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  • All eyes on the COAS appointment as Gen Bajwa and President Alvi arrive in Lahore

    All eyes on the COAS appointment as Gen Bajwa and President Alvi arrive in Lahore

    President Dr Arif Alvi and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa were in Lahore on Friday night as speculations ran rife on who will be appointed the new army chief. It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman is also in Lahore, recuperating from surgeries at his home in Zaman Park.

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif will soon return from London after consulting his elder brother and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo Nawaz Sharif on the political quagmire in the country and the appointment of a new army chief.

    According to news reports, President Alvi has emerged as the leading figure in the army’s ongoing “backchannel talks” with PTI. He has already facilitated at least one direct meeting between Gen Bajwa and Khan at the Presidency.

    In an interview on Geo News’ programme “Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Saath”, PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira — whose party also holds an important position in the ruling alliance — said merit would determine who becomes the next army chief.

    “The [government] will appoint the next army chief from among the top-five senior generals,” Kaira said and mentioned that PM Shehbaz would return to Pakistan and deliberate over the matter with members of the government and PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

    Lashing out at Khan, Kaira said the person against whom Khan had reservations was the same man with whom he spent four years in power.

    Earlier this week, PM Shehbaz and Nawaz Sharif agreed not to succumb to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) pressure, especially on Khan’s key demand for early elections.

    The Premier had a meeting that lasted for over three hours with his elder brother. Reportedly, Nawaz told Shehbaz to “continue doing his best to take Pakistan out of the economic crisis” and “not succumb to any kind of pressure”.

    Meanwhile, Khan has also reiterated his stance on appointing the army chief on “merit” and criticised PM Shehbaz for consulting Nawaz on this all-important appointment.

    During an address to participants of his party’s long march in Gujrat via video link, Khan said: “Whoever fits the merit, should be appointed the army chief.”

    “Nawaz Sharif always brings up the man who is beneficial for him,” Khan said referring to the appointment’s decision. The statement was in stark contrast to Khan’s stance of just a day earlier, as reported by Dawn, when he told journalists that, “They [government] can appoint whoever they want.”

  • ‘I am absolutely fine’: Rana Sanaullah sends message from hospital

    ‘I am absolutely fine’: Rana Sanaullah sends message from hospital

    Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has said that he is on the road to recovery after undergoing a couple of minor checkups and medical procedures.

    “To all those well-wishers who are concerned about my health after viewing my picture at the hospital, I am absolutely fine,” the minister said in an audio message on Friday. Earlier in the night, a picture of the federal minister lying on a hospital bed, hooked up to oxygen, had been widely shared on social media.

    “I had heart surgery almost 20 years ago in 2004. For patients like me, some minor procedures and a general checkup are essential every two to three years,” Rana Sanaullah clarified.

    “All my friends are welcome to see me when I am back home on Sunday,” he added.

    The minister was admitted to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology, also known as the National Institute of Heart Diseases (NIHD) in Rawalpindi, for routine procedures and health checks, according to the interior ministry.

  • PSX surpasses 43,000-mark on hopes of inflows from friendly countries

    PSX surpasses 43,000-mark on hopes of inflows from friendly countries

    The news that the country will get a financial package from friendly countries led to another bullish session at the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Friday.

    The benchmark index started the pre-Friday prayer session in the green, according to Arif Habib Ltd, but lacklustre activity caused the index to drop 96.39 points at the end of the session.

    However, as trading started again, the benchmark recovered. Following Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s announcement of a $13 billion package from China and Saudi Arabia, investors started looking for equities. While significant activity was seen in the oil and exploration sector, volumes overall remained stable.

    The KSE-100 index settled at 43,092.95 points, up 191.68 points or 0.45 per cent from the preceding session.

    The trading volume decre­ased 20.8 per cent to 232.8m shares while the traded value went down 25.4 per cent to $34.4m on a day-on-day basis.

