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  • Shahid Afridi wishes the Bachchans a speedy recovery

    Shahid Afridi has extended his best wishes to Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek, who have tested positive for coronavirus.

    In a tweet, Afridi wished the Bachchans a speedy recovery. The former captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team had also contracted the virus and recovered from it earlier this month.

    Amitabh and Abhishek had earlier shared that they are in the hospital after testing positive for COVID-19. According to health officials, the father and son are stable.

    Later, Abhishek announced that his wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and daughter Aaradhya had also tested positive for the virus and were isolating at home. He added that his mother Jaya Bachchan has tested negative.

    After wishes for a speedy recovery poured in for the family from across the world, Amitabh thanked everyone for their prayers and good wishes.

    “I put my hands together and say thank you for your eternal love and affection,” wrote the actor on Twitter.

    Meanwhile, authorities have been sanitising Bachchan’s upscale residence in Mumbai, spraying disinfectant inside the compound and on cars parked outside.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CCh8EnknRgr/

    India has the world’s third-highest COVID-19 caseload, registering a record increase on Sunday that took the number of infections to nearly 850,000. Partial lockdowns have been reimposed in some densely populated areas.

    India’s film industry had recently resumed shoots after a months-long hiatus following a nationwide lockdown in late March. But actors over 65, such as Amitabh Bachchan, have been banned from the sets because of their vulnerability.

  • Minorities & Pakistan

    Minorities & Pakistan

    Last month, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan approved a grant of Rs100 million for the construction of Islamabad’s first Hindu temple, which Minister for Religious Affairs Pir Noorul Haq Qadri had requested. Plan of the Sri Krishna Mandir complex was approved under the government of PML-N but the construction was delayed due to protests by religious groups and some administrative hurdles. Once again, there has been an uproar by religious groups who petitioned the Islamabad High Court (IHC) to stop its construction. The IHC disposed of three petitions filed against the construction of the temple and observed that it required the approval of the regulator, which in this case, is the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

    Religious affairs minister has said there was no need to debate on the rights of minorities as they were protected by the PTI government. “The party’s manifesto calls for removing all obstructions in the implementation of constitutional provisions regarding the rights of minorities.” Qadri insists that the construction of the Hindu temple has been stopped due to technical reasons and some issues with the CDA. Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari also asked “if we don’t protect and defend our own minorities then how will we fight the case of other Muslims across the world.”

    Islamabad has about 3,000 Hindus and due to there being no temple within the capital, they face many issues on religious festivals. We have had several prominent Hindu members of parliament, a former Hindu chief justice and military officers as well. Hindus make a large number of our minority population. We must not give in to reactionary forces.

    Pakistan’s founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in his August 11 speech made it clear that there will be no discrimination in Pakistan on the basis of religion. “You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed – that has nothing to do with the business of the state,” he said and all of us know, but still we fall short of respecting those who are equal citizens of the state.

    Unfortunately, Pakistan’s track record of protecting its religious minorities is not too good. Forced conversions of Hindu girls has become a norm in the country, mobs have burned down minorities’ places of worship in the past, religious minorities face discrimination quite regularly – incidents of such discrimination were recently shared by some cricketers as well.

    It is unfortunate that Muslim majority countries sometimes do exactly what is happening to Muslim minorities in other countries. The recent example of changing the status of Hagia Sophia in Turkey is an example – whether it is a politically calculated move or not, the religious connotations are quite obvious. We hope that the PTI government will go ahead with the construction of the temple in Islamabad. The premier has been quite committed to protecting the rights of religious minorities. We are hopeful that he will not disappoint the minorities, who are equal citizens of Pakistan.

  • Ushna Shah will not apologise for expressing herself

    Ushna Shah will not apologise for expressing herself

    Ushna Shah has often found herself in the middle of some controversy or another.

