With Mere Paas Tum Ho (MPTH) fever continuing to grip the masses even two days after its finale, Mufti Qavi has been spotted praying for Danish (played by Humayun Saeed), who died of a cardiac arrest in the last episode of the hit show that ended Saturday.
As per the details, a video doing rounds over the internet showed the cleric, who is not new to controversy, praying for the MPTH protagonist, who died after a chat with his wife (played by Ayeza Khan).
The finale showed Danish returning to see his wife when his old house reminds him of the bitter memories when she left him for affluent businessman Shahvar (played by Adnan Siddiqui). He then suffers a heart attack and later passes away at a hospital, leaving fans devastated.
Qavi’s viral video on Monday showed him receiving a phone call over which he is informed of Danish’s death. “Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilayhi Raji’un [Indeed, to God we belong and to God we shall return],” he can be heard as saying in response, telling the “woman” to call him later since he had to pray for the departed soul.
“God, please grant Danish, who has just passed away, the highest rank in Jannah. Bless him with more than what he had here… with more hoors [companions of paradise] than he had here […] And grant the girl, who just called me, the strength to bear the loss…” the cleric can be heard as saying while crying and praying for the fictional character.
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https://youtu.be/j0YeIWwyEMQ
The hit drama serial was penned by Khalilur Rehman Qamar and directed by Nadeem Baig.
Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) chief Manzoor Pashteen has been arrested from Shaheen Town of Peshawar during the wee hours of Monday, Dawn reported.
According to reports, the Pashtun rights activist was arrested in a case registered against him at the City Police Station in Dera Ismail Khan on January 18 under sections 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), 120-B (punishment of criminal conspiracy), 124 (sedition), and 123-A (condemning the creation of the country and advocating the abolishment of its sovereignty) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).
Confirming the arrest, officials at the Tahkal Police Station said that Pashteen was currently in the custody of Peshawar police, but will be shifted to Dera Ismail Khan.
“Police will present Pashteen before a judicial magistrate for his transitory remand,” the official was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, senior PTM leader and lawmaker Mohsin Dawar has condemned the arrest. “This is our punishment for demanding our rights in a peaceful and democratic manner. Manzoor’s arrest will only strengthen our resolve. We demand the immediate release of Manzoor Pashteen,” he tweeted.
Last night Manzoor Pashteen was arrested in Tehkaal, Peshawar. This is our punishment for demanding our rights in a peaceful & democratic manner. But Manzoor’s arrest will only strengthen our resolve. We demand the immediate release of Manzoor Pashteen.#ReleaseManzoorPashteen
PTM is a rights-based alliance that, besides calling for the de-mining of the former tribal areas and greater freedom of movement in the latter, has insisted on an end to the practices of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and unlawful detentions, and for their practitioners to be held to account within a truth and reconciliation framework.
The party has been critical of the army’s policies in the country’s tribal belt, where a massive operation against terrorists was conducted in recent times leading to large-scale displacement and enforced disappearances.
Internet is divided over the arrest, as it is on the policy and aims of the social movement.
A satirical headline from five years ago has come true as Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has told members of his government to “quit following news in order to fix things”, author of the satirical tweet pointed out on Friday.
“To avoid getting depressed, [party] workers should shut their cameras, stay away from television screens, turn their mobile phones off and go to sleep after popping some pills,” Broken News — a “parody news channel” — had quoted then opposition member Imran as saying in 2015.
کارکن ڈیپریشن سے بچنے کے لیےابھی سے کیمرے بند کر دیں ٹی وی سکرینوں سے دور ہو جائیں موبائل آف کردیں اور نیند کی گولیاں کھا کر سو جائیں ،عمران
While it was nothing but a satirical headline back then, the same statement, five years later, has made its way to newspapers after the premier actually said something quite similar.
Speaking at a breakfast session aimed at showcasing his vision for Pakistan and its economic potential before the global business leaders as well as overseas Pakistanis in Davos, PM Imran said he had stopped reading morning newspapers and watching evening talk-shows due to extreme negativity targeted at him in the media.
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“I’m trying to make my team understand this. The problem is that they watch the chat shows and they come… sitting there shell-shocked in cabinet meetings,” said the premier, who was in the Swiss town to attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The similarity was pointed out by the author of the satirical tweet:
After four years this Tweet has been published in leading newspapers today, https://t.co/eqcyiHWjda
Meanwhile, PM Imran has returned to the country from Davos where he attended different ceremonies and met key world leaders, including United States (US) President Donald Trump.
