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  • Momina Mustehsan, Muneeb Butt hit out at Kangana Ranaut for promoting ‘anti-Pakistan’ sentiments

    Momina Mustehsan and Muneeb Butt lashed out at Kangana Ranaut for “dragging” Pakistan into all her arguments.

    “Why does Pakistan get dragged into all your arguments?” questioned Momina. “It serves no purpose but takes away from your mission to rightly get justice for SSR (Sushant Singh Rajput), fight nepotism, your own internal state politics and curb religious hatred and prejudice.”

    “Justice can’t be achieved by propagating regional hatred,” she added.

    Butt voiced a similar opinion, saying: “Why are they so obsessed with Pakistan?”

    Ranaut, who has been actively campaigning against the Bhatts including Alia and Mahesh and accusing them of driving Sushant Singh Rajput to suicide, in a recent tweet passed an anti-Pakistan statement in order to make her point against them. Kangana was objecting to Alia’s dialogue in her upcoming film Sadak 2 which is: “In guruo ki wajah se mainay kisi apne ko khoya hai.”

    Labelling someone as a “Pakistani tout” is nothing new and Indians often use this label to bring down someone whose point of view they don’t agree with.

    Meanwhile, Alia Bhatt’s upcoming film Sadak 2 has been mired in controversy ever since the trailer dropped. The trailer has become the ‘most disliked’ trailer on YouTube and the makers of the film have been accused of stealing a song from Pakistani artist Shezan Saleem a.k.a JO-G.

  • PM praises Islamabad top cop as capital ‘safer city than London, Paris’

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has lauded Islamabad Inspector General (IG) Muhammad Amir Zulfiqar Khan over the ongoing operation against land grabbers and a significant reduction in crime rate in the federal capital, which was also highlighted by a report of the World Crime Index issued by the international organisation, Numbeo, earlier this year.

    According to a statement from Islamabad police, the crime index decreased to 28.63 per cent in 2020 from 32.88 per cent last year. Islamabad was 232nd on the list earlier while it stands at 301 in the recent ranking of most vulnerable cities to crime in the world.

    Its ranking is far better compared to Sydney, Berlin, Moscow, London, Paris and Shanghai, said the report issued after a survey of 374 cities of the world in January.

    While the top cop had back then said that crime rate decreased in the capital as a result of an effective strategy, he has now briefed the premier on the same, after which he has been tasked to continue full-scale operation against the land mafia involved in land grabbing.

    According to Information Minister Shibli Faraz, the police have retrieved 1,537 acre land from grabbers over Rs450 billion in Islamabad.

    In addition to this, the capital has also witnessed a decline in crime up to 15 per cent.

  • 184 recipients of civil awards announced; Edhi, Faraz, Ali Zafar, veteran actors, foreign delegates among others on list

    184 recipients of civil awards announced; Edhi, Faraz, Ali Zafar, veteran actors, foreign delegates among others on list

    A list of 184 civil awards recipients has been issued by the government on the occasion of Pakistan’s 73rd Independence Day, all of whom, including actors, poets, soldiers, television anchors, singers and foreign dignitaries, will be presented their respective honours by President Dr Arif Alvi in a ceremony on Pakistan Day next year.

    Philanthropist and Edhi Foundation head Faisal Edhi will be awarded the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz. The Nishan-i-Imtiaz will be awarded to ace painter Sadequain Naqvi. Other recipients of the award include singer Abida Perveen and late poet Ahmed Faraz.

    Actors Bushra Ansari and Talat Hussain have been named for the Sitara-i-Imtiaz award. They have entertained audiences both inside and outside Pakistan for more than two decades. Anchor Naeem Bukhari is also one of the recipients of the award.

    President Alvi will also present the Pride of Performance award actors to Humayun Saeed, singer Ali Zafar and religious scholar Maulana Tariq Jameel. Sakina Samo will also get the same award for her acting skills.

    Last year, Mehwish Hayat, Sajjad Ali, Attaullah Khan Esakhelvi, Babra Sharif, comedian Iftikhar Thakur and journalist Arshad Sharif were among others who received the awards.

