Along with the country’s economy, restoring the declining confidence of Pakistani consumers is a big challenge for the caretaker government.
Apsus Pakistan released the third quarter survey report of Consumer Confidence Index.
According to the survey report, 98 per cent of Pakistanis are not happy with the country’s direction, while the number of Pakistanis who consider the direction to be correct has come down to merely 2 per cent.
According to the report, Pakistanis are disappointed with the country’s economy and their own financial situation, 76 per cent of Pakistanis say the country’s economy is weak and 68 per cent say their financial situation is precarious.
The survey also revealed that 66 per cent of Pakistanis are not optimistic about improvement in the country’s economic conditions, even in the next six months, while 60 per cent see their financial conditions becoming weaker in the future.
What would be the most controversial, yet important take you have about desi society?
A user on X posed this challenge to their followers, asking for opinions about every single aspect of desi society. Whether it is excessive body shaming, poor funeral etiquettes, division of household chores within family members, or wedding obsessions, desi social media users held back nothing, leaving us with some very blunt, but direly needed takes.
Your wives are not unpaid house helpers. We wish more families would understand this.
It’s not the bahu’s responsibility to serve the whole family. If she is not willing to cook and clean for anyone except her husband no one can force her and that’s shari’ah https://t.co/CdjW2giXOO
Please understand that funerals are a time when family members need to grieve. Instead of giving them space, desi family members end up doing the opposite which is tragic to witness.
That women and girls don’t get to mourn the loss of a loved one. They are constantly expected to service food and tea to guests and look after them. The men get a head start on processing their grief and start to get some kind of a closure. Women do not. https://t.co/XlUzcRvRxy
Teach your sons to be the kind of men your daughters would feel safe around.
Turning a blind eye to the things your sons get up to but then teaching your daughters to protect themselves from such men is WILD. https://t.co/x0cWbarTAe
We hope more people start unlearning that talking about periods is a taboo.
Menstruation being a hush hush topic is the reason why a lot of women suffer in silence. It’s why conditions like endometriosis, genital TB, hypomenorrhea, dysmenorrhoea, and metrorrhagia go undiagnosed. https://t.co/D5C1S5v6MU
This prevalent practice of hiring underaged help for housekeeping or as nannies under the guise of “helping out their poor families” is such a fallacy. These kids are easily manipulated and continually fall victim to anger issues or latent predatory behaviour at the hands of- https://t.co/FWgShJuvpX
the average housewife works harder than all men who take six figure salaries. physical labour 18 hours every day (assuming they get 6 hours of sleep) on all days of the week with extra work on holidays like eid when they have to prepare grand feasts, and you say they do nothing https://t.co/xQacMzZOic
Majid Rehman, a 13-year-old boy addicted to playing the game PUBG, was found on Thursday after he went missing while purchasing groceries.
His father, Reham Mehmood, reported his son’s disappearance, stating that the boy left home with Rs65,000 rupees for monthly groceries but never returned.
Police registered a kidnapping case and began to search for him.
Rehman was found by a National Highways and Motorways Police (NH&MP) team in a vehicle during an inspection.
Apart from other items, the police found a PUBG character’s costume.
As Majid was questioned, he revealed that when he left home, he decided to hang out with his friends and spent the grocery money buying things that were of interest to him. He also talked about his liking for PUBG.
According to DSP Changezi, parents’ neglect towards their children results in such incidents.
PUBG is a widely played shooter game. However, it has been a part of several unfortunate or absurd incidents in Pakistan as well as around the world.
PUBG addicts, mainly children, have inflicted self-harm or harmed others. Some tend to run away from home. In extreme cases, players have committed suicide or shot people.
Boys from Nawan Kot and Kahna killed their family members in 2021 and 2022, respectively, under the the influence of the violent nature of the game. One boy even chased a member into the street while clad in the game’s character attire.
Similarly, children have committed suicide after losing the game or getting bullied for it.
Following several cases, the Lahore Police asked the higher authorities to ban the game.
