Author: newsdesk

  • ‘Vijay Mallya sent back’: Fawad’s blunder on Nawaz’s extradition called out on air

    ‘Vijay Mallya sent back’: Fawad’s blunder on Nawaz’s extradition called out on air

    A blunder by Federal Minister for Science & Technology Fawad Chaudhry was called out by the host of the show he had appeared on to talk about the extradition of deposed prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, who was last year allowed by the government to travel abroad to seek medical treatment despite his conviction in corruption cases.

    As per the details, Fawad, who was speaking to journalist Shahzad Iqbal during the latter’s show on Geo News, was asked if the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was hopeful that its efforts to get Nawaz extradited would bear fruit.

    “India is a prominent power with influence and you agree. But we have the example of Indian businessman Vijay Mallya who is accused of corruption worth Rs90 billion and has been convicted in the contempt case against him. They [Indian authorities] have time and again been requesting the British authorities to extradite Vijay Mallya but to no avail,” Iqbal said.

    Indian businessman and former lawmaker Mallya is the subject of an extradition effort by New Delhi to bring him back from the UK to face charges of financial crimes in India. Mallya is a former owner of the Royal Challengers Bangalore cricket team. He is also one of the four prominent business magnates of India on the lives of which the 2020 Netflix original documentary web-series “Bad Boy Billionaires” focuses.

    Citing another example, the journalist spoke of former Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia’s son, Tarique Rahman, who too was allowed to seek treatment abroad despite his conviction in a grenade attack case from 2004 on top of financial crimes accusations, and was never sent back by the UK regardless of Bangladeshi authorities’ requests.

    “You are absolutely right but Vijay Mallya was recently extradited. What you are saying is right and that was why I was against permitting Nawaz to travel abroad,” Fawad said in response to Iqbal who appeared shocked over the minister’s ill-informed claim regarding the Indian businessman’s extradition.

    “I haven’t read anything about Vijay Mallya’s extradition. The case is in the Supreme Court. Who told you this?” the journalist asked.

    Attempting to brush it off, Fawad said he had read “something somewhere” and thought Mallya had been extradited, and told the journalist to take a look, over which Iqbal requested the minister to share the source with him. “I will also read it because as far as I know, Vijay Mallya has not yet been extradited.”

    WATCH VIDEO:

    The minister’s err moment was followed by both Iqbal and Fawad telling each other to “Google it”.

    Here’s what The Current discovered when we Googled it:

    “The Indian government has been informed that there is a ‘confidential legal matter’ without whose resolution the extradition of embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya is not possible to India from Britain, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday, adding that India is not a party to that matter. The MEA also said that Mallya’s avenues for appeal against extradition have already been exhausted and that India is in touch with Britain on the issue of his extradition to India,” reads an early October report by the Deccan Chronicle.

    The same has been reported by multiple Indian media organisations, including dailies such as the Hindustan Times and The Hindu.

  • PML-N’s Azma Bokhari reveals Maryam Nawaz’s hotel room number during a terror threat

    A day after the Balochistan government requested the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) to postpone its rally in Quetta due to terror threats, the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N)’s former member of the Punjab provincial assembly (MPA), Azma Bokhari posted a video on social media revealing Maryam Nawaz’s room number and suite name. While shaking the door handle of the room, next a sign which clearly states the name of the suite and the number, Azma says, “…yeh lock aur darwaza InshaAllah salamat rahe ga, agar kisi ko adventure karne ka shauq hai tou hum yahan hi hain” (this room is locked, and if anyone wants to have an adventure, we will be waiting right here).

    The National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) has issued a terror threat for Peshawar and Quetta, saying that banned militant outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is planning terrorist activities in the two cities. The statement reads that the TTP is aiming to target religious and political parties in possibly bomb attacks or suicide bombings.

    Azma Bokhari seems to be alluding to the recent arrest of Captain Safdar from his hotel room in Karachi, suggesting that the workers of the party are on high alert and will be there to counter any potential ‘middle of the night’ arrest in Quetta.

    The PML-N former MPA was previously involved in another ‘video war’ with members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, over the price of aata in her area.

    PDM lead by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam’s Maulana Fazalur Rehman, PML-N’s Maryam Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party’s Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, has done two successful jalsas, one in Gujranwala and another in Karachi but there is some speculation about cracks within the opposition.

