Blog

  • Uzma Khan wants men to be held accountable for their actions

    Uzma Khan wants men to be held accountable for their actions

    While the accused have filed for pre-arrest bails, Uzma Khan has issued a statement condemning “all sort of character assassination and personal attacks on myself and anyone involved in this case, even those nominated in the FIR”.

    Read more – Uzma Khan case: All the latest updates

    Uzma said that her fight is legal and the “blatant maligning and mud slinging is only reflective of our society’s deep-rooted misogyny and patriarchy”.

    “It is also an attempt to make me withdraw from the case,” she said, adding that she will continue to fight for justice.

    The actor further said that she is “totally shattered. Probably beyond repair”, but begged her followers to “not make this a fight of women attacking other women”.

    “It is in fact a symbolic reflection of how women are categorically taught to malign and blame solely other women rather than also hold men accountable.”

    “This is a fight of mighty powerful against the weak and vulnerable,” she said, requesting everyone to her support her till she lasts.

    https://twitter.com/uzmaaaK/status/1267178353129332736?s=20

    Read more – Power and privilege trumps all?

    Earlier, Uzma’s lawyers Khadija Siddiqui and Hassaan Khan Niazi had also urged everyone to refrain from character assassination.

    Niazi also shared that the accused have applied for a pre-arrest bail and clarified that there has been no settlement between the two parties.

    THE INCIDENT

    On May 23 (Chaand Raat) Malik Riaz’s daughters – Amber and Pashmina – along with Usman’s wife Aamna stormed into Uzma’s house with 12 gunmen where they assaulted and injured Uzma and her sister and threatened to kill them.

    They vandalised the house, broke things and even attempted to sexually assault the girls by telling their armed guards to touch them. Moreso, they filmed everything including the women which is a breach of their privacy. The lawyer added that Riaz’s daughters took away all the belongings of the two sisters, including their clothes and shoes and said that they will set them on fire.

    Videos of the incident went viral on social media, sparking public outrage. Uzma, in her official statement, named her perpetrators and vowed that she will stand up against their tyranny.

    “I have been shamed, blackmailed, harassed, been threatened to kill in the past three days. I feel I have nothing to lose now and I have decided to fight the strongest people of Pakistan. For me, it is either I get justice or I will be killed but there is no turning back now.”

    “I will fight against daughters (Amber Malik & Pashmina Malik) of Malik Riaz, who stormed into my house around midnight with 12 men,” she added.

    https://twitter.com/uzmaaaK/status/1265607087431782402?s=20
  • Netflix censors images of meat for Indian audiences

    Netflix censors images of meat for Indian audiences

    Netflix has started censoring meat for its Indian audiences. Netflix users took to social media to highlight how meat is being censored in Vikings on Netflix India.

    People started debating on the issue on Twitter. Some people even turned this into a Hindu-Muslim debate.

    Netflix India did issue a formal explanation when the debate heated up. Netflix is just trying to be respectful towards the Hindu religious sentiments of not eating meat.

    However, it is unclear that this censorship was voluntary or demanded by the Indian government. This wouldn’t be the first time India went heavy-handed with censorships demands.

    Previously there have been demands for the streaming platform’s original series Sacred Games and Leila to be censored for hurting political sentiments.

  • Law minister resigns again; this time to represent govt in Faez Isa case

    Law minister resigns again; this time to represent govt in Faez Isa case

    Federal Minister for Law and Justice Dr Farogh Naseem resigned on Monday to represent the government in the Supreme Court (SC) in the presidential reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

    This is the second time that Naseem, a Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) stalwart, has resigned from his post. Previously, he had resigned in November last year to represent Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa before the apex court in the case pertaining to the extension in his tenure as the army chief.

    Confirming the news of his resignation, Naseem said, “I will ensure that the respect and dignity of judges is maintained. I have no personal agenda. I have the greatest respect for the Bar.”

    READ: ‘Farrogh Naseem can go to jail for representing Gen Bajwa with a suspended licence,’ PBC says

    Last year in September, Justice Isa filed a fresh application requesting the SC to form a full-court bench comprising all eligible judges to hear his petition against the presidential reference filed over non-disclosure of assets in his wealth statement.

    Justice Isa had requested that the case be heard by a full court bench comprising all eligible judges of this court since the matter pertained to reference against an SC judge and as per precedent of this court in the case of ex-chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Chaudhry versus president of Pakistan, PLD 2010 Supreme Court.

    Justice Isa had said matters narrated in accompanying civil miscellaneous application dated August 26 – “which may for the sake of brevity be read as a part hereof” – demonstrates the necessity for hearing by such full court bench.

    “The petition also raises a number of important constitutional questions, including that of the independence of the judiciary, formation of an independent opinion by the president, obtaining federal cabinet’s approval and other vital issues of surveillance, and the manner and method of collecting evidence against a judge of the Supreme Court and his family,” he had said in his application.

    READ: New top lawyer excuses himself from fighting Justice Faez Isa case for PTI govt

    On Friday, Justice Isa questioned the eligibility of Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Accountability Shahzad Akbar’s appointment as the head of the Asset Recovery Unit (ARU) and for public office.