    In a recent interview with Iffat Omar, the actor opened up about speaking her mind and being at the receiving end of trolls and hate. Later, she expressed her thoughts on the same topic on social media and said: “I have forsaken the dignity a celebrity must maintain and clarified/responded to each tweet/thought that has bothered the world so much. I’ve answered all the burning questions that have propelled hundreds of headlines. From your pizzas to your singers. I will speak on these no further. I have answered all “controversies” for them now and for the future.”

    She continued: “I refuse to become a performer off-screen. I refuse to give up my right to express myself as a human and not a manufactured machine. I am dheet (stubborn) because I will continue to tweet/say what I believe is my right (as long as it is not discriminatory or hate speech, something I have never stood for).”

     “I do not want to pose a facade of perfection because I am far from it, and very happily so,” added Ushna.

    “I don’t know how to be anyone else off-camera, that is another career on its own. That is a talent I do not possess,” she said. “It breaks my heart that I have already had to hide so many aspects of who I am just to fit in.. an example being my Canadian accent (I’ve changed it so often over the years that now it feels like another language which I speak when I’m outside the Pakistani industry or circles). I used to dance in school, I’ve been afraid to do so here, why? I am an artist, it is my art. I’ve always feared that my liberal, as well as foreign upbringing, would paint me as a bad person or my family as bad people, they’ve feared that also.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CCeAncGB4Pn/

    In a successive post, the actor said that she is “bowing out of this circus”.

    “What I want; what’s most important to me, is to create art. So for the countless hits, the spicy gossip, and the drawing-room discussions my name has entertained you with off-camera… you’re welcome. I have paid my dues, I’m bowing out of this circus,” wrote Ushna. “Now please, let me get back to work.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CCflFhiBYMc/

    While Ushna has received praise for her performances in dramas such as Balaa and Bewafa, her unfiltered thoughts on various topics have made headlines more than her work.

  • Sadaf Kanwal says she always wanted an intimate wedding

    Sadaf Kanwal says she always wanted an intimate wedding

    Sadaf Kanwal and Shahroz Sabzwari’s wedding was the talk of the town when it happened back in May. While the couple did not share many details from the wedding, Sadaf in a recent interview said that she was very happy with the way everything turned out, adding that she always wanted an intimate and simple wedding.

    “What’s the point of feeding so many people only to have them complain later,” laughed the model, when asked how she felt about her wedding given that it happened during a pandemic, without the regular festivities.

    Adding to her comments, Sabzwari said: “We tied the knot in a minimal setting, as have other several renowned personalities across the world, with a presence of 70 to 80 people only. It had nothing to do with the lockdown.”

    Shahroz also revealed that the food at their wedding was lavish because his mother is very particular about food and rakh rakhao.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CA2o3vQgoGF/

    When asked how they dealt with the hate that came their way, the couple said that the trolling never really bothered them.

    “Our elders shared some very wise words with us,” said Shahroz. “Woh qafla kabhi apni manzil nahi pohancha, jis nay ruk ruk kay har bhonkay kuttay ko pathar maara ho (A procession which stops and throws stones at every barking dog, never makes it to its destination).”

    Read more – Shahroz Sabzwari lashes out, challenges those pointing fingers to prove his infidelity

    “We laugh at all the hatred; it had no impact on us,” said Sadaf. “Do you think, now that you are looking at me, that I have been affected? I have a loving husband so these things do not affect me. I really don’t care about the backlash that we received on our wedding since such incidents have also happened in the past. And with a lot of people.”

    Sadaf added: “Maybe they should send more hate my way so that all my sins are washed away.”

    In the same interview, Sadaf said that she will not be doing any more item songs in the future because she now has a big family to consider.

    “I have a big family and thus I want to be vigilant,” said the model.

    Meanwhile, the couple is excited about their first project together – a telefilm titled Na Ghar Ka Na Ghaat Ka scheduled to air on Eid ul Azha.