The Child Protection and Welfare Bureau (CPWB) created the “Mohafiz” app through which one can search and share information of cases of underprivileged, homeless children who run away from their homes in Punjab.
Through the app, government institutions can also be reached in case of an emergency and citizens can report any disappearance or accidents involving children.
According to Express Tribune, hundreds of children are present in various centres of Punjab including the CPWB in Lahore.
BTS fans will continue to go to all lengths to prove that they’re indeed the most wholesome and wonderful people to exist on the planet.
A BTS fan from Gujranwala, Syeda Binte Zainab, moved social media a few days ago when she celebrated the birthday’s of both BTS members Jung Kook and Namjoon’s by donating 125 boxes of food to patients suffering from thalassemia at Sundus Foundation, in an effort to spread awareness about providing blood donations to help children suffering from the disease.
Namjoon aka RM, is a popular rapper and song writer from the South Korean band BTS, which comprises of six other members including Jung Kook, Jin, Suga, Jimin, V and J-Hope. The band, declared by Time Magazine to be the ‘Princes Of Pop’, partnered with UNICEF in 2017 for their campaign to end violence against children, and have received 5 Grammy nominations.
Guyz I need your Prayers because I’m almost going to start Namkook Birthday Project Celebrations with Thalassemia patients and right now I’m packing food for them while streaming “Slow Dancing” Please drop your wishes or Purple heart pic.twitter.com/xkOkkCzpix
— Syeda BinteZainab⁷♥ #HBD_NAMJOON♥| ʟᴀʏᴏ(ꪜ)ᴇʀ ⍤⃝ (@BinteZainab33) September 9, 2023
The viral tweet received praise from fans and non-fans alike on social media, who appreciated the woman for undertaking such an amazing charity project on her own to celebrate her idol’s birthday.
감사합니다 아미 ♀️ You did a really really good Job Our boys will probably be so proud of you, and of course ARMY too… Fightingggg ♀️ https://t.co/GsnSyYMidC
Syeda Zainab also shared a link to her Youtube account which showed how she set up the project. She also included an interview with a doctor who spoke in detail about the disease and encouraged others to donate blood to patients and help save their lives.
Speaking to The Current, Syeda Zainab, who works as a teacher had previously collaborated with Sundas Foundation to organise 180 gifts food boxes, and this year had decided had collaborated with a student to bake a cake and a fellow BTS fan from Twitter, who baked cookies for the occasion.
“This year in collaboration with #BTS_Pk_Streaming , I thought of doing something different, so I texted the Director and asked for his permission to organise a little activity to which he instantly agreed. So I saved my 1 month salary and decided to arrange a special meal for Thalassemia fighters and their families. My student ‘Haider’ who is also BTS ARMY member, prepared the BTS Themed Cake to celebrate Namkook’s (Namjoon & Jungkook of BTS) birthday . A kind ARMY friend *Saira from Twitter specially prepared ‘Namjoon & Jungkook day special cookies’ for patients. I’ve Donated Blood before Starting the celebration because I know the importance of blood donations. My Blood can save 1 life so what’s better then this to celebrate this special month?”
Syeda Zainab told us she had been organising charity efforts for Sundas Foundation since 2021, when she donated blood to the patients and was in touch with the director whom she described as a ‘noble’ man. In 2022, she had celebrated Jung Kooks’ birthday with the rest of the patients by packing more than 180 gifts for the patients, and also brought along a cake to celebrate the occasion as shown from pictures she shared with us.
Speaking on the overwhelming praise her project received from social media, Zainab said she found it “over whelming and heart touching”. Several patients suffering from thalassemia exchanged phone numbers with her in order to see her vlog. “They literally longed for blood and happiness. I’m glad I was the reason behind their smile and happiness.”
“BTS is the reason behind spreading smiles all around the world and we ARMYs simply follow their footsteps. Alhumdulillah I feel incredibly happy to spread happiness around me just like my idols.”