    Pakistan Civil Awards were established on March 19, 1957, following the proclamation of Pakistan as an independent republic on March 23, 1956. The announcement of civil awards is generally made once a year on Independence Day, and their investiture takes place on the following Pakistan Day, March 23.

    According to Article 259(2) of the Constitution of Pakistan 1973, along with the Decorations Act 1975, the president confers civil awards on Pakistani citizens in recognition of gallantry.

    Awards for pride of performance are conferred for outstanding achievements in the fields of art, literature, science, sports and nursing.

    In December, the ministries and their divisions are invited to recommend candidates to the Cabinet Division. Received nominations are considered by three awards committees after which the final proposal is sent to the president for approval.

    The president can confer awards to foreign nationals any time during the year. For such awards, proposals are made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and approved by the president prior to conferral.

    The awards comprise five orders, each with four descending classes: Nishan [Order], Hilal [Crescent], Sitara [Star] and Tamgha [Medal].

    VIEW THE COMPLETE LIST:

    August 14, 2020
  • Pakistani researchers win Facebook’s ‘Integrity Research Challenge’

    Pakistani researchers win Facebook’s ‘Integrity Research Challenge’

    Agha Ali Raza and Ihsan Ayyub Qazi from Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) wins Facebook’s Foundation Integrity Research that solves the problem of misinformation on Facebook.

    In February, Facebook asked academic institutions and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) from all over the world to send proposals.

    “Our goal is to support independent research that will contribute to the understanding of the phenomena and, in the long term, help us improve our policies, interventions, and tooling,” said Alex Leavitt, Senior Researcher at Facebook.

    Raza and Qazi’s research tackles the challenges by measuring the role of prior beliefs and analytical reasoning, and how this impacts the beliefs of internet users.

    Raza and Qazi also designed an educational intervention that uses influential public figures to spread awareness about misinformation on the platform.

    “We are thrilled to have our research been awarded the grant by Facebook which would serve as a stepping stone for us to take our project forward.

    Through our research, we aim to understand how non-textual misinformation (e.g. deepfakes) is perceived by internet users with low digital literacy and the role of pre-conceived notions, and analytical reasoning in shaping the beliefs of such users.

    We are hopeful that by the completion of this project, we will be able to make a substantial contribution towards combating the circulation of false and unverified information on the internet,” stated the winning duo.

    The social media giant received around 1,000 proposals out of which 25 awardees have been finalised for Facebook’s research and policy teams.

    The winners’ will be investigating issues across 42 countries including Canada, Denmark, Pakistan, Turkey, and the UK.

  • Karachi to get its second street library today

    Karachi to get its second street library today

    The second street library of Karachi will be inaugurated on Independence Day (today) at Baloch Chowk in Lyari.

    As per reports, the first street library with over 600 books was inaugurated on December 25, last year on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

    The street library in Lyari has been set up at Baloch Chowk in alliance with the District Municipal Corporation (DMC) South.

    Karachi Commissioner Iftikhar Shallwani is going to inaugurated the street library today.

    The city administration had started its work to establish the second street library from July 05 this year.

    The first street library of Karachi is located at the Commissioner’s Corner at Metropole. The library was inaugurated by Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah.

    Not only Karachi, Hyderabad is also going to get its first street library on the Independence Day of Pakistan which is being celebrated across the country today.

    The Hyderabad administration has developed a street library at the city’s iconic “Thandi Sadak”.

  • APS attack survivor Ahmad Nawaz is heading to Oxford University

    APS Peshawar attack survivor Ahmad Nawaz has announced that he has secured a place to study at the University of Oxford. Nawaz shared the happy news on social media with a picture of himself wearing an Oxford University jumper.

    He later shared that he will be studying Philosophy and Theology.

    Congratulatory messages poured in for Nawaz from across the world.

    The University of Oxford’s official account also congratulated the high achiever, calling him a “true inspiration”.

    Nawaz was only 14 when the Taliban attacked his school in Peshawar in 2014. He managed to save himself by pretending to be lying dead but he witnessed the horror of the massacre and his teacher get set on fire by terrorist militants. He suffered multiple injuries on his arm and was given special treatment at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Though Ahmad survived, he lost his brother in the deadly attack.

