Blog

  • Islamabad hike rape case false accusation, guy was set up: Islamabad Police

    Islamabad hike rape case false accusation, guy was set up: Islamabad Police

    The ‘victim’ in the Margalla Hills hiking trail case has confessed to be a part of a scam group, Islamabad Police has said on Tuesday.

    The case turned out to be a dramatic episode with plenty of twists and turns, as revealed by police. In a statement on Twitter, the capital city police said that the petitioner, Sidra who has accused Noman of raping her at the Margalla Hill trail, was taken before the magistrate for her statement, where she confessed to being a hired imposter by the suspect’s friend-cum-enemy.

    According to the girl’s statement, the main accused Noman had a quarrel with his friend Anwar who hired a gang to take revenge. The gang of scammers included Saima, Dr. Sidra, Ismail and Shakeel [fake journalists] and also a fake police officer Manzoor.

    The police investigation revealed that the man behind it all- Anwar- contacted Saima, a resident of Rawalpindi, to falsely accuse Noman of rape. Saima further contacted Sidra, who is from Sheikhupura, to play the role of victim.

    The master plan was that Sidra will walk with the accused to trail three and then start screaming for help, saying that Noman has attempted to rape her. Meanwhile, the rest of the group would reach the spot and make videos, which could be used to blackmail Noman and his family for extortion.

    The plan turned out to be an epic fail as Sidra waited for her accomplices after they reached trail three, but they couldn’t make it in time and she had to return with the accused to Rawalpindi. Afterwards, the gang opted for plan B. Sidra lodged a FIR for rape against Noman in Rawalpindi and went back to Sheikhupura.

    The police launched an investigation covering every aspect of the case which led to Sidra’s confession in front of the magistrate. The probe further disclosed that two cases had been filed against Sidra in Sheikhupura and Anwar-al-Haq, an operative of the scammer gang, was a proclaimed criminal in police record.

    A campaign was launched on social media while the case was under investigation, which according to the police was too soon to jump to conclusions. The police underscored that haste could lead one in the wrong direction and it’s better to wait at least for the investigative report before forming a conclusion, especially during the probing phase of such sensitive cases.

    “Citizens are requested not to believe in rumors until the final report of the police. Such a campaign could affect the police investigation which would benefit the accused,” said police.

  • Marriyum Aurangzeb says date for dissolution of assembly not finalised as yet

    Marriyum Aurangzeb says date for dissolution of assembly not finalised as yet

    Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb has in a tweet denied that the date of the dissolution of the National Assembly has been finalised.

    “The date [of dissolution] will be decided in consultation with the PDM and other allied parties. The decision on the date of dissolution of the National Assembly will be officially announced,” she wrote.

    Earlier in the day, Geo News reported that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the two major partners in the ruling coalition, have agreed to dissolve the National Assembly on August 8, a few days before the end of the assembly’s tenure.

  • National Assembly will be dissolved in August; PPP, PML-N agree

    National Assembly will be dissolved in August; PPP, PML-N agree

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the two major political parties in the ruling coalition, have agreed to dissolve the National Assembly on August 8, Geo News has reported.

    However, Information Minister Mariyum Aurangzeb has tweeted that the date of the dissolution of the National Assembly has not been decided yet.

    “The date [of dissolution] will be decided in consultation with the PDM and other allied parties. The decision on the date of dissolution of the National Assembly will be officially announced,” she added.

    The National Assembly is completing its tenure on August 12 at midnight, but it seems like the lower house is going to be dissolved before time. According to sources, August 9 and 10 also came under discussion, but both major political parties agreed on August 8 to dissolve the National Assembly.

    “A general election to the National Assembly or a provincial assembly shall be held within a period of sixty days immediately following the day on which the term of the assembly is due to expire, unless the Assembly has been sooner dissolved,” Article 224 of the Constitution states.

    In the previous week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had said, “Next month, our government will complete its tenure. We will leave before the completion of our tenure, and an interim government will come”.

  • Judge in Toshakhana case denies he posted against Imran Khan on his Facebook page

    Judge in Toshakhana case denies he posted against Imran Khan on his Facebook page

    Justice Humayun, the judge presiding over the Toshakhana trial, has disowned anti Imran Khan posts made on his Facebook page when he was sensationally shown the social media material by the former Prime Minister’s lawyers.

    Imran Khan’s lawyer, Gohar Ali, showed the Facebook posts in court to argue that the Judge should not be hearing the case. In reply, Justice Humayun admitted that the Facebook page was his, however, he denied making the posts.

    He also asked the PTI lawyer if he thought that a judicial inquiry should be made about the Facebook posts.

    Gohar Ali replied that it was upto the judge to send the posts through a judicial inquiry, but stressed that it was appropriate if the court did not continue to hear the case.

    The court reserved it’s verdict on the plea as well as another plea by Imran Khan to exempt him from in-person hearings.

