Geo Pakistani Video Online, Tv Dramas, Interviews, Tv Channels, Political Show , Pakistani Media: 07/21/10

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Water level in Attabad Lake to be lowered: presidency

Updated at: 0246 PST, Thursday, July 22, 2010
Water level in Attabad Lake to be lowered: presidency

ISLAMABAD: A high level emergency meeting in the Presidency on Wednesday night considered options available to rehabilitate the Ata Abad Lake in Gilgit-Baltistan and restore the damaged portion of the Karakoram Highway (KKH).

The meeting, presided over by President Asif Ali Zardari, decided to resort to controlled blasting to lower the water level in the lake for undertaking the necessary rehabilitation works and restoration of normal life in the affected areas.

Briefing the media about the meeting Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar said that it was also decided to start a large and fast speed ferry service capable of ferrying big machines and merchandise so as to restore the normal life on the one hand and to facilitate the rehabilitation works on the other.

It was also decided to undertake feasibility study for building by-pass as a permanent solution to the problem of landslides in the future. The feasibility study for by-pass will be undertaken by the NHA, he said.

The decisions on Wednesday were a follow up of the President’s visit to China early this month in which the President also raised with the Chinese political leaders at the highest level the issue and sought Chinese assistance in this regard.

The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, Chief of the Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Chief Minister Gilgit Baltistan (GB), Mehdi Shah, Chief Secretary GB, Babar Yaqub, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Nadeem ul Haq, the Chairman NDMA, Secretary General to the President, Salman Farouqui, Secretary to President, Malik Asif Hayat, Secretary Communication Sharif Ahmad, spokesperson Farhatullah Babar, Director Genral Frontier Works Organization Major General Njibullah Khan and Lt General ® Shahid Niaz Member Planning Commission and heads of technical departments.

LEEDS: New Pakistan captain Salman Butt would welcome an extended stint in the role after replacing Shahid Afridi for the second test against Australia and the following four against England. “Everybody who gets into this kind of challenging position, it helps to be permanently appointed,” Butt told reporters on Tuesday. “But this is what we have and it goes like that with everyone. Hopefully if we can do well we can stretch it (his tenure) a bit longer.” Opening batsman Butt, 25, who registered his team’s top scores in both innings in the losing first test at Lord’s, will captain his country for the first time against Australia starting at Headingley on Wednesday. Afridi, who had come out a self-imposed four-year test exile to captain his country for the first time, quit after throwing his wicket away in both innings, citing his “lack of temperament for test cricket”. NEXT ASSIGNMENT Butt’s next assignment after Australia is the four-test series against England starting on July 29 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. “The Pakistan captaincy is a great honour, there is no doubt about it but the way it has come is not a way it has come to anyone before so I hope it goes well,” Butt said. “It’s a challenge for me but I have to keep on going as a player and as a batsman which is more important. It’s a young unit so shouldn’t be that much of a hassle.” Butt praised what he called Afridi’s “honest” decision and said it was to the benefit of the team because a test specialist will come in. Butt did not reveal his replacement though it is expected to be former captain Shoaib Malik, who was omitted at Lord’s. Australia, seeking their eighth consecutive test match victory, have not lost a test to Pakistan since 1995 and their captain Ricky Ponting said Butt would be under pressure. “There is obviously more responsibility on you when you are captain and a top-order batsman so it’s going to be a hard job for him,” Ponting said. “But he has being made captain for a reason and the way he batted last week was as good as I have ever seen him play.” -Reuters

ISLAMABAD: Higher Education Commission (HEC) on Wednesday directed the universities to complete the verification process of lawmakers’ educational credentials by July 27, ARY NEWS reported. A meeting of the Vice Chancellors of all the public sector universities, held here with Chairman HEC Dr Javed Laghari in chair, decided to extend the deadline for the process from July 16 to July 27. University of Sindh and University of Karachi had reportedly asked the HEC to extend the deadline for two months to complete the process that was turned down by the commission. Meanwhile, the HEC has dispatched degrees of 34 more parliamentarians to different universities for scrutiny.

