5:25 AM
US A MA
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| Fawwad Khan with his wife |
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| Mahira Khan with her family |
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| Mahira Khan with her husband |
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| Mahira's husband & son |
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| Fawwad with his son |
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| Fawwad Khan and his wife |
Jobless plus Hopeless
An interesting thing one executive said was that there is no shame in work, but there's plenty of shame in waiting for charity.
The Ultimate Currency War
After the 2008 financial crisis, the liquidity trap induced policymakers to venture in unconventional endeavors. On the fiscal front, much has been discussed regarding the effectiveness of fiscal policy to pull developed countries out of the sluggish recovery.
Not giving Gold Medals in KU Annual convocation 2011 -A very good Decision
Its a very good decision by KU Administration to not giving gold medals to the position holders because everyone knows how they got positions in their respective discipline. Karachi University administration said that due to unavailability of sponsors we are unable to give gold medals to position holders.The main cause behind no interest of sponsors in giving sponsorship for gold medal might be they knows about checking system in KU.They have seen that what KU's gold medalist do in market after passing out.
A mighty question mark on PML-N " Merit Laptop Scheme"
All Pakistan knows better that what is the main motive behind these "SASTI ROTI" and "MERIT LAPTOPS" schemes.Just "1" vote from every individuals.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Drama Humsafar cast with theri family members
Radio Tax of Rs. 2 on Rs. 100 Mobile Card Proposed
Media reports are suggesting that a parliamentary committee on Information and Broadcasting is considering to impose Radio Tax of Rs. 2 per each Rs. 100 card to be deducted on all reloads.
Reportedly, Information Minister Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan was present in the committee meeting and that she was so concerned about national radio that she proposed Rs. 2 to be deducted from each card of Rs. 100 in account of Radio tax.
Media, citing Dr. Awan, said that this tax will be applicable after annual budget 2011-12.
Telecom industry has immediately responded and termed this kind of collection a nonsense. They said that Telecom industry isn’t responsible for an organization which is sinking for its own reasons.
“Telecom operators won’t become collection service for the government, we will severely oppose this”, said an official of a mobile company. He rather proposed government to use utility bills for any kind of charity collection.
If imposed, Telecom industry to going to get a hit on their businesses.
Mobile phone operators are already paying highest taxes in Pakistan, as compared to other sectors. In addition, mobile subscribers are also bearing several kind of service charges.
It merits mentioning here that telecom subscribers, last year, had to pay 1.5 percent additional withholding tax named as flood surcharge.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Price hike: Petrol bomb expected in 7 days
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| Secretary Petroleum and Natural Resources Muhammad Ejaz Chaudhry on Wednesday revealed that petroleum prices will see a major hike in seven days. DESIGN: JAHANZAIB HAQUE |
ISLAMABAD: Secretary Petroleum and Natural Resources Muhammad Ejaz Chaudhry on Wednesday revealed that petroleum prices will see a major hike in seven days, Express News reported.
Chaudhry was briefing the parliamentary committee on oil prices. The meeting was chaired by Rana Tanveer, who later walked out in protest over the upcoming price hike.
The petroleum secretary had informed the committee that keeping in view global prices, the government will have to raise the rates accordingly.
Tanveer said that the government gave them “lollipops” every time and the prices would still keep going up. He walked out of the meeting in protest.
Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh then arrived and tried to take the committee into confidence over the decision.
Two politicians beaten and stabbed to death in India
Two political leaders from a communist party in India’s eastern state of West Bengal were killed Wednesday, allegedly by activists from the ruling party, a news report said. The politicians, who belonged to the state’s opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), were beaten and stabbed by a crowd in the Burdwan district, area police chief SH Mirza told the IANS news agency. Four people had been arrested in connection with the killings, Mirza said.
