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Tag: Pakistan

  • Nawaz directs Rana Sanaullah, Maryam Nawaz to lead PML-N

    Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz have been given instructions by party supremo Nawaz Sharif to lead rallies and meetings ahead of the upcoming general elections in Punjab.

    Rana Sanaullah met the father and daughter in London where Nawaz briefed the two senior members of the party on what their roles would be.

    Nawaz instructed the interior minister to mobilise party workers in the province for the upcoming elections. Moreover, PML-N leaders also held consultations on party appointments in Punjab and on inter-party elections.

    The federal minister and Maryam Nawaz both are expected to land back home on January 28.

    Taking to Twitter, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb wrote: “There has been a change in the time of PML-N’s senior vice president and chief organiser Maryam Nawaz’s return home. Maryam Nawaz sahiba will now reach Lahore at 3:50pm on Saturday, January 28.”

    On January 12, Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi signed the summary for the dissolution of the provincial assembly. Elections are now set to take place in the province within the next three months.

    Maryam Nawaz likely to return back on January 22

    Earlier, it was reported that Maryam is likely to return to Pakistan on January 22.

    According to media reports, the senior leadership of the party decided on Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s return to the political fray while her father, Nawaz Sharif, has given her essential tasks related to the PML-N mobilisation.

    Maryam Nawaz Sharif will be visiting Punjab and meeting senior leaders.

    It is pertinent to mention here that PML-N senior vice president Maryam Nawaz underwent throat surgery in Switzerland. She travelled to Geneva from London where she stayed with her father and brothers.

  • Mickey Arthur set to return as Pakistan’s cricket team head coach, hints Najam Sethi

    Mickey Arthur set to return as Pakistan’s cricket team head coach, hints Najam Sethi

    Mickey Arthur is set to return as Pakistan men cricket team’s head coach for the second time, PCB’s Chairman Najam Sethi hinted on Monday.


    The South African will replace Saqlain Mushtaq whose contract expires next month.


    However, Mickey Arthur’s contract as head coach is still being negotiated. Talking about the hiring, Najam Sethi said at a press conference, “I am personally in negotiations with Mickey and we have resolved 90% of issues,” adding that he has appointed former Test cricketer Haroon Rasheed as the new chief selector, replacing former all-rounder Shahid Afridi who held the post on an interim basis.

    “Hopefully, we will very soon share the news that Mickey will be joining us and I’d like him to build his own team of coaches once he is here,” Sethi told the members of the press.


    Formerly the coach for South Africa, Australia and Sri Lanka, Arthur was in charge of the Pakistan team from 2016 to 2019 when the team won the 2017 Champions Trophy and became the top-ranked T20 team in the world.

    The Johannesburg-born 54-year-old currently has a long-term contract with Derbyshire.

  • PM Shehbaz regrets ‘inconvenience’ to Pakistanis from major power outage

    Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has addressed Monday’s major power breakdown that left most of the country without electricity for more than 12 hours.

    In a tweet, the Premier expressed his “sincere regrets”. He wrote, “On behalf of my government, I would like to express my sincere regrets for the inconvenience our citizens suffered due to the power outage yesterday.”

    He added that an inquiry is going on to determine what led to the sudden blackout.

    A day after the power outage, Minister for Energy Khurram Dastgir said that electricity has been fully restored at grid stations across the country. However, the minister pointed out that there will be a shortage of electricity for the next two days.

    Residents complained of increased load-shedding even after the restoration, laying doubt on the government’s claims that power was fully restored.

    In a televised address on Tuesday, the minister explained said that there was a “delay in synchronisation” between Tarbela and Mangla power plants.

  • India denies visas to 200 Pakistani pilgrims

    India denies visas to 200 Pakistani pilgrims

    Only 249 of the 488 applications for visas to travel to Ajmer Sharif, the shrine of famed Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti in Rajasthan, were accepted by India, Express Tribune has reported.


    Over 200 Pakistani pilgrims were prevented from paying respects to the Sufi saint, according to a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony.


