Author: Ali Qasim

PM IMRAN KHAN TESTS New ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINE (EVM).

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan witnessed a detailed demonstration of a new locally-made electronic voting machine (EVM). Federal Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz along with the officials of his ministry gave a detailed briefing to PM Imran Khan about the working of the electronic voting machine (EVM).

Shibli Faraz said there is no need for internet connectivity for the EVMs, the software used is in the machine is of international standard, he added.

On the occasion, PM Imran Khan witnessed a detailed demonstration of the EVM and also cast his vote. The premier also congratulated Shibli Faraz and his team for producing such EVMs.

Earlier in the month of June, Prime Minister Imran Khan had reiterated the incumbent government’s resolve to ensure transparency in the electoral process in the country.

The premier also instructed that the process of electoral reforms, electronic voting and voting rights for overseas Pakistanis be completed at the earliest.

Coronologue Awards Ceremony to be held on 11 August

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Justice (rtd) Nasira Javed Iqbal will present second “Coronologue Awards to the winners of Ajoka’s Coronologue Short Film Festival on 11th August at an online ceremony. The awards were announced by Babar Ali Foundation’s Syeda Henna Babar Ali last week. The first prize of Rs 75,000 will be awarded to Sibte Hassan for his short film “Hero” while Moizah Jilani of Karachi will get second prize of Rs 50,000 for her “Distant Relations”. The winner of the third prize is Junaid Arif for his short film “ Abbu”. Elsa Shabir(Lahore) and Mahnoor Samad (Peshawar) will get special mention.

The jury for the competition consisted of eminent showbiz personalities including film scholar Aijazz Gul, playwright Asghar Nadeem Syed, film producer Rashid Khawaja, actor Savera Nadeem and Ajoka Chairperson Zara Salman.

Ajoka Executive Director Shahid Nadeem said that Ajoka had held the second “Coronologue” after the success of last year’s Coronologue Online Theatre Festival. The objective was to encourage innovative artistic responses to the psychological, emotional, social or political impact of the unprecedented pandemic. He hoped that the encouragement will inspire the winners to focus on creative quality work and produce meaningful productions in future.

Ajoka Institute Director Nirvaan Nadeem said that Ajoka is committed to encourage the young talent and provide quality entertainment to audience with meaningful productions. The film produced during the festival carries the same spirit and will be released on Ajoka’s social media channels soon.

The awards ceremony will be held at 5 pm on Wednesday 11 August and live-streamed on Facebook.

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KPL 2021: RawalaKot Hawks defeat Mirpur Royals by 43 runs in first encounter.

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

The first edition of much talked bout Kashmir premiere league has begun and RawalaKot Hawks have defeated the Mirpur Royals by 43 runs in the first match of the Kashmir Premier League (KPL) on Friday.

The Mirpur Royals had won the toss and put the Rawalakot Hawks to bat in the event opener. Hawks put in an excellent show by setting a 195-run target for the Royals.

Ahmed Shahzad’s batting feat was the highlight of the innings as he blitzed 69 off 42 balls followed by Bismillah Khan who scored 59 off 34 balls for the team. Captain Shahid Afridi also came up with 16 runs off five balls.Hawks have Arshad Khan as the head coach.

Amad clinched three wickets and gave out merely 20 runs, followed by Salman who targeted two Royals and gave away 35 runs. Khushdil secured one wicket.

Led by former Pakistani skipper Shoaib Malik with Inzamamul Haq as head coach, the Mirpur Royals could not chase the target. Skipper Shoaib Malik hit 74 runs off 50 balls, followed by Amad who could score 22 runs off 15 deliveries.

Hawks’ Zaman, Afridi and Asif got two wickets apiece.

The league has six franchises — Rawalakot Hawks, Kotli Lions, Mirpur Royals, Muzaffarabad Tigers, Overseas Warriors, and Bagh Stallions — who are contesting for the prestigious trophy in 18 matches till August 17.

COVID-19 on the rise. CLAIMS 95 LIVES in a single day

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

The COVID-19 claimed 95 more lives across Pakistan in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll from the disease to 23,797, the NCOC said, adding that 4,275 people are in critical condition.

Pakistan has reported 4,720 new COVID-19 cases during the past 24 hours, ARY News reported quoting the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) on Saturday.