قرآن کی شہادت پر احتجاج کرنے 15 افغانوں کو امریکی فوج نے شہید کردیا
افغانستان میں امریکی فوجیوں کے ہاتھوں قران پاک کی بے حرمتی پر ملک بھر میں امریکا مخالف مظاہرے جاری ہیں ،مظاہرے میں فائرنگ سے ہلاکتوں کی تعداد15 ہوگئی۔ حکام کے مطابق شنوار ضلع میں ملٹری بیس کے سامنے مظاہرین پر فائر کھول دئیے گئے ، جس سے 13افراد شہید اور 10 سے زائد زخمی ہوئے، صوبائی ترجمان روشنا خالد کے مطابق احتجاج میں مشتعل مظاہرین نے پولیس پر پتھر پھینکے ، مشرقی شہر جلال آباد میں جھڑپوں کے دوران دو افراد شہید اور کئی زخمی ہوئے۔ مشتعل مظاہرین نے کاروں اور دکانوں کو بھی آگ لگا دی تھی ،کابل میں امریکی سفارتخانہ مکمل طور پر بند کردیا گیا ہے اور تمام تر سفر بھی معطل ہے۔ کئی جگہوں پر شدید جھڑپوں کی اطلاعات مسلسل موصول ہو رہی ہیں اور مرنے والوں کی تعداد بڑھنے کا امکان ہے۔
Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan confronts arrest for assault
Mumbai: Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan has been slapped with a case of assault for allegedly punching a businessman, Iqbal Sharma at a Mumbai restaurant on Tuesday night.
The scuffle reportedly occurred when Khan, his girlfriend actress Kareena Kapoor and his friends were dining at a posh restaurant and were asked to lower their voice by a businessman seated at a table next to them.
According to reports, Khan and his friends have been booked under sections 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and could even be arrested.
Police said the businessman was treated in hospital for a broken nose.
The Police said they have registered a case of assault against the star and he will be questioned.
This is the second case of assault against the actor – in 2008 he was accused of assaulting a journalist.
Monday, February 20, 2012
UK visit: Khar expected to meet Clinton in London
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar is expected to meet US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her visit to London, sources told The Express Tribune.
The expected meeting will be a positive sign for the two countries as both of them were keen to normalise relations, the source said.
Khar reached London on Monday for a three-day visit in which she will hold meetings with her British counterpart William Hague and other high officials. She will also brief the UK officials on the recently concluded trilateral conference involving, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan in Islamabad. Khar will also reportedly ask the British officials to influence the US to end drone strikes.
Meanwhile, official sources have revealed that diplomatic ties between Pakistan and the US are improving behind the scenes. It has been decided by Islamabad, Kabul and Washington to reactivate the trilateral conference between the three countries, the source claimed.
Khar and Clinton are expected to discuss Nato supplies to Afghanistan, among other issues.
The meetings could defuse tension, which was highlighted recently when Islamabad refused to host Marc Grossman, the US special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, who wanted to visit Islamabad last month. The State Department had said that Grossman wanted to visit Pakistan but owing to the tense relations between the two countries, he was refused meetings. The State Department’s spokesman, while making this disagreement public, had said that the US wants better relations with Pakistan.
Officials in the ministry of foreign affairs expect Pak-US relations to be fully normalised by March. Pakistan has already softened its stance on Nato supplies to Afghanistan through Pakistan, as supplies through Pakistani airspace are fully open.
Islamabad, despite its tense relations with Washington, is facilitating US-Afghan Taliban talks in Qatar, the source said. “Pakistan had encouraged talks between Taliban and United States at the request of Washington. Apparently Pakistan has been sidelined by Washington in its talks with the Taliban but the actual situation is not as it appears,” the source added.
Story time: Mind-blowing!
by EESHA ABBASI
The blackboard and my biology teacher slid in and out of focus as I tried to keep track of what was being taught to us. Beside me, I could see my partner Sherbano struggle to keep her mouth from hanging open, making her look witless.
Behind me, Aryba was carefully applying nail polish to her inch-long talons using my back to hide herself from the teacher’s line of vision. Two rows away Urooj and Wania were playing tick-tack-toe on a scrap of paper… That’s what friends are for, to make you feel better.
Incidentally the topic being explained was ‘The human brain’. “The human brain is an incredibly complex organ; it’s capable of doing things that would be considered miracles in some ways. After millennia of research, scientists have barely started to scratch the surface of the true potential of the brain…”
My teacher paused to add some labels to the drawn figure on the board before continuing, “Have you ever wondered how amazing it is? I mean aside from the fact that it controls all physical bodily functions, is responsible for secreting hormones that outline a person’s mood and all the rest of biological entities. It allows you to think, remember, memorise, judge, form logic and detect patterns. It is a person’s last sanctuary, it protects a person’s privacy, their secrets and feelings that they want to conceal.”
