Meera Jee’s passport has reportedly been confiscated in Dubai.
According to details, the passport was confiscated because it had expired. Meera’s manager shared that a new passport has been issued to the actor and she will be returning to Pakistan in a few days.
Meera is currently in her “favourite city” Dubai, where she appears to be enjoying life to the fullest. She has regularly been posting updates from her trip on her Instagram.
As tensions soar after India revoked the special status of held Kashmir, Taliban have urged both Islamabad and New Delhi to refrain from taking any steps that could pave way for violence in the region.
Pakistan has downgraded diplomatic ties with India and also suspended bilateral trade after the Indian parliament approved abrogating Article 370 of its constitution.
The move that takes away autonomy from Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK), can lead to Muslim genocide in the disputed territory as people from all over India can now purchase properties there — resulting in major demographic changes.
In a statement issued Thursday, Afghan Taliban expressed deep sadness over IoK’s special status being revoked and advised Pakistan and India to choose peace, stating that they themselves have gained bitter experiences from war and conflict.
“Taliban have gained bitter experiences from war and conflict and urges peace and use of rational pathways to solve regional issues,” Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahed said.
The statement further said that linking the issue of Kashmir with that of Afghanistan by some parties will not aid in improving the crisis at hand because the issue of Afghanistan is not related nor should Afghanistan be turned into the theater of competition between other countries.
It came after the leader of the opposition in National Assembly, Shehbaz Sharif, compared Kashmir and Afghanistan in the parliament.
“What kind of a deal is this that the Afghans enjoy and celebrate peace in Kabul, but in Kashmir, blood is shed? No, this is not acceptable for us,” the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader had said.
However, the Embassy of Pakistan in Kabul has clarified that the Kashmir crisis would not affect the peace drive in Afghanistan.
We all make grand plans to read more often. But time is never on our side. With the long weekend and holidays coming up, and today being Book Lovers Day, here are five must-read books The Current recommends:
Toni Morrison – the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winner and one of the most celebrated African-American authors, died at the age of 88 recently. Beloved is Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning and best-known work. Set after the American Civil War (1861–65), it is inspired by the story of an African-American slave, Margaret Garner, who escaped slavery in Kentucky late January 1856 by fleeing to Ohio, a free state.
From the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love and The Signature of All Things, this one is a delightful read with all the perfect ingredients: glamour and adventure!
After India’s recent move in Kashmir, we feel you should read this book by renowned journalist Basharat Peer. The book is an intimate account of growing up in the 1990s in Occupied Kashmir. A powerful and haunting book written beautifully.
Prime Minister Imran Khan read this book in 2017. If you still haven’t read it, you must. According to Fatima Bhutto, anyone who has read this book will have “admiration for the young Mrs Jinnah who—with great moxie—yearned and fought the entirety of her short, troubled life, for freedom”.
Described by NPR as “a fun, page-turning romp and a thought-provoking look at the class-obsessed strata of Pakistani society”, this book is a Pakistani version of Pride and Prejudice. A must-read!
A childhood friend of singer Meesha Shafi, who recorded her statement before a sessions court in the one billion defamation suit filed by singer/actor Ali Zafar, testified in favour of the plaintiff and refuted the allegations of sexual harassment against him.
According to details, Sara Razee in her oral and written statement said that she has known Meesha since Grade 7 and Ali for almost 20 years. The witness said that she was present on both occasions where the alleged incidents of harassment took place and did not notice any odd behaviour by both the parties.
Sara said that that on the occasion of Ali’s wife Ayesha Fazli’s birthday, she “didn’t notice anything out of order. Meesha was very normal with Ali Zafar and in fact she was sitting at his piano.”
Talking about the other incident, which was Hassan Sheheryar Yaseen’s (HSY) party in February 2018, Sara said she met both the parties that night and Meesha was very excited to meet Ali.
“I did not notice any reservation on Meesha’s part towards Ali,” she added.
Two more prosecution witnesses were also present in the court, however, their testimonies were not recorded as Meesha’s senior counsel from the legal team was not available. As per her Instagram, Meesha is currently in Canada while Zafar is doing a series of concerts in the United States.
The hearing has been adjourned for September 8 when Razee will also be cross-examined by the defendant’s side.
So far, 13 witnesses have testified in favour of Zafar, including three women and Meesha’s former manager Rizwan.
The government has signed with Italy an agreement under which the latter would invest 20.5 million euros (Rs3.63 billion) for economic development in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of the country, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) has reported.
According to reports, the investment will be used for infrastructural support, capacity building and technical assistance to benefit rural areas of Gilgit-Baltistan.
The objective of the Economic Transformation Initiatives (ETI) is the growth of irrigated crop areas, production and improved connectivity with markets through investments in economic infrastructure.
It will improve incomes and reduce poverty, malnutrition in rural areas of the region while benefitting around 100,000 rural households.
The Italian government has also joined hands with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) under the initiative, which is providing $76 million over a period of seven years.
