Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday held an interactive session with the general public via phone calls in which he answered their questions and responded to their concerns.
During the session, while responding to a question about what the federal government is doing to curb the recent surge of rape cases and sexual violence especially against children, PM Khan instead of laying out his government’s plans blamed the rising cases on vulgarity.
“Purda ka hukm isi liye ha”
No! ‘Parda’ ka hukm is liye nahi hai! Purda was NEVER meant to avert temptation.
Quran says that no one will be answerable for another person’s sins. The idea that women hide themselves up so that men don’t commit any sin is against Quranic values. pic.twitter.com/2oBBcNiMF9
The premier’s comments caused an uproar on social media, prompting Pakistanis to not only bust myths related to rape but also call him out for his insensitive remarks. Some even shared their own personal experiences to make it more clear that why rape happens and why it is never okay to blame the victim.
Repeat after me.
The only one to be blamed for rape of a woman is “ The Rapist”.
In Sept 2020, I had to sit through a torturous hearing of a 20 yr old woman raped repeatedly by her own blood father for 8 years in Karachi East District and Sessions Court.
Pray tell more, how rape is about sexual desires of men towards children, that too their own.
— Zuhaib Ahmed Pirzada (@zuhaib_pirzada) April 5, 2021
To anyone channeling Prime Minister Imran Khan and thinking rape is because of ‘fahaashi’ or lack of ‘pardah’. No, rape is: NOT the woman’s fault, NOT because she was wearing less clothes and so she ‘asked for it’,
Dear @ImranKhanPTI rape is a result of power imbalance not temptation. Rapists control their urges when they’ve fear of retribution, accountability & conviction and when they’re made free from such fears due to gendered social structures just like ours they’ll even rape an infant
So easy to blame women and their pardah for fahashi, but don’t actually hold men accountable for being sexual perverts. @ImranKhanPTI – it’s not acceptable to victim blame almost 50% of your nation. Just not acceptable. https://t.co/tDcIOLumNq
Study found that “most convicted rapists could not remember what their victims were wearing.”
“In one study, 1 in 3 college men said that they would force someone to have sex if they could get away with it, and that has nothing to do with clothing.”https://t.co/EUbmz5nPJX
Still pushing the “rape happens because women show skin” discourse is sooooo lazy. Really, dude? After all the work, the research, the campaigns, the flipping logic, this is the conclusion you draw? Exercise some of that brain lard and then maybe we can actually talk solutions.
This is so common! It happens 2 school going girls, women.All of us. Using public transport/walking streets I wear my knapsack upfront. Its a shame. These streets belong 2 women as well. It will take persistence /perseverance 2 break this mould of self entitled toxic masculinity https://t.co/tjrSNzRAdP
A woman’s body belongs 2 her. Our bodies are sensitive & often women themselves are not given the mental freedom 2 understand how amazing & intricate our bodies are. No man has the right 2 force himself upon you. If you feel unheard, unseen, trapped & disrespected, find support
Former prime minister (PM) and incumbent leader of the opposition in Senate, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said it was Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s decision to seek the support of Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) lawmakers for his election to the post.
“They approached that we, a four-member group headed by Dilawar, want to join you. They didn’t approach me, they approached chairman sahib [Bilawal],” he said.
He made the revelation in an interview with a private media outlet, where he also said he was neither interested in the seat of the Senate chairmanship nor leader of the opposition, but it was Bilawal who made the decision.
لیڈر آف دی اپوزیشن کے لئے باپ سے ووٹ لینے کا فیصلہ بلاول بھٹو نے کیا۔ یوسف رضا گیلانی
His nomination for the slot and ultimate win despite joint opposition’s reservations is what is the latest and apparently the biggest bone of contention between the PPP and PDM so far.
Gilani, who was in a straight contest with PML-N candidate Azam Nazeer Tarar, had earlier denied using the votes of BAP senators, saying he had secured the seat with the support of 30 “opposition” senators.
These included 21 members from the PPP, two from the Awami National Party, one from the Jamaat-e-Islami, two independents from erstwhile Fata (Hidayatulla and Hilalur Rahman) and four from the independent group of Dilawar Khan, who had been supporting the PML-N in the past. Other members of the group include Kaira Babar, Naseebullah Bazai and Ahmad Khan.
Speaking in the programme on Monday, Gilani expressed support for the decision to secure votes from BAP senators and said they were disgruntled members who approached Bilawal for the post of leader of the opposition in the Senate.
“But what is wrong in taking their support?” he questioned.
Gilani further said that the PDM must stay intact but the decision to resign from assemblies had come out of the blue.
He questioned what would be the next move after the resignations came, adding that this was what the PPP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) would ask them.
Gilani’s son and PPP member Kasim Gilani, however, has lamented “spread of disinformation” regarding the interview.
