Amid rumours of delay in the elections, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has released the final list of delimitation of constituencies in the national and four provincial assemblies.
This progress paves the roads for the election schedule, which is more likely to be announced in the first week of December, as per the electoral body.
Previously, the ECP had said that the final list of delimitations for constituencies would be published on December 15, but it was later revised to November 30.
According to the notification issued by the ECP, the National Assembly (NA) has a total of 266 seats; 60 seats are reserved for women and 10 for religious minorities.
Balochistan has a total of 20 NA seats, including 16 general and four reserved seats for women; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has 45 general NA seats and 10 reserved seats for women; Sindh has a total of 75 NA seats, of which 61 are general and the remaining 14 are reserved for women.
On the other hand, considering population, Punjab is a big province, and it has 141 NA seats, of which 32 are reserved for women. The federal capital has three general NA seats, with no reserved seat for women.
Article 106 pertains to the constituencies of the four provincial legislatures. According to this article, Balochistan comprises 51 general seats, with 11 reserved for women and three for non-Muslims, making a total of 65 seats.
In the case of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there are 115 general seats, along with 26 reserved for women and four for non-Muslims, bringing the total number of seats in the legislature to 145.
Aimal Wali Khan, the President of Awami National Party (ANP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has accused Punjab authorities of engaging in harassment against Pakhtuns in the province.
“The Punjab government has initiated a crackdown on Pakhtuns from KP and Balochistan, who live there for work, trade, and business. If it doesn’t stop harassing Pakhtuns, we won’t allow the presence of non-locals in our province even if they’re government employees,” the ANP leader told a public meeting in the Titwalan area of Martung tehsil on Thursday.
عوامی نیشنل پارٹی پی کے 30 شانگلہ کے زيرا ہتمام ورکرز کنونشن، کنونشن میں کثیر تعداد میں ذمہ داران اور کارکنان نے شرکت کی۔ صدر اے این پی پختونخوا ایمل ولی خان کنونشن سے خطاب کررہے ہیں۔#ANPShangla | #Vote4ANPpic.twitter.com/MMbt2qtft5
Highlighting the right of individuals with national identity cards issued by NADRA to live or work anywhere in the country, Khan emphasized that Pakhtuns should enjoy the same rights as people from other ethnic backgrounds.
He urged the central government to release due funds to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa promptly.
Khan further addressed economic disparities, stating that while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa produced 6,000 megawatts of electricity and sold it to the center at a nominal rate, its residents were compelled to purchase the same electricity at a significantly higher cost.
The ANP leader said the people shouldn’t sell votes for “plastic pipes, water tanks and electricity poles” and should instead vote for the ANP for their and next generations’ development.
Lots of chatter about who will take Shangla online … the answer was given today ️ pic.twitter.com/LVP81mnHRr
He regretted that many coal miners from Shangla lost their lives due to a lack of safety measures at work. He blamed the issue on “bad governance and the corrupt system.”
He said coal mine workers significantly contributed to economic development but the state and government had neglected their welfare and development.
“As a lawmaker, I’ll strive for the workplace protection and welfare of miners,” he said.
The ANP leader said in the upcoming elections, the people should reject those, who had been making false promises to them for the last over a decade, and should vote for the ANP for their development.
ANP candidates Aurangzeb Khan (NA-11), Faisal Zeb Khan (PK-30), Altaf Khan (PK-29), district president Azam Khan and leader Gulab Shahpuri also addressed the meeting.
Zara Noor Abbas could win the cutest pregnancy announcement award if there ever was one, with a hilarious picture she posted holding a desert with a simple caption: “Round 2- – InshaAllah “.
The actress married Asad Siddiqui in 2017, becoming pregnant in 2021. But sadly, the actress announced she had suffered a miscarriage and lost her son. We’re praying for her health and hope a miracle lies ahead.
It was also wonderful to witness celebrities showering love and prayers upon Zara and her husband. A-listers Saboor Aly, Mawra Hocane and other actors sent warm congratulations in the comments.
Among the celebratory notes was actress Merub Ali, who expressed her joy at becoming a khala.
Now go stand in a corner and think about what you did!
There were unverified rumours floating around the internet about a secret marriage between singer Taylor Swift and her former partner actor Joe Alwyn. The two were in a relationship for over six years, with Joe being the subject of several albums. The pair parted ways amicably in March during the early stages of Taylor’s widely successful Eras Tour.
Popular anonymous pop culture account Duex Moi, known for leaking celebrity gossip on their Instagram account, made a wild claim that Taylor and Joe had a secret marriage ceremony in 2020 which was never made legal. The account claimed they were ready to “die on this hill.”
