Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Friday came hard on Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and said that the latter “can sell his Islam over a diesel permit or Kashmir Committee chairpersonship”.
Religio-political leader Fazl, who is also the former chairperson of the Parliamentary Special Committee on Kashmir, is currently in Islamabad as part of his Azadi March against the “illegitimate” government led by Imran.
Speaking of the JUI-F-led opposition parties’ protest in the federal capital, the premier on Friday regretted the “use of Islam for shoring up votes” as he addressed a gathering in Gilgit.
“Gone are the days when one could use Islam to gain power. This is a new Pakistan. Sit for as long as you want to. When your food runs out, we will send more. But we will not give you an NRO [National Reconciliation Ordinance],” declared the premier.
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“We are celebrating your independence while an Azadi March [is ongoing in Islamabad]. Who are they wishing to gain freedom from?” he asked the crowd as people in Gilgit observed their 72nd Independence Day.
“I want the media to go there and ask people who they wish to free themselves from,” said the premier, stating that all his opponents appeared disjointed in their thoughts and aims.
He also accused Fazl of being a conspirator and said that Indian media was celebrating the march that suggested the right-wing leader was “himself an Indian national”.
Newsline was always so much more than just a publishing project… it was always about making the dream of editorial integrity a reality
The announcement that the December issue of Newsline magazine would be its last, was greeted by rather emotional comments on social media from people who had been associated with the venture or somehow touched by it.
Their often emotional comments expressed a real sense of sadness and almost personal loss, and while these remarks may have seemed surprising to those unfamiliar with the Newsline project, they really resonated with those who had lived through General Zia’s — direct as well as indirect — martial law periods.
This is because Newsline was not just another publication: for those in journalism, it was a venture that symbolised hope — the hope of the triumph of the journalist over the seth or owner/proprietor/media baron.
Newsline was founded by a group of women journalists in late 1988. The team was led by Razia Bhatti, the longtime editor of The Herald, the Dawn Group monthly that was famous for its stylish production values and its hard-hitting content.
Razia, perhaps the best editor Pakistan has ever produced, was summoned by management and told it was time for her (after some two decades) to leave. This happened soon after General Zia dismissed the civilian government and announced fresh elections and it was a time when the military establishment was seeking to regain control of the political narrative and tame the increasingly outspoken media.
The editorial team was so appalled by the management’s decision to get rid of Razia that most of us opted to resign in protest and leave with her. I was a newcomer in the group (as was Tehmina Ahmed). I’d been with the team for less than a year, but my other colleagues were well-known names in the field, particularly Rehana Hakim, Samina Ibrahim and Sairah Irshad. Talat Aslam stayed on as did Zahid Hussain, our star reporter, who then joined us several months later.
Soon afterward, Razia had the bright idea that we should start our very own magazine. It seemed a complete impossibility, but we began to work on developing the idea anyway. Zia, the cause of most of our woes, had been killed in the Bahawalpur crash and within a few months of that the country’s publishing laws were liberalised and we were able to get a publishing license or ‘declaration’.
We decided we must have a controlling interest and so we invested whatever we could in the company and were also lucky enough to find some investor friends who wanted to come in not for the profit (there never were any), but because they had faith in the venture.
The first issue came out in July 1989 and the legend of Newsline gained strength with every new issue. The legend was that the journalists had won, that editorial integrity would not be compromised, that the news narrative was not tailored according to financial or political interests.
The Newsline launch, Karachi July 1989. L to R: Rehana Hakim, Razia Bhatti, Zahid Hussain, Samina Ibrahim, Umber Khairi, S.A. Baqri, Baseer Ashraf, Tehmina Ahmed
But keeping the legend alive and carrying the torch for this sort of idealism was not an easy task. Financially we struggled and the pressures we faced were many, but we carried on.
Even after Razia died suddenly in 1996, Rehana and the team kept the flame of this hope alive. The names of staffers who passed through the intense training ground that was the Newsline office reads like a Who’s Who of journalism, politics, literature and academia (Abbas Nasir, Mohammed Hanif, Nafisa Shah, Naziha Syed Ali, Marvi Memon, Kamila Shamsie to name just a few). But apart from the commitment of the core team what perhaps helped most to keep the venture alive was the support and good wishes of so many people – friends, colleagues and readers.
But eventually, we reached a stage where the magazine could no longer function as a small independent operation and we became part of a media group (again) when we sold Newsline to the HUM group. When I told a friend about this she asked, “If you sold it and it didn’t belong to you, why are you getting so worked up about it?”
She’s right of course. Legally, we no longer owned Newsline and the decision to cease publication was rightfully the owner’s, but emotionally and idealistically perhaps we will always own Newsline because it was always so much more than just a publishing project… it was always about making the dream of editorial integrity a reality.
Following the tragic Tezgam train accident which killed at least 74 people and injured over 40 others, Coke Studio has announced that they will not be releasing the third episode of Season 12 on Friday (today) as per the schedule.