The NCOC said that the country’s number of overall confirmed cases has risen to 1,063,125, including 959,491recoveries, adding that the positivity rate of infections was recorded at 8.24 per cent.

Overall 16,393,404 tests have been conducted so far to diagnose the deadly virus in Pakistan including 57,233 in the past 24 hours.

Sindh province is the most affected region of the country with 396,918 infections, followed by the Punjab province which has reported 362,557 cases.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remains third on the list with 147,452 cases. Islamabad, 90,093, Balochistan, 31,069, AJK, 26,086 and GB have reported 8,615 new infections, so far.

IHC CJ inquires about justification of Ban on TIKTOK.

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) asked the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to formulate a mechanism regarding the operations of video-sharing app Tiktok in Pakistan and consult the federal government, rather than take a unilateral decision to ban the app.

“The PTA should never have banned Tiktok without consulting the federal government,” it observed, also asking the PTA: “What authority do you have to completely ban the app?”

The case, against the suspension of the app, was heard by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minhallah. Justice Minallah asked the PTA counsel to provide a reason for banning TikTok, adding that “if banning TikTok is the only solution, then Google should be banned too”.

The PTA lawyer responded by saying that the Peshawar and Sindh High Courts had issued orders to ban the app and formulate a mechanism to stop inappropriate content from circulating on the app.

At this, the chief justice asked the counsel to read out the orders of the high courts. He then pointed out that neither court had ordered that the app be completely banned in the country.

“Such videos are circulated on YouTube as well. Will you shut down YouTube too?” Justice Minallah asked. He said PTA should instead “guide people not to watch inappropriate content”.

“Apps are a means of livelihood and entertainment for people,” the chief justice added.

Justice MinaAllah said that the PTA had “misused the orders” from both courts and demanded to know if the actual orders, which pertained to developing a mechanism, had even be followed. “You were asked to develop a mechanism. Did you make one?”

The chief justice further asked why other social media apps had not then been banned based on the grounds Tiktok was banned. The hearing was adjourned till August 23.

Jannat Mirza rides dune buggy in Skardu, Video goel viral on social media

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Jannat Mirza will never disappoint if you are looking for fun TikToks to liven up your day. A video of Jannat has been doing the rounds. It shows her riding a dune buggy in Skardu.

“Take me back to Skardu, please,” she wrote.

Jannat’s TikToks with Umer Butt are very popular. Both have been the talk of the town since Jannat confirmed the news of their “baat pakki”. Rumours of their engagement were circulating in May but Jannat denied the reports, saying she’ll tell everyone when everything has been confirmed.

With over 16 million followers and 488 million likes, Jannat is the most popular TikToker in Pakistan.

Domestic Violence During COVID-19 Pandemic, SOC Films releases the 4th animated film.

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

This is the fourth and final animated film from the Siyani Sahelian Series. SOC Films released the fourth and final animated film Domestic Violence During COVID-19 Pandemic from the “Siyani Sahelian” animation series, as part of the collaborative program with Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi.

Launched in March 2018, Siyani Sahelian aims to tackle gender inequality for disadvantaged out of school adolescent girls (aged 9-19) in 480 towns and villages spread across the three districts of south Punjab: Muzaffargarh, Bahawalpur, and Rahim Yar Khan.

Following the rise in domestic violence cases against women in Pakistan due to COVID-19 restrictions, this fourth and final animated short film in the series produced by SOC Films attempts to deconstruct and address some of the issues arising from this disturbing trend. While the world over is dealing with the severe fallout from the COVID-19 virus, spaces outside the home are no longer as easily accessible for women as before. The main character Asghari, along with her parents, discuss ways in which women and girls can deal with potential situations of abuse that can take place, whilst highlighting the importance of carrying out joint responsibilities at home for the whole family.

The animated film Domestic Violence During COVID-19 Pandemic can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/q1-q2OgvBkQ

The fourth animated film has been scripted by Safyah Usmani with animation by Kulsum Ibrahim, editing by Nina Zehri and Meer Farhad Jamali, and voiceovers by Rabia Kiran Rajput, Mariam Rizvi and Ali Akbar.

