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  • ‘Was a freshman at Oxford’, Bilawal gets candid about his whereabouts when his mother was assassinated

    ‘Was a freshman at Oxford’, Bilawal gets candid about his whereabouts when his mother was assassinated

    Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari recently got candid while talking about his mother’s legacy, assassination, and his foray into politics.

    In a wide-ranging interview on Thursday with The Washington Post’s Lally Weymouth, Bilawal, who is currently representing Pakistan at World Economic Forum in Davis, agreed that if his mother Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had lived Pakistan would have been a different place.

    “I think that not only would Pakistan be a different place, but our region would have gone in a different direction. She had a vision and clarity that no one had at the time,” he said of his mother, the first female Muslim Prime Minister in the world.

    Responding to a question about where he was when his mother was assassinated in 2007 in Karachi, he said, “I was a freshman at Oxford”. Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in an attack in Rawalpindi in 2007, right before she was to lead her party to the polls.

    Speaking about his early stages in politics, Bilawal—who is also chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)— said that his party thought that it was important for him to take a “ceremonial role leading the party to keep them united”.

    When asked whether he could become prime minister this year, FM Bilawal said he would have to win an election first.

    “Obviously, my party will be hoping that we win,” he said, hinting towards a coalition government if his party wins the most seats in the general elections scheduled for later this year.

    During the interview, the young minister reiterated that Pakistan’s new leadership, both political and military, will hold no talks with terrorist organisations who don’t respect the country’s laws and constitution.

    He said that former PM Imran Khan gave the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) a place to hide; not only did he release prisoners who were in Pakistan’s custody, but also engaged in a dialogue with them. “He [Imran Khan] has always been ideologically sympathetic to their point of view,” he added.

  • Two transgender activists barred from Fly Dubai plane because of X gender

    Two transgender activists barred from Fly Dubai plane because of X gender

    Transgender activist Shahzadi Rai has said on Friday that Fly Dubai had barred her and another transgender activist from travelling on their flight.
    Rai took to Twitter to share her experience with Fly Dubai stating that she and her Project Manager Zarish were barred from travelling from Karachi to Dubai because of her X gender.
    The activist who works with the Gender Interactive Alliance narrated the incident in a video clip.

    “We had a flight to attend our annual meeting, me and my project manager, Zarish. But they cancelled our ticket because we had written X in our gender category. This is extremely transphobic.”

    In the next tweet, Rai shared a screenshot of her flight ticket and wrote that although transgender people are a part of mainstream community in other countries, it was shocking to witness Fly Dubai indulge in transphobic behavior.
    “Transgender persons are part of the main stream in other countries but Fly Dubai doesn’t allow x-gender cards to travel, Transphobic behaviour by Fly Dubai, if they don’t allow us to travel on their plane, why did they issue a ticket.”

    Since this post was uploaded yesterday, many transgender activists and otter public figures have criticized the airline. Transgender activists like Mehrub Moiz Awan and Hina Baloch slammed Fly Dubai on their twitter accounts, and have called for Pakistan’s Foreign Office to address the matter.

    Fly Dubai has yet to issue a statement regarding the matter.

  • HRCP expresses concern over ‘Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act 2023’

    HRCP expresses concern over ‘Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act 2023’

    The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed its “deep concern” over the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Act 2023, which was passed unanimously on January 17 in the National Assembly. While the stated aim of this bill is to curb sectarianism, HRCP believes it is likely to exacerbate the persecution of Pakistan’s beleaguered religious minorities and minority sects.

    The National Assembly unanimously passed the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill on Tuesday, aimed at increasing punishment for disrespect of Ummahatul Momineen, Ahl-e-Bait, Khulfa-e-Rashideen and Sahaba-e-Kiram.

    “The proposed legislation increases the punishment for using derogatory remarks against holy persons—including the Prophet (PBUH)’s family, wives and companions, and the four caliphs—from three years with a fine to imprisonment for life ‘which will not be less than ten years’. The bill also makes the offence non-bailable, thereby directly violating the constitutionally guaranteed right to personal liberty under Article 9,” read the press release from the human rights watchdog.

    “Given Pakistan’s troubled record of the misuse of such laws, these amendments are likely to be weaponised disproportionately against religious minorities and sects, resulting in false FIRs, harassment and persecution. Moreover, increasing the penalty for alleged blasphemy will aggravate misuse of the law to settle personal vendettas, as is often the case with blasphemy allegations,” it added.

    “At a time when civil society has been calling for amendments to these laws to prevent their abuse, strengthening this punishment will do the exact opposite.”