    Stocks contributing significantly to the traded volume included Cnergyico PK Ltd (21.1m shares), WorldCall Telecom Ltd (17.9m shares), TPL Properties Ltd (15.1m shares), Pakistan Refinery Ltd (14.8m shares) and Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd (12.5m shares).

    Sectors that contributed to the index performance were exploration and production (129.3 points), technology and communication (98.4 points), oil marketing (22.8 points), tobacco (13.1 points) and food and personal care products (12.8 points).

  • T20 World Cup Final: How much money will Pakistan get if it wins tomorrow?

    T20 World Cup Final: How much money will Pakistan get if it wins tomorrow?

    The T20 World Cup final between Pakistan and England is set to be played at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Australia on November 13 (Sunday).


    The winners of ICC T20 World Cup 2022 will get a whopping amount of $ 1.6 million. In Pakistani rupees , the amount stands around 354,410,596.32. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has also revealed that the runners-up will get prize money equivalent to half the amount the winners’ get Hence, the runners-up team will get $ 0.8 million.


    The teams that lost the semi-finals, India and New Zealand, will also earn $ 0.4 million each.


    For the first time since 1992, Pakistan and England will play each other in an ICC World Cup match. In the 1992 ICC World Cup final between the two sides, Pakistan won the cup.

  • ‘Waqar and Khurram killed Arshad Sharif’: Rana Sanaullah

    ‘Waqar and Khurram killed Arshad Sharif’: Rana Sanaullah

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that Khurram and his brother Waqar, who were hosting slain journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya, conspired with local police to kill the newsman.

    “This is a joint conspiracy of Waqar, Khurram and five Kenyan police officers,” said the federal minister on Geo News programme “Geo Pakistan” adding that the murder was a “target killing”.

    The interior minister said that Sharif went to Kenya from Dubai on Waqar’s sponsorship and he was staying in his flat. He also said that Waqar helped Sharif in getting an online visa.

    It is pertinent to mention that when Sharif was shot, Khurram was with him, driving the car, however, he was not injured by police gunfire and remained unharmed.

    “We have the record of everything including why Sharif went to Waqar’s house and stayed as a guest,” claimed the minister. He also revealed that Waqar is not being named in the case because the commission has yet to go and look into these matters.

    During the interview, Sanaullah said that Sharif didn’t want to leave the country.

    The interior minister said that he would request Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif to talk to the Kenyan president again because the Kenyan police are “not cooperating”.

    Earlier in the week, “On the Front” host Kamran Shahid unearthed details of the murder on his show, stating, “At eight o clock on the night of October 23, Arshad Sharif was shot while sitting in the car with Khurram, who drove him [Arshad Sharif] via a long route instead of the usual one on the day the anchorperson was martyred.”

  • PM Shehbaz announces Rs5 million for families of victims in PTI’s long march

    PM Shehbaz announces Rs5 million for families of victims in PTI’s long march

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has announced a compensatory amount of Rs5 million (Rs50 lac) for the families of each victim who died during Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) ongoing long march.

    In a tweet, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, said that the PM has directed authorities to immediately complete the procedure and deliver the cheques to the families of the victims.

    A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said: “The Prime Minister, while expressing his grief over the tragic deaths during the recent long march of a political party, has been pleased to announce financial assistance of Rs.5 million each in favour of legal heirs of the deceased.”

    According to the PMO statement, the compensation would be extended to the next of kin of Moazzam Gondal, Sadaf Naeem, Samir Nawaz, and Hassam Baloch. Three of the four victims lost their lives after they were run over by PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s container and one was killed in the Wazirabad shooting where the PTI chief was attacked.

    “The Prime Minister has further been pleased to direct that the cheque(s) of financial assistance shall be handed over to the families of the deceased persons immediately after completing the procedural requirements,” the statement reads.

  • Who is Khurram Hameed Rokhri and why is PTI distancing itself from him?

    Who is Khurram Hameed Rokhri and why is PTI distancing itself from him?

    Estranged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Major (retired) Khurram Hameed Khan Rokhri revealed on Thursday the timeline of “backchannel talks” between the PTI and the establishment, as he denounced former premier Imran Khan’s allegations against senior intelligence official Major General Faisal Naseer.

