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  • VIDEO: Hundreds of monkeys fight on road, bring traffic to halt

    VIDEO: Hundreds of monkeys fight on road, bring traffic to halt

    Two rival monkey gangs clashed on a street in Thailand’s Lopburi in a fight over the food near a traffic junction.

    The video of the incident went viral on social media. Hundreds of monkeys on the street brought the traffic to a halt as people on motorbikes and cars waited to get a clear way out of there while being frightened.

    The man who recorded the fight, Pong Muangthong, said motorists also tried honking their horns to scatter the monkeys but that only made them angrier.

    As a result of this incident, several monkeys were injured. There was blood on the road.

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    “Monkey battles in Lopburi occur frequently. It’s not strange. It’s about the power struggle, the food fight, the fertilization of the females,” a spokesperson for the Department of National Parks told Matichon.

    According to Daily Mail, Covid-19 might be the reason behind the gang war.

  • Celebrities slam ‘Laapata’ for trivialising ‘harassment’

    Celebrities slam ‘Laapata’ for trivialising ‘harassment’

    Drama serial Laapata starring A-list stars like Ayeza Khan, Sarah Khan and Ali Rehman Khan went on-air on July 28th. The drama has been scrutinized by a blog for treating the conduct of harassment insensitively.

    Singer Meesha Shafi and Actor Adnan Malik took to their Instagram stories to slam the makers of the show for trivializing a sensitive subject like harrasment, that too in a play starring some of the biggest names of the industry.

    The ongoing rise in crimes against women in Pakistan makes the content of the scene even more problematic for the society and the mindsets of the viewers.

    The Meray Paas Tum Ho star posted the same scene and mentioned that her character will get into negative circumstances because of her wrongdoings.

    Earlier actress Iqra Aziz was panned by audiences for trivialising domestic violence in her drama serial Jhooti co-starring Yasir Hussain and Ahmad Ali Butt.

    Iqra Aziz's drama Jhooti disregards victims of domestic abuse - Film & TV -  Images

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  • ‘No child in Pakistan is safe’: Shaniera Akram on rape, murder of a six year old

    ‘No child in Pakistan is safe’: Shaniera Akram on rape, murder of a six year old

    Shaniera Akram took to her Twitter account to express her anger over the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl Maham, in Karachi who was raped and then killed in Karachi on  Wednesday. The child went missing from Karachi’s Korangi area and was later found dead in a dumpster in the city.

    As per reports, her dead body was shifted to the hospital for postmortem. The autopsy report confirmed that the girl was killed after being sexually assaulted.

    “Things have got to change, It’s got to stop. Things have to change as it stands today, no child in Pakistan is safe”, said Shaniera in a tweet.

    She highlighted the deep-rooted issue of child sexual abuse in Pakistan in a series of tweets.

  • Major cases: What happened to the convicts of violence against women?

    Major cases: What happened to the convicts of violence against women?

    Cases like Noor Mukadam’s makes us wonder: what happened to the murderers and rapist of the major violence against women cases in Pakistan? We follow up on seven major cases in Pakistan.

    Motorway Gang Rape Case- 2020

    In September 2020, a woman was gang-raped at gunpoint in Lahore’s Gujjarpura area in the presence of her children after her car ran out of fuel. She was waiting for help on the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway (M-11).

    What happened to the rapists?

    An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in March 2021 awarded a death sentence to prime accused and co-accused – Abid Malhi and Shafqat Ali – in the motorway gang-rape case. The court also awarded life imprisonment to both convicts under the charges of abduction and 14-years imprisonment to each accused under the charges of robbery. They are currently serving their sentences in prison.

    Zainab Ansari-2018

    Zainab, who was only six years old, was raped and killed in Kasur. Her body was found in a rubbish dump.

    What happened to the convict?

    Imran Ali, 24, was convicted over the death of Zainab was sentenced to death was hanged in October 2018.

    Khadija Siddiqi-2016

    A law student, Shah Hussain, stabbed his class fellow, Khadija Siddiqi, 23 times in Lahore in May 2016.

    What happened to the convict?

    Shah Hussain was sentenced to jail for five years but he was released from jail on July 17 2021 without completing his five-year jail term. He got a 1.5-year remission for “good character and blood donation”.

    Kainat Soomro-2007

    In 2007, a 13-year-old schoolgirl, Kainat Soomro, was kidnapped and gang-raped for four days in her native village of Mehar in Sindh. After she spoke out against her rapists, the village elders decided that she should be killed for bringing dishonour to her family.

    What happened to the convict?

    Her parents rejected the decision; her brother was subsequently killed and her sister was divorced. She lost the court case against her rapists. The court ruled that the accused were innocent, stating that there was no corroborative evidence available on record. All four men accused of Kainat’s rape were hence acquitted. 

