Category: Uncategorized

  • Hamza Ali Abbasi urges people to rise above sectarian, political biases

    Hamza Ali Abbasi urges people to rise above sectarian, political biases

    Following the killing of an elderly man during the hearing of a blasphemy case against him at the Peshawar Judicial Complex on Wednesday, Hamza Ali Abbasi has urged authorities and the government “to take decisive action against individuals/organisations who are glorifying murderers”.

    “If we don’t legally/ideologically tackle them now, very dark times await us,” said Abbasi.

    The actor also urged his followers to “rise above sectarian and political biases and see Islam for [what] it really is”.

    Abbasi condemned the unfortunate incident and said that “if you support murder and oppression in the name of Allah, his Deen and his last Prophet (PBUH)…then know that you are among those evil people who knowingly attribute lies to Allah.”

    Later, Hamza emphasized his stance further, by penning a detailed note on his religious views, urging everyone to rise about sectarian, political and emotional biases.

    When someone criticised Hamza for “corrupting people around with your superficial Islamic knowledge”, Hamza said that he is merely a student of Islam.

    While Hamza condemned the incident, Shahroz Sabzwari posted a picture of the alleged killer with the caption ‘Salute Ghazi’.

    However, most Twitter users agreed with Hamza’s point of view.

    https://twitter.com/_lezayy/status/1288574028479901699?s=20

    The incident

    According to details, 47-year-old Tahir Ahmed Naseem, a resident of Pishtakhara, appeared before the court for the hearing of a blasphemy case against him when a man barged in and opened fire on him.

    The 24-year-old shooter, Khalid, was arrested by the police on the spot.

  • Army called to assist govt in dealing with Karachi flooding

    Army called to assist govt in dealing with Karachi flooding

    Pakistan Army has been called to assist the civil administration in dealing with the urban flooding situation in the business hub of the country, announced the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

    According to the military’s media wing, the armed forces have been summoned in the city to assist the civil administration in dealing with the urban flooding situation.

    Separately, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lieutenant General Muhammad Afzal called on Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Thursday after Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan tasked him to clean rain-hit Karachi.

    According to the CM House spokesman, the meeting was also attended by Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah.

    They discussed the situation developed in the city in the aftermath of the two-day rainfall that saw urban flooding in parts of the city.

    It is pertinent to mention here that  Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday asked NDMA to extend help in cleaning rain-battered Karachi.

    Taking to Twitter, the prime minister directed the NDMA chairman to reach Karachi immediately and oversee the cleanliness drive.

    “I have asked the Pak Army to also help in cleaning up the city,” he said.

    Sindh Minister Saeed Ghani at that time responded to the move saying that he does not know why the premier has asked Pakistan Army to assist the cleanliness of the metropolis.

  • PTA promotes 146 officers up to director-general level to a higher grade

    PTA promotes 146 officers up to director-general level to a higher grade

    Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has approved the promotion of 146 officers to a higher grade.

    According to a notification of PTA, the promotions were approved up to the level of Director-General level, which was approved by Chairman PTA.

    According to the notifications issued by the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC-I), the PTA officers are promoted with immediate effects.

    Upon the recommendations of DPC-I, 40 officials were promoted in the next grade and posting of these employees will be issued subsequently in due course of time.

    Consequently, upon the recommendation of the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC-II), 27 officials are promoted to the respective next higher grades and in their respective cadres with immediate effect.

    In addition to above, 79 officials were promoted under time Scale promotion with immediate effect in the light of Regulation 21(5), (6) and (7) of PTA Employees Service Regulations 2008.

    The list is attached below:

    Promotions-of-PDF-1Download
  • Pakistani woman creates board game to help girls ‘escape’ an arranged marriage

    Pakistani woman creates board game to help girls ‘escape’ an arranged marriage

    When Nashra Balagamwala’s Pakistani family started pressuring her into an arranged marriage, she decided to get creative to avoid the myriad of suitors being foisted upon her.

    Nashra Balagamwala

    Like many young women in South Asia, she was targeted by older women, nicknamed ‘Rishta aunties’, who wanted to pair her up with eligible men. Arranged marriages — where a couple are matched by family members — are common in South Asia. Netflix’s recent series Indian Matchmaking shed light on the topic and became an instant hit trending in both Pakistan and India.

    Read more – ‘Indian Matchmaking’: Who is Sima Taparia from Mumbai?

