Author: newsdesk

  • Aurat March Lahore announces ‘Charter of Demands’ for 2021

    Aurat March Lahore has unveiled its charter of demands for 2021. This year’s charter of demands is based on 15 points with a special focus on women’s healthcare, which is also the theme of this year’s march.

    As per the official Twitter account of Aurat March Lahore, the charter “is centred on our theme of healthcare which intersects with the issues of gender-based violence, the dehumanisation and sexualisation of our bodies, safety, environmental justice and our fraught relationship with the state.”

    “Some of our demands are immediate, some of them are from the state — but we recognise that our long-term struggle and means of emancipation lie outside the patriarchal state and exploitative economic system we’re currently in,” read the official statement.

    Earlier, the organisers of Aurat March Lahore released the poster and theme for this year’s march.

    Speaking exclusively to The Current, Shehzil Malik who designed the poster, talked about the thought process behind designing the poster.

    “To know more about women’s health crisis, I reached out to a friend who works in public health which really gave me an insight into the subject,” shared Malik.

    Aurat March is scheduled to take place on March 8 on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

    Meanwhile, expressing her views on the Aurat March, Sarah Khan in an exclusive interview with The Current said: “I think, instead of fight for the rights, we should educate our sons. Don’t teach your daughters to go to ‘Aurat March’, educate your sons and teach them that their mother is also a woman.

    “[A] woman is the one who runs the house, does the house chores and supports the man. If your wife is not helpful, then how will you be happy? Allah has already granted status to the woman, but I think men should be given the same rights. They deserve the same, not only women,” she added.

    On the other hand, actor Mahira Khan who attends the Aurat March every year revealed her reason for going to the event, saying: “I think it is necessary for me [to go to Aurat March] because I think when I do something, no matter how small it is, it leaves an impact.”

    “So when I go to Aurat March, what I’m actually trying to say is ‘Look, if you like me and if you think what I say means something if you think I that I’m on the right side of history, or whatever you think of me, this is also what I believe in, this is why I’m here,” she added.

  • Malala dreams to see Pakistan and India as ‘good friends’

    Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai has expressed her desire to see Pakistan and India as ‘good friends’.

    Read more – Ceasefire, at last

    Talking about her book I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban on the last day of the 14th Jaipur Literature Festival, Malala said: “It is my dream to see India and Pakistan become true good friends and that we can visit each other’s countries. You can continue to watch Pakistani dramas, we can continue to watch Bollywood movies and enjoy cricket matches.”

    “You are Indian and I am Pakistani and we are completely fine, then why is this hatred created between us? This old philosophy of borders, divisions and divide and conquer… they just don’t work anymore. As humans we all want to live in peace,” said Malala.

    The young activist added that the real enemies of both countries are “poverty, discrimination and inequality”.

    She also stressed upon the importance of giving rights to minorities in both countries.

    “Minorities are at risk,” said Malala. “Minorities’ rights are not given to them. Be it Hindus and Christians in Pakistan, Muslims, Dalits and other minorities in India… Palestinians, Rohingya refugees. It is not [just] religion. It is the exploitation of power, it is just elites vs the poor and minorities.”

    Talking about her cause of girls’ education, Malala said that she also dreams of the day when every girl would get to go to school and have access to quality education.

    Malala, who was shot in the head by the Taliban as she was returning home from school in Swat Valley, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her efforts for children’s rights in 2014. The young activist recently also graduated from Oxford University.

    Read more – US Congress passes ‘Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act’ for Pakistani women

    She is now internationally known for human rights advocacy, especially the education of women and children.

  • Shahid Afridi turns 44

    Former Captain of the Pakistan cricket team Shahid Khan Afridi has turned 44 years old today.

    The all-rounder thanked his fans and wellwishers for their wishes, saying: “Thank you very much for all the lovely birthday wishes – 44 today! My family and my fans are my biggest assets. Really enjoying my stint with Multan and hope to produce match-winning performances for all MS fans.”

    Afridi debuted in an ODI tri-series tournament in Nairobi, Kenya and, most famously, hit a 37-ball hundred the first time he batted in international cricket. That record stood for over 17 years and was even more outrageous for the fact that it had been achieved by a 16-year-old. After that, he has been known for his blasting cricket and later he was named “Boom Boom”.