Pakistani BTS fans have gone viral on several occasions for setting up extensive charity projects to celebrate birthdays of the band members, asking for nothing in return. “BTS and the ARMY fandom have been actively involved in social causes and have raised millions for charities. I remember back in June 6th 2020, BTS and Big Hit Entertainment donated $1 million to Black Lives Matter, and the ARMY fandom matched that amount within 24 hours.”
Continuing further, Zainab said “We organize projects like this because our icons inspire us every single day. Jungkook donated millions of won (Korean currency) to hospitals and universities on his birthday. When the severe earthquake disaster happened in turkey, it was BTS band members who donated millions of dollars to help the victims. The list is too extensive to share how many times they have contributed to help others.. We ARMYS do good things on BTS name all around the world so it doesn’t matter for us that our idols live in Korea or anywhere else. The thing which only matter is “THE MESSAGE”. The message BTS gives to ‘LOVE YOURSELF’ & ‘BE HUMAN’.”
Zainab told The Current that Pakistani BTS fans have done several projects in honor of their idols in the past, as last year they had celebrated Namjoon’s birthday by donating wheelchairs to Manawan Hospital Lahore. On September 1, which was Jungkook’s birthday, ARMY members donated 50 notebooks to schools in order to provide educational facilities for students from lower income backgrounds, along with Rs 7000 to Edhi Foundation, just proving how their fandom continues to do good and keep making their icons proud.
Over a hundred Pakistani pilgrims took part in the annual Urs (death anniversary ) of Sufi saint Hazrat Mujadid Alf Sani at Sirhind Sharif in India, with the total number tallying up to 127.
Pakistan’s Charge d’ Affaires to India, Aizaz Khan, was also present to commemorate the 410th urs of the 16th-century Islamic scholar who was deemed as a Mujaddid by his followers, meaning a “reviver” since he revised Islam through his writings.
According to Express Tribune, Aizaz expressed his appreciation to the shrine’s caretaker, Khalifa Syed Mohammed Sadiq Raza, and the local administration for their support in facilitating the pilgrims.
Pakistani pilgrims reportedly attend the annual Urs of Hazrat Mujadid Alf Sani every year under the framework of the 1974 India-Pakistan protocol on visits to religious shrines.
Former Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif is a big sports fan and tweets about cricket and tennis quite often. His tweets full of excitement during the Asia Cup about Pakistani cricketers created quite a stir, but not for the right reasons. Twitter (now X) users are blaming Shehbaz for Pakistan’s loss. Here’s why.
However, in the next match between Pakistan and India, Shaheen’s performance was so bad that even his father-in-law Shahid Afridi was not happy with his performance.
“If we ball like Naseem Shah in initial overs, the situation could have been different. Shaheen’s line and length were not good, he gets frustrated if he doesn’t get wickets in early overs because he is known as a wicket taker in the first over,” said Shahid about Shaheen.
Pakistan lost the crucial Super 4 match against Sri Lanka yesterday and thus couldn’t qualify for the Asia Cup final.
Shehbaz Sharif was quick to buck up the Boys in Green.
“That was an incredible last over, Zaman. A great game of cricket indeed.”
X users were quick to point out that after Shehbaz praised Shaheen, he performed badly and now that he has praised Zaman Khan, his career may be over. One user told Shehbaz to “stay away from cricket”.
Maryam, a seven-year-old girl, got shot on Friday while she was on her way to school near Nagan Chowrangi.
The girl was seated in a car being driven by her father when a security guard and robbers exchanged fire.
Dawn spoke with Taimuria police officer Ghulam Murtaza who said that the father recalled that the two were near a shopping centre around 7:12am when the car slowed down at a speed breaker. At that point he heard Maryam cry out “Baba”. She was bleeding so he rushed her to a hospital nearby and then to Ziauddin Hospital where doctors pronounced her dead on arrival.
According to Police Surgeon Summaiya Syed, the family took Maryam’s body home without a post-mortem examination but then the police brought it back to conduct a post-mortem which concluded that she was shot in the head.
The police reported that the shootout was between a security guard and robbers.
