Eleven episodes in, ISPR and Hum TV’s joint collaboration Ehd-e-Wafa has begun to gather momentum and is picking up pace.
Directed by Saifee Hassan, the drama follows the life of four friends – Shahzain (Osman Khalid Butt), Saad (Ahad Raza Mir), Sheheryar (Ahmed Ali Akbar) and Shariq (Wahaj Ali). The boys were together in Lawrence College Murree before they were expelled because of their shenanigans. While Saad went onto join the army, Shariq is pursuing a career and education in journalism. Sheheryar’s profession is still unclear and Shahzain, who belongs to a feudal family is incorporating himself into the family business.
All four boys also have their love interests, though the stories of Shariq and Sheheryar aren’t as well developed yet. Alizeh Shah as Dua plays Ahad’s love interests while Zara Noor Abbas as Rani is Osman’s.
While the premise and central plot of the story is the life of the four boys, there are several subplots running side by side because of which the episodes are a bit packed and muddled at some points. Instead of one scene flowing into the next, the episode tends jumps from scene to scene.
However, the acting of all the main characters is superb. Particularly note-worthy is Zara Noor Abbas as Rani, whose lively and colourful performance puts a smile on your face no matter what. Adnan Samad Khan, who is playing Gulzar Hussain from Basti Malook, Dera Ghazi Khan, is phenomenal in his character and has won the audiences with his strong performance. Ahad and Alizeh’s chemistry is very lit and their scenes together are very adorable.
Zara Noor Abbas as Rani
Adnan Samad Khan as Gulzar Hussain
Saad and Dua
The supporting cast of the drama including Vaneezah Ahmed and Syed Muhammad Ahmed are also doing a commendable job.
Last but not least, the background score and OST is very enjoyable – the upbeat tune perfectly complements the mood of the drama.
Ehd-e-Wafa is no Alpha Bravo Charlie but the drama is a much-needed refresher in the list of dramas which are either tackling serious topics such as rape (Ruswai) or are the usual masala fest (Meray Paas Tum Ho). Moreso, it also qualifies as a great family entertainer.
On November 29, hundreds of thousands of students marched in 50 cities of Pakistan. Their main demand was that the ban on student unions be lifted; other demands included right to free education, better education facilities, etc.
Any civilised country would have celebrated that the country’s youth came out on the streets to ask for their rights. In a country where more than 64 per cent of its population is under the age of 30, Students’ Solidarity March should have been a moment of pride for Pakistan. Instead, we saw that the top trend on Twitter the following day (November 30) was #StudentsMarchExposed.
From calling these students ‘foreign agents’ to ‘traitors’, this and many other comments on social media portrayed this march in a negative colour. This isn’t entirely a Pakistani phenomenon. In our neighbouring India, the same card has been used against students. The sedition case against Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students comes to mind. A sedition case was registered against JNU Students’ Union President Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and eight others for allegedly raising ‘anti-national slogans’ during an event at JNU in February 2016.
This is not to say that all comments pertaining to the Students’ Solidarity March in Pakistan were negative – our mainstream media and many on social media praised the students for organising such a successful march on the streets of Pakistan. But we must question this negativity regarding an indigenous movement that should be lauded for its efforts.
On December 1, an FIR pertaining to sedition charges was registered against the organisers of the march in Lahore as well as some of the participants, including Iqbal Lala who is the father of Mashal Khan, a student lynched on allegations of blasphemy, academic Ammar Ali Jan, labour rights activist Farooq Tariq, Alamgir Wazir Mohammad Shabbir and Kamil Khan. One can only wonder why sedition charges were brought against peaceful protestors.
Well, if there is one thing common since Pakistan came into being, it is how the state hands out certificates of who is a ‘traitor’/‘anti-national’/‘anti-state’ to whosoever challenges the status quo. What to talk of others if someone like Māder-e-Millat (Mother of the Nation) Fatima Jinnah – who fought for Pakistan’s independence alongside her brother Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah – couldn’t escape the tag of being a ‘foreign agent’ by the then military dictator Ayub Khan. Nationalist leaders were also dubbed anti-state. From Bacha Khan to Baloch nationalists, from G.M. Syed to mainstream leaders like Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, all have been labelled ‘anti-national’ at one point of time or another.