    The official stated that all zaireen have received SMS instructions to travel to Lahore, where they will board their flight to India today (Tuesday).
    Despite the coronavirus no longer being a valid reason to bar International travel, India spent the majority of last year prohibiting Muslim visitors from Pakistan from visiting their country for religious reasons.

  • ‘Tuttay huey dil jayein kahan?’ Shadab Khan is a married man now

    ‘Tuttay huey dil jayein kahan?’ Shadab Khan is a married man now

    Shadab Khan announced on social media platforms on Monday that he has gotten married with the nikah taking place yesterday.
    The cricket player went on to reveal that his wife was his mentor Saqlain Mustaq’s daughter. He requested the media and fans to respect his privacy.

    ‘Salaam everyone. Alhumdulillah today was my nikkah. I am becoming part of my mentor Saqi bhai’s family. When I started playing cricket, I wanted to keep my family life seperate, my family has also opted to stay out of public life. My wife has asked for the same, she wants her life to remain private. I would kindly request everyone to respect her choice and our family’s choice. However, if you want to send salami, I will send an account number.”

    As shaadi season goes on, the list of broken heart girlies keeps growing on and on. The past weeks have seen Haris Rauf, Shan Masood and now Shadab getting married in quick succession. Soon Shaheen Shah Afridi will also be tying the knot. Sending our condolences to fan girls everywhere.

    https://twitter.com/CuteHunYar/status/1617764272096018432?s=20&t=ePTRkqxMFwsLRzhMO7-mLg
  • ICC rescinds ‘below average’ rating for Rawalpindi pitch

    ICC rescinds ‘below average’ rating for Rawalpindi pitch

    The Rawalpindi pitch’s demerit point after the ICC World Test Championship series between Pakistan and England’s first game has now been rescinded.

    Following a Pakistan Cricket Board appeal, the decision was made. After the first Test of the series in early December, the pitch grade at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium was deemed to be “below average.”

    England won the Test by 74 runs after some exciting batting. The pitch was later described as “embarrassing” by PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja, and Andy Pycroft of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees agreed.

    “It was a very flat pitch which gave almost no assistance to any type of bowler,” Pycroft said. “That was the main reason why batters scored very fast and both sides posted huge totals. 

    “The pitch hardly deteriorated during the course of the match. Since there was very little in it for the bowlers, I found the pitch to be ‘below average’ as per the ICC guidelines.”

    The ICC appeal panel, however, came to the unanimous conclusion that the pitch had some “redeeming features” after studying the Test Match film, including the fact that a result was feasible and that 37 out of 39 wickets were taken.

    The appeal panel concluded that the pitch did not deserve the “below average” grade it had previously received.

    The venue had previously faced the possibility of having its right to hold international cricket matches suspended due to the number of demerit points it had received.

  • Najam Sethi appoints Haroon Rasheed as the new chief selector of Pakistan men’s cricket team

    Najam Sethi appoints Haroon Rasheed as the new chief selector of Pakistan men’s cricket team

    Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management committee Najam Sethi on Monday announced the appointment of men’s national team chief selector, Haroon Rasheed, who is a former Test cricketer.

    Haroon represented Pakistan in 23 Tests and 12 ODIs and was also a member of Shahid Afridi-led selection committee appointed only for the home series against New Zealand.

    Haroon Rasheed also served as national men’s team chief selector in 2015 World Cup. He was also the manager of the Pakistan Cricket Team from 2003 to 2005.

    In a press conference, Najam Sethi said, “I think Haroon is the best man for this job. I have worked with him. He is a competent individual and I have given him a free hand to make his team and take decisions.”

    PCB reportedly wanted Afridi to continue as the chief selector; however, the former all-rounder refused a permanent role, citing personal commitments.

  • ‘The fault in our taars’; Electricity will come and go but Pakistan’s meme game will stay

    ‘The fault in our taars’; Electricity will come and go but Pakistan’s meme game will stay

    Pakistanis woke up to a nationwide power breakdown and utter confusion regarding about what is going on. But don’t worry, we got you covered.
    According to a statement released by the Energy Minister, the power outrage has gripped parts of Pakistan , begun when the country’s National Grid went out at 7: 30 am, “causing a widespread breakdown in the power system”, as per the tweet.

