Author: newsdesk

  • ‘Don’t want women to be victims, they should be in govt’: Taliban

    ‘Don’t want women to be victims, they should be in govt’: Taliban

    The Taliban declared an “amnesty” across Afghanistan and urged women to join its government, reported Al-Jazeera.

    “A general amnesty has been declared for all, so you should start your routine life with full confidence,” said a statement from the Taliban. 

    Enamullah Samangani, a member of the Taliban’s cultural commission, said, “The Islamic Emirate doesn’t want women to be victims, they should be in government structure according to Shariah law.”

    Enamullah’s statement represents the first comments on governance from a federal level across the country.

    Enamullah further added, “The structure of government is not fully clear, but based on experience, there should be a fully Islamic leadership and all sides should join.”

    Samangani remained vague on other details, however, implying people already knew the rules of the Islamic law the Taliban expected them to follow.

    “Our people are Muslims and we are not here to force them to Islam,” he said.

    Meanwhile, United States (US) President Joe Biden blamed the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan on Afghan political leaders who fled the country and the unwillingness of the US-trained Afghan army to fight the militant group.

    In his speech, Biden said that the US troops could not defend a nation whose leaders “gave up and fled”, as did Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

    “I stand squarely behind my decision. After 20 years, I have learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw US forces,” Biden said in a televised address from the White House.

  • Shahid Afridi wants a ban on TikTok, appeals to Shehzad Roy to raise voice

    Shahid Afridi wants a ban on TikTok, appeals to Shehzad Roy to raise voice

    Former Pakistani cricket team captain Shahid Afridi was invited on Ahsan Khan’s talk show, Time Out with Ahsan khan along with singer Shehzad Roy. The sports star appealed the Mukhra singer that he should get TikTok banned for the betterment of the society.

    Shahid highlighted that the app is being misused by civilians and can be accessed in regions of the country where the literacy rate is insufficient for the users to understand the importance of using the app correctly.

    “You raise voice for everything, get TikTok banned as well,” Afridi asked the Ya Rabb singer.

    In response to Afridi’s demand, Shehzad Roy asked why he wants the app to be banned.

    “In most of our remote areas, WiFi reached before education,” the cricketer answered.

    He added that there have been multiple incidents due to TikTok. The all-rounder also expressed his displeasure over the usage of mobile phone by kids and mentioned that his daughter got a phone after turning nineteen.

  • Karachi traffic plan for Muharram 2021

    Karachi traffic plan for Muharram 2021

    The Karachi traffic police released the traffic diversion plan for the Muharram procession that will begin from Nishtar Park and end at the Imambargah Hussainian Iranian at Kharadar, Salis Bin Parwaiz reported for The News.

    The traffic diversion plan is for Muharram 8, 9, and 10 when there will be different Muharram processions in the city.

    On Muharram 8, the procession will pass through Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto Road, Father Jaminis Road, Mehfil-e-Shah Khurasan, MA Jinnah Road, Mansfield Street, Preedy Street, Tibet Chowk, MA Jinnah Road, Chand Bibi Chowk, Nishtar Road, Nigar Cinema, Altaf Hussain Road, Denso Hall, MA Jinnah Road, Kharadar police station and Bombay Bazaar to reach the Imambargah.

    Muharram 9: a procession will start from Liaquatabad via Imambargah Martin Road to the Nishtar Park where a Majlis will be held. After the Majlis, the procession will start from Nishtar Park in the afternoon and then proceed to the Imambargah Hussain Iranian, Kharadar.

    Read More: Police arrest man for stealing mobile phones during Muharram procession

    The route will include Nishtar Park, Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto Road, Father Jaminis Road, Mehfil-e-Shah Khurasan, MA Jinnah Road, Mansfield Street, Preedy Street, Tibet Chowk, MA Jinnah Road, Boulton Market, Bombay Bazaar, Kharadar, Nawab Mahabbat Khanji Road and Hussainian Iranian Imambargah.

    When the processions will start from Nishtar Park, all traffic coming from the city side will be diverted towards Soldier Bazaar Road (Bahadur Yar Jang Road), Coast Guard, Anklesaria Chowk to Jubilee or Nishtar Road.

