Sadpara among three climbers missing on K2

ISLAMABAD: Three climbers have gone missing attempting to summit the world´s second-highest mountain, K2, their expedition manager and the Alpine Club of Pakistan said Saturday.

Climbers John Snorri from Iceland, Juan Pablo Mohr from Chile and Muhammad Ali Sadpara from Pakistan reportedly lost contact with base camp on Friday. "It´s already been more than 30 hours, we (at basecamp) have received no news of John Snorri, Ali Sadpara, and Juan Pablo Mohr, since none of the GPS trackers seem to be working", Chhang Dawa Sherpa, their expedition manager, said in a statement.

An army helicopter has conducted a search flight for the missing climbers, Sherpa said in a separate statement. "Unfortunately, they cannot trace anything and the condition up in the mountain and even at the basecamp is getting poor", he said.

Karrar Haidri, Secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, also said that the climbers had gone missing on the mountain.

News of the missing men comes a day after a Bulgarian mountaineer was confirmed to have died on K2. He is the third mountaineer to die on K2´s slopes this year, after a Spanish climber fell to his death last month.

Russian-American Alex Goldfarb also died on a nearby mountain during an acclimatising mission in January.

A team of Nepali climbers made history on K2 last month when they became the first to scale it in winter.

Conditions on K2 are harsh: winds can blow at more than 200 kilometres per hour and temperatures can drop to minus 60 degrees Celsius (minus 76 Fahrenheit).

With Pakistan´s borders open and few other places to go, this winter an unprecedented four teams totalling around 60 climbers have converged on the mountain, more than all previous expeditions put together.

Unlike Mount Everest, which has been scaled by thousands of climbers young and old, K2 is much less travelled due to its tough conditions.

Meanwhile, Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Khalid Khursheed said all the cooperation is being made for the rescue operation. He appealed to the people to pray for safe recovery of the mountaineers.

The PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has also expressed concern over the mountaineers going missing and prayed for their safe recovery.

SECP forms body to work out plan for development of private pension market

ISLAMABAD, January 8: While gearing up its efforts to develop the private pension and annuity market in Pakistan, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has formed a Pension and Annuity Working Group (PAWG). The Group, having representation of the regulator, Asset Management Companies (AMCs), life insurance companies, and the actuarial profession of Pakistan, is assigned to prepare a roadmap for developing country’s private pension and annuity market.

A developed pension market will also help to deepen the market for much-needed long-term capital instruments, while the annuity market has been a missing link between the voluntary pension and insurance sector of Pakistan.

The Voluntary Pension Scheme (VPS) framework that was introduced in 2005, still has a very low uptake from the industry; recorded PKR 33 billion as of Oct 2020 in assets under management. This represents only 2% of the overall NBFC sector and accounts for only 30,000 VPS investor accounts.  Furthermore, since the life insurance sector has not been engaged in the distribution of VPS products so far, the life-contingent annuity market is almost non-existent in Pakistan. This indicates a huge potential of the VPS market and requires immediate focus to develop this important market.

It is expected that the recommendations of the Group will pave the way for the implementation of a sound roadmap for the development of the private pension market that will not only enhance financial inclusion but also provide much-needed depth to the capital market in Pakistan.

Ertugrul Gazi (Diriliş Ertuğrul) leading actor visits Pakistan

Ertugrul Gazi (Diriliş Ertuğrul) lead actor/hero Mr. Engin Altan Düzyatan just landed at Lahore Airport for a short visit to Pakistan at the invitation of a private business company.

The historic Turkish blockbuster has earned iconic status in Pakistan and Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir regions after Pakistan Television telecast a version dubbed in Urdu.

Within days of the first telecast, the popularity of the series and its stars – especially Düzyatan – surged.

Often described as a Turkish "Game of Thrones," the series is set in the period preceding the rise of the Ottoman Empire in 13th century Anatolia and follows the struggle of Ertugrul Ghazi, father of the empire's first leader Osman I, aka Osman Ghazi.

one of the organizers, said, “the tour will reinforce traditional bonds between Turkey and Pakistan and usher in new partnerships between the content creators of the two countries."

