A survey conducted by IPSOS has revealed that there is an increase in the number of Pakistanis who are hopeful that the economic situation of the country will improve in the next six years.
The results also show that the fear of losing jobs or work has decreased.
The survey, based on 1,000 participants across Pakistan, was conducted between October 31 and November 3, 2023.
There has been an increase from 11 per cent to 25 per cent in people’s optimism of improving their financial conditions in the next six months while pessimism and disappointment has gone down from 60 per cent to 49 per cent.
No difference has been noted among the people with moderate stance as 26 per cent are neither hopeful nor despondent about their financial situation in the future.
According to IPSOS, 95 per cent of Pakistanis feared losing employment in the previous survey, but now the number has come down to 88 per cent, indicating an increase in optimism by seven per cent.
Additionally, the rate of Pakistanis who expressed an inability to save and invest to meet future needs decreased by four per cent, while 92 per cent said they were not able to save.
Only one in 10 Pakistanis believe that the country is headed in the right direction among whom men are four times more likely to be more optimistic than women.
Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed several multi-billion dollar Memorandum of understanding (MoUs) in a range of areas on Monday.
According to the press release issued by the Prime Minister’s office, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar and the President of the UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan witnessed the signing of MoUs between Pakistan and UAE.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir was also present at the meeting.
In a video message, Kakar said that the goal of MoUs is to enhance economic, regional, and strategic cooperation between both nations.
The interim prime minister extended congratulations to the people of Pakistan and the UAE, highlighting that the foundation of friendship with Pakistan was established by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan in the 1970s. He further said that this legacy has been advanced by his son, ushering in a new era of bilateral cooperation.
In a separate statement, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) reported that interim PM Kakar engaged in a bilateral meeting with His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates, in Abu Dhabi. The meeting was also attended by the Army chief.
State-of-the-art climate models drastically underestimate how much extreme rainfall increases under global warming, according to a study published Monday that signals a future of more frequent catastrophic floods unless humanity curbs greenhouse emissions.
It comes as countries prepare to meet at the COP28 summit in Dubai beginning later this week, amid fears it could soon be impossible to limit long-term warming to the 1.5 degrees Celsius scientists say is necessary to curb the worst effects of human-caused climate change.
Researchers from the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research (PIK) looked at the intensity and frequency of daily precipitation extremes over land in 21 “next generation” climate models used by a UN body in its global assessments.
They then compared the changes projected by the models with those observed historically, finding that nearly all climate models significantly underestimated the rates at which increases in precipitation extremes scaled with global temperature rise.
“Our study confirms that the intensity and frequency of heavy rainfall extremes are increasing exponentially with every increment of global warming,” said Max Kotz, lead author of the paper published in the Journal of Climate.
The changes track with the Clausius-Clapeyron relation in physics, which established that warmer air holds more water vapor. This finding underpinned the fact that temperature and not wind dominate the global change in extreme rainfall events, according to the authors.
Stronger increases in rainfall intensity and frequency were found across the tropics and high-latitudes, like in Southeast Asia or Northern Canada, according to the study.
The average air quality index (AQI) of Lahore was recorded at 356 (hazardous) on Sunday while the maximum was 444 at 3 am.
The government completely closed vehicular traffic on Mall Road for a day but the effort seemed futile as the AQI around the road was 458 in the morning while AQI in the DHA Phase 8 was 437, in Gulberg it was 412 and in Johar Town, it stood at 402, reports Dawn.
As of today, the air quality index of Lahore was recorded at 415 (extremely hazardous) around 10 a.m. and by the evening, when this report is being filed, it is standing at 305 (hazardous).
While Mall Road was totally barricaded, some markets and shops were found open despite restrictions till 4 pm on Sunday and people were thronging food points in Liberty Market, Ichhra and Anarkali Bazaar.
Netizens criticised the Punjab government for a lack of effective steps to counter smog.
A user posted about it being attributed to the endless construction in the city while others complained about it being lethal for citizens.
This is 10 minutes before sunset in Lahore. It’s not cloudy. This is smog. Growing up here I remember blue skies. Now we see it rarely, only after heavy rain. pic.twitter.com/8YpX39WErq
Smog proving to be deadly for children in Lahore. What causes smog? Surely, it can’t be crop burning; been happening for 100s of years. Biggest cause is uncontrolled, needless expansion of real estate housing projects, owned & operated by state affiliated institutions & tycoons.
Muhammad Naveed, a blind man from Ali Husssainabad in Maraka, Multan Road fell in an open manhole. He reportedly went missing three days ago after saying he was going to the nearby stop. On his return, he fell in the open manhole, a 10 feet deep sewer, and remained there for three days.