    A 10-member judge bench, led by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, will resume hearing the case on June 2, which was earlier scheduled to be taken up on March 30. The apex court had postponed the hearing due to the coronavirus pandemic.

    On the last hearing on February 24, the federal government had sought a three weeks’ adjournment in the case.

  • RFAK, Adnan Siddiqui express grief over the death of Bollywood composer Wajid Khan

    RFAK, Adnan Siddiqui express grief over the death of Bollywood composer Wajid Khan

    Bollywood music composer Wajid Khan of Sajid-Wajid fame has reportedly died from complications due to COVID-19 early Monday morning in India. He was only 42 years old.

    Music composer Salim Merchant, who first confirmed the news of Wajid’s death, said the composer was hospitalised recently at Surana Hospital, Chembur where his condition deteriorated.

    “He had multiple issues. He had a kidney issue and had a transplant a while ago. But recently he got to know about kidney infection… He was on the ventilator for the last four days, after his situation started getting worse. Kidney infection was the beginning and then he got critical,” Salim said.

    Following the news of his death, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Adnan Siddiqui, who have worked with the composer on several projects, expressed their grief at the loss of their “brother”.

    In an emotional video message, Khan said that Wajid Bhai “left too soon” and prayed for the deceased.

    Meanwhil, Siddiqui said that this was the “deepest loss of 2020” for him personally.

    “Gone too soon, am shattered beyond repair,” said the actor, recalling that his fondest memories of Mumbai were with Wajid and his brother Sajid.

    Siddiqui also shared that his “weekends are not complete without chatting with both the brothers and they will be incomplete without you Wajid”.

    “I will forever remember you as ever smiling, singing songs on the phone bhai…why did you go away so soon,” wrote Siddiqui.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CA3konhnJFm/

    Read more – Adnan Siddiqui recalls the last time he met Irrfan Khan

    Wajid along with brother Sajid made their debut as music directors with Salman Khan’s Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya. Over the years, they had composed the music for several of Khan’s films including Hello Brother, Garv, Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, Partner, God Tussi Great Ho, Wanted, Main Aurr Mrs Khanna, Veer and Dabangg (1, 2 and 3). Rahat had collaborated with Wajid on several songs for Salman’s films including the super hit Tere Mast Mast Do Nain.

    Bollywood also took to social media to express their shock and grief at the composer’s untimely death.

    https://twitter.com/karanjohar/status/1267290668034072577?s=20

  • ‘Diriliş: Ertuğrul’: The debate rages on

    ‘Diriliş: Ertuğrul’: The debate rages on

    Just when we thought that the matter of Diriliş: Ertuğrul being aired on national television was settled, it sparks up again. And this time, it is not just the actors who are debating, it is members of the government including Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry and Senator Faisal Javed Khan.

    Read more – Yasir Hussain vs Turkish dramas: the debate heats up

    The debate started Fawad Chaudhry commented that he was “surprised” that PTV is taking pride in other countries’ productions and urged the state-owned channel to focus on Pakistani productions.

    When a follower reminded the minister that he had earlier praised the drama series, Chaudhry clarified that he does not have anything against the drama and thinks it is brilliant. Instead, his stance is that foreign dramas must be taxed so that TV channels do not import them in large numbers and negatively affect the local drama industry.

    Following Fawad’s tweet, Senator Faisal Javed Khan explained that “great productions like Ertuğrul will help our industry,” adding that such exchange of content should be bilateral. He further said that the local drama industry needs to work on its substance and content.

    Read more – PTV asked to speed up dubbing process of ‘Ertuğrul’

    Soon enough, actors including Ahmed Ali Butt and Vasay Chaudhry stepped in to share their thoughts on the debate. While Butt said that the television industry doesn’t mind foreign content and only wants the government to assist them in production, Fakhr-e-Alam agreed with Fawad’s point of view.

    Meanwhile, Vasay reminded Khan that the industry had protested against Indian content in the past, adding that the issue is not with the play itself but is instead with “PTV and the laws related to the entertainment business”. Chaudhry urged the lawmaker to resolve the issues regarding the laws which Khan agreed with.

    Diriliş: Ertuğrul is being aired on the recommendation of Prime Minister Imran Khan. Set in 13th century Anatolia and based on the struggle of Ertuğrul Gazi, father of Osman I – the founder of the Ottoman dynasty, Diriliş: Ertuğrul has been trending in the country ever since its first episode aired on the first of Ramzan. According to PTV, 133.38 million people have watched the drama series from April 25- May 14. PTV’s YouTube channel has also registered an exponential rise in its viewership with 4.75 million subscribers and episodes trending every day on the social media platform.

    In an exclusive interview with The Current, Senator Faisal Javed Khan had revealed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had gifted the drama series to Pakistan as a goodwill gesture.

  • Shahroz Sabzwari, Sadaf Kanwal tie the knot

    Shahroz Sabzwari, Sadaf Kanwal tie the knot

    Shahroz Sabzwari and Sadaf Kanwal have announced their marriage on social media, putting all rumours and speculations to rest.