At this point I saw a few students rise from their stupor. “Imagine this: you were thinking something about someone that you wouldn’t want them to hear, and by some miracle they happened to hear your thoughts like that twisted vampire you teenagers are so crazy about!”
Some of the girls shouted “Edward!” The class giggled.
The teacher now had the class’s undivided attention. Taking this opportunity, she quickly continued, “So like I was saying, this world would be the target of turmoil if that happened… I mean, freedom of thought is every individual’s right, everyone thinks without thinking, do they not?”
A murmur of acceptances ran through the class. “So I have an interesting assignment for you all, whenever someone annoys you or when you are angry with anyone, say your siblings, parents, friends or teachers, and you are thinking horrid thoughts about them; imagine for a moment that your mental barriers have been shattered and they can hear you… would you want them to hear you? Try thinking aloud. Believe me it will change the whole way you interrelate with others.”
“Ma’am are you going to give marks on this?” some nerds in the class asked,
“No dear, it’s just a practical ‘fun’ thing to apply in daily life”.
“Oh,” she said.
I thought ‘Ugh! She is a nerd.’ Immediately I was reminded of our project. This was going to be weird.
When I got home my cousin Zoha was home from a shopping excursion, bubbling with excitement, she couldn’t wait to show me the clothes she had bought and, of course, to enlighten me with her incredible tales of haggling over the prices. “So what do you think of my dress?” she held up a ghastly green dress.
‘I wouldn’t be seen dead in it’ I said to myself but to her I said, “Wow I love the colour! It’s so drab… I mean delectable.”
She beamed, “I know and I got it so cheap you wouldn’t believe it!!”
‘Oh I believe it!’ I thought, but sweetly turned to her and said, “Really. You can hardly tell!”
She brightened up, “I know! You go ahead and try it out!”
‘What?’ I decided to open up my mental barriers, “Err… actually I don’t really want to try it out.” A hurt look crossed her face as her face fell. ‘This is impossible; I can’t hurt her like this!’
I gritted my teeth and said, “On second thought it really wouldn’t hurt to try it out!” Thinking aloud definitely wasn’t a good idea in this case.
My elder sister Ayesha is kind of obsessed with her kitchen skills nowadays, which means that we have to taste her experiments — unfortunately most of them are not edible!
“Eesha come taste my ‘forest casserole’.”
I looked at the jumbled collection of vegetables with a charred smothering of cheese ‘Is this forest muck? I swallowed “Am I supposed to eat it?”
She glared at me. Impatiently she filled a large bowl with her casserole, thrust a fork in it and shoved it in my hands, “Now eat!”
I whimpered inwardly, ‘Oh dear I would rather eat mom’s spinach.’
She growled threateningly “You don’t want to eat my casserole? Do you think it’s not delicious?”
‘That sounds about right!’
She thundered “Well?”
I shook my head muttering “No, of course not.” Mustering up my courage I deposited a forkful into my mouth. Tears gushed from my eyes and I gasped. ‘Too much chilli!’ was the last thing I thought before I ran to the washroom and threw up… What I thought about it afterwards, is not fit to be printed.
“So girls! How was your experience? Aren’t you glad our brains protect our thoughts?” the teacher asked in the next class.
Reja held up her hand “Ma’am I think it’s a huge blessing, I mean it was mind-blowing once I pondered on whether other people should hear my thoughts or not! It would have been a disaster.”
The teacher smiled, “Quite rightly spoken. Now everyone I want your practical journals today! No excuses”
Breath stuck in my throat ‘I forgot about the cursed journal.’
The pile on the teacher’s desk grew. She stared expectantly at me, “Eesha may I have your journal?”
‘I am dead today!’ “Um… actually… I uhh…”
Her soft gaze turned stony, “You didn’t forget it, did you?”
I gulped, crossing my fingers “Uhh not exactly … I just ran out of pages so I had to buy a new one and, I swear, I’ll hand it in tomorrow!”
She inspected my face for some time; I averted my eyes from her lest she saw through my lie. “Okay… I’m letting you go this time but I want it tomorrow.”
Relief washed over me and I almost said out loud, ‘I’m so glad you are not Edward…’
That’s when she glared at me and said “What did you say?”
