Author: Ali Qasim

PSX gearing up to launch new trading system this month

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) is all set to make a newly acquired trading platform — which has been bought from Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) — fully operational this month, PSX chief executive Farrukh H Khan told .

The SZSE — the third-largest stock market in the world in terms of trading value — holds a 40% stake in the PSX and is one of China’s three stock exchanges. Pakistan had signed a $5 million contract in November 2019 with SZSE to acquire the trading and surveillance system to improve its operational and technological level.

According to details, the CEO said that the launch is expected within the month of October. Initially, it was scheduled to be introduced in March but there were certain requirements that “our stakeholders had requested to accommodate in the trading system which now has been implemented”, he said.

The new trading system will make trading at PSX more transparent and attractive, bringing the stock market on par with international stock exchanges.

“The system will vastly improve the capabilities of our trading and abilities to introduce new products like options,” Khan said.

“We will have a proper surveillance system and the robustness of the much better system.”

While speaking to the international publication, the CEO said that the downgrading by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) of the Pakistan Indexes was because of the size of the market capitalisation which has declined.

It is pertinent to mention here that in September the MSCI reclassified the MSCI Pakistan Indexes from its Emerging Market Index (EMI) to Frontier Markets Index (FMI).

In 2017, the benchmark KSE-100 had surpassed the 53,000-point mark with market capitalisation worth $100 billion. However, market capitalisation has dropped over the years to $45 billion including a 17% decline in the last four months.

Khan said: “Rising oil prices, which doubled in recent days, Afghanistan’s situation, interest rate hike and rupee remained under pressure and MSCI reclassification generally has created negative impacts in the equity market.”

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PCB Hall of Fame honours Fazal Mahmood, Abdul Qadir .

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Former captains Fazal Mahmood and Abdul Qadir have been inducted into the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Hall of Fame posthumously.

According to a statement issued by PCB on Saturday, the two stalwarts have joined Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Zaheer Abbas, who were the initial inductees to the PCB Hall of Fame by virtue of being part of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket Hall of Fame.

Mahmood and Qadir were inducted following a “transparent voting process”, according to the PCB.

The PCB cricket committee — which includes Saleem Yousuf (chair), Ali Naqvi, Umar Gul, Urooj Mumtaz and Wasim Akram — was involved in finalising the short-list comprising players who were retired from international cricket for at least five years, the statement added.

Subsequently, a 13-person independent voting panel — comprising three ICC Cricket Hall of Famers, four former Pakistan captains and six respected members of the print and electronic media — was constituted to take part in the voting process, which was overseen by an internal auditor who also confirmed the results in favour of the inductees.

The formal inductions of all the eight PCB Hall of Famers will take place during the ongoing season.

Reacting to the development, PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja said: “It is befitting that Fazal Mahmood and Abdul Qadir, legends from two different eras, be voted by their peers and admirers into the PCB Hall of Fame for 2021.”

“This is a testament to their enormous popularity and is also a recognition of their services to this great game,” he added.

“Mahmood’s heroics in the early days introduced Pakistan cricket to the world as a force to be reckoned with and later inspired the next generations of fast bowlers,” he said, adding that the wily, crafty and magical Abdul Qadir revived and reignited the slowly vanishing art of wrist-spin bowling.

“Fazal Mahmood and Abdul Qadir are all-time greats and truly outstanding ambassadors for Pakistan and global cricket. This is just a small token of our appreciation and gratitude towards their contributions.”

Fazal Mahmood

Fazal Mahmood, considered the first superstar of Pakistan cricket, was born on February 18, 1927 in Lahore and took 139 wickets in 34 Tests from 1952 to 1962, including five wickets in an innings 13 times and 10 wickets or more in a match four times. However, his first-class career had commenced eight years earlier when he represented Northern India in the Ranji Trophy. By the time he hung his boots after the 1963-64 season, he had grabbed 466 wickets in 112 matches.

Abdul Qadir

Abdul Qadir, boasting a bouncy, enthusiastic run-up with a left elbow high and flicking the ball from hand to hand, took 236 wickets (five wickets in an innings 15 times and 10 wickets in a match five-time) and scored 1,029 runs in 67 Tests from 1977 to 1990. He also demonstrated that leg-spin could be highly effective in one-day cricket by claiming 132 wickets and scoring 641 runs in 104 ODIs from 1983 to 1993. In 209 first-class matches from 1975-76 to 1995-96, he captured 960 wickets and scored 3,740 runs, including two centuries.

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T20 World Cup: Sania Mirza said bye bye to Instagram .

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Tennis star Sania Mirza, the wife of former Pakistan cricket captain and all-rounder Shoaib Malik, is planning to “disappear” from social media on the day Pakistan faces India in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

Sharing a reel on her Instagram account, the star player wrote: “Me disappearing from social media and toxicity on India vs Pakistan match day.”

“Bye Bye,” Mirza captioned the reel.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CVFkcBzjzDa/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=b4ecc9d9-63ce-4ea0-9966-1b5abd315fab

The qualifying rounds for the T20 World Cup are starting from tomorrow, October 17. The main rounds will kick off next Saturday, October 23.

