Blog

  • Harry, Meghan urge Commonwealth to ‘acknowledge’ uncomfortable colonial past

    Harry, Meghan urge Commonwealth to ‘acknowledge’ uncomfortable colonial past

    Prince Harry has urged the Commonwealth, which his grandmother heads, to acknowledge its uncomfortable colonial past, in video extracts published on Monday.

    The 35-year-old royal and his wife, Meghan, joined a video conference call with leaders organised by the Queen’s Commonwealth Trust (QCT) from their base in the United States.

    The sessions were set up in response to the growing Black Lives Matter movement, sparked by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, during a US police arrest.

    Harry last week outlined his personal commitment to tackling institutional racism, saying it had “no place” in society but was still too widespread.

    On the July 1 call, posted on the QCT website, he said: “When you look across the Commonwealth, there is no way that we can move forward unless we acknowledge the past. So many people have done such an incredible job of acknowledging the past and trying to right those wrongs but I think we all acknowledge there is so much more still to do.”

    “It’s not going to be easy and in some cases it’s not going to be comfortable, but it needs to be done, because, guess what, everybody benefits.”

    Meanwhile, Markle said: “We’re going to have to be a little uncomfortable right now because it’s only in pushing through that discomfort that we get to the other side of this and find the place where a high tide raises all ships.

    “Equality does not put anyone on the back foot, it puts us all on the same footing, which is a fundamental human right,” she added.

    Read more – PM Imran shares his thoughts on Megxit

    Queen Elizabeth II is the head of the Commonwealth, a non-political organisation of 54 countries, most of which have links to the British Empire. Pakistan is also part of the Commonwealth. It comprises of 2.4 billion people — a quarter of the world’s population — of which 60 percent are aged under 30.

    The QCT was set up to give younger people from member nations a platform to share ideas and insights. The couple is president and vice-president respectively of the QCT.

    The chief executive of the QCT, Nicola Brentnall, has said the body is studying how the Commonwealth’s colonial past and its legacy should shape its future.

    Harry and Meghan stepped down from frontline royal duties this year and have set up a non-profit organisation focusing on the promoting of mental health, education and well-being.

  • Fawad Chaudhry has a savage response to an Indian troll

    Fawad Chaudhry has a savage response to an Indian troll

    When an Indian Twitter user tried to troll Prime Minister Imran Khan and Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry, the minister had a savage response for her.

    Replying to Chaudhry’s video in which he was announcing that PM Imran Khan has handed over the first batch of ventilators to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), a Twitter user Mishupreet Kaur said: “Imran ne to bola ghabrana nhi hai ye ghabrah kyu raha hai (Imran said not to worry, then why is he getting nervous).”

    Responding to the tweet, Chaudhry said PM Imran Khan said that to the people of Pakistan and not to the Indians.

    “You have to worry,” he added. “Rest assured[d], under Modi India will be Endia.” 

    Meanwhile, PM Imran on Monday inaugurated inaugurated the facility of country’s first-ever indigenously made ventilators and handed over the first batch of ‘SafeVent SP100’ portable ventilators to NDMA.

     According to APP, the facility in the northern town of Haripur has a production capacity of up to 300 ventilators a month. 

     “It’s a landmark achievement for Pakistan,” PM said, congratulating the team behind the project, the engineers and scientists at National Radio & Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC) and the Ministry of Science & Technology. 

    He further said that the country has “abundant talent to take us to self-reliance in new technological innovation and the government will strongly support any initiative to harness the potential of our youth”.

  • Indian bride and groom cancel wedding after fight over PM Narendra Modi

    A couple in Uttar Pradesh, India reportedly cancelled their wedding because they have different views about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The bride was of the view that Modi is responsible for India’s economic collapse while the groom disagreed.

    The situation transpired when the bride-to-be and the groom met at a temple to decide how to divide the wedding expenses. The discussion led to India’s present economic condition and the bride-to-be, who is a government employee, held PM Modi responsible for India’s poor economic condition. The groom-to-be, a businessman turned out to be a Modi supporter and disagreed with her.

    The argument turned into a heated discussion after which both of them decided to part ways and called off the wedding.

  • Hina Butt says no Pakistani actress can play Maryam Nawaz

    Hina Butt says no Pakistani actress can play Maryam Nawaz

    Hina Butt’s admiration for Maryam Nawaz is no secret. The Punjab Assembly MPA earlier ruffled a few feathers after she commented that Ertuğrul reminds her of the PML-N VP and now she’s done it yet again.

    In a recent interview, when asked who would essay Maryam best if a biopic on her was made – Mehwish Hayat, Mahira Khan, Hareem Farooq or Zara Noor Abbas – Hina said none of them.