    Dr Shazia Khalid-2005

    In January 2005, Dr Shazia Khalid, an employee of a state-owned natural gas firm, was raped in Sui (Balochistan). She was working at the company’s hospital for the past 18 months while living alone in heavily guarded government-provided accommodation.

    What happened to the convict?

    The rapist of Dr Shazia Khalid, Captain Hammad, was declared innocent by Former Army Chief and Dictator Pervez Musharraf and no inquiry report on the subject was made public.

    Mukhtaran Bibi-2002

    Mukhtar Mai was gang-raped by order of her tribal council as punishment for her younger brother’s alleged relationship with a woman from another clan.

    What happened to the convicts?

    In August 2002, an anti-terrorism court sentenced six out of the 14 accused persons to death. Four of them were sentenced for rape, while the other two were convicted as being members of the village council. Eight others were released.

    In 2005, the Lahore High Court acquitted five, and subsequently released, of the six convicts while one person’s death penalty was converted to life imprisonment. Mai challenged the decision in the Supreme Court, but her appeal was rejected in 2011.

    Farhana (Veena)- 1991

    November 1991: Farhana, known as a friend of Benazir Bhutto, was assaulted, raped, and tortured for 12 hours at gunpoint by five men.
    What happened?

    A court case was filed against Irfanullah Khan Marwat for being behind the rape. No evidence was found against Marwat. After Marwat’s acquittal, Farhana moved out of Pakistan.

  • When Meera treated superstar Fahad Mustafa like a servant

    When Meera treated superstar Fahad Mustafa like a servant

    Fahad Mustafa is amongst the biggest superstars of Pakistan. Be it his highest grossing films, critically acclaimed dramas or a blockbuster game show, the actor has carved a solid position for himself in the industry.

    The Actor In Law star graced Maria Wasti’s morning show, Sunrise From Istanbul in 2016 on which he shared that once at an industry’s event, he was standing with his colleagues, and suddenly Meera pointed at him and instructed him to come to her.

    The Load Wedding hero stated that he was taken aback and when he went close to her, she told him to go get a water bottle for her. The Parey Hut Love star acted as if Fahad is a spot boy or a servant on the event. Fahad mentioned that he felt very strange as he was an established actor by then and Meera knew who he was. He said that despite her mistreatment, he provided her with a water bottle.

    The Jawani Phir Nahi Aani 2 actor also confessed that once he lost his cool on Meera when she appeared on his morning show as a guest. Fahad revealed that it was one of those rare moments when he had to lash out on a female actor as she was being rude on the live show, Meera reverted back in anger too.

    Although when the Naagin star met him after a while on a flight, she pretended as if nothing ever happened.

    Recently the Baaji star appeared on his show, Jeeto Pakistan and even posed for a picture with him.

    On the work front, Fahad will be seen next in Nabeel Qureshi’s Quaid-e-Azam Zindabad opposite Mahira Khan.

  • Khadim Rizvi’s TLP contesting election despite ban?

    Khadim Rizvi’s TLP contesting election despite ban?

    Last year, the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) had demanded the expulsion of the French ambassador and a boycott of French products, asking the federal government to take “practical steps” otherwise it would be compelled to take “extreme action”.

    After the government’s refusal, a rally was led by then-TLP chief Allama Khadim Hussain Rizvi, who urged the federal government to “declare jihad” against France.

    Protests erupted across major cities in Pakistan.

    On April 12 after the now-proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Saad Hussain Rizvi was detained by security forces in Lahore, TLP again started protests and threatened the state to adhere to the parties demands.

    After the violent rallies, TLP was placed in the list of proscribed organisations, under the 1st schedule of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ &K) Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 2014.

    TLP was involved in political activities and carrying out its election campaigns in AJK, for the polls which were to be held on July 25.

    Under ATA, banned organisations are not allowed to engage in any political activities.

    However, despite the ban, TLP also participated in the NA-249 by-elections in Karachi on April 28. TLP came third in the Karachi by-election.

    Yesterday, in Sialkot, PP-38 constituency, a candidate from the TLP participated as a candidate for the election.

    Talking to The Current, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry while commenting on the recent participation of the party in the by-elections said, “The government went about it in a legal way, which was to first announce that Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) has been banned.”

    “It gave them (TLP) the right to appeal the government’s decision. Their appeal was reviewed by the federal cabinet, which dismissed their appeal,” added Fawad.

    “Now when it comes to their political participation in the Sialkot elections: they were not allowed to take part in any electoral activity,” said the federal minister.

    Fawad added, “The government has notified that the TLP has been proscribed and therefore cannot take part in any activities. Now, this notification will go to the Supreme Court (SC) and proceedings will take place in the apex court as per Pakistan’s Election Act.”

