Shoaib Akhtar again lands in controversy after mocking Kamran Akmal on live TV
After facing criticism over his remarks about Babar Azam, former speedster Shoaib Akhtar has again landed in controversy after mocking former wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal for his pronunciations. “Sakreeen Nahi screen hota hai,” (It is called screen, not sakreen) Akhtar told Akmal on a live television show.
Akhtar, who holds the record for the fastest delivery in the history of cricket, has several times found himself being criticized for his remarks. Earlier this week, Akhtar said about Babar Azam that to be a brand, he must speak well, adding that the batting superstar will not be a brand until he improves his spoken English. “Playing Cricket is one thing and handling media is another thing,” he said. Social media users bashed him for the statement.
While offering an explanation of his comments, he said: “I did not intend to disparage Babar Azam but he needs to improve himself if he wants to be a big brand.”
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has issued an ultimatum to the Punjab government regarding the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight matches scheduled to be held in the province.
Sources indicate that the PCB is contemplating relocating the Punjab-leg of PSL 8 to Karachi after receiving a bill of Rs450 million from the provincial government, which the PCB and PSL franchises have unanimously decided not to pay.
If the bill is not waived before the deadline tomorrow, the matches will be officially moved to Karachi. A meeting between PCB and the Punjab government is scheduled for later today to address the matter.
The PCB has reportedly started preparations for holding additional matches in Karachi, and the revised schedule has been discussed with the franchises. The deadlock may also result in white-ball matches between Pakistan and New Zealand in April and May being moved out of Punjab.
Currently, Rawalpindi is set to host 11 fixtures and Lahore nine matches, including the closing ceremony, playoffs, and the final. The victorious team will not only lift the Supernova Trophy but will also receive a cheque of Rs120 million, while the runners-up will receive Rs48 million.
Lahore Qalandars will attempt to achieve a back-to-back title win, while Islamabad United will strive to become the most successful side by winning the trophy for the third time.
Famed Baloch singer Wasu Khan passed away Friday morning. According to his family, the singer was suffering from a prolonged illness and was admitted to a private hospital in Sukkur where he died.
Khan was known for his collaborations with pop singer Shehzad Roy for the show ‘Wasu Aur Mein’ on Geo which explored how the two met. Roy first stumbled across Wasu’s viral Youtube video in 2012 and then began collaborating on songs with him.
The ‘Laga Re’ singer dedicated a post to Khan and called him someone with ‘great political intellect’, and shared a clip of their song ‘Apney Uloo’.
“Wasu Khan passed away this morning. He was unable to read and write, but had great political intellect and wrote political satire. We will miss him. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un #WasuKhan”
Wasu Khan passed away this morning. He was unable to read and write, but had great political intellect and wrote political satire. We will miss him. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un #WasuKhanpic.twitter.com/glQdHURW7k
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday demanded that the Supreme Court (SC) form a full court bench to hear the case pertaining to provincial elections and review past cases, starting with the Panama case in which former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was disqualified for life.
In a fiery speech on the floor of the National Assembly (NA), Khawaja questioned why some judges were not criticised and raised concerns about judges intervening in parliament’s jurisdiction.
The minister said he doesn’t want to cross the line in criticism and added that the election date suo motu case should be heard by the full court.
“It has complained that parliamentarians criticise judges by naming them. I want to ask why some judges are not criticised?”
Asif said that when judges intervene in the parliament’s jurisdiction, politicians will raise questions about it.
“Why former justices Saqib Nisar and Asif Khosa are criticised and not Justice Nasir ul Mulk and Tassaduq Hussain Jillani’s name should be raised as well?” he asked.
Taking a jibe at PTI’s Jail Bharo Tehreek, Khawaja said Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s son came to bail his father out one day after his arrest.
#بہادر_بیٹی_مریم شاہ محمود قریشی کل کا پکڑا ہوا آج رو رہا ہے ضمانت کیلیےاس کا بیٹا عدالت میں آیا ہوا ہے ساڈا تے کوئی نی وارث آیا سی عدالت دے وچ.ہمارے تو 7 دن 21 دن اور 90 دن کے ریمانڈ دیئے گئے ہماری بیٹی @MaryamNSharif نے جیل کاٹی.جیل میں وزیراعظم میرا ہمسایہ تھا@KhawajaMAsifpic.twitter.com/H4uKX8zk5e
“No one came for us when we were arrested for several days. We were sent to 90 days remand. PM and his daughter served jail sentences for numerous days. No one got bail for this. On the other side, they [PTI] get instant bail,” said the minister.
