Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a public holiday today to celebrate Youm-e-Takbeer. Everything in the country is at a standstill, and the annual exams in schools have been delayed.
Shehbaz Sharif announced the holiday to commemorate the day when Pakistan conducted a successful nuclear test in Chaghai in 1998.
Provincial authorities postponed matriculation exams scheduled for today due to the public holiday.
All government departments, educational institutions, the Stock Exchange, and courts are closed across the country due to the holiday.
Pakistan, which is already suffering from inflation and has a stable economy, gets 120 public holidays annually. Due to a single day off, the national GDP faces a 1-2% loss, which equals more than Rs 100 billion. Economic analyst Khuram Shehzad said that a public holiday affects the national exchequer between $1.1 and $1.3 billion. He also added that the impact could be bigger if the holiday is “sudden.”
The federal government is currently considering salary increases for government employees in the range of 10 percent to 15 percent in the upcoming budget for 2024-2025, Geo News reported.
The government intends to increase revenue generation to strike a successful deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under Extended Fund Facility (EFF) at a range of $6 billion.
The Ministry of Finance wants to raise the salary by just 10 percent and there is another consideration to increase the monetization of cars by 20 percent to 25 percent for higher grade officers like grades 20, 21, and 22.
The monetary policy was introduced in 2012 for the basic purpose of reducing the burden on government expenditure, which was “in line with the observance of austerity measures and to eliminate misuse of official vehicles.”
The government is also considering pension reforms in the next budget including putting tax on pensioners who withdraw over Rs 100,000 per month.
Israel’s bombing of refugee tents in Rafah on Sunday night left the world horrified. As videos and images of decapitated children, Palestinians burning alive and bodies reduced to char appeared on social media, a wave of outrage spread across the globe.
Among those who publicly spoke up were many supporters of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, including British television presenter Piers Morgan, who became a caricature of himself by continuously asking his pro- Palestinian panelists to “condemn Hamas”.
On Sunday night, he tweeted, “The scenes from Rafah overnight are horrific. I’ve defended Israel’s right to defend itself after Oct7, but slaughtering so many innocent people as they cower in a refugee camp is indefensible. Stop this now @netanyahu”.
Over in America, ‘free-speech activist’ Brianna Wu stopped her non-stop support of Israel to quote tweet Morgan’s tweet: “I agree with this.
I said at the beginning that invading Rafah would be a mistake of historic proportions and would make it difficult for people to stand with Israel.
None of this is going to make anyone safer.”
As other Israel supporters scrambled to condemn the incident in Rafah, the internet was having none of it. Many reminded Piers of his complicity in the genocide.
A woman from Sambariyal in Sialkot district allegedly left her four children in the Greater Iqbal Park in Lahore after becoming fed up with the domestic abuse carried out by husband.
The children were taken into protective custody by the Child Protection Bureau.
The mother left her four young children homeless in Greater Iqbal Park, reports Geo News.
One of the children, seven-year-old child Zain, told the police that he was a resident of Sambaryal and his father used to beat his mother daily. Police started the search for his parents on Zain’s information and handed over the children to the Child Protection Bureau team.
Zain informed the police that their mother and father’s names are Urooj and Bilal respectively.
Among the children found in Greater Iqbal Park, three girls and one boy are aged between 8 months and 7 years, as per the Child Protection Bureau.
Chairperson Child Protection Bureau Sarah Ahmed informed Geo News that the children will be well taken care of in the Child Protection Bureau.
Get the scoop on Fawad Khan’s upcoming Indian series as journalist Amna Isani shared exclusive details about the actor’s new venture on her show ‘Haute Review’ hosted by Hassan Choudhry and herself.
“Fawad Khan is doing a big-budget series where he plays a polo players’ trainer. The series is written by Umera Ahmed and directed by Asim Raza. The production is led by Misbah Shafique, who has worked with Zee 5. It will be released on Sony Life. The cast includes Sanam Saeed, Mikaal Zulfiqar, and Hira Khan. The series was shot in London, Islamabad, and Chitral. Fawad Khan plays a Chitrali Nawab who trains polo players, and Sanam Saeed probably plays a British girl.”
If you think Islamabad is a boring city, you might want to rethink!
The capital city just hosted the inaugural ‘Islamabad Night Run’ this weekend, which was attended by a record number of runners. The running community collaborated with the Capital Development Authority and ICT to organise the festival.
The race route was the famous Constitution Avenue, passing through the city’s landmarks, including the Parliament, Prime Minister Secretariat, D-Chowk, Presidency, Supreme Court, and Foreign Office.
The premier event was attended by more than 700 runners and their families. And featuring a variety of food stalls, the event also included a musical program.
So, who won what?
Muhammad Riaz secured first place with a time of 16 minutes and 11 seconds in the 5-kilometre race, followed by Shahbaz and Umar Zaman, respectively.