  • Sonya Hussyn expresses dissapointment with Lux Style Awards

    Sonya Hussyn expresses dissapointment with Lux Style Awards

    Actor Sonya Hussyn has lashed out at Lux Style Awards for not nominating her drama Saraab in any of the categories.

    “It’s very disappointing to see that a project like Saraab did not bag even a single nominations at LSA 2021,” she penned in an Instagram story.

    “We talk about the need for meaningful content that also educates masses with real issues but when finally created they’re hardly ever recognized/nominated for awards”, the Meri Gudiya star added.

    “Meaningful content or hit projects?” she asked, adding “never really understood the criteria for these award shows”.

    Lekin star Nausheen Shah has extended her support to Sonya for her relevant stance.

    Yesterday, the nominations for the 20th edition of Lux Style Awards (LSA) were announced. This year, the categories for feature films have been omitted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

  • Kinza Hashmi gives us a reason to travel

    Pakistani actress Kinza Hashmi is vacationing in Turkey and has been posting about her drool-worthy trip on Instagram.

    Kinza shot to fame after her role in the drama, Gul-o-Gulzar and joining many others as they vacation in Turkey, she has also shared some beautiful spots of the country.

    Hashmi expressed her love for travelling and exploring places in a post captioned, “If you never go, you will never know” and ” Good things come to those who book flights “.

    Hashmi shared her thoughts with a picture in which she wrote, “Life is short and the world is wide so get out there and explore it”.

    She also shared the night view of Bebek Sahil in Arnavutköy, Beşiktaş, a visiting site in Turkey with caption, “The view was a 10/10”.

    The video she posted of enjoying in a boat made us all feel the same way she felt: “Go where you feel the most alive”.

    According to Kinza,”People don’t take trips, trips take people”. She thinks that the captivating sites and places confine people in their magic from which they cannot escape.

  • Pakistani filmmaker wins gender equality award in Singapore

    Pakistani filmmaker wins gender equality award in Singapore

    Award-winning Pakistani filmmaker, Shehzad Hameed Ahmad was recently honored by the United Women of Singapore for supporting the cause of gender equality through his films.

    Over last 10 years, Shehzad has done significant work highlighting and supporting women causes and creating awareness for gender equality. Singapore-based Ahmad was awarded the Gender Equality Impact Change-maker (male individual) award.

    His work includes The Pakistani Four 2012, where he travelled across America to film the journey of four Pakistani American women, Flight of the Falcons 2015, were he filmed the inspiring journey of Pakistani school teacher and her two-room school in Gujranwala, where he highlighted the issues of girls’ education in rural areas of Pakistan.

    His work was being featured on TVF International, Toggle, Dawn News, National Geographic, TV Ontario, CAN and Crime and Investigation Channel, amongst others.

  • Only two countries have Polio cases: Pakistan is one of them

    Only two countries have Polio cases: Pakistan is one of them

    World Polio Day is celebrated on October 24th every year, and this year’s theme is “A win against polio is a win for global health” acknowledging the fact the humanity is very close to achieving the goal of having a polio-free world, after 30 years of global hard work. Only two countries – Pakistan and Afghanistan – remain affected by the polio epidemic, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

    World Polio Day was established by Rotary international to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salk, who led the first team to make a vaccine against poliomyelitis. Polio is a potentially deadly infectious disease. The best approach to eradicate polio is based on preventing infection by immunizing every child until the transmission of this disease stops and the world is polio-free.

    Africa declared free from Polio

    As per details, WHO has declared Africa free of the deadly polio virus after decades of documentation and immunization efforts to eradicate this viral disease worldwide.

     “Today is a historic day for Africa” said Professor Rose Gana Fomban Leke, ARCC Chairperson “The African Regional Certification Commission for Polio eradication (ARCC) is pleased to announce that the Region has successfully met the certification criteria for wild polio eradication, with no cases of the wild poliovirus reported in the Region for four years,”

    WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also appreciated the efforts of Africa on eradication of Polio. He tweeted “Big day for my African brothers & sisters – our continent will be declared #polio-free. This is one of the greatest public health achievements, demonstrating that with science & solidarity we can beat viruses & save lives.”

