The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has called on the Supreme Court of Pakistan to reconsider its ruling regarding Ahmadis’ right to worship within their own worship places in the infamous Mubarak Sani case.
In February 2024 the Supreme Court ruled that Ahmadis, while declared non-Muslims, retain the right to profess and proliferate their religion.
The SCBA lauded the top court for declaring the minority non-Muslims but asserted that they shouldn’t even be allowed to pray privately as well because it “contradicts Islamic principles, the Quran, and Sunnah.”
Journalist Hasnaat Malik posted about this development on X, highlighting the recent memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the SCBA and DHA for developing the Park Road Housing Project.
The majority of social media reactions condemned the stance taken by the bar association.
Hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi protesters demanding Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resign, clashed with government supporters on Sunday, with dozens killed in one of the deadliest days since demonstrations began.
Rallies that began last month against civil service job quotas have escalated into some of the worst unrest of Hasina’s 15-year rule and shifted into wider calls for the 76-year-old to step down.
At least 91 people were killed on Sunday alone, including 14 police officers, with the rival sides battling with sticks and knives and security forces firing rifles, taking the total killed since protests began in July to at least 261.
Police said protesters attacked their officers, including storming a station in the town of Enayetpur.
“The terrorists attacked the police station and killed 11 policemen,” said Bijoy Basak, a deputy inspector general.
AFP journalists reported hearing sustained crackles of gunfire after dark on Sunday, with protesters defying a nationwide curfew.
Mobile internet was tightly restricted.
‘Final protest’
In several cases, soldiers and police did not intervene to stem the protests, unlike the past month of rallies that repeatedly ended in deadly crackdowns.
Demonstrators in the capital Dhaka, surrounded by a tightly packed and cheering crowd, waved a Bangladeshi flag on top of an armoured car as soldiers watched.
Asif Mahmud, one of the main leaders in the civil disobedience campaign, called on supporters to march on Dhaka on Monday. “Prepare bamboo sticks and liberate Bangladesh,” he wrote on Facebook on Sunday. “The time has come for the final protest,” he said.
Brought to justice
Vast crowds of protesters packed into Dhaka’s central Shahbagh Square on Sunday, with street battles in multiple sites.
“There were clashes between students and the ruling party men,” police inspector Al Helal said, adding two young men were killed in Dhaka’s Munshiganj district.
“One of the dead was hacked in his head and another had gunshot injuries.”
Another policeman, who asked not to be identified, said “the whole city has turned into a battleground”.
Two people were killed in the city of Kishioreganj, where protesters torched a ruling party office, police said.
Some former military officers have joined the student movement and ex-army chief Gen Ikbal Karim Bhuiyan turned his Facebook profile picture red in a show of support.
“We call on the incumbent government to withdraw the armed forces from the street immediately,” Bhuiyan told reporters on Sunday alongside other ex-officers, condemning “egregious killings, torture, disappearances and mass arrests”.
“Those who are responsible for pushing people of this country to a state of such an extreme misery will have to be brought to justice,” he said.
No longer about job quotas
Current army chief Waker-uz-Zaman told officers at the military headquarters in Dhaka on Saturday the “Bangladesh Army is the symbol of trust of the people”.
“It always stood by the people and will do so for the sake of people and in any need of the state,” he said, according to a statement, which did not say explicitly whether the army backed the protests.
The demonstrations attracted people from all strata of Bangladeshi society. Rap songs calling for people’s support have spread widely on social media.
“It is no longer about job quotas,” said Sakhawat, a young female protester who gave only one name, and called Hasina a “killer”.
A group of 47 manufacturers in the economically vital garment sector said they stood in “solidarity” with the protesters.
Obaidul Quader, general secretary of the ruling Awami League, has called on party activists to gather “in every district” nationwide to show their support for the government.
The unrest began in July over the reintroduction of the quota scheme, which reserved more than half of all government jobs for certain groups. It has since been scaled back by the country’s top court.
A unique record has been set at the men’s and women’s races during Olympics 2024. 12 players in the men’s semi-finals have clocked less than 10 seconds, while Julien Alfred has claimed the honour of being the fastest athlete in the women’s race.
Four players could not make it to the finals despite their timing being less than 10 seconds.