Maryam’s father did not lodge an FIR, however, police have registered a case against the detained guard on behalf of the state under Section 319 (manslaughter) of the Pakistan Penal Code and initiated an investigation.
Security guard Ali Raza was then taken into custody.
Initially, two spent bullet casings fired from separate pistols had been recovered from the spot, and later, as per a police spokesperson, a forensic report confirmed that the bullet that killed Maryam was fired by the security guard.
The guard, employed at a restaurant, opened fire on two robbers as they escaped the scene, when one of the bullets hit Maryam on the opposite side of the road near Haroon Shopping Centre within the jurisdiction of the Taimuria police station.
A four-member committee has been formed which will be led by Gulberg SP to probe into the case.
Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori has also taken notice of the incident and sought a detailed report from the Additional IGP of Karachi.
The UK police have charged 10-year-old Sara Sharif’s father Irfan Sharif, stepmother Beinash Batool and uncle Faisal with murder.
The trio were arrested on their return from Pakistan yesterday and have been charged with the murder of Sara Sharif.
According to authorities, the three were arrested at Gatwick Airport.
Two days back, all three of them flew back to the UK as law enforcing agencies in Pakistan kept pursuing them. Raja Haq Nawaz, a lawyer for Urfan Sharif’s father Muhammad Sharif, told DAWN that the suspects were not arrested and that their flight left from Sialkot, Punjab.
Previously, Jhelum police shifted Urfan Sharif’s five children to the Child Protection Bureau after a local court granted permission to the police to do so. The children were to be in the Bureau’s custody till the parents were found and arrested.
While they were in Pakistan, the couple also released a video in which Batool touched upon media reporting of Sara’s death, claiming that they both will cooperate with UK authorities, and that they were on the run in Pakistan because the family feared that the Pakistan police will torture and kill them.
The Case
On August 10, 10-year-old Sara Sharif was found dead in her home in Woking, England, when her father, Urfan Sharif, called 999 from Pakistan.
Nadeem Riaz, shop owner and a travelling agent, has known Sharif for 11 years.
During an interview with The Times, he recalled that on August 8, he booked a one-way tickets to Pakistan on urgent basis, claiming that his cousin died.
On August 9, Sharif, his wife Beinash Batool, their five children and Sharif’s brother Faisal Malik left for Islamabad from the UK on a British Airways flight.
The next day, Urfan Sharif called 999 after which the police found Sara’s body at home. Surrey Police then began an investigation along with international partners. The same day, after arriving at Islamabad, the family travelled to Jhelum. The police kept on tracking them as they left for Domeli late on August 12, and then left Domeli the very next day. This was the last location tracked.
On August 15, Pakistan police received a request from International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) via FIA to hunt them down.
Salim is a Pakistani polar adventurer and artist based in Monaco and Dubai.
Galactic 04 will take off from Spaceport America in New Mexico, carrying the passengers to suborbital space and back. In simpler words, suborbital flight is a short journey into space where a spaceship goes up but does not stay in space. It leaves the earth’s atmosphere for a brief time and comes back right after. It is a quick trip to experience weightlessness and witness space. Unlike an orbital spaceflight, it does not circle the earth.
Space.com explains that the space tourists will be carried by Virgin’s VSS Unity space plane taken into the sky by a carrier craft named VMS Eve. Eve will drop Unity at an altitude of about 50,000 feet (15,000 meters); the space plane will then fire up its rocket motor to get to suborbital space.
“VSS Unity passengers get to experience a few minutes of weightlessness and see Earth against the blackness of space. A ticket to ride the space plane currently costs $450,000”.
So far, the company has launched Galactic 01, Galactic 02 and Galactic 03 on June 29, August 10 and September 8, respectively; keeping up with its goal of launching at least one commercial space flight a month.
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gave a GBP 50 tip to a guy for delivering his favourite kheer.
The unnamed delivery guy said in a video that Nawaz Sharif likes to eat their kheer, a dessert made from rice and milk, which he orders regularly. The delivery man said that the former Premier, who often orders the dessert, gave the man GBP 50 as tip about three weeks ago.
