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  • ‘The gun is already placed on their head’: Hamid Mir on being  banned by Geo

    ‘The gun is already placed on their head’: Hamid Mir on being banned by Geo

    In an interview with Stephen Sackur on BBC HARDtalk, senior journalist Hamid Mir talked about why he was banned on Geo News, press freedom, censorship under Prime Minister Imran Khan, attacks on journalists, and how he is worried for his own safety in Pakistan.

    Disappointment on being off-air

    Stephen Sackur questioned Hamid Mir as to how disappointed he was with his employers [Geo News] and the Jang group who did not stand by him. Sackur also questioned how Mir felt that he had lost his voice and platform as a journalist because he was suspended from his channel.

    Mir said he was certainly disappointed but did understand the circumstances under which the decision was taken place.

    “Mir Shakil ur Rehman was arrested last year and he remained in the detention of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for more than seven months for a three-decade-old case, which was not a very big case. And I think that he was arrested, he was detained, just because of the freedom he was trying to give us. He got bail from the Supreme Court but his name was placed on the Exit Control List. He cannot leave Pakistan. He is already being held at gunpoint. So, my employers, the gun is already at their head. So when they were asked to ban Hamid Mir, they banned me. So I can understand their problem,” replied Mir.

    Imran Khan is a helpless Prime Minister

    The BBC host asked Mir that in the past he had a friendly relationship with PM Imran Khan so did he ever think that PM Imran personally wanted to see him taken off-air.

    Hamid replied, “It’s a very difficult question for me to respond [to], but I will try to very honestly. Imran Khan stood by me in 2007 when I was banned by General Pervez Musharraf, and yes at that time he was the biggest supporter of media freedom in Pakistan. Yes, I provided him a lot of space on my TV shows because he was in the Opposition, and you can say that I was friendly with him when he was in the Opposition. But when he became PM, I started raising questions. I even met him personally, and I asked him that your government should provide more space to the media because you are the biggest beneficiary of media freedom.”

    “One of my interviews with the former president, Asif Ali Zardari, was banned on my show, on my TV channel and some other Opposition leaders were also banned on different TV channels. So we started criticising Imran Khan and so I think he was not happy with my criticism.

    “The second part of your question is very important. I think that Imran Khan is not directly responsible for imposing a ban on me. And I don’t think he wants me to be off-air. But like past prime ministers, he is not a very powerful prime minister and I think he is helpless and he can’t help me,” said Mir.

    Concerned about my personal security

    Sackur questioned Mir if he feared the toxic environment in Pakistan and how concerned was he about his personal safety in the country after two assassination attempts on him. Mir answered, “Yes, I am very concerned about my personal security for a long time. I asked my family to leave Pakistan and my family left, my daughter and wife have already left. I was also approached by some people who suggested I leave Pakistan. But I decided not to leave.”

    Ready to face imprisonment

    The HARDtalk host asked Hamid Mir if he was ready to face imprisonment for the accusations against him, to which Mir responded, ” Yes, and I am ready to face life imprisonment because if they will be able to convict me at least the whole world will come to know what is going on in Pakistan. The whole world is already aware of what is going on in Pakistan because I am a living example of censorship in Pakistan. Everybody knows what happened to Hamid Mir and why he is banned and everybody knows the names of the people which I have not mentioned, everybody knows who was responsible for imposing a ban on me.”

    “The common Pakistanis are very wise, they are very clever. They know each and everything about what’s going on. But you see, there is no rule of law in Pakistan. And we only want justice, we want that the rule of law should be established in Pakistan. And if a journalist is asking questions, don’t try to silence his voice,” added Mir.

    State of media freedom in Pakistan

    Stephen Sackur questioned Mir whether there was a climate of fear in Pakistan when it comes to journalists or journalism.

    “Yes, definitely, there is a climate of fear in Pakistan. A lot of young journalists, they are very disappointed and look at the state of media freedom in Pakistan. When Mr Imran Khan became prime minister in 2018 Pakistan was ranked at 139 on the World Press Freedom Index. Today, in 2021, when I am talking to you, it is 145. So Pakistan lost six points in the last three years,” said Mir.

