Wasim Akram has expressed his disgust and anger towards those who torture and abuse children.
Sharing a video of a little boy, who was abused by his father, the former captain wrote: “In my book, the lowest form of life on this planet are those who hurt and torture children. This video is absolutely heart wrenching to watch.”
“I’m sick to my stomach,” added the cricketer.
In my book, the lowest form of life on this planet are those who hurt and torture children. This video is absolutely heart wrenching to watch. The one man who was meant to protect this little boy, became only thing he feared the most. I’m sick to my stomach https://t.co/AUxD5djAKg
Last month, Shaniera spearheaded ‘The Polished Man’ movement in Pakistan to raise awareness about child abuse.
Posting photos of some of the most prominent faces in Pakistan, Shaniera wrote: “Some of the toughest men Pakistan has ever produced are showing their softer side and coloring one nail to represent the millions of children who suffer every day at the hand of an adult. Our Pakistani heroes say ‘We WILL NOT tolerate child abuse in our country’.”
Some of the toughest men Pakistan has ever produced are showing their softer side & colouring one nail to represent the millions of children who suffer every day at the hand of an adult. Our Pakistani heroes say “We WILL NOT tolerate child abuse in our country” #PolishedManPkpic.twitter.com/pM4fBf8W3q
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz has hinted at opening up a dialogue channel with the military establishment while ruling out any backdoor negotiations.
In an interview with BBC Urdu, the PML-N leader said the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) leadership would consider talking to army generals but the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government will have to go home first.
She claimed that the establishment approached a number of her party leaders, but no one has approached her directly with an offer to sort things out. She said the PML-N respects the army as an institution, but it has no authority to transgress beyond its role enshrined in the constitution.
According to Maryam, there will be no secrecy in talks with the army generals, everything will take place in front of the people of Pakistan.
Responding to her critics who said the PML-N’s anti-narrative was harmful to the party, Maryam said the anti-establishment line that the party has adopted has attracted thousands of people across Pakistan. The massive gatherings in Gujranwala, Karachi, and Quetta are proof of the PML-N’s popularity, she added.
In a comment on the interview, Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the PML-N only wants an end to the cases against its leadership.
After both the upper and lower houses of the parliament, details of assets and liabilities of Punjab Assembly members have also been released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), according to which, Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar is a millionaire or crorepati with his 10 immovable properties alone amounting to Rs35 million (Rs3.5 crores).
According to details, while some members of the provincial assembly also own offshore properties, others run businesses besides owning agricultural lands.
It has also emerged that CM Buzdar, on top of his 10 immovable properties, also has a 14-kanal bungalow in Taunsa Sharif and four kanals in Dera Ghazi Khan. His spouse, on the other hand, owns three pieces of land, whereas Buzdar himself also owns agricultural land in Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan besides three tractors, two vehicles and Rs7.7 million (Rs77 lacs) in his bank account.
Punjab Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Pervez Elahi owns three properties worth Rs69.4 million (6.94 crores). He also has shares in three properties and owns a house each in both Lahore and Islamabad. The former CM also has shares in the Zahoor Palace Gujarat, has Rs9.9 million (Rs99 lacs) capital in a flour mill and Rs13.5 million (Rs1.35 crores) unsecured debt.
On top of this, he has Rs12.7 million in his bank account while his wife has assets worth Rs93.1 million in her name, including jewelry worth Rs2.1 million.
The assets of Hamza Shehbaz, who is the leader of the opposition in the Punjab Assembly, are worth Rs414 million (Rs41.4 crores). He owns Rs30 million (Rs3 crores) of agricultural land given by his brother Suleman Shehbaz, and has invested Rs130 million (Rs13 crores) in the country.
Hamza also has Rs10 million (Rs1 crore) in his bank account.
Provincial Minister Aleem Khan and his wife have properties worth Rs159.2 million (Rs15.9 crores). His daughter and wife have assets worth Rs7.8 million (Rs78 lacs) in England and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and stock shares worth Rs117.7 million (Rs11.77 crores).
Aleem also has an unsecured loan of Rs1.21 billion and owns three luxury cars worth Rs32.1 million (Rs3.21 crores) in addition to 65 tolas of gold. He also has Rs10 million (Rs1 crore) cash and Rs139.1 million (Rs13.91 crores) in his bank account.