“They carry out photo sessions in front of a police van and then leave for home. Jail Bharo Tehreek has flopped. Now it should be doob maro film (Drown in Shame),” said Asif.
“Imran does not come out of his home, gets pre-arrest bail and then directs his party workers to offer their arrests. Imran’s medical record has not been done yet as he went to his own hospital,” said Asif. He added that the PTI chief considers the people of Pakistan fools.
ایک شخص کو عدالت طلب کیا جائے مگر وہ نہ آئے، لاڈ پیار سے بلائیں اس کے باوجود نہیں آتا، خواجہ آصف pic.twitter.com/UReO9itnYs
Khawaja questioned how the treatment meted out to Nawaz Sharif justified.
“Rewriting the Constitution is not the judiciary’s job. This is the outcome of the way Article 63 was rewritten. The way Nawaz Sharif’s government was removed was unfair.”
Asif urged the judiciary to “prove its gracefulness”.
“I would say, correct the mistakes of the past which you have made so that the structure of the state could rely upon a strong foundation that no one can ever dare to challenge it. Do not generate controversies. Do not rewrite Article 63. If such would continue to happen God forbid, an unfortunate incident could take place,” warned Asif.
An arrest warrant for Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah has been issued by Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Gujranwala today (Friday) for allegedly threatening judiciary and government officials in his public speeches.
The court also directed the police to present the minister on March 7 and issued a show-cause notice to the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and the Superintendent of Police (SP), ordering them to appear before it on the same day.
A terrorism case was registered against Sanaullah in August last year on the complaint of a citizen, Sheikh Shekaz Aslam. The first information report (FIR) stated that during his speeches on April 15, 2021, and January 29, 2022, the interior minister had threatened to stop the judiciary from doing its job and kill the children of the Punjab police officials.
According to the first information report (FIR), the complainant saw the federal minister’s threatening remarks on Geo News‘ programme ‘Naya Pakistan’.
The FIR states: “The purpose of Sanaullah’s statements was to terrorise the judiciary, chief secretary, commissioner and people of the country,” adding that “his aim was to stop the officials from working and prevent them from fulfilling their lawful responsibilities.”
Moreover, he demanded an investigation against the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader.
During a hearing on the petition filed for the recovery of the jailed leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), the courtroom in Lahore High Court (LHC) burst into laughter as the judge gave a hilarious response to Zain Qureshi, son of Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
During the hearing, the court inquired from the lawyer of the petitioner why his clients were arrested, to which the lawyer said that they had started Jail Bharro Tehreek (voluntary arrest movement). Justice Shahram then asked the lawyers that why they were “playing with the courts”, to which the lawyer said that these were symbolic arrests. “We are not asking for bail, we have come to the court to protect their rights.”
The response promoted laughter in the court, on which the judge said, “You were saying yourself to arrest him, now if he is arrested, what is the urgency?”
Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s son, Zain Qureshi, also appeared in the court and said in his statement, “I was not arrested but my father was arrested, they are not allowing me to meet him.”
Justice Shahram instructed Zain Qureshi to go to the place where Section 144 is imposed. “You will be arrested and then you will be able to meet your father too.”
Sajal Aly has only praise for Bollywood superstar the late legendary Bollywood actress Sridevi, her costar in the Indian film ‘Mom’.
Aly talked about her relationship with the superstar on BBC Asian Network show and her experience of working with her on the film. “First of all the experience was unbelievable for me that I’m sitting right in front of her, acting and giving dialogues, all that. And it’s just like looking at her you would forget everything. But I think the mark of a good actor is that they also need to be a good person. We are sometimes intimidated by actors in front of us, and also realize that this person is scared while standing next to us. But if you know, then the first thing a good person and a good actor would do is make the other person comfortable. She was that kind of actor. She had a lot of empathy and kindness towards me. For instance, I had that one scene where I was wearing this red dress and when I got ready she was like ‘Oh! You should curl your hair more!’ She was acting like a mother to me, although she was just a co-star. But the fact that she cared about how I’m looking and how I could look better, that is something that stole my heart.”
The host Haroon Rashid reminded her of what Aly said once about not being able to open up to people easily, but finds it easier to act in front of the camera. He recalled his interview with Sridevi at her home in Mumbai, and told Aly that the ‘Chandni’ actor had said “the exact same thing, ‘I don’t know how but when I’m in front of the camera,and the camera is my friend and I open up.’”
Aly said she felt the same way because the camera acts as a mirror in front of which you can be any character, and everything else just blurs.
Rashid, also recounted asking Sridevi about ‘Mom’ after the interview, which had not being released at that point. To which the late actress had only said ‘It is Sajal you need to look out for.’