Yesterday, passersby heard his cries and informed the shopkeepers on the street. They took immediate action, trying to pull Naveed out of the hole with the help of ropes. Meanwhile, the rescue team also arrived and helped speed up the process.
The sewage drain was right in front of the office of the National Highway and Motorway Police, reports Jang. Naveed was injured and was given first aid upon recovery.
Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s lawyer Abuzar Salman Niazi revealed that Imran Khan is worried about his biceps while in jail.
He took to X (formerly Twitter) and said, “A lot of people are asking me whether this is true or not. Let me narrate what actually happened. As I and @BarristrUKNiazi were waiting for khan sb to come and see us on Thursday. As soon as he came, when we asked him if he is facing any problem in Jail. He said I am not affected by anything, even i can sleep on floor. But I can’t comprise on my muscles.”
A lot of people are asking me whether this is true or not. Let me narrate what actually happened. As I and @BarristrUKNiazi were waiting for khan sb to come and see us on Thursday. As soon as he came, when we asked him if he is facing any problem in Jail. He said I am not… pic.twitter.com/zYlKRCQstd
He further stated that Khan said his biceps are getting a little out of shape due to the non-availability of dumbbells.
He explained that he had requested many times for the provision of the same but was denied for no apparent reason.
Due to security issues, Khan can’t go to Gym like other poisoners.
He further stated, “All I have asked for is pair of heavy dumbles from my own expense which has been denied. In nutshell, jail has made Khan sab more determined and strong. All machinations of Govt to Pester him are counter productive and making him stronger.”
The Cases
The former prime minister is currently being held in Adiala Jail after his arrest from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore on August 5.
He was moved to the prison on September 26 from Attock Jail where he was initially kept after his arrest.
Khan was first convicted by a lower court in the Toshakhana case in August and sentenced to three years of imprisonment. The IHC suspended his sentence the same month.
The Islamabad accountability court issued arrest warrants for PTI Chairman Imran Khan in the Toshakhana and 190 million Al-Qadir Trust cases.
Khan was arrested in the Al-Qadir Trust case on May 9 for the first time.
The 190 million (approximately Rs60 billion) settlement case pertains to the money of property tycoon, Malik Riaz, being laundered and caught by the UK authorities during Imran’s government in 2019.
The UK government had informed the Pakistani authorities regarding the money being caught.
The former premier is already in prison as he was subsequently booked in the ‘cipher’ case.
In the cipher case, Khan, along with his close aide and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, has been accused of leaking state secrets.
Eying each other across a stream of traffic, rival biryani joints vie for customers, serving a fiery medley of meat, rice and spice that unites and divides South Asian appetites.
Both sell a niche version of the dish, steeped in the same vats, with matching prices and trophies commending their quality.
But in Karachi, where a biryani craze boomed after the creation of Pakistan, it is the subtle differences that inspire devotion.
“Our biryani is not only different from theirs but unique in the world,” says restaurateur Muhammad Saqib, who layers his “bone marrow biryani” with herbs.
“When a person bites into it he drowns in a world of flavours,” the 36-year-old says.
Across the road, Muhammad Zain sees it differently.
“We were the ones who started the biryani business here first,” the 27-year-old claims, as staff scoop out sharing platters with a gut-punch of masala.
“It’s our own personal and secret recipe.”
Cooked in bulk, biryani is also a staple of charity donations. PHOTO: AFP
Both agree on one thing.
“You can’t find biryani like Pakistan’s anywhere in the world,” says Saqib.
“Whether it’s a celebration or any other occasion, biryani always comes first,” according to Zain.
British colonial rule in South Asia ended in 1947 with a violent rupture of the region along religious lines.
Hindus and Sikhs in newly created Pakistan fled to India while Muslim “Muhajirs” — refugees — went the other way.
Pakistan and India have been arch-rivals since, fighting wars and locked in endless diplomatic strife. Trade and travel have been largely choked off.
Many Muhajirs settled in Karachi, home to just 400,000 people in 1947 but one of the world’s largest cities today with a population of 20 million.
Every Karachi neighbourhood has its own canteens fronted by vendors clanking a spatula against the inside of biryani pots. PHOTO: AFP
For Indian food historian Pushpesh Pant, biryani served in South Asia’s melting-pot cities such as Karachi is a reminder of shared heritage.
“Hindus ate differently, Nanakpanthis (Sikhs) ate differently, and Muslims ate differently, but it was not as if their food did not influence each other,” he told AFP from the city of Gurugram outside Delhi.
