Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Faisal Karim Kundi, while recalling the Afghan diplomat’s refusal to stand up for the Pakistan anthem in the presence of Chief Minister (CM) KP Ali Amin Gandapur, has claimed that the same Afghan diplomat stood up for the anthem on August 14 during a flag hoisting ceremony.
Appearing on the Samaa News programme ‘Mere Sawal With Absar Alam,’ Kundi revealed that the Afghan diplomat, along with an Iranian diplomat and an American diplomat, stood up for the national anthem as a respectful gesture.
He said, “14 August ko mein nay bulaya thaa, tab inhain koi takleef nahi thi or national anthem kay ihteraam may kharay b huway thay.”
Lambasting CM KP Ali Amin Gandapur’s stance of showing no objection to the disrespect, Kundi said he appeared to be the provincial CM of Afghanistan.
Earlier, during an official event in Peshawar to commemorate 12th Rabi ul Awal, the birthday of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), two Afghan diplomats deliberately refused to stand up for Pakistan’s anthem.
After strong discontent from Pakistan, Afghan Consulate Peshawar spokesperson Shahid Ullah clarified, “The Consul General did not stand due to the music in the anthem. We have even banned our own national anthem for the same reason.”
This is the age of extravagant weddings, with most people trying to outdo each other with how much they spend on ostentatious displays of wealth.
Morning show host Nida Yasir got married 22 years ago, when weddings were simpler and less costly.
A clip of Nida’s interview with actor Faisal Qureshi is going viral on social media. Faisal asks Nida about the expenses of her wedding to director Yasir Nawaz.
“There was a time when fans wanted to watch content based on marriage in morning shows, now the trend has changed a lot,” she began, adding that It has been more than 15 years since she started hosting morning shows.
“Only three events were organized for my wedding, the wedding was very grand and luxurious, the Milad and Mayon were held on the same day, later. Mehndi and barat ceremonies were held.”
She said, “22 years have passed since my marriage. I spent one million rupees on three wedding ceremonies and Walimah was entirely from Yasir.” Nida Yasir and Yasir Nawaz got married in 2002. They now have three children.
Nowadays, with social media, it’s easier than ever to become famous overnight. Social media sensation Chahat Fateh Ali Khan gained to fame by creating funny parodies of well songs. He gained 20 million views on YouTube in just one month with his most recent rendition of ‘Bado Badi,’ a song by Madam Noor Jahan.
Veteran actress Bushra Ansari, however, takes exception to social media fame. The comedian appeared as a guest on ‘Hasna Mana hai’, where she talked about the overnight sensation. When host Tabish Hashmi asked, “Nowadays, I’ve seen singers like Chahat Fateh Ali Khan performing in a certain way, do you find it funny, or do you see it insulting,”
Bushra replied, “May Allah grant him a long life, I feel sad to see how people go viral for certain things. I just don’t understand it, it’s beyond my comprehension. This trend is definitely wrong, and there are others involved as well. I can’t recall their names, but some are quite strange. I’m shocked by how songs are misused in this way.” While Bushra Ansari is entitled to her view, Chahat has said in many interviews that he works very hard on his songs and that it took him many years to gain fame.
She is currently starring in Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum which is written by Farhat Ishtiaq and directed by Badar Mehmood. Its airs on ARY Digital on Monday and Tuesday at 8:00 PM.
Property taxpayers in Punjab can now benefit from the government’s five per cent rebate offer for payment of tax before October.
The Excise and Taxation Department’s Deputy Director, Khalid Hussain Qasoori, said that the Punjab government had announced rebate offer for those made full payments of property tax for the ongoing financial year.
Qasoori urged business owners and citizens to benefit from the scheme as there is less than a week left for the offer to expire.
The notices have been issued to taxpayers who are eligible for this five per cent rebate scheme. Those interested citizens are advised to pay the property taxes before September 30.
For those who are eligible but did not receive the tax notice for some reason can also download and pay.
Qasoori said that the citizens are paying taxes on “large scale” by availing the rebate offer. The public is also being educated regarding the benefits of this scheme through banners placed at different areas and on social media.
The total property tax for this fiscal year is over Rs1.22 billion.
