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  • Canadian vlogger Rosie Gabrielle gets married to Pakistani traveller Adeel Amer

    Canadian vlogger Rosie Gabrielle, who converted to Islam in January last year has tied the knot with Pakistani travel vlogger Adeel Amer.

    Gabrielle announced the news on social media with a picture of the two.

    “I’m married,” wrote Gabrielle in the caption. “Never would I [have] thought that I would come to Pakistan and fall in love. Not only with a country and it’s people, but one very special individual in particular.”

    ‘My whole life I searched for him. My soul mate, my companion, my best friend,” she added.

    The Canadian vlogger further said “Before I came to Pakistan, I surrendered my need to find someone. I made a pact with God, that if I had to spend the rest of my life living for only Him, and loving myself, without needing someone to “complete me”, so be it. I finally knew deep down that I’m ENOUGH. And I didn’t need anyone to make me whole.”

    “It’s a funny thing surrender; the moment you do, you are gifted 10 times over. Divine says, give up your desire for your needs, for what I have in store for you, is much Greater. And it was true!”

    “Not only did I find my soul partner, I also found my best friend. The one who I will cherish and continue to love more deeply every day. Someone whom I can share every detail of my life with without guilt or judgment, who challenges me, who continuously pushes me to be a better person. The one who loves me unconditionally and has patience and compassionate grace for my journey. The man who lights up my life and inspires me every single day with his love and actions. Someone who compliments me perfectly.”

    “Our love was written in the stars. There was a subtle familiarity and connection I had never felt and more, it’s as if we had lived a thousand lifetimes before. In the most unsuspected place I found, a love so rare, so profound. God gifted me you and you to me, to reflect back His Divinity.”

    “To truly find our life’s sacred calling, our souls emerge hearts exalting My bestest friend, companion, motivator, inspiration, my heart my soul, my LOVE My husband Adeel Amer,” she concluded.

    Earlier, the Canadian traveller had opened up on her journey towards Islam and shared how Pakistan had played its part.

  • Kareena Kapoor, Virat Kohli share pictures of their babies on Women’s Day

    Kareena Kapoor, Virat Kohli share pictures of their babies on Women’s Day

    Kareena Kapoor Khan and Virat Kohli are celebrating International Women’s Day by sharing pictures of their little ones with their fans. While Kareena shared the first glimpse of her newborn son, Kohli posted a picture of daughter Vamika and wife Anushka Sharma on social media.

    “There’s nothing women can’t do. Happy Women’s Day my loves,” wrote Kareena alongside a picture of herself with her son, whose name has not yet been announced. Kareena and Saif Ali Khan welcomed their second child last month on February 21.

    On the other hand, Kohli said: “Seeing the birth of a child is the most spine chilling, unbelievable and amazing experience a human being can have.”

    “After witnessing that, you understand the true strength and divinity of women and why God created life inside them. It’s because they are way stronger than us men,” he continued.

    “Happy Women’s Day to the most fiercely, compassionate and strong woman of my life and to the one who’s going to grow up to be like her mother. And a Happy Women’s Day to all the amazing women of the world,” he added.

    The picture post comes after Anushka announced their daughter’s name on Instagram recently. In February, Anushka shared a perfect family picture with a caption that read, :We have lived together with love , presence and gratitude as a way of life but this little one , Vamika has taken it to a whole new level ! Tears , laughter , worry , bliss – emotions that have been experienced in a span of minutes sometimes ! Sleep is elusive ? but our hearts are SO full. Thanking you all for your wishes , prayers and good energy.”

  • IN PICTURES: Kinza Hashmi’s birthday bash

    IN PICTURES: Kinza Hashmi’s birthday bash

    It’s the season of birthdays! After Saboor Aly’s star-studded birthday night, Kinza Hashmi celebrated her birthday with close friends including Saboor, Imran Ashraf, Aiman Khan, Muneeb Butt and Minal Khan. Pictures from her birthday celebrations are being widely circulated on social media.