    He further added, “According to the International Federation of Journalists, Pakistan is one of the five most dangerous countries for journalists in the whole world. This is not good for Pakistan, for its reputation and credibility in the international community. And yes, there is a climate of fear in Pakistan because Pakistani journalists think journalism is becoming very difficult in this country and this government of Imran Khan [is] now planning some more anti-media laws which is not acceptable to us.”

    Rule of law only solution in Pakistan

    Commenting on the grave danger to democracy in Pakistan, Hamid Mir said, “I think that the rule of law is the solution to all of our problems. That’s why we want a general democracy in Pakistan because the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a democrat and I am a follower of his.”

    “And all those people who are trying to snatch media freedom from us are enemies of Pakistan and are enemies of Muhammad Ali Jinnah,” said Mir.

  • Eight PPP leaders summoned to FIA

    Eight PPP leaders summoned to FIA

    The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has issued notices to eight members of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), including provincial ministers. FIA has summoned them in person, reported Hum News.

    FIA notices have been issued to Nasir Shah, Saeed Ghani, Nafisa Shah, Qadir Patel, Shahida Rahmani, Naz Baloch, Shela Raza, and Qadir Khan Mandokhel.

    PPP leader Nafisa Shah said that the PPP members have been summoned after receiving a message from a nominee in a case regarding anti-Chief Justice speech.

    “The members have been notified by the FIA by issuing notices under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA),” stated Nafisa Shah.

    “State machinery is being used to silence PPP spokespersons and leaders. Receiving a message from a person on WhatsApp does not constitute a crime nor does the PECA law apply,” added Nafisa Shah.

    The PPP leader said, “Political leaders receive thousands of messages. If receiving messages is criminalised, the whole world will be in jail.”

    She said that the PPP could not be silenced by such tactics and that the FIA ​​is misusing its powers.

    “Like the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), FIA is being used by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for political engineering,” said Nafisa Shah.

    
    
  • Pakistan on Red List for not providing Covid-19 data, UK claims

    Pakistan on Red List for not providing Covid-19 data, UK claims

    The British government has claimed that the Pakistan authorities did not send them the Covid-19 data on vaccination and testing, which likely explains why Pakistan is still on the United Kingdom (UK) travel ban Red List while India and several other countries have been removed from the ban list and moved to the Amber category, Murtaza Ali Shah reports for The News.

    Social media users, Pakistani and some UK officials also criticised the UK’s decision to not move Pakistan from the Red List to the Amber List but it has now come to light that the Pakistan government’s National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) did not share the data of vaccination and testing with the UK authorities.

    The Pakistani government officials have claimed that the UK authorities did not ask them for any data; that the Pakistan government has been sharing data with the British High Commission in Islamabad. The data was accessible on the NCOC’s Twitter and the UK government could have easily checked it before making and announcing a decision on the latest removals and retention of the travel list.

    Several British Pakistani MPs wrote objection letters after it was announced that Pakistan would stay on the Red List while India was taken off the list despite worse Covid-19 situation.

     One British Pakistani spoke to a senior UK government minister who told the MP that Pakistan had failed to provide data to the UK government. There was no lobbying effort from the Pakistani government, which was why Pakistan remained on the Red List. Both the MP and the senior government minister wanted to be anonymous.

    On Friday, NCOC head Asad Umar, and SAPM National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan conducted a virtual meeting with Pakistani-origin Labour MPs Khalid Mahmood, Muhammad Yasin, Tahir Ali, Afzal Khan, Lord Wajid Khan, Imran Hussain, Yasim Qureshi, Pakistan High Commissioner Moazzam Ali Khan, Naz Shah and Dr Rosena Khan.

    Five MPs, who spoke to Geo and The News, confirmed that the subject was discussed during the meeting whether Islamabad had given data to London or not – after two MPs asked the same question to Pakistani ministers. The MPs told Pakistan officials what the UK government had told them about not sharing the data.

    According to the MPs, Asad Umar told them that the data was publicly available on the NCOC forums including Twitter and Youtube and the UK authorities could have got it. According to one MP, Faisal Sultan said that he had not spoken to British High Commissioner Christian Turner in “4-5 weeks”.

    The MPs said they asked Pakistani ministers and Pakistan High Commission diplomats what efforts had they made to engage with the UK government through the Foreign Office and the High Commission to get Pakistan off the list. The MPs said Pakistani officials had no response.