Dissenting voices that challenge how the state has failed its citizens or those who question the flawed policies of the Pakistani state are dubbed as ‘foreign agents’ working on the agendas of some foreign powers. Patriotism of politicians, students, human rights activists, civil society, NGOs, lawyers, social media activists, media groups, journalists and anyone who has crossed a ‘red line’ or gone against the status quo has been called into question. Just recently, Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa lamented how the three judges including the CJP were being called Indian agents, CIA agents, etc., for questioning the government’s notification regarding the army chief’s extension.
Pakistanis should realise that dissenting voices are the conscience of a country and that freedom of expression is a fundamental right. We must not go down this dangerous path of silencing dissent for if we do, there will no one to speak for the rights of the marginalised, the rights of minorities, the rights of any human being. Let us not go down a disastrous path from where there is no turning back.
Cool pinks, misty greys and pastel mint, swings, flowers and all is the newest cafe in town – Swing.
Though the interior appears to be inspired by the Elan Cafe in London, this place is quite synonymous with its name, it has cute swings for seating, in addition to the regular chairs. Pink, mint and gold crockery and cutlery, good service and the brother/sister duo (owners) in attendance was just the cherry on top.
Apart from the regular salads and appetizers, the food thankfully had some delicious twists.
While their hot sellers, Vietnamese Paper Rolls, Salmon roll-ups and Prawn trio are great in presentation and taste, the mains, however, are the ones you’ll be going back for.
My favourites were the Beetroot Risotto with Snapper in Saffron Sauce, Halloumi Beef Bowl, Marrakesh Chicken, Asian Beef Bowl and Indiana Snapper. Cooked to perfection and full of flavour, each dish was a foodie’s delight.
After a pleasant meal, we decided to indulge our sweet tooth with the Lotus Cheesecake, Nutella Brownie with Ice-cream and Flourless Brownie. While the Nutella Brownie was decadently sinful, the Flourless Brownie was light and airy.
What was truly commendable about the place was the attention to detail and presentation – you could tell that the owners wanted to give their clients an experience, not just food. The menu also has pizzas, mocktails and coffees. Priced reasonably, Swing is here to stay.
On November 2 and 3, 2019, in a meeting hosted by the Progressive Students’ Collective, more than twenty students’ organisations from all across the country, including Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) formed the Students’ Action Committee to demand revival of student unions and other issues in higher education.
The committee vowed to
launch a nationwide struggle for revival of student unions, against the cut in
educational budget, increasing harassment cases in universities, security
forces interferences in educational institutions, student torture cases, lack
of educational infrastructure and ban on freedom of expression. It also decided
that the first public activity under the banner of Students’ Action Committee
would be the Students’ Solidarity March on November 29, 2019.
The current crisis of
higher education in Pakistan confronts students in the form of rising cost of
education and a drastic decrease in immediate returns from a college degree.
Not only is it harder to afford college education, but education expenses also
leave students and their families in more debt and with limited job
opportunities. A shrinking job market with employment opportunities swayed
through social capital in the form of “contacts” has no space for a majority of
graduates.
We are marching on November 29 to organise and to seek institutional power in universities and create a way of holding onto that power. It’s our education — we should control it.
It seems like a
four-year degree only qualifies one to become a daily-wage labourer. Given this
continual crisis, students are organising on campuses across the country for
the forthcoming Students’ Solidarity March, after so many decades their
struggles for the restoration of students’ unions are not fragmented but
coordinated.
Since the collapse of
the students’ movement of the 70s and the subsequent ban on student unions in
1984 under the dictatorship of General Ziaul Haq, most campus activism has
taken the form of single-issue groups. There is a ban on any kind of political
activity by students on campus and those who have tried to raise their voice
for rights, have been rusticated, abducted and sometimes killed by fascist
groups. By using anti-terror laws, their voices have been suppressed.
