The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)-held foreign exchange reserves upheld their uptrend for the sixth consecutive session, rising $280 million during the week ended March 17.
Foreign exchange reserves amplified by $280 million to $4.6 billion as of the week ended March 17, the central bank said in its weekly bulletin.
A rise was seen after the central bank received $500 million from a Chinese bank last week, subsequently, the current position of reserves will provide an import cover of around a month.
The net forex reserves held by commercial banks stand at $5,540.5 million, $941.8 million more than the SBP, carrying the total liquid foreign exchange reserves of the country to $10,139.2 million, the statement mentioned.
Sajal Aly is a talent powerhouse who wowed the audience with her dynamic shows in the entertainment sector. She is a fan and critic favorite.
The 29-year-old is one of the talented Pakistani actresses who, in a short amount of time, carved out a niche for themselves and received both national and worldwide gratitude. She will star in a television series based on the Urdu classic “Umrao Jaan Ada” in addition to being one of the stars in Shekhar Kapur’s “What’s Love Got to Do with It?”
BBPR kicked off the new year with its latest music platform, Live in Concert with the heartthrob Hasan Raheem. The event was hosted on the 19th of Feb 2023 at District 19 and was nothing short of a star-studded event. The event was a trip into the world from the perspective of Hasan Raheem from the bathroom. The bathroom, the pièce de résistance represents the place where we all retire from time to time, a place for subtle reflections, a place to process long prevailing thoughts. The bathroom is where the creative juices flow, it’s that experience that was brought to life. If that’s not enough Raheem not only launched his latest album, his first ever NATIONWIDE TOUR of Karachi, Lahore & Islamabad is also happening! You can sign up for it: https://ticketwala.pk/organizer/the-nautanki-tour
From the walkway inspired by Japanese design and flowing curtains reminiscence of hospitals to the art installation as well as spaces strewn with crumpled envelops and peanut butter jars, every aspect and element was a symbolic representation of the album itself. Even the Photo Op, which was a commode with a sink, it was as if the guests went through an experience of walking into Hasan Raheem’s bathroom, the exact setup which was also in his music video. This perfectly connects with the song’s music video as well which also premiered during the launch. The underlying notion and creative spun came from the concept that all creativity originates from the bathroom!
“I am ecstatic to perform my Nautanki album for the first time at the PR event with BBPR to launch their latest music platform Live in Concert. Each song recorded in Nautanki is for you to interpret. I hope that they remind you of love stories of your own. How does the concept of change relate to how we label love? We must be aware of our feelings and senses in order to truly offer our minds to one another. Many people and things move me. Therefore, I continue to create music.” Exclaimed Hasan Raheem.
‘Live In Concert’, a new and dynamic platform was launched by BBPR as an initiative to showcase phenomenal artists’ experiences with the world with the sensational Hasan Raheem being the first spotlight talent. BBPR is the largest corporate PR agency in Pakistan. They celebrated their 15 years which was commemorated through the launch of this event as well as the attendance of Sanam Saeed, Mohib Mirza and Patangeer.
“We, as a nation, have immense talent and a long-standing connection with music. BBPR as a company wants to acknowledge these musicians, young and old, by promoting them and giving them a platform where they can showcase their talent to the rest of the world!” Expressed Hasan Rizvi regarding his new platform.
Music is a universal language and concerts have changed the face of the live music industry and become an essential source of revenue for the music business. Pakistan lacks premises and platforms that can encourage and help artists launch their music albums which gave birth to this concept. “Live in Concert with Hasan Raheem” is just the beginning and many more will follow, building a path for the rest to follow and shine through in the future.
Feroze Khan told his followers and the general public about his legal action against the prominent figures, including his ex-wife Syeda Aliza Sultan, who publicly spoke out against him during a domestic violence case, yesterday.
The actor sued for the insult against his ex-wife Syeda Aliza Sultan, the filmmakers Musaddiq Malek and Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, as well as the actors Osman Khalid Butt, Mira Sethi, Minal Khan, Aiman Khan, Sarwat Gilani, Yasir Hussain, and Farhan Saeed. Additionally, the actor disclosed their home locations and phone numbers. However, he withheld Syeda Aliza, his ex-wife address.
He is receiving reactions from all the concerned actors today, and they all expressed their ire at him for disclosing their private information. Additionally, they said that they will sue him for disclosing addresses and phone numbers. As a result of the actor leaking their information, the actors are sharing screenshots of random messages and phone calls that they have received. The performers’ entitlement that it would have been simple to conceal the numbers while sharing the legal warning.
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Noor ul Haq Qadri has issued six guiding principles for Ramadan transmissions in Pakistan.
Noor ul Haq Qadri said promotion of religious/ sectarian harmony and propagation of Islamic teachings should be prime focus of Ramadan transmissions.
“I would like to draw your attention to a very sensitive issue which has been observed since the last few years that during Ramadan transmissions different programmes and shows were presented by a number of hosts who due to lack of proper Islamic education hardly qualify to present such programmes. As a result, different controversies are created and general public rush to social media trolling such content and also complain to the ministry and other authorities,” he said.
So, the primary and foremost principle, which viewers have long desired, is that religious programmes during Ramadan transmissions should be hosted only by the persons educated and well-versed in Islamic studies.
The religious affairs minister asked anchors/ presenters and all the participants to follow modesty in their dress code and appearance to honour the sanctity of the holy month of Ramadan.
“No person shall be allowed to discuss controversial religious or sectarian issues. Sanctity of religious personalities of all sects/ religious communities shall be ensured,” read the notification issued by the minister.