  • Imran cites British PM Rishi Sunak fine for not wearing seatbelt as ‘rule of law’

    Imran cites British PM Rishi Sunak fine for not wearing seatbelt as ‘rule of law’

    British Prime Minister (PM) Rishi Sunak was fined by the police on Friday for not wearing a seatbelt in the car while filming a social media video.

    Lancashire Police announced on Twitter that they have issued Sunak “with a conditional offer of fixed penalty”.

    In the video that went viral on Thursday, the seatbeltless Conservative leader speaks from the back seat of a moving car about his policies for boosting growth during a trip to Lancashire in England’s north.

    According to BBC, passengers caught failing to wear a seat belt when one is available can be fined £100 (PKR 28,475).

    Reacting to the news, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman and former PM Imran Khan highlighted the rule of law in Britain.

    In a tweet, Khan said, “This is rule of law where no one is above it; this differentiates prosperous nations from poor ones.”

    “No NROs, no qabza GPS, no custodial torture for tweeting the truth about the powerful because the justice system protects the weak. Justice was the bedrock of Riyasat e Madina,” he added

    However, Sunak apologised afterward and called it a “brief error of judgement”.

    It is the second time Sunak has received a fixed penalty notice while in being in the government.

    Last April, he was fined along with the-then PM Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie for breaking Covid lockdown rules by attending a gathering in Downing Street in June 2020.

  • President takes notice of increasing online bank frauds in Pakistan

    President takes notice of increasing online bank frauds in Pakistan

    President Dr Arif Alvi has taken serious notice of the rising trend of online banking frauds where fraudsters obtained contact details of banks’ clients by impersonating bank officials to get account and banking information and then used these details to swindle money out of clients’ accounts.

    In a press release released on Saturday, the President directed the Banking Mohtasib of Pakistan (BMP) to take serious notice of this worrisome trend and implement meaningful, effective measures, such as appropriate checks and balances and foolproof security systems that could distinguish between genuine and fraudulent transactions, to curb this threat urgently.

    A renowned novelist and playwright, Mirza Athar Baig, had his bank account robbed of Rs1.1 million by an online fraudster, according to news reports. The president’s secretariat has asked Baig to lodge a complaint and formally raise the issue with BMP to get relief from the bank.

    Under the president’s direction, the president’s secretariat has advised Mirza Athar Baig to file a complaint and formally raise the issue with the BMP in case the bank is unable to fix his problem and reimburse him within the allotted time limit.

    Even though he had resolved hundreds of such cases through the BMP and given comfort to those who had been affected by internet frauds, the president expressed disappointment that fraudulent activities and practises were growing in the banking sector.

    Additionally, he underlined the importance of bringing about structured and methodical improvements in online banking systems by swiftly detecting fraudsters and enforcing severe, exemplary sanctions against them.

  • Lahore private schools ‘condemns the incident’ after video of three girls torturing fellow girl goes viral

    Lahore private schools ‘condemns the incident’ after video of three girls torturing fellow girl goes viral

    Lahore Police have initiated an inquiry of the alleged torture incident of a student by her classmates at a private school in Lahore, ARY has reported.

    A video of the incident shows three girls forcing their classmate to the ground, then sitting on her back. One of the girls can be seen pulling the victim’s hair and swearing at her while making her apologise .

    The incident’s First Information Report (FIR) has been recorded on the complaint submitted by Imran, the victim’s father, accusing his daughter’s classmate J of being a drug addict and forcing her daughter to do drugs with her.

    According to the FIR, J tormented the victim alongside her sister K, U and N R The victim’s father also said that they stole the gold chain his daughter was wearing.

    Police is yet to arrest the girls named in the FIR.

    The School has issued a statement in this regard saying that “it strongly condemns the incident that recently took place.”

    “Our school culture is our highest priority and we uphold our core values of honor, respect, compassion and responsibility,”

  • Pakistan has ample fuel stocks available: PSO denies reports of petrol, diesel shortage

    Pakistan State Oil (PSO) on Friday denied all the rumours about the shortage of fuel reserves and said that there is ample stock of petroleum products in the country.

    The Ministry of Energy and Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), according to the PSO spokesman, is keeping an eye on the general situation regarding product availability by other oil marketing companies to ensure that the nation’s supply chain is maintained smoothly.

    He claimed that PSO would continue to supply the nation with petroleum products on an uninterrupted basis, that there is enough gasoline and diesel in the country, and that 80,000MT and 90,000MT, respectively, of each have arrived at Karachi Port.

    According to the OGRA spokesperson, local oil marketing firms and refineries are also working to meet the demand for petroleum products.

    The Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC) requested last week that the federal government step in right away to guarantee the prompt issuing of lines of credit to import petroleum products in order to prevent a fuel scarcity in the nation.