    Several notable personalities including Shoaib Malik, Alan Wilkins Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) wished Lala on his birthday.

    Meanwhile, get to know Lala up close in this exclusive interview with The Current.

  • Prince Harry, Meghan’s tell-all interview with Oprah to be ‘shocking’

    Prince Harry, Meghan’s tell-all interview with Oprah to be ‘shocking’

    Prince Harry, who shocked Britain last year when he and his wife Meghan stepped back from royal duties, told Oprah Winfrey that he had worried about history repeating itself, according to excerpts released on Sunday.

    The CBS broadcast network released two brief clips from Winfrey’s interview with the couple, which is scheduled to air on March 7. It is the first TV interview the couple, formally known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have given since making their homes in California last year.

    “My biggest concern was history repeating itself,” Harry said, apparently referring to his mother Princess Diana, who was hounded by the British press and died at age 36 in a car crash in Paris after her divorce from Prince Charles.

    Harry, 36, was seated next to Meghan, 39, and holding her hand. The couple announced last month that they are expecting their second child.

    “I’m just really relieved and happy to be sitting here talking to you with my wife by my side,” said Harry. “Because I can’t imagine what it must have been like for her (Diana), going through this process by herself all those years ago.

    “It’s been unbelievably tough for the two of us, but at least we had each other,” Harry added.

    Read more – Prince Harry says ‘The Crown’ is ‘loosely’ based on the truth

    In the clips, Winfrey, who is also one of Meghan and Harry’s neighbours in their Montecito neighbourhood in California, said that no subject was off-limits and at one point tells the couple “you have said some pretty shocking things here,” including that their situation had been “almost unsurvivable.” At another point, she questions: “Were you silent or were you silenced?”

    As seen in the preview, Meghan and Harry will have individual interviews with Winfrey as well as a joint sit-down. According to a statement issued by the network, Winfrey, who attended the couple’s May 2018 wedding at Windsor Castle, “will speak with Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, in a wide-ranging interview, covering everything from stepping into life as a Royal, marriage, motherhood, philanthropic work to how she is handling life under intense public pressure,” the network said in a statement.

    “Later, the two are joined by Prince Harry as they speak about their move to the United States and their future hopes and dreams for their expanding family,” it adds.

    Before they moved to California, the couple had complained about the British tabloids’ treatment of Meghan, whose father is white and mother is African-American, some of which they said amounted to bullying or racism.

    Earlier this month, Buckingham Palace announced that the couple would not be returning to their lives as working members of the royal family, adding that Harry will give up his honorary military titles.

  • PML-N’s Hamza released after First Lady Bushra Bibi’s relatives became involved: sources

    PML-N’s Hamza released after First Lady Bushra Bibi’s relatives became involved: sources

    Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shahbaz Sharif was on Saturday released after spending 20 months in jail as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) probed money laundering accusations against him.

    But there is more to last weekend’s development as sources claim that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader’s release became possible when relatives of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s wife became involved.

    According to sources, First Lady Bushra Bibi’s cousin and nephew became two of the three guarantors in younger Shehbaz’s case.

    “The cousin is Masood Akhtar, and the nephew is Adeel Ali Khan,” they told The Current, adding that the third guarantor, namely Idrees Bhatti, is the son-in-law of Akhtar.

    Sources, however, could not comment over the state of ties the guarantors share with the first lady.

    Speaking to The Current, PML-N Deputy Secretary General Attaullah Tarar neither confirmed nor denied that the three guarantors were related to Bushra Bibi.

    “Masood Akhtar Sahib is the father of a very hardworking MPA of ours. Aneeza Fatima has been working very hard for the party since before becoming a lawmaker,” he said.

    The PML-N leader went on to say that the guarantor was the father of a trusted lawmaker of the party, and they checked the characters of the people, “not their cousins”.

    HAMZA’S RELEASE:

    Hamza was released on Saturday after an accountability court issued the order and dispatched the same to Kot Lakhpat Jail.

    The Punjab lawmaker was welcomed by his cousin and PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz outside the jail premises.