    “TLP will not be able to take part in the elections if the SC decides to uphold their ban and consequently bans them under the Election Act, 2017,” stated the information minister.

  • ‘In grief’, Parents of Zahir Jaffer publish message for Noor

    Parents of alleged murderer, Zahir Jaffer, Asmat and Zakir Jaffer have published a public message of grief in a local newspaper and lending their support to Noor’s family. However, the notice does not mention their son, who is the alleged killer of Noor Mukadam.

    “We are devastated and grief-stricken at the brutal murder of Noor Mukadam, daughter of H.E. and Begum Shaukat Ali Mukaddam,” reads the message.

    “We strongly condemn this unimaginably heinous act. There are no words that could comfort Noor’s family and loved ones at this difficult time. As parents, we cannot begin to imagine the pain that her family is going through. We stand unreservedly by Noor’s family and are committed to ensuring that the law takes its natural course and that justice is served.

    Earlier, a statement was issued by the Jaffer family, which condemned the act of Zahir Jaffer.
    “Our shock and grief at this horrific act has led to a prolonged silence that we very much regret. However, we categorically condemn this atrocity and forever denounce Zahir and his actions,” read the statement. However, the statement reads, ‘Jaffer family’ and does not name Zahir’s parents in the statement.

    Islamabad police, arrested Zahir Jaffer, Zaqir Jaffer and Asmat Adamjee for hiding evidence and abetting the murder. The court gave the police a two-day remand for the parents of Zahir Jaffer and they are to remain in police custody

  • Man snatches woman’s earrings to fund birthday party

    Police arrested a 31-year-old junior engineer for allegedly snatching the gold earrings of a woman in the Mansarovar Park area of India’s Delhi and selling them to bear the expenses for his birthday celebrations.

    As per reports, a case was reported on Friday at Mansarovar Park police station regarding the snatching of gold earrings of a woman by a man riding a bike.

    Police checked over 30 CCTV footages during the investigation and found out the escape route of the suspect.

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    CCTV footage showed the suspect wearing a mask a senior police officer said, adding that there was no registration number on both the number plates of the bike.

    On Sunday, police spotted a motorcycle of the same features with blank number plates and detained the suspect, Mohit Gautam, the officer said.

    During interrogation, Gautam told that he snatched the gold earrings of the woman to celebrate his birthday on Sunday as he was running out of money, they said.

    Gautam said he had sold the earrings to a goldsmith, who police say is on the run.

  • ‘Will accept no one’s definition of our life, Judicial process ineffective in Pakistan’: Mehwish Hayat slams system

    Mehwish Hayat took to her Instagram account to condemn the rising violence against women and Judiciary’s proceedings on all the important cases. The Punajb Nahi Jaungi star also questioned the government and the Judicial system in a series of Instagram stories .

    “Time for hashtags and slogans is over, we demand to know what the government is going to change the system,” she wrote.

    The Load Wedding diva also said that its time for women to define their own narrative adding that, “We will not be bullied into silence.”

    “Laws are there, but we need to make the enforcement of them more rigorous and less Traumatic for the victim.”

    “Action has to be taken now. Before another victim, becomes a hashtag,” she concluded.

    On the work front, Mehwish will be seen next in Humayun Saeed starrer London Nahi Jaunga, also featuring Kubra Khan.

  • Pakistani Olympian Mahoor Shahzad apologises for her racist comments about ‘Pathans’

    Pakistani Olympian Mahoor Shahzad apologises for her racist comments about ‘Pathans’

    Pakistani Olympian and the flag bearer for Pakistan at Tokyo Olympics, Mahoor Shahzad, apologised for her racist comments about Pathans (Pashtuns).

    A video clip of the badminton player has gone viral on social media. In the 21-second clip, which was recorded after her second defeat in Olympics’ badminton event on Tuesday, she can be heard saying: “People appreciated me a lot, but yes, there are some of our badminton players, who are Pathan. And because I am the number one [badminton player] in Pakistan and played in Olympics, so some of our Pakistani badminton players are really jealous at how I have reached this position.”

    “Pakistanis have a problem that they don’t want to do something good nor do they let anyone else do it,” Shahzad said before the clip ends.

    https://twitter.com/NKMalazai/status/1420295301206712326?s=20

    On early Wednesday [Pakistan time], Shahzad posted an apology note on her social media accounts.

    “I am writing this apology for my Pathan brothers,” she said. “In no way I intend to pass any racist comments. There are some Pakistani badminton players who are running a negative campaign against me, so I only referred to them in this video.”

    “I am sorry from the core of my heart for hurting the feelings of my Pathan brothers and sisters.”

    “Whatever I have achieved and where I stand today is because of the love and support of all of you,” she said.