  • Quran complex to be set up in Islamabad

    Quran complex to be set up in Islamabad

    Minister for Religious Affairs, Pir Noor-ul-Haq Qadri has announced that the government is planning to build a Qur’an complex in Islamabad to preserve historical manuscripts of the Muslim scripture.

    According to Radio Pakistan, Qadri revealed the government’s plans while talking to the media during his visit to an exhibition of historical manuscripts of Holy Quran in the Federal capital.

    The minister also shared that the government is encouraging such activities and is working towards publishing a translation of the Holy Quran acceptable to all school of thoughts.

    Read more – Space museum to be set up in Islamabad

    He added that the publishing of Holy Quran on papers used in printing newspapers has been banned.

  • ‘Tamatar lay aao’: Shoe garland for Zartaj Gul upon return to constituency after over a year

    Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul on Saturday was received by agitated constituents who reportedly forced her to leave before she could continue with her agenda of addressing them, while a shoe garland was also placed on an inauguration plaque bearing her name.

    According to media reports, the minister, who was visiting the constituency after over a year, was not allowed by the agitated constituents in Fort Monroe to sit with them or deliver her address.

    “‘Tamatar lay aao [bring the tomatoes]’ they shouted after which the police escorted her [Gul] away,” a reporter affiliated with GNN said, adding that the constituents also raised slogans against the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

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    Sharing details of the shoe garland, he said it was placed on an inauguration plaque bearing the minister’s name in the Choti Bāla town of Dera Ghazi Khan.

    “This is not the first time a representative of the people has been treated like this by the locals for returning to the constituency after a long time,” the reporter maintained, adding that earlier a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker from Dera Ghazi Khan, Jamal Leghari, also had to face embarrassment upon his return.

    Gul has been a member of the National Assembly since August 2018 and is the first woman to be elected to the parliament from the mainly conservative Dera Ghazi Khan area of Punjab.

  • Bushra Ansari apologises for lashing out at fan

    Bushra Ansari apologises for lashing out at fan

    Late last week, Bushra Ansari had come under fire for lashing out and wishing death upon a fan who criticised her on-going drama Zebaish.

    Though Ansari later deleted her comments, she continued to receive criticism. Following the backlash, Bushra released an official statement in which she apologised to the person in question and other fans for her comments and outrage.

    “Artists, writers, directors and producers are creative people who put a lot of heart and soul into their work. In a way, their project becomes like a child for them that they create with love for their audience,” wrote Bushra. “They work night and day, in heat and in sickness to make these productions for the screen. I am sure you can understand if someone ridicules your work, it can hurt your feelings. I believe that everyone has a right to like or dislike our work, but language is important.”

    She continued, “I realise that last week, I overreacted and wrote harsh words on Instagram. In a moment, I realised my mistake and deleted it, but in the time of social media, it became a tamasha and sadly spread like fire.”

    “The fact is my words were too harsh and I did not handle my anger well,” said the actor.

    Concluding her statement, Bushra said: “In my performances and words, I have always tried to uphold our values. And in the same manner, I want to show my fans and younger generation that I am accepting my mistake. We have to be good role models for our youth so our society and values continue to improve.”

    Bushra had lashed out at Lubna Faryad, who has gained acclaim as the Amma who reviews dramas on the digital media platform Galaxy Lollywood. In a review Amma had criticised Zebaish following which Bushra lashed out at Amma, referring to her as “cheap low-class person”.

    Bushra had used very harsh words against Amma, remarking “They are the coronas in our lives. Allah will finish them InshaAllah.”

  • KP chief minister’s adviser removed over corruption allegations as PM orders investigation

    KP chief minister’s adviser removed over corruption allegations as PM orders investigation

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Ajmal Wazir was on Saturday removed from the post of adviser to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) chief minister (CM) on information over corruption allegations that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has ordered a probe into.