    Traffic coming from Nazimabad will be diverted from Lasbela towards Nishtar Road and the zoological garden to reach their destinations. The traffic coming from the Liaquatabad side will be diverted to Martin Road towards the jail side. 

    These vehicles will be allowed to proceed to Jail Road, Jamshed Road, Dadabhoy Noorji Road, Kashmir Road, Shahrah-e-Quaideen and Sharae Faisal to reach their destination.

    All traffic coming from Stadium Road side will continue through New MA Jinnah Road. These vehicles will be diverted on Dadabhoi Noorji Road towards Kashmir Road, Society Light Signal, Shahrah-e-Quaideen and Sharea Faisal.

    The traffic coming from the Super Highway and Gulberg side will be diverted from Liaquatabad No 10 towards Nazimabad No 2 and will proceed using Habib Bank Flyover, Estate Avenue Road and Sher Shah to Mauripur Road.

    To return, these vehicles will take the same route. All kinds of traffic coming from the National Highway side will be diverted from Rashid Minhas Road towards Stadium Road, Sir Shah Suleman Road, Hassan Square, Liaquatabad No 10 and Nazimabad No 2, and will proceed via Habib Bank Flyover, Estate Avenue Road, Shershah to Mauripur Road. For the return journey, these vehicles will adopt the same route.

    Traffic will not be allowed to proceed along the route of the procession from Gurumandir. These vehicles will be diverted to Bahadur Yar Jang Road. All the vehicular traffic coming from Shahrah-e-Quaideen will not be permitted to proceed towards Numaish, except the participants of the procession and those with stickers on their windscreens allotted from the traffic police, and diverted from the Society signal.

    Traffic on MA Jinnah Road will not be allowed from Preedy Street, Aga Khan-III Road and Mansfield Street to proceed towards Saddar.

    No traffic will be allowed to pass MA Jinnah Road-Preedy Street junction until the procession has passed the intersection. All kinds of traffic coming from the zoo and Aga Khan-III Road will be allowed till Anklesaria Hospital.

  • First Pakistani female cyclist Samar Khan reaches K2 base camp on cycle

    First Pakistani female cyclist Samar Khan reaches K2 base camp on cycle

    Mountain biker and adventure athlete, Samar Khan, has become the only female cyclist to reach the base camp of the world’s second tallest peak.

    Khan, who holds the title of the first Pakistani to summit Mount Kilimanjaro and the Biafo Glaciers in the Karakoram Range on a bike, has set a unique record by reaching the base camp of the savage mountain via cycle.

    As per reports, in her journey, Khan cycled from Askole, a small town located in Shigar Valley, to K2 base camp.

    She posted the landmark achievement on Instagram. “Doorway to Choghori (K2). The stage where prayers are answered or sometimes delayed, where I got to see the clear face of majestic Choghori, standing with grace,” she captioned the post.

    Khan, while narrating her story, mentioned that she has reached her goal by facing harsh climate as she had to encounter long nights of “chasing oxygen” and prayers. “There were many injuries and I was shivering with cold on the way but finally accomplished,” she mentioned in a series of posts.

    Earlier, the award-winning biker girl became the first woman to ride her cycle on the Biafo Glacier, which is located in the Karakoram region at an elevated height of 4,500 meters.

    Khan has participated in a number of races and has also been spreading awareness about extreme sports in Pakistan. The young biker has been vocal about the need to support and promote less popular sports.

  • ‘Shameful’: Fawad Chaudhry condemns vandalism of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s statue

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has condemned the vandalism of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s statue at the Lahore Fort.

    “Shameful this bunch of illiterates are really dangerous for Pakistan image in the world,” tweeted Chaudhry.

    Punjab Police tweeted that the culprit has been arrested.

    A video went viral on social media in which the statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was being vandalised by a man.

    https://twitter.com/AU_Qasmi/status/1427516195331354707

    Have a look at how people on social media are reacting to the video:

    https://twitter.com/gigglypundit/status/1427536453446348828

    Last year in December, police arrested a teenager for vandalising a statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who ruled Punjab in the 19th century. The statue was installed in front of the Haveli of Rani Jindan at the Lahore Fort. This is the third time that Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s statue has been vandalised.