    “I don’t think any of them. Because she’s tall-heighted. She’s fair. As an actress, I really like Sanam Saeed and Iman Aly. But they have a tan complexion. So none of these. Although Mahira is a good actress, I don’t think she can play a serious role like this,” said Butt.

    Read more – Mehwish Hayat to run for PM in 2028?

    In the same interview, when she was asked to rank Prime Minister Imran Khan’s performance as a cricketer and prime minister out of ten, the lawmaker responded that as a PM she would give him zero while as a cricketer, she would give him six because he won the ICC Cricket World Cup in 1992.

  • Ex-Indian cricketer recalls when ‘shy’ Imran Khan didn’t leave his hotel room to play Holi

    Ex-Indian cricketer recalls when ‘shy’ Imran Khan didn’t leave his hotel room to play Holi

    Former India wicketkeeper Kiran More has recalled the time when Pakistani and Indian cricketers celebrated the festival of Holi together in Bangalore.

    Pakistan toured India in 1986-87 for five Tests and six ODIs, and after the first four Tests ended in a draw, More’s mind harked back to the time when the players from both teams, except then Pakistani skipper and now prime minister (PM), Imran Khan, got together ahead of the final match in Bangalore and “painted the hotel red”.

    “We were really fighting hard for that whole series, but in that Test match, I’ll never forget that Holi we played on the rest day, with the Pakistani team and Indian team,” More said on ‘The Greatest Rivalry‘ podcast.

    “[It was] at Bangalore’s Westin hotel, I still remember. The whole hotel was painted red. The swimming pool, all the rooms, every corner of the hotel was painted red. And we had a great time. Both Pakistani and Indian cricketers were trying to get Imran Khan out of his room. He was the captain, and he was a shy character. We were also trying to get into his room to put colour on him.”

    More further revealed how Javed Miandad kept the party going even after the Holi celebrations were done with. A day before the final Test, players of both teams had a ball, but despite repeated efforts, were unable to get a shy Imran out of his hotel room.

    “He didn’t come out. Javed [Miandad] was instrumental in that Holi time, the whole day, we did Holi together, we had lunch together. Had bhangra music, there were a few friends of ours who joined that party. We had a great time, and next day, we were playing a Test match again,” More added.

    “On the field, both teams wanted to win, and sledging was huge that time from both sides. Off the field, it was a great time that we had. I’ll never forget that Holi.”

  • ‘Mangoes in Lamborghini’: Pakistani store’s delivery initiative becomes a sensation in Dubai

    ‘Mangoes in Lamborghini’: Pakistani store’s delivery initiative becomes a sensation in Dubai

    Pakistani mangoes are popular worldwide and recently a Pakistani Supermarket started a ‘Mangoes in Lamborghini’ drive that went viral in Dubai as it offers a short joyride in the supercar.

    It has doubled the sales of mangoes since its launch in mid-June. Minimum order of Dh100 is required to avail the offer.

    Speaking to Khaleej Times, managing director of the Pakistan Super Market Dubai Jhanzeb Yaseen said, “There is no commercial aim behind the campaign. I want to spread the message of happiness and love and the response is overwhelming.”

    He said mango sales had increased by more than 100 percent and most of the customers are now registered for ‘Mangoes in Lamborghini’ with a minimum waiting time of one week.

    The regular van delivery service is also available but customers are keen on receiving their purchase in the supercar, he added.

    Video Credits: Gulf News

     “I was expecting a good response from Pakistani and Indian community as they love mangoes. But I’m surprised residents from Western countries are also huge fans of Pakistani mango varieties such as Langra, Sindhiri, Anwar Rattole and Chaunsa, among others,” he said.

    “The campaign has gained popularity since the Lambo mango delivery videos have gone viral on social media. Now I’m planning to extend the service to five days a week to cater to more buyers and clear the backlog,” he said.

    Pakistan is home to about 250 varieties of mangoes and is the fifth largest producer of the fruit in the world after India, China, Thailand and Indonesia.

  • Six-star PIA downgraded to one star on fake licences issue

    Six-star PIA downgraded to one star on fake licences issue

    Six-star Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been downgraded to one star by AirlineRatings.com after the recent revelation of 150 fake pilot licences.

    The European Union (EU) has banned the airline from member states — costing one star –, while AirlineRatings.com has stripped the airline of three stars for the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) besides one star for the ICAO country audit.

    The rating downgrade to the lowest safety standards could further dent PIA’s business because customers will avoid travelling through it while other countries may close their airports for Pakistan’s national carrier.