In a video message posted to social media, Coke Studio said: “In solidarity with the families affected by the Tezgam train tragedy, Coke Studio Season 12 Episode 3 will not be releasing today.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and individuals who were affected by this tragic incident,” the message read.
In solidarity with the families affected by the Tezgam train tragedy, Coke Studio Season 12 Episode 3 will not be releasing today. pic.twitter.com/ABvvHmF1Zn
The third episode of the ongoing Season 12 was scheduled to release on November 1. The episode was set to feature songs by Fareed Ayaz and Abu Muhammad, Umair Jaswal, Banur’s Band and Atif Aslam.
Meanwhile, as per reports, the train, Tezgam, was on its way from Karachi to Rawalpindi when a gas cylinder carried by a passenger exploded, resulting in hundreds of casualties on Thursday morning. The fire destroyed three of the train’s carriages, including two economy class and one business class carriage.
Pakistan Railways (PR) has suffered a loss of whopping Rs213 million as three of Tezgam’s carriages were reduced to ashes in the fire that shook the entire nation on Thursday, a private media outlet reported.
At least 74 people were killed and over 40 others injured after three gas cylinders exploded in a train travelling from Karachi to Rawalpindi. The fire destroyed three of the train’s carriages, including two economy class carriages and one business class carriage.
Footage over both mainstream and social media showed flames engulfing the ill-fated train as people cry for help following the mishap near Punjab’s Rahim Yar Khan district.
It wasn’t later that Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed blamed passengers for the fire, while people across the country stepped up to condemn the minister’s remarks and accuse PR of criminal negligence.
“It isn’t PR’s fault and passengers are to be blamed for it,” the minister said while speaking to journalists after the tragedy.
“It is unfortunate that passengers take cylinders with them. They don’t fear the law,” he said, adding that several people jumped to their deaths from the burning train.
While Rasheed promised an inquiry to ascertain how the passengers had managed to carry cylinders with them, his statements were not very well received by the people who demanded the minister’s resignation amid rising number of train mishaps.
Saudi Arabia has hosted its first women’s wrestling match, as it takes steps towards relaxing strict rules on entertainment, BBC News reported.
According to the details, the contest took place in Riyadh, featuring WWE stars Natalya and Lacey Evans. The duo fought in body suits and a t-shirt on top, in line with requirements for visitors to “dress modestly.”
Thursday’s wrestling match was part of the WWE Crown Jewel event which took place at Riyadh’s King Fahd International Stadium, which can seat 68,000 spectators. Former boxing champion Tyson Fury also competed, defeating Braun Strowman.
Ahead of the match, wrestler Natalya wrote on Twitter: “The world will be watching. I am so incredibly proud to represent our women’s division tomorrow night at #WWECrownJewel. It’s time to bring your best, Lacey.”
Saudi wrestler Mansoor, who will be squaring off against Cesaro, during an interview before the event said that many female members of his family could not wait to watch the match live.
Mansoor said, “I cannot even begin to describe how much that means to me, how much that means to my little sisters, who love WWE, how much it means to my nieces, who love WWE and who fantasise and dream about being wrestlers”.
Award-winning director Mansoor Mujahid and his friend Anab Zehra Hameed were handed life imprisonment for murdering their friend Faisal Nabi. The court also ordered them to pay Rs200,000 each as compensation to the legal heirs of the victim.
According to reports, a sessions court in Karachi found Mujahid and his friend Anab guilty of killing banker Faisal Nabi Malik, in an apartment in Defence Housing Authority in June 2013.
The prosecution, in their arguments, said that Mansoor and his friends were consuming drugs at Anab’s apartment when he allegedly shot dead the victim after they got into a heated argument on June 20, 2013.
They further added that the male accused along with his female partners shared a common intent to kill the victim. They shot the deceased with an unlicensed weapon and dumped the body in the parking lot of an apartment complex after stabbing and burning it with acid in order to hide his identity.
Sharing further details, the prosecution said that when an inquiry officer along with some relatives of the deceased questioned the accused, Mansoor confessed to having shot his friend twice while Anab disclosed to have stabbed the victim and poured acid over his body to confuse his identity. They led the police to a place where the body, pistol, daggers, bloodstained pillow and bedspread were found.
It added that Anab further disclosed during interrogation that the deceased had assaulted her a few days before the incident and she wrote it in her diary which was read by Mansoor.
Meanwhile, the victim’s driver had also seen the accused coming out of the place where he had dropped the victim.
Mansoor is the director of the award-winning film Seedlings, whose Urdu title was Lamha. The film stars Mohib Mirza and Aamina Sheikh in the lead while Gohar Rasheed was also part of the film. It won the ‘Best Feature Film’ (People’s choice) and ‘Best Lead Actress’ awards for Aamina Sheikh at its World Premiere in The New York City International Film Festival 2012.