Due to different kinds of repression on campuses, students haven’t been able to form an alliance that can give voice to all those being robbed of their rights and facing severe repression.
From the past one year,
students are agitating in different campuses on different issues, which include
protests and sit-ins against fee hikes, sexual harassment, against the
abduction of a number of students and for better housing, internet and transport
facilities on campuses.
While the resistance
that popped up at Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU) against budget cuts and tuition
hikes remained partially successful in pressurising the administration to succumb
to some of their demands, the fiscal situation and budget cuts at QAU are not
unique.
We are marching because if we want to create radical change on our campuses — change that addresses economic and cultural aspects of our life — we need to move towards students’ unionism.
Provincial governments
across the country are cutting funding to schools and universities; the
university officials are using budget cuts to jack up tuition fees (hikes that
will continue for a long time) and to cut essential services and programmes.
While the students at QAU, Punjab University (PU), Sindh University (SU) and
the University of Balochistan (UoB) are putting up an amazing response to fee
hikes, sexual harassment and securitisation of campuses, a coordinated effort
under the banner of Students’ Action Committee to revive student unions would
be more beneficial for the student body to assert its power as a class that
represents the youth of this country.
Therefore, we are marching on November 29 to organise and to seek institutional power in universities and create a way of holding onto that power.
Progressive policy
changes are a great thing on our campuses and they should be fought for, but
they should be fought for in the context of building student power at campus
level as well as at national level. Building student power means gaining more
and more control over our campuses and the decisions that affect us as students.
In the end, student power means a student-run higher education system.
It’s our education — we should control it.
We are marching
together to ensure that local victories do not become isolated pockets of
progress and resistance. We are marching to ensure that this work spreads and
students find ways to coordinate efforts with those underway at other campuses
in their areas.
Movements grow not only by example, but when they actively engage people and share resources and hard-earned lessons. Because the federal government still makes most of the higher education policy decisions, students also need to coordinate on the national level in ways that foster cross-campus solidarity and encourage local initiatives.
We are also aware of
the fact that coordinating efforts should never mean that local campus organising
becomes merely an extension of some larger campaign because this sort of
strategy cannot support long haul organising. We need coordination that is
mutually beneficial to everyone involved.
We are marching on November 29 because if we want to create radical change on our campuses — change that addresses economic and cultural aspects of our life — we need to move towards students’ unionism. Unions that are run by the rank and file students; that fight alongside faculty and workers; that seek to empower the historically oppressed and revolutionise our educational system.
British-Pakistani boxer Amir Khan has said that he would like to become the sports minister in Pakistan to promote sports, Geo News reported.
According to the details, Amir in an interview has alleged that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has done ‘nothing for sports in Pakistan’ after coming to power, adding that he is the only person that does anything for sports.
Amir Khan, who is a friend of PM Imran, said that “all the people in Pakistan are crying”, and credited himself for taking Pakistani boxers around the world to put them in fights.
The boxer further alleged that a government minister visited his boxing academy, made some pictures and left, and nothing was done after that.
“There should be at least 10-15 boxing academies in Pakistan because there are so many boxers in Pakistan but nothing’s happening so that’s why I said that Imran khan, being a sports man, he is not really backing sports”, Amir said.
He also feared that sports are “probably going down even more than before because Nawaz Sharif is the one who got the Sports Council of Pakistan to give me the boxing academy, then I spent my own money around $100,000 on it to build it up but all I say is that Imran Khan is less supporting boxing”.
Amir Khan also expressed desire to enter in Pakistani politics, saying that he will do something for people if he became sports minister.
Amir Khan often attended fundraising events with PM Imran in Manchester in the past. The prime minister had at one event promised to take people like Amir Khan to Pakistan.