    AirlineRatings.com Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Thomas said, “Clearly there needs to be an investigation into possible bribery and falsifying related to the pilot licences. This is deeply disturbing as the IOSA audit and ICAO country audit should pick this up.”

    In a statement, IATA said, “We are following reports from Pakistan regarding fake pilot licences, which are concerning and represent a serious lapse in the licensing and safety oversight by the aviation regulator. We are trying to obtain more information on the matter.”

    Earlier, PIA sacked 150 pilots over cheating on their exams in the wake of the Karachi crash of an A320 that killed 98 people in May.

    The sacking had come in the wake of the statement by Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan that 262 out of 860 Pakistani pilots had “fake” licences through bribing other qualified pilots to take the exams.

  • 30 people land in hospital after drinking poor-quality lassi in KP

    30 people land in hospital after drinking poor-quality lassi in KP

    At least 30 people got seriously sick after drinking substandard lassi in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

    According to reports, the sick – most of who are women and children – have been admitted to Civil Hospital. The incident took place in Takht Nusrati Kujay region of Ganderi Khattak.

    Medical Supervisor of civil hospital Khyber Pakhtunkhwa told that 20 of the sick patients have been brought in to the medical facility.

    Earlier a fast-food chain in the locality of I I Chundrigarh road was sealed by Sindh Food and Health authorities in Karachi after three children who ate from the outlet died.

    Food authorities took samples of the food at the fast-food restaurant and after laboratory tests, the food’s quality will be determined.

  • Harassment at school

    Harassment at school

    Accounts of sexual harassment that were shared on social media last month by students of Lahore Grammar School’s (LGS) 1A1 branch were harrowing to say the least.

    Four male staffers were subsequently terminated while the principal, administrator and coordinator were suspended as they have been accused of covering up the scandal.

    We must say that it was very brave of the victims to recount their trauma and raise this issue on social media when all other avenues failed. More power to these girls who did not back down for demanding justice for themselves and their fellow students.

    To think that this had been going on for four years under the administration’s nose makes one wonder why senior members of the administration did not pay any heed to multiple complaints by students. Sexual harassers are of course the main culprits here and they must be punished according to the law but those who abetted them by covering up their crimes cannot shirk responsibility either. Once a student had approached the administration to report sexual harassment, it should have been investigated right away and proper measures should have been taken instead of blaming and shaming underage girls for ‘leading on’ these predators.

    Victim-blaming is not just mentally damaging and demeaning, in this case it was downright criminal. The commitment of Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas as well as Federal Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari to the LGS case is commendable. However, Raas’s suggestion that only female teachers should teach at all-girls’ schools is a stop-gap arrangement of sorts. This policy cannot be dictated and it should not be implemented either. By this token, do we think that any man who teaches girls in schools cannot control himself? What about all-boys schools where male teachers have abused? This sort of messaging is not appropriate. Male teachers must be taught to treat their students as ‘students’ and not any sexual beings. Parents send their children to school for education, believing they are sending them to a safe environment where they will be looked after by the school management just like families look after their own.

    A school is quite literally a child’s second home where he or she learns, makes friends and prepares for their future. It should never have been a place where underage girls were sexually harassed by faculty members with unwanted and inappropriate pictures, messages, etc.

    Educational institutions – from schools and colleges to universities – should have a proper and clear policy on sexual harassment. This policy should be public and awareness sessions should also take place regarding this issue. Psychologists should also be hired by educational institutions to provide free counselling to children and not just for sexual harassment but also for other issues they might be facing. Just like some schools have career counselling, there should be counsellors – like ombudspersons – to hear complaints about sexual harassment at schools. These are just the basic things that all educational institutions must comply with.

  • Space museum to be set up in Islamabad

    The Scientific Committee of the National Astronomical Observation Commission has decided to set up Pakistan’s first-ever space museum in Islamabad. Earlier, there was PIA Planetarium at Expo Centre in Karachi which used to give a virtual tour of the outer space.

    According to APP, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry chaired the meeting in which the decision was taken to set up Pakistan’s first space museum in Islamabad. The federal minister announced that the first-ever space museum will be established within eight months.

    The meeting also decided to set up five astronomical observatories in Pakistan. It was unanimously decided that astronomical observatories would be set up in Islamabad and Gwadar at the initial phase.

    In a tweet, Fawad said that provincial governments have also been asked to established space museums in provincial capitals.

    “From looking at the moon to beyond the stars, you will be able to explore the universe in future”, he said.

    The Ministry of Science and Technology has been making great strides in development. Earlier, this week they also delivered a batch of locally-manufactured ventilators to the National Disaster Management Authority to fight COVID-19.