Taking to Twitter he clarified his father’s statement.
Independent Senators led by former N Senator Dilawar Khan approached PPP leadership to extend support.2/4
Media friends should not fall in the trap of focusing on the nitty gritty of the opposition disagreements and give a free pass to Selected PM, his mishandling of the economy, the shortage of vaccines and the absolutely condemnable rape apologist remarks by him. 4/4
Meanwhile, ANP has reportedly withdrawn from the PDM after show-cause notices were issued to the party to explain their actions during the recently-held Senate polls.
They had voted for Gilani in a move deemed betrayal by the opposition alliance but democratic right by the PPP and ANP.
Asim Azhar, Hadiqa Kiani and Shaan have requested Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood to postpone the upcoming papers and give students and their parents some relief.
“Please think of our children,” said Kiani. “We must find an alternative plan that doesn’t put them in danger.”
She added that she “an advocate for education” and prays that he son goes on and achieves a PhD.
“But this is just not the way,” said the singer.
Please think of our children. We must find an alternative plan that doesn’t put them in danger. Note, I’m an advocate for education, I’ve received my MSc in Psych & I pray my son goes on & achieves a PhD but this is just not the way. #ExamsCancelHoga@Shafqat_Mahmood#CIES
The singer further said: “Students have really been disturbed due to the ongoing pandemic causing the institutes to close and open again and again.”
“I personally know some students that haven’t been able to complete their syllabuses as well,” he asserted.
Students have really been disturbed due to the ongoing pandemic causing the institutes to close/open again & again. I personally know some students that haven’t been able to complete their syllabuses as well. Please kuch karain aur bacho ka saath dain. @Shafqat_Mahmood
Addressing students, Asim said that he understands their pain because if he wasn’t a full-time musician, he would also be going through the same stress.
“I understand your stress and pain guys. Agar abhi music nahi kar raha hota tou mai bhi ro raha hota exams ko leke iss waqt.. so I understand,” said Asim, adding: “I am sure Shafqat Mahmood will stand with the youth and find the best solution possible.”
I understand your stress & pain guys. Agar abhi music nahi kar raha hota tou mai bhi ro raha hota exams ko leke iss waqt.. so I understand. And I am sure @Shafqat_Mahmood will stand with the youth & find the best solution possible, InshaAllah #ExamCancelHoga
Shaan, on the other hand, brought up another issue, saying: “Honourable minister must give relief to parents who are suffering from not just the pandemic but the private school mafias as well.”
“Change was your slogan and patience is all we have till now,” he added.
The veteran actor further said: “Elm bohat bari dolat Hai… agar yaqeen na aye to private school kai malikaan sai pooch lain.”
Elm bohat Bari dolat Hai… agar yaqeen na aye to private school kai malikaan sai pooch Lain..
Demanding teacher-assessed grades, dozens of students of the Cambridge International Education (CIE) system staged a protest outside the Karachi Press Club (KPC) on April 2 against the O’ and A’ Level examinations scheduled to be held in April and May. Multiple protests also took place across the country against the exams, including one in Lahore.
After studying online for the whole year, the protesting students said that they would not appear for tests in classrooms. The students and their parents demanded the federal government to cancel the CIE examinations in light of the pandemic and asked for marking to be done on the basis of teacher-assessed grades.
However, Mahmood on Tuesday announced that examinations across the country will be held from the third week of May, adding that Cambridge exams will be held as per schedule.
“Decisions regarding exams are final,” said Mahmood. “Students should start preparing and working hard.”
Decisions regarding exams are final. Students should start preparing and working hard. This decision will not be changed so no one should have any uncertainty in their mind. Everything has been done keeping interest of education in mind. My very best wishes to everyone
Saudi Arabia has announced that only people immunised against COVID-19 will be allowed to perform the year-round Umrah pilgrimage during the month of Ramzan.
Al Jazeera, quoting the Saudi press agency, reported: “Immune persons who [have] received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine/immune person after 14 days of receiving the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine / immune person who has recovered from the infection will [only] be allowed to perform Umrah.”
It further said that “Umrah permits and visit permits for the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah will increase operational capacity during the month of Ramadan, which begins next week.”
The holy sites, which draw millions of pilgrims every year, are a key revenue earner for Saudi Arabia, which hopes to welcome 30 million pilgrims to the Kingdom annually by 2030.
Federal Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan has accused the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan-led cabinet of “only listening to businessmen” while paying no heed to its own members.
As per the details, the minister attacked his own government during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Agriculture. He, however, wasn’t the only one expressing concerns as Fehmida Mirza also pointed out high prices of agricultural inputs and low rate of output.
Expressing his dissatisfaction with the government’s policies, Sarwar, the aviation minister said that within the past two and a half they had not been able to do anything for the agricultural sector. Mirza, the inter-provincial coordination minister, said that no relief had been given to growers.