    The birthday girl looked radiant in an all-black outfit with smokey eyes and nude lips.

  • ‘Govt to launch dozens of five-star hotels, motels,’ say Zulfi Bukhari

    ‘Govt to launch dozens of five-star hotels, motels,’ say Zulfi Bukhari

    Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari has said that the government plans to launch dozens of five-star international standard hotels and motels in the coming two to three years.

    Bukhari, who also serves as the Chairman of the National Tourism Coordination Board (NTCB), has announced that Pakistan will get 25 to 30 international standard hotels because tourism is a priority of the present government.

    He further said that an e-portal for tourism updates like hotels ratings, weather, traffic, and other information regarding tourist destinations will also be developed by the government.

    Furthermore, a National Tourism Strategy from 2020 to 2030 has been devised, and a five-year action plan (2020-25) has also been introduced.

    Bukhari further said that the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) now works as a coordination body for the government.

    He asserted that to boost the tourism industry, the country needs better hotels, transportation, amenities, improvement of infrastructure and security situation.

  • Mukhtaran Mai to join Aurat March in Multan

    Mukhtaran Mai to join Aurat March in Multan

    Gender and social activist from South Punjab Mukhtaran Mai, has extended her support to Multan’s Aurat March 2021 and is likely to join the country-wide protest on International Women’s Day which is celebrated every year on March 8.

    Mukhtaran Mai is a survivor of sexual assault and had fought to seek justice from the courts. She had taken the men to court who abused her in 2002 to settle a matter of village panchayat.

    A video shared by Aurat March Multan’s Twitter account shows Mukhtaran Mai supporting the march.

    “The reason I attend every march is to represent women in rural areas,” she can be heard saying in the video.

    “I’m [stepping] out for the rights of women in Pakistan. I’ve always participated in Lahore [and] Multan. It’s International Women’s Day. I raise my voice because our woman bears cruelty in society. Our woman is not weak and fight for her rights,” she added.

    Aurat March rallies and sit-ins will be observed today across different cities of the country to mark the  International Women’s Day. Many people come out on the streets to protest for the rights of women  in the society.

  • Vaccination of people 60 and above to begin on March 10

    Vaccination of people 60 and above to begin on March 10

    Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has announced that vaccination of people over 60 years would start from March 10.

    Read more – ‘Govt does not plan to buy vaccines anytime soon’

    “Vaccination of people 60 years and older will be starting from Wednesday March 10,” announced the Minister, adding: “Vaccinations will be done in reverse order by age – which means the oldest person who has registered will be vaccinated first.”

    Read more: Here’s how you can register for COVID-19 vaccine in Pakistan

    As per reports, Pakistan’s positivity ratio has risen from 3.21% to 4.57% in one month. Pakistan has reported 592,100  virus cases and 13,227 deaths so far. 1,592 cases and 22 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours in the country.

  • Shahid Afridi, Shaheen Afridi confirm wedding proposal, exchange love on Twitter

    Rumours of an engagement between cricket celebrity Shahid Afridi’s daughter and cricketer Shaheen Shah Afridi emerged yesterday when a sports Journalist Ihtisham ul Haq shared the news, ‘with permission from both families’.

    “With permission from both families, I would like to clarify the engagement rumours between Shaheen Afridi and the daughter of Shahid Afridi,” wrote the journalist.

    “The proposal has been accepted; it is thought that a formal engagement will be done within two years, following the completion of her education,” he added.

    Addressing the rumours, Shahid Afridi wrote, “Shaheen’s family approached my family for my daughter. Both families are in touch, matches are made in heaven, if Allah wills this match will be made too.”

    He also sent prayers for Shaheen, saying, “My prayers are with Shaheen for his continued success on and off the field.”

    Replying to Shahid Afridi’s tweet Shaheen wrote, “Alhumdulillah. Thanks Lala for your prayers. May Allah SWT make things easier for everyone.”

    “You are the pride of entire nation,” added Shaheen.