Indeed, to-date, Siyani Sahelian has empowered 36,000+ out of school adolescent girls in South Punjab through post primary opportunities for learning gains, TVET [Technical and Vocational Education and Training], livelihoods and life skills. As part of the outreach for this collaborative program, SOC Films also produced 4 short animated films for public screenings.

Indeed, SOC Films hopes to continue to implement sustainable community engagement programs to positively impact the lives of Pakistani youth.

Long wait Ends: New Zealand confirms Pakistan’s tour after 18 years

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) have confirmed their tour to Pakistan after long 18 years, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed on Thursday.

According to the announced schedule, New Zealand will tour Pakistan to play three ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League ODIs and five T20Is in September-October.

Rawalpindi’s Pindi Cricket Stadium will host the three ODIs on 17, 19 and 21 September, whereas Gaddafi Stadium will stage the five T20Is from 25 September to 3 October.

The ICC World Test Championship winners will return to Pakistan next year to play Test matches.

New Zealand will be the first side to visit Pakistan in what will be a bumper 2021-22 season for the local cricket fans and supporters. Following New Zealand’s tour, England’s men and women sides will play white-ball matches in Pakistan before West Indies are expected to arrive in Karachi in December for three ODIs and three T20Is. Australia is scheduled to undertake a full tour in February/March 2022.

It must be noted here that New Zealand last toured Pakistan in November 2003 when they played five ODIs. A year before, their last Test appearance in Pakistan was at the Gaddafi Stadium in May 2002.

Series schedule

11 Sep – Arrival in Islamabad
12-14 Sep – Room isolation
15-16 Sep – Training/practice/intra-squad match
17 Sep – 1st ODI, Rawalpindi
19 Sep – 2nd ODI, Rawalpindi
21 Sep – 3rd ODI, Rawalpindi
25 Sep – 1st T20I, Lahore
26 Sep – 2nd T20I, Lahore
29 Sep – 3rd T20I, Lahore
1 Oct – 4th T20I, Lahore
3 Oct – 5th T20I, Lahore

 

Shehroze Kashif visited the IMGC’s LHR Office.

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Shehroze Kashif, world’s youngest climber to summit K-2, second highest peak in the world visited the Lahore Office of International Multi group of companies (IMGC) today.

Mr. Abid Rasheed Sheikh senior representative from IMGC, welcomed the young icon and congratulated him to becoming the pride of the Nation. Shehroze Kashif visited different sections of the office and passed some time with Office management and staff.

Shehroze Kashif is the youngest Pakistani to summit Everest on 11 May 2021. He climbed Everest at the age of 19.After the successful summit of Mount Everest, Pakistan sports Board made him the youth ambassador of Punjab , Pakistan.

He summited Broad Peak (another 8000-meter mountain) at the age of 17, after which he was called “The Broad Boy”. He started climbing mountains at the age of 11 with the first one being Makra Peak, followed by Musa ka Musalla and Chembra Peak at age 12, Mingli Sar in Shimshal age 13 and Khurdopin Pass at age 15 and Khusar Gang in alpine style at 18 years of age.

COVID-19 positivity rate goes over 9% for first time in 3 months.

Posted on by Ali Qasim

Lahore (Nut-Desk)

Pakistan’s COVID-19 positivity rate jumped to 9.06% Thursday morning, marking the first time in nearly three months that the country has recorded a positivity rate over 9%. Last time, the country last recorded a coronavirus positivity rate of 9.12% on May 10.

The National Command and Operation Centre’s (NCOC) latest data showed a rapid increase in the number of daily cases and deaths and active cases as Pakistan continues its fight against a deadly fourth wave of the virus. The NCOC reported 5,661 new coronavirus infections over the last 24 hours after 62,462 tests were taken.

Another 60 people died of the COVID-19, pushing the national death tally to 23,635. The number of active cases are 77,409. The number of recovered patients stands at 952,616 and the total cases of the country are 1,053,660, NCOC’s stats showed.

According to a province-wise breakdown, the total number of cases in Sindh has reached 392,433, 146,485 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 360,494 in Punjab, 89,117 in Islamabad, 30,880 in Balochistan, 25,778 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 8,473 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Sindh is currently under a lockdown till August 8, while the Punjab and AJK governments, too, have imposed a partial lockdown. Punjab’s lockdown covers Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan and Faisalabad.