With a record number of female runners in the 5-kilometre category, Rabeela Farooq took the lead with a time of 23 minutes and 25 seconds, while Anga Myrtziet and Khadeeja came second and third, respectively.
In the 10-kilometre category, Akhtar Haji was the fastest male runner with a time of 31 minutes and 10 seconds, whereas Waqar Ahmed was the runner-up and Mubariz Bukhari came in third place.
Among females, Emily grabbed the top slot with a time of 54 minutes, Katherine Nett secured second place, and Aisha Mastoor was third.
The race also featured an RFID system, a tracking system for runners similar to those used in international races.
Runners and their families appreciated the organisation of the Islamabad Night Run and congratulated the organisers on adding another event to the calendar for runners in Islamabad.
Legendary singer Shazia Manzoor recently she given an interview on Moeen Zubair’s YouTube channel. During the interview, she discussed her abilities in singing, stating, “Singers are born with good vocals, either you are a singer or you are not”. She also talked about Chahat Fateh Ali Khan’s fame and success.
Talking about Bado Badi, she said, “People tune in to him for entertainment; his style has resonated with the audience, and it’s almost like a comedic performance. He’s been blessed with a talent that people enjoy, and we’re all having a good time listening to him. It takes courage to pursue singing, and he’s confident in his craft. While I won’t encourage him to continue singing, I wish him success – may he even reach 2 billion views! However, I still believe that a beautiful, melodious song by a skilled singer has the power to uplift your mood and make it fresh.”
Earlier in the week, a Christian man was injured in Sargodha by a violent mob, while his house and factory were set on fire on allegations of blasphemy. While police were able to control the situation before it spiralled out of control, the situation was reminiscent of Jaranwala riots for many people.
Miss Universe Pakistan 2023 Erica Robin and Pakistani actor Mashal Khan have talked about the attempted lynching, asking authorities to protect minority rights.
Robin posted a powerful message on her Instagram about how minorities in Pakistan face difficulties and why things must change. She said, “It’s sad that minorities in Pakistan aren’t treated the same as the majority. If it wasn’t for the votes of minorities in 1947, Pakistan wouldn’t be here today.
Even Quaid-e-Azam recognized that minorities played a big part in making Pakistan. But what’s happening in Pakistan now is terrible and has been happening for a long time.”
Robin spoke up after the terrible attack in Sargodha, saying that this isn’t just one incident. She said, “The recent sad event in Sargodha, where an innocent person was killed, shows how minorities are treated badly. This isn’t the only time it’s happened; there have been other incidents like the Gojra riots, where Ahmadis were targeted, and attacks on Hindu and Christian communities for many years.”
She also talked about how Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are sometimes used unfairly against minorities. She said, “The blasphemy law in Pakistan has been used unfairly against minorities many times. Most Pakistanis need to speak up and say we should get rid of this law. Minorities are a big part of our country and deserve to be treated fairly and protected.” Robin also shared her love for Pakistan and her hope for things to get better. “We care about our country and are an important part of it. It’s time for things to change.”
Mashal also used Instagram to speak out against the attacks and highlight the important role minorities played in Pakistan’s history. “I keep having to say the same thing over and over. Minorities helped build Pakistan, and it was meant to protect them too. Muslims were a minority before Pakistan was made and faced hate because of their religion. We can’t let this keep happening in our own country,” Mashal said. The Suno Chanda actor added, “If we let these terrible people get away with this, they’ll feel more powerful. We need to stand up for minorities.”
The victim, Nazir Gill, was critically injured despite police saving his life. He’s being treated at a hospital. When the angry mob attacked, they wrecked Nazir Gill’s house and factory. Scared, many Christian people ran away from their homes, some taking shelter in churches nearby.
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is set to take the reins of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) today once again after more than six years.
Nawaz Sharif will be elected the president of the party through intra-party polls rescheduled from the second week of May to May 28 aka Youm-e-Takbir.
In 2017, Nawaz lost both the prime minister’s office and the presidency of PML-N after the ruling of the Panama Papers case. Hence, the catchphrase “Mujhy Kyun Nikala” (Why was I removed?) used by the party at that time.
Rana Sanaullah previously stated that party leaders had a complete consensus on Nawaz being the leader of the party.
The provincial government of Khyeber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and the federal government have finally agreed to work together after months of heated arguments over arrears, deciding to put differences aside for the betterment of the people of Pakistan, Geo reported on Monday.
The development came during a meeting in Islamabad between the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Ali Amin Gandapur and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. The Federal Minister for Energy, Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, also attended the meeting.
After that, they also held joint press conferences.
Addressing a joint presser, following a “meaningful” dialogue, CM Gandapur said: “The federal and provincial institutions will work together. [We] will work together to remove the causes of line losses.”
The federal government and the KP government are clashing and disagreeing over multiple issues. Power cuts in KP are one of the major reasons for the spats between the Centre and KP, with Gandapur even threatening to take control of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) due to excessive power outages in the province.