    Replying to Afridi’s tweet, one Twitter user pointed out that this proposal might be the reason why Shaheen Shah Afridi did not celebrate after taking Afridi’s wicket in PSL.

  • Microsoft hit by massive cyberattack

    Microsoft hit by massive cyberattack

    Microsoft’s Exchange Server used for email services is recently targeted by hackers. The company rolled out a security patch to secure the server. However, the company had been unable to locate the group of hackers.

    The Verge reported that the hackers are Chinese state-sponsored groups, and they managed to infiltrate nearly 30,000 United States (US) organizations using Microsoft’s Exchange Server.

    Big institutions like banks, police departments, hospitals, and local government department got affected due to the attack. The number of victims was reportedly over hundreds of thousands.

    The security patch has only fixed the vulnerabilities of the server and those whose systems have been compromised will still have to remove the backdoor channels from their systems.

    These backdoors were being used by the hacking group to plant “web shells” in their victims’ servers which would give them admin access and allow them to steal information.

    Security experts are now worried about these hackers planting additional backdoors while companies remove the ones already existing.

    Microsoft was reached out for comment on the matter and said that they are working with the US Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency and other agencies to provide their customers with additional investigation and mitigation guidance.

  • Women of the world, unite!

    Tomorrow is International Women’s Day, which is celebrated worldwide. In Pakistan, many events are organised to mark Women’s Day. Aurat March, which has been held since 2018, will be marked with rallies in several cities, including Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi.

    This year, Aurat March Lahore’s theme is women’s health and the issues faced by women and gender minorities. They are demanding that the health budget be increased to 5 per cent of the GDP. Aurat March organisers have highlighted how violence has always existed for women and gender minorities in Pakistan since before COVID-19 but the lockdowns and social isolation resulting from the pandemic have further exacerbated physical, emotional and sexual violence against them across the country.

    It is quite unfortunate that Pakistan ranks 151 out of 153 countries on the Global Gender Gap Index Report 2020 index, published by the World Economic Forum. The only two countries lagging behind Pakistan are Iraq and Yemen. This is not a surprise given the way our patriarchal society treats women. From blaming rape survivors to practices such as honour killing, vinni and swara (exchange of women, especially young girls, to settle disputes between families), child marriage, domestic violence and many other such anti-women practices, Pakistani society does not make life easy for women.

    Sexual harassment cases when reported or talked about are brushed under the carpet. We have seen how women don’t just face offline harassment and violence but online harassment of women has increased manifold. It is but a manifestation of the anti-women bias in society. Women politicians, journalists and activists are targeted online on a regular basis. But it is good to see Pakistani women breaking these chains and raising their voices for women empowerment and their rights.

    From leading lights such as Fatima Jinnah, Benazir Bhutto, Asma Jahangir, Malala and many others who paved the way for women and young girls in our society, the struggle continues. It will take a long time to achieve equal rights for women but there is no reason to lose hope. We have seen that when women take a stand, it leads to the betterment of society at large.

    For an inclusive, tolerant and progressive Pakistan, women have to be treated as equal human beings. Women of the world, unite, for you have nothing to lose but your chains.

  • ’کیوں بھی کہنا جرم ہے‘

    ’کیوں بھی کہنا جرم ہے‘

    مارچ 8 ، عورتوں کے عالمی دن کے طور پر منایا جاتا ہے . دنیا بھر کی خواتین ، دین و مسلک سے بےنیاز ہو کر ، اک زنجیر کی طرح بندھ جاتی ہیں . اپنے حق کے لیے آواز اُٹھاتی ہیں . اپنے وجود کو اک ماں ، بہن ، ِبیِوی ، اور بیٹی کے روپ سے نکال کر ، صرف ایک انسان ، صرف ایک عورت ہو کر اپنے لیے وہی حق مانگتی ہیں ، جو مردوں کے پاس ہیں . بنیادی انسانی حقوق جن کو اِس سماج نے عورتوں کے لیے لاحاصل بنا دیا . اِس لاحاصل کو حاصل کرنے پر جب عورتوں نے آواز اٹھانی شروع کی ، اور خصوصی طور پر پاکستان میں ، تو مردوں پر جیسے قیامت ہی بیت گئی . قیامت سے پہلے قیامت سی ہوگئی۔