  • Groping a girl okay, if it’s less than ten seconds, rules Italian court

    Groping a girl okay, if it’s less than ten seconds, rules Italian court

    Trigger warning: discussion of harassment, victim blaming

    Protests and demonstrations are erupting in Italy after a judge cleared a man of charges of sexual harassment of a teenager because the groping had lasted “a handful of seconds”.

    The survivor, a 17 year old student, took 66 year old Antonio Avola to court when he groped her in school while she was walking up the staircase with a friend in April 2022.

    She recalled her trousers fell from her waist and as she was pulling them up, she felt a hand touching her buttocks and then grabbing her underwear to lift her up by an inch.

    When she turned around, the caretaker brushed off the harassment by saying “Love, you know I was joking.”

    Avola confessed to the groping in court but said it was a joke. Prosecutors were seeking a three year jail term if convicted.

    However, the judge ruled that the grope could not be counted as harassment since it lasted “between five to 10 seconds” and was too short to be considered a crime. The judgement also ruled:

    “Furthermore, it seems likely that the brushing of the buttocks was caused by an awkward manoeuvre of the defendant which, due to the dynamics of the action, was carried out while the subject was in motion.”

    This ruling has outraged Italians who protested by posting 10 second videos of themselves touching private body parts along with the hashtag “palpata breve” (brief grope) and “10 secondi” (10 seconds).

    Speaking to The New York Times, ‘The White Lotus’ actor Paolo Camilli, who had participated in the trend, spoke about how outrageous the ruling was.

    “My first thought was, how can a person measure 10 seconds while they were being molested”, he said, further pointing out that 10 seconds can be an infinity for someone in a painful situation.

    Popular Italian influencer Francesco Cicconetti slammed the ruling in a video shared to his 200,000 followers on Instagram, writing that no man is allowed to turn a woman into their property.

    “Women’s bodies are not men’s property. Owned by no one but women themselves. It’s not the father who wants to hand it over to the husband, it’s not the boyfriend who wants to hide it, it’s neither the mate who wants to govern him, it’s nor the son who wants to protect him, he’s not the brother who wants to defend his honor.”

  • Mawra Hocane’s ‘Nauroz’ wows audience with promising start

    Mawra Hocane’s ‘Nauroz’ wows audience with promising start

    The newly launched serial ‘Nauroz’ is based on the effects of social media in our daily lives, with an approach that is definitely out of the box. Mawra Hocane has opted for a very different role, a fierce character based in the beautiful northern areas of Pakistan. The cast of the drama is phenomenal with names like Manzar Sehbai and Shamil Khan attached to it. The drama is written by Kashif Anwar and directed by Shahzad Kashmiri.
    The show opens with Shamyl Khan’s character, Ramish Khan, telling his daughter a story of a post-apocalyptic world. He then mentions the year is 2046 which is bound to get your gears turning.

    The show does deserve credit for bringing the audience in with these reveals and making you question everything that him and his wife are telling their daughter. The story also seems heavily inspired by Rapunzel, of a girl trapped in a closed room with no access to the outside world.

    We then get a Disney-esque montage of the little girl growing up in the confines of her room into a twenty-year-old Mawra Hocane. We also find out that the year is not decades in the future.

    The first half of the episode is exciting and revealing, while the second half with flashbacks gives you context.

    The episode also got positive reviews from social media.

  • PCB will receive more than twice the revenue from ICC

    PCB will receive more than twice the revenue from ICC

    The annual conference, board, and committee meetings of the ICC were held in Durban, South Africa, from July 10–13, 2023. At these meetings, the ICC Financial and Distribution Model 2024–27, Amendments to the ICC Sanctioning Regulations, and Modifications to the Over Rate Sanctions in Test Cricket, among other topics, were discussed. Pakistan was represented at these meetings by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) delegation.

    The new ICC finance and distribution model offers a crucial chance for the game to grow and anticipates the largest-ever investment to go into global cricket.

    In accordance with its constitutional right, the PCB has repeatedly asked for more information over the past few weeks at the ICC Meetings to better understand the justification for assigning weights to each of the criteria and determining the distributions.

    The PCB believed that such a critical choice shouldn’t be made in a hurry in the lack of all pertinent facts, data, and formulas. Therefore, the PCB suggested that this matter be tabled until the next ICC meeting.

    Therefore, the PCB was ranked among the top-four countries in this Model as a result of the performance of the Pakistan cricket team in men’s ICC events and in bilateral cricket, as well as the PCB’s own enormous fan following, which results in significant commercial value. As a result, compared to the previous cycle, the PCB will earn more than twice as much money.

    This increased revenue can be helpful for Pakistan cricket, and it’s good news for the Pakistani fans as well as the whole nation.