    Speaking of her own experience, Nashra said, “It truly started when I was 18, right as my sister got married … literally, the day of the wedding, all the aunties started coming up to me and saying, ‘You’re next, you’re next.”

    “I’d wear the fake engagement rings, or whenever an auntie was looking I’d pour an extra helping of food on my plate,” she said, as the matchmakers considered women who didn’t watch their figure to be less desirable brides.

    Those real-life strategies inspired her to create the board game “Arranged!” where players take the role of teenage girls trying to escape an ‘auntie’, which features in Gamemaster, a documentary about aspiring game designers released this month.

    Wanting a different life, Balagamwala convinced her family to allow her to wait until she was 21 — and as she reached the deadline as a student at Rhode Island School of Design in the United States, she came up with the idea for the game.

    “When I was going back for the winter break, my parents had a boy lined up for me to meet,” she said.

    “So to de-stress from that I started creating this list of all the crazy things I used to do, or that my cousins used to do, to try to discourage the Rishta aunties.”

    In “Arranged!,” the girls attempt to deter auntie by drawing cards with commands like getting a tattoo, wearing a sleeveless shirt, talking about pursuing a career, or being seen hugging a male friend.

    But cards like being able to make a perfectly round roti flat bread, or having a sister who is known to be very obedient to her in-laws, move auntie closer to a player.

    When the board game was released in 2017, it drew anger from some acquaintances in Pakistan — but the media attention also made Balagamwala an undesirable wife in the eyes of the aunties and convinced her family to stop pressing her to marry.

    On the contrary, she was contacted by dozens of young women, mostly from India, who said the game helped them to start conversations with their families and opened their eyes to the stress they felt.

    “Now they’re like, ‘You do you, find your own guy,” laughed Balagamwala, who is currently studying for a master’s degree exploring the links between design and social justice at Harvard University.

    “There is still a little bit of that stress in their hearts and minds where they are like, ‘Oh my God, she’s 27 and there’s no boy on the horizon’ so I think that stresses them out,” she added.

  • Fact Check: Notification asking barbers’ not to style customers’ beards is fake

    Fact Check: Notification asking barbers’ not to style customers’ beards is fake

    Claim: A notification has been issued claiming that the barbers are now forbidden from styling their customers’ beard

    Fact: This was a fake notification according to the Balochistan Government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani

    A notification stating that barbers who style their customer’s beards will be charged with blasphemy is doing the rounds on social media.

    However, Spokesperson of the Balochistan Government, Liaquat Shahwani said that the notification is fake.

    “Balochistan Govt has got nothing to do with personal matters of citizens”, wrote Shahwani on Twitter.

    Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) MPA Rukhsana Kausar had tabled a resolution in the provincial house of Punjab seeking a ban on beard styling and action against men with fashionable beards as well as their barbers. However, it was never implemented.

    VERDICT: FALSE

  • Afridi says he has ‘old and strong relations’ with Yuvraj, Harbhajan

    Afridi says he has ‘old and strong relations’ with Yuvraj, Harbhajan

    Despite all the drama that followed when Indian cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh extended their support to Shahid Afridi for his coronavirus campaign, Afridi says that he has great respect for them both and that they have “old and strong relations”.

    Lala shared this while responding to a Twitter user during an #AskAfridi session on the microblogging website.

    In April, Yuvraj and Harbhajan had extended their support to Afridi’s foundation, the Shahid Afridi Foundation, in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic, following which they received scathing criticism from triggered Indian social media users.

    Following the hate, Singh clarified that his intention was not to hurt anyone’s feelings and that he remains a true patriot and will always “bleed blue.” Singh’s note was retweeted by Harbhajan.

    Meanwhile, Harbhajan’s wife Geeta Basra responding to the trolling had said: “Harbhajan knows what his country means to him and doesn’t want to explain an act of humanity. He lives for India and will die for India. His country will always come first. Whenever he has played cricket, he did it with his heart. And everyone knows what India means to him.”

    She continued, “This goodwill gesture was to help Afridi, with whom they have played cricket and have years of friendship. Afridi is doing his bit for his country. They tried spreading the word to their fans all over the world, inspiring more people to support his good work.”

    “Let’s not bring religion or anything else into this. Even the virus isn’t making any discrimination. They would’ve done the same if anyone from any of the other teams like West Indies or England would’ve sought help,” Geeta added.