    Meanwhile, late last year, Nawaz had received the 2019 Legacy Award for the Diana Award and had attended a tea hosted by Prince William at Kensington Palace. He had become the first Pakistani to receive the Princess Diana Award for his anti-radicalization campaign.

  • ‘Sadak 2’ makers accused of stealing Pakistani singer’s song

    ‘Sadak 2’ makers accused of stealing Pakistani singer’s song

    Things do not appear to be going well for Sadak 2. After becoming the most disliked trailer on YouTube with more than 8 million dislikes, the makers of the film have come under fire for stealing a Pakistani song and not giving the artist his due credit.

    The matter came to light when Pakistani artist Shezan Saleem a.k.a JO-G, who is also the son of veteran musician and singer Saleem Javaid, uploaded a video in which he compares a song of the film Ishq Kamaal with a composition of his Rabba Ho released in 2011.

    “A trailer for a Bollywood movie called Sadak 2 has just been released, and there is a song in it called Ishq Kamaal,” says Saleem in the video. “After listening to it, I realised that it sounds like a composition I had produced for a friend around 11 years ago. The friend’s name is Zaid Khan. I think they’ve copied it because not only the melody but the music is also very similar.”

    Saleem then played both the songs and asked his followers to share their opinion on the matter. He later added that he will not stay quiet on the matter.

    Social media users hit out at the makers of the film, and the Bhatts in particular, for stealing the song.

    However, Saleem defended Mahesh and called him a “fine man”. He lamented that the music producers should be asked about this plagiarism.

    According to a report in the Hindustan Times, Pooja Bhatt, who is one of the leads in the film, had previously said that Sadak 2 will introduce fresh music talent.

    She had credited the song to a ‘music teacher from Chandigarh’, who had come to their office with “no prior appointment, a dream, a harmonium and a brilliant song called Ishq Kamaal.

    Meanwhile, the composer of the song Suniljeet has denied the accusations and said that the song is his original composition.

    “Ishq Kamaal is my original composition and doesn’t share a resemblance to any other song,” said Suniljeet. “Everybody involved in making this song including singer Javed Ali has added his magic to the music. This is my debut as a music director and all I hope for is that people like the song when it comes out. Shalu Vaish and I have worked with all our heart to live up to the expectation of Sadak 2 music.”

    However, Saleem did not buy his arguments.

    Sadak 2 is a sequel of Mahesh Bhatt’s 1991 film Sadak and marks his return to direction after almost two decades. It was scheduled to release in theatres this summer, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it will release digitally on Disney+ Hotstar on August 28.

  • Army chief to visit Saudi Arabia days after govt’s oops-a-daisy moment

    Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa will visit Saudi Arabia on Sunday to discuss regional security issues and Kashmir dispute with the Saudi leadership, as diplomatic strains occur between Islamabad and Riyadh over the Kashmir issue.

    Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General (DG) Major General Babar Iftikhar confirmed the visit while talking to a foreign news agency on Thursday.

    “Yes, he [Gen Bajwa] is travelling,” the Pakistan Army spokesperson told the foreign media outlet. He added that the visit is pre-planned and “primarily military affairs oriented”.

    During the visit, General Bajwa will have meetings with top Saudi leadership.

    The two countries are traditionally close and Saudi Arabia in 2018 gave Pakistan a $3 billion loan and $3.2 billion oil credit facility to help its balance of payments crisis. But Riyadh is irked by criticism from Islamabad that Saudi Arabia has been lukewarm on the Kashmir territorial dispute, motivating COAS Bajwa’s fence-building visit on Sunday.

    Pakistan has long pressed the Saudi-led Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) to convene a high-level meeting to highlight alleged Indian violations in the part it controls. But the OIC has only held low-level meetings so far.

    “If you cannot convene it, then I will be compelled to ask Prime Minister Imran Khan to call a meeting of the Islamic countries that are ready to stand with us on the issue of Kashmir and support the oppressed Kashmiris,” Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told local media last week. Qureshi’s remarks angered Riyadh.