Indian officials have raided the offices of renowned human
rights group Amnesty International (AI) on trumped up charges of foreign
funding from the United Kingdom that violate local law, Geo News reported.
According to the details, it is widely believed that the
investigation into the funding sources of the respected human rights group is a
pressure tactic being employed by the government of Indian Prime Minister (PM)
Narendra Modi to stop the group from highlighting grave human rights violations
in Indian held Kashmir (IoK).
Reports revals that officials from the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) raided the offices of AI India in Bengaluru and New Delhi
after direct complaints from the home affairs ministry. Amnesty was accused of
the same offence last year.
The Amnesty group in a statement said, “Over the past
year, a pattern of harassment has emerged every time Amnesty International
India stands up and speaks out against human rights violations in India”, referring
to their campaigns for IoK.
Back in September, Amnesty International had launched the “LetKashmirSpeak”
campaign and called on Indian PM Modi to lift the inhumane military curfew in held
Kashmir that has crippled the lives of millions of Muslims since August.
New Delhi had earlier revoked the constitutional autonomy of
IoK on August 5 this year and imposed a military curfew in the area,
imprisoning millions of people. Thousands of ordinary citizens were detained
after the move.
The detained included former chief ministers and the mayor
of Srinagar. Widespread allegations of torture and abuse of these detainees by
the Indian security forces were published by the international media in the
following weeks, as India showed no signs of easing restrictions.
The Sindh High Court (SHC) has resent a notice to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on a petition regarding its inaction against former national team skipper Shoaib Malik and other cricketers for violating team rules, Geo News reported.
Prior to a crucial match against arch-rivals India at the World Cup 2019, batsman Malik was snapped at a cafe in London along with two other players — Wahab Riaz and Imamul Haq, as an unidentified person consumed sheesha on their table.
According to the details, petitioner Abdul Jalil Marwat had claimed that the players were spotted consuming sheesha at a cafe in England the night before the match with India on June 16.
He further alleged that Malik, Wahab and Imam performed poorly, perhaps as a result of their disregard for rules and regulations, which resulted in Pakistan’s loss.
After the cricket board had failed to take any action against these players, Marwat had requested the court to direct the PCB to explain why the players were not punished for violating the team management rules and regulations.
A division bench of the high court, headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, observed that no one had appeared in court on behalf of the PCB despite the issuance of notice.
The court has now resent the notice to PCB through a district and sessions judge in Lahore and adjourned the hearing of the case till a later date that is yet to be determined.
2020 is going to be lit for the Pakistan film industry because from where I see it, it’s going to be raining films.
The first look of ace TVC and music director Jalal Rumi’s upcoming feature film Kahay Dil Jidhar, with Junaid Khan and Mansha Pasha in the lead has been shared on social media. The poster has a fun and millennial feel to it.
While Mansha previously stole the show in Pakistan’s official entry to the Oscars, Laal Kabootar, Kahay Dil Jidhar, will mark Junaid’s debut on the big screen.
When asked what made him choose this film, Junaid exclusively told The Current, “I have been offered a lot of films since my cameo appearance in Bin Roye (2014), but to be honest none of them clicked with me. Over the years I’ve gone through multiple scripts and I finally settled upon this one. It matched my expectations and the team associated with it is amazing, so here we are.”
“Though it’s a commercial film, it comes with a strong message and I hope it has the impact we’re aiming for,” he added.
Meanwhile, while sharing the poster of the film on Instagram Junaid had wrote, “It takes a lot of drive and passion to make a film and I am quite satisfied with how we have shot this one. Looking forward to bringing this out to you guys. Excited and nervous at the same time.”
Sharing details about his character in the film, Junaid revealed that he will be a playing a policeman in the film.
On working with Mansha again, Junaid shared,”Mansha and I have done television together and it was a wonderful experience. She’s very cooperative, professional and is a great performer. We’re very comfortable with each other.”
When asked what he feels in missing in the Pakistan film industry, Junaid said, “We are in need of good scriptwriters who understand the needs of film writing.”