  • Video: Ayeza, Danish inseparable on 7th Wedding Anniversary bash, Maya and Osman cheer

    Video: Ayeza, Danish inseparable on 7th Wedding Anniversary bash, Maya and Osman cheer

    Ayeza Khan and Danish Taimoor celebrated their 7th wedding anniversary in an intimate yet well decorated celebratory event. The duo cut a fancy cake together and then posed for the shutterbugs.

    The dynamic duo’s friends and colleagues showered them with wishes and appreciation.

    On the work front, the couple was last seen together in Geo Entertainment’s Meherposh.

  • Hamza Ali Abbasi gets candid on marrying more than once in Islam

    Actor Hamza Ali Abbasi in a recent interview has opened up about his stance on marrying more than once in regards to religious references.

    “The Ayah about four marriages in Islam has come under specific and extraordinary conditions. I think the Ayah came after War of Uhad when the women and children were despondent on streets and there were no social institutions to look after them,” said Hamza.

    He further said that Allah said to take care of orphans, and if not then at least marry their mothers, he had given this option for the ease of widows and orphans, Allah says that if you can do justice , only then marry more than once otherwise one is enough.

    The Alif star has finished the first draft of his upcoming book on Allah, that he announced three months ago.

    In November 2019, the Jawani Phir Nahi Aani actor had announced that he is taking a break from acting to focus on his spiritual journey and get a better understanding of Islam.

  • ‘I was offered both the roles’: Ayeza Khan opens up on ‘Laapata’

    ‘I was offered both the roles’: Ayeza Khan opens up on ‘Laapata’

    The Meray Paas Tum Ho star recently opened up on selecting Laapata as her next drama post the blockbuster Chupke Chupke in an exclusive interview.

    The Pyaray Afzal diva revealed that when the director and writer of Laapata, Khizer Idrees approached her for the play, he gave her an open choice to select either of the two parallel female lead characters from the drama. When she read the script she only wanted to do Geeti and didn’t even consider the other role.

    The other parallel role of ‘Falak’ is being essayed by Sarah Khan, who is a sports enthusiast and is in love with Ali Rehman Khan’s character, Shams.

    After the appreciation that she received as Meenu from Chupke Chupke she wanted to do another lighthearted and fun character hence she insisted that she will play only Geeti’s character.

    The characteristics of Geeti resonated with her more as she mentioned that even in her real life the Meherposh actor is very “filmy”.

  • Ash­raf Ghani fled the country with four cars and a helicopter full of cash: Russia

    Ash­raf Ghani fled the country with four cars and a helicopter full of cash: Russia

    The Russian embassy in Kabul alleged on Monday that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had fled the country with four cars and a helicopter full of cash and had to leave some money behind as it would not all fit in, Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti reported.

    Russia has said it will retain a diplomatic presence in Kabul and hopes to develop ties with the Taliban even as it says it is in no rush to recognise them as the country’s rulers and will closely observe their behaviour.

    “As for the collapse of the (outgoing) regime, it is most eloquently characterised by the way Ghani fled Afghanistan,” Nikita Ishchenko, a spokesman for the Russian embassy in Kabul, was quoted as saying by RIA.

    “Four cars were full of money, they tried to stuff another part of the money into a helicopter, but not all of it fit. And some of the money was left lying on the tarmac,” he was quoted as saying.

    Ischenko, the Russian embassy spokesman, confirmed his comments to Reuters.

    President Vladimir Putin’s special representative on Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said earlier it was unclear how much money the fleeing government would leave behind.

    “I hope the government that has fled did not take all the money from the state budget. It will be the bedrock of the budget if something is left,” Kabulov told Moscow’s Ekho Moskvy radio station.

    President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday fled Afghanistan as the Taliban entered Kabul, amidst severe criticism from his opponents, saying that now is not the time for him to leave his country as the dreaded Taliban come back to rule once more.

    Ashraf left a note for his countrymen on social media, stating, “The Taliban have made it to remove me, they are here to attack all Kabul and the people of Kabul. In order to avoid the bleeding flood, I thought it was best to get out.”

    “Taliban have won the judgement of swords and guns and now they are responsible for protecting the countrymen’s honour, wealth and self-esteem. Didn’t they win the legitimacy of hearts,” wrote Ashraf Ghani.