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  • Zahir Jaffer’s gardener appeals against his sentence, says he was employed at PM Secretariat

    Zahir Jaffer’s gardener appeals against his sentence, says he was employed at PM Secretariat

    Jan Mohammad, Zahir Jaffer’s gardener who was convicted in the Noor Mukadam murder case, has filed an appeal in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) against his sentence. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the sessions court on four counts, which included “concealing design to commit the offence”.

    “My client was never named in the FIR, and he was included in the supplementary statement,” said Advocate Kamran Murtaza, the lawyer of Zahir’s gardener, while filing an application against the verdict in the high court.

    The statement further added that Jan Mohammad was employed at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and worked part-time at Zahir’s house.

    “There is no evidence of my involvement. My punishment should be quashed,” the petition stated.

    A sessions court on Feburary 24 sentenced Zahir Jaffer to death for the murder of Noor Mukadam. The co-accused staff members at Zahir’s house who aided in keeping Noor in Zahir’s house, Iftikhar and Jameel, were sentenced to 10 years in jail. Additional Sessions Judge Ata Rabbani announced the verdict. All other accused were acquitted, including Zahir’s parents and TherapyWorks staff.

  • Bride refuses to marry bald groom wearing wig, faints and falls off stage in protest

    Bride refuses to marry bald groom wearing wig, faints and falls off stage in protest

    A bride in India refused to marry her groom on her wedding day when she found that the groom is bald. Ajay Kumar, the groom had to return home without the bride.

    As per details, the bride discovered that the groom was wearing a wig to hide his baldness after the Barat reached the wedding venue. During the wedding ceremony, the bride spotted the groom repeatedly adjusting his traditional headpiece, on which the bride got suspicious. Later, the bride was informed that the groom was indeed bald and wore a wig on his head.

    The bride fainted and fell off the stage after learning that the groom was bald and refused to marry the groom. The family of the bride tried to convince her to get married but she did not change her decision.

  • Yeh Dosti, hum chorein gay? PM Khan calls ex-friend Jahangir Tareen

    Yeh Dosti, hum chorein gay? PM Khan calls ex-friend Jahangir Tareen

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has contacted disgruntled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Tareen after the politician left Pakistan for the United Kingdom, said Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi, reports Geo News.

    “The prime minister was informed that Jahangir Tareen was unwell,” Qureshi said.

    Qureshi said PM Khan had called the PTI leader to inquire about his health as he left for London for a medical check-up.

    It was earlier reported that Tareen spent a week in a private hospital in Lahore and would spend a week in London.

    PM Khan is scheduled to meet Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s (PML-Q) Chaudhry brothers during his daylong visit to Lahore today.

  • Squid Game grabs three awards at International SAG awards

    Korean actors Lee Jung Jae and Jung Ho Yeon who starred in a popular Netflix show, Squid Game grabbed two awards at the International Screen Actor Guild (SAG). Lee Jung Jae has won the Outstanding Performance by a male actor in a drama series while Jung Ho Yeon has grabbed the award for a female actor in a drama series. Squid Game also succeeded in winning an Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series.

     

    This is the first time for any Korean actors and foreign drama to win the SAG awards.

    While accepting his award, Jung Jae said, “Oh my. Thank you so much. This is truly huge. I wrote something, but I don’t think I can read it. Thank you so much, SAG Awards. Thank you to the global audience for all of your love for ‘Squid Game,’ and thank you ‘Squid Game’ team!”

    Jung Ho Yeon got emotional when taking her first International award for Squid Game.

    In her acceptance speech, she said, “First of all, thank you so much. I have been watching all of you on a big screen as an audience, dreaming to become an actor myself one day. I just want to say thank you so much and I’m so honored to be here.” 

    She further added, “Thank you for making my dream (come true) and opening the door for me. Love you Squid Game team!” 

    They have tough competition in their respective categories. Many popular actors and dramas were nominated against them.

    Squid Game was released last year which gained attention from a global audience and remained to trend number one worldwide for several months.

    Now Director Hwang Dong Hyuk of Squid Game has also confirmed two more seasons of the web series.

  • Russia and Ukraine talks begin after Putin puts nuclear forces on alert

    Russia and Ukraine talks begin after Putin puts nuclear forces on alert

    After five days of Russian aggression, Moscow and Ukraine have begun high-level talks on the Ukraine-Belarus border with the aim of an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces, reports Al Jazeera.

    The Ukrainian military claimed that the pace of Russia’s assault has slowed. However, a day earlier Russian President Vladimir Putin put the country’s nuclear forces on high alert.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called the next 24 hours “crucial” for the country. He has also indicated that he sees little prospect of any meaningful dialogue.

    He said he was not confident that any progress would be made. “Let’s try, so that no citizen of Ukraine would have any doubt that I, as president, tried to stop the war when there was even a chance,” he stated.

    Ukraine’s health ministry stated that 352 Ukrainian civilians have been killed so far, including 14 children. Moreover, tens of thousands of Ukrainians have fled to Romania and other neighbouring countries to seek shelter.

    Earlier, Zelensky had asked the European Union (EU) to admit Ukraine as a member state. As a result, multiple European countries are offering military aid to Kyiv.

    Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states are also stepping up their support for Ukraine by “providing Kyiv with air-defence missiles and anti-tank weapons.”

  • Pakistan, India resume talks on water dispute again, this time in Islamabad

    Pakistan, India resume talks on water dispute again, this time in Islamabad

    Pakistan and India will resume talks on the water dispute again from March 1 till March 4. The talks will be held in Islamabad to resolve the issue between the two countries.

    The Indian delegation comprising of ten members will arrive at Wagah Border on Monday and the sessions will be held at the 117th session of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC), reports The Express Tribune.

    The Indian delegation will be presided by the Indian Commissioner for Indus Water Pradeep Saxena. The Pakistan delegation will be headed by the Indus Water Commissioner Commissioner Mehr Ali Shah.

    While talking about the dispute, Shah mentioned that Pakistan objects to several projects of India which are in progress. The Pakistan delegation will raise the issue regarding projects on Occupied Kashmir, River Chenab, and River Indus.

    According to the Indus Water Treaty, which was signed in 1960, Pakistan and India have to hold discussions at least once a year.

    The talk was last held in March 2021 in New Delhi, India which concluded that frequent meetings will be held to resolve the water dispute.

    Pakistan had also requested India to share designs of the projects. India replied that data would be shared according to the requirements written in the treaty.

  • ‘My mom used to scold me’: Madhuri Dixit opens up on personal life and career

    ‘My mom used to scold me’: Madhuri Dixit opens up on personal life and career

    Bollywood actor Madhuri Dixit recently talked about her life as a super star and how stardom never affected her personal life.

    In her debut web series The Fame Game, Madhuri plays a Bollywood star who encounters the dark side of fame and sees how her popularity affects life in a negative way.

    In a recent interaction with ETimes the Devdas star revealed that her family never treated her differently even after she became a superstar.

    She went on to add that she was lucky never to have faced that in real life and it was largely because she kept her personal and professional lives separate.

    “I mean, even when I was working in films, my mom used to scold me if my room was messed up and things like that. So that’s how I was brought up. And that’s how I am. When I go home, everything is back in the studio. I see my kids and I see my husband and its just a different life. I never really lost myself,” she said.

    The actor added that she detaches from her onscreen character once she steps out of the sets. “I look at it as a profession. When I go in front of the camera, I’m a professional actress. And I know what I’m doing. I’ve read a script, and I’m reading it and I’m playing that character. I become that character for the camera, but once I go back home, I am a normal person, because that’s the way I’ve been brought up,” she continued.

    On the work front, The Fame Game is Madhuri’s OTT debut. The series, created by Sri Rao, began streaming on Netflix on February 25. It also stars Sanjay Kapoor, Manav Kaul, Muskkaan Jaferi and Lakshvir Saran in key roles.

  • ‘PPP is no more a party of Benazir Bhutto’: Shah Mahmood Qureshi

    ‘PPP is no more a party of Benazir Bhutto’: Shah Mahmood Qureshi

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in an address to media persons and supporters of the party’s ‘Huqooq-i-Sindh March’, said that the Zardari group had ruined Sindh in its 15-year-rule and it is time to get rid of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government from the province, reports Dawn.

    The minister said that [former Prime Minister] Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was a man of character and his daughter [former PM] Benazir Bhutto was a fine lady, but now Zardari had firmed up his grip on their party.

    “PPP is no more a party of Benazir Bhutto, it has turned into a party of Zardari,” he remarked.

    Qureshi urged people to vote for PTI in the next general elections and claimed that their party successfully ran governments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab, Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).

    “We have come to your doorstep with a message from Imran Khan to support PTI in Sindh to bring about real change and brighten the destiny of the province,” he added.

    Qureshi said, “It is pathetic that a sensible minister of Sindh has used uncivilised language against Imran Khan who is a decent person.” He further said that how could a man like Khan be a fraud or corrupt who had developed a charity hospital [Shaukat Khanum] for people.

    Federal Minister Maritime Affairs Syed Ali Haider Zaidi also addressed a large number of marchers at different places along the route. He said, “Sindh government had ruined farmers and growers by creating an artificial crisis of urea in the province.”

    Zaidi, taking a jibe at Zardari, said that he had made record corruption and even the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) admitted that they had recovered Rs10 billion and still Rs19bn was to be recovered.

  • Army Chief, President Alvi watch PSL 7 final at Gaddafi Stadium

    Army Chief, President Alvi watch PSL 7 final at Gaddafi Stadium

    February 27 was a night to remember for Lahorites as Qalandars finally bagged their maiden title while President Dr Arif Alvi and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa also watched the final clash of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2022 at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on Sunday.

    The stadium was packed with full capacity crowd while the country’s top commander and President, along with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja, were present to enjoy the much-anticipated game.

    According to reports, General Bajwa was accompanied by Corps Commander Lahore Lieutenant General Muhammad Abdul Aziz.

    Meanwhile, strict security measures were made for the final game. The top police command of Punjab inspected the security arrangements, while adjourned areas leading to the stadium were closed an hour before the beginning of the match.

    Special commandos were also put on high alert on the routes of the guests, reports said.

    The seventh edition of the country’s flagship tournament, which commenced on January 27 at seaside metropolis Karachi, came to a successful end on Sunday, February 27.