Tag: Pakistan

  • ‘A lot of cricketers flirt with me in DM’s’: Nawal Saeed

    ‘A lot of cricketers flirt with me in DM’s’: Nawal Saeed

    Actress Nawal Saeed recently appeared as a guest on Momin Saqib’s show ‘Had Kar Di’ where she completely shocked audiences by revealing she has recieved flirtatious messages from Pakistani cricketers.

    The actress said that she had not taken screenshots but still had the messages in her phone, hilariously pointing out the absurdity in the matter:

    “You’re representing Pakistan and you have a blue tick on your profile. How are you randomly messaging any girl and praising her?” Nawal laughed, further adding that this was not the right thing to do.

    When Momin asked what the actress says to the cricketers, Saeed said she tells them she will pray for them. “You are representing Pakistan with your green shirts. Please don’t do this it looks weird.”

    Nawal did not reveal the names of the cricketers who had sent her messages.

    Watch the hilarious interaction below:

  • Bureaucracy costs Rs.8 trillion to treasury: Survey

    Bureaucracy costs Rs.8 trillion to treasury: Survey

    Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) has released a detailed study titled as “LifeTime Cost Of Public Servants” on its website.

    The state-run institute headed by economist Nadeemul Haque, has said that the study reveals that the federal government pays a total of Rs. 8 trillion to its Rs. 1.92 million government servants. Along with this expense come pensions for retired staff with six dozen kinds of privileges to the serving lot.

    It states that “The combined ratio of salaries, perks, and operating expenses is much higher for BPS-22 employees, earning 32.52 times from BPS-1 employees. This suggests that perks and benefits and operating expenditure are highly compressed, with a large gap between the highest and the lowest salaries.” Added to this disparity is the use of vehicles for personal use by officers from Grade 20-22 which costs more than 1.2 percent of the basic pay and the reimbursements of health allowances and medical bills cost the budget over Rs. 2.5 to 3 billion. The housing facility that has never been accounted for in the total cost of living.

    It has been pointed out very clearly that political hirings and promises by politicians to provide jobs for their voters is a big issue since their role is to create more opportunities and not offer jobs.

    A public servant of Grade-1 hired in July 2023 will be costing Rs.8.17 million including the salary, pension, perks and benefits that come with it for a period of thirty years. This goes on to increase for all the officers till Grade 17.

    The PIDE report suggests long-term planning, keeping in check all the major expenses spent on Government servants and before hiring a new one. Immediate job creation is good but rapid job creation may have negative effects on the economy in the longer run. It is important to strike a balance between short-term benefits and sustainable fiscal goals.

  • PML-N gets permission to do Jalsa at Minar-e-Pakistan

    PML-N gets permission to do Jalsa at Minar-e-Pakistan

    The district administration of Lahore has given permission to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to hold a public gathering at the Greater Iqbal Park on October 21. Former prime minister and PML-N supremo, Nawaz Sharif, will address the gathering after reaching Pakistan at Minar-e-Pakistan on October 21.

    Lahore administration has said in its statement that PML-N had been told about the terms and conditions to hold the public meeting at Minar-e-Pakistan, while the former ruling party was also directed to ask for permission from the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA).

    The PML-N submitted a sworn statement to the Lahore administration to assure them that the party will pay in case of any damage to the park during the public gathering.

    The district administration has also emphasised its commitment to maintaining constant communication with relevant authorities regarding security, traffic management, and event organizers. An upcoming traffic plan and advisory will be released shortly to minimise any inconvenience for the general public.

  • Petrol price in Pakistan slashed by Rs40 to Rs283.38 per litre

    Petrol price in Pakistan slashed by Rs40 to Rs283.38 per litre

    In a move to ease the burden on masses dealing with high inflation, the caretaker government has decided to lower the cost of petrol by Rs40 per litre and high-speed diesel (HSD) by Rs15 for the next two weeks. 

