Pakistani cricket fans are very enthusiastic as Pakistan Super League’s (PSL 6) matches are as interesting as the team anthems.
Recently, Lahore Qalandars released a new video of their official anthem on Saturday night and it surely put a smile on everyone’s faces.
The video shows Lahore Qalandar’s top players dancing to its song sung by Abrar ul Haq. While some social media users liked the anthem’s vibe, others made it into a meme.
Veteran actor Ejaz Durrani has passed away at the age of 88 after battling a long illness, media reports have stated. His funeral prayers will be offered in Garden Town, Lahore.
Ejaz was born in 1935 in a village near Jalalpur Jattan. He started his career with a supporting role in the movie Hamida and worked in almost 150 movies during his 30-year career. Apart from acting, he also proved his skills as a producer and director.
Durrani is fondly remembered for his role of Ranjha in the movie Heer Ranjha in which he shared the screen with Firdous.
On the personal front, Durrani was married to Noor Jehan, and the two had three daughters together. However, they later parted ways after which he married his co-star Firdous. That marriage too ended in divorce.
Natasha Ali penned down heartfelt note for her late grandfather on Instagram.
“Beloved father, husband , son , brother , uncle , grandfather , friend & human Ejaz Durrani has left us today to rest peacefully in the heavens, still the most handsome man & furthermore an outstanding human being. You did more for your family, friends & those in need than anyone I know. What a life lived,” wrote Natasha.
“It breaks our heart to say goodbye but we find solace in the fact that we shall carry your legacy of goodness,kindness & quiet bravery forth for you. Because you always taught us that being kind & doing the right thing was always the most important thing in life. This is how I shall always remember you handsome , radiant with that irresistible smile. I love you Nana,” added Natasha
“I request you all to pray for his soul today and everyday, till we meet again,” She concluded.
A rooster fitted with a knife for an illegal cockfight in southern India has killed its owner. The incident also prompted authorities to look for the organisers of the event and penalise them for their actions.
According to reports, the bird had a knife attached to its leg and inflicted serious wounds to the owner when he tried to escape, the police said on Sunday.
The owner, Thangulla Satish, 45, died from blood loss before he could reach a hospital in the Karimnagar district of Telangana state, said police officer B Jeevan.
“Satish was hit by the rooster’s knife in his groin,” an area between your hip and stomach, “and started bleeding heavily,” the officer said, adding that Satish was one of 16 people organising the cockfight in the village of Lothunur.
“We are searching for the other 15 people involved in organising the illegal fight,” said Jeevan further.
The organisers could face charges of manslaughter, illegal betting and hosting a cockfight.
Cockfights are banned yet common in rural areas of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Odisha states, especially around the Hindu festival of Sankranti. Roosters fights attract large crowds and thousands of roosters die each year in the competitions despite the efforts of animal rights groups.
Organisers attach 7.5-centimetre, almost three-inch blades to especially bred rooster’s legs and bet who will win the fight. The fight continues until one rooster is either dead or fleas.
Last year, a man was killed when a blade attached to his bird’s leg hit him in the neck during a cockfight in Andhra Pradesh.
While rest of the world demands that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman be held accountable for journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, Pakistan has said it stands in solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“We have noted that the Saudi government termed Jamal Khashoggi’s murder as an ‘abhorrent crime’ and a ‘flagrant violation of the Kingdom’s laws and values’,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement after public release of the US Administration’s declassified intelligence report, containing its “assessment” on the killing of Khashoggi.
The Saudi government has further underlined that it took all possible measures within its legal system to ensure that the individuals responsible were properly investigated, convicted and sentenced and that justice was served, the Pakistani statement maintained.
“Pakistan recognises Saudi efforts in this regard and expresses solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” said the press release.
It added that Pakistan underscores adherence to the rule of law, respect for national sovereignty, and protection and promotion of human rights by all states, in accordance with their respective constitutional frameworks and international obligations.
Announcing its verdict on a presidential reference seeking legal opinion on the holding of Senate election through an open vote, the Supreme Court on Monday said polls for the Upper House will be held through a secret ballot.
The 4-1 majority opinion was announced by a five-judge larger bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed.
The reference was forwarded to the apex court in January after Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed his desire to curtail the practice of horsetrading in Senate elections by introducing an open-ballot system.
READ: Open ballot in Senate polls: What do legal experts have to say?
Following almost two months of proceedings, the court had on Thursday reserved its verdict, announcing to issue it on Monday (today).