    Wazir was replaced by PTI lawmaker in the KP Assembly Kamran Bangash, who said that evidence of corruption was found against his predecessor following which the premier has ordered a high-level inquiry against the former spokesperson.

    “The CM has written a letter to the chief secretary for the inquiry and until then Wazir has been removed from the post,” Bangash, who was given the additional charge of the portfolio of Information and public relations in addition to his office of special assistant to the CM on local government, elections and rural development, told a private media outlet.

    Bangash said that an audio recording of Wazir and the owner of an advertising agency regarding commission from a deal had surfaced and was presented to PM Imran after which the orders were issued.

    A forensic report of the audio recording will also be prepared by the probing team.

    Earlier it was reported that Wazir was resigning from his post due to personal reasons. “I am unable to dispense my duties as the information adviser, therefor I am resigning from my post,” Wazir had said, adding that he had already sent his resignation to CM Mahmood Khan.

    Wazir, who belongs to Shakai valley in South Waziristan, was appointed as the adviser to the CM for information earlier this year.  He had joined the PTI just before the July 2018 general election and was earlier a member of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML).

  • UK to Pakistan fares increase by threefold after PIA ban

    UK to Pakistan fares increase by threefold after PIA ban

    Ticket prices for flights to Pakistan from the United Kingdom have increased three times after Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was banned from entering three destinations in the UK. PIA is also facing a six months ban from the European Union and a suspension on all types of flights from the United States.

    The cost of a return flight from London, Manchester, and Birmingham to Lahore, Islamabad, and Karachi was previously £500-650 (Rs 105053-136568), but after PIA was barred from operating by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, ticket prices have tripled and are now £1,500-2,700 (Rs 315,158-567,284), according to a report in Geo News.

     According to Skyscanner, a major travel website, the cheapest return ticket from London to Lahore is being offered by Turkish Airlines which costs a whopping £1,445 (almost Rs300,000). British Airways, which just started operating in Pakistan, is offering the same flight for over £2,000 that would cost the passenger over Rs400,000.

    The return tickets from the UK to Pakistan offered by Qatar Airways and Emirates cost over £2,500 (Rs 525,262) which is a record price for a return ticket. Another flight by Qatar Airways and British Airways costs £2,796 (587,453).

    This price hike came after Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan claimed that around one-third of Pakistani pilots had allegedly fake licenses. The news created panic across the world, leading to a ban on PIA by certain states and countries.

  • Honda City in Pakistan vs in India; hardly any price difference but the comparison will blow your mind

    Honda Cars India has revealed all upgraded specs of 6th-generation City in India which will come in both petrol and diesel engine, has more technological features, is larger as compared to its predecessors and is due to hit the roads next month.

    Amid a sense of buzz that has returned to the rather sedate sedan segment in India, car enthusiasts in Pakistan are also keeping an earnest eye out as the 6th-generation offers a slew of upgrades — both in terms of style and drive capabilities, Hindustan Times reported.

    Honda City is quite a popular model in Pakistan but the car has not received much in terms of facelifts and upgrades over the last few years. In a recent comparison between the upcoming City in India and the existing model doing the miles in Pakistan, PakWheels pointed out the glaring differences while also highlighting that the price difference is next to negligible.

    According to the automotive blog, the existing City in the country lacks some of the most basic features that are now almost standard in cars sitting in a much lower segment in the Indian market, as well as in the previous generation City there. The absence of airbags, cruise control, LED headlights, LED taillights, remote entry, rear AC vents, one-touch sunroof are some of the key features that the model in Pakistan skips altogether. Quite obviously then, the City in Pakistan also does not have new features that the sixth-generation model incorporates like Lane Watch camera, Alexa compatibility and Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TMPS) display.

    While Honda Cars India will officially launch the new City on July 15, Honda Atlas Cars is not expected to launch it in Pakistan anytime before 2021. And even when launched, the car could be priced a lot more than its Indian counterpart because of factors such as vastly different demand scales, production scales and tax structuring etc.