Author: newsdesk

  • MQM to quit PTI’s ruling coalition, help opposition topple Imran govt?

    MQM to quit PTI’s ruling coalition, help opposition topple Imran govt?

    Soon after Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari asked the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) to break away from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in centre and join the Sindh government, the MQM-P has expressed dissatisfaction over the federal government’s performance.

    According to The News, Bilawal had on Monday offered PTI’s ruling partners, the MQM-P, stakes in the Sindh government, saying Sindh and Karachi could only get their share of development if Imran’s government collapsed.

    “You can stop this injustice being done with Karachi and Pakistan by breaking your alliance with the PTI and toppling Imran Khan’s government to save Karachi, and we will fully support you. For the sake of Karachi, for the sake of the people of Karachi, we are ready to offer to the MQM[-P] in Sindh, as many ministries as they have in the centre today,” a very charged PPP chief had said while addressing the inaugural ceremony of four mega development projects in Korangi.

    While extending his offer, Bilawal had repeatedly called for toppling Imran’s government as he tried to persuade the MQM-P to break its alliance with the PTI in centre. He made the unexpected offer while Mayor of Karachi Waseem Akhtar — who belongs to the MQM-P — was attending the inaugural ceremony along with Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah.

    It wasn’t later that the MQM-P reacted to the offer by saying that they “hadn’t joined the PTI for ministries”.

    Dunya News quoted an MQM-P spokesperson as clarifying that the alliance with PTI “was for the benefit of Karachi and not to get ministries”. He further said that MQM-P’s politics were all about serving people; however, he reportedly expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of the federal government.

    “Transfer powers to local governments instead of making offers of ministries,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying soon after Mayor Waseem Akhtar said that the MQM-P “could join anyone for the betterment of the people”.

    RULING COALITION:

    The PTI and its allies on one side and opposition parties on the other have closely contested their positions in the National Assembly.

    Given their respective numerical strengths, the ruling coalition has around 225 lawmakers while the opposition has nearly 221 members and the simple majority of the total lawmakers of 446 (342 MNAs and 104 senators) comes to 224.

    The PTI has 156 members of the National Assembly. Its allies have varying numbers. The Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) and Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) have five members each; Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has seven MPs; Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) has three lawmakers; Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) has four MNAs and Awami Muslim League and Jamhoori Watan Party have one member each besides the support of two independents.

    They all come to 184.

    In the Lower House of Parliament, the PML-N has 84 MNAs; Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has 55 MPs; Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) has 16 members; and Awami National Party (ANP) has one lawmaker. Two independents stand with the opposition parties. In the Senate, the PTI is supported by 15 legislators, the MQM-P by 5 senators, the BAP by two MPs, and BNP-M and PML-Functional by one each. If the decisive number of 16 senators, including those elected from the erstwhile tribal areas are placed in the government pocket, the total strength of the PTI and its allies comes to 39 senators.

    With BNP-M likely to defect from the ruling coalition and the MQM-P being offered ministries in Sindh, any changes to the hung parliament in favour of the opposition parties could be fatal for the PTI government.

  • 2019: Blunders & Pakistan Cricket

    The year 2019 has seen many questionable calls by Pakistan cricket managemnet, including several mistakes and blunders, Geo News reported,

    The departing year had the Pakistan Super League (PSL), the World Cup and a home Test series after a long drought of ten years. The year saw a plenty of action but at the same time it saw the equal amount of mistakes as well.

    The contributers of these mistakes not only included the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the cricket management, but the captain(s) — former and present — as well as the players.

    Fakhar Zaman’s presence in the team, despite poor form

    Everyone, except the cricket board selectors knew that the opener Fakhar Zaman had been out of form since the summer of 2018. Over a 26-game block before the World Cup (WC) 2019, the average score of the batsman was 29.34 runs. Despite having knowledge of the stats and clear signs that the left-handed was not performing well, the board went into the WC with just him and Imam-ul-Haq as their only two openers.

    Fakhar performed even worse and averaged even less at the tournament, with his 23.25 runs per innings often leaving Pakistan team short of a solid opening foundation which in-turn placed unwanted pressure on the middle-order to make up.

    Trusting Misbah with dual role

    Despite having much bigger and better cricketing setups, Australia, India and England had neither thought of ditching their chief selector and handing the additinoal job to their team’s head coach. But PCB still went for it.

    The move was criticised by many who considered it to be an ill-thought decision and the board weeks after former captain’s appointment itself realised that he would need a coordinator as well.

    PCB later appointed former Test spinner Nadeem Khan as the Coordinator of the National Selection Committee following a recruitment process.

    Sarfaraz Ahmed’s ill-timed replacement

    After Pakistan teams poor performance in the World Cup and failing to even qualify for the semi-finals, the cricket board brought many changes in the team after the tournament except for the captain Sarfaraz Ahmed. Replacing Sarfaraz then would have made more sense at the time but PCB flinched and missed the opportunity.