“In certain parts of Pakistan and certain parts of India, the differences in flavours and foods are not as great as man-made borders would make us think.”
Every Karachi neighbourhood has its own canteens fronted by vendors clanking a spatula against the inside of biryani pots.
The recipe has endless variations.
The one with beef is a favourite in majority Muslim Pakistan, while vegetarian variants are more popular in largely Hindu India.
Chicken is universal. Along coastlines, seafood is in the mix.
And purists debate if adding potatoes is heresy.
“Other than that, there is Pulao Biryani which is purely from Delhi,” says 27-year-old pharmacist Muhammad Al Aaqib, describing a broth-stewed variation.
“My roots lead back to Delhi too so it’s like the mother of biryanis for us.”
“Perhaps every person has a different way of cooking it, and their way is better,” says 36-year-old landlord Mehran Khoso.
The origins of biryani are hotly contested.
However, it is generally accepted the word has Persian roots and it is argued the dish was popularised in the elite kitchens of the Mughal Empire, which spanned South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries.
In spite of that pedigree, its defining quality is permutation.
Quratulain Asad, 40, spends Sunday morning cooking for her husband and son, Muhajir descendants of a family that arrived in Karachi from the Indian town of Tonk in 1948.
The origins of biryani are hotly contested. PHOTO: AFP
But at the dinner table, they feast not on an heirloom recipe but a TV chef’s version with a cooling yoghurt sauce and a simple shredded salad.
Asad insists on Karachi’s biryani supremacy.
“You will not like biryani from anywhere else once you’ve tasted Karachi’s biryani,” she says.
“There is no secret ingredient. I just cook with a lot of passion and joy,” she adds. “Perhaps that’s why the taste comes out good.”
Cooked in bulk, biryani is also a staple of charity donations.
At Ghazi Foods, 28-year-old Ali Nawaz paddles out dozens of portions of biryani into plastic pouches, which are delivered to poor neighbourhoods on motorbikes.
A minute after one of those bikes stops, the biryani is gone, seized by kids and young adults.
“People pray for us when they eat it,” says Nawaz. “It feels good that our biryani reaches the people.”
An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on Monday issued arrest orders for Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Marriyum Aurangzeb in a hate speech case, directing authorities to produce the former federal minister in court on December 9.
ATC Judge Abher Gul Khan issued the arrest warrant for the PML-N leader and ordered the concerned station house officer (SHO) to execute the orders of her arrest.
The non-bailable arrest warrant was issued against the former information minister for not appearing before the court.
A terrorism case had been registered against Aurangzeb, PML-N stalwart Mian Javed Latif, state-run Pakistan Television’s Managing Director Sohail Khan and others for allegedly trying to incite hatred by using the religion card against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.
In the previous hearing, the ATC judge canceled the non-bailable arrest warrant against Latif after he appeared before the court. On November 25, Advocate Farhad Ali Shah representing Javed Latif and Marriyum Aurangzeb appeared before the court.
During the hearing, Judge Khan inquired about the whereabouts of the PML-N leaders and was informed that Latif had appeared while Aurangzeb had not.
Consequently, the judge issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for the former information minister and directed all suspects named in the case to appear before the court on December 9.
The case, registered on September 19, 2022, implicated both Aurangzeb and senior PML-N leader Javed Latif for allegedly “using religion to instill and spread hatred” against Imran Khan, the chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and former prime minister.
According to the FIR, the complainant had said Latif accused the PTI chief of “attacking the basic principles of Islam” by “supporting” the Ahmadiyya community during his tenure.
“When Imran made the Naya Pakistan, units of Qadianis became active in Karachi […] Did Imran not give interviews to the foreign media in which he said that Qadianis will be given religious freedom,” Latif had said.
The FIR had said Latif made the controversial remarks at the behest of the party leadership as well as Aurangzeb in order to spread religious hatred against Imran.
The complainant had said he watched another presser by Latif a day later wherein he insisted that he stood by his earlier statement. The complainant said, “The world knows Imran Khan for his welfare work. He is a true Muslim, a Prophet (PBUH) lover and a patriotic Pakistani.
“He (Imran) made Quranic teachings in schools compulsory and also constituted Rehmatullil Alameen Authority. He also made it clear before the world through his speech at the United Nations that we will not tolerate blasphemy at any cost and raised his voice against Islamophobia which is matchless.
“In his news conference, Latif declared Imran a non-Muslim and deliberately used words to incite his followers to create a law and order situation.”
