant Habibullah Parray told AFP.
“Everywhere you go in Kashmir today you find people from outside in charge. Everyone wants that to change.”
In rural districts outside Srinagar, the region’s biggest city, army soldiers patrolled roads in convoys of bulletproof vehicles.
Several polling booths around the constituency had more than two dozen paramilitary troops guarding voter queues.
Boycotts called by rebel groups left few Kashmiris willing to participate in past elections, with just over 14 percent of eligible voters in Srinagar casting a ballot during the last national poll in 2019.
By mid-afternoon on Monday nearly 30 percent of people in the constituency had voted, with booths still open for several more hours.
Nearly one billion voters
India’s election is conducted in seven phases over six weeks to ease the immense logistical burden of staging the democratic exercise in the world’s most populous country.
More than 968 million people are eligible to vote in India’s election, with the final round of polling on June 1 and results expected three days later.
Voter turnout elsewhere in India has so far declined significantly from 2019, according to election commission figures.
Analysts have blamed widespread expectations that Modi will easily win a third term and hotter-than-average temperatures heading into the summer.
India’s weather bureau has forecast more hot spells in May and the election commission formed a taskforce last month to review the impact of heat and humidity before each round of voting.
SonyLIV, an Indian streaming service, is producing a series on the partition of the subcontinent, and the casting choices are a bit surprising. Adapted from the book of the same name, ‘Freedom at Midnight’ is about India’s fight for freedom from British rule. It will also talk about the time when India and Pakistan became separate countries in 1947. The show plans to tell stories that haven’t been heard before and show important events from the tumultuous time.
The focus is on Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Pakistan’s founder. Actor Arif Zakaria, who played Nehru in the ZEE5 show ‘Hutatma,’ will play Jinnah. “In preparing to portray Mohammed Ali Jinnah, I realized how important it was to depict him as a flawed and complicated human being rather than an untouchable hero,” he said. “I want to explore Jinnah’s character deeply, showing his complexity and the reasons behind his actions. By doing this, I aim to present a more real and complete picture of Jinnah.” Well, in the hands of the extremist right-wing wave in Bollywood, that just sounds like he wants to villainize the founder of Pakistan.
Ira Dubey, known for her role in the Netflix show ‘Scoop,’ will play Fatima Jinnah, Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s younger sister and close aide. Dubey emphasized how important Fatima Jinnah was in her brother’s life, highlighting their close relationship. After Pakistan was formed, Fatima Jinnah helped start the Pakistan Women’s Association, which was crucial for women who migrated.
Mohammed Ali Jinnah led the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until Pakistan was created, and he became its first governor-general until he passed away in 1948. His sister Fatima played a big role by his side during his political journey, helping the new nation grow.
The series is based on a famous book from 1975 by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. It aims to show the complexities of the independence movement, giving viewers a rich story filled with history. It promises to be exciting as it explores important historical figures and their stories during India’s fight for freedom.