    پورےسال میں ایک دن اگرعورت نے اپنےحق کےلیےآوازاٹھائی تواٹھائی کیوں؟آخرآج ہی کیوں ؟ آخر 8 مارچ کو ہی کیوں ؟ آخر اتنی ساری عورتیں کیوں ؟ مردوں کا کہنا تھا کہ انہوں نے آخر عورت کو کہا ہی کیا ہے جو عورت کو باہر آ کر با آواز بلند کہنا پڑا کے اُنہیں بنیادی حقوق دئیے جائیں ؟ ایسے بہت سے سوال مردوں كے ذہن میں ہر سال 8 مارچ کو آتے ہیں . ِپھر اُنہیں غصہ آتا ہے . ِپھر وہ غصے میں آ کر ​کہتے ہیں ​“ہم اپنی عورتوں کو اتنی عزت دیتے ​ہیں” اور اسی ​جملے کے اختتام پر مرد حضرات ماں بہن کی گالی بھی شامل کر دیتے ہیں . یہ لیں ، یہ ہے عورت کی عزت کی بریانی بنانے کی ترکیب . اِس ترکیب میں کچھ اور ​اجزاء بھی شامل کیے جا سکتے ہیں جیسے عورت کو مارنا ، اس پر ​تیزاب پھینکنا، اس پر جنسی تشدد کرنا ، اس کو بیٹی پیدا کرنے پر طلاق دینا ، اس کو مزید بچے پیدا نہ کرنے پر گھر سے نکال دینا، اس کو سڑک پر چلتے ہوئے ہاتھ مار جانا ، اس کے پیچھے گاڑی لگا کر اس کو احساس دلانا کے یہ زمین صرف مرد کے لیے ہے، اور مزید بہت سے اجزاء حسب ذائقہ ڈالے جا سکتے ہیں۔

    اسی شور اور ​واویلے کے بیچ میں عورتیں 8 مارچ کو ملک بھر میں پر امن احتجاج کرتیں ہیں . اور ہر عورت اپنی زندگی کے حساب سے اپنا حق مانگتی ہے. میں ہر سال ان ​پلے کارڈز کو بہت غور سے پڑھتی ہوں. تعلیم کے حق سے لے کر كھانا خود گرم کر لو تک ، مختلف ​مطالبات ان پلےکارڈز کے ذریعے اجاگر کیے جاتے ہیں . کچھ ​مطالبات ایسے ہیں جن سے میں ذاتی طور پر بھی ​اتفاق کرتی ہوں کیونکہ میں بھی ایک عورت ہوتے ہوئے بہت مشکل مرحلوں سے گزری ہوں . عورت مارچ میں کچھ ایسے ​پلےکارڈز بھی تھے جس سے یہ اندازہ لگانا مشکل نہیں تھا کہ یہ ​پلےکارڈ لانے والی لڑکی کس قدر بےبسی کا شکار ہو کر باہر نکلی ہے. اک پلےکارڈ پر ​“میں خود ایک گھر بناؤں گی جس میں سے تم مجھے نکال نہ سکو” لکھا تھا، مجھے لگا جیسے کسی بچی نے میرے جذبات کی آخر کار ترجمانی کر دی. وہ چھت ​فراہم کرنے والا جب بے گھر کرتا ہے ، تو یہ زمین عورت پر اور بھی تنگ ہوجاتی ہے  لیکن وہ عورت ہی کیا جو ہار جائے!