#ErtugrulGazi (Diriliş Ertuğrul) lead actor/hero Mr. Engin Altan Düzyatan just landed at Lahore Airport for a short visit to Pakistan at the invitation of a private business company. Join us to welcome him. #PakistanWelcomesErtugrul#VisitPakistan
@eadksk pic.twitter.com/AhnXowXNRc

— Pakistan in Turkey (@PakTurkey) December 10, 2020

Pakistani, Kashmiri artists to work together to help preserve, protect, promote Kashmiri culture, heritage, says Shehryar Afridi

KARACHI - Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Shehryar Khan Afridi has said that the artist communities of Pakistan and Jammu and Kashmir would work closely to help preserve, protect and protect true cultural heritage of Kashmir. 

Addressing the participants of an informal meeting of Karachi-based members of the newly constituted Cultural Advisory Board of the committee here at Governor's House, Shehryar Afridi said that Kashmiri culture was being destroyed by the Indian Occupational regime of Jammu and Kashmir but Pakistani artists from cinematic, television and literary spheres would work with the Kashmiri artists to foil the Indian designs. 

"Modi regime is trying to harm the identity and pride of the Kashmiri nation. For this objective, the occupation forces are using tools of oppression including youth killings, torture, rape, and Indian cultural invasion to help their design of the Kashmiri genocide. We won't let India do it," he said. 

Afridi said that the occupational regime in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir is also trying to damage Kashmiri culture by massive demographic change through issuance of domicile to non-residents and also by opening wine shops and destroying Mosques and mazars in Jammu and Kashmir. 

He said that the Kashmir Committee stands committed to preserve the Kashmiri culture and identity and all steps would be taken necessary to restore the pride of Kashmiris. 

Shehryar Khan Afridi said rather than convening a meeting in Islamabad, he had decided to visit all the four provincial capitals and Muzaffarabad to meet the members of the advisory board in their hometowns first. 

"Once we hold meetings in provincial and Azad Kashmir capitals, we will convene a mega event in the National Assembly to send a strong message to the occupational regime of India and the world that Pakistan and its artists stand by Kashmiris shoulder to shoulder. 

He said soon meetings of the advisory board's Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, GB, and AJK chapters are due to take place next month.

Chaired by Shehryar Khan Afridi, the meeting was attended by accomplished names from the spheres of sports and media, including the likes of Squash legend Jahangir Khan, Actors Humayon Saeed, Fahad Mustafa,  Adnan Siddiqui, Bilal Ashraf, Ali Rahman Khan, Sarwat Gillani, and Dr. Fahad Mirza, singer Shehzad Roy and a host of other well-known faces. 

The meeting commenced with a recitation from the Holy Quran followed by the national anthems of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. 

The meeting highlighted the long-overdue need for an alliance between the television, film, and sports fraternity of Pakistan and their counterparts in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, aimed at working towards internationally projecting and promoting the rich and diverse cultural heritage of the valley and its people, in a bid to highlight their plight under decades of Indian oppression. 

The over two-hour long interaction saw participants discussing various avenues of propagating Kashmir's cultural richness both at home and abroad, and the crucial need to internationalize the issue of Kashmir and the right of its people to self-determination - this in line with Pakistan's long-standing position vis-a-vis the valley.

Rain wreaks havoc in Lahore

LAHORE – Heavy monsoon rain lashed Lahore and other parts of the country on Wednesday and turned the weather pleasant, 

Heavy downpour in different areas inundated roads and streets in the provincial capital of Lahore and commuters faced immense difficulties while trying to carry on with their routines.

Several Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) feeders tripped due to heavy rain in Lahore, which started on Wednesday night, plunging half of the city into darkness.

Rain was also reported in other parts of the country including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Joharabad, Khushab, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Kasur, Jhang, Bhakkar, Sheikhupura, Nankana, Chiniot and other cities. Meanwhile, the Met Office has predicted more rain during the next 24 hours.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, strong monsoon currents are penetrating Pakistan that will produce widespread rains during the next three to four days in the country.