    How was Polio eradicated in Africa?

    In 1996, South African Prime Minister Nelson Mandela partnered with Rotary, an international non-profit organization to launch “Kick Polio out of Africa” Campaign. The first synchronized campaigns began in 17 countries, with 76 million children being vaccinated by tens of thousands of volunteers, and the work fanned out across the continent from there. Between 2008 to 2010, 85 million children were vaccinated in 24 countries in western and central Africa.

    Will Pakistan ever be Polio-free?

    Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the last two countries across the globe, where polio remains endemic and as long as it exists anywhere, it will remain a threat everywhere.

    Today, as the world commemorates World Polio Day, Pakistan reaffirms its commitment to eradicating polio and making the country polio-free. Taking to the twitter, Chief Minister of Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar ensures that the government is fully committed towards eliminating polio from the country.

    Pakistan lowered its wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases from 146 in 2019 to 69 cases this year, as stated in a report by Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme further confirmed that approximately 39 million children had been vaccinated against poliomyelitis during a nationwide immunization campaign in September.

    Commenting on the country’s effort towards polio elimination, Dr Rana Muhammed Safdar Faisal Sultan, the Coordinator of the National Emergency Operations Centre of the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme, appreciates the workforce engaged in achieving the goal of polio-free Pakistan.

    There is no cure for polio, but it can be prevented through immunization. The sub-national campaign by Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme will resume in the country by the end of this month.

  • Is PPP ditching joint Opp alliance?

    The decision by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to skip the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) jalsa in Quetta has left people talking.

    Social media is abuzz with speculations about a potential deal between the PPP and the military establishment. People are claiming that the PPP is eyeing a deal and will quit the joint opposition alliance once things are sort out with the powers-that-be.

    Some observers see these rumours that are making rounds ahead of the gathering in Quetta an attempt to create rifts among 11 opposition parties who joined hands to oust the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.

    But analysts have also questioned the role of PPP in past when it made deals with establishment behind other parties’ back. And now the absence of Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari from the rally is also seen as the first step towards reconciliation.

    But is PPP really thinking of leaving the PDM? Facts state otherwise. Not only the PPP chief is addressing the gathering via videolink, but the rally is also attended by top-tier leadership of the party. This was also confirmed by PPP leader Palwasha Khan.

    However, later in the day, it emerged that the PPP chief would not be able to address the Quetta jalsa due to poor bandwidth in GB region. According to PPP leader Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, the address might not materialise due to the internet issues.

    As Gilgit-Baltistan is set to go to polls on Nov 15, PPP Chairperson Bilawal is in the region for a period of three weeks to run an election campaign.

    During the election campaign in Gilgit-Baltistan, Bilawal will address public rallies, corner meetings and press conference at Ganache district, Skardu, Ghizer, Astor, Diamir, Gilgit, Hunza, Nagar and other areas of Gilgit-Baltistan.

  • Donald Trump’s Indian fan, who worshipped him, dies ‘upset’ over president’s COVID-19 diagnosis

    An Indian man, who earlier made headlines for worshipping Donald Trump, and was upset over the news of the United States (US) president contracting COVID-19, has died of a cardiac arrest.

    Bussa Krishna was a fan of the president and said his devotion to Trump began more than four years ago when the leader appeared in his dream. He posted a tearful video on his Facebook page wishing for his idol’s recovery from the virus.

    Recently, he went to Toopran, which is his maternal grandmother’s house. Ever since Trump tested positive, Krishna was reported to be suffering from depression and not eating or sleeping properly.

    Despite his family members counselling him that there was nothing to worry about the president’s health, he did not change.

    “He was not having food or proper sleep,” Krishna’s uncle Ashok said.

    He said that Krishna spent about Rs1.4 (14 lacs) to construct the temple for Trump and another 80,000 to see him during his India visit in February.

    “His only dream was to meet Trump, but he left the world without fulfilling it,” another villager said.

    Also Read: Howdy Modi:Trump calls India ‘filthy’ during final presidential debate

    Though villagers used to make fun of him for building the Trump temple, Krishna never took their comments seriously and worshipped and admired the president as his god.