  • Sindh govt’s Rs2 roti plan may trigger shortage, price inflation in the near future

    Sindh govt’s Rs2 roti plan may trigger shortage, price inflation in the near future

    Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori has announced a subsidised food programme for the poor. As part of this initiative, the government will provide roti (flatbread) at a price of Rs2.

    Tessori stated that the provision of roti at a reduced price is aimed at helping people affected by inflation and will be implemented in specific areas of the metropolis. He emphasised that this noble cause will be pursued as a mission.

    During a ceremony on Sunday, the governor announced the establishment of up to 300 tandoors (traditional clay ovens) across the Sindh capital, where roti will be sold for only Rs2. Additionally, he reiterated that ration bags would be distributed among one hundred thousand deserving families in the port city.

    While it may seem beneficial for the inflation-hit people of Karachi to have access to roti at a significantly lower price of Rs2 compared to the Rs20-25 market price, there could be unintended consequences.

    If the government sets up 300 temporary tandoors selling roti at Rs2, the majority of people may opt to buy from them rather than purchasing roti from tandoors selling it at a higher price. Consequently, the tandoors selling roti for Rs20 may be forced to close as they would be unable to compete with these subsidised tandoors.

    Once the government discontinues the cheap roti scheme or ceases to offer it at reduced rates, there is a potential for a shortage to arise. With only a limited number of tandoors available for citizens to purchase roti from, the scarcity could drive up the price of roti to Rs30 or even higher.

    This highlights the possibility that the government’s initiative of selling roti at a reduced rate may not be sustainable in the long run. The temporary availability of roti at Rs2 might not be as beneficial as initially perceived. Only time will tell whether this programme will provide temporary relief to the masses or worsen the situation.

  • In aftermath of Masood’s suicide, govt blocks 43 loan apps

    In aftermath of Masood’s suicide, govt blocks 43 loan apps

    The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication (MoITT) on Tuesday blocked 43 illegal loan apps operating in the country following Masood suicide case.

    The Ministry has initiated a crackdown on illegal loan apps operating in Pakistan. The Federal Minister for IT and Telecommunication stated that the ministry has acted swiftly to implement instructions for blocking these apps.

    The suicide of an unemployed man, Masood, in Rawalpindi who became a victim of an illegal loan app, has jolted the government into action. In a significant move against such scams and to save people from falling prey to online loan sharks, the government has decided to take the matter very seriously and therefore, the IT minister has instructed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to take action against such entities without waiting for complaints.

    The minister stressed the importance of launching an awareness campaign to protect people from falling prey to such fraudulent activities.
    A survey conducted earlier this year by Karandaaz Pakistan, a nonprofit organization, revealed that the number of Pakistanis using personal finance apps has more than doubled to 19% in 2022 compared to two years prior. To thwart this growing menace, a crackdown is being carried out nationwide, and citizens are advised to check the SECP website to verify whether a company’s app is licensed or not.

    It has been strictly advised that the individuals should report complaints to relevant authorities, including the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cybercrime Division, and local police, in order to take appropriate action against such apps.

    In this regard, FIA Director General has also instructed all cybercrime units to take strict action against companies and individuals offering loans through unregistered and illegal mobile applications.

  • Meray Pass Old Gentleman Hai? Yumna Zaidi, Humayun Saeed pairing draws mixed reviews

    Meray Pass Old Gentleman Hai? Yumna Zaidi, Humayun Saeed pairing draws mixed reviews

    Yesterday, it was officially announced that actress Yumna Zaidi and Humayun Saeed will be pairing up for an upcoming drama for Green Entertainment, penned by the ‘Mere Pass Tum Ho’ screenwriter Khalil-ul-Rehman Qamar, and produced by Saeed’s wife, Samina Humayun.

    This is the first time the two will be coming together on the screen together. Social media users were thrilled that the actress never stops dominating the screen.

    https://twitter.com/kyakaruun/status/1681005153023926273?s=20

    However, not everyone agreed that the news was exciting, slamming screenwriter Rehman and Humayun Saeed for once more, pairing an older actor with a woman decades younger than him. Yumna Zaidi is currently 33 years old, while Humayun is 51.

    Many were happy with the casting because of the stellar performances both actors have given in past projects, but were concerned because of the age difference.

    Saeed has been criticised in the past for working with younger women as romance leads in films, like Ayeza Khan is 32 years old but had played his wife in ‘Mere Pass Tum Ho’. While in the film ‘London Nahi Jaunga’, Kubra Khan was 30 years old.

    https://twitter.com/xakyanaseem/status/1681199828414476290?s=20

    If we revert back on Pakistan’s pop culture history a bit, then some would remember in 2019, veteran actor Firdous Jamal was a guest on an ARY show where he said that Mahira Khan is of the age where she should be playing grandmother roles. A bit rich considering that men of the same age are still romancing younger women?

    Hopefully, Pakistani dramas can listen and get out of this creepy mindset!