    Later in May, when Afridi while speaking to the people of Azad Kashmir, strongly criticised Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, for deploying forces in Kashmir and making it a living hell for Muslims, Yuvraj expressed his disappointment at his comments and regretted extending his support.

    Harbhajan passed similar comments, saying that he has “no relation or tie-up with Shahid Afridi from here on”.

    “This is very upsetting what Shahid Afridi has come up with, talking ill about our country and our Prime Minister. This is just not acceptable,” Harbhajan had said. “To be honest, he [Afridi] asked us to make an appeal for his charity. In good faith, we did it for humanity and for the people suffering due to the coronavirus.”

    “All I have to say is we have nothing to do with Shahid Afridi. He has no right to speak ill against our country and he should stay in his country and limits,” he added. “One person asks me to make an appeal for the sake of humanity, and I did my bit. That was it. I have no relation or tie-up with any Shahid Afridi from here on.”

    #AskAfridi

    In the interactive Twitter session, Afridi answered a variety of question from his fans during the session, ranging from his thoughts on Kashmir to his favourite players and cricket memories and how he is keeping himself busy during the pandemic. Check out some of his responses below:

    Afridi also answered some questions on whether he will be joining politics.

  • Elderly blasphemy accused shot dead in court

    Elderly blasphemy accused shot dead in court

    An elderly man was killed during the hearing of a blasphemy case against him at the Peshawar Judicial Complex on Wednesday.

    A case had been registered against the deceased under blasphemy laws. The accused was brought to court from Peshawar Central Jail.

    Tahir Ahmed Naseem, 47, a resident of Pishtakhara, appeared before the court of Judge Shaukatullah when a man barged in and opened fire on him.

    He was a US citizen and the US State Department’s Twitter account for South Asia tweeted about the incident.

    “During the hearing of the case, the complainant said that the accused was an Ahmadi and asked him to recite the Kalima-e-Tayyaba,” according to a lawyer who was present in the courtroom at the time of the incident. He added that the complainant then fired at the elderly man and killed him.

    The 24-year-old shooter, Khalid, was arrested by the police on the spot. He is said to be a resident of Board Bazaar.

    The judicial complex is situated in a high-security zone on the main Khyber Road in the cantonment area where the provincial assembly building, the Peshawar High Court, chief minister’s secretariat and Governor House are also situated. Security at the main gate and inside the judicial complex is also high.

    Peshawar Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Mohammad Ali Gandapur and SSP (Operations) Mansoor Aman visited the courtroom where the man was killed.

    “At the moment we have little information but we have started investigation into the killing,” the CCPO said. Aman added that the weapon has also been recovered.

    Police shifted the body of the deceased to the Khyber Medical University for post-mortem.

    They said a first information report (FIR) had been registered against the deceased in 2018.

    According to the FIR, the complainant alleged that the deceased belong to the Ahmadi community and “befriended him on Facebook” and in subsequent conversations, claimed that he was the “fourteenth Mujaddid”.

    “He then invited me to have a discussion with him at a mall in the city where he started talking about his belief,” the complainant said in the FIR, going on to make more allegations.

    The deceased was charged under Section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups), Section 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), Section 295-B (defiling etc. of the Holy Quran), Section 295-C (use of derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad PBUH) and Section 298 (uttering words etc., with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

  • Imran’s aides succumb to criticism

    Imran’s aides succumb to criticism

    — While Tania Aidrus has resigned amid criticism for holding dual nationality, Dr Zafar Mirza has stepped down over ‘negative discussion about the role of SAPMs’

    Dr Zafar Mirza and Tania Aidrus, special assistants to the prime minister (SAPM) on health and e-governance, respectively, stepped down from their posts on Wednesday.

    The resignations come days after the Cabinet Division made public the details of the assets and dual nationalities of 20 advisers and special assistants, rocking the country’s political landscape.

    In a tweet, Aidrus, the head of the much-touted Digital Pakistan Vision initiative, cited recent criticism levelled against her and the government due to her dual nationality as the reason behind her decision to resign.

    “[The] criticism levied towards the state as a consequence of my citizenship status is clouding the purpose of Digital Pakistan,” she said, adding that she was resigning “in the greater public interest”.

    In the resignation letter, Aidrus stated that she had returned to Pakistan with the “singular intent to contribute and develop the vision of a Digital Pakistan”.