As the finale of drama serial ‘Mere Paas Tum Ho’ approaches and its fever only heightens, politicians appear to have submitted themselves to the hit TV show’s popularity as well, which was proven by Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) Bahali Committee leader Dr Farooq Sattar.
“I was asked what I had with me now that I was neither an MNA nor a party head, to which with my hand on my chest I replied, ‘Mera Yeh Bharam Hai, Mere Paas Tum Ho’,” he can be heard as saying while addressing a public gathering in Karachi, in a video doing rounds over the internet.
The video shows the ex-MQM-P leader quoting the lyrics of the hit drama serial’s OST as he points towards the crowd.
Sattar, a former convener and leader of the MQM-P, was removed by the Rabita Committee in February 2018. The same day, he dissolved the committee and called for fresh intra-party election to elect new leader of the party. In March 2018, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) removed him as the convener of the party.
A few days later, Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended the decision of the ECP and reinstated Sattar as the convener, but in June 2018, removed Sattar as the same. On November 9, 2018, for violating party discipline, his basic membership of MQM-P was revoked.
In the 2018 general election, Sattar lost in both the constituencies he contested from: NA-245 Karachi East 4 and NA-247 Karachi South 2.
A woman has accused CNBC journalist Hadley Gamble, who interviewed Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, of wearing a short dress “to seduce” the Pakistani premier.
“Could her dress have been any shorter? In Davos no less where it’s -6 degrees. Is she interviewing him or trying to seduce him? [sic]” Doreen Kiani tweeted along with a clip of PM Imran’s interview to the American media outlet.
Earlier, PM Imran roundly rejected the notion being projected by US officials that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was some sort of a debt trap for Pakistan.
Speaking to Gamble during the interview, he said Pakistan was grateful to China as it had helped the country in difficult times by making investments. “We were at rock bottom when the Chinese [government] came and rescued us,” the PM said.
Responding to a question, the premier rejected the impression that CPEC had made Pakistan ‘indebted’ to China and pointed out that Chinese loans accounted for only 5-6 per cent of Pakistan’s total loan portfolio.
“CPEC envisages cooperation in different sectors, including technology transfer in the agriculture sector,” he said.
The premier also spoke of the Kashmir issue, his meeting with United States (US) President Donald Trump, Pak-US ties and tensions that continue to soar between Washington and Tehran.
It is not a secret that women get unequal treatment in the Pakistani society. Their rights are infringed, their labour is not recognised, and they are underpaid.
The enlightened class, mostly students, who take interest in social and political issues have now started to raise their voice for women rights.
Last year when the poster of Aurat March was released, it received lots of comments, ranging from sexists jokes to rape threats.
Despite the overwhelming backlash, the Aurat March will be organized on the 8th March of 2020. This time here is what they are fighting for.
Economic Justice:
The exploitation of women working in formal and informal industries should be liberated from capitalistic exploitation. Also, a safe working environment as per the workplace act 2010 should be ensured by providing a harassment-free environment.
Environmental Justice
Apart from women rights, they also demand protection for animal rights, clean drinking water, and recognization of women role in the production of food.
Accountability against violence
The activists demand an immediate end of gender-based violence against women and minorities in the online and offline world.
There should be strong accountability against the state repression against women and transgenders. Moreover, they demand strong implementation of anti-harassment laws in workplaces to make offices and public spheres a safe place for suppressed genders.
Police brutality
Police reforms acts should be implemented to curb the abuse of power by state institutions. The activists also stand in solidarity with the victims of police brutality like the family of Naqeebullah Mehsud or Sahiwal massacer.
Enforced disappearances
The state should immediately halt the unlawful practice of abducting people unlawfully as it is the gravest violence of human rights. Women have also been disappeared and a huge number of families have suffered because of the state violence.
Inclusion
The public spaces should be made friendly for disabled people, their efforts should be recognized. People with less visible disabilities like chronic and mental illnesses should be recognized and victims should be accommodated.
Reproductive justice
They petition the government to amend the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 and the minimum age should be raised from 16-18.
The women and suppressed gender should have total autonomy over their bodies and quality reproductive and sexual health facilities should be made accessible to women and genders.
Access to public space
They demand safe access for women in public space and streets for their social and political activities. They also demand affordable and inclusive public transport and clean public toilets for women.
Furthermore, there should be no moral policing against women.
Anti-war
They believe that war is a business and no one wins except corruption, and it further strengthens hatred and masculinity that deeply divides society. Moreover, they argue that the Kashmir issue is deliberately created by the stakeholders of power for their vested interests.
