Jamal Shah has received the prestigious Ordre des Arts et des Lettres or Order of Arts and Letters from the French Ministry of Culture. The award, established in 1957, “recognises eminent artists and writers, as well as people who have contributed significantly to furthering the arts in France and throughout the world”. The Order of Arts and Letters is given out three times annually under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Culture and Communication.
The veteran actor had earlier shared the news on social media by sharing pictures of the letter. According to the letter, Shah was conferred the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.
“This award is given to personalities who have distinguished themselves by their creation in the artistic or literary fields or by the contribution they have made to the influence of the Art and Letters in France and around the world,” read the letter.
As per the letter, Shah is being honoured for his commitment to the Pakistani culture and bilateral corporation between the two countries.
Meanwhile, other recipients of the award include Marilyn Horne, Jim Jarmusch, Richard Meier, Robert Paxton, Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, and Uma Thurman.
Peshawar Zalmi’s decision to appoint Esra Bilgiç as the face of the team has irked Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, who took to social media to express her disapproval.
Commenting under a post, which speculated that Zalmi has chosen Esra as their brand ambassador for the upcoming edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Sharmeen said: “I find this hilarious! A Turkish actress whose country doesn’t even play the sport will now be a mascot for cricket.”
“What happened to Pakistani actresses by the way?” she continued. “Did they all disappear that we have to get foreign ones? Whatever is left of our industry will die if you keep paying Turkish actors for jobs Pakistani actors can do!”
When an Instagram user responded to Chinoy and said that giving work to foreign actors will be good for the industry, Chinoy said: “You don’t know anything about the industry. How can you say it’s good for it?”
“We have a very small industry, we have to protect it,” she continued. “Once we grow, we can open up. Please do your research before making such tall claims.”
“This is not about close-mindedness or about being jealous, this is being practical given the resources we have,” she added.
Responding to another user who advised her not to be jealous, Chinoy said: “Last I checked I was a filmmaker, not an actress but since most of you don’t care about Pakistani film industry, let me lay it out for you.”
“If you stop sponsoring your own actors and actresses whatever is left of the industry will die. But trolls like you don’t care that you can take a punt at me! Good luck with that,” she added.
Bilgiç aka Haleema Sultan recently left fans in a tizzy after she posted a picture of Islamia University Peshawar with the caption “The City of Flowers”.
While it has not yet been confirmed whether the star has signed a deal with the team, Peshawar Zalmi owner Javed Afridi added more fuel to the fire by retweeting Esra’s tweet and posting one with the same caption.
Earlier in July 2020, Afridi had asked Zalmi fans what they thought about having the cast of Dirilis: Ertuğrul as the brand ambassador of the team. Responding to Afridi’s tweet, the Turkish actress had said: “I will be sharing some good news with you soon.”
Recently, several Turkish actors from the super hit drama series have visited Pakistan for different purposes. From Engin Altan Düzyatan (Ertuğrul Bey) to Cavit Çetin Güner (Dogan Alp) and Celal AL (Abdur Rehman Alp), almost every prominent actor from the drama series has visited different cities of the country.
Diriliş: Ertuğrul has been trending in Pakistan ever since its first episode aired on PTV Home in Ramzan 2020. Pakistanis are loving the drama series and it has become a sensation in the country. According to details, millions of people have tuned in to watch the show on PTV and YouTube.
Two of the country’s major opposition parties, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), have expressed reservations on the investigation panel that is to be headed by former Supreme Court (SC) justice, Azmat Saeed, to investigate the Broadsheet scandal.
Speaking to a private media outlet on Thursday, senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal pointed out that the former SC judge was part of the bench in the Panama Papers case that disqualified then prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif.
“He was later invited by PM Imran Khan to join the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital’s Board of Governors after his retirement.”
Ahsan also pointed out that during the Musharraf regime, when the asset recovery agreement was signed with Broadsheet, Justice Azmat was part of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
Meanwhile, PPP Secretary General Nayyer Bukhari said the PTI’s dishonesty had been exposed by the nomination of committee head. “It seems that the government wants to put all the blame on the previous governments.”