    In an interview with Hamid Mir on Geo News, Rokhri recalled that a few days after PTI leader Dr Shahbaz Gill was arrested, a meeting was held in Bani Gala where it was discussed that a new intelligence officer had been posted in Islamabad with the aim to “eliminate PTI and Chairman Imran Khan’s narrative”.

    “When Gen Faisal Naseer’s name was taken, I said hold on a minute. Now I know Gen Naseer the same way you know other people in Geo News or anyone in the media” he told Mir.

    “[PTI leader] Salman Ahmed asked me then what was the narrative… the next day they were going to a rally in Jhelum and I told Salman to tell Khan this… I will cut things short here,” he revealed.

    “So Salman tells Khan that the opinion of a close aide of yours […] about Gen Faisal Naseer […] is not the same as what people around you say. When Khan asked him who that person was, Salman replied it is Maj Khurram,” he recalled. PTI chief asked Salman to direct Rokhri to confront the officer.

    “I called the Major General and told him I wanted to meet him. When I met him, I asked the general if he had been posted [in Islamabad] for this reason,” he said. Gen Naseer told him that he was posted the day Gen Sarfraz was martyred, some 20 days back, he confirmed.

    Rokhri then recalled Faisal Naseer’s reply, “I am a professional man… why would I want to do this… Imran Khan is the leader of the biggest political party of Pakistan… he is a hero of the country… why would I want this. And if someone is telling Imran this, please go and tell him that there is nothing as such.”

    “The PTI sent me the conditions for talks, which I forwarded to the persons being named. They agreed to meet but suggested a place other than theirs or ours.”

    Rokhri added that Salman later called him to Islamabad for meeting with Imran, but he could not meet the PTI chief despite a long wait. He was called again, according to Rokhri, but he could not meet the party chief. He added that he refused to meet when he was called for the third time after the attack on Imran.

    He said he wanted to normalise the situation but refused, telling them (PTI leaders) that he would not be part of the game they had started. He quipped, “Hasn’t Alvi Sahib arranged the meeting?”

    The PTI leader said he spoke the truth about the general officer on a TV channel, but the abusive brigade started targeting him. He added that Faisal Vawda was also sincerely trying to defuse the situation, but the “abusive brigade” went after him.

    At one point during the interview, the retired major also said that Khan was being “misled” by a few people who were “roaming around him”, adding that the one well-wisher the former premier had was his sister Aleema Khan. However, he regretted that the PTI chief never listened to her.

    He added that Khan was wrongly convicted in the Toshakhana refere­nce and asserted that Gen Naseer had nothing to do with the alleged custodial torture of Shahbaz Gill.

    Meanwhile, hours after Rokhri made the startling revelations, former information minister Fawad Chaudhry questioned who he was.

    “Yeah kon hein? [Who is this?]” asked the senior PTI leader in response to a clip of journalist Hamid Mir’s programme ‘Capital Talk’ with Rokhri.

    Shahbaz Gill tweeted, “Who is this, sir? Never seen or heard of him before. God knows who will emerge as the leader of Tehreek-e-Insaf in the future.”

    On the other hand, an account with Rokhri’s name on Twitter uploaded an image of him with Fawad. It was unclear if the account belonged to the retired army officer.

    However social media users had dug up pictures of Major Rokhri with multiple leaders of PTI including Imran Khan.

    https://twitter.com/masoodch6/status/1590802075927343104?s=20&t=6Yn2Ih0BIFXvSKoiLdH7Hw

    However, PTI suspended the membership of Rokhri after he debunked party chief Imran Khan’s allegation against a senior army officer.

    “After consultation with higher party leadership, basic party membership of Major (R) Khurram Hameed Khan Rokhart has been terminated,” PTI’s Mianwali President Saleem Gul Khan said in a notification.