Kashmiris should be given the right for self-determination and the violence of the state and non-state actors should be condemned. As feminists, they denounce warmongering, militarization, and politics of destruction – they will keep their activism against it.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Accountability Shahzad Akbar has been accused of getting removed at least two top-tier civil servants, including Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner (DC) Saifullah Dogar, in a bid “to assist his brother grab land” in Mandra town ofthe district’s Gujjar Khan tehsil.
According to sources, the tussle began when British-Pakistani Jawad Sohrab Malik, who is the nephew of Federal Minister for Privatisation Muhammad Mian Soomro, accused Murad Akbar, the brother of PM Imran Khan’s aide, of attempting to illegally occupy his land in the town near the Grand Trunk (GT) Road.
They said Malik’s late grandfather had purchased over 10 kanals of land in the town back in 1986 and built on it a flour mill a year later, which still stands there. “A watchman was also hired to look after the said piece of land as its succession to the heirs has not yet been made and it is still in the name of Malik’s deceased grandfather.”
‘MURAD AKBAR WANTS TO GRAB LAND’:
Sources close to the lawmaker’s nephew told The Current that his supervisor on January 14 called Malik to inform him that six or seven people had arrived at the site claiming they had purchased two kanals of it. “Malik told him [the watchman] to approach the police and file a complaint against the intruders’ attempt to forcibly take possession of his land,” sources said, adding that the unidentified persons fled as soon as they saw police reaching the scene.
A report quoted Malik as saying that three days after the incident, nearly 50 people sent by Murad arrived at the venue with bricks and other construction material. Once again the supervisor called him to inform what was going on. “A senior police officer and assistant commissioner of Gujjar Khan also arrived at the site uninvited to ensure these people take the possession of the land,” he said.
Malik said a case was filed by Murad in a civil court in 2015, claiming the ownership of two kanals of land, and got a favourable decision ex-parte in 2018. “The deceased grandfather was made the respondent and notices were deliberately sent to wrong addresses so that the one-sided proceedings are held.”
He further said he was scared that by using government machinery, Murad would take possession of the land by force, leaving him in the lurch. “To avoid this, I got stay orders from a civil court and the ADCR.”
Sources claimed that as the tussle continued, Additional District Collector Revenue (ADCR) Rizwan Qadeer also reported that Murad’s ownership was forged and the transfer of land was fake, allegedly upsetting Imran’s aide Shahzad. The report was approved by the DC, following which the Rawalpindi police chief was ordered to use force to ensure transfer of the two kanals of land to Murad.
“The cop, however, refused to intervene saying that it was a civil matter and police couldn’t interfere,” sources said, adding that in the meantime, DC Dogar was reprimanded by powerful circles and transferred along with the ADCR in what was “ironic misuse of authority” by the premier’s aide on accountability.
OTHER SIDE OF STORY:
A friend of Shahzad Akbar, who presented the SAPM’s version but clarified he “wasn’t his spokesperson”, told The Current that the cabinet member had been stopped to issue any statement over the episode by the premier himself.
He asserted that succession of the land had not been carried out because of the disputes within the Malik family, and shared documents and footage to support his claims.
According to documents provided by Akbar’s friend, Murad had bought 17 marlas of land in Moaza Bucha of Gujjar Khan’s Khasra # 473 on main GT Road in April 2005. He later also purchased another 23 marlas of land from the same khasra on June 9, 2008, the documents claimed.
In 2009, he gave an application to the revenue office of Gujjar Khan for partition and possession of his land, he claimed. “After 10 years of hectic litigation, in April 2018 the Gujjar Khan revenue office finalised the partition suit and divided Khasra # 473 into two, making Murad exclusive owner of Khasra 473/1 measuring 40 Marlas,” as per the documents.
After giving him possession, the revenue office also sectioned partition mutation number 2849 dated May 31, 2018 declaring exclusive and legal owner and possessor of Khasra number 473/1. Murad got demarcated the dimensions of his land on Jan 13, 2020 before starting construction and consigned demarcation report in Tehsil Office, Gujjar Khan, they claimed.
The source claimed Malik visited the Gujjar Khan Revenue Office on January 13-16 escorted by police officials deputed for squad duty of Soomro.
On January 17, when labourers were working on Murad’s alleged land to construct boundary wall, the minister’s official escort number GAE 538 with uniformed police officials reached the spot.
A private Vigo UC-1-ICT, allegedly registered in the name of Malik, with armed guards reached the scene and threatened labourers of consequences and asked them to stop the work.
Murad claimed that Somroo called Mandra station house officer (SHO) and ordered him to intervene. The Gujjar Khan Revenue Department after examining the documents of both sides decided that Murad, being “legal owner”, is within his right to build the wall.
