The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has temporarily banned the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), an online battle game, for being harmful to players’ health.
The move came after three children committed suicide in Lahore recently due to the online game.
The authority, in a statement, said that it received “many complaints against PUBG wherein it is stated that the game is addictive, wastage of time and poses a serious negative impact on the physical and psychological health of the children”.
It added that the decision came on the back of complaints received from different segments of society as well as media reports claiming “cases of suicide attributed to PUBG game”.
“Honorable Lahore High court has also directed PTA to look into the issue and decide the matter after hearing the complainants. In this regard, a hearing is being conducted on the 9th of July 2020,” it added.
PTA has also urged people to share their opinion and give their feedback on the issue at consultation-pubg@pta.gov.pk by July 10, 2020.
The Authority also decided to solicit views of the public with reference to the said online game. In this regard public is encouraged to provide feedback through consultation-pubg@pta.gov.pk by July 10, 2020.
Lubna Faryad, who has gained acclaim as the Amma who reviews dramas on the digital media platform Galaxy Lollywood,in her recent review criticised Ansari’s ongoing drama Zebaish. In response to her criticism, Bushra lashed out at Amma, referring to her as “cheap low-class person”.
Bushra used very harsh words against Amma, remarking “They are the coronas in our lives. Allah will finish them InshaAllah.”
While Bushra did not further comment on the matter and later deleted her original comment, the team of Galaxy Lollywood expressed their disappointment and said that Amma is a simple house-wife, who enjoys watching dramas and shares her thoughts on them in her videos.
“Amma has not and has never claimed to be a critic,” said the digital media platform in a post.
Meanwhile, audiences also expressed their disappointment over Bushra’s comments.
I’m so angry over this. Bushra Ansari needs to go take a lesson in class and manners. She showed HER level of jaahil-pan, not the other way around. #TeamAmma#IStandWithAmmahttps://t.co/KF0AyMMKEv
Disgusting comments by Bushra Ansari , #Amma has a very unique & straightforward way of expression but that is her style I thought #Zebaaish was much worse, Amma was kinder than I would have been Either way No one should wish death on someone https://t.co/s74wGlrFRG
Later, the digital media platform also shared a short clip in which Amma is praising Bushra Jee and expressing her appreciation for her.
We just wanted to share this compilation of clips where Amma has, time and again, reiterated that she is a fan of Bushra jee. That is is why, Bushra Jee’s words hurt us so much because on our side, it was always an apologetic fan trying to give honest reviews #IStandWithAmmapic.twitter.com/ntxIf508TS
Zebaish, which airs on Hum TV, has been written by Bushra, who also the leading lady of the drama. The drama also stars her sister Asma Abbas, niece Zara Noor Abbas, Asad Siddiqui, Babar Ali, Zoya Nasir and Shabbir Jan.
Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has been called out by Twitterati for once again mimicking Pakistan People’ Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, this time on the floor of the National Assembly (NA).
“When you’re made the chairperson of a political party without struggle, you say things like ‘jab baarish aata hai tou paani aata hai (more water comes when it rains more)’,” the leader of the house said during another rare appearance in the NA.
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Apparently the biggest struggle for #ImranKhan is to remain dignified… which he fails miserably at each time… embarrassing and pathetic that this is the Leader of our country…
Very low and disgusting from IK. This man doesn’t deserve to be a PM. Standing in NA mocking his political opponents shows his mental illness and fear of getting ditched anytime. He is the Punjabi version of Altaf obsessed with Sharif phobia and annoyed with Bilawal speeches
Utterly disgusting the way Imran Khan mocked Bilawal in the NA . The man who cannot speak Urdu coherently himself mocking someone young enough to be his grandson and whose mother tongue is not Urdu yet he has learned it well and speaks it well. Kudos @BBhuttoZardari
This, however, was not the first time that PM Imran made fun of Bilawal’s “rain theory”.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Havelian-Thakot motorway under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in November last year, he had mimicked Bilawal and said that his theory had startled scientists across the globe.
“Bilwal has startled scientists worldwide by saying ‘jab barish hoti hai to pani ata hai’ (water pours when it rains). But Einstein rolled over in his grave when he [Bilawal] went on to say ‘Jab ziada barish hota hai to ziada pani ata hai’ (more water comes when it rains more),” the premier had quipped.
A unique wedding has been seen in Kanpur, India where, while distributing food on the pavement, a young man fell in love with a begging girl and both of them tied the knot amid the lockdown.
Anil, a driver from Kanpur’s Kakadeo area came across a beggar, Neelam when he went out to distribute food as per the instructions of his employer among the needy. He was attracted to Neelam that turned into true love.
Talking to an Indian news outlet, the bride said, “My father died long ago and my mother suffered a paralysis stroke. My brother and sister-in-law used to beat me up and one day they threw my mother and I out of the house.”