    The Pakistan High Commission said on Friday that the Pakistani envoy met PM Boris Johnson at Sandhurst Academy and highlighted the issue of Red List.

    During their meeting with Asad Umar and Faisal Sultan, the MPs said that the UK government believed that Pakistan was performing lower in areas over positivity rate, percentage of genomic testing, and types of viruses, vaccination rates and testing.

    In comparison, other countries fared well and came off the Red List. One MP told the Pakistani officials that Pakistan had conducted under 300 genomics tests in the whole year while some countries were conducting 2,500 genomics tests a month.

    At the end of the meeting, Asad Umar tweeted: “Had a session with some UK MP’s regarding the continuation of Pakistan on the red list. Shared data regarding Covid disease surveillance and explained Pak strategy for Covid response. Will engage with the UK govt to ensure that red list decisions are based on science not politics.”

    One MP said that at the end of the meeting, Asad Umar shared with them the information sheets that were required. “It’s clear looking at these sheets that Pakistan has up-to-date data but I feel Pakistan authorities should have shared the same with the UK government and run effective lobbying. The UK MPs have been raising their voice because they are under pressure from their constituents but it’s the government’s responsibility to have engaged with the UK government,” said the MP.

  • Alizeh Shah appeals to netizens to stop trolling her

    Alizeh Shah appeals to netizens to stop trolling her

    Ehad-e-Wafa star Alizeh Shah was trolled in July 2021 for her choice of dressing at the 5th Hum Style Awards. She took to her Instagram to post a cryptic post urging netizens to not say anything when they don’t have anything good to say.

    She was earlier trolled for her choice of dressing at the 5th Hum Style Awards.

    The Superstar diva also posted a story describing her equation with haters.

    Mohabbat Tujhe Alvida‘s director, Barkat Sidiki has roped in Alizeh Shah, Ali Rehman Khan and Khushal Khan in his forthcoming directorial venture. Titled as Lekin it is penned by Aliya Bukhari, known for writing several HUM TV shows including the ongoing Yun Toh Hai Pyar Bohut.

    The team is currently shooting in Karachi and the play will go on-air later this year on HUM TV.

  • ‘It’s professional jealousy, she body shamed me’: Faryal opens up on ‘war’ with Sonya Hussyn

    ‘It’s professional jealousy, she body shamed me’: Faryal opens up on ‘war’ with Sonya Hussyn

    In May 2021, actor Sonya Hussyn stated on the chat show Time out with Ahsan Khan  that she does not know who actor Faryal Mehmood is. It is pertinent to mention here that both the actresses share a turbulent history with each other.

    Faryal has now finally opened up on her equation with Sonya on Time out with Ahsan Khan by stating, ” Sonya mujhe nahi jaanti magar me usay jaanti hoon, we have been on a set together”.

    The Dassi actor added, ‘Unho ne mere motapay ka mazaak udaya jub me moti thi, galat hai yeh bohat. Maine unhe call out kia and it became a mess. All of a sudden she’s stating that she doesn’t know me, it’s fine.”

    She concluded on the note saying, “It’s professional jealousy, I like it, I love Sonya”.

    Faryal replaced Sonya in the Faysal Qureshi, Amina Sheikh and Zahid Ahmed starrer, Sorry-A Love Story after the Saraab star opted out of it over issues with the production team.

    The two leading ladies worked together in a 2015’s drama serial Farwa Ki ABC directed by Sohail Javed, Faryal was new in the industry and played a supporting role in the play headlined by Sonya.

    Farwa Ki ABC - Wikipedia

    The Farwa Ki ABC divas exchanged in a social media war after the drama where Sonya made fun of her appearance and upcoming project. Faryal reverted back with salty comments and asked Sonya to “Take a rickshaw to where you came from”.

  • VIDEO: Emirates ‘flight attendant’ on top of Burj Khalifa to celebrate UK travel rules change

    VIDEO: Emirates ‘flight attendant’ on top of Burj Khalifa to celebrate UK travel rules change

    Emirates shared a 32-second clip of a woman in their airline cabin crew uniform standing on top of the Burj Khalifa to celebrate the removal of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the UK’s Red List.

    In the video, the woman can be seen holding boards that read: “Moving the UAE to the UK Amber List has made us feel on top of the world.” The camera then pans out to reveal that the crew member is at the tip of the tallest building in the world, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, which stands at 830 meters.