    The PML-N had prepared well in advance for the party leader’s release as 12 different camps had been set up across Lahore to welcome him.

    Arrangements were made to bring Hamza from Kot Lakhpat Jail to his residence in the form of a rally.

    PML-N workers showered rose petals and danced while celebrating for hours outside the jail in anticipation of Hamza’s release.

    Earlier, on Wednesday, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had granted bail to Hamza in the money laundering case after a two-member bench of the court heard his bail plea.

    PM’s Focal Person on Digital Media Dr Arslan Khalid is yet to respond to The Current’s query. The story will be updated when we receive his comment.

  • VIDEO: Mardan police arrest taxi driver for doing push-ups on moving car

    VIDEO: Mardan police arrest taxi driver for doing push-ups on moving car

    The police in Mardan arrested a taxi driver for doing push-ups on a moving car. 

    According to the police, the man was arrested after he posted video clips of himself doing push-ups on the moving car on social media.  

    A Twitter user Shoaib Ahmad shared the video of a group of men in a moving car, sitting on the car’s windows and hooting for the driver as he does push-ups with one hand on the open driver’s door and the other on the roof.

    A traffic police warden arrested the careless “taxi driver” identified as Jawad Ahmed alias Ladoo Khan, authorities confirmed on Twitter, adding that a case was filed against the man at the Par Hoti police station.

    “Police have also seized the car,” the Mardan Police added.

  • Atif Aslam’s ‘Raat’ is winning hearts

    Atif Aslam’s ‘Raat’ is winning hearts

    Atif Aslam is creating waves with his latest single Raat.

    The music video of the song walks the viewer through the journey of a striving artist – making it big and subsequently losing everything else in the process. It features Syra Yousuf, Kiran Malik Mansha Pasha, Gohar Rasheed and Khalid Malik.

    As the song commences, we see Khalid introducing Atif as Asif as he doesn’t know his name in the first ‘dimension’. In this phase, Atif is a struggling artist, hoping to make it big in the entertainment industry. The scene then shifts towards the next dimension where we are introduced to an Atif who has made it big. Looking dapper in a well-fitted suit, the singer can be seen working in a romantic scene with the gorgeous Syra. The two break eye-contact as the director asks them for a re-take and right on cue, the two throw a starry tantrum.

    In the next dimension, we see the Aadat singer in an argument with a woman, presumably his wife, played by Mansha. The two are embroiled in an argument as a child sits in the back. The rift causes Atif to lose control of the car, resulting in an accident.

    In the final dimension, we see Atif who could be seen defeated and broken. Just as he walks towards an unknown location in an alley, he is caught up in a mugging attempt and we see Gohar as the notorious robber. In a failed attempt to rob the man, the two wrestle, which results in Atif being shot. In the last dimension, we see an Atif who was left to die – alone and in dark.

    The song, directed by Yasir Jaswal, is beautifully shot. Raat encapsulates the essence of how anything and everything is possible in the darkness of the night.

    “The night is as beautiful as it is mysterious,” reads the tagline of the song and the video appears to do justice to it. The music of the song has been composed by Atif while the lyrics have been penned by Aslam and Munir Niazi.

    Meanwhile, fans are thoroughly enjoying Aslam’s new song.

    https://twitter.com/sultana__aadeez/status/1365676208667598857?s=20

    https://twitter.com/_Maasumladka/status/1365678732665626625?s=20

    https://twitter.com/Shaddy404_/status/1365889529547091969?s=20

    Veteran cricketer, Shoaib Malik also praised Atif and the song.

    “Best of luck sir for Raat,” wrote Malik on social media. “Great composition. It has a very positive feel to it. Simply loving it.”

    Check out the song here:

  • Pakistan set to get three new airlines

    Pakistan set to get three new airlines

    Q-Airlines, Fly Jinnah and Jet Green Airlines have sought regulatory approval from Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to launch services in the country.

    The CAA has completed the scrutiny of Q-Airlines and Fly Jinnah while Jet Green Airlines is still going through the scrutiny process.

    According to reports, following the completion of due procedure, the applications would be sent to the aviation division and then to the federal cabinet for final approvals.