Aly had expressed feeling extremely flattered and scared because she feels the pressure of proving she is a better actor
“I didn’t know she said that about me, but of course in some interviews she praised my acting a lot. These kind of compliments, I get scared because I feel the pressure. I never talk about her a lot and the relationship we had, it’s something I can’t explain. Because it was really real. Because when we think of showbiz, its a glamorous and refined. But to find a genuine connection within this place is incredibly hard. But for me its been very easy. It’s the only reason why I say that I’ve been very lucky.”
Aly also opened up about her friendship with Sri Devi’s daughter, Jhanvi Kapoor, and how the two developed a closer bond after both of their mothers passed away. “We met after six years[in Dubai], when my mother had passed away as well as hers. Probably because of our mothers as well we got a lot more closer. So I connect with her and she connects with me. We used to keep in touch but then she started her career and she’s busy with that.”
Aly also addressed being cast the main lead for the upcoming adaptation of ‘Umrao Jaan’, revealing that she was already learning kathak lessons.
The ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’ actor said that this project was handed to her as a surprise:
‘My agents Hammad and Yaqoub came to my house as a surprise and said ‘You know how once we were talking about the project ‘Umrao Jaan?’ I said okay, hmm. Then they said ‘You’re doing it! We’re not asking you if you’ll do it, we’re telling you!’
The European Union (EU) DisinfoLab in its latest investigative report has highlighted that leading Indian media outlet Asian News International (ANI) is engaged in baseless propaganda against China and Pakistan by referring to sources that “do not exist”.
“The narratives pushed by these fake personae and/or organisations are almost entirely about criticising Pakistan and China, countries that are not India’s greatest allies on the international stage,” said the report called ‘Bad Sources (BS).’
The report is a follow-up to two previous investigations published in 2019 and 2020.
The investigation reveals that the news agency repeatedly quoted a think tank that was dissolved in 2014. Moreover, it has been using quotes from non-existent journalists, bloggers and geopolitical experts.
“Fake personae, self-described as James Bond fans, basketball players and management consultants, became geopolitical experts quoted by ANI numerous times on topics such as Pakistan’s army doctrines and China’s ‘wolf warrior diplomacy’,” said the DisinfoLab.
“A think tank, dissolved in 2014, is now quoted about twice a week by ANI,” as per the report.”The think tank’s website falsely mentions real Canadian university professors as participants in a conference that they never attended, even concocting false quotes by these academics,” it said.
Defamatory and False. Here is our statement. @ANI will continue to report on atrocities in Pakistan and China. Jo karna hai, kar lo. pic.twitter.com/FlUGzE67T4
Bank Alfalah’s e-marketplace, Alfa Mall, has recently launched a new service that offers interest-free installments for Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) approvals on some of the most popular and expensive smartphones. The smartphones that qualify for this service include the Samsung Galaxy S22, S22 Ultra, iPhone 13, and all iPhone 14 series phones.
According to the Alfa Mall website, the total PTA charges for these phones range between Rs130,000 to Rs190,000, which can be paid in 3 to 6 monthly installments with 0 per cent markup. The process is simple: customers need to select an installment plan, enter their CNIC number, and also provide the IMEI code of their phone.
It is important to note that the PTA approval process may take up to 3 to 5 working days, and customers will be notified of their approval through a confirmation call from the merchant.
With this new service, Alfa Mall aims to provide customers with a more affordable and convenient way to purchase high-end smartphones without the burden of upfront payment for PTA approvals.
Former film mogul Harvey Weinstein has been convicted for attacking an actress in a hotel room during a film festival, and has been sentenced to 16 years in prison on Thursday by a Los Angeles court. On 19 December, a Los Angeles jury found Weinstein guilty of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault innvolving an actress, who identified herself as Jane Doe 1. The survivor recounted her experience in court before the sentence was announced: ‘Before that night I was a very happy and confident woman. Everything changed after the defendant brutally assaulted me. There is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage.’ Weinstein had told the Los Angeles Court judge that he did not know the victim and had not assaulted her ‘I never raped or assaulted Jane Doe 1,’ he said. Weinstein also critcized the case for having ‘too many loopholes’ and even said there were ‘so many things wrong’ with it. He especially accused the woman of being an ‘actress with the ability turn on her tears’. Before the sentencing was announced, Weinstein begged for leniency with the court, saying ‘ I don’t deserve it’. Weinstein had been previously sentenced in 2020 to 23 years in prison in cases of assault pertaining to a production assistant in 2006 and an aspiring actress in 2013. He is now appealing the sentence.
