After the Islamabad launch of Chain of Light, a ‘lost album’ by the late legendary Pakistani musician Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, more launch events will follow in Lahore today (Thursday) and in Karachi on August 31.
This album is a collaboration between Pakistan-based Saiyna Bashir Studios, who are working on a documentary biopic about the music maestro called Ustad, and Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records, which produced the lost album in 1990.
The British Council is supporting the project, with launch events planned in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Manchester, Birmingham, London, and Paris, leading up to the official album release on September 20. Ustad, the documentary, is expected to be released in late 2025.
‘Chain of Light’ is an album of previously unheard recordings of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and his Qawwal party, made at Real World Studios in 1990 when he was at the peak of his vocal abilities.
The album has been carefully restored from the original analog tapes and includes a pristine recording of the beloved classic ‘Ya Allah Ya Rehman’ and the only known performance of ‘Ya Gaus Ya Meeran.’
The tour will move then to Manchester on September 10 and Birmingham on September 11, before heading to Paris on September 13. The final pre-release event will take place in London on September 19, with the official album launch on September 20.
Founder Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan has directed party leaders who are underground to come out and get arrested, Geo News reported.
While talking to journalists at Adiala Jail, Khan urged, “I myself am in prison and the rest of the leaders should also stop fearing it.”
Imran is currently incarcerated in Adiala Jail over multiple charges including the new Toshakhana reference.
Khan stated, “Undercover leaders of PTI should offer their arrests and face whatever charges are brought up against them. They can get bail from courts after arrests.”
After May 9, 2023 many leaders of PTI including, Hammad Azhar and Murad Saeed went undercover to evade arrests.
Television host Nida Yasir recently spoke about sharing her joys on social media and the response she received from users.
On her morning show, the actress took the opinions of the guest actresses and shared her thoughts.
A short clip of Nida Yasir from this week’s morning show has gone viral on social media, in which she complains about negative reactions.
“If you happily share a picture with your husband, people die of jealousy. And if they get an indication that something is wrong between the couple, it makes them happy,” she said.
“If you buy a new house or a car, no one can bear it. Everyone is just waiting to pull people’s legs.”
Actress Shermeen Ali supported Nida Yasir’s statement by saying, “In reality, people have lost the ability to be happy for others and want everyone to be as miserable as they are.”
Shermeen Ali shared her common opinion, saying, “Nowadays people are very worried. They are worried about themselves, and that’s why they don’t want to see anyone else happy.”
Captain Muhammad Safdar Awan has urged former Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif to hold former Chief Justice Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, and Justice Ijaz ul Ahsan accountable for the unlawful verdict in the Panama case, he said in a gathering with locals.
He said, “If Nawaz Sharif doesn’t hold Panama judges accountable, the public will never forgive him.”
He added, “The public wants Panama bench judges in handcuffs along with former CJP Saqib Nisar.” He requested his father-in-law to arrest former Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and charge five Panama judges with impunity.
He further said, “Pakistan would have become an Asian tiger if Panama judges did not remove Nawaz.”
Earlier, the apex court of Pakistan declared former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif guilty in the Panama case verdict and sentenced ten years imprisonment with a 10.6 million dollar fine.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials have planned to modernize the Gaddafi Stadium and change its name before the Champions Trophy 2025.
In October 2022, Karachi’s National Stadium was named the National Bank Stadium under a five-year agreement.
According to Express News, a few sponsors have shown interest after the PCB issued a formal tender for renaming the Stadium. Initial paperwork has been completed, but final approval is yet to be given.
The stadium was named Gaddafi Stadium after the then Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi on March 19 1972, by Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
After that, a campaign was launched to change the name of Gaddafi Stadium, which was met with much opposition. These days, construction work is going on day and night to give the Gaddafi Stadium a new look. The PCB chief has set a deadline for December 31.
The Gaddafi Cricket Stadium, along with the National Bank Stadium Karachi and Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, will host the Champions Trophy. The mega event is scheduled for February and March 2025.
The iconic Jal the Band is making a comeback in Bangladesh after a 14 year absence. The band’s lead singer and composer Goher Mumtaz shared a screenshot of the band’s upcoming concerts in Bangladesh on his Instagram account.
Jal is scheduled to perform on September 27 in Dhaka at the ‘Legends of the Decade’ concert.
Fans in Bangladesh have eagerly awaited Jal’s return, and their patience is finally being rewarded. Tickets for the event, priced at Tk3050, or Pakistani rupees Rs7123. The band is expected to perform all its hits including ‘Lamhe,’ ‘Aadat,’ ‘Panchi,’ and ‘Bikhra Hoon Main’. Goher Mumtaz and Atif Aslam formed the band in 2002.
It was previously speculated that the founding members of the band, which included Farhan Saeed, a former singer and actor, would also perform at Bangladesh. The Jhok Sarkar actor posted a story on his Instagram account saying,
“To all Bangladesh fans, I keep getting requests asked if I am coming to Bangladesh in September for concert. The answer is no I am not, my picture is used blatantly though. I am not! When I will be touring Bangladesh I’ll announce it on my social media platforms. All fans are requested to spread the same.”
The Inter Boards Coordination Commission (IBCC) announced that from the next academic year passing marks will be increased from 33 to 40.
Addressing a press conference at his office, IBCC Executive Director Dr Ghulam Ali Mallah also announced the decision to grant grace marks to students in exams as part of an educational reform initiative.
While talking to ARY News, Mallah said that seven grace marks would be awarded to students, and the board has also decided to go forward with the idea of the same paper from all across the board. “The passing marks will be increased from 33 to 40 for the next academic year. The commission has also decided to shift from an open-choice exam format to a close-choice format, offering 100 per cent options to students.”