  • Key person in Judge Arshad Malik’s scandal speaks up

    Key person in Judge Arshad Malik’s scandal speaks up

    Mian Saleem Raza, a key character in the Judge Arshad Malik’s video sandal, has said that a senior official of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) met him in London in the first week of October 2019 asking him to make a false confessional statement against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif or face financial ruin including being added in the “most wanted terrorists” list, reports The News.

    When the video scandal first came to light, it was alleged by Shahzad Akbar, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s former accountability minister, that it was Raza who had paid Rs.20 million to Mian Tariq to buy a secretly filmed private video of the accountability judge. Raza, however, rejected all allegations of blackmail against him made by the FIA and Shahzad Akbar.

    “I told him I cannot lie about Nawaz Sharif because he had no connection of any kind with Judge Arshad Malik’s video scandals. He threatened that I will meet a very horrible fate and that my whole family will suffer if I didn’t cooperate. He promised that I will pay a big financial price and will be added to the list of terrorists. Every threat he made was executed later on. When the FIA officer kept calling me, I switched off my phone as he was threatening me and causing me stress,” Raza narrated.

    “The same official (who followed me to London) had visited my house in Lahore in 2019 with two other FIA officials on July 7 and 8, after Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s press conference in Model Town with other PML-N leaders. The FIA officials told me they were prepared to organise a meeting with Shahzad Akbar if I agreed to become a witness against Nawaz Sharif,” shared Raza who has not returned to Pakistan since July 2019.

    Raza’s name was added to the “most wanted terrorists” list after one of the main accused Tariq told FIA on October 1, 2019, in an alleged confessional statement that he had sold out the immoral video of the former accountability court judge to Raza for Rs.20 million.

    Raza said that he told the FIA in Lahore that he had visited Nawaz Sharif in Kot Lakhpat jail several times but all meetings were held in the presence of others and the ex-premier never asked him for anything, never gave him any task and never discussed anything about his legal cases.

    “I told the FIA that Nawaz Sharif knew me only as his follower who loved him, visited him in jail and followed him everywhere. The FIA didn’t like this factual statement and asked me to lie and say that he (Nawaz Sharif) had asked me and arranged money to pay to Mian Tariq but I told them this was not true. They told me that I should lie and have a comfortable life or else they will make my life difficult. They were asking me why I met Nawaz Sharif so many times in jail. They were not interested in the truth so I decided to flee from Pakistan to save my life,” he added.

    “Judge Arshad Malik visited my home in Lahore’s Dharam Pura on July 1, 2019, on his own accord with Mian Tariq in his official car but without his security protocol. I didn’t know that Tariq will bring a judge to my house, I found it was Malik after he entered into my house.”

    “Judge Arshad Malik openly told people whom he met that he was regretful and felt guilty that he had convicted Nawaz Sharif. He told the same to me when I met him. He told me that Nawaz Sharif was an innocent man who was wronged to manipulate elections and deprive him of power. Malik told me and others he could not sleep at night after convicting Nawaz Sharif wrongly and felt so guilty in conscience that he wanted to do a press conference to tell the world how he was blackmailed to convict Nawaz Sharif.”

    “Arshad Malik asked to convey his apologies and regrets to Nawaz Sharif during my next visit to jail but I told him that Nawaz Sharif will not like such a thing and I told him that it was not my place to convey such messages as this will upset Nawaz Sharif. He was insisting but I told him I was not in a position to do that. I never passed any message to Nawaz Sharif or anyone in the Sharif family. I had no other role or dealing with him as I had no other means to guide him on what to do. I have no idea how he got introduced to Nasir Butt,” he stated.

    “After the video scandal broke out, Mian Tariq was tortured in custody by the FIA and treated like a terrorist to the extent that half of his body was paralysed. He was tortured until he agreed to make a false statement against me to save his life. He took back his statement against me as soon as he was out on bail and told me that he was tortured to make the confessional statement. He has become a living tragedy and Shahzad Akbar was the one who ordered his torture to make Imran Khan happy,” he added.