It also bagged the ‘Best Feature Film’ award at the DC South Asian Festival in Washington in May 2013.
Mansoor was also involved in the making of numerous documentaries, music videos and narrative work for television.
In an earlier interview, Mujahid had said that he did not intend to kill his friend but it was in fact an accident.
Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan, Ali Amin Gandapur, is no stranger to controversy. From claiming that the previous government had let go of Kulbhushan Jadhav. He was also unaware of the Jadhav case at the International Court of Justice.
Gandapur has made another faux pas — this time he has threatened countries supporting India over the Kashmir issue.
Addressing a public gathering, Gandapur said, “If tensions with India rise on Kashmir, Pakistan will be compelled to go to war. Those countries backing India and not Pakistan [over Kashmir] will be considered our enemy and a missile will be fired at India and those nations supporting it.”
What’s even more interesting is that when challenged on Waseem Badami’s show, Gandapur did not back down from his threats.
The anticipation for Ahad Raza Mir and Sajal Aly’s latest drama Ye Dil Mera was high. Even though the drama’s teasers made headlines for all the wrong reasons and were touted to glorify workplace harassment, fans and audiences were excited to see the real-life couple on the big screen.
The first episode of the drama aired this Wednesday and it was off to a mysterious start as audiences are introduced to the characters.
Noor-ul-Ain, played by Sajal Aly, is a happy-go-lucky girl with a dark past – viewers are just shown snippets of it. She lives with her overprotective Agha Jaan, played by Adnan Siddiqui, who has his daughter followed by guards at all times. Agha Jaan is so possessive of his daughter that he has his men beat up Aina’s university colleague because he flirted with Noor. So we’re a little wary of Agha Jaan’s character – he seems dubious.
On the other hand, we are introduced to Amaan, played by Ahad Raza Mir. From the glimpse the audiences are given, we’re assuming that he also has a mysterious past. Amaan is confident, successful and rich and Ahad gives off strong Christian Grey vibes as Amaan. There is more to Amaan than what meets the eye.
Noor and Amaan cross paths at a dholki where Amaan draws a sketch of Noor. What’s puzzling to both Aina and the viewers is that Amaan in his sketch drew a mark on Aina’s neck, a reminder of a haunting past, that she has covered up. The two later meet again when Amaan visits Aina’s university for an internship drive.
The pace of the first episode was a little slow while the flow was slightly bumpy because of weak editing. But considering it was only the first episode, we’re prepared to give it some time.
As far as the acting is concerned, Sajal, Ahad and Adnan delivered strong performances. Particularly noteworthy was Ahad’s performance as Amaan. Amaan has many shades to him and Ahad played them all finely – his expressions, mood and body language changed swiftly according to the mood of the show and deserve a round of applause. Looks like all his theatre work has polished his acting skills – not that he didn’t have them before.
Ye Dil Mera has been penned by the award-winning Farhat Ishtiaq and directed by Aehsun Talish of Suno Chanda fame. Along with Ahad, Sajal, and Adnan, the drama’s cast also includes Rabia Butt, Zarnish Khan and Mira Sethi.
Hum TV has described it as a tale of “love and revenge” and from the look of it, the drama will be a thrilling one – unusual for the Pakistani screens.
Amid reports of a rift between opposition parties as the
Azadi March of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) to Islamabad continues, cracks
are also emerging among ranks of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), The Current has learnt.
According to sources, PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif’s orders were disobeyed by the Punjab leadership of his party on Wednesday as 70,000 people were not mobilised to welcome Fazl’s caravan in Lahore.
The Current reached
out to several PML-N leaders to confirm or deny what rumour had and on the condition
of anonymity, one of them rejected the same.
“Both MNAs and MPAs of the PML-N were in Lahore to receive
Maulana’s caravan and they did. We even distributed food among his buses, which
were over a thousand in number,” the PML-N leader added.
“There were six different points in Lahore where our party
members gathered to welcome and facilitate Maulana Fazl. Our workers gathered to
welcome the caravan hours before its arrival.”
When asked why the PML-N leadership was nowhere to be seen at the Lahore stage of the Azadi March as JUI-F leaders addressed a mammoth gathering, the PML-N leader said they were asked to come on stage at the last minute and that too by a junior party worker.
“Not Maulana or any other JUI-F leader invited us on stage and we told them that we will come in an hour. However, later we were told that the caravan will not stop for us.”
The PML-N leader also said that they are on their way from Lahore to Islamabad with a huge crowd and plan on holding a small rally in the federal capital even though their leadership has been told by the JUI-F that the Azadi March will commence tomorrow.
When The Current reached out to other PML-N leaders for confirmation of the postponement, former National Assembly (NA) speaker Ayaz Sadiq said, “Akram Durrani Sahib called me today and said that Maulana will address Azadi March at 2 pm tomorrow after Friday prayers in Islamabad.”