Shehryar Afridi urges UN to designate RSS as terrorist organization

ISLAMABAD – Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Shehryar Khan Afridi has urged the international community and the United Nations to designate Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a terrorist organization, due to its internationally well-known and long history of being involved in acts of violence against minorities in general and Muslims in particular, which represents a grave and blatant violation of the International Humanitarian Law, United Nations Charter and the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

The Chairman made these comments during a meeting with a delegation of Legal Forum for Oppressed Voices of Kashmir (LFOVK). The delegation was led by the head of the delegation Advocate Nasir Qadri, Mohammad Umar, Ahmed Bin Qasim, Zain ul Abideen, Bakht Fatima and others. 

Mr Qadri on the occasion briefed the Kashmir Committee Chairman on its documentary developed on One Year of Military Siege of Illegal Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir by India. The documentary titled “Kashmir Holocaust” was released for the world on August 5. 

Afridi lauded the services of the LFOVK and said that the documentary would go a long way in exposing the war crimes being committed by Indian forces in the IIOJK. He said Pakistan assures the Kashmiris of an un-wavering and strong political, diplomatic, legal and moral support for their legitimate and UN-recognized struggle for their right of self-determination.

He urged the international community, United Nations and all international institutions to play an active role in stopping the Indian brutalities, oppression and reign of terror against the people of the Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Paying great tribute to the sacrifices made by Kashmiri people, Afridi said that Pakistan recognizes the efforts and sacrifices of the courageous and valiant people of Kashmir and all those men, children, women and men who have laid down their lives or lost their limbs, eyes and their loved ones for their Internationally-recognized right and just struggle for Self-determination are real life heroes.

Afridi appreciated the Report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) of June 2018 and July 2019 documenting extensive and systematic human rights violations in the IIOJK. Recalling the recent Report of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir based ‘Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir”, Shehryar Afridi called for the release of all political prisoners.

He urged the international community that any action through political, legal, demographic or military means, particularly those taken on or after August 5, 2020 by India to alter the international or demographic character of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute represents a blatant violation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions.  

“Any political act by India in Kashmir cannot be a substitute for the UN-recognized right of self-determination for the Kashmiri people. We strongly condemn and reject any such illegal Indian action,” he added. 

Kashmir Committee chairman expressed deep concern at the Indian attempts to alter the demography through ethnic cleansing, illegal issuance of domicile to non-Kashmiri individuals to allow them to settle in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu & Kashmir, in violation of the International laws and UN resolutions.

Esra Bilgic aka Halime Sultan becomes brand ambassador for QMobile

Fan favorite Turkish Esra Bilgic who is popular for her role as Halime Sultan in the drama Ertugrul Ghazi has become the brand ambassador QMobile View Max Pro Series.
 

The news came from QMobile through a social media post on Facebook.

Ever since Ertugrul Ghazi or Dirilis Ertugrul started airing in Pakistan, Esra Bilgic has garnered a huge fan base because of her lead role as Halime Sultan who is the wife of Ertugrul played by Engin Altan Duzyatan.

However, with popularity comes criticism and Esra has gotten her fair share of it as many people weren’t happy with the real life of the actress and especially her clothing choices as most deemed them too inappropriate for a Muslim women.

 

Ertugrul star Esra Bilgic to become Peshawar Zalmi brand ambassador

Esra Bilgic, who plays Halima Sultan in Ertugrul, won hearts and minds of Pakistani fans after airing of the eminent Turkish series “Resurrection Ertugrul” on Pakistani state TV (PTV).

The actress also won the hearts of Pakistani fans in 2018 as well when she lashed out at famous Indian actress, Priyanka Chopra, for war mongering tweets after Indian Air Force attack on Pakistan.

However, Peshawar Zalmi owner Javed Afridi has hinted that he is trying to appoint Turkish actors from 'Dirilis: Ertugrul' as brand ambassadors for his Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise.