    ایسے بہت سے ​مطالبات دیکھتے ہوئے ایک ​مطالبے پر نظر پڑی جس میں لکھا تھا ​“میرا جسم میری ​مرضی” یہ بے ضرر سا ​پلےکارڈ دیکھ کر خیال یہی آیا کے ہاں ، خدا نے یہ جسم مجھے دیا ہے تو مرضی بھی میری ہی بنتی ہے. کوئی بھی شعور رکھنے والا انسان اِس سے متفق ہی ہو گا لیکن جنہیں شعور حاصل نہیں، وہ ہکا بکا رہ گئے  اور ہکا بکا رہنے والے تھے بھی مرد ان کا ردعمل ویسا ہی تھا جیسے میرا حال ہوا تھا جب میرے والدین نے مجھے بتایا تھا کہ میٹرک کے بعد ابھی اور پڑھنا ہے۔

    سوشل میڈیا پر ایک آگ سی لگ گئی، ان ​بے شعور لوگوں کا کہنا تھا کے ٹھیک ہے جسم عورت کا ہے ، لیکن اب کیا اِس جسم کے ساتھ کچھ بھی کرنےکےلیےہمیں اِجاَزت لینی ہوگی؟ کیاعورت کےجسم کوبھرے بازارمیں ایک دو سیکنڈ کی لذت حاصل کرنے کے لیے ہم مرد بغیر پوچھے ہاتھ بھی نہیں لگا سکتے؟ کیا عورت کے جسم کو ہم اپنا غصہ ​نکالنے کے لیے استعمال نہیں کر سکتے ؟ کیا اب جنسی عمل کے لیے ہمیں عورت سے اِجاَزت لینی ہوگی ؟ اب کیا ہم عورت کی مرضی کے خلاف اس کے جسم پر جنسی تشدد بھی نہیں کر سکتے ؟ کیا اب ہمیں عورت کو اپنی مرضی سے پہننے اور اوڑھنے کو برداشت کرنا ہوگا؟ مزے کی بات ہے کے ان میں زیادہ وہ لوگ تھے جو ​“میرا جسم میری مرضی” کو سمجھ رہے تھے کے ​“اچھا اب عورتیں ننگی ہو کر باہر نکلیں گئیں ؟” ارے صاحب عورت کو کبھی کپڑے کے ساتھ تولنا چھوڑ بھی دیا کریں۔

    اگر عورت نے ​واقعی اپنے جسم کو آپ سے محفوظ کرنے کا ​نعرہ بلند کیا ہے تو کیا غلط کیا ؟ اگر عورت نے سڑک پر بے خوف و خطر چلنے کا مطالبہ کیا تو کیا غلط کیا ؟ اگر عورت نے جنسی ہراسگی کے خلاف آواز اٹھائی تو کیا غلط کیا ؟ اگر عورت نے اپنے جسم کو درندوں کی طرح اکھاڑ پچھاڑ کے خلاف آواز اٹھائی تو کیا غلط کیا ؟ صاحب ، عورت کے جسم کی آزادی صرف دو گز کپڑے سے منسلک نہیں ہے . اس کے جسم کی آزادی اس کا باہر بے خوف و خطر پھرنا ہے . اس کے جسم کی آزادی اس کا اپنے گھر میں بغیر جسمانی تشدد کے رہنا ہے . اس کے جسم کی آزادی اس کا اپنا خیال کرنا ہے . اس کے جسم کی آزادی اس کا اپنی مرضی کا ​اوڑھنا پہننا ہے . اور یہ آزادی وہ سال کے ایک دن میں اگر مانگ ہی لیتی ہے ، تو ایسا ​واویلا ؟ اس کی اِس مرضی کو جرم کی شکل نہ دیں۔ اسے سنے ، اسے سمجھیں اور اپنی ذات کے خول سے باہر نکلیں… وہ جیسے احمد ندیم قاسمی نے کہا ہے؛

    کیوں بھی کہنا جرم ہے کیسے بھی کہنا جرم ہے سانس لینے کی تو آزادی میسر ہے مگر زندہ رہنے کیلئے انسان کو کچھ اور بھی درکار ہے اور اس کچھ اور بھی کا تذکرہ بھی جرم ہے۔