Social media has labelled Dr Shah Nawaz Kunbhar’s Hindu driver, Prem Kolhi, the real hero of the tragic ordeal in which the health professional was killed by police.
Kohli first tried his best to save the doctor’s body from an angry extremist mob and later buried him respectfully.
Dawn quotes Dr Shah Nawaz’s father, Mohammad Saleh Kunbhar, as saying that the mob also tried to lynch Prem Kolhi, who was bringing the body back home in a car after it was handed over by the police. He related that the mob tried to torch the car with the body and the driver inside but Prem managed to escape.
Social media users have lamented the brutal murder of the slain medic and praised Prem for his bravery.
Rabiner Kumar posted a picture of Prem and said, “He was fearless and not afraid of death. Premo considered him ( Dr Shahnawaz) a human being, and did the best what he could against the zombies.”
Journalist A. Waheed Murad posted a video of Kolhi burying the body, poignantly captioning it as “In the desert of Sindh, there was once a Premo”.
Journalist Rafi Raza posted Prem’s picture with the caption, “Prem is a member of a minority community who tried to protect the body of Dr Shah Nawaz from a Muslim mob.”
A netizen by the name of Asad Malik posted, “Prem Kohli who tried to save the body of Dr. Shahnawaz from desecration, Masood Lohar who led the movement to lead the funeral prayer, Allama Abdul Momin Memon who led the funeral prayer today are the Sindhis who make humanity proud.”
Mehar Baloch posted a note of appreciation for the Hindu driver.
Dr Shah Nawaz Kunbhar from Umerkot in Sindh was fatally shot by police in an alleged extra-judicial killing in Mirpurkhas, a day after he was arrested on allegations of blasphemy.
Later, the body was handed over to the family but an angry extremist mob followed them and eventually burnt the body. Since then, Sindhis have struck back at extremist elements, holding a massive funeral for the doctor and singing Sindhi folk songs at his grave which is now covered by ajraks, the traditional cloth that represents the province.
The Jerusalem Post, one of Israel’s most widely-read newspapers, has declared former Pakistani Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan a central figure in normalising Pak-Israel ties.
An article written by Harry Richer asserts, “Figures like Khan could very well be central in changing both public opinion and military policy” for Pak-Israel ties.
While reviewing the state of Muslim countries trying to normalise ties with Israel for their self-interest, Richer asserted that despite Khan’s pro-Palestine stance, the former PM had hinted at shaping Pakistan’s foreign policy towards Israel.
Richer predicted, “Normalisation with Israel would bring about significant economic benefits, including technological support in agriculture, cybersecurity, and defence.”
Richer added, “A change in leadership would most probably also be needed for any resolution to move forward, and figures like Khan could very well be central in changing both public opinion and military policy.”
Pakistan does not recognise Israel and has long been an ardent and very vocal supporter of Palestine. The ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza has strengthened public opinion in Pakistan against Israel.
As of October 7, more than 41,000 people, the majority of whom are women and children, have been slaughtered by Israel since October 7. Lancet, the respected medical journal, puts the figure at close to 180,000 dead.
In a damning judgment, the Supreme Court of Pakistan on September 23 issued a detailed verdict of the reserved seats case once again, calling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) a “political party” and rightful recipient of their reserved seats’ quota.
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, next in line to become the CJP, wrote the 70-page detailed order days after the NA speaker Ayaz Sadiq wrote to ECP to not implement the top court’s July 12 verdict.
On July 12, in a significant political and symbolic win for PTI, a thirteen-member bench of the Supreme Court ruled that PTI had the legal and constitutional right to reserved seats.
The detailed judgement emphasised that lack of political symbols does not devoid any political party of its constitutional rights to take part in elections.
In today’s verdict the Supreme Court strongly criticised the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for failure to play its lawful role in the February 8 elections.
“The Commission must uphold democratic principles and the integrity of electoral processes by ensuring that elections truly reflect the will of the people, thereby preserving the democratic fabric of the nation. Unfortunately, the circumstances of the present case indicate that the Commission has failed to fulfil this role in the General Elections of 2024,” observed the majority judgment.