In a short order issued today, the court observed elections to the House are held in accordance with the law and the Constitution, saying it “is the responsibility of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to protect the polls from the menace of corruption”.
While the order cited Article 226 of the Constitution to support its argument, the judges said the Parliament can decide if it feels the need to end the secrecy of the voting process.
A detailed verdict is expected to be issued shortly.
Lahore Qalandars beat Karachi Kings at the 11th match of Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) sixth edition on Sunday in National Stadium Karachi.
Kings’ Sharjeel Khan (64 off 39 balls) and Mohammad Nabi (57 off 35 balls) were able to steer the side to the handsome total, after an early fall of wickets in powerplay.
However, the Qalandars lost two early wickets but Fakhar Zaman took the charge to sail the boat of the side to victory with his unbeaten 83 runs off 54 balls. Ben Dunk also scored a much need half century, scoring 57 off 43 balls.
Fakhar got dismissed by Daniel Christian which ended in a blessing in disguise and David Wiese blasted 31 runs off just 9 balls to guide his team to victory.
Kings were pretty confident as a day before they achieved a remarkable win over Multan Sultans when they convincingly chased 198 with seven balls to spare and ended up with high confidence.
The Qalandars’ performance, today, however, showed that in the battle of the nerves, they can easily whip any opponent, beating Kings by six wickets.
In total, the two arch-rivals have played 12 matches, of which Karachi Kings bagged seven and Lahore Qalandars secured five, including this match.
Meanwhile, Shaheen Shah Afridi secured man of the match award, taking three wickets by giving only 27 runs in four overs.
Right from the beginning, Qayamat appeared to one of those dramas which follow a riwayati or typical storyline with domestic abuse, spoiled men and saas-bahu tensions sprinkled with lots of masala and sensationalism to shock audiences and keep them hooked. Fifteen episodes later, my initial assumptions were proven right because that is exactly what Qayamat is about.
Qayamat revolves around Rashid (Ahsan Khan), a spoiled overgrown man child who does not know how to walk or talk and is often spotted hanging out with an escort Pari (Sana Fakhar). Kudos to Ahsan for portraying him in the slimiest possible manner. Even Bollywood actor Zarina Wahab praised Ahsan for his performance in the drama.
When his parents Nargis (Saba Faisal) and Mukhtar (Shabbir Jan) are unable to find a match for him because of his attitude, they forcefully marry his cousin Samra (Amar Khan) to him. Nargis is not happy with the marriage because she wanted a ‘baray ghar ki larki‘ for Rashid and Samra is from a “low background” even though she is Mukhtar’s brother Fayyaz’s daughter. Basically, just the usual stuff.
Fifteen episodes of the drama have aired so far and in the latest episode, Samra passes away after Rashid pushes her, causing her to fall and go into early labour. Her death was a little rushed and unbelievable considering the drama’s timeline was messed up and we had no idea how many months had passed since she conceived. All we know is that the stage is now set for Rashid and Samra’s sister Ifrah (Neelam Muneer) to get married and look after the newborn, who they have named Sana. It seems that Neelam has decided to play similar characters considering her character in Bikhray Moti, her last release. In that, she also married her sister’s abusive husband to protect her nieces and nephews and give them motherly love.
Samra’s death has left Rashid stunned, though we don’t get to see much of his shock and emotions over his wife’s death. Like Samra’s demise, his reaction to his wife’s death is rushed, flawed and underdeveloped. It would have given audiences some relief to see him at least regret his actions and attitude towards Samra. But we get nothing.
In the meantime, Ifrah and Rashid’s brother Jawad (Haroon Shahid) have put their marriage on hold till things settle down. However, Rashid’s mother and khala hatch a plan to get Ifrah married to Rashid because one they don’t really like her and two so they can get a ‘heeray jaisi larki‘ for Jawad. As expected, Ifrah is going to end up getting married to Rashid and will spend her life caring for her niece and feeling miserable about her life. Moreso, her actions will also help redeem Rashid and make him a better human being.
If I am truly honest, Qayamat doesn’t have anything new to offer. It is a typical Pakistani drama repackaged differently. I’d be surprised if Rashid also doesn’t die at the end considering how much our dramas like to kill off the evil characters.
What makes the watch worthwhile is the performances. From Shabbir Jan to Neelam Muneer to Ahsan Khan, each actor has given a brilliant performance, adding life and layers to the characters. Saba Faisal, in particular, is phenomenal as Nargis, the family matriarch. Her expressions and body language are absolutely flawless and will have you glued to the screen.