    Later in October 2019, once the time had passed, the board eventually decided to go for it. It was clear that Sarfaraz had been sacked after severe criticism from the team and the public which he received after the defeat from the hands of Sri Lankan team.

    The sacking in October was then termed unjustified and criticised by many as an ill-timed move.

    Naseem Shah’s selection for Australia tour

    The board selected fast-bowler Naseem Shah in the Pakistan squad for the first time against Australia knowing that the talented Mohammad Asif had earlier struggled alot on his debut tour of Australia. Yet, the 16-year-old pacer and the 19-year-old Muhammad Musa were picked against a stronger english side.

    Choosing Haris Sohail over in-form Fawad Alam

    PCB selected Fawad Alam for Sri Lanka Test series after his excellent performance and multiple centuries in the domestic tournament. The decision was lauded by cricket lovers but sadly, he was not picked in either of the two Test matches.

    Instead, the board retained out of form Haris Sohail, saying that he can also bowl. Sohail bowled a grand total of 10 overs over two Tests and scored a small amount of nine runs on the only occasions he got to bat.

  • London’s New Year’s Day Parade to feature ‘Visit Pakistan’ video

    A video inviting tourists and travellers to come visit Pakistan in 2020 will be aired on London’s New Year’s Day Parade (LNYDP) 2020, the World’s great street spectacular.

    According to APP, the special video will include a message from Prime Minister Imran Khan, pictures of Pakistan’s scenic beauty and popular tourist spots and glimpses of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s recent visit to Pakistan. The background tune of the video will be the National Anthem.

    Pakistan is among the 12 countries/brands which are being showcased on the Giant Screens covering the LNYDP throughout the day. The LNYDP screens will be located along the parade route of London at Piccadilly Circus, Pall Mall, Trafalgar Square and Big Ben/Houses of Parliament.

    The Pakistan High Commission in London shared that the video message will be played in front of as many as 650,000 street spectators in addition to more than 1 million viewing audience throughout the day.

    Apart from that, TV channels across the world will also be airing the footage of the giant screens.

    Pakistan has recently been named a tourist hotspot by the number one travel magazine Conde Nast Traveller. The British Backpacker Society (BBS) also rated Pakistan as a a must-visit adventure spot in the upcoming decade.

  • Maximum number of Umrah pilgrims in 2019 were Pakistanis

    The maximum number of Umrah pilgrims to Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the season on August 31 until December 26, 2019 were Pakistanis official statistics released by the Kingdom have revealed.

    According to a report in Arab News, 495,270 Pakistanis performed their Umrah during the period, followed by 443,879 Indonesians and 262,887 Indians. Other countries on the list included Malaysia, Egypt, Algeria, Turkey, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.

    Pakistan’s Religious Affairs Ministry Spokesman Imran Siddiqui expressed his happiness at the news and iterated that “Pakistan was the number one country with more than 1.7 million people performing Umrah last year.”

    While Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have always enjoyed good relations in the past, following Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ascent to office, the friendship between the two countries has further strengthened.

    Saudi Arabia has also relaxed its strict laws under the Vision 2030 reforms plan, making it easier for pilgrims to visit the Arab state. The plan aims to attract more than 30 million Umrah pilgrims and provide them with excellent services.

  • PM Imran distributes health cards to transgender community

    PM Imran distributes health cards to transgender community

    Prime Minister Imran Khan distributed Sehat Insaf card among the transgender community in an attempt to include them in this project.

    According to reports, a ceremony was held at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad to present the cards to the members of the transgender community.

    Scheme offers the free treatment for angioplasty, brain surgery, cancer and other diseases. The data has been taken from National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).

    While addressing to the community, PM Imran said, ” The purpose of this initiative is to tell you that our government is embracing you”

    At least 15 million people will benefit from this policy. The card holders could receive medical facilities up to Rs 720,000. The medical facilities would be available in more than 150 private and government hospitals.

    The transgender community members in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) had also got their health cards in May to end discrimination.

  • Groom shot dead over filming woman at his wedding

    Groom shot dead over filming woman at his wedding

    A groom in Peshawar was killed on the day of his Walima ceremony
    over a dispute on filming the women who were present at the function.

    According to the family of the deceased, an argument over recording
    a video of the women dancing at the event led to the shooting incident.

    As per reports, some of the guests were offended by the act, which
    is considered unethical in most areas of the Khyber-Pakhtunkwa province.

    The suspect identified as Abid shot down the groom a few minutes
    before he was leaving for the reception.

       The accused, including one
    of the brothers-in-law of the groom, ran away after the incident. According to
    police, the body was shifted to the hospital for a postmortem with search to
    arrest the accused underway.