However, Finance Minister Hammad Azhar and Food Security Minister Fakhar Imam defended the government policies.
According to The Express Tribune, Azhar said that the price of DAP fertiliser had been increased because of the hike in international price, adding that increasing support price of wheat would affect the flour price.
The meeting was chaired by National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, which was also attended by Usman Dar, Shandana Gulzar and others. Gulzar informed the committee that the government would initiate ‘Kamyab Kisan’ programme.
“We could not give any relief to the agricultural sector. The government gave relief to industry and services but not to agriculture. The voice of the people for sectors other than agricultural is more powerful,” Sarwar lamented.
“We are importing wheat but the government is not ready to give anything to its own growers. Imported wheat costs Rs2,400 [pre 40 kilogrammes] but we’re are giving Rs1,800 to the growers [in the shape of support price],” he told the committee.
After the meeting, Qaiser said that the stance of Ghulam Sarwar in the meeting was his personal viewpoint.
A private airline flight made an emergency landing at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport after developing a technical fault.
The development on Monday came after SereneAir’s Karachi-Islamabad flight ER-502 returned to the port city’s airport half an hour after taking off.
According to reports, the airline issued a statement in this regard, saying that the plane developed a technical fault after takeoff, and the captain decided to land it back in Karachi after acquiring permission from the control tower.
Reports further said that Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar was also onboard.
The aircraft’s engine had developed a fault, and engineers are working to fix it.
It is being reported that another engine of the same plane had developed a fault earlier.
To celebrate one year of her YouTube channel and her birthday, Saba Qamar has released a new songChingariyan in collaboration with Mustafa Zahid and Emmad Irfani.
“Celebrating the first year anniversary of my YouTube channel and my birthday with the release of an episode very close to my heart,” said Saba, while sharing a clip from the song.
“I’ve put my sweat, blood, heart and soul into this project, I really hope that this story connects with you all exactly like I felt it while doing this because ‘Life goes on’,” she said further.
The actor also thanked her “two favorite people for making my dream project come to life”.
“This was not possible without Mustafa Zahid and Emmad Irfani,” said Saba.
Chingariyan, which has mostly been shot underwater, features Saba and Emaad. It has been composed by Saad Sultan and Zahid, while the lyrics have been penned by Shakeel Sohail, Mustafa Zahid, Ali Aftab and Saad Sultan.
Saba launched her YouTube channel last year during the COVID-19 lockdown with an episode on isolation. Titled Isolation, the episode followed the actor as she embraced her loneliness. She narrated her feelings as she walked around the house and raised some thought-provoking questions.
Meanwhile, Saba recently also called it off with Azeem Khan due to “personal reasons,” just a week after announcing that she is getting married to him.
Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood on Tuesday announced that there will be no on-campus classes for Grades 1 to 8 in areas affected by coronavirus till April 28.
The minister made the announcement while addressing the media after a meeting of the National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) that reviewed the opening of the country’s educational institutions. Besides this, the meeting also discussed the schedule for exams including those for Grades 9, 10 and 11 as well as those for O’ and A’ Levels.
“During today’s meeting it was decided that classes for grade 1 to 8 will not be held in districts that are affected [by Covid-19] and this will go on till April 28,” said the minister.
Punjab Minister for Education Dr Murad Raas informed that 13 districts have been affected by the virus and therefore no on-campus classes will take place in these areas for grade 1 to 8 students. The minister added that this decision will be reviewed again in the last week of April, when the NCOC will decide on whether or not to close down educational institutions till Eid.
ANNOUNCEMENT No. 1 All Public & Private schools Classes 1-8 to remain closed until Eid in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Multan, Bhawalpur, Sialkot, Sargoda, Faisalabad, TT Singh, RYK, DG Khan and Sheikupura. Decision to be reviewed in 2 weeks.
The minister also said that classes for grade 9, 10, 11 and 12 will be allowed to continue with strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) from April 19 so that students can finish the syllabus and be prepared for their exams.
ANNOUNCEMENT No. 2 All Public & Private Schools classes 9-12 will be open only Monday & Thursday starting April 19th, 2021 in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Multan, Bahawalpur, Sialkot, Sargoda, Faisalabad, TT Singh, RYK, Sheikhupura and DG Khan.
Later, Mahmood also asserted that “decisions regarding [the] exams are final,” and told students to start preparing and working hard.
“This decision will not be changed so no one should have any uncertainty in their mind,” added the minister.
Decisions regarding exams are final. Students should start preparing and working hard. This decision will not be changed so no one should have any uncertainty in their mind. Everything has been done keeping interest of education in mind. My very best wishes to everyone
Yasir Hussain, Mikaal Zulfiqar, Ayesha Omar and Sabeeka Imam have stepped forward and raised their voice for veteran actress Naila Jaffery, who is currently battling ovarian cancer.
