Author: newsdesk

  • VIDEO: Sikh fan cheering for Pakistan cricket team breaks the internet

    VIDEO: Sikh fan cheering for Pakistan cricket team breaks the internet

    The video of a Sikh fan cheering for the Pakistan cricket team at Edgbaston on Wednesday, has gone viral over the internet.

    The unnamed fan has won hearts of Pakistani supporters all across the globe with his gesture during the must-win match against New Zealand at the packed cricket stadium.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    In the video, he can be heard raising the slogan “Pakistan Zindabad” while thousands of other Pakistan team supporters join him.

    Green Shirts defeated New Zealand by six wickets to stay in the hunt for a place in the World Cup Wednesday. They next face Afghanistan and Bangladesh on June 29 and July 5, respectively.

  • Sarfaraz’s wife breaks down after he was called a ‘fat pig’

    Sarfaraz’s wife breaks down after he was called a ‘fat pig’

    Following Pakistan’s loss against India in the much-hyped ICC World Cup match, members of the Pakistan cricket team faced an immense backlash at the hands of the public. Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, in particular, bore the maximum brunt of the upset Pakistani fans who fat-shamed him and called him out for yawning on the field.

    A video of a cricket-goer who called Sarfaraz “a fat pig” in a mall in England while he was with his son also went viral. But many fans stood up to support him after that and pressurised the guy making the video into apologising for his distasteful comments.

    In a recent interview with ICC Insider Zainab Abbas, Sarfaraz opened up about the experience.

    “This was playing on my mind, but I didn’t pay much heed as I thought he won’t do this as his family was also with him. I spoke to his family. One of his family members also apologized on his behalf. But when the video became viral my body language was demotivated. It was not because of me. It was because of my son Abdullah who was with me at that time. That’s why it hurt me even more,” he said while speaking to Zainab about the video.

    Sarfaraz shared that after the video went viral he returned to his hotel room to find his wife crying which really hurt him.

    “When I went back to the hotel I saw my wife was crying after watching the video. I tried to explain to her that this is just one video and that we have had people walk up to us and tell things. This is nothing serious we must be strong. All of this is a part of life, when we don’t perform well we will have to go through all this,” the skipper said.

    The skipper also revealed why he did not react there.

    “I was very angry at that moment, but if I had gotten into an argument people would not have seen the truth and I would’ve been seen in a negative light instead. That’s why I felt not reacting to the incident was the best response as I left it to God,” he said, adding that he was very grateful to everyone who stood up for him. He even said that the fans had a right to be angry “because they have expectations from us.”

    Following their humiliating defeat, Pakistan went to win their next two match against South Africa and New Zealand.

    Watch the entire interview here:

  • FBR asks celebrities to declare their assets

    FBR asks celebrities to declare their assets

    The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), in its initiative to collect tax from the citizens, has also requested showbiz and media personalities to declare their assets, warning them that if they don’t they will also face disciplinary action.

    In this regard, the FBR held an amnesty scheme awareness session at Karachi’s regional tax office to brief the members of the entertainment industry about the advantages of the amnesty scheme, its procedure, the rate of tax and fines. Those in attendance included actors Farhan Saeed, Urwa Hocane and Neelum Munir and model Nadia Hussain among others. Urwa and Nadia even shared pictures of the meeting on social media.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BzIhxYolvr7/?igshid=ig2czb9ez6sn

    The in-Land Revenue Chief Commissioner of the FBR told those present that the board has collected data of their properties and bank accounts in the country and abroad and those who hide their assists will also have to face disciplinary action, like the rest of the country. The commissioner assured the artists that details of assets declared in the amnesty scheme will remain safe and private and that no one will question the declared assets.

    Members of the entertainment industry who participated in the session said that artistes, like the public, have been paying taxes on their income and expenditures.

    They also shared their concerns with the board telling them that some lawyers claim to provide tax consultation but collude with the FBR officials to blackmail taxpayers.

    Model Nadia also said that the artists are usually paid after tax deductions but there is a great difficulty in obtaining tax challan. The artistes do not work in one city but with many institutes all over the country and that is why obtaining tax challan from every institution takes a lot of time. She asserted there was a need to make this process easy.

    Several local celebrities have been raising awareness on the government’s tax amnesty scheme and are encouraging the public to play their role in the country’s development.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/ByiYCHRFk6m/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
  • The Current’s Favorite TikTok Videos

    The Current’s Favorite TikTok Videos

  • A nightmare full of trash: Indian wedding leaves behind 4000 kgs of garbage

    A nightmare full of trash: Indian wedding leaves behind 4000 kgs of garbage

    Two weddings that cost INR 200 crore (approx PKR 400 crore) left behind mountains of garbage in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. According to media reports and videos online, 4,000 kg of garbage was left behind.

    The Gupta family from South Africa was behind the nightmare. They hosted two weddings of their sons Suryakant and Shashank Gupta at a hill-station, Auli, between June 18 and 22.