Left without a roof over her head and little resources, Neelam started begging to make ends meet.
“He started talking to me when he came to know about my circumstances. One day, he convinced me to give up begging. We started interacting daily, and developed a friendship which blossomed into love”, said Neelam.
Anil told reporters: “I admired her courage and guts. She was not only fending for herself but also for her paralysed mother.”
Anil shared his feelings with his employer who guided him to take care of Neelam and her mother because the lockdown had made their life much more difficult. And then he started providing to them two times a day.
His employer, Lalta Prasad convinced Anil’s family to let him marry the girl he loved and he finally proposed to Neelam.
The Punjab government has spent Rs8.6 million in 16 months — from August 2018 till November 2019 — on the helicopter flights of Chief Minister (CM) Sardar Usman Buzdar, including 14 flights to his hometown and constituency, Punjab Information Commission has revealed.
According to data released by the commission, CM Buzdar made his first visit to Mian Channu and Pakpattan from Lahore on August 28, 2018, on his official helicopter soon after assuming the office.
In September 2018, the helicopter was used twice for local flying in Lahore. Interestingly, the helicopter was used five times in October out of which Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan used it thrice to visit Punjab Governor’s House during his visits to the provincial capital.
In November 2018, the official helicopter was used 14 times — thrice to Dera Ghazi Khan, which is also the constituency of the Punjab CM. The official chopper was used to visit Taunsa Sharif, the hometown of the provincial chief executive, during the same month.
In February 2019, Buzdar paid a visit to Multan, Rajanpur and DG Khan while in the same month he also went to Taunsa via helicopter.
In April 2019, the Punjab CM made 28 trips on his official helicopter of which five were made to Taunsa. In May 2019, he made 27 visits, eight in July, 13 in August, 10 in September, 14 in October, and 11 in November, of which two trips were to DG Khan.
He also made several visits to Pakpattan on board his official helicopter during this period.
The Punjab government helicopter made a total of 164 flights and remained air borne for 119 hours and 30 minutes during this period.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday reserved its verdict on the maintainability of a petition seeking the removal of Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan from office for bringing the issue of pilots’ dubious licences out in the open.
The petition, filed by one Advocate Tariq Asad, submitted that the remarks tarnished the image of the country in the international community.
The petition was filed a day after the European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA) has suspended the authorisation for the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to operate in Europe for six months. In another related development, the United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation Agency suspended PIA flight operations from three airports — Birmingham, London Heathrow and Manchester.
Recalling the EASA decision, the petitioner said if a pilot possessed a fake/dubious licence, the minister should have taken action against them instead of bringing the matter in the knowledge of the National Assembly from where the national and international picked it up.
Subsequently, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah reserved his verdict on the matter which he said to announce later.
Minister for Industries Punjab, Mian Aslam Iqbal has approved a 40% fee reduction for technical education students.
He chaired a meeting to allocate the annual budget for the provincial Board of Technical Education that has been approved.
According to reports, a 13 point agenda was presented by the board on which all the members of the meeting agreed.
A decision was taken that students who have been promoted without a formal examination this year due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country will be given 40% relief in tuition fees.
The fee reduction is only for the students of Diploma for Associate Engineering (DAE), commerce, Matric (tech) and Matric (vocational).
Soon after filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt released the first poster of his comeback directorial feature Sadak 2, starring daughters Alia Bhatt and Pooja Bhatt, it was met with massive trolling and hatred. The film which was scheduled to release in cinemas on July 10, will now directly release on OTT service Disney+HotstarVIP.
Ever since the suicide of actor Sushant Singh Rajput last month, Bhatt has been at the receiving end of hate on social media, like many Bollywood celebrities and bigwigs who have been accused of promoting nepotism and scuttling the chances of outsiders.
Following the announcement and release of the poster, netizens and fans of the late actor unleashed their anger and hatred in the comment sections on different social media platforms and called for audiences to boycott the film. While Alia and Mahesh limited the comment section on Instagram, only allowing those who they follow to comment, Mahesh did not do the same on Twitter, following which he received a barrage of hate comments on the microblogging platform.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCBQpM9gImB/
Reacting to his tweet, netizens slammed the filmmaker, holding him responsible for Sushant’s deteriorating mental condition and threatened to boycott Sadak 2.
“Guy who declared 26/11 as RSS ki Sazish and his own son helped terrorists to identify the places, tried to declare Sushant as mentally unstable, having a relationship with lady younger than his daughter, lowest scum possible…Don’t know why this guy is not in jail,” declared a social media user.
“When you put END to someone’s life intentionally, you’ll soon release your END,” wrote another user.
“We are not interested… get lost,” retorted another user.
A user responded by sharing the poster of Sushan’s upcoming last film Dil Bechara, which will also be released on Disney Hotstar instead of cinemas. Sushant’s fans also began to trend the hashtag #JusticeforSushantSinghRajput on social media.