The blackboard and my biology teacher slid in and out of focus as I tried to keep track of what was being taught to us. Beside me, I could see my partner Sherbano struggle to keep her mouth from hanging open, making her look witless.
Behind me, Aryba was carefully applying nail polish to her inch-long talons using my back to hide herself from the teacher’s line of vision. Two rows away Urooj and Wania were playing tick-tack-toe on a scrap of paper… That’s what friends are for, to make you feel better.
Incidentally the topic being explained was ‘The human brain’. “The human brain is an incredibly complex organ; it’s capable of doing things that would be considered miracles in some ways. After millennia of research, scientists have barely started to scratch the surface of the true potential of the brain…”
My teacher paused to add some labels to the drawn figure on the board before continuing, “Have you ever wondered how amazing it is? I mean aside from the fact that it controls all physical bodily functions, is responsible for secreting hormones that outline a person’s mood and all the rest of biological entities. It allows you to think, remember, memorise, judge, form logic and detect patterns. It is a person’s last sanctuary, it protects a person’s privacy, their secrets and feelings that they want to conceal.”
At this point I saw a few students rise from their stupor. “Imagine this: you were thinking something about someone that you wouldn’t want them to hear, and by some miracle they happened to hear your thoughts like that twisted vampire you teenagers are so crazy about!”
Some of the girls shouted “Edward!” The class giggled.
The teacher now had the class’s undivided attention. Taking this opportunity, she quickly continued, “So like I was saying, this world would be the target of turmoil if that happened… I mean, freedom of thought is every individual’s right, everyone thinks without thinking, do they not?”
A murmur of acceptances ran through the class. “So I have an interesting assignment for you all, whenever someone annoys you or when you are angry with anyone, say your siblings, parents, friends or teachers, and you are thinking horrid thoughts about them; imagine for a moment that your mental barriers have been shattered and they can hear you… would you want them to hear you? Try thinking aloud. Believe me it will change the whole way you interrelate with others.”
“Ma’am are you going to give marks on this?” some nerds in the class asked,
“No dear, it’s just a practical ‘fun’ thing to apply in daily life”.
“Oh,” she said.
I thought ‘Ugh! She is a nerd.’ Immediately I was reminded of our project. This was going to be weird.
When I got home my cousin Zoha was home from a shopping excursion, bubbling with excitement, she couldn’t wait to show me the clothes she had bought and, of course, to enlighten me with her incredible tales of haggling over the prices. “So what do you think of my dress?” she held up a ghastly green dress.
‘I wouldn’t be seen dead in it’ I said to myself but to her I said, “Wow I love the colour! It’s so drab… I mean delectable.”
She beamed, “I know and I got it so cheap you wouldn’t believe it!!”
‘Oh I believe it!’ I thought, but sweetly turned to her and said, “Really. You can hardly tell!”
She brightened up, “I know! You go ahead and try it out!”
‘What?’ I decided to open up my mental barriers, “Err… actually I don’t really want to try it out.” A hurt look crossed her face as her face fell. ‘This is impossible; I can’t hurt her like this!’
I gritted my teeth and said, “On second thought it really wouldn’t hurt to try it out!” Thinking aloud definitely wasn’t a good idea in this case.
My elder sister Ayesha is kind of obsessed with her kitchen skills nowadays, which means that we have to taste her experiments — unfortunately most of them are not edible!
“Eesha come taste my ‘forest casserole’.”
I looked at the jumbled collection of vegetables with a charred smothering of cheese ‘Is this forest muck? I swallowed “Am I supposed to eat it?”
She glared at me. Impatiently she filled a large bowl with her casserole, thrust a fork in it and shoved it in my hands, “Now eat!”
I whimpered inwardly, ‘Oh dear I would rather eat mom’s spinach.’
She growled threateningly “You don’t want to eat my casserole? Do you think it’s not delicious?”
‘That sounds about right!’
She thundered “Well?”
I shook my head muttering “No, of course not.” Mustering up my courage I deposited a forkful into my mouth. Tears gushed from my eyes and I gasped. ‘Too much chilli!’ was the last thing I thought before I ran to the washroom and threw up… What I thought about it afterwards, is not fit to be printed.