Punjab Minister Fayazul Hasan Chohan owns two properties worth Rs8.5 million (Rs85 lacs) while he and his spouse have a total of Rs7.9 million (Rs79 lacs) in their bank account.
Provincial Minister Raja Basharat owns more than Rs29.3 million (Rs2.93 crores) assets, while Provincial Minister Raja Rashid Hafeez owns more than Rs111 million (Rs11.1 crores) assets.
The documents also state that Ejaz Khan of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has total assets of only Rs274,000 (Rs0.27 million) and no car or jewelry or businesses at home or abroad. The lawmaker with the least assets and liabilities is Sajida Yousuf, who has only Rs217 in her bank account. She has no car, no jewelry and no property at home or abroad.
Former captain Younis Khan will continue as the men’s batting coach of Pakistan until the Twenty20 World Cup in 2022, the Pakistan cricket board (PCB) said on Thursday.
Younis is the only Pakistani batsman in Test cricket’s 10,000-run club and accompanied the side on their tour of England this summer.
“The PCB will also be utilising Younis Khan’s expertise and skills when he’s not on national duty as he will help local batsmen hone their skills,” PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said in a statement.
“This is part of the PCB’s strategy to appoint highly-qualified and respected coaches across all major centres of the country so that we can start producing cricketers who can represent Pakistan with distinction.”
The board said the appointment of Younis will be “until, at least” the 2022 T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in Australia in October-November.
Younis scored 10,099 runs and 34 hundreds in 118 Tests, and also played 265 one-dayers and 25 T20 internationals for Pakistan.
The 42-year-old said he was pleased to take up the job on a long-term basis.
“I am particularly happy that my scope of work has been extended beyond the national duties,” he added.
“I am equally interested and keen at working at the domestic level by identifying potential batsmen and then helping them improve their skills.”
Netflix has announced that it has renewed the trending Emily in Paris for a second season. The announcement came via a fictional memo sent from Emily’s place of work, Savoir, by her dry boss Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu).
“Despite her overconfident manner and lack of prior experience in luxury goods marketing, she has nonetheless managed to charm some of our hard-to-impress clients during her short time at Savoir,” reads the note. “Call it Bonne chance, or American ingenuity —I’m leaning towards the former— her results are impressive.”
“We love having Emily in Paris! But please don’t let her know that.”
The series, despite its problematic and stereotypical portrayal of French people and culture, dominated the Netflix Top 10 list for weeks and continues to trend at number six on Netflix Pakistan.
Emily in Paris follows Emily (Lily Collins), a bright, vivacious and a tad bit annoying marketing executive from Chicago, who unexpectedly finds herself in Paris for a new job. She is tasked with revamping the company’s social media strategy. Emily’s life in Paris is filled with intoxicating adventures and surprising challenges as she juggles winning over her work colleagues, making friends and navigating new romances.
Season one of the series ended on a cliffhanger, as Emily finally got together with her dreamy neighbor Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) after he almost left town with his girlfriend.
Senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz has claimed that cameras were installed in her jail cell and bathroom during detention in National Accountability Bureau (NAB) cases against her and other members of the Sharif family.
In an interview on Wednesday, Maryam said that she has been to jail twice and if she revealed the details about how she and other female inmates were treated during detention, “they” will find no place to hide their faces.
Maryam is currently leading PML-N’s election campaign for the November 15 Gilgit-Baltistan election.
“I don’t want to hide behind these incidents at all. I’m struggling today, so I don’t want to show that I was affected; I don’t want to cry today that I have been abused,” she said.
WATCH VIDEO:
The PML-N vice president added that if her door room could be broken, if she can be arrested in front of her father for speaking the truth, if cameras can be installed inside her jail cell and bathroom, and if she can be targeted personally, then no woman in Pakistan is safe.
“Be it in Pakistan or elsewhere, a woman cannot be weak,” she said.
MARYAM IN JAIL:
On July 6, 2018, Maryam was sentenced to seven years in jail by the NAB on corruption charges in the Avenfield reference case.