Taking to Twitter, Afridi asked what if Ertugrul Ghazi joins Peshawar Zalmi as a brand ambassador.

In another tweet, he said in all caps: "What if we offer to #HalimeSultan as well?" referring to the Turkish actress Esra Bilgic who plays the character of Halime in 'Dirilis: Ertugrul'.

WHAT IF WE OFFER TO #HalimeSultan AS WELL ❓ https://t.co/DpT0KzNcQv

— Javed Afridi (@JAfridi10) July 3, 2020

Ertuğrul Gazi’s life has come to attract significant interest in the past few years due to the popularity of the TV show Diriliş Ertuğrul.

The Turkish television series has taken many countries, especially Pakistan recently, by storm.

According to the state-run Pakistan Television (PTV), 133 million people have so far watched the drama series from April 25 to May 14. Also, its episodes are trending on YouTube in Pakistan every day.

PTI's popularity plummets alarmingly, survey report

ISLAMABAD: The latest survey by the Institute for Public Opinion Research (IPOR) has found that the popularity of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has plummeted by a staggering 8% since the 2018 general elections. With only 24% left, the PML-N has surpassed PTI for the first time with 27% popularity.

The survey involved 1702 people from all over Pakistan, ranging in age from 18 to 50 years or more. Participants included 46% of women and 54% men. In addition, 54% of the respondents in this survey were from Punjab, 23% from Sindh, 17% from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 6% from Balochistan.

23% of the participants said that unemployment is the biggest problem of Pakistan while 21% said that inflation is the biggest problem of the country. 14% said the coronavirus epidemic was the biggest problem, while 11% cited declining business opportunities as Pakistan's most serious problem.

Similarly, only 21% of people found the current budget satisfactory. Although 27% thought that Mian Shahbaz Sharif was capable of solving the current problems of Pakistan, on the other hand, 57% believed that the PTI government should complete its 5 years while 29% believed that The current government was to be overthrown as soon as possible.

Legendary TV host Tariq Aziz passes away

Veteran Pakistani Radio and tv compere, film actor and politician Tariq Aziz passed away in Lahore after a prolonged illness on Wednesday.

He was born in 1936. Tariq Aziz He received his early education in Jalandhar before starting his career at Radio Pakistan, Lahore. When Pakistan started its initial television broadcast in November 1964 from Lahore, Aziz was the first male PTV announcer. He was the first man to be seen on a Pakistan Television (PTV) broadcast.

According to his family, he had no illness.

He was taken to hospital for throat problems where he died.

He was host of the renowned program 'Nelaam Ghar'. His first program 'Bazm-e-Tariq Aziz' was started in 1974.

He also remained an MNA from 1997-1999. He was conferred Pride of Performance for his excellent services in 1992.

Shahid Afridi tests positive for coronavirus.

Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has tested positive for the coronavirus, he announced through Twitter on Saturday.

“I’ve been feeling unwell since Thursday; my body had been aching badly. I’ve been tested and unfortunately, I’m COVID-19 positive. Need prayers for a speedy recovery, InshaAllah,” the 40-year-old tweeted.

I’ve been feeling unwell since Thursday; my body had been aching badly. I’ve been tested and unfortunately I’m covid positive. Need prayers for a speedy recovery, InshaAllah #COVID19 #pandemic #hopenotout #staysafe #stayhome

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) June 13, 2020

The former all-rounder had recently been busy with his charitable foundation as the country grapples with the spread of the coronavirus.

Business community hails federal budget 2020-21 at wake of COVID-19 impact

ISLAMABAD, Jun 13 (APP): Business community on Saturday termed the federal budget 2020-21  as tax free and balanced  in prevailing circumstances  in light of COVID-19 impact. 

Commenting on the budget today, Central Chairman United Business Group (UBG) Iftikhar Ali Malik hailed the reforms for ease of doing and said that the measures introduced in the budget would help to set a proper direction of the national economy," said a press release issued here. 

He said that Pakistan’s Economy is going through a challenging phase due to the outbreak of global COVID-19 pandemic. The most impacted section of our society is the businesses. 