    After the launch of these three new airlines, it will take the number of private carriers in the country to six, catering to the 217 million population.

    Airblue, SereneAir and AirSial are the three airlines already operating in the country. National carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is the largest and oldest carrier.

    It is a compulsion for new carriers to operate domestic flights for at least one year with three aircraft before they are allowed to operate internationally.

    SereneAir has already received necessary approvals from the UAE and Saudi authorities to launch commercial operations with maiden flights to Dubai, Sharjah, Jeddah and Riyadh.

  • What’s Wrong With CSS Exams?

    What’s Wrong With CSS Exams?









    *|MC:SUBJECT|*

    Hey, *|MERGE1|*. Its Sunday, 28th Feb.It will be sunny today in all the major cities of Pakistan.

    Take a break; watch Netflix, do some self-care. It’s Sunday and you deserve a break.

    Happy Sunday!

     

    Laila-The Current 

    Morning Meme

    Op-ed  | What’s wrong with CSS Exams?

    At some point in life, we have all have thought of taking CSS exams. Thousands appear for the exam every year and about 300 lucky individuals get through and get allocated across twelve service groups. Hasaan Khawar writes about what is actually wrong with the CSS exams. 

    Read On

    Sunday Super Star | 

    The loss of a loved one is grief that leaves us disoriented for a long time. However, strong ones channel their grief for the greater good. This week’s Sunday Superstar is Mohammad Iftikhar Ali, the owner of Chef Fatima Foundation, which he initiated in the loving memory of his sister. Watch this video to know about the foundation and Fatima Ali,  Iftikhar’s sister and an internationally recognised Pakistani chef, who won several competitions and often made the headlines.

    Watch

    Urooj ko samajh nahin ata ke which PSL team anthem is the most popular?

    Pakistan main aaj kal har jagah sirf PSL PSL ho raha hai! Sab teams ne apnay anthems bhi release kiye aur unn per kaafi debate chal rahee hai. The Current went to the University of South Asia to ask the students which team anthem is their favourite.
     

    Watch

    Fashion weeks have lost their charm, says HSY

    Current ko diye gaye exclusive interview mein HSY said fashion weeks have lost their charm. To know what other things he talked about, read the story below.

    Read On

    On this Day: 28th February 

     SLEEPING DAY

    Today we celebrate Sleep Day, so if you feel like you are going to nod off on that park or beach don’t worry, it’s a sleeping day.

    Current Baba’s prediction

    Aaj aap bus chill karein ge!

    HEY, WAIT A SECOND PLEASE. 
     
    If you like the newsletter, make sure that this email doesn’t get lost in promotions or spam.

    Here’s how: 

    • Through your phone, add us by hitting the “Kabob,” (the three dots in upper right-hand corner). Then click “move to,” and select “primary inbox.”
    • If you’re using a desktop just drag and drop the email into primary as shown in the video below. (You can also do this on your phone if you open your email in your browser). Easy.

    And don’t forget to send us your feedback. We would love to hear from you 

    Twitter

    Facebook

    Instagram

    Website

    Copyright © 2020 Instant Morning Current, All rights reserved.
     


    This email was sent to *|EMAIL|*

    why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

    *|LIST:ADDRESSLINE|*


  • IBA Karachi launches exclusive dating app for students

    IBA Karachi launches exclusive dating app for students

    Students of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi have launched an exclusive dating app for students only called ‘The Uni Dating.’ News of the dating app was posted on a Facebook group on Saturday and went viral like wildfire.

    A picture of the dating app was posted along with a caption: “Hey guys, just wanted to grab a couple of minutes of your time. We had something special cooking for a while and finally it is here. We would like to introduce you to your own exclusive IBA dating site for current IBA students only. If you know how Tinder works, then you are in for a treat.”

    If you click on the link, it will take you to the main page of the website. You will be asked to log in or sign up by providing your email address, along with the IBA student email address.

    IBA students are not the only ones who have come up with something exclusive like this for their students. Students of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) have also set up a matchmaking group on Facebook to help fellow Luminites find rishtas. The group is exclusive to LUMS students and alumni and outsiders are not entertained here.

    What do you think of this dating app made specifically for IBA students? Share your thoughts in the comments section.