    “I had never met any of them before but the FIA and Shahzad Akbar lied that I conspired with them. I had no relation with any videos, payments or anything like that.”

    Raza has called on Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah to look into his case and hold an independent inquiry into the conduct of the FIA against him. “I request Rana Sanaullah and PM Shehbaz Sharif to look into my case and remove my name from the list of most wanted terrorists. I have not committed any crime. I want to visit my country and family as a free man and I need clearance. I have done nothing wrong by not lying about Nawaz Sharif,” he appealed.

    “The FIA didn’t spare my children even in school. I don’t blame the PTI government but I do want to ask Shahzad Akbar why he did this to me. What happened to me and other innocent people in this case is a crime against humanity. My family life and business are ruined just because I refused to lie and implicate Nawaz Sharif,” the former trader from Lahore said.

    Living in London ever since the video scandal, Raza said his own family and friends abandoned him after he got into difficulties and he was treated for depression and mental trauma in London. “I got courage after seeing what happened to Nawaz Sharif and how he had to pay a heavy personal and political price. I will request the government of Pakistan to look into my case and help me get justice,” he concluded.

  • Only seven women out of 110 world leaders in climate change conference

    Only seven women out of 110 world leaders in climate change conference

    Out of the 110 world leaders who showed up to discuss climate issues at the Climate change conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, only seven are women. This disproportionate representation was in stark contrast to the fact that women are most affected by the climate crisis.

    Former Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Canada, Catherine McKenna thinks male leaders at COP27 should allow women to take their podium time.

    In an op-ed for Scientific American, McKenna, along with climate researcher Amy Myers Jaffe, said, “This is especially critical as attendees discuss how the countries of the Global North, responsible for most of the world’s carbon output, should help the Global South deal with the effects of that pollution. The perspectives of women, whose voices are underrepresented in climate discussions, are instrumental to solving the climate crisis in a more just and equitable fashion and can contribute powerfully to our understanding of climate action across the globe.”

    According to United Nations (UN) report, women and girls experience the greatest impacts of climate change, which amplifies existing gender inequalities and poses unique threats to their livelihoods, health, and safety.

    Seventy per cent of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty are women. In urban areas, 40 per cent of the poorest households are headed by women. Women predominate in the world’s food production (50-80 per cent), but they own less than 10 per cent of the land.

  • Meera slams Mahira’s Punjabi in ‘TLOMJ’, claims she would have done a better job

    Meera slams Mahira’s Punjabi in ‘TLOMJ’, claims she would have done a better job

    Pakistani film actor Meera recently shared her take on superstar Mahira Khan’s craft in The Legend Of Maula Jatt. The veteran artist stated that Khan’s Punjabi in the film was “terrible”, while chatting with Fame Pakistan.

    Meera also added that she would have done a better job than the Raees star in the film.

    Earlier this year Meera claimed that the showbiz industry suffered a massive financial loss worth billions due to the “Dual Nikah” case against her.

    The Baaji actor, who is known for heaps of scandals delivered the statement during the hearing of the dual Nikah case at a local court in Lahore today.

    A local court conducted the hearing of the dual nikkah case against the Lollywood actor on Wednesday. The Inteha star appeared along with her counsel in the hearing.

    During the hearing, Meera broke into tears before the judge after approaching the rostrum.

    The actor told the judge that she was seeking justice for 10 years and was properly heard at the US court but justice was not delivered in Pakistan’s court.

    According to a report, after the Nazar actor started shouting in the courtroom, the judge Rai Ahmed Khan asked her to lower her voice otherwise get back to her seat.

    Later, the sessions court adjourned the hearing till October five and ordered the lawyers for arguments on the amended evidence in the case.

    While talking to the media, Meera said that a film’s shooting was being termed as her real Nikah. She claimed that the showbiz industry suffered a massive financial loss worth billion due to the case against her.

    It is pertinent to mention here that her alleged husband Atiq-ur-Rehman had accused Meera of entering into a Nikah with another person named Naveed when she was already married to him. This he said was a crime, as per law.