The manufacturers, traders, retailers, importers/exporters and other segments of the business community are in distress and facing huge financial losses due to the current emergency situation as no business activity is going on in the country. 

However, he said the government took extraordinary decisions to appease this crisis.

He said , the agriculture sector is targeted to grow by 2.8 percent and there is dire need to enhance this growth to its maximum size as Pakistan cannot progress without a developed agricultural sector.

“The previous governments had adopted wrong policies which resulted in increased agricultural cost and decreased revenues,” he pointed out. 

He also stressed that it was the dire need of the hour to use the modern techniques for increasing the per acre yield, adding, the government allocated funds for the research and development activities to put the agri-sector on modern lines.

Iftikhar Malik appreciated the government’s decision to allocate Rs 200 billion as subsidy to the Power Sector. 

However, he said that the exorbitant rise in energy rates (electricity and gas) has increased the cost of business for industry and hence dented our competitiveness. 

“The power tariff for all the sectors should be reduced to 7.5 cents/kwh through elimination of taxes, in line with the recent decline in global oil  prices. The gas tariff  should also be reduced for the industry. 

He urged government to also decrease the rate of sales tax in addition to trim down the cost of production so that all strata of society could enjoy benefits of national development.

He lauded the government for allocating maximum funds for education, agriculture, livestock and energy sectors.

He said that allocation of huge funds for the education sector would also help to provide quality education at doorsteps of the masses.

He also appreciated Prime Minister Imran Khan for allocating Rs 20 billion to improve the capacity of health institutions and the production of health equipment with the aim to provide better health services and check diseases in the country at the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Iftikhar Malik said Imran Khan's government was very sincere with the country and took many steps to raise the living standard of the poor and in this regard several steps had been taken for the uplift and development of the masses.

'Pakistan to continue long-term, multi-dimensional partnership with Russia'

ISLAMABAD, Jun 12 (APP): Pakistan on Friday expressed desire to maintain a longterm relationship with Russia and continue partnership in diverse spheres. 

"Being an important partner, we continue to work for forging a long-term and multi-dimensional partnership with Russia in all spheres," Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said in a tweet on the occasion of Russia Day.  

"Pakistan extends warm felicitations to the Government and people of the Russian Federation on Russia Day," the Spokesperson said. 

Govt presented balance budget in present circumstances: Omar Ayub

ISLAMABAD, Jun 12 (APP): Federal Minister for Petroleum Omar Ayub Khan on Friday said the government has presented balance budget in present circumstances of the country because the COVID-19 badly effected on the national economy.

Talking to a private TV channel, he said big economic powers of the world had fluctuated due to coronavirus so Pakistan was already facing difficulties in its economy and the government was making efforts to stablise it.

He said unfortunately the government did not increase in the salaries and pension of the government employees in the budget of 2020-21 due to present situation of coronavirus.

The minister said wheel of those industries which were interlinked with agriculture and constructions would be run after the budget and the government would achieve target of tax collection through it, adding the government could  have achieved its tax collection target if the coronavirus pandemic did not accrue.

He said the government would extend tax net through bringing reforms in the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) and introducing modern technology in the country. 

Replying to a question, he said the present government had reduced prices of many things including oil and it paid Rs 5,000 billion in the shape of loans which had taken during the previous government.

The previous government of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) did not increase exports and it had controlled dollar price as artificially which made main reason of inflation in the country.

He said the government would bring visible improvement in different sectors of life and it had reduced its expenditures through adopting austerity measures.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) also decreased fiscal deficit and it would bring improvement in other areas in coming days, he added.

Pakistan squirms at IMF's demand to cut salaries of govt employees; cites inflation

Pakistan has rejected the demand made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to freeze the salaries of government employees. According to Pakistani channel Dunya News, sources close to the matter informed that IMF urged Pakistan for spending cuts in the next budget during talks via video conferencing. However, Islamabad said that it cannot cut the salaries of government employees as it is necessary to protect government employees and pensioners from inflation

The Pakistan government will unveil its budget on June 12 and is struggling to strike a balance between continuing with the fiscal consolidation and providing momentum to economic growth. Pakistan is finding it hard to concede to the demands but the IMF is insisting that the country should continue to follow the fiscal consolidation path due to the high and unsustainable public debt, the Express Tribune reported on Friday.