But now Taylor’s publicist, Tree Paine, has stepped up to slam the page for spreading “fabricated lies”.
“Enough is enough with these fabricated lies about Taylor from Deuxmoi. There was NEVER a marriage or ceremony of ANY kind. This is an insane thing to post. It’s time for you to be held accountable for the pain and trauma you cause with posts like these.”
Enough is enough with these fabricated lies about Taylor from Deuxmoi. There was NEVER a marriage or ceremony of ANY kind. This is an insane thing to post. It’s time for you to be held accountable for the pain and trauma you cause with posts like these. pic.twitter.com/cFi0wQc9cp
The shut down of marriage rumours comes at the time when Taylor Swift released ‘You’re Losing Me’ on streaming platforms, which is widely speculated to be about why her relationship with Joe Alwyn ended. Many fans felt their hunch was confirmed with one of the lyrics being ‘Well I wouldn’t marry me either. A pathological people-pleaser.”
Previously, Taylor had danced around the topic of marriage when writing love songs about Joe. For instance, in ‘Paper Rings’ she wrote “I like shiny things, but I’ll marry you with paper rings.” Similarly in the track ‘Peace’ from the album ‘Folklore’, Taylor discussed how she would “give you my wild, give you a child”, in a track lamenting how she could never give her lover peace because of the scrutiny her relationships receive from the media.
An upcoming biopic titled ‘The Apprentice’ is set to explore the life of controversial real estate businessman and former president Donald Trump, tracing the rise of his business empire in the 70’s and 80’s. The film will also star ‘Succession’ alum Jeremy Strong and Oscar nominee Maria Bakalov as the late Ivana, Trump’s first wife.
There were big questions about who will play Trump, and we couldn’t have been more surprised that the final name is…… Sebastian Stan.
Y’all see the resemblance? Yeah, me neither.
The film was announced in 2018, with Iranian filmmaker Ali Abbasi set to direct and co-write the project along with Gabriel Sherman. Abbasi’s previous credits including directing the last two episodes of HBO original series ‘The Last Of Us’. He has also received the Un Certain Regard from the Cannes Film Festival for ‘Border’ (2018).
Cricket is the third most popular sport in the world with approximately 2.5 billion fans spread across the globe. The gentleman’s game, mocked at times for being slow, has morphed into a fast-paced, adrenalin- pumping speedy ride.
The first international match between two countries was played between United States of America (USA) and Canada in New York in 1844, but the fact that the International Cricket Council (ICC) did not exist in 1844, means this match wasn’t recognizes as an official game. The first official cricket match was played between Australia and England in Melbourne in 1877.
The first cricket World Cup was organized in 1975 in England, with the mighty West Indies walking away with the trophy.
How India destroying cricket for other countries?
India won just two matches in the 1975 and 1979 World Cup tournaments, the weakest team at that time. Wisden Sports magazine’s Chief Editor David Frith had infamously written in an article that a team like India should not play in the tournament if they have not improved and if a team like India wins, “I will eat my words.”
In the 1983 World Cup, India won four out of six matches in the group stage, cementing their place in the semi-finals where they defeated England by six wickets.
The final was played between India and West Indies, the hot favorite team after winning two World Cups in a row. All the odds were stacked against India, but the country created history on June 25, defeating West Indies at Lords, and lifting the Cup.
The historic win gave Narendra Kumar Prasadrao (NKP) Salve the confidence he needed to grab the mantle of the British’s own game from them. NKP Salve befriended Sri Lanka and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to form the Asian Cricket Committee, on which ICC had no control in 1984. They arranged a tournament between Asian teams, named Asia Cup. This was Salve’s way of telling Britishers that the southern countries could host tournaments too.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had no money to host a World Cup at first. Salve asked Pakistan to host the next world cup together. Then Salve contacted Dhirubhai Ambani with the help of Indira Gandhi. When the money was arranged, Mr. Salve put forth his proposal at the next ICC Meeting.
There was no rule before this that a new nation will host a World Cup. NKP Salve proposed a Rotational Policy. According to this policy “A new nation will host the World Cup after every four years.”
Australia and New Zealand agreed, . And when voting took place, India and Pakistan got the hosting of 1987 World Cup.
It was a success, but BCCI didn’t make any money 30 years ago. Even after the 83 tournament, Indian players would get INR 200 per day allowance and 1500 as match fees.
The South African cricket team was returning to international cricket in 1991 after a gap of 21 years and they were going to play their first three match ODI series against India.
At that time Indian television Doordrshan was broadcasting these matches and they were charging money for broadcasting instead of paying, and BCCI was just earning on tickets and on-ground advertisements.