However, Alia’s co-actor Aditya Roy Kapur, who shared the poster without limiting the comment sections was met with heavy trolling and hate speech aimed at Mahesh and Alia.
Sadak 2 is a follow-up of Bhatt’s 1991 hit Sadak and is produced by his brother Mukesh Bhatt. The sequel reunites the original film’s lead pair of Sanjay Dutt and Pooja Bhatt and also stars Alia and Aditya. The film also marks Mahesh’s return to filmmaking after 20 years.
Meanwhile, Disney+Hotstar also received flak for not giving equal representation to all the films releasing on the platform at their virtual press conference. While Alia, Abhishek Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Varun Dhawan and Akshay Kumar were in attendance, Kunal Kemmu or Vidyut Jammwal were not invited, leading to online criticism. Both the actors also expressed their reservations and disappointment on social media.
Izzat aur pyaar maanga nahi kamaya jaata hai. Koi na de toh usse hum chhote nahi hote. Bas maidaan khelne ke liye barabar de do chhalaang hum bhi oonchi laga sakte hai
A BIG announcement for sure!! 7 films scheduled for release but only 5 are deemed worthy of representation. 2 films, receive no invitation or intimation. It’s a long road ahead. THE CYCLE CONTINUES https://t.co/rWfHBy2d77
Meesha Shafi, who is one of the pioneers of the #MeToo movement in Pakistan, has extended her support to women and girls who have broken their silence over being sexually harassed by their male teachers at a private school in Lahore.
In a tweet, the singer said that she feels “like the pain and trauma I have suffered is worth so much.”
“Your bravery is my reward. I am with you all,” said Shafi, who had accused Ali Zafar of sexual harassment in April 2018, propelling the #MeToo movement in Pakistan.
Proud to see all the women/girls break their silence, even though the world is SO ugly to those who speak up. Today, I feel like the pain and trauma I have suffered is worth so much! Your bravery is my reward. I am with you all! ♥️ #lgs1a1#LGS#LUMS#MeToo
On Sunday, dozens of girls came forward with accounts of harassment and inappropriate behaviour by teachers at Lahore Grammar School (LGS) 1A1 Ghalib Market Branch. The management of the school, including female teachers, also came under fire for brushing the matter under the carpet for years. It is pertinent to mention here that most of the girls studying at the school were minors at the time.
Such incidents had reportedly been going on for the past four or five years and the victims had been reporting the matter to the admin and their teachers. However, they took no action and resorted to victim-blaming. Strict and immediate action was only taken after the girls shared their ordeal on social media and the matter became public.
According to details, students have come forward and shared their experiences of being harassed by three teachers namely Aitezaz Rehman Sheikh, Umer Shareef and Zahid Iqbal Warraich. All three teachers were fired soon after the allegations surfaced.
Following the uproar on social media, Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari said that she has taken serious notice of the allegations and has alerted regional offices of the ministry. Education Minister of Punjab Dr Murad Raas also said that he will personally deal with the case.
I will deal with the case in Lahore Grammar School 1A1 myself. Have talked to the Principal this morning. Getting all the details. These Children are my Children. I will protect them. This case will be brought to a proper conclusion according to law. Make NO mistake about it.
UK, which is no longer a part of the EU since after Brexit, has also banned certain PIA flights
Amid the controversy around the alleged fake licences of hundreds of Pakistani pilots, operations of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in Europe were on Tuesday banned for six months by the European Union Air Safety Agency (EASA).
According to a spokesperson of the national carrier, EASAhas suspended PIA’s authorisation to operate in European Union member states for six months effective July 1, 2020 at midnight.
A statement from the national carrier added that PIA would discontinue all its flights to Europe temporarily.
All passengers booked on its flights to European destinations will have the option to either extend their bookings to a later date or get a full refund.
“PIA is in contact with EASA to allay their concerns and to take necessary corrective measures along with filing the appeal against the decision,” the press release said.
The national flag carrier said it “sincerely hopes that with reparative and swift actions taken by the Pakistani government and PIA management, earliest possible lifting of this suspension can be expected”.
Meanwhile, according to journalist Murtaza Ali Shah, United Kingdom (UK), which is no longer a part of the EU since after Brexit but remains subject to EU law, has also suspended PIA flights from and to Birmingham, Heathrow in London, and Manchester with immediate effect.
UK Civil Aviation Authority suspends PIA flights from/to Birmingham, London Heathrow and Manchester with immediate effect following the decision by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to suspend permission for PIA to operate services to the European Union
“The UK Civil Aviation Authority is required under law to withdraw PIA’s permit to operate to the UK pending EASA’s restoration of their approval that it meets international air safety standards,” the journalist quoted a spokesperson as saying.
The moves follow the grounding of hundreds of pilots whose licences Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan termed “dubious”. Most pilots were affiliated with PIA.