Owing to the prevailing tight fiscal situation, growing public debt and Pakistan's decision to seek debt relief from G-20 countries, the International Monetary Fund has asked Islamabad to freeze salaries of government employees, the daily reported, citing sources in the Ministry of Finance.

Nonetheless, the government is inclined to abolish over 67,000 posts that have remained vacant for over one year and is also ready to further squeeze current expenditures including a ban on the purchase of vehicles. Pakistan owes a considerable amount to the IMF, which has routinely bailed it out, and hence, is required to comply with the terms agreed to while aid is being given out.

The IMF's key demand, which was also the reason for seeking to freeze the salaries, was that the government should announce a primary budget deficit target total deficit excluding interest payments of only Rs 184 billion or 0.4% of gross domestic product (GDP).

Cynthia accused PTI minister of Rape?

Cynthia Richie, an American citizen living in Pakistan, has leveled serious allegations against the top leadership of the People's Party (PPP) and also against the PTI leader.

Cynthia Richie deleted her tweet on a social networking site accusing a prominent PTI minister of rape. 

A woman named Sidrah Memon shared the tweet of the American blogger Cynthia D Richie on Twitter and wrote that look, Cynthia Richie has tweeted that she has also been raped by the PTI minister and then she has deleted her tweet.

WATCH: Cynyhia Ritchie tweets that she was raped by a @PTIofficial minister also and then deletes her tweet. She says PTI Minister who raped her is a current Federal Minister. pic.twitter.com/CcU3RgAh0N

— Sidrah Memon (@SidrahMemon1) June 7, 2020

Sidrah Memon wrote that the American woman says that the PTI minister who raped her is currently a federal minister.

Imran Khan wanted to have sex with Cynthia Ritchie: Ali Saleem

Ali Saleem, also known as Begum Nawazish Ali, revealed that American Blogger Cynthia D Ritchie was once a very close friend of him and they even shared a room for several days. He said that during this time, Cynthia had told him of Imran Khan’s offer to have sex with her.

Talking to a Pakistani journalist, he revealed that Cynthia had never talked to him about being raped by Rehman Malik. “If she was close enough with me to discuss Imran Khan’s offer to have sex, she could also have talked about the rape she had gone through at the hands of former interior minister. But she didn’t”

Clarifying his position on Rehman Malik, Ali Saleem said that he had no sympathies for Rehman Malik either because he was the man in charge of Benazir Bhutto’s security on the eve of her murder and instead of probing him for his failure to provide the security, President Asif Ali Zardari had made him the interior minister of the country. “However, I can confirm that Cynthia never talked to me about being raped by Rehman Malik”, he added.

Cynthia D Ritchie had claimed on Friday that she had been raped by Rehman Malik Interior Minister of that time in 2011. She had also accused former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and former Minister for Health Makhdoom Shahabuddin of manhandling her. She said that Gilani had manhandled her while he was staying at the President House.

Occurred at IM's house in min enclave 2011 around the OBL incident. I thought it a meeting about my visa but I was given flowers/ a drugged drink. I kept quiet - who in PPP gov't would help me against PPP IM?

Recently they attacked family; I've had it. Ready to face any accuser https://t.co/KkGSKTERQs

— Cynthia D. Ritchie (@CynthiaDRitchie) June 5, 2020

The former prime minister has denied the claims, saying that the lady had accused Benazir Bhutto Shaheed of getting women raped by her guards, and Gilani’s sons had decided to move court against her. “She’s alleging me of manhandling her now as a counter move only”, he said in a statement. However, he added that the decision to move court against Cynthia’s allegations will be made after consultation with the party.

COVID-19 positive cases reach to 89,249 across country

ISLAMABAD, Jun 05 (APP): The COVID-19 caseload in Pakistan had reached 89,249 with 4,896 new cases reported during last 24 hours, an official of National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Coronavirus said on Friday.