It is the first time in Olympic history that an athlete has missed the final race despite reaching the final point in under 10 seconds.
South Africa’s Benjamin Richardson clocked 9.95 seconds, Japan’s Abdul Hakim Sani Brown 9.96 seconds, British Louie Hinchliffe and Canada’s Andre de Grasse are out of the final despite clocking 9.98 seconds.
On the other hand, Julian Alfred of St. Lucia, a Caribbean island nation, became the world’s fastest female athlete by winning the women’s 100-meter race. She completed the 100-meter race in 10.72 seconds.
The United States is currently in the lead with 19 gold, 26 silver, and 26 bronze medals. China also won 19 gold, 15 silver, and 11 bronze medals. France is in third with 12 gold, 14 silver, and 18 bronze medals.
The federal government is poised to increase the sales tax on tractors in Pakistan from 10 per cent to 14 per cent, a move that is expected to raise the cost of these essential agricultural machines.
In the 2024-25 budget, the government removed the previous exemption and introduced a 10 per cent sales tax on tractors.
However, recent discussions within the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) have led to a proposal for further increasing this tax to 14 per cent.
Sources revealed to Business Recorder that the FBR has finalised this proposal, which now awaits Cabinet approval. The Finance Ministry has already forwarded a summary to the Cabinet for review.
The rationale behind this proposed increase is to address an issue with refunds in the tractor industry. Currently, the 10 per cent sales tax does not fully account for the input tax credits, as the standard sales tax rate is 18 per cent.
This discrepancy leads to refunds being issued to the industry, which the government aims to curtail by raising the tax rate.
Since the Finance Act 2024, a 10 per cent sales tax has been in effect on tractors from 1 July 2024, replacing the previous exemption.
The proposed hike to 14 per cent is intended to mitigate the refund issue and align the tax regime more closely with the standard rate.
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz of Spain to win the gold medal in the singles men’s competition at the Paris Olympics tennis event.
After missing out in Beijing, London, Rio, and Tokyo, Djokovic finally won the one title he had been chasing for so long. He secured a 7-6(3) 7-6(2) victory before an excited crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Djokovic shouted with joy after consoling Alcaraz at the net. He dropped to his knees and cried in the middle of the court. Then, he climbed into the crowd to celebrate with his family, friends, and team.
Arshad Nadeem, Pakistan’s only hope for a Gold medal at the Paris Olympics, is all set to take on Indian Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra.
Neeraj Chopra has always been a problematic opponent for Arshad, with a perfect record of 9-0. However, it’s important to note that Arshad won the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold in Birmingham with a massive throw of 90.18 meters, which is better than Neeraj’s personal best at any javelin event.
Fans will have to wait two days to find out, as both arc rivals will compete on August 6th in the qualifying rounds. The event will start at 1:20 PM (PST), with Group B starting at 2:50 PM (PST). If both qualify, they will go for the medals in the final on August 8th, which begins at 11:25 PM (PST).
Arshad Nadeem made history in the last Olympics by reaching an Olympic athletics final but finished fifth. This time, he could be Neeraj Chopra’s biggest competitor.
Born in a poor village some 300 kilometres from Algiers, boxer Imane Khelif had to overcome obstacles in a conservative country where women are considered unfit for the sport.
With braided hair and a powerful 1.79 metre (5 foot 9 inch) physique, the 25-year-old is the object of a Paris Olympic Games gender controversy.
With smiles and a soft voice, Imane told her story on television channel Canal Algerie one month before the start of the games.
“Our village was around 10 kilometres from the centre (of Tiaret, 280 kilometres southwest of Algiers). I moved from the village to the city. From the city to the capital. From the capital to abroad,” she said.
From a family of limited means, she spoke of the difficulty of her life in “a village of conservative people” in Tiaret’s semi-desert surroundings.
“I came from a conservative family. Boxing is not a widely-practised sport by women, especially in Algeria. It was difficult.”
Already a strong athlete, she played football with the boys in her village of Biban Mesbah — but beating boys in matches brought on fights where she fought back with punches.
These fights lead her to boxing.
In an interview with UNICEF, she said she used to sell scrap metal and her mother sold homemade couscous to pay for bus tickets to Tiaret.
Imane’s father at first did not approve of her decision to pursue boxing, but he eventually became one of her biggest fans.