Pakistan is set to lock horns with arch-rival India in a high-voltage clash at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on October 24.

A-Sports: Pakistan’s first HD sports channel goes on air

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

A-Sports, Pakistan’s first HD sports channel, was launched on Saturday in a ceremony attended by President and CEO ARY Digital Network, Mr Salman Iqbal, and hosted by Fakhr-e-Alam.

Speaking on the occasion, Salman Iqbal said that the channel, first of its kind in Pakistan, will not only promote cricket but every single professional sport being played in the country.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVGJhcuoz1S/

Salman Iqbal, who also owns Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Karachi Kings, was of the view that he always wanted to promote local sports and athletes and wanted  to give them ample opportunity to showcase themselves at a bigger platform.

“A-Sports is behind this cause, through this channel, we will try to promote every single sport in the country,” said Salman Iqbal.

Salman Iqbal revealed that A-Sports will also telecast next year’s T20 World Cup and ICC ODI World Cup 2023.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVF_AIsIkct/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=235813af-853c-44a4-9498-73fce7893495

The launch ceremony was also attended by noted playwright and satirist Anwar Maqsood along with legendary cricketers including Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis, former captain Misbah-ul-Haq and pacer Wahab Riaz. The channel will telecast the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, starting from October 17, Sunday. A-Sports viewers will also be able to watch pre-match and post-match analysis by legendary cricketers Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis,Misbah-ul-Haq and pacer Wahab Riaz.

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Shahid Nadeem’s plays published in INDIA.

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Ajoka theatre’s plays have been a source of socially relevant and meaningful entertainment for the audience across the borders and now two books featuring the original plays written by Ajoka’s Shahid Nadeem have been published in India. A collection of 15 plays titled “Shahid Nadeem de Natak”, transliterated in Gurumukhi by Dr. Arvinder Dhaliwal has been published by Chetna Parkashan publishers in Ludhiana.

The plays transliterated in Gurumukhi includes Dara, Bulha, Lo Phir Basant Aaey, Teesri Dastak, Jhalli Kithay Javay, Barri, Dukh Darya, Mera Rang day Basanti Chola, Kaun Hai yeh Gustakh, Anhi Maai Da Sufna and Aik thi Nani. “Plays from a Fractured Land” is a collection of plays highlighting the traumatic incidents of partition of Punjab. It also includes the creations of eminent playwrights writers like Gursharan Singh Suarajbir, Atamjit Singh, Ajmer Singh Aulakh and Pali Bhupender Singh.

The second book is an English-language anthology “Plays from a Fractured Land”, edited by Atamjit Singh, and published by Sahitya Akademy, New Delhi. The anthology includes Shahid’s “ Dukh Darya”. It is the story of Shehnaz and her daughter, skillfully interwoven with stories of the suffering of women, based on historical events and mythology to create a powerful and tragic narrative.

Atamjit Singh in his forward says :

“Shahid, in experiencing the pain of Partition, transcends the geographical and religious barriers of both the countries. River of Sorrow is a quintessential Punjabi play which talks of the oppression as well as magnanimity of the Punjabis; it is history as well as myth; and, it represents real politics as well as cultural realities…Nadeem’s composition is not linear, it is a very intricate inter-text, multi-layered and polyphonous. This is how it operates at multiple levels; it is about the Partition, trauma, suffering and women. The hegemony of feudal and patriarchal cultural mores in both Punjabs is responsible for the plight of women… Shahid Nadeem’s River of Sorrow is a unique text.”

Ajoka’s executive director Shahid Nadeem acknowledged the collaboration with the Indian theatre and literary community and stressed that cultural exchanges and partnerships are very important in normalizing the tensions. He hoped that Ajoka’s plays will provide a clear understanding of major social issues and the shared cultural heritage between the two countries.

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T20 World Cup: Babar Azam-led squad leaves for Dubai

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DES)

The Pakistani T20 World Cup squad, led by skipper Babar Azam left for Dubai on Friday for the much-anticipated cricket event.

The Shaheens, as the national cricket squad is properly known, flew from Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport for the UAE in a chartered plane today.

The men in green will have to stay in quarantine for a day in the UAE.

Pakistan is scheduled to play two warm-up matches against the West Indies and South Africa on October 18 and 20, respectively.

The Pakistani team, along with their family members and support staff were taken to the airport under high security.

Millions of fans will be eager to witness Pakistan begin their bid for the trophy with a high-octane clash against arch rival India on October 24 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The two neighbours will come face-to-face for the first time since their 2019, 50-over World Cup fixture at Manchester, and this will be the sixth time they will compete in the global T20 tournament.

Two days later, Pakistan, the champions of the 2009 edition, will play Kane Williamson’s New Zealand at the historic Sharjah Cricket Stadium, before returning to Dubai to play Afghanistan for the first time in a T20 World Cup, on October 29.

In their last two matches of the Super 12 stage, which will feature the top eight T20 teams and four teams who secure qualification from Round 1, Pakistan, who have played the most matches (36) in the UAE for an international side and have won 21 of them, will play the runner-up of Group A and winners of Group B on November 2 and 7, at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium and Sharjah Cricket Stadium, respectively.