    Bride Kritika Singhal is the daughter of diamond merchant Suresh Singhal, and groom Suryakant is the son of industrialist Ajay Gupta

    Two grand wedding stages, as well as a glasshouse with floral arrangements from flowers that were flown in specially from Switzerland, were set up to celebrate the festivities. The guests were also flown in via special choppers. Many superstars including Katrina Kaif, Badshah and Kalaish Kher also performed at the functions.

    These wedding functions left behind a huge mess of leftover petals, foam, food and plastic among other things in the region, known to be ecologically fragile. The local municipal corporation is cleaning up mountains of trash left behind after the Gupta family deposited INR 54,000 with the Corporation. The Guptas have also agreed to pay the entire cost of cleaning up.

  • Army builds girls’ school in place of TTP militant Hakimullah Mehsud’s headquarters

    Army builds girls’ school in place of TTP militant Hakimullah Mehsud’s headquarters

    Pakistan Army has rebuilt a girls school for higher secondary education where once existed the headquarters of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant Hakimullah Mehsud, a private media outlet reported.

    The school, located in the Orakzai Agency of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Kohat division, was completely destroyed during the war on terror and later converted into the headquarters of Mehsud, who was the deputy to TTP commander Baitullah Mehsud.

    With the war abated after years of unrest, Pakistan Army has rebuilt the school at the same spot.

    The TTP has been a strong adversary of the idea of sending girls to schools. The militant group claims “educating women goes against Islam”.

    In 2012, Nobel Peace Prize winner and activist Malala Yousafzai was also shot by the Taliban after advocating for girls’ education using a pen name, bringing global attention to the group’s violent threat on the nation’s young women.

  • Swat’s Malam Jabba ski resort gets a zip line

    Swat’s Malam Jabba ski resort gets a zip line

    Swat’s famed Malam Jabba ski resort has a new attraction: a zip line. The zip line, which is the highest in Pakistan at 9,200 feet, has been installed in the resort to attract tourists from all over the country and the world.

    The newly installed zip line is approximately 1,000 feet (90 metre) high and about 2,000 feet (550 metre) long, while its speed can reach up to 80 kilometres per hour. Just imagine the views and adrenaline rush you’re going to get.

    Ever since it was opened, tourists have thronged to the new tourist attraction, zip-lining to their heart’s content. Speaking to different media outlets, the tourists said that it was a true adventure and a unique experience for them.

    The provincial government of KPK along with the federal government have placed a lot of emphasis on developing tourism in Pakistan. In fact, KP Tourism Minister Atif Khan in a recent media talk revealed that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is planning to start a helicopter service to make it easier for people to reach popular tourist spots.

  • ‘Qatari emir brokering deal for Nawaz, Maryam to leave Pakistan’

    ‘Qatari emir brokering deal for Nawaz, Maryam to leave Pakistan’

    Senior journalist and analyst Arif Nizami has said that Qatar
    is reportedly brokering a deal between the government and former prime minister
    (PM) Nawaz Sharif to secure the latter’s release.

    Speaking to a private media outlet, Nizami said that Qatar was
    an old friend of Pakistan and previously involved in securing Nawaz’s release
    when former military dictator General (r) Pervez Musharraf had arrested him after
    the 1999 coup.

    “When Musharraf came into power and detained Nawaz, the emir
    of Qatar was the first person to initiate the process for his release,” he said.

    Nizami added that up to 90 per cent of the deal had been processed to let the former PM and his daughter Maryam live in London, while sources had informed him that the “recent visit of the emir of Qatar was also linked to this task”.

    Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani had arrived in
    Pakistan earlier this week and announced $3 billion worth of new investments in
    the country. He had also announced that Qatar may invest another $12 billion
    later on.

    “Sources have claimed that Nawaz’s health is not stable and
    according to his daughter Maryam, he has already suffered a stroke thrice,”
    Nizami said further.

    He claimed that under the deal, Nawaz will be allowed to pay the fine to secure his release so that he and his daughter can go and live in England. “Shehbaz and Hamza will stay here to run the party affairs and face cases leveled against them,” Nizami added.

  • Indian MP wants Abhinandan’s facial hair declared country’s ‘national moustache’

    Indian MP wants Abhinandan’s facial hair declared country’s ‘national moustache’

    An Indian parliamentarian has demanded that Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s gunslinger moustache be declared the “national moustache of India”.

    “Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman should be awarded and his moustache should be made the national moustache,” Indian National Congress (INC) leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was quoted as saying by India Today.

    On February 27, the IAF pilot was captured after Pakistan Air Force (PAF) shot down two Indian jets for intruding into Pakistan’s territory.

    Pakistan, as a goodwill gesture, had handed over the captured pilot to Indian authorities at Wagah border on March 1.

    According to Indian media reports, the opposition party’s leader has now argued that the pilot should be given a national honour “for his bravery”.

    Earlier, the shot down and captured Indian pilot’s facial hair had become the talk of the town as India hailed him as a “war hero”.

  • What built up to the ban on calling PM Imran Khan ‘selected’ in the National Assembly, The Current’s style

    What built up to the ban on calling PM Imran Khan ‘selected’ in the National Assembly, The Current’s style