The FIR added that the PTI chief’s followers and supporters were enraged by the derogatory remarks of the PML-N leader. “Latif made the controversial remarks at the behest of his party leadership as well as Marriyum in order to spread religious hatred against Imran.”
Complainant Rehman said that he had watched another news conference a day later in which Latif said that he stood by his earlier statement.
He demanded action be taken against the PML-N leaders and others nominated in the complaint under the law.
Senior politician Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar is reportedly seeking a return to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as per Geo News.
Having previously been associated with the PTI, Sarwar, currently the chief organizer of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), parted ways with Imran Khan’s party during last year’s no-confidence motion in April, leaving when Imran Khan was ousted from the prime minister’s office.
In March this year, Sarwar joined the PML-Q in the presence of its president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. In December 2021, Sarwar slammed Khan’s government by saying that the PTI had handed over everything to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
During the no-confidence motion, Sarwar, as the chief organizer of the PML-Q, defied Khan’s orders and explored the possibility of joining the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
However, this idea was rejected by PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, citing Sarwar’s earlier defection to the PTI after the failed 2014 sit-in led by Khan and Dr. Tahir-ul-Qadri.
Sarwar joined the PML-Q in March of the current year, assuming the role of chief organizer.
However, he has been residing in Scotland since several months, showing little interest in party affairs.
Despite initial hopes of the PML-Q gaining prominence, especially without Parvez Elahi and Moonis Elahi, it appears that Jahangir Tareen and Aleem Khan’s Istehekam Pakistan Party (IPP) is currently the frontrunner.
Sources reveal that Sarwar, for the past two weeks, has been reaching out to PTI leaders directly and indirectly, discussing his potential return to the party from his base in Scotland.
A senior PTI leader disclosed that Sarwar had expressed a desire to rejoin the party, but the PTI has not responded to the overtures thus far.
“The only person who can allow re-entry of Chaudhary Sarwar is Imran Khan but he has made it clear he will not forgive and forget those dozens of leaders who let him down in difficult times. Those who lobbied against Imran Khan and the PTI are not acceptable.”
Chaudhary Sarwar wants to join the PTI again because his family members want to run for elections on the party’s tickets in Faisalabad, as there are no seats vacant in PML-N ranks and no other option, said a source close to Sarwar.
The source also said that the senior politician’s son Anas, the Scottish Labour leader, also has an election coming up in Glasgow and there is a considerable Pakistani vote in the local constituency.
Another source said that so far the PTI had not shown any interest in the offer and it had no time to even consider it given the circumstances the PTI was facing in Pakistan.
When asked about efforts to rejoin the PTI, Sarwar didn’t deny it.
He said: “All options are on the table. Discussions at various levels are ongoing. I have not made a final decision yet. I will make the final decision soon.”
Sarwar joined PTI in 2015 after criticising Nawaz Sharif and Shehbaz Sharif, days after resigning as the Punjab governor. However, he was appointed to the post for a second time once the PTI came to power in 2018.
Sarwar’s allies said he was not happy as Punjab governor and didn’t like Usman Buzdar. He was sacked from the post around the no-confidence vote by the PTI government, with Omer Sarfraz Cheema being appointed as his replacement.
Pakistani cricketer Imam-ul-Haq has become the latest member of the Green Shirts to sign off on bachelorhood and settle down with his sweetheart. The cricketer made social media swoon with the wholesome dedication he wrote to his “best friend” and his forever home, Anmol Mehmood. Rumi who?
“Today, we’ve not only become partners for life but have also solidified the bond of best friendship, which has always been the foundation of our love story. Today, I not only married my best friend ,but also found my forever home in your heart. Forever grateful for a love that feels like a friendship and a friendship that is our greatest blessing. This journey is uniquely ours, a beautiful symphony of love, laughter, and endless dreams, In Sha Allah. Keep us in your prayers,” wrote Imam.
Looking back at the lavish three day celebrations, we are in awe of Anmol’s taste in clothing. Here we will break down every look the bride wore for her four day celebrations.
Starting with the Mehendi, which was held in Norway, Anmol donned a maroon farshi gharara adorned with gold patterns, that had splashes of green, purple and yellow to add colour to the look. The outfit was from HSY, reportedly costing more than Rs 1.5 million.
For the Qawwali night, Anmol left social media awestruck, once more picking HSY’s lilac gown adorned with silver designs paired with silver bangles. According to GEO, the price of the outfit was Rs 850,000.
On her Valima, Anmol wore fashion brand Lajwanti. She wore a pastel gharara, detailed with gold designs, and a matching dupatta. Speaking to GEO, a spokesperson for Lajwanti revealed that the ensemble cost Rs 17 lakhs.