    The new per litre rates are set at Rs283.38 for petrol and Rs303.18 for diesel. 

    This change comes as a response to fluctuations in international fuel prices and an improved exchange rate, leading the government to adjust consumer prices for petroleum products. 

    For the second time in a row, the interim government is taking steps to lower petroleum prices, following three consecutive bi-weekly increases.

    In the previous adjustment, petrol saw a reduction of Rs8 per litre, while high-speed diesel decreased by Rs11 per litre.

    Between August 15 and September 15, the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel had surged by Rs58.43 and Rs55.83 per litre, reaching historic highs at retail of Rs331-333 per litre.

    Earlier this week, it was anticipated that the prices of HSD and petrol would dip below Rs300 per litre in the upcoming review, thanks to a significant decline in global oil rates and the strengthening of the rupee.

  • Official Israel account attacks Rizwan for pro-Palestine tweet

    Official Israel account attacks Rizwan for pro-Palestine tweet

    After Pakistan lost to India in the cricket World Cup match yesterday, an official account associated with the government of Israel chose to demonstrate their pettiness with a tweet targeting cricket player Muhammad Rizwan, who, after a match-winning performance against Sri Lanka, dedicated his win to the people of Gaza.

    “We were really moved by Indian friends showing their solidarity with Israel. We are happy that India emerged victorious in the #INDvsPAK match at #CWC23 and that Pakistan was unable to attribute its victory to the terrorists of #Hamas.”

    Many Twitter users criticised the absurdity of how triggered a country has been over a simple tweet by a cricketer. Seriously, y’all lose sleep over anything?

    Truly a King

    Please make this happen PCT In Sha Allah

    Well done Rizwan for living rent free in the minds of an entire nation.

  • Instagram users say no views when people post pro Palestine content

    Instagram users say no views when people post pro Palestine content

    As the civilian death toll from Israel’s bombing of Gaza continues to rise Instagram users have complained that they are not getting views on pro Palestine content.

    While more than a 1000 Palestinians are dead, including more than 600 children, others are struggling to survive through Israel’s embargo on food, water, electricity, and other basic services.

    Israel’s atrocities in Gaza have resulted in people around the world raising their voice on social media and sharing footage.

    This also includes Pakistani influencers and Instagram users with a significant amount of following.

    They are now highlighting that the viewership on their Instagram stories has starkly decreased every since they started sharing pro-Palestinian content.

    This has not happened for the first time.

    Instagram (i.e. Meta) is known to deliberately restrict the outreach of content that is in support of Palestine or merely stating facts that put Israel in a bad light.

    Quds News Network, the largest Palestinian news outlet, has said that Meta has suspended it’s page on Israel’s complaint.

  • Gold price surges by Rs4,900 in a single day, reaches Rs202,000 per tola 

    Gold price surges by Rs4,900 in a single day, reaches Rs202,000 per tola 

    The price of gold in Pakistan has experienced a significant surge following an increase in the global market.  

    According to the All-Pakistan Sarafa Gems and Jewellers Association (APSGJA), the cost of 24-carat gold has risen by Rs4,900, reaching Rs202,000 per tola.  

    Meanwhile, the price of 10-gramme gold has also seen a substantial increase, going up by Rs4,201 to settle at Rs173,182. 

    In the international market, the price of gold saw a notable uptick, with a $46 increase, bringing it to $1,938 per ounce.  

    Concurrently, the US dollar (USD) weakened by Rs5.07 against the Pakistani rupee in the interbank market over the course of this week’s trading. In interbank trading, the USD declined from Rs282.69 to Rs277.62 this week. 

    Furthermore, the American currency witnessed a decrease of Rs4.50 in the open market at the end of the week, closing at Rs277, down from Rs281.50. 

  • Loss-making PIA announced bonuses for employees on their “good performance”

    Loss-making PIA announced bonuses for employees on their “good performance”

    Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), one of the biggest money-losing entities in the country, has ironically announced that they will pay their employees an increment for “good performance”.