Sharing the data, he said that total 1,838 deaths had been reported from the disease with 68 reported during last 24 hours.

He said that 31,198 patients had been recovered, adding that total 638,323 tests had been conducted while in last 24 hours 22,812 tests were conducted. 

He said 33,536 cases were reported from Sindh, 33,144 from Punjab, 11,890 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 3,946 from Islamabad, 852 from Gilgit Baltistan, 5,582 from Balochistan and 299 from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

The official said that so far 16,179 active cases were reported from Sindh, 24,709 from Punjab, 8,148 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 3,276 from Islamabad, 299 from Gilgit Baltistan, 3,492 from Balochistan and 110 from Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

He said that 575 deaths had been reported from Sindh, 629 from Punjab, 521 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 41 from Islamabad, 12 from Gilgit Baltistan, 53 from Balochistan and seven death were reported from AJK.

He said that 16,782 patients had recovered in Sindh, 7,806 in Punjab, 3,221 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 629 in Islamabad, 541 Gilgit Baltistan, 2,037 in Balochistan and 182 in AJK.

Rehman Malik takes notice of petroleum products' shortage

ISLAMABAD, Jun 05 (APP): Chairman of the Senate's Standing Committee on Interior A Rehman Malik Friday took notice of the reports regarding the shortage of petroleum products in country.

He questioned the Director General Oil as to why he did not take the right action in time and directed the Federal Investigation Agency to probe as to why the oil ships were not allowed to offload. 

He also directed the Secretary Interior to submit a report to the committee regarding the matter in consultation with the Pakistan State Oil, a press release issued by his office said.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has submitted the initial report to the committee chairman on a suo-moto notice regarding fake videos about the death of former president Asif Ali Zardari. 

The PTA, in the report, informed that total 27 social media accounts containing the fake news were identified and their list was forwarded to the FIA for their blockage. Tow of the links had been blocked by the FIA while a reminder had been sent to the Agency for blocking of the remaining social media accounts.

Rehman Malik through a notice on May 20 had asked the FIA and the PTA to investigate uploading of fake videos and spreading fake news against the former president on some social media accounts and take action against their operators under the Cyber Crime Law.

King of fruits Mango takes over twin cities’ fruit markets

ISLAMABAD, Jun 04 (APP): With the advent of summer season, the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi are in grip of mango fever, as huge demand of this delicious king of fruits was being witnessed right now.

Known as the King of Fruit, mangoes are highly popular among Pakistanis. The fruit was high in fibre, low in calories and contains a small amount of carbohydrates, calcium, iron, potassium and a little protein. Mangoes are also rich in vitamins A, B and C.

A vendor Ali Akram said that the most famous varieties of mangoes were Sindhri, Langra, Dusehri, Neelam, Anwar Ratore, Chaunsa and fajri.” Mango of Pakistan was well known for its taste and quality around the globe as well as in Pakistan,” he added.

Javed Iqbal, a student purchasing mangoes in G-7 market,  while talking to APP said “Mango is my most favorite fruit during the summer season as Pakistani mangoes have more than 400 varieties and are considered one of the best in the world”.

Besides their sweet, delicious, and irresistible taste, mangoes also have many health benefits but pouches of calcium carbide were placed with mangoes for artificially ripening the mangoes that was harmful for health. 

He was of the opinion that the prices of fresh mangoes are usually high in the start of summer season but it would gradually go down in coming days, said a Veterinary Doctor Mahmood Akram.

Sadaf Iqbal buying Mangoes said Mangoes are one of those fruits that I crave for,"I was waiting for this delicious fruits whole year and now I am enjoying it . Bargaining with shopkeeper, she said that the prices of mangoes were high as 30 Rs per kg compare to the last year.

Jibran Khan a Customer, adding, chaunsa mango of Pakistan is one of the worlds' top available varieties.

I think mangoes that weight a pound to a pound and a half have the sweetest taste, he added.