“TV walo yeh aap ki hi aik sathi adakara hain. Aur yeh apna haq mang rahi hain. imdad nahi,” wrote Yasir Hussain on social media.
The actor further said: “Fellow actor Naila Jaffery ki halat dekhny k baad bhi hum kehty hain k hamen khuda ka khouf hai aur hum aakharat se darty hain.”
“Ramzan main chanda aur signal pai bheek dene se kuch nahi ho ga. Hamen haq dena ho ga,” he added.
“It’s really time to take a stand on this,” said Mikaal sharing Yasir’s story. It is pertinent to add here that the Durre Shehwar actor has previously also demanded TV channels to pay actors for reruns.
Voicing her support, Ayesha Omar said: “Heartbreaking to see yet another senior actor and someone who has given so much to our industry suffering and reminding the government/industry giants about their due rights.”
Omar further added: “She’s absolutely right. Senior actors, especially those who don’t have family support and are undergoing long term treatments should be given royalties and financial support, if not all.
Sharing the video of Jaffri’s appeal, Sabeeka Imam wrote: “This is so heartbreaking.”
“I have worked with her and she is the sweetest person. Dear channel owners, please have it in your hearts to at least give her what she’s due,” said the model, adding: “I am certain Allah will reward you with more! Love you Naila Jee.”
This is so heartbreaking. I have worked with her and she is the sweetest person. Dear channel owners, please have it in your hearts to atleast give her what she’s due. I am certain Allah will reward you with more!!! LOVE YOU NAILA JEE!!! ❤ https://t.co/2aJOFZlYog
Ushna Shah also took to her twitter and said: “Royalties are meant to feed artists for life but in PK we are heartbreakingly forsaken. #NailaJafri shouldn’t have had to publicly request for what is hers on her cancer bed. Many artists have relied on the kindness of samaritan fans once their distress was made public.”
In another tweet, she wrote: “Artists deserve a royalties for their art, a retirement plan, a union, an insurance for difficult times, a dignified pension, like every other hardworking person on this planet.”
2/2 Artists deserve a royalties for their art, a retirement plan, a union, an insurance for difficult times, a dignified pension, like every other hardworking person on this planet.
In her appeal video, Naila had requested for compensation of her re-broadcasted dramas on PTV.
“For the last six years, I [have been tied to] hospitals, as well as illness and cancer,” said the veteran actor. “I have also not had my second round of chemo either because of persistent infection and during this time I wondered: ‘What if the government lends a hand in this? What if they set up some policies for older people from the arts and sports sector?’.”
She further said: “When I initially joined PTV, I would get royalties for re-run shows and while that amount was nowhere near enough, it was still something and I liked having a stream of disposable income on the side.”
“I have been confined to a hospital bed for six years now and while everyone has supported me, loved me, helped me, and motivated me I wish there was some way to gain royalties on some of my last re-run plays,” said the actor. “Though I understand that it might not look like a lot to many people, for people like me who stopped working years ago, this support becomes important.”
“I request and demand that something is done for senior artists in the future since it’s become harder and harder for us to manage,” requested Naila.
Later in the day, Yasir shared that someone reached out to him in order to the help the veteran actor.
“Zindagi mai pehli bar laga hai k social media ka kuch faida hai,” said Yasir. “Naila Jaffery jee k baray mai meri Insta story dekh k aik farishty ki call aai and now they are connected.”
“Alhamdulillah is mulk main bohot achy log bhi hain,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Sindh Government has announced that they will bear all medical expenses of the actor.
As per details, Sindh Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Antiquities Sardar Ali Shah, in a statement, said that his department would bear all treatment expenses of Jaffery.
Sardar Shah on Twitter announced that his department would bear all treatment expenses of Naila Jaffery. He said in his tweet: “Culture department will happily bear all her expenses .. can anyone share her contact number?
Culture department will happily bear all her expenses .. can anyone share her contact number?
In another Instagram story, Yasir said: “Shukria un tamam logoon ka jinhoon ney yeah royalty ka system iss mulk sey khatam kia warna aaj koi bhi fankar yeah bat na kar raha hota.”
Saba Qamar has ended up on the moral brigade’s radar after pictures from her birthday celebrations went viral on social media. Saba, who wore a blue off-shoulder dress to her party, has irked some social media users who then harshly criticised the actor for her choice of outfit.
While Saba did not bother with the trolls, Zoya Nasir, who is very vocal about her opinions, shut them down, saying: “These are the same men (and women) who, if run into Saba Qamar, would shamelessly beg for a selfie with her and would take pride in showing to their peers that they had the honour of meeting her.”
Zoya, who is often at the receiving end of criticism for her outfit and life choices, earlier also defended a bride after former actor Noor Bukhari criticised her outfit on her wedding day.