    The brave ‘flight attendant’ was played by skydiver and stuntwoman Nicole Smith-Ludvik. She expressed her gratitude on Instagram, “This is, without a doubt, one of the most amazing and exciting stunts I’ve ever done. A big shoutout to Emirates Airlines for your creative marketing idea! It was a pleasure being a part of the team.”

    The shoot was carried out with the help of a helicopter and drones.

    Nicole was required to stand on the top for hours and the stunt required a vast amount of planning and safety measures to go ahead, as per sources.

    Last week, the British government announced that the UAE and Bahrain will be removed from the UK’s travel Red List. The airline will soon resume its services in the United Kingdom.

    Unvaccinated passengers arriving from Amber List countries need to isolate for 10 days upon their arrival but can be released after five days with a negative test result. However, those who have been fully vaccinated do not have to self-isolate but must provide a negative Covid-19 test within two days of arrival.

  • KP Govt Ghapla With Corona Fund?

    KP Govt Ghapla With Corona Fund?









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    Good morning,*|MERGE1|*. It’s August 8. Happy Sunday! I never knew that another game except cricket would make me excited. Thanks to Arshad Nadeem that he has introduced us to javelin throw. Arshad was unable to take any medals home, but going so far without any support and without facilities is a big thing He may not have won any medals but he has surely won the hearts of millions.

    We are so happy that another South Asian, Neeraj Chopra, has managed to win the gold medal in the game.  

    It is going to be hot in most parts of the country today.  
     

    (SCROLL DOWN A BIT TO FIND YOUR DAILY HOROSCOPE) 
     

     
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    TOP PICKS FOR YOU

    Mariyam Nafees claps back at a troll for shaming her for her dressing

    Actor Mariyam Nafees responded back to a troll on Instagram for shaming her choice of clothing. A netizen commented under the Diyar-e-Dil star’s post

    VIDEO: 106-year-old Karachi woman recovers from Delta variant

    A 106-year-old woman in Karachi has recovered from coronavirus after contracting the Delta variant, ARY News reported.

    Ahsan Khan called out for being a biased host

    Actor Ahsan Khan is a seasoned host, he is currently hosting a chat show, Time out with Ahsan Khan. 

    CM Punjab Buzdar promises to ensure better sporting facilities for youth

    Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has promised to ensure better sporting facilities for youth in Pakistan.

    STORIES YOU CAN’T MISS… 

    Journalists Amir Mir and Imran Shafqat ‘arrested’ by FIA 

    Senior journalists Amir Mir and Imran Shafqat went missing on Saturday morning from Lahore. 

    Hamid Mir took to Twitter and confirmed the news. “Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Cyber Crimes Wing Lahore kidnapped journalist Amir Mir in Lahore this morning.”
     
    Meanwhile, Imran Shafqat was arrested from his house by use of force. As per reports, around10 people, both men, and women barged into his residence, raided his place, and took him away. 
     
    They both were later released on personal surety bonds, but these arrests have raised serious concerns about the state of press freedom in Pakistan.

    Read On

    Corona Relief Funds: Auditors find fictitious purchases of items worth Rs881 million by KP govt 
     

    Investigative reporter Zahid Gishkori has revealed that the country’s top auditors have pointed out fictitious purchases, huge irregularities, wasteful expenditures, and losses to public funds of more than Rs3 billion by the health department of the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).  

    According to a report published in The News, a special audit team of the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) found “fictitious purchases of items worth Rs881 million by the KP government”. 

    Read On

    Ex-cop loses lifesaving child from being hit by train in Lahore 

    A former police official died on Friday while trying to save a child from being crushed by a train in Lahore.

    According to details shared by Superintendent of Police (SP) City Lahore Hassan Jahangir, the former sub-inspector Siddique, who retired from service last year, lost his life at a railway track while saving a child. 

    “The child was playing at a railway crossing and was about to be hit by a train when Siddique rescued him and in the entire process lost his life after being crushed by the train,” the police official said. 

    Read On

    Your Daily Horoscope 

    You’re fully equipped to start moving into new terrain, Gemini.
    Check your horoscope.

    ON THIS DAYInternational Cat Day

    August 8 is International Cat Day — a day to celebrate one of man’s most common and ancient pets.
    I love cats, do you?