“Apart from that, I think the genre of action has not been properly explored in Pakistan mainly because such films are very time-consuming and expensive. I’m a huge fan of out of the box action films like Hobbs and Shaw and I hope we can such grand films in Pakistan.”
Meanwhile, Mansha also shared the poster on Instagram and wrote, “Something exciting is coming your way! It’s something I’ve never done before and frankly, all the best things in life come with some risk! I’m super excited to be working along with this team of kind people! Stay tuned!”
Kahay Dil Jidhar has been written and produced by Kamran Bari, who will also be seen in it. Veteran actor Sajid Hasan is also part of the cast.
While a release date has not yet been announced, it is expected to release sometime next year.
Gear up Pakistanis – we’re getting a new superhero!
Comedy king Ahmed Ali Butt and the talented duo behind Load Wedding and Actor in Law, Nabeel Qureshi and Fizza Ali Meerza are coming together for a new superhero film titled Fatman.
Butt announced the film on social media by sharing a selfie with the film’s makers.
He captioned it, “AlhumduliAllah it’s official. My next film and my first as a lead with these crazy people.”
“Looking forward to making a great film with these great, creative filmmakers and hope you’ll all love it as much as I love the script… InshAllah, see you next year.”
The film’s name had us intrigued so we got in touch with the director and lead actor for some inside details.
Speaking exclusively about the film to The Current, Ahmad said, “It’s a different and bold take on superhero films but at the core, it is a story about a father-son relationship.”
He added, “It also addresses body shaming, yet keeps the family entering factors in mind.”
Meanwhile, Nabeel revealed, “It’s a real-life superhero family entertainment film with a great message which talks about body shaming, with pun intended.”
The film will be directed by Nabeel and produced by Fizza Ali Meerza under their production house Filmwala Pictures. Shooting for the film is expected to start early next year while the release is slated to be in late 2020.
Located behind Khaadi on MM Alam Road, Moocs is the latest addition to the Lahore food scene but not exactly a promising one, given that there was only one other party along with me, that too on a Saturday night.
Rewind a few weeks and Moocs was all over our Instagram after it had a grand opening with Lahore’s socialites in attendance. A couple of weeks later, the hype seemed to have completely died down.
Nonetheless given how much I like to try out new places, I decided to check out Moocs. After all, the name was kinda catchy.
Moocs has a standard menu: pizza, burgers, Chicken Parmesan, Polo Chicken, Stuffed Chicken, etc – you know pretty much the same things you’ve tried a million times before.
We decided to start our dinner with Pizza Fries from their ‘Starters Menu.’ The fries came in a skillet topped with cheese, sauce and jalapenos. The overall taste of the dish was pretty decent while the fries themselves were nice and crispy. But to be very honest, I’ve had better. Like for example, have you tried the Alfredo Fries at Urban Kitchen? Now those are divine.
From the main course, we tried their Chef’s Special Stuffed Chicken and Muslo De Pavo Burger. Both the items were very typical. The Chef’s Special Stuffed Chicken was not all that special – the flavour wasn’t strong enough and fettuccini pasta was on the bland side. The sauce, meanwhile, was tasty but given the extravagant price, I’m not sure if it was worth it.
Meanwhile, the Muslo De Pavo Burger tasted just like Jalal Son’s Crispy Chicken Burger but at double the price. Plus the bun wasn’t good because it was so crumbly. The thigh fillet had a thick layer of batter which though made it very crunchy, made it impossible to taste the chicken within.
The dessert was probably the best thing we ate that night. We ordered their Cookie Pudding on our waiter’s recommendation and it was differently delicious. Loved the mix of pudding, cookie dough and ice-cream.
While the food was somewhat passable, and ambiance on the cosy side (great for winters) the bill certainly wasn’t. For one starter, two main dishes and one dessert, our total bill amounted to a little more than Rs 5000/- which is definitely a hefty amount to pay, especially in such trying financial times.