    But if the lights are down, it means more meme material for Pakistanis. Any time a national crisis takes place, find your refuge on Twitter, among some of the hilarious reactions churning out since this morning.

    Group chat is on fire today

    https://twitter.com/Usman27849070/status/1617406619289092096?s=20&t=CSjykoQlY4PN1IUUQrX4Vg

    Ok that’s harsh

    https://twitter.com/penduProduction/status/1617420137904095233?s=20&t=CSjykoQlY4PN1IUUQrX4Vg

    Happy ghum hour everyone

  • Jemima Goldsmith shares the inspiration behind film ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’

    Jemima Goldsmith shares the inspiration behind film ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’

    Screenwriter and producer Jemima Goldsmith has revealed that she came upon the idea to make the film ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’ after living in Pakistan and observing arranged marriage committees, which would look for spouses for people.

    “The film kind of started as a joke with my friends who were in their thirties, when i came back to the UK after having lived in Pakistan in those years,” Jemima said on Australian show Project TV.
    “My ex-husband’s family is quite conservative so I lived in a joint family household. I lived with his father, his sisters, their husbands and kids. There were about 24 of us, living under the same house, and all our kids,” she revealed about her marriage to former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Jemima and the cricket hero divorced in _ after __ years of marriage.
    “I did get to see arranged marriages up close, long term ones and ones that were arranged that I was on the committee for. And some of them were like surprisingly, to me, with my pre-conceptions, happy and successful. So when I came back in my thirties, my friends were at the point where they were hoping to settle down, have kids, get married, maybe not get married. We would say if you had seen functional parents..who would they choose for you and would it work? And it became a conversation point, and I think there’s quite a lot to be said for like simmer then boil and walking into love or falling in love. And the idea that they always used to say ‘Love comes at the end of the beginning of marriage’, which is a completely different point of view,” she said.
    Jemima also described the film as ‘the rom-com Pakistan’, showing the colorful, vibrant side of the country that Western audiences don’t often see on the screen
    “It’s the rom-com Pakistan aside from the darkness of politics. It’s the jazz-hands version of Pakistan. Which is nice to show because you don’t often kind to see the colorful, vibrant Pakistan we’re much more used to seeing Pakistanis and Pakistan as a kind of darker place on our screens particularly in the US and the UK.. So it’s nice to show the version of Pakistan that I grew to love.”

    ‘What’s Love Got To Do With?’ releases in cinemas on 24th February.

    You can watch the full interview below:

  • Two transgender activists barred from Fly Dubai plane because of X gender

    Two transgender activists barred from Fly Dubai plane because of X gender

    Transgender activist Shahzadi Rai has said on Friday that Fly Dubai had barred her and another transgender activist from travelling on their flight.
    Rai took to Twitter to share her experience with Fly Dubai stating that she and her Project Manager Zarish were barred from travelling from Karachi to Dubai because of her X gender.
    The activist who works with the Gender Interactive Alliance narrated the incident in a video clip.

    “We had a flight to attend our annual meeting, me and my project manager, Zarish. But they cancelled our ticket because we had written X in our gender category. This is extremely transphobic.”

    In the next tweet, Rai shared a screenshot of her flight ticket and wrote that although transgender people are a part of mainstream community in other countries, it was shocking to witness Fly Dubai indulge in transphobic behavior.
    “Transgender persons are part of the main stream in other countries but Fly Dubai doesn’t allow x-gender cards to travel, Transphobic behaviour by Fly Dubai, if they don’t allow us to travel on their plane, why did they issue a ticket.”

    Since this post was uploaded yesterday, many transgender activists and otter public figures have criticized the airline. Transgender activists like Mehrub Moiz Awan and Hina Baloch slammed Fly Dubai on their twitter accounts, and have called for Pakistan’s Foreign Office to address the matter.

    Fly Dubai has yet to issue a statement regarding the matter.