Bukhari said the PPP has reservations on the committee, adding, “it is a sensitive matter which should be investigated in a transparent manner.”
According to the Supreme Court’s website, Justice Azmat was the anti-graft watchdog’s deputy prosecutor general in Islamabad in the year 2000 for a period of one year and was later appointed NAB special prosecutor in 2001 to prosecute cases before accountability courts at Attock Fort and in Rawalpindi.
However, it is not clear if the former judge had played a role, if any, in the formulation and signing of the asset recovery agreement and/or its eventual termination.
It was reported earlier on Thursday that Azmat will lead the inquiry commission to examine the circumstances relating to the Broadsheet agreement and subsequent arbitration proceedings that resulted in substantial loss to the national exchequer.
The announcement was made by Information Minister Shibli Faraz.
Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry also said that “PM Imran Khan has appointed Justice (r) Azmat Saeed as head of the Broadsheet inquiry committee”, adding that the remaining members of the committee would be appointed with Justice (r) Azmat’s consultation.
With multiple media outlets reporting that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan will be meeting Tesla executives to discuss investment opportunities in the Pakistani Electric Vehicle (EV) market, the screenshot of a tweet by Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk “mocking” Pakistan has started doing the rounds on social media.
Tesla Inc is an American EV and clean energy company based in California. Its current products include electric cars, battery energy storage from home to grid-scale, solar panels and solar roof tiles, as well as other related products and services.
PM Imran is reportedly due to meet Tesla executives as Pakistan announces its plans to promote EVs and India gears up to welcome the Musk-run company.
However, the news of the premier’s meeting was followed by a screenshot of the tweet wherein Musk had purportedly taken a dig at Pakistan’s power shortage vows.
“First bring electricity,” read the tweet that seems to be nothing more than a meme since it could not be found on Musk’s Twitter handle.
As for the PM’s reported plans of meeting Tesla executives, the news came from renowned journalist Sabir Shakir via a video clip shared on Javed Afridi’s social media page.
In the video, Shakir states that Afridi, who is a key stakeholder in MG Pakistan, has already had a couple of meetings with the officials at Tesla Motors. He said that the world’s largest and most prolific EV maker had already expressed interest in investing in the Pakistani automotive market.
Pakistan’s new EV policy was introduced by the government late last year, wherein it had announced a number of benefits and incentives for both interested investors in the local EV sector and potential buyers.
Reports say Afridi has been at the forefront of campaigning for EVs to be made the norm in Pakistan. Additionally, MG is also set to introduce the ZS EV in Pakistan, reportedly in the first quarter of 2021.
A 21-year-old man found himself in a strange situation when he woke up from a seven-month coma, he found homicide detectives around him when he opened his eyes. The detectives were reportedly there to charge him with the murder of his girlfriend.
As per details, Weijie went into a coma with critical head injuries last June after falling from the fourth floor balcony of his apartment in Wolli Creek, in south Sydney, Australia.
The next-day when the police visited his house for investigation, they discovered the dead body of his 19-year old girlfriend there.
It is not yet clear whether he intentionally fell from the apartment but Detective Inspector Robert Alison said “witnesses told us he fell from the fourth floor of a common area, so it was either misadventure or a suicide attempt”.
“He is very, very lucky to be alive,” added Detective Inspector Alison. “Most people would have not survived.”
The alleged killer was in a coma for almost seven months.
He and his girlfriend, hailing from China, had been together for two years and were studying in Australia on student visas. Detective Inspector Alison acknowledged how difficult the incident was for Pan’s family, who were unable to attend her funeral due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
“It is horrific. I really do feel for the family,” Alison said. “The distance being so far away makes it even more difficult for them. But we are working closely with them.”
He has been refused bail and is due to face court via video link on Wednesday.