    A special team headed by the Faqeerabad DSP has been formed to
    arrest the suspects.

  • Hameed Haroon denies rape allegations after Jami names DAWN’s CEO as his alleged rapist. Jami Responds.

    Prominent Filmmaker Jamshed Mahmood, known as Jami had claimed in October that he had been raped by a “media tycoon” 13 years ago and had not named his rapist. He tweeted this from his twitter account, jamiazaad, which he says has now been hacked. The twitter thread is still present on the account. He said that “i was brutally raped by a very powerful person in our media world. A Giant actually, and yes, I’m taller than him but I froze…” He did not reveal the name of the media tycoon at that time.

    He recently named the alleged rapist as Hameed Haroon, the CEO of Dawn Newspaper. He named him in a tweet from a new twitter account.

    https://twitter.com/azadjami1/status/1210926255840940033

    Jami had tweeted two days ago and Hameed Haroon has now issued a statement, rejecting the rape allegations.

    WATCH: Why was Jami not taken seriously?

    Dawn Newspaper has printed Hameed Haroon’s statement. Parts of it are as follows:

    “For some three months now, tweets in the social media and some print media, some of which have been authored or prompted by Jami Raza, have alleged that Jami was subjected to rape many years ago but was ‘coming out’ only now because the rapist was an ‘influential and powerful media personality’. Hitherto fore, strangely the alleged rapist was never specifically named, even though hints and innuendos were dropped from time to time that could be taken as suggesting that it was the CEO of Dawn, Hameed Haroon. “But since I had not been specifically named in the tweets, I was advised, that even though I had a fair idea of who was prompting Jami Raza, I should exercise restraint until I was specifically named. On 28th December, Jami Raza specifically named me and it has therefore become necessary to respond”, Haroon says.

    Haroon goes on to say how he met Jami when Jami was a freelance photographer and how he worked with him on a photo essay in 2003-04. Haroon denies ever being alone with Jami, saying that he did go to Jami’s house to, “condole on his father’s death but was unable to personally meet him….This was been the sum of my interaction with Jami”.

    Haroon adds in his statement that, “The story is simply untrue and intentionally fabricated at the instance of those who wish to silence me and through me, to compel the newspaper that I represent to support their repressive narrative,” and that he will be “initiating legal action to clear my name and reputation.”

    Jami has responded to Haroon’s statement, saying that Dawn did not give him a space to voice his side of the story, Dawn should not be detracting from the issue at hand and that this is all about #MeToo.

    https://twitter.com/azadjami1/status/1211682042490085376

    Jami is a prominent Pakistani filmmaker who directed Moor, Pakistan’s submission for the Oscars in 2015 and popular movie 021. He has also been a vocal supporter of the #MeToo movement and after he revealed what happened to him, met with a lot of support from many people including singer Meesha Shafi and actor Osman Khalid Butt.

    Dawn has posted that they assure their readers that an inquiry will be made into the allegations.

  • Sarmad Khoosat’s ‘Zindagi Tamasha’s’ trailer mysteriously disappears from Youtube

    Sarmad Khoosat’s ‘Zindagi Tamasha’s’ trailer mysteriously disappears from Youtube

    Sarmad Khoosat’s award-winning film Zindagi Tamasha‘s trailer has mysteriously disappeared from Youtube.

    While Sarmad himself declined to give a comment on the matter, it is being speculated that the Censor Board requested the director to take down the trailer. However, there has been no confirmation of this on the matter and no further details have been shared.

    Written by Nirmal Bano and directed by Sarmad Khoosat, Zindagi Tamasha starres Arif Hassan, Samiya Mumtaz, Eman Suleman and Ali Qureshi in the lead. The film’s is centred around a Naat Khwan Rahat Khawaja (played by Hassan) and his family who are outcast from society when a secret of Khawaja’s is leaked.

    Meanwhile, the official synopsis states: “The film is an intimate portrait of a family as well as a scorching political commentary on little gods on this earth who police our private passions.”

    The film premiered at the Busan International Film Festival held earlier in October where it also won the prestigious Kim Ji Seok Award. Sarmad at the time had said that the film will be releasing in Pakistan early next year. However, he had not specified a date.

    Sarmad is currently working on his next feature film Kamli starring Saba Qamar in the lead. The shoot for the film has wrapped up and it is now in its post-production stage.

  • Yasir Hussain has marriage advice for his followers

    Yasir Hussain has marriage advice for his followers

    After a whirlwind romance, a very public engagement and a low-key mayun and mehndi, Iqra Aziz and Yasir Hussain tied the knot in a beautiful afternoon wedding amidst their closest friends and family. Yasir gave his bride 4 tolas (10 grams) of gold as haq mehr.

    Read more: Qubool Hai! Iqra Aziz & Yasir Hussain have tied the knot

    Following the wedding celebrations, Yasir took to Instagram to advise his followers to keep their weddings simple and easy.

    “Ladies and Gentlemen,” wrote Yasir, “Marriage isn’t as hard as we’ve made it out to be.”

    Sharing his own experience, Yasir elaborated, “I had originally planned to have my wedding at home but due to lack of space, I had to shift the venue. The two of us did not give each others families any unnecessary gifts. There was no dowry or bari (gift from the groom’s side to bride). We did not waste money on extra jewellery. The nikkah khwan (wedding officiant) was paid Rs 8000 while the food was according to the number of guests.”

    “This is all that a wedding is – take it easy on your family and make weddings simple,” he asserted.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B6sJO5bjmi5/

    Yasir also expressed his joy on his marriage saying, ” I never knew that one signature would make my life so beautiful.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B6sDw1zjh_Q/

    Meanwhile, following the nikkah, Iqra took Yasir’s last name, changing her name from Iqra Aziz to Iqra Aziz Hussain.

    The couple will be hosting their valima today (Monday).

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B6sbR8vlJzy/
  • VIDEO: Shahroz Sabzwari opens up about his separation

    VIDEO: Shahroz Sabzwari opens up about his separation

    One of television’s most beloved couples, Syra Yousuf and Shahroz Sabzwari have “separated” after seven years of marriage. While the couple has not yet divorced, they are “separated” as per Shahroz.

    Following widespread media speculation, Shahroz took to Instagram to update his fans and followers about his separation with wife Syra. At the same time, he lashed out at the public for spreading misinformation and dragging his private matter on the streets.

    “I am really upset because I never thought this would happen,” Shahroz said. “My family’s respect is being dragged on the streets without our consent and a girl who has nothing to do with this is being dragged along.”

    Explaining the situation, Shahroz said, “I want to start with describing the issue. What has happened between Syra and me is our personal matter. We have not divorced, we are just separated. Syra is my wife! And I don’t understand how people are saying that ‘the news has been confirmed, they [Syra and Shehroz] are not together after seven years of marriage.’ Who said this? Was it me, or was it Syra, or our family, or our cousins, who said this? No one!”

    Speaking further, the actor explained the difference between a divorce and separation asserting that he and Syra are are only separated.

    “What is a separation? My wife and I were having some issues so we decided that instead of spoiling our relationship and the family’s decorum, we should give each other space. And this is called a separation. And after attaining that space, we get to understand whether we can reconcile or not, and then bigger decisions are made.”

    Shahroz also addressed the rumours that the couple split because of a third person, namely Sadaf Kanwal.

    “Another rumour claims that they’re not together because of a girl, Sadaf. Again, who said this? Was it me, or was it Syra, or our family, or our cousins, or our friends, who said this? No one!,” he remarked. “But you all still decided to drag someone’s sister, daughter, into the matter and became the jury and judge yourself. You didn’t ask me, no one asked Syra – the one everyone’s rooting for, nobody asked her.”

    “I met Sadaf one month ago for work purposes – she has only worked with me. Just because she danced with me does not mean we have something going on, and it’s so bold of you all to assume that a person I met one month ago is responsible for a separation that happened six months ago.”

    Sadaf and Shahroz are said to have met while rehearsing for their performance at the third IPPA Awards held earlier this month in Oslo, Norway.

    Sadaf while speaking to a private media outlet had said, “Shahroz and I are just friends. I met him a month ago while he was already separated from wife Syra.”

    Concluding his statement, Shahroze said that no decision about the future has been made and that everyone should respect the couple and their privacy.

    Earlier, Shahroz’s father, Behroze Sabzwari had also spoken to media outlets and said that the matter is being blown out of proportion. He lashed out at those “spreading rumours” and requested fans to let the matter be private.

    “There is an ongoing conflict, just like there is in every family,” Behroze shared. “The couple is going through something that we’re hoping will resolve and they are trying as well. Syra is the mother of our grandchild and we love her.”

    “It is an extremely private matter, how can people say so many things without verification and make things even worse for the people involved? How is a couple’s private conflict even someone else’s problem?” Behroze was quoted as saying.

    Behroze further shared that Syra is currently staying with her father because he is extremely unwell. He said that the couple married with their own will and that the family is hopeful they will sort out their differences. However, he asserted that divorce is not on the cards as yet.

    Even Behroze reacted to the rumours saying, “Dragging a third person into the matter is immoral. She is also someone’s daughter, just like Syra is our daughter.”

    Syra and Shahroz tied the knot in 2012 after a long on-off relationship which began in 2006. Although the two did not share the screen very often after getting married, they were still one of Pakistan’s most beloved couples. They have a five-year old daughter together, Noorey.

    The two will also be appearing in a romantic-comedy together next year. Much of the film has already been shot in Bahrain.