But this time they kept the broadcasting rights in their hand and sold it to South African television channel for $200,000.
On the same year India opened their market for globalization foreign companies. New money started floating into India at the same time, these foreign companies wanted to market their products in India and nothing was watched more than cricket.
Because of satellite television, cricket was now seen even in small villages of India. It was great for these companies and BCCI. In 1993, India sold broadcast rights of England’s tour of India to a broadcasting company TWI for $600,000.
In no time, BCCI became the richest cricket board in the world. However, things change after you get rich. Remember, how NKP Salve grabbed 1987’s World Cup from England. It was decided according to rotational policy that England will host 1996’s World Cup.
But in 1996, a broadcaster named Mark Mascarhanes made an offer to BCCI that if India hosts the tournament, then he would give $ 14 million for broadcasting. BCCI liked the offer and got the hosting of 1996 World Cup.
But in 1996, Australia and West Indies refused to play their matches in Sri Lanka. Then a BCCI administrator Jagmohan Dalmiya thought, ICC’s next Chairman should be an Asian.
In 1997, Dalmiya contested ICC elections, and won.
But the question is, how?
Actually Mr. Dalmiya knew one thing, that most of ICC’s full time members would vote for the English Boards favorite candidate. At that time, associate teams had one vote each in these elections, but the representatives of these associate teams had no money to be present in the elections being held in London.
So Mr. Dalmiya bought tickets for representatives of associate teams, booked hotels in London for them, even hosted a dinner party for them before elections and when elections happened these representatives voted for Mr. Dalmiya and he won. Now an Indian was the boss of the world of cricket.
Indian Premier League (IPL) is the second richest sports league in the world, with a net worth surpassing 15 billion dollars but IPL is not the only T20 cricket league in the world. Every cricket Board has made their own cricket leagues, but BCCI does not allow their players to play in these leagues.
BCCI knows, value of these leagues might increase because of Indian viewership and if their value increases it might dilute the power of BCCI. So Indian players are not allowed to participate.
These boards have become so weak that they have to listen everything that BCCI orders because these boards only make money when India tours their countries. BCCI uses this very thing to get their things done in world cricket.
In 2012 England’s former Chief Justice submitted an independent report to ICC In which, he suggested some changes in governance. He felt that ICC shouldn’t be a Member Club Cricket Power is leaning to one side especially towards India. Associate nations aren’t getting enough funds, cricket won’t grow in these countries without funds.
BCCI takes the biggest share, ICC has only 12 full time members and 96 associate members. These members are underfunded. There is no chance that, cricket will grow in these countries without funds. Once $30,000 were given to the Chinese cricket board to improve cricket there. [2008 stats, current stats are not published]. China’s population is around 1.5 billion, how’s that even possible, that cricket will grow in country like China with such a small fund?
It’s not only about associate nations, even full time members are being further weakened. If we see the latest ICC Men’s Future Tours Program India will play most of the matches with top teams and with Zimbabwe and Ireland, India will play three and two matches respectively in five years, when Zimbabwe and Ireland are also full time members.
As far as the administrators of the game are concerned, they don’t care about West Indies Cricket. West Indies Cricket Board is bankrupt today, two times world champion team couldn’t even qualify for World Cup 2023, just because of lack of funds. How will these teams, cricket boards grow without the funds?
ICC is unofficially run by BCCI and instead of growing the game, they are shrinking it. In 2007’s World Cup, 16 teams played the tournament, and in 2023’s, only 10 teams participated. Apart from this there were 26 teams in International Association Football Federation (FIFA) World Cup 2006, and now there are 48 teams participating in 2026 World Cup.
You know why?
In 2007’s World Cup, India was eliminated early from the tournament, they could only play three matches. Broadcasters had to face a loss. If India had played more matches, broadcasters would have benefitted. BCCI reduced the teams and the format is designed in a way that India will definitely play nine matches.
BCCI doesn’t care about winning World Cups, they just want to make money. I feel, this sport should spread like football all around the world. With only 10 teams, it’s becoming boring and I think cricket has power to spread peace and happiness.
HowBCCI is killing Cricket:
You won’t believe it, from 2024 onwards, there will be no international cricket played for 2.5 months, only IPL. Isn’t this the murder of the sport we love so much?
Indian cricket is mostly run by Indian politicians and businessmen. Arun Jaitley’s son is president of Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA). Rajasthan’s CM’s Son Vaibhav Gehlot is President of Rajhistan cricket Association (RCA,) Sharad Pawar’s grandnephew is a President of Mumbai cricket association (MCA), Anurag Thakur, BJP politician, was a president Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) from there he became a president of BCCI.