The federal government has announced free coronavirus vaccine for all Pakistanis, saying the government will inoculate health workers and elderly people in the first phase.
Dr Faisal Sultan, prime Minister’s aide on health, said that the government is eyeing procurement of at least 20 million vaccine doses in the first stage; however, only 1 million doses will be procured by March this year.
He further said that the registration process for the vaccination is underway and the government would soon begin the drive once the vaccine doses arrive from China.
Reports say China will provide 0.5 million vaccines by the end of this month free of cost, while more vaccines from China will arrive in Islamabad next month.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also talked about the procurement from the United Kingdom. He said the government was in talks with the UK to procure the vaccine developed by the British pharmaceutical company.
So far, three firms, British firm Oxford-AstraZeneca, Chinese firm Sinopharm and CanSino Biologics, have asked Pakistan to buy their vaccine. Oxford-AstraZeneca and Sinopharm are already registered with Pakistan whereas CanSino is conducting phase-III trials in the country.
Recently, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) had expressed serious concerns over the government’s decision to ask provinces and the private sector to import the coronavirus vaccine.
As per the details, with the Cabinet Committee on Procurement of COVID-19 Vaccine briefing Prime Minister Imran Khan on efforts being made to engage more pharmaceutical companies for procurement, HRCP had said that the government’s decision in this regard was not the right step.
It may be noted that amid reports of a delay in the procurement of vaccine, some journalists claimed that the government was in no hurry to order the coronavirus vaccine as most of the senior government members had already been vaccinated against the deadly disease.
Almost four months after the birth of their baby girl, Gigi Hadid and Zayn Malik have finally revealed the name of their daughter.
While the couple, who has been super private about their baby, did not officially announce the name, Gigi casually updated her Instagram bio writing, ‘Khai’s mom’.
The big reveal comes a day after the supermodel shared several gushing posts about her child. Gigi and Malik have yet to share pictures of their baby girl though they have been sharing sneak peeks with the face hidden.
According to media reports, Khai is an Arabic name which means ‘crowned’.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that he doesn’t use English phrases in public because it would be disrespectful to the majority of Pakistani citizens who don’t speak or understand the language.
The PM said he has an objection to using English as a language of communication because most people do not speak this language. “I would be fine with addressing events in English if everyone would speak the language,” the PM added.
— Rizwan Ghilzai (Student of Arshad Sharif) (@RizwanGhilzai) January 21, 2021
The remarks by the prime minister came a day after a much controversial video went viral on social media wherein the owners of a posh cafe in Islamabad were seen ridiculing their restaurant manager for his inability to speak English.
Uzma and Diya, who own Cannoli Café Soul in Islamabad, have been at the receiving end of outrage for mocking and ridiculing their restaurant manager for his English speaking skills. In the video, the two women explained how their manager has been working at their café for nine years and has taken three language courses until now.
They then asked him to introduce himself in English and when he struggled with speaking fluent English, they made fun of him by commenting on the manager’s salary. The manager, Owais, was visibly uncomfortable in the video.
Addressing a ceremony in Islamabad on Thursday, the PM announced that inheritance certificates would now be issued within 15 days to make life easier for a common citizen. In past, it would take two years to get this letter issued, but now it will be done in two weeks.
According to Radio Pakistan, the law ministry has devised a mechanism to establish Succession Facilitation Units in collaboration with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) for the issuance of Letters of Administration and Succession Certificates within 15 days of initiation of the application by the legal heirs of the deceased.
The PM also emphasised on reforming the civil procedure court, criminal justice system and ensuring women’s inheritance rights. “People friendly law reforms were being considered crucial by the present government aimed at ensuring justice through people-friendly legislation.
The administration of the University of Peshawar has announced that it will not able to “disburse full salary to its employees for the month January” due to the financial constraints.
In a notification issued by the registrar on Jan 21, the university said it will only be able to pay “basic and personal pay” due to lack of funds.