The 49-year-old unemployed welder told AFP that his daughter is “an example of the Algerian woman, a heroine of Algeria”.
He hailed “her strong will to work and to train”, in an interview with AFP on Friday.
In 2022, Imane told the Algerian news agency APS that she had considered giving up boxing “because my family did not accept the idea, and because of how society looked at me, considering that I was doing something wrong.”
But “all these barriers made me even stronger and were an extra motivation to achieve my dreams.”
She also expressed her determination in an interview on the UNICEF website, where she said her “dream is to win a gold medal”.
“If I win, mothers and fathers will be able to see how far their children can go,” she said. “I want to inspire girls and children in Algeria.”
Imane’s international career took off with her participation in the lightweight category in the 2020 summer Olympic Games in Tokyo — postponed to 2021 — where she won fifth place after losing in the quarter finals to Ireland’s Kellie Harlington.
“Everything changed for the better, especially as my country’s flag flew and its hymn played in many countries throughout the world”, she explained.
In 2023, she made it to the semi-finals of the women’s amateur boxing world championships in New Delhi, India.
However, she was disqualified following unspecified gender eligibility testing by the International Boxing Association, which is not recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
After her match against Italian opponent Angela Carini this week in the Paris Games — whom she beat in less than a minute — Imane was targeted by online harassment and racism, where far-right publications insinuated that she was “a man fighting women”.
Her father has dismissed aspersions about her gender, saying she is “a strong and courageous girl.”
And the IOC has supported her participation, amid the furore over Khelif and another woman boxer also disqualified from last year’s world championships.
“All of the competitors respect the eligibility rules for the competitions,” said Mark Adams, IOC spokesman, adding that it had “established that these are women.”
Pak Suzuki Motor Company Limited (PSMC) has commenced exporting vehicles to Bangladesh and Afghanistan, thanks to the facilitation efforts of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).
The announcement was made by PSMC’s CEO, Hiroshi Kawamura, during the inauguration of the new Suzuki Vendor Cluster Area.
Since 1997, Pak Suzuki has been exporting vehicles and auto parts, including software and motorcycle accessories, to Japan. This recent expansion underscores the competitive quality of Pakistani-made vehicles on the global stage.
During the inauguration, Minister for Industries & Production, Rana Tanveer Hussain, highlighted that the new Suzuki Vendor Cluster Area aims to broaden Pak Suzuki’s network of local suppliers. This initiative is expected to enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs through improved localised supply chain management.
In related news, the Pakistan Credit Rating Agency Limited (PACRA) has affirmed Pak Suzuki’s credit ratings, maintaining its long-term rating at “AA-” and its short-term rating at “A1” with a stable outlook.
PACRA attributes these ratings to Pak Suzuki’s strong business profile and its significant standing among leading auto OEMs in Pakistan. The ratings are further bolstered by the support from Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan (SMC-Japan), which provides extensive backing to the company.
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif reached the semi-finals of the Paris Olympics, defeating Hungarian Luca Hamori, who had shared insulting posts about Imane before the fight.
In the women’s 66 kg category, Imane faced Hungary’s Luca Hamori and defeated her by 5-0.
The Algerian boxer made headlines when her opponent Angela Carini of Italy refused to fight her in the first round after just 46 seconds, saying that Iman did not meet the standards of a woman and that she was scared for her life. Later, Angela apologised for her behaviour.
Actor, Afzal Khan, also known as Jan Rambo, has many complaints against the government, stating that for his 32 years of service in entertainment industry, he has not received the recognition he deserves.
Recently, Khan, and his wife, Sahiba, appeared as guests on ‘Subh Ka Samaa Madeha Kay Sath.’
During the interview, the host, Madeha Rizvi, asked, “Afzaal bhai, do you have any grievances with the industry?”
Afzal Khan replied, “Yes, I do, despite acting in almost 200 films, including “The Donkey King,” which was dubbed in multiple languages and gained international recognition, I still feel undervalued.” While talking about awards and honors in the industry, he said, “If awards were given on merit, it would be a matter of pride.”
Afzal Khan also spoke about his mother-in-law, Nishoo Begum, who, he said, also did not receive the recognition she deserved. “If she didn’t get her due recognition, what chance do I have?” he asked.