“So girls! How was your experience? Aren’t you glad our brains protect our thoughts?” the teacher asked in the next class.
Reja held up her hand “Ma’am I think it’s a huge blessing, I mean it was mind-blowing once I pondered on whether other people should hear my thoughts or not! It would have been a disaster.”
The teacher smiled, “Quite rightly spoken. Now everyone I want your practical journals today! No excuses”
Breath stuck in my throat ‘I forgot about the cursed journal.’
The pile on the teacher’s desk grew. She stared expectantly at me, “Eesha may I have your journal?”
‘I am dead today!’ “Um… actually… I uhh…”
Her soft gaze turned stony, “You didn’t forget it, did you?”
I gulped, crossing my fingers “Uhh not exactly … I just ran out of pages so I had to buy a new one and, I swear, I’ll hand it in tomorrow!”
She inspected my face for some time; I averted my eyes from her lest she saw through my lie. “Okay… I’m letting you go this time but I want it tomorrow.”
Relief washed over me and I almost said out loud, ‘I’m so glad you are not Edward…’
That’s when she glared at me and said “What did you say?”
Pakistan military makes iPads
Kamra: After building jet fighters, submarines and other weapons, Pakistan’s military has built a homegrown version of the iPad named PACPAD 1.
It all comes together at an air force base in Kamra in northern Pakistan, where Pakistani engineering and Chinese hardware assembled the PACPAD 1 and it is available in the market.
The device runs on Android 2.3, an operating system made by Google and given away for free. At around $200, it’s less than half the price of Apple or Samsung devices and cheaper than other low-end Chinese tablets on the market, with the bonus of a local, one-year guarantee.
Supporters say it will boost the economy as well as a troubled nation’s self-esteem.
The PAC in the name stands for the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, where it is made. The PAC also makes an e-reader and small laptop.
Only a few hundred of each products has been made so far, though a new batch will be completed in the next three months.
PAC’s website at http://www.cpmc.pk says the goal is “strengthening the national economy through commercialization” and lauds the collaboration with China — something that likely resonates among nationalists.
PAC officials say a second-generation PACPAD will be launched in the next three months, able to connect to the Internet via cell phone networks and other improved features. It said the Kamra facility could produce up to 1,000 devices a day.
During a brief test, the tablet with its 7-inch screen appeared to run well and the screen responsiveness was sharp.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Shoaib Akhtar is stalking me: Meera
Meera has lashed out against former cricketer Shoaib Akhtar, accusing him of stalking and harassing her. Revealing that she was in a year-long relationship with Akhtar that ended in 2010, the actor says that he has been making her life hell with repeated phone calls. “Shoaib nihayati badtameez hai. Jabse unko pata chala hai ki mere nikaah ki baat ho rahi hai, wo mujhe phone kar ke pareshan kar rahe hain. Unko sharam aani chaiye (Shoaib is extremely ill-mannered. Ever since he came to know that talks were on for my wedding, he’s been calling and disturbing me. He should be ashamed of himself),” Meera told an Indian daily over phone from Lahore. The alleged affair came into limelight last week when Pakistani media quoted Meera as saying: “Shoaib and I had an intimate affair and he proposed to me. Sadly, he also proposed to my cousin at the same time, which reflected that he wasn’t a balanced person.” In response, Akhtar has said, “I never had any affair with Meera. The problem is that if a well-known cricketer even smiles at a girl, she thinks he is in love with her.” A shocked Meera reacts by saying, “He is lying, seeking publicity through my name. He insults everyone around him. Unke isi attitude ki wajah se unka career khatam ho chuka hai. He is nowhere. He calls me daily and asks me to come back into his life but I will not repeat the mistake.” She further says, “Shoaib doesn’t respect women, wo sirf unhe physically use karna jaante hain. He abused me on phone last night when I refuse to give him a second chance.” Confirming reports that both she and Akhtar were offered Rs 5 crore to take part in reality show, Bigg Boss, she said, “I refused. I can’t be in a house with B-grade people. I’m a big celebrity in Pakistan.” Déjà vu? In 2010 Veena Malik, accused Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Asif of physically abusing her after a failed relationship. She even filed a complaint against Asif for threatening her. Later, when Asif got embroiled in a match-fixing scandal, Veena even deposed before the International Cricket Council.