The court had held that trust deeds presented by Maryam before the apex court were fake and had been tampered with. As a result, she was disqualified from contesting elections for 10 years.
The next day, Maryam announced that she would return to Pakistan on July 13 to file an appeal against the decision. The same day, NAB announced to arrest her and Nawaz Sharif upon their arrival in Pakistan.
She, along with her father, was taken into custody on July 13 upon their arrival at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport and were airlifted to Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail.
On July 26, she challenged her sentence in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and filed a petition for bail. The next day, the court rejected her request for release on bail and adjourned the hearing till the end of the 2018 general election on July 25.
While she was released following the suspension of the verdict against her father, husband and herself by the IHC, Maryam was once again arrested in August 2019 over Chaudhry Sugar Mills corruption charges; this time upon her arrival at the Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore to see Nawaz, who was serving his sentence in a separate corruption case.
In November 2019, Maryam was released on bail by the Lahore High Court (LHC).
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokesperson Firdous Ashiq Awan and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Azma Bukhari had engaged in a verbal spat during a talk show, as both sides accused each other of stealing people’s mandate in the general elections.
The show host tried to calm the duo down, but his attempts remained futile.
Responding to Bukhari’s allegations, Firdous — who was appointed as chief minister’s information aide last week — said Nawaz Sharif was in cahoots with the military establishment in past. She gave examples of IJI [Islami Jamhoori Ittehad] — an alliance funded by the powers-that-be against then PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto in the late ’80s.
The CM’s aide also referred to a Supreme Court judgement in the Asghar Khan case. She asked how did Nawaz Sharif become the prime minister for three times?
Responding to claims that Imran Khan was a ‘selected’ prime minister, Firdous said Nawaz had become the PM after going through the same process — getting 2/3 majority in parliament.
“Whose mandate did he steal to become the PM?” Firdous asked Azma Bukhari, saying they didn’t question the polling when their party had won the elections.
A thick blanket of smog has enveloped Lahore, prompting officials to warn that tens of thousands of the city’s residents risk respiratory disease and eye-related problems while doctors urged people to stay at home.
The air quality in Lahore deteriorated to hazardous levels, putting an additional burden on the fragile healthcare system amid a surge in coronavirus deaths and new infections. The Air Quality Index at one point rose to 750 in the city’s poorer areas — about 12 times the recommended level.
Earlier in the day, Switzerland-based air quality information platform IQair declared Lahore the second most polluted city, after New Delhi, India’s capital. Pollution indexes peak dramatically in Pakistan in winter, when farmers burn off stubble in the fields. Winds worsen the pollution by further spreading smog across the region.
“The air quality level was hazardous today,” said Sajid Bashir, a spokesman for Environmental Protection Department.
By mid-day the situation had improved, he said, as authorities took steps to keep smoke emitting vehicles off the roads and shut brick kilns across Punjab.
Lahore, once dubbed as the city of gardens, remained pollution-free for months after March, when the government imposed a lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus. But the restriction was lifted in May, allowing a return to industrial activities and normal businesses. With cars back on the roads, the air quality gradually deteriorated, falling again to unhealthy levels.
Pollution is no stranger to Pakistan, a country of 220 million — or Lahore, with some 12 million people. Cars are the top pollutants in Lahore but the city also has other sources of pollution, including the stubble burning, steel manufacturing furnaces and the city’s famous brick kilns.
“Coughing, throat infection and irritation in the eyes are common,” said Anza Farid, an environmental expert, warning that the situation could worsen in the coming weeks as more people burn garbage in the cities and farmers burn off the stubble in their fields.
Dr Talha Ayub urged people to wear face masks for protection, both from pollution and the coronavirus. “People should try to stay at home if they can,” he appealed.
Pakistan on Thursday said it registered 34 new COVID-19 deaths and 1,808 new infections over the past 24 hours — despite a government-imposed partial lockdowns in 4,136 residential areas across the country. The government is turning to sealing off hotspots in a bid to contain rising fatalities and infections from coronavirus.
Authorities also banned large gathering, shut shrines, cinemas and theatres to contain the spread of the virus, which has infected more than 348,000 people in Pakistan and killed 7,021 since February.