Somroo and Shahzad Akbar have reportedly spoken to each other about the dispute, but wide differences exist as both fully support the claims of their relatives and are unwilling to budge from their respective stands. Both the leaders were contacted for a comment, however, they were unavailable.
Malik, however, denied the claims made by the aide of Akbar, saying his family was the rightful owner of the property. He also claimed that he was not present at the scene when the incident took place.
OFFICERS BEAR THE BRUNT:
Meanwhile, an official notification, a copy of which is available with The Current, showed that two civil servants who have been removed from office include Rawalpindi DC Saifullah Khan Dogar and ADCR Rizwan Qadeer.
Sources said the two officials, who were also allegedly reprimanded by Shahzad, were let go due to alleged misuse of authority owing to the high-level power struggle between the two top members of the federal cabinet.
Saifullah was transferred on January 20 and replaced with Capt (r) Muhammad Anwar-ul-Haq, while Rizwan Qadeer was transferred two days earlier. An assistant superintendent of police (ASP) in Gujjar Khan has also been transferred reportedly due to the dispute.
Shahzad Akbar’s friend, however, says that the removal was merely a co-incidence. He also hinted at another case pertaining to a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senator, being the reason behind the transfer of the Rawalpindi DC.
None of the said officers were available for a comment.
Federal Ombudsperson for Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplaces Kashmala Tariq has said that insisting someone for tea or food is tantamount to harassment.
According to reports, Tariq, while speaking to students and faculty members of Baqai Medical University Karachi about workplace harassment on Monday, said that repeatedly sending greetings to someone if they hadn’t responded the first time, was also harassment.
— Federal Ombudsperson-Protection Against Harassment (@fospah) January 20, 2020
“When someone is harassed, especially women, their parents start fearing what the society would think. We must put an end to this mindset of fear,” she was quoted as saying.
Tariq explained that Federal Ombudsman Secretariat for Protection Against Harassment (FOSPAH) also protected men’s rights and shared how only five cases a month was the frequency back when she took charge. “Now around 60 cases get reported every month,” she added while sharing how her department had contributed to restoring people’s confidence.
To a question, she said while 80-90% of harassment cases were reported by women, men were also harassed, but mostly by other men.
Tariq had last year also said that harassment is not limited to sexual assault only and could be of any kind. “If anyone is insisting for tea, it also comes in the form of harassment.”
She had explained later:
I said unwelcoming n unwanted text messages n stalking on social media is also harassment. And then I gave examples. Media shall not take just one line out of context pls.
“I said unwelcoming n unwanted text messages n stalking on social media is also harassment. And then I gave examples. Media shall not take just one line out of context pls [sic].”
Despite the club committee opposing it, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar has been granted permanent membership of the elite Lahore Gymkhana Club after a payment of Rs1.4 million, a private media outlet has reported.
According to reports, the provincial chief executive was made a member while overlooking at least 3,000 people, the lease policy and terms, over which members of the club have sought details of the move — such as who paid Rs1.4 million for Buzdar’s membership.
They have also said that at least 60 people were granted membership without following the due procedure, among whom is Buzdar, who was made a member of the social club without an interview.
The report claimed that committee members had opposed granting membership to CM Buzdar, however, Chairman Kamran Lashari “misused his authority and overruled reservations so as to remain the director general (DG) of Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA)”.
Lashari has been serving as the WCLA DG since 2016.
While members of Lashari group have rejected the claims but supported the demand of an investigation into the episode, Lashari himself has said that Buzdar has been granted membership owing to the positive steps he has taken as the Punjab CM.
Renowned playwright and writer behind the very popular TV serial ‘Mere Paas Tum Ho’, Khalilur Rehman Qamar has been owned by journalist Owais Tauheed and social activist Tahira Abdullah, who argued with Qamar over gender issues and accused him of relating a woman’s reticence, in his dramas, to her dress.
As per the details, Qamar, whose views from some TV and social media appearances have greatly irked a segment of the society, was invited for a show on SAMAA TV Sunday night. The other two panelists on Barrister Ehtisham’s show were Tauheed and Abdullah.
With the journalist and activist calling Qamar out for his portrayal of women, the writer strongly denied it, saying that he was not in favour of measuring a woman’s reticence from what she wore. Tauheed also raised the point that Qamar always portrayed women as oppressed and needy beings.
At this, the playwright remarked that Tauheed had not even seen the dramas written by him.
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Speaking on the show, Abdullah said they were tired of listening to the taunts of “western culture” and “privilege”. She added that systematic hatred of women was taught in the society. Heated arguments also marred the discussion.