    Last year, Islamabad had pulled out of a Muslim nations’ forum in Malaysia at the last minute on insistence by Riyadh, which saw the gathering as an attempt to challenge its leadership of the OIC.

    Saudia Arabia had already made Pakistan pay back $1 billion two weeks ago, forcing it to borrow from another close ally, China, and Riyadh is yet to respond to Pakistan’s request to extend the oil credit facility.

  • KYA BOLA? (Aug 13): ‘NAB Usman Buzdar se mutmayin nahi’, ‘Aug 14 was celebrated as Kashmir Day’

    KYA BOLA? (Aug 13): ‘NAB Usman Buzdar se mutmayin nahi’, ‘Aug 14 was celebrated as Kashmir Day’

    Following are some snippets that stood out from Urdu newspapers on August 13, 2020, which The Current takes no responsibility for.

    ‘NAB Usman Buzdar se mutmayin nahi’

    It is reported by daily Jang (13 august 2020) NAB was not satisfied with CM Punjab Usman Buzdar. Har sawal kay jawb mei  pta nhi ,yad nhi ,bhool gya khty rahy….

    ‘Quaide Azam knew that August 14 was celebrated as Kashmir Day’

    It is reported by daily Jang (13 august 2020) Famous Journalist Hamid Mir wrote in his column” according to British government documents Pakistan like India came into being on august 15 while quid-e –Azam knew that from 1931 to 1947 august 14 was celebrated as Kashmir day. Therefore quaid-e-Azam approved the celebrations of Independence Day on august 14 instead of august 15. “

    ‘Hukmarano ko apni muddat puri naa honay ka yaqeen hai’

    It is reported by daily Jang (13 august 2020) Ameer Jamat-e-Islami siraj-ul-Haq said “ Lagta hai hukmarano ko apni mudat puri na hony ka yakeen hai isi liye wo ujlat aur afra tafri mei qadam utha raahy hain”

    ‘Usman Buzdar ki protocol ke baghair peshi siyasi mukhalifeen k liye sabaq hai’

    It is reported by daily Express (13 august 2020) Information Minister Punjab Fayyaz-ul-Hassan chohan has termed the appearance of chief minister Punjab Usman Buzdar without protocol as a high example of observance of constitution.  Usman  Buzdar ki peshi mein shrapasnd, badayanat aur takhreebkar siyasi mukhalifeen k liye ummda sabaq hai”  

  • Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt’s ‘Sadak 2’ becomes the most disliked trailer on YouTube

    Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt’s ‘Sadak 2’ becomes the most disliked trailer on YouTube

    Alia Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt, Aditya Roy Kapur and Pooja Bhatt’s upcoming film Sadak 2‘s trailer dropped yesterday and the film is already trending for the wrong reasons. While the trailer is trending at number 3 on YouTube Pakistan it has garnered more than 6 million dislikes becoming the most disliked trailer on YouTube. The film is being ‘disliked’ for being a “product of ‘nepotism”.

    Read more – Sushant Singh Rajput’s fans call for boycott of Alia Bhatt’s ‘Sadak 2’

    According to a report in the Hindustan Times, a campaign to make it the most disliked trailer on YouTube was initiated in the days leading up to its unveiling, by fans of Sushant Singh Rajput, who died by suicide on June 14. Sushant’s fans have been propagating the conspiracy theory that the actor was shunned by the film industry and the ‘insiders’, which drove him to suicide. At the time of Sushant’s death, fans and social media users had attacked Karan Johar and Alia for having previously spoken dismissively about Rajput on the show Koffee With Karan.

    The film is a sequel of Mahesh Bhatt’s 1991 film Sadak and marks his return to direction after almost two decades. It was scheduled to release in theatres this summer, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it will release digitally on Disney+ Hotstar on 28 August.

    Meanwhile, Pooja Bhatt responded to the hate by thanking the haters for making them trend.

    Netflix’s latest release Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, starring Janhvi Kapoor has also been trolled for similar reasons, with its IMDb rating being attacked.

    Watch the trailer for Sadak 2 below: