Nabeel Zafar, who plays one of the leads on ARY Digital’s hit sitcom Bulbulay, has apologised for ‘offensive’ comments against Pashtuns on the show.
In a video message, Nabeel apologises for hurting Pashtun sentiments and says that their intention was never to hurt anyone.
“I came across some comments on Twitter today that we might have hurt the sentiments of our viewers through a scene of the show,” says Nabeel in the video. “We would never target a particular ethnicity. That was never our intention. Our audience ranges from a four-year-old to an eight-year-old. We receive massive viewership from the KP region.”
He then goes on to explain the characters and says that the team of the shows aim to entertain the masses and make them laugh.
“There are several characters on the show. We never meant to disrespect anyone. Our only intention was to make our audience happy,” he says further.
Nabeel’s video was retweeted by the official handle of ARY Digital as well as ARY CEO Salman Iqbal.
I’m here on this platform to apologise to any one who has been hurt by any thing we have said or done in Bulbulay!!! our intentions are to make people happy not to discriminate or hurt any one We are extremely sorry . pic.twitter.com/LIMe6AoZuy
In a clip being circulated on social media, Mehmood Sahab (Mehmood Aslam) is seen talking to a Pathan man Sher Khan over the phone. When Khan says that he would like to come to their house and give them a gift, Nabeel jokes that the only gift he will give is either naswar or a bomb. Nabeel’s comments sparked outrage for stereotyping Pashtuns and the hashtag #BoycottARYDigital began to trend on social media.
We Pakhtoons are not terrorists nor drug dealers. We are Patriotic Pakistanis and we respect all ethnicities. @arydigitalasia you MUST apologise immediately for portraying Pakhtoons as terrorists.
ARY making biased jokes on Pashtuns in their bullshit drama ‘Bulbulay’, has greatly hurt Pashtun sentiments. Such type of jokes don’t make you superior or smart than others. The racial profiling of Pashtuns is utter ignorance, that leads to regional division. #BoycottAryDigital
Shams on you ARY for airing such hideous episode of bulbulay shame on the writer director actors and whole staff of bulbulay for participating in such episode .#BoycottAryDigitalpic.twitter.com/TzKhZ3gzeU
Days after releasing the biggest collaboration of the year Tum Tum, Asim Azhar is back in the groove with a new single titled Soneya. But unlike his previous song, Soneya is darker and more sombre.
Before the song begins, the singer reveals that the music video was shot under very challenging circumstances.
“To the one’s who made it happen, and to all my fans who have stood by me, this one’s for you,” says the singer.
According to details, the “heartbreak anthem” has been written by Kunaal Vermaa and composed by Asim. It features models Roshanay Afridi and Reham Rafiq.
Soon after the song released, it began to trend on social media platforms following which Asim thanked everyone for their love and support.
Feels so good to be about what I am. My music. Thank you for the overwhelming response on Soneya ! ♥️ when I made this a year ago, for some reason I thought it would never release because every time we would try we’d face a new challenge. Today, its here. ♥️ #asimazhar#soneya
Asim also joked that he is finally trending for the right reasons this time. For the unacquainted, the singer was referring to how he has recently been trending due to his relationship with Hania Aamir.
The Islamabad High Court on Friday ordered the government to lift the ban on the popular online multiplayer game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), Georeported.
The decision to lift the ban was announced by Justice Amir Farooq while hearing a petition filed against the banning of the game.
The decision comes a day after the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had announced that PUBG will remain blocked in Pakistan.
In a statement released on Twitter, the telecom watchdog and internet regulator said it reached the decision to keep the game banned after a detailed hearing conducted at the PTA premises on July 9 on the directions of the Lahore High Court (LHC).
Press Release: PTA has decided that online game Players’ Unknown Battle Ground (PUBG) remains blocked. The decision has been made by the Authority after a detailed hearing conducted in PTA on July 9 on the directions of the Lahore High Court.
It said the hearing was attended by other interested parties also.
The PTA said it also approached the PUBG management to share data about PUBG sessions and users in Pakistan and controls in place by the company. The response from PUBG is awaited, it said.
On July 1, the PTA announced the decision to temporarily suspend the PUBG game in the country after it received multiple complaints from different segments of society.
The authority said it received numerous complaints against PUBG wherein it was stated that the game is addictive, wastage of time, and poses a serious negative impact on the physical and psychological health of the Children.
According to recent media reports, cases of suicide attributed to PUBG game have also been reported.
The LHC also directed the PTA to look into the issue and decide the matter after hearing the complainants.
The authority had also solicited views of the public to reach any decision about the online game.
A doppelganger of Turkish actor Engin Altan Düzyatan, who played the role of Ertuğrul Ghazi in the superhit Turkish drama series Diriliş: Ertuğrul has recently been found in Karachi.
Engin’s lookalike, identified as Mustafa Hanif, lives in Karachi and runs a YouTube channel through which he promotes tourism in the country.
In a recent interview with a local media outlet, Hanif said that people in his office had seen Diriliş: Ertuğrul before it was aired in Pakistan.
“I was often told that I look like the leading character of the series but I never paid much attention to it,” said the YouTuber. “When my own family started following the show and said the same, I watched it too and was stunned.”
He further shared: “Recently, I went to the market without wearing a facemask and a few people recognised me and started talking to me.
Mustafa also expressed his wish to visit Turkey to meet the cast of the show, including the lead character.
Dirilis: Ertugrul is being aired on Pakistan Television (PTV) with Urdu dubbing on the directions of Prime Minister Imran Khan. The show has gained immense popularity in a very short time and has set a new record of viewership in the country.
An Afghan girl has shot down two Taliban militants who killed her parents and wounded several others with the AK-47 rifle
Qamar Gul, a young girl and her brother, have killed two Taliban fighters and pushed back several others in Tewri district of Ghor province, after the insurgents killed three members of their family. pic.twitter.com/tJa7K2STw5
— Afghanistan Times (@AfghanistanTime) July 19, 2020
The militants had captured the family home in the village of Griwa because the girl’s father supported the government.
They had dragged the father and mother from the home before murdering them, local officials in Ghor province said.
The girl, Qamar Gul, aged between 14 and 16, had taken the family’s AK-47 rifle and killed the two of the killers. The group denies any of its fighters died.
Later, more militants came to attack the house but villagers and government troops fought them off.
The girl and her younger brother were shifted to a safe place by security forces, Mohamed Aref Aber, spokesman for the provincial governor, told AFP.
Photos of Gul went viral on social media where people praised her for her bravery.
Great job to the young girl that got revenge for killing her family members. Here in the U.S. we have a saying, “Blood is Thicker than Water. It means, God first then Family. Nothing else should matter. I am very proud of you and glad you weren’t a Martyr.
Every now and then Pakistani dramas touch upon topics of social issues which highlight societal ills. The latest to do so is Bikhray Moti starring Neelam Muneer, Wahaj Ali, Yasir Nawaz, Samina Ahmed and Nausheen Shah. The drama, which airs on ARY Digital aims to highlight domestic and child abuse and exploitation. It is raw, unfiltered in a few places and honest which is why it makes a depressing watch.
Ayeza
Bikhray Moti is centred on Ayeza (Neelam Munir), the daughter of an abusive and misogynistic father (Waseem Abbas) who believes daughters to be a burden. He is ruthless and egotistical and doesn’t appear to care much about the women of his house. Ayeza’s elder sister Faiza (Nausheen Shah) is married to Zulfi (Yasir Nawaz), who is lafanga (useless person). Faiza and Zulfi have three children together and are expecting a fourth but due to Faiza’s weakness and years of abuse, she is unable to give birth to the child and passes away in the process. Before dying, she entrusts Ayeza to take care of her children and save them from their father, who will also not hesitate to use them for his gains. Ayeza vows to become independent and financially stable so that she can take care of them and fulfil the promise she made to her sister.
After Faiza’s death, Zulfi takes his children back home much to Ayeza’s protests and hands them over to his mother (Samina Ahmed) because he can’t be bothered to take care of them. The children’s grandmother sends her elder grandson Jaanu to Hyderabad to work at Zulfi’s brother’s shop and decides to sell her teenage granddaughter Shehzadi to an older man in marriage.
On the other hand, Ahad (Wahaj Ali) is Ayeza’s childhood friend and neighbour who she loves very much and wants to get married to. He is the son of a maulvi sahab and wants to become an actor much to his father’s disapproval. Ahad also loves Ayeza and is willing to go any length for her. Wahaj has done a fantastic job as Ahad: he is soft-spoken, warm and gives a very measured performance which deserves an applause.
Ahad
Ahad and Ayeza plan to run away and get married. However, before that can happen, Zulfi’s manipulative brother and Ayeza’s father plot to trick Ayeza into marrying Zulfi. While the earlier episodes have been slow-paced, the latest one (Episode 9) was packed with action, masala and a lot of slaps to get the momentum going. Ayeza’s father abhors her defiant and independent nature and despite knowing Zulfi is useless, insists on getting his daughter married to him to teach her a lesson. Over the course of his career, Waseem Abbas has perfected the role of a heartless father and his performance as Ayeza’s father is no less.
Given that the central theme of the drama is domestic and child abuse, there is a lot of it in the drama, in graphic detail. The honesty with which it is presented is a true reflection of society and is bound to shake you up, especially given how cases of child abuse have been on the rise in the past couple of years.
While the lead actors have given solid performances, it is the child actors who stand out in the drama especially Jaanu. They have delivered brilliant performances and are so convincing that you end up feeling every emotion with them.
Jaanu
Bikharay Moti is not everyone’s piece of cake and takes a lot of courage to watch. Written by Edison Idrees and directed by Shahid Shafaat,it every Tuesday at 8pm on ARY Digital.
Following are some snippets that stood out from Urdu newspapers on July 23, 2020, which The Current takes no responsibility for.