    On behalf of oil marketing companies (OMCs) and refineries, the OCAC sent a letter outlining the difficulties resulting from the opening of letters of credit (LCs) for the import of petroleum products being delayed.

    There haven’t been many oil shipment cancellations as a result of the LCs being closed.

    Mogas, High-Speed Diesel (HSD), and 650,000 MT of crude oil must all be imported into Pakistan on a monthly basis for a total cost of about $1.3 billion.

  • Miss Trans Pakistan: Shyraa Roy bags Vikram Bhatt’s ‘Sanak’ as the leading lady

    Miss Trans Pakistan: Shyraa Roy bags Vikram Bhatt’s ‘Sanak’ as the leading lady

    The first Miss Trance Pakistan, Shyraa Roy, is set to be the leading lady in the movie, Sanak. The thriller film is written by famous Indian filmmaker, Vikram Bhatt.

    The upcoming psychological thriller also features Javed Shaikh, Resham, Muneeb Ali, Murad Kazmi, Beenish George, Marhoom Bilal, Zeenat Butt, and many others.

    Taking to her Instagram handle, Roy shared the poster of the movie, captioning it, “This year every blood stain will remain as his benchmark!”

    The film is produced by Roy’s production company, Roy Motion Pictures, in association with Vishesh films and Imdad Hussain Film Production. Sanak’s storyline follows a mentally unstable man Zaffar Minhas, who is obsessed with a popular actress Samaira Khan, as he tries to kill her acquaintances to get to her in the most horrifying and brutal ways.

    Shyraa-Roy-1200x900-1

    Previously, the model and actor, has worked in several Bollywood films including, Street Dancer 3D, Mohenjo Daro, Aks, and Saaho.

    Talking about her role, Roy said that she is playing a role of a famous top actor in the movie, like Mahira Khan and Deepika Padukone.

  • Daler Mehndi falls for parody tweet claiming Prince Harry listened to his songs in lowest moments

    Daler Mehndi falls for parody tweet claiming Prince Harry listened to his songs in lowest moments

    Indian Punjabi singer Daler Mehndi fell for a parody post claiming Prince Harry has written in his recent memoir Spare that he listened to the Indian singer in his lowest moments. The Twitter users had a field day reacting to Daler’s tweet as they couldn’t believe that he has mistaken a satirical post to be authentic.

    The original post was shared by the Instagram handle ‘qualiteaposts’ and read, “Prince Harry reveals music artist he listened to in his lowest moments in new book ‘Spare’. “In the times I felt alone and separated from my family, I always took time to myself to sit back and listen to Daler Mehndi. His lyrics resonated with me and got me through a lot.”

    Sharing a screenshot of the post, the Tunak Tunak Tun singer tweeted, “I am grateful to the blessings of Guru Nanak, my mom and dad, I created a unique Pop Folk Ethnic Music Style. Love you Prince Harry! God Bless you, In gratitude that my music helped you. @TeamSussex”.

    There were multiple Twitter users who replied with laughing emojis and memes. One user wrote, “I wish I can see Prince Harry dance on tunak-tunak with Megan (Meghan Markle)”, while another tweeted, “Daler paaji yeh duniya badi zalim hai (Daler paaji, this world is very cruel)”. Here are some other hilarious reactions from the micro-blogging platform.

    Daler Mehndi has lent his voice to catchy and extremely popular Punjabi tracks such as Bolo Ta Ra Ra, and Ho Jayegi Balle Balle, among others.

  • Imran Ashraf calls out click baiter for misleading posts

    Imran Ashraf calls out click baiter for misleading posts

    Actor Imran Ashraf took to his Instagram stories to react to a viral Youtube video about his wealth. The Youtuber has grossly exaggerated and fabricated Imran’s actual assets. The video also claims that Imran owns a Lamborghini car, which caught Imran’s attention. The Dum Mastam hero reshared a screenshot of the video and stated, “Oh Allah, make me as rich as these Youtubers believe me to be.”

    “I feel like taking a loan from myself after watching my supposed wealth in the video,” concluded Imran.

    Earlier the Ranjha Ranjha star called out a YouTuber who used misleading click-bait thumbnails of his blockbuster drama Raqs-e-Bismil. The Alif Allah Aur Insan actor shared a hilarious thumbnail in which a YouTube revealed the ‘supposed’ season 2’s snippet featuring Zohra with a child and Moosa by her side. He added a humorous caption, “Is bhai nai to bana bhi diya”.

    He also shared a fake thumbnail about the teaser of the last episode which suggested that his character, Moosa will die.