    As reported by The News, PIA’s management announced the bonus for the performance of the employees over the last six months, from April to September. The bonus will be implemented by October 2023. The amount that was decided is tantamount to the bonus issued in 2022.

    PIA is going through a monthly loss of Rs 12 billion and a total loss of over Rs 740 billion but the bonus that was announced is Rs 915 million. The increment in salaries will be 5-10 percent paid on March 31, 2023. The employees who are told to leave on or before October were recruited recently or got a promotion or salary increase in these six months are not eligible for it.

    The airline has announced this expenditure while it is grappling with issues of fuel outages and financial loss. According to Caretaker Federal Minister for Privatization Fawad Hasan Fawad, 15 out of 34 PIA aircraft are grounded, the airline is operating with only 19 aircraft and some of them are also not fully operational. The gap between income (22 billion) and expense(34 billion) which is increasing with time.

    Amidst the ongoing debate of privatization, PIA has taken a loan of Rs260 billion from commercial banks on a government guarantee. It is not paying tax of Rs1.25 billion to the FBR and has not been able to pay more than Rs1 billion per month to Civil Aviation.

  • Pakistan team hailed by compatriots as India keeps fans away from match

    Pakistan team hailed by compatriots as India keeps fans away from match

    As the high-voltage World Cup 2023 Pakistan – India match plays out in Ahmedabad, there are no Pakistani fans at the Narendra Modi stadium.

    Pakistani fans were not given a visa by the Modi government but the Green Shirts have all the support off the ground from home with the public glued to the screen and politicians, along with celebrities, cheering for them on social media.

    Caretaker PM Anwar-ul-haq Kakkar extended his support to the team in a tweet saying, “Let’s bring it home”.

    Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also took to X to show his enthusiasm by saying that he is “Rooting for Team Green”.

    Asma Sherazi lamented the visas not being issued but wished the team well.

    Ex-cricketers seemed to be equally excited as Mohammad Hafeez posted about the “Match of the year” and expressed his wish for the team to win.

    Wasim Akram reminded the team that “at the end of the day it’s just a game, go out there and do what you do best”.

    Shaharyar Ejaz, a journalist tweeting live from the ground, wrote that he hoped to see the team win on Indian soil.

    Filmmaker Nabeel Qureshi hoped for team Pakistan to play out a “suprise”.

    Fahad Mustafa cheered the team with, “Let’s do this boys”.

    On the other side, there are people vehemently criticizing the Indian Government for not issuing visas to Pakistani fans.

    Professor Ashok Swain lambasted the Government by saying that “It’s not Cricket, It’s Low-life’s Politics”.

    Another user criticised the crowd for trampling the spirit of the game as videos of them booing Pakistan captain Babar Azam circulated on social media.

  • Pakistan is powerful enough to fight with TTP for 100 years, says PM Kakar

    Pakistan is powerful enough to fight with TTP for 100 years, says PM Kakar

    Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has firmly rejected the possibility of engaging in negotiations with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), emphasizing that Pakistan is powerful enough to fight them for the next 100 years.


    “Don’t you see that their people are being killed daily? Our people are also being martyred. So what kind of talks or impediments [you are talking about]? They are killing my children and I am killing them,” he told the media during his visit to Peshawar on Friday.


    “The state of Pakistan is powerful enough to fight the TTP, not just for one year, rather a 100 years,” the interim premier said.


    When questioned about the challenges in negotiations with the TTP, the Prime Minister emphasized that the primary hurdle was the absence of any willingness on their part to engage in dialogue. “We don’t want to talk to them. Who told you that we have any intention to talk with TTP,” he asked. Pakistan has witnessed a notable increase in terrorist activities, Kakar observed, particularly in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan in recent months. This surge has seen TTP militants targeting both security forces and innocent civilians.