Today his brother is a president of HPCA. Ashok Sigamani is president of Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), the son of a Minister Jyotiradhitya Scindia is the president of Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA), his father was president of BCCI.
BCCI treasurer Chirayu Amin’s son Pranav Amin is Bihar cricket association (BCA)’s President, Sourav Ganguly’s brother is a President Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and the most fun example of this is Gujarat cricket associations former president was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He gave that post to Amit Shah after becoming Prime Minister and today, Amit Shah’s son Jay Shah is the secretary of BCCI and I’m only talking about a few states here.
Cricket shouldn’t be run by politicians and businessmen, it should be run by former cricketers, that’s it. I’m the biggest fan of cricket, like any Pakistani, I can’t bear to see one private organization is controlling the growth of this game. I want this sport to grow all over the world because this sport can do many good things.
Afghanistan cricket team is one such example, these players initially used to live in refugee camps, they played World Cup in 2015 and you know what, Afghanistan cricket was initially helped by Pakistan.
But it feels like there are people in BCCI who don’t care about the growth of this game. They just want to make money, they just want to keep their power safe, even if they have to kill this centuries old sport to achieve that.
Note: This information is collected from various platform, like cricket websites, YouTube, Facebook etc.
Caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has announced on X (former Twitter) that Punjab schools will have a 15-day long winter break, as per the winter vacation schedule.
Late on Thursday night, Naqvi posted that vacations will start on December 18, 2023, in public and private schools across the province and continue till January 1, 2024.
“We held a meeting with experts and govt officials today addressing the SMOG challenge in Punjab. With an improved Air Quality Index (AQI), no restrictions are planned for the upcoming weekend. Additionally, winter vacations for children will commence from Dec 18, 2023 to Jan 1, 2024,” the CM wrote on his official handle of Twitter.
We held a meeting with experts and govt officials today addressing the SMOG challenge in Punjab. With an improved Air Quality Index (AQI), no restrictions are planned for the upcoming weekend. Additionally, winter vacations for children will commence from Dec 18 , 2023 to Jan…
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) held the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) responsible for the inflation in the country during the two parties’ coalition government. Political temperature across the spectrum is rising as general election is set to take place on February 8 next year.
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has been calling the PML-N “mehangai [inflation] league,” alleging that the PML-N is responsible for rising prices in the last 16-months period.
The term of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), which included the PPP, PML-N, and various other parties, concluded in August this year. During this period, there was a significant surge in inflation, unprecedented increases in energy and fuel costs, and a notable decline in foreign reserves.
In his conversation on Geo News’ programme “Capital Talk”, Musadik Malik — who served as the Minister of State for Petroleum during the PDM government — slammed Bilawal for targeting the PML-N for rising inflation and noted that all decisions in their 16-month stint were collective.
Musadik Malik also reminded the PPP Chairman that he was a foreign minister of the country in the previous coalition government.
“So when the minister had the portfolio of Foreign Ministry and I finalised a [oil] deal with Russia, he called it truck ki batti [false hope]. What was that? He should talk about his role as well. Was it my job to secure deals in Azerbaijan Russia? And you, while sitting in the US, said it was truck ki batti. So didn’t we reach our destination while following this truck ki batti?” asked Malik.
The additional one-day truce between Israel and Gaza has ended on Friday while the deadline to further extend the truce has passed in vain.
Israeli Defense Forces wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that IDF has “resumed combat” against Hamas in Gaza because they “violated the operational pause, and in addition, fired toward Israeli territory.”
Hamas violated the operational pause, and in addition, fired toward Israeli territory.
As of yet, Al Jazeera has reported that according to witnesses in Gaza City and the north of the Gaza Strip, “heavy clashes are taking place between Palestinian fighting groups and Israeli troops,” while in the central Gaza Strip, Israeli tanks are also firing near Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps. Additionally, air raids have also resumed.
West Indies member country Dominica has withdrawn from hosting the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 matches.
ICC had announced seven West Indies and three USA venues for T20. Dominica was to host one first-round and two Super 8 matches.
However, the government of Dominica, a member country of the West Indies, says that they cannot prepare the infrastructure in time for the World Cup, and are withdrawing from the event due to incomplete preparations. The 2024 T20 World Cup will be the ninth tournament of this format, scheduled to be jointly hosted by the West Indies and USA.
The event will feature 20 teams divided into four groups of five each, with the top two from each group qualifying for the Super 8 round. The mega event will be played from June 4 to June 30, 2024 with a total of 55 matches.