The mother of all universities in Pukhtunkhwa goes bankrupt. This province is being ruled, for the last 8 years, by the court declared Sadiq and Ameen who had declared Educational Emergency on the first day of his government back in 2013.#UOPpic.twitter.com/E4VSe3cj6q
The Current confirmed the veracity of the notification from the Peshawar University’s registrar office. A news report said that the university will pay its employees only 30 per cent of the salaries due to the constraints.
The registrar was quoted as saying that the provincial government had approved Rs250 million for the university, but Rs150 million only was released and the remaining funds were linked with the introduction of some reforms.
“We have requested the government for more money, but they haven’t responded to our request yet,” the registrar was quoted as saying.
Earlier this month, the Higher Education, Archives and Libraries Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) had issued a notification to the public sector universities directing to implement “no pension liability” for all future initial recruitments in addition to other strict measures to overcome the rising deficit.
The department had also directed delinking of the pay scales from the basic pay scale scheme and university pay scale, while further stating in a notification that government grant and other resources meant for higher education shall not be expended on meeting the shortfall of the schools run by the universities.
“These schools should have separate Board of Governors (BoG),” it had read.
Furthermore, house subsidy and requisition should be paid to the employees on the provincial government rates. All medical allowances in their current form had been abolished and shall be paid at the provincial government rates, it had said, adding that the maintenance cost, including repair, security and other facilities’ costs, should be fully recovered from the employees provided with accommodation by the universities.
“The universities will be assisted in the process of exploring new avenues of financial resources, including renting out academic blocks to other institutions,” the notification had said.
Amazon Prime’s latest Indian web series Tandav has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. After the show opened to poor reviews by critics, it sparked outrage among the Hindu right-wing for depicting Lord Shiva in poor light. Protests were arranged and threats were issued against the cast and makers of the series (police had to be stationed outside Saif Ali Khan’s house), forcing them to issue an apology. They later also agreed to remove the objectionable parts in view of rising unrest.
However, despite the poor reviews and immense backlash, the show continues to trend and with good reason – the foremost being that the show is extremely binge-able. The episodes are short, crisp, and fast-paced. Though the plot is weak and predictable with the makers trying to fit in too many issues in just nine episodes – dynastic politics, the race for the seat, farmers’ protests, and the student protests’ – the mindblowing performances will make you forgive the producers.
Anuradha
Saif Ali Khan was amazing as the manipulative and ruthless Samar Pratap as was Dimple Kapadia as the power-hungry Anuradha Kishore. Let me just add that Kapadia owned every scene she was in, her screen presence was that good. Sunil Grover’s performance as Gurupal, Samar’s henchman was enough to send a chill down your spine.
Gurupal
Zeeshan Ayub did complete justice to his role of a morally upright and ambitious student Shiva and won audiences with his flawless performance. Playing a role like this in India’s current political climate requires guts and Ayub shone in it.
As far as the show’s plot is concerned, there are two parallel stories running – on the one hand, we have India’s ruling party and their internal politics and quest for the Pradhānamantrī‘s ‘kursi’ and on the other, we have young students rallying for their rights and those of the farmers, who have been evicted from their land. Trouble brews when the two worlds collide and that’s what the gist of the series is.
Director Ali Abbas Zafar, in an official statement, clarified that “Tandav is a work of fiction and any resemblance to acts and persons and events is purely coincidental” and that’s how one should also take it. While the series does appear to have been inspired by real-life incidents, it is also imperative to keep in mind that creative liberty has been taken.
It would be pertinent to mention that some scenes of the series have been shot at Saif’s ancestral home, Pataudi Palace. This is also the first time shooting took place inside the historical palace.
In an interview, Saif had shared that though he doesn’t mind renting the grounds of the property, he was a “little bit nervous when the crew moved inside”.
I would also like to add here that several viewers had expressed that they found the background score to be overpowering, I felt it complimented the mood and overall setting of the show.
Tandavis no Rajneeti but it isn’t all that terrible either. Watch it for the performances, drama and masala.