Furthermore, Justice Shah’s verdict points out that the Supreme Court was “surprised” how the ECP behaved as a “primary contesting party against SIC and PTI”.
Actor Fawad Khan, who captured Bollywood’s heart with his debut in ‘Khoobsurat’ (2014) and ‘Kapoor & Sons’ (2016), is finally making a highly-anticipated return to Indian cinema films after a break of eight years.
Reports had suggested earlier that superstar Fawad Khan will star with Bollywood actress Vaani Kapoor in a new film. While the film’s title hasn’t been announced yet, some details about Khan’s role and the shooting schedule have been shared.
Reports say Khan will play a British chef in the film, which will be his first Bollywood role since 2016. The movie, directed by Aarti Bagdi, will be filmed in London and Dubai.
His return to Bollywood is generating a lot of buzz, and fans are eagerly waiting for more details about the film.
But now news reports in Indian media suggest that actress Ridhi Dogra and Fawad Khan will star together in a new project. The name of the romantic comedy has not been revealed yet, but news reports stare that the shooting will begin in New York and London by the end of this year, while the said film will be released at the end of next year.
A grand funeral was held on Sunday (September 22) for Dr Shah Nawaz, the man suspected of blasphemy and killed in an alleged extrajudicial encounter by Sindhri police in Mirpurkhas, in his native village near Umarkot. Thousands of funeral attendees chanted angry slogans against the extremist wave of religiosity in the garb of the blasphemy law, resulting in the brutal murder of the medic. The participants belonged to all walks of life and came from all around Sindh, including Karachi.
It was reported that a charged mob which burnt the body of the slain suspect consisted of the far-right Tehreek-i-Labaik Pakistan and other groups. In the videos, the crowd at the funeral could be seen chanting loudly, “Mullah gardi band karo, dehshagardi band karo” (stop this extremism by religious leaders, stop this terrorism).
Dr Shah Nawaz’s grave was also adorned by the Sindhi traditional shawl Ajrak as people sang a folk song at his final resting place.
Many attendees also paid homage to Premo Kohli, a Hindu, who buried the remains of the slain doctor.
The doctor was killed by police after it was alleged that he shared blasphemous content on his Facebook account.
The last video of Dr Shah Nawaz has also emerged online, in which he said that he doesn’t use Facebook anymore. “The ID is very old, under the name Shah Nawaz Shah. I haven’t used it in a long time. I have already mentioned that I’ve stopped using Facebook.” He went on to add, “There’s is nothing to hide, I’m being transparent about everything. I will have everything investigated.” He pleads people not to label him as a disbeliever as he is open to all sorts of investigations. “Let the police do their work,” he asserted.
Earlier, his mother shared her son’s inclination towards Islam, stating that he used to pray five times a day and sent her to Hajj last year.
In the same video, his daughter also asked for justice for her father. “The policemen must be brought to justice! They killed my father, they should be locked up in jail,” she demanded.
Dawn quotes Dr Shah Nawaz’s wife, who said that her husband used to teach the Quran to young children. “How could he indulge in blasphemy?,” she asked.
The police team involved in the alleged encounter have been suspended by the Sindh police and an investigation is underway.
Dr Shahnawaz Kunbhar was fatally shot by police in an alleged extra-judicial killing in Mirpurkhas on September 19, a day after he was arrested on allegations of blasphemy.
The Indian cricket team has finally achieved a milestone 92 years in the making while defeating Bangladesh by 280 runs in Chennai on Sunday.
After defeating Bangladesh, the Indian team’s Test wins have exceeded the number of defeats.
For the first time in 92 years, India has won more matches than it has lost in Test cricket. The Indian team has 179 victories in Test matches, and has been defeated in 178 Test matches.
India played its first Test in 1932 under the leadership of CK Naidu, but lost by 158 runs.
Since that match, India has never been able to increase the number of matches it has won more than the number of matches lost, but now, after 92 years, it has been done.
This record is currently held by only five teams who have more wins than losses. Apart from India, Australia, England, South Africa, and Pakistan have achieved this honour.
Pakistan achieved this milestone in the first three years of Test Cricket.