Rejecting allegations of fraud, Meera Jee has threatened to hang herself publicly if there are proven to be true. The actor had recently been accused of fraud and earning money through illegal means by a family.
In a rather emotional and chaotic press conference, the actor rejected all allegations against her and said that she was being targeted.
“I will hang myself if I am found guilty of fraud and corruption. Some elements are targeting me and continuously doing propaganda. I challenge all those who are involved,” said a teary-eyed Meera.
Meera then said that if her actions create controversy, then let there be a controversy because she is not scared of anyone except God.
She went onto say that much like the character she has played on screen, she is a heroine in real life as well.
“I am a heroine in my real life,” stated the actor. “My whole life and career are based on struggle and hard work.”
“I’m the superstar of Pakistan, I’m the heroine of Pakistan. In films and in real life, I live in the character of a heroine.”
Meera added that she was “a good daughter, a good friend, a good sister, pure, virtuous, innocent and an extremely good human being”.
Meera also claimed that she had gone out of her way to help the family who has accused her of fraud.
“I offered my own home to a poor family during the corona pandemic. I allowed them to stay there for a period of three months and in return, they are making false accusations against me,” remarked Meera.
Presenting her account details and bank statements to those gathered, Meera said that her money trail proves that she has not been involved in any fraudulent activity.
“My bank account and credit history shows that no funds and money has been transferred in my account during this year. Every department can see my bank statement and how much money I earned. My bank account is empty and here, I also present my account numbers to any intelligence agency that want to verify my details as they wish,” she said.
Meera further said that she has been involved in multiple scandals in her life and this one like the rest does not bother her.
“Trust me, these are just allegations and there is no truth to them. I have villas in Dubai and are on my name and the relevant agencies are most welcome to investigate them,” said the actor.
Concluding her address, Meera asserted that she is an honest and honourable woman.
“Main paak daaman hoon aur mainay hamesha sach bola hai,” said the actor. “It is sad that people for whom I am a ‘real-life hero’ are now blaming me for wronging them.”
“Time will prove that these allegations are false,” she added.
As per reports, Meera at the end of the briefing, refused to provide a copy of her bank statement and left the press conference crying. She was reportedly in such a hurry that she left behind her father and domestic help at the press club and rode off with her driver.
It is pertinent to mention here that earlier this year, Meera had requested Rs 40 million from the Punjab Government under the Artist Support Fund, launched by the Punjab Information and Cultural Department, claiming that she is in financial trouble. However, the department denied her request, adding that they can only offer her Rs 5000-10,000.
Meera had claimed that she was suffering financially because her shows in USA and Canada had been cancelled due to the pandemic.
“I suffered a loss of around $100,000. I have to pay back a loan I took in Dubai. I am forced to apply for financial support,” the actor had said.
Mohammad Amir, Shoaib Malik and Asad Shafiq have been dropped from the 35-member squad announced for Pakistan’s upcoming tour of New Zealand, stirring up a debate on social media. The tour is scheduled to take place in December.
According to a press release, the management wants to give a fair chance to youngsters like 20-year-old Shafique in the T20 format, which is why they decided to drop the three senior players. Babar Azam, who is now the captain across all formats, will lead both the T20I and Test sides in New Zealand.
Pakistan head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq, explaining the decision said: “There are three major omissions from the side that toured England. Shafiq has been left out due to lack of form after he managed 510 runs in his last 15 innings, including a total of 67 runs in England.”
“Malik and Amir are not part of the white-ball matches as for this tour we have opted to invest, develop and focus on the promising and emerging players who are likely to be available to Pakistan for all formats,” he added.
Meanwhile on the other hand, the board has shown their confidence in other senior players like Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Hafeez.
When asked why he was left out of the team, Amir responded: “Misbah saab hi bata sakte hain, but good luck for team green.”
Later, when a journalist remarked that this was Amir’s ‘Mujhe Kyun Nikala‘ moment, Amir said: “Hahaha, good one.”
Later, responding to another tweet, Amir said that he has placed his trust with God and not with people.
The three-match T20 series between Pakistan and New Zealand will start on December 18 and end on December 22.
The ICC World Test Championship fixtures will be played in Mount Maunganui and Christchurch from December 26-30 and January 3-7, respectively.