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Pakistan ranks 2nd for number of videos removed by TikTok

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Pakistan ranks second when it comes to the number of videos removed by TikTok from its platform in the second quarter of 2021 for violation of community guidelines.

According to a statement by TikTok, the latest Community Guidelines Report states that more than 81 million videos were removed from the short-form video platform in this period.

“With 9,851,404 videos removed, Pakistan ranked second in the world for largest volume of videos taken down for community guidelines violations in Q2 2021,” the statement said.

Key stats from the report

According to TikTok, to protect the safety of the community and the integrity of the platform, 81,518,334 videos were removed globally from April to June, comprising less than 1% of all uploaded content.

Of these, 93% were removed within 24 hours of posting and 94.1% before being reported by a user. Even more promising, was the finding that 87.5% of removed content had zero views.

Looking more closely at the findings, 73.3% of content promoting harassment and bullying videos and 72.9% focused on hateful behaviour were removed prior to being reported, a significant increase from the 66.2% and 67% respectively, from the first quarter of this year.

How TikTok monitors, manages negative content

“The improvement stems from the pioneering combination of technology and content moderation by a dedicated investigations team used to identify videos that violate policies,” said TikTok.

“To better enforce these policies, moderators also receive regular training to identify content featuring reappropriation, slurs and bullying,” it added.

Empowering users

The platform also announced improved mute settings for comments and questions during live streams, whereby hosts can temporarily mute select viewers for anywhere between a few seconds to the entire duration of the live session.

Once muted, the user’s entire comment history will also be removed, in addition to the existing option to turn off comments or limit potentially harmful comments using a keyword filter.

Further to the removal of negative content, TikTok empowers users to customise their experience with a range of tools and resources, including effective ways to filter comments on their content, delete or report multiple comments at once, and block accounts in bulk, the statement said.

More recently, prompts have been introduced to urge users to consider the impact of their words before posting unkind or violative comments. This has already proven effective with nearly four in 10 people withdrawing or editing their comments, according to TikTok.

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Pakistan’s new social media rules explained

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

On October 13, the government notified new online rules for Pakistani citizens and social media companies operating in Pakistan.

So what exactly do the ‘Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content Rules, 2021’ state?

As per the new ambit of the rules, any content posted online will be removed or blocked if it is against:

  • the “glory of Islam”
  • the “security of Pakistan”
  • “public order”, which means that if online content contains any “fake or false information that threatens public order, public health and public safety”
  • “decency and morality”
  • “integrity and defence of Pakistan”

The aggrieved complaint, who could be an individual or a government agency or department, can file a complaint with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and in some cases, the identity of the complainant will be kept confidential if it may result in “harming, harassing or defaming the complainant.”

On receiving a complaint, the Authority will have 30 days to decide on the matter. After which, the Authority will give the social media company 48 hours to comply, and in case of emergencies only 12 hours.

If the social company fails to comply, it will have to provide a written explanation within 48 hours, otherwise its services will be degrade or the entire online information system blocked or it will be fined a penalty of up to Rs5 million.

Under the new rules, social media companies are required to provide to the investigation agency any information, data and content in “decrypted, readable and [a] comprehensible format”.

Social media companies are also required to set up a mechanism that ensures the immediate blocking of live streaming, particularly if it is related to terrorism, hate speech, pornographic content or if it is detrimental to national security.

The new rules further mandate social media companies register with the PTA within three months and establish an office in Pakistan, with a physical address, preferably located in Islamabad.

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Saba Qamar became police officer for upcoming project ‘Serial Killer’

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DES)

Saba Qamar fans, rejoice!

The multi-talented actor, who is praised for essaying versatile roles, is back with yet another promising project.

Turning to her Instagram on Friday, Saba announced her all-new project after a long hiatus, titled Serial Killer.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CVCuck5s-lw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

“بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم  I am very elated to announce my new project #Serialkiller Couldn’t say no to another promising script after #Maat, written & offered by our intellectual genius @umeraahmed.official Producer @misbah116,” captioned Saba Qamar alongside a photo of herself channeling the police avatar.

Saba Qamar’s new project is written by none other than Umera Ahmed. Serial Killer comes as her second collaboration with the script writer after Maat.

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Akcent band member Adrian Sina to spend holidays in Hunza

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (NUT-DES)

Akcent band member Adrian Claudiu Sînă will be arriving in Pakistan where he will be spending holidays in Hunza.

The artist made the announcement of his arrival in a Twitter video for his fans. In his Twitter clip, Akcent said that he wants to prove that Pakistan is a safe place for travel.

“Hello Pakistan,” Sînă said in the clip. “This time I have decided to spend some of my holidays in Hunza Pakistan to show the world that Pakistan is a safe and beautiful country.”

Akcent band’s fans in Pakistan extended their greetings and gave a warm welcome to the award-winning artist.

In past, Romanian band Akcent’s member Adrian Sina met former DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor over a cup of tea.