Upon inquiry regarding the execution of this plan, Dr Mallah said that this will be done by the end of this year in December.
He also said that a policy is being developed to bring “uniformity” to the paper-making system across the 29 boards in the country.
He said that a sub-committee meeting at the Karachi Secondary Education Board deliberated on different proposals and concluded that all educational boards in the country would now be required to provide seven passing marks.
Days after the deadly Sunday militant attacks in Balochistan, social media called on Baloch human rights activists to condemn the senseless and horrific violence committed against innocent people on August 26.
Mahrang Baloch, the chief organiser of the human rights movement Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), took to social media to announce that she “opposes any form of violence, regardless of ethnicity, race, political, or religious affiliation.”
Social media is divided on Mahrang’s post, with some pointing out that she did not name the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), the terrorist group responsible for killing innocent people.
However, many social media users also applauded her position calling it “brave and extremely responsible.”
Interestingly, former President Arif Alvi took to X, formerly Twitter, to write a comprehensive note welcoming Mahrang’s position: “I am certain that this group of activists with a huge following that is being led by this brave Baloch Pakistani woman are not terrorists. Stop labelling them as such.”
It should be highlighted when Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was in power, then-Prime Minister Imran Khan drew widespread criticism in 2021 when he stated that he wouldn’t be “blackmailed into coming to Quetta” after the Hazara community refused to bury their loved ones killed in a terrorist attack.
Previous
As Balochistan reels from a series of coordinated attacks across the province, which left more than 45 civilians and security personnel dead, a debate erupted among netizens on the matter of condemnation.
Social media wants condemnation of the terrorist organisation Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) from Baloch human rights activists and organisations for the senseless and brutal killing of citizens.
Many have called out the double standards of followers of Baloch human rights movements as terrorist groups like BLA continue to execute innocent citizens based on their ethnicity.
At least 23 people, mainly from Punjab, were killed in the Musakhel district of Balochistan early on Monday morning after armed men checked the identities of victims on buses and trucks, shooting them to death.
Imaan Zainab Mazari, a human rights lawyer, took to X (formerly Twitter) to chastise those demanding condemnation from Baloch rights activists. “Why would their peaceful efforts for human rights be undermined by actions of a group that has nth to do w/ them? This is exactly what the State wants – it wants to continue targeting peaceful dissidents because it clearly cannot (or does not want to) fight grps like BLA.”
Social media users pointed out that those who lost their lives to terrorism belonged to low-income groups and had left their homes in search of livelihood.
Senior journalist Abbas Nasir defended Mahrang Baloch – a prominent Baloch human rights activist, writing, “Those demanding Mahrang Baloch condemn yesterday’s bloodletting should first return her father to her and then make the demand by all means. Why should the onus of condemnation be on one woman struggling peacefully for her and her people’s rights.”
One X user posted an alleged picture of one of the victims, saying, “This is one of the victims. He was there to sell fruits as a lot of people from South Punjab go to these areas to sell fruits, but of course, the privileged aunties who are living outside Pakistan or living in their 2-3 kanal houses in their AC room in DHA would not know about them.”
Another social media user by the handle @bluemagicboxes said that labourers from Punjab travelling to remote Balochistan is ‘weird’ because it made no sense to leave their own communities with a constant threat to their lives.
The majority of people criticised this point of view, with one user writing, “Pakistani ‘Punjabi’ labour can’t leave their province for work-often compelled by political and economic realities- but Afghans should be allowed everywhere in the country, and their deportation is cruel. Make it make sense people. We can all see through your bias.”
Another user pointed out that the majority of labourers killed in Balochsitan were Saraikis, from South Punjab, an area with more poverty than the rest of the province.
Similarly, one social media user criticised this perspective by writing, “My father, a Kashmiri born in Nowshera and raised in different parts of Punjab, worked in Balochistan for three years. Do you think that his presence from one part of Pakistan to another part of Pakistan was “a little weird”? You aren’t fooling anyone.”
Muhammad Ismail, the father of prominent human rights activist Gulalai Ismail, took a relatively insensitive perspective on the incident, posting, “Why do these Punjabi barbers go to Balochistan in such large numbers?”
This tweet was about yet another dreadful incident in May of this year when seven barbers who belonged to Punjab were killed by unknown gunmen in a targeted attack.
The terrible incidents in Balochistan have struck the social fabric of Pakistani society, fueling divisions based on ethnicity and provincialism.
The human rights problems, including the missing persons issue, in Balochistan are genuinely concerning and must be addressed by authorities.
However, militant organisations targeting ordinary citizens after checking their identities deserve collective condemnation.
The University of Oxford has faced backlash, and protests have erupted after former Prime Minister Imran Khan confirmed his candidacy for the Chancellor election, Mail Online reported.
The University received numerous emails concerning Khan’s past support for the Taliban and Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden (OBL), given his current incarceration.
Imran Khan, founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), says he wants to ‘give back’ to his alma mater, where he studied fifty years ago.
The university’s incumbent chancellor will retire this year, and Imran Khan is motivated to replace him while currently in prison and facing multiple cases.
According to Oxford University’s criteria, any graduate of the university can contest in the Chancellor election, and the voting process will occur online.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has hired five mentors who have decided to pay 50 lakh rupees per year. Waqar Younis, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Saqlain Mushtaq will be available for the entire year under a three-year deal and will also act as advisors.
They will be accompanied by a 10-member support staff including head coach, batting coach, bowling coach and fielding coach who will be posted in Lahore, Pindi, Sialkot, Multan and Karachi. Mentors will also provide support to the coaching staff of the Pakistan team.
They will not only work for the teams, but will also be in touch with the board regarding the form and fitness of the players. The mentors have been hired primarily for the Champions Cup which is said to be a ‘game changer tournament’. No further details about the tournament are currently available.