     

    CURRENT BABA’S WISDOM FOR TODAY 

    You will need to become a bit more flexible in your domestic situations. 

     
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  • ‘Restore the Mandir’: minority rights in Pakistan

    ‘Restore the Mandir’: minority rights in Pakistan

    A week from now, Pakistan will be celebrating 74 years of independence from the British. Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, in his August 11 address to the Constituent Assembly, promised the people of Pakistan that we will live in a country where there will be religious freedom and no intolerance. “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed — that has nothing to do with the business of the state,” said the Quaid. Our founder was a great proponent of minority rights but it seems that the people of Pakistan do not want to pay any heed to his words.

    On Wednesday, a mob attacked a Hindu temple in Rahim Yar Khan district after a court granted bail to an eight-year-old Hindu boy who was accused of allegedly urinating in a local seminary. The main door of the temple was burned down and statues of Hindu deities were also damaged. Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the incident and ordered the police to take action against the culprits. PM Khan also announced on Twitter that the government will “restore the Mandir”. Chief Justice Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed reprimanded the police and the local administration for just standing there and watching. CJP Gulzar also said that we should imagine what would have been the reaction of Muslims, had a mosque been demolished like the Hindu temple was. The Supreme Court also directed the police to arrest the culprits.

    This is not the first temple attack in Pakistan. Since last year, there have been several attacks on temples all across the country. August 11 has been declared as the National Minorities Day in Pakistan since 2009. Imagine, how our Hindu brethren would have felt that their place of worship was attacked just days before we pay lip service to the rights of minorities. As per the 6th Population and Housing Census 2017, there are 96.47 per cent Muslims in Pakistan. As for the minorities, there are 1.27 per cent Christians, 1.73 per cent Hindus, 0.09 per cent Ahmadis, 0.41per cent scheduled caste, and 0.02 per cent others. In a country dominated by Muslims, why can we not respect the rights of other religious minorities? It is unfortunate how we continue to fail our own citizens, our minorities. We hope the authorities will arrest the culprits and the government will protect our minorities. 

  • CM Punjab Buzdar promises to ensure better sporting facilities for youth

    CM Punjab Buzdar promises to ensure better sporting facilities for youth

    Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has promised to ensure better sporting facilities for youth in Pakistan.

    Taking to Twitter, CM said: “The whole nation is proud of Arshad Nadeem. He finished in top 5 but his determination will motivate and inspire Millions of Pakistanis.”

    “Punjab Government will Insha Allah ensure more and better sporting facilities for our youth to follow in the footsteps of Talha Talib and Arshad Nadeem,” said the CM.

    While several others encouraged both Arshad Nadeem and Talha Talib for their efforts in Olympics without any facility.

    Here are a few tweets from politicians, sportsmen and notables, encouraging Nadeem:

    https://twitter.com/76Shadabkhan/status/1423980451782397961?s=20

    Arshad congratulated the gold medalist Neeraj Chopra and apologised from the nation for letting them down.

    https://twitter.com/ArshadNadeemPak/status/1423983262406483972?s=20

    The 24-year-old athlete finished fifth among 12 contestants as India’s Neeraj won gold and Czech Republic’s Jakub Vadlejch and Vitezslav Vesely claimed silver and bronze medals.

    Arshad Nadeem was aspiring to win Pakistan’s first Olympics medal since the men’s hockey team earned a podium finish in 1992.

    The athlete made history last week as he became first-ever Pakistani athlete to qualify for the final of any track and field event in the Olympics.

  • Mariyam Nafees claps back at a troll for shaming her dressing

    Actor Mariyam Nafees responded back to a troll on Instagram for shaming her choice of clothing. A netizen commented under the Diyar-e-Dil star’s post: “Feminism, does not mean exposing skin, partying late night and many other things, that is vulgarity. Feminism ke naam pe kitni azadi chaiye?”

    To which the Fitrat actor replied, “Tou aap jaan chor dein na. Let people live there lives as they please. You do you.”

    Fellow actress Hajra Yamin commented under her post to express her appreciation.

    Earlier, in July she called out PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur for sexist comments on fellow politician Maryam Nawaz.

    The star also posted a picture with a message on her social media handles to spread awareness on the true essence of feminism.