He said game shows or recreational stuff should not be aired right after or before sehar/ iftar timings. Moreover, the games and such stuff should not be the part of religious programmes, he said.
Unethical or immoral stuff, activity and advertisement should not be telecast during Ramadan, he maintained.
Sadaf Kanwal is a Pakistani artist who is recently in news after saying that husband is our culture and women are not oppressed. She said that every woman is strong and feminism means taking care of a man. She also expressed her discomfort over the recent wave of feminism in Pakistan. She blamed it on the Aurat March and the increase in the number of Pakistani liberals.
She also mentioned that husband is her culture and she must know everything about her husband. She said that being a wife it is her job to hold her husband’s shoes and iron his clothes. After these remarks, people haven’t stopped talking about Sadaf Kanwal. Here are a few tweets that got our attention:
When Gharida gage opinion about Qurbani, all the critics were told to hold horses as she is entitled to her viewpoint. When #SadafKanwal commented about feminism and husband, she is being castigated as to why she can even think of saying anything like this.
We believe that free speech is everyone’s right but one should think really hard before speaking on topics like these especially when domestic violence against women is rising to high proportions.
The wait is finally over! Don’t forget to watch the Double Launch Episode of the new drama serial Ishq Haim this drama is Launching Tonight from 8:00 to 10:00 PM – only on ARY Digital.
Ahead of Drama Serial Danish Taimoor the Lead cast shares his message to his fans and audience of the ARY Digital to watch this drama.
In the same Drama Minal Khan is also featuring, this drama is going to be a super-hit.
SnackVideo has been the most popular app for entertainment these days, and dozens of celebrities are flooding in the universe of the platform. On June 4, the darling of Pakistani TV, Minal Khan officially joined SnackVideo and became the latest starry addition.
On June 4, Minal posted her first debut on her SnackVideo account @MinalKofficial, and attracted nearly 1 million views and over 28k followers in no time. Top newspaper and fashion magazines in Pakistan have reported her debut on Twitter, gaining hundreds of likes and comments.
SnackVideo is also planning to create duet music videos with Minal. By selecting famous scenes from Minal’s hits and creators’ best duets, SnackVideo aims to breath a new life into Minal’s classics with great inspiration.
The stunning sister of the twin sisters’ pair of showbiz, Minal Khan, is one of the most followed and widely recognized actresses. She has over 7 million followers and hundreds of fan pages on Instagram. Minal began her profession in the showbiz business in 2012. She rose to prominence in the dramatization arrangement Quddusi Sahab Ki Bewah. Some of her other hits include Hasad, Sun yaara, Qismat and ki jana main kaun. Minal got engaged to Ahsan Mohsin Ikram in Karachi on May 2021.
From now on, fans of Minal can not only get to know the personal life and interesting moments of the top actress, but also have the opportunity to duet classic clips or lip-sync videos with her and share their affection through the hashtag #SnackWithMinal.
More and more musicians are settling in SnackVideo these days, releasing and promoting their groovy music with thousands of users on the platform. Last week, the ‘Mahiya’ Queen, Annie Khalid, made an exclusive debut of her signature song on SnackVideo and kicked off #MahiyabyAnnie Challenge.
So far, there has been around 77k participants in the challenge. Related hashtag
#SnackMusician has become trending on Twitter in Pakistan, gaining over 1.5k posts and comments.
As an English-Pakistani singer and model, Annie Khalid rose to fame in Pakistan in 2005 when her first single ‘Mahiya’ took the nation by storm. The song became popular due to its catchy tune and simple lyrics, and it was later used in the Indian film Awarapan (2007).
According to Annie, it is the unexpected success of ‘Mahiya’ that allowed her to consider making singing her life career as well as moving back to Pakistan. Since then, the talented singer has done it all from Bollywood item songs to collaborations with big names and her own hit albums, rocking the music world with her impressive fashion and soulful voice.
Till now, the song ‘Mahiya’ still remains a fan favorite, and it got onboard only on SnackVideo. The #MahiyabyAnnie challenge on SnackVideo is breathing new life into the most-played hit song back in the days. Within the hashtag, people can either cover the song itself or create transition videos, dance moves, or duet videos to join the challenge and “shine just like a star.”
Pakistan’s first Urdu OTT platform is marking another one of its great feat with the launch of a women-led, empowering new web series ‘Aurat Gardi’ which is now available for streaming on the official platform.
Starring Javeria Saud and Alyy Khan in the lead, Aurat Gardi is one of those women-centric stories with enthralling and appealing female characters that bring together the whole plot – with a lot of intensity. The plot centers around the setbacks and evils of the misogynistic society that stoops low to make life harder for the women around them – and how sometimes it just takes one strong voice to unite the oppressed and bring about a change.
Directed by Aayan Hussain and produced by Farhan Gauher, Aurat Gardi also brings together an ensemble cast and gives a new light to a sensitive topic. There are certainly still strides to be made for female empowerment in the entertainment world in Pakistan, but UrduFlix – is taking the lead once again to bring important social issues to light.
UrduFlix – recently launched as Pakistan’s first-ever Urdu OTT platform has upped the game and expectations with brilliant new content, and has kept the surprises coming. The platform has also garnered great feedback from the audiences after multiple series including ‘Lifafa Dayan’, ‘Khudkush Muhabbat’, ‘Dulhan Aur Aik Raat’ have been streaming online. The platform is officially live for download for viewers on Google Play Store, Apple App Store, and Roku TV.
Musawar Ali 