    “I always was and shall be a Pakistani,” she wrote, adding that “it is unfortunate that a Pakistani’s desire to serve Pakistan is clouded by such [dual nationality] issues”.

    While the letter points to criticism on Aidrus’ foreign nationality being the chief reason for her resignation, reports say that the former Google executive was in fact forced to resign.

    READ: What we know about Tana Aidrus’s resignation

    Meanwhile, Mirza also took to Twitter to announce stepping down.

    He said that he had come to Pakistan on the personal invitation of the premier after leaving the World Health Organization (WHO).

    “I worked hard and honestly. It was a privilege to serve Pakistan. I am satisfied that I leave at a time when COVID-19 has declined in Pakistan as a result of a grand national effort,” Mirza said.

    He added that he had made the decision over the “negative discussion about the role of SAPMs and criticism of the government”.

    “Pakistani people deserve better healthcare. I have worked sincerely to contribute to this cause. Pakistan will Inshallah emerge out of COVID-19 with a stronger healthcare system.”

    While PM Imran has not yet accepted the resignations, rumour has it that another aide of his will shortly be resigning.

  • KYA BOLA? (Jul 29): ‘Bilawal k jawaan kandhay’ to ‘Coronavirus k khilaf Allah ki ghayebi maddad’

    KYA BOLA? (Jul 29): ‘Bilawal k jawaan kandhay’ to ‘Coronavirus k khilaf Allah ki ghayebi maddad’

    Following are some snippets that stood out from Urdu newspapers on July 29, 2020, which The Current takes no responsibility for.

    ‘Bilawal k jawaan kandhay’

    It has been reported by Daily Jang that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, in a press conference with opposition bigwig Shehbaz Sharif, said,“Ab Shehbaz Sharif tandrust hain aur hukoomat mukhalif tehreek ki inqalabi qiyadat krnay k liye tayaar hain.” Shehbaz, in response to this, said, “Bilawal k jawaan kandho par zimadari dali hai… yeh humein lead karein ge.” 

    While opposition alliance is once again gearing to get rid of the government, many believe this attempt too wouldn’t be successful for the PPP and the Pakistan Muslims League-Nawaz (PML-N) won’t be able to work together.

    ‘Ab kya gul khilayga?’

    According to Daily Jang, Punjab Information Minister Punjab Fayazul Hasan Chohan has termed the meeting between Shehbaz and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazulur Rehman as the between “political orphans”. “Sindh mein Maulana ki Asif Ali Zardari aur Bilawal se mulaqaat ka chand Ziaur Rehman ki bataur deputy commissioner tayinaati ki surat mein charrha tha… ab dekhein Maulana ki Shehbaz se maulaqaat kia gul khilati hai.”

    Fazl’s brother had been appointed the deputy commissioner of Karachi’s District Central despite not being a qualified CSS officer. Amid severe backlash and criticism, the federal government on Monday approved a letter by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government requesting the repatriation of his services back to the province.

    ‘Coronavirus k khilaf Allah ki ghayebi maddad’

    Daily Dunya has quoted the Corona Expert Advisory Group as saying that, “Corona cases aur amwaat mein kami Allah ki ghayebi maddad hai kyun k kami ki hatmi waja samnay nahi aa saki.”

    The statement comes as both COVID-19 cases and deaths in Pakistan continue to drop over the past three weeks. While some are praising the government for its efforts aimed at curbing the outbreak, others believe lower testing and people choosing to stay back home is the actual reason.

  • Bilawal wants Rehman Malik to explain his meeting with Gen Bajwa

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has said he will seek an explanation from Senator Rehman Malik over his meeting with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

    “I will seek an explanation from Rehman Malik Sahib,” said Bilawal when a reporter asked him about the meeting between Malik and General Bajwa on Monday.

    He added that the senator may have met the army chief as the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Interior. “But I will certainly ask him,” said Bilawal while speaking to reporters with Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

    On Monday, PPP’s Senator Rehman Malik met the army chief in Rawalpindi. According to the military’s media wing, the two men discussed “matters related to defence and internal security”.

    “Rehman Malik appreciated Pakistan Army’s success in bringing peace to the country and pledged support of the Senate Committee on Internal Security towards consolidating the gains,” the army said a statement.

    Meanwhile, Bilawal on Tuesday had a busy day in Lahore as after meeting Fazl, he also went to see Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif.

    Among other things, the two discussed the current political situation in the country and the opposition’s plans of launching another anti-government campaign after Eid.