RAWALPINDI: Secretary General North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Anders Fogh Rasmussen with other members of his delegation called on Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Tariq Majid here Wednesday at Joint Staff Headquarters. The discussion was focussed on future NATO strategy for Afghanistan, progress of efforts by Pakistan against terrorism and violent extremism, issues of strategic stability in South Asia, capacity enhancement of Pakistan for meeting its current economic and security challenges and status of NATO-Pakistan relations including proposed framework to institutionalise an enduring, broad based and mutually beneficial future cooperation, said an ISPR press release issued after the meeting.

MUMBAI: Debutant director Abhishek Sharma's satire Tere Bin Laden has grossed over Rs 50 million in its opening weekend. Released Friday, Tere Bin Laden grossed Rs 50 million all over India in the first three days from 344 screens and and gave tough competition to Sanjay Dutt-Bipasha Basu starrer Lamhaa and Vikramaditya Motwane's internationally acclaimed Udaan that released the same day. Encouraged by the strong response, Boney Kapoor's BSK Network and Entertainment, distributors of the film, are now planning to widen the release by an additional 40-50 prints in the second week. Internationally too, the film is enjoying a strong run and has already grossed $150,000 from Britain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Australia while a US release for the same is still in the pipeline. "After all the hard work, it is truly rewarding to know that audiences are responding positively. We are also very grateful that our colleagues from the industry supported us after watching the film and helped spread the word," Pooja Shetty Deora and Aarti Shetty, producers of the movie, said in a statement. "Tere Bin Laden" is a humorous take on the 9/11 mastermind. It is the launch vehicle of Pakistani singer-turned-actor Ali Zafar and newcomer Pradhuman Singh, who portrays Osama in the movie. The multiplexes too are counting on the Osama satire. "Of the three films released last Friday, Tere Bin Laden is doing better. Though LamhaaTere Bin Laden has performed exceptionally well," Amit Shah, chief manager (programming) of DLF DT cinemas, told IANS. "The reviews for the movie are good and there is a good word of mouth publicity for the same. It has had an average of 70 percent occupancy over the weekend compared to 60 and 40 percent acquired by Lamhaa and Udaan respectively. The collections are also matching for both Tere Bin Laden and Lamhaa," he added. Yogesh Raizada, corporate head (cinemas) of Wave Cinemas, said: "Both Lamhaa and Tere Bin Laden did a neck to neck business. Tere Bin Laden is a movie for the masses with full comedy and is being thoroughly enjoyed by both family and friends." "Both Lamhaa and Tere Bin Laden have had over 70 per cent occupancy each while Udaan is a more serious and youth-centric movie with over 60 per cent occupancy over the weekend," he added. Lamhaa is based on the turmoil in the Kashmir valley. Produced by GS Entertainment and distributed by PVR Pictures, it also stars Kunal Kapoor and Anupam Kher. Udaan is about a father-son relationship. It has been co-produced by Anurag Kashyap, Sanjay Singh and UTV Motion Pictures and features 17-year-old Rajat Barmecha along with popular TV stars Ronit Roy and Ram Kapoor. "All three movies have been good... " is a very well made film and very enjoyable while Udaan is doing good too," said Amit Awasthi, senior manager (programming and operations) of Spice Cinemas.

LAHORE: Pop singer Atif Aslam has said he will work on a fusion project with some members of renowned American hard rock band Guns N’ Roses. The singer announced this in a hurriedly called press conference at the Lahore Press Club on Tuesday. Terming the project a milestone in his singing career, he said that he would have the opportunity to work with the band’s former lead guitarist Slash, Gliby Clarke and Chris Martin. Guns N’ Roses was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. Led by lead vocalist Axl Rose, the band has so far released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album while going through numerous line-up changes and controversies since its formation. Atif said by collaborating with Guns N’ Roses, he would try to bring closer the people of the USA and Pakistan. He said he would also like to invite other prominent Pakistani singers and musicians, including those doing classical music, to join hands with him when it came to work with the western musicians. He said he had recorded a Punjabi track with some of the band members which was his own composition. He said he had many acting offers from Bollywood but he did not accept these as he wanted to start his acting career from Pakistan. He said he acted in Shoaib Mansoor’s upcoming film ‘Boal’ (Speak up). Atif has wide audience in South Asia and has given several hit songs such as Aadat, Woh Lamhe, Tere Bin, Pehli Nazar Mein, Tera Hone Laga Hoon, Tu Jaane Na, Tere Liye, Meri Kahani and Jalpari.