Despite is predictability and run-of-the-mill storyline, Qayamat is gripping and makes for an entertaining watch. But what irks me is that the first ten minutes of every new episode is the last ten minutes of the previous episode. Geo does this with all its dramas, and frankly speaking, it’s pretty annoying.
Written by Sarwat Nazir and directed by Ali Faizan, Qayamat airs every Tuesday and Wednesday on Geo Entertainment.
The spokesperson of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has clarified that a fine of Rs 1,000 will be charged for late tax filers, not Rs 10,000. The clarification came due to the rumours about high fine charges imposed by FBR on filing late income tax returns.
This mistake occurred because of an error in a press release issued on February 24th. According to the clarification, Rs 1,000 will be charged from individuals (salaried and non-salaried) on late filing of income tax returns for the tax year 2020 for inclusion in the Active Taxpayers List (ATL).
Companies will pay a surcharge of Rs 20,000 and an association of person Rs 10,000 for inclusion in ATL. Association of persons is the relation between persons, who have agreed to share the profits of a business carried amongst all stakeholders.
It is noteworthy that the FBR surpassed its collection target by Rs 13 billion to Rs 2.911 trillion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, as shown in the provisional data released by the tax authorities on Friday.
It was the second consecutive month that the tax collection surpassed its projection. The revenue collection increased by nine per cent during July-February when compared with Rs 2.681 trillion collected in the same period last year.
An official of FBR said that the revenue collection was achieved two days ahead of the end of the current month.
On Thursday, Pakistani and Indian director generals of military operations (DGMOs) issued a rare joint statement declaring ceasefire along the line of control (LoC).
The joint statement said: “Both sides agreed for strict observance of all agreements, understandings and cease firing along the Line of Control and all other sectors with effect from midnight 24/25 Feb 2021…In the interest of achieving mutually beneficial and sustainable peace along the borders, the two DGsMO agreed to address each other’s core issues and concerns which have propensity to disturb peace and lead to violence.”
The ceasefire agreement between the two countries was originally reached in November 2003.
The joint statement was welcome by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who tweeted: “I welcome restoration of the ceasefire along the LOC. The onus of creating an enabling environment for further progress rests with India. India must take necessary steps to meet the long-standing demand & right of the Kashmiri people to self determination acc to UNSC resolutions.” (sic) The US and the UN also welcomed this positive development.
To say that the relationship between Pakistan and India is complex would be an understatement. The two nuclear neighbours have come to the brink of war many a time and have also fought conventional wars as well as unconventional ones. It has been two years since the Balakot strikes when they came close to a full-blown war. India could not do any damage to our territory despite falsely claiming otherwise but Pakistan managed to capture Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan after the Pakistan Air Force shot down his aircraft.
In a joint session of parliament, Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that as a peace gesture, Pakistan was going to release the Indian pilot. PM Imran also reiterated that there is no victory in a war. “Pakistan wants peace. Our interest lies in peace and de-escalation,” he said back in 2019.
Pakistan has continued to extend a hand of peace towards India over the years but the Modi administration in India has not been very forthcoming.
Thus, it was a surprise to see the joint statement, which could not have taken place without backdoor diplomacy.
Innocent people across the LoC have lost lives due to the Indian violations of the 2003 ceasefire agreement. Now with this joint statement, it will be good for the people living across the LoC. We don’t know yet what prompted the Modi government to agree to this but we do hope that both countries eventually restart dialogue.
Peace in the South Asian region cannot be achieved if India continues its strongarm tactics. Pakistan is committed to peace in the region. Let’s hope this ceasefire is just the first step in the restoration of peace.
Nothing like some cross-border love to lighten up things in these tense times.
Read more – ‘Kitna khoobsurat lagta hai’: Irrfan Khan about PM Imran Khan
Irrfan Khan’s son Babil Khan has revealed that he is a fan of Pakistani television. Responding to a comment by journalist Maria Memon, Khan said: “Pakistani television is one of my loved indulgences.”
Maria had commented on Babil’s post in which he had shared a screenshot of a Whatsapp conversation with his late father.
The legendary Bollywood actor, who had visited Pakistan on several occasions passed away on April 29, 2020, at the age of 53. The actor was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour in March 2018. He sought treatment for it in the UK for a year and returned to India in February 2019. In April 2020, he was admitted to the hospital for a medical complication arising from a colon infection, following which he passed away.
Meanwhile, Khan had also worked with Adnan Siddiqui in the Hollywood production A Mighty Heart.