Bilawalgifts mangoes to Maryam Nawaz
It has been reported by Daily Dunya that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has gifted mangoes to former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz
The mango delivery comes at a time when the two largest opposition parties, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and PPP, are in talks to work out a strategy and take entire opposition on board to get rid of the current government. Maryam is one of PML-N’s vice presidents.
‘Mein apni he sarzameen pr marna chahta hun’
In his column for Daily Jang, renowned senior journalist and analyst Saleem Safi has narrated his experience of being abducted from Afghanistan by Taliban in 1999. After his release, he was offered political asylum in the United States (US) and Norway but he said,“Mein apni he sarzameen pr rehna aur marna chahta hun.”
‘Mujhe siyasi wali tasleem kr lein’
Daily Dunya has quoted Punjab Information Minister Punjab Fayazul Hasan Chohan as saying that, “Meri paishgoiyan sach saabit honay pr opposition mujhe siyasi wali tasleem kr le.”
Fayaz had predicted that the PML-N and PPP would not be able to work together as seen in the past as well, and the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) believes that the opposition’s latest alliance for the ouster of the government has turned out to be futile amid differences between leadership of both the parties.
A woman, Ayesha Ghani has been selling sacrificial cows in Karachi’s cattle market ahead of Eid-ul-Azha 2020.
Karachi’s cattle market at Super Highway is one of the most prominent cattle markets in the country and the 21-year-old is breaking stereotypes by selling the sacrificial animals at the cattle market
According to details, Ghani lives in Karachi and goes to the market every day, selling at least 36 of her cows, bulls and calves on sale, with a price ranging from PKR 130,000 to PKR 700,000.
“I have raised these animals at home on my own. That’s why I have a special affection towards them”, said Ayesha Ghani.
Ghani also sells animals online on her social media sites ‘Desi Cows’.
“Most buyers are looking for animals available at economical prices, while prices have increased this year due to inflation,” she said, adding that the business has affected this year amid coronavirus outbreak.
“I have been an animal lover all my life. However, this is the first time that I am personally selling animals in the market,” she said.
Ghani hoped that women would get encouraged to see her and get more involved in this work. However, the challenges that she faces being a woman, standing in a male-dominated market are “bound to surface at first”.
“After all, girls do face a lot of difficulties in our society but I have taken the first step and hope to see more women and girls stepping forward,” Ghani said.
“Today, women are second to none and they should not consider themselves inferior to anyone. We can progress in every field,” she added.
Amid Pakistan Telecommunication Authority’s (PTA) ban on popular online multiplayer game PUBG and social networking application Bigo besides a “final warning” to TikTok, the Supreme Court (SC) has reportedly hinted at banning YouTube in Pakistan.
According to The Express Tribune, the apex court, while hearing the case of one Shaukat Ali involved in a sectarian crime, objected to unregulated content on social media, particularly comments regarding the judiciary, the armed forces and the government.
We have no objection to freedom of expression, remarked Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin. “Our salaries are paid from the money of the people, they have the right to raise questions on our decisions and our performance,” he said. “But the Constitution also grants us the right to privacy,” added Justice Amin.
He remarked that family members of the judiciary come under scrutiny on YouTube and referred to a decision announced a day earlier, which was discussed on the platform and asked whether the PTA and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had taken notice of such happenings on the platform where judges were mocked and embarrassed.
A PTA official told the court that the PTA cannot remove objectionable content but can only report it.
YouTube is banned in many countries, said Justice Mushir Alam, who was also on the bench. He asked whether anyone would dare post content against the United States (US) or the European Union (EU) on the platform.
Justice Amin asked how many people had been prosecuted for such crimes while Justice Alam noted that social media was regulated through local laws in many countries.
People are incited against the judiciary, the government and the armed forces, remarked Justice Amin.
The court then issued notices to the attorney-general of Pakistan (AGP) and the Foreign Ministry on the matter.
Pakistan’s digital space has been frequently restricted and is monitored closely through laws such as the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 as well by the federal agencies PTA and FIA.
The wife of Arsalan, the man who was seen beating and abusing his mother in the video, has responded to allegations of physical and verbal abuse.
Taking to social media, Arsalan’s wife posted a video and said that the allegations her sister-in-law and mother-in-law have made are false. She said that her husband has asthma and she is six months pregnant.
“My mother-in-law attacked my husband’s private parts which made him unconscious. She also attacked my private parts as she wanted to abort my child,” said the woman in the video.
She also alleged that her mother-in-law beat her daughter and that Zobia Meer did not share the complete video.
The woman further said that the mother and daughter broke their cars, hid their jewellery, ID cards and other papers.
“They broke things in my room and even hid my daughter’s milk,” she added.
According to the woman, Zobia is her husband’s half-sister and that the property that Zobia claimed they ran away with is in her husband’s name.
Late Tuesday night, a video of a man beating and abusing his mother went viral on social media. Rawalpindi police registered a case against the culprit after the social media users including journalists, celebrities and social activists condemned the incident and demanded justice from the authorities.