Brilliant seam bowling from Pakistan saw Australia slump spectacularly to 73 for six at lunch on the first day of the second and final Test at Headingley here on Wednesday. Aamer took two more wickets just after lunch without any run being added to the lunch score leaving Australia 73 for eight. First change Umar Gul took two wickets for six runs in five overs after Mohammad Asif (two for 29 in nine) and left-armer Mohammad Aamer (one for 16 in eight) had done the initial damage. Salman Butt, in his first Test as Pakistan captain, could scarcely have wished for a better start after former skipper Shahid Afridi quit the five-day format following the team's 150-run loss at Lord's last week. And his hunch in bringing on Umar Amin, primarily a batsman, was rewarded when the medium-pacer took his first Test wicket to remove Marcus North, the last of Australia's specialist batsmen. The left-hander, who made a century in last year's Ashes Test at Headingley, had got to 16 - the top score of this innings so far - when he pushed at an Amin ball outside off stump and edged to wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal. That left Australia 60 for six, having lost six wickets for 40 runs in 101 balls. Tim Paine was eight not out and Steven Smith 10 not out, with Australia needing eight more runs to surpass their lowest Test innings total of 80 against Pakistan in Karachi in 1956. Although conditions were initially overcast, Ponting decided to bat first on a pitch that now has a reputation as one of the best surfaces in England. Aamer and Asif reduced Australia to 20 for two in the eighth over as Pakistan took two wickets for no runs in eight balls. Left-hander Simon Katich, who made 80 and 83 at Lord's, shuffled across his stumps in typical fashion but was struck in front of off by Aamer. Rudi Koertzen, in his last Test as an umpire, raised his finger with trademark deliberation and Katich was lbw for 13. Pakistan had a second wicket when Katich's opening partner Shane Watson, missed an intended drive and was plumb lbw for five to an Asif ball that cut back into the right-hander. Michael Clarke, repeatedly beaten outside off stump by Asif, got to three before he was clean bowled by Gul's ninth delivery. Ponting, who before this match averaged over 105 at Headingley, never looked at ease. The star batsman had struggled to six in 41 minutes when he thrust his front pad forward and was lbw, aiming across the line at an Asif delivery that nipped back, with English umpire Ian Gould sending the Australia captain on his way. Asif, at that stage, had taken two wickets for six runs in 22 balls. Gul then had left-hander Hussey lbw for five. Replays suggested the ball had done too much but Koertzen was convinced and Australia were 41 for five. Gul had taken two wickets for one run in 15 balls and Australia had lost five wickets for 21 runs in 65. This series is being played in England because of security concerns in Pakistan.

A spell of heavy rains continued in various parts of Pakistan as 18 persons were killed and several others injured in rain-related incidents on Wednesday. A wet spell in southern Punjab, Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa and northern areas has affected normal life in the region. A woman and her three children were killed as a rooftop collapsed in Mandi Bahauddin. Three others injured in the incident. Lahore has received overall 101 milimeter rainfall, says a spokesman of WASA. Around 1500 staff of the civic agency has been engaged in drainage work of the rainwater. Several low-lying areas of Lahore have submerged under knee deep water. Two children were electrocuted in Shafeeqabad area of Lahore. Four persons were injured as rooftops collapsed in the city. A boy in Sialkot died of electrocution during rainfall. Dozens of people injured in Chinniot under the rubbles of collapsed houses.