    On several occasions, he had arguments with villagers and made a point that like others pray to Lord Rama, Krishna and Shiva, he offered his prayers to the president of a superpower.

    The follower was popular as ‘Trump Krishna’ and always used to carry Trump’s photograph in his bag. He also always wore a Trump T-shirt.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJURt4AFfyg
  • Asia crosses 10 million coronavirus cases after India becomes worst hit after US

    Asia crosses 10 million coronavirus cases after India becomes worst hit after US

    Asia surpassed 10 million infections of coronavirus on Saturday, the second-heaviest regional toll in the world, according to a Reuters tally. Cases continue to mount in India despite a slowdown and sharp declines elsewhere.

    Behind only Latin America, Asia accounts for about one-fourth of the global caseload of 42.1 million of the virus. With over 163,000 deaths, the region accounts for some 14% of the global COVID-19 toll.

    The Reuters tally is based on official reports by different countries. The true numbers of cases and deaths are likely much higher, experts say, given deficiencies in testing and potential underreporting in many countries.

    Despite the Asian spikes, the region overall has reported improvement in handling the pandemic in recent weeks, with daily caseloads slowing in places like India – a sharp contrast to the COVID-19 resurgence seen in Europe and North America.

    Within the region, South Asia led by India is the worst affected, with nearly 21% of the reported global coronavirus cases and 12% of deaths.

    India is the worst-hit country in the world after the United States. India is reporting more than 57,000 cases of the virus a day and averaging 764 COVID-19 deaths a day.

    The country has reported nearly 7.8 million infections, behind the U.S. tally of 8.5 million, and nearly 118,000 deaths, versus 224,128 in the United States. Unlike the recent U.S. surge, however, India’s slowdown saw the lowest daily caseload in nearly three months on Wednesday.

    But India’s infections may surge again, doctors fear, with a holiday approaching and winter bringing more severe pollution from farmers burning stubble, worsening the breathing difficulties that many COVID-19 patients suffer.

    India’s eastern neighbour Bangladesh is Asia’s second-worst hit country, with nearly 400,000 cases. But daily infections have slowed to 1,453, less than 40% of the July peak.

    Despite Asia’s patchy record, a World Health Organization expert said on Monday that Europe and North America should follow the example of Asian states in persevering with anti-COVID measures and quarantine restrictions for infected people.

    Mike Ryan, head of the UN agency’s emergency programme, said the global death toll from COVID-19 could double to 2 million before a successful vaccine is widely used and could be even higher without concerted action to curb the pandemic.

  • ‘Successful implementation’: Hammad Azhar says FATF blacklisting off the table

    ‘Successful implementation’: Hammad Azhar says FATF blacklisting off the table

    After the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) decided to keep Pakistan in the grey-list till February, Minister for Revenue Hammad Azhar congratulated the nation for successfully implementing the major points of the FATF.

    “Out of 27 points, we have implemented 21 points given by the authorities concerned regarding FATF, ” he stated while talking to a private television channel. Except India, every country had appreciated the efforts of Pakistan for satisfying the people dealing FATF, he added.

    Pakistan was placed on the grey list during the period of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz last government, he said. In reply to a question, he said the remaining six points had partially implemented. He also termed the decision that was taken without voting a “diplomatic victory”.

    BLACKLISTING OFF THE TABLE:

    In a statement, FATF urged Pakistan to complete an internationally agreed action plan by February 2021. FATF said Pakistan had now reached 21 targets out of 27 set for it in 2018 when Pakistan was placed on FATF’s “grey list” of countries with inadequate controls over terrorism financing.

    But Pakistan still needs to demonstrate that law enforcement agencies are identifying and investigating the widest range of terrorism financing activity, FATF said.

    The watchdog also asked Islamabad to demonstrate that terrorism financing probes resulted in effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions.

    “FATF acknowledged that any blacklisting is off the table now,” Pakistani federal minister Hammad Azhar tweeted.

    Azhar, who leads Pakistan’s delegation at FATF plenary meetings, said the forum’s discussions were focused on how Pakistan could be supported in meeting its targets before a formal review in the middle of next year.

    Last February, Pakistan secured an extra four months to complete the plan after missing 13 of the 27 targets that FATF had set for it in 2018 when it put Pakistan on its “grey list”.