    According to details, the couple tied the knot in an intimate ceremony. While Sadaf wore a red outfit – reportedly her mother-in-law’s – with minimal makeup and jewellery, Shahroz donned a plain white shalwar kameez. Shahroz’s parents Behroze Sabzwari and Safina Behroze were also part of the celebrations.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CA2o3vQgoGF/
    https://www.instagram.com/p/CA2o0gfj17R/

    Sadaf has also changed her name from Sadaf Kanwal to Sadaf Sabzwari on social media.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CA2mDsapB-z/

    Check out more pictures from their nikkah below:

    Sadaf’s close friends Fouzia Aman and Tabesh Khoja also joined in the celebrations.

    This is Shahroz’s second marriage. The actor was previously married to Syra Yousuf, with whom he also has a daughter Noorey. Syra and Shahroz had announced their separation in February and shared that they were parting ways due to “irreconcilable differences”. They were married for seven years.

    Read more – Syra, Shahroz end their marriage

    When the news of Syra and Shahroz’s split had first come to light, it was rumoured that the couple had parted ways because of a third person, namely Sadaf.

    At that point, Shahroz had said, “Another rumour claims that they’re not together because of a girl, Sadaf. Again, who said this? Was it me, or was it Syra, or our family, or our cousins, or our friends, who said this? No one! But you all still decided to drag someone’s sister, daughter, into the matter and became the jury and judge yourself.”

    VIDEO: Shahroz Sabzwari opens up about his separation

    He had said that he met Sadaf a month before the episode and that too only for work.

    “Just because she danced with me does not mean we have something going on, and it’s so bold of you all to assume that a person I met one month ago is responsible for a separation that happened six months ago.”

    Sadaf and Shahroz are said to have met while rehearsing for their performance at the third IPPA Awards held in December last year in Oslo, Norway.

    IPPA Awards 2019

    While Shahroz and Sadaf mostly kept their relationship lowkey after Shahroz’s divorce, the two were recently spotted cycling in Karachi.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B_K1dP-J341/

    Meanwhile, Sadaf’s friends took to social media to congratulate the couple.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CA288X8j8-z/
    https://www.instagram.com/p/CA2_Mw_BhlG/
    https://www.instagram.com/p/CA3DqJTFBhj/
    Azfar Rehman
    Hira Mani
  • Power and privilege trumps all?

    Power and privilege trumps all?

    Last week, we witnessed how power and privilege can make people go blind as they think they can break the law and get away with it.

    Videos of armed guards and three women breaking and entering the house of actor Uzma Khan went viral on social media.

    The three women belong to the family of all-powerful property tycoon Malik Riaz. Two are said to be his daughters while the third is related to his wife. Pakistani media, with a couple of honourable exceptions, did not even air the news.

    We can well imagine why.

    The clout Malik holds over those running the affairs of the state is quite evident so it is inevitable that the media, which is already going through a financial crunch, will not alienate him.

    There are many angles to the story. Many in our society latched on to the ‘cheating husband’ and ‘gold digger’ narrative about Usman Malik and Uzma Khan. What they failed to acknowledge was the criminal and vile aspect of this whole incident.

    Those videos were made to humiliate Uzma Khan and this is why they were released and circulated by the very women who broke the law. How can someone enter another’s house with armed guards, breaking and vandalising everything in sight, asking one of the guards to sexually assault Uzma, threatening the girls that ‘we’ will get you picked up by the ISI, throwing alcohol or some other liquid on them (we don’t know yet what exactly was thrown on them) and threatening to burn them, taking away their clothes/bags/shoes and other valuables, beating them up, breaching their privacy and much more?

    Usman Malik’s wife, Aamna Usman, had the audacity to make another video where she is admitting to the crime but says she did it because she had no other choice. Well, she did have a choice: she had the choice of confronting her husband and if he did not want to end the relationship, leaving him should have been her obvious choice. And if she did not want to leave him, even then the family should have resolved the issue among themselves instead of bringing Uzma into disrepute. What Aamna Usman chose to do was not a choice. It was a decision taken because she knew she wields more power, has more money and more privilege than an actor/model in this society.

    We hope that justice will be served. These three women and their armed guards should not be allowed to get away scot-free. Some say an out-of-court settlement is possible. We cannot rule it out but we would still like to say kudos to Uzma Khan and her sister Huma Khan for braving this out and standing up to privileged brats. Our society hardly ever does it. More power to Uzma and Huma!

  • Private schools association demands reopening of schools from June 1

    Private schools association demands reopening of schools from June 1

    The All Pakistan Private Schools Federation (APPSF) has demanded the government to reopen educational institutes in the country from June 1.

    As per reports, APPSF office-bearers, teachers and owners of school also took out rallies in various areas of Punjab to protest against shutting down the schools for too long.

    The protestors, who raised the slogan of “Education for All”, requested the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the army chief, the prime minister and the provincial authorities to open the schools on June 1 after issuing the standard operating procedures (SOPs).

    In Lahore, the people gathered outside the Civil Secretariat to protest against Punjab Minister for School Education Murad Raas. 

    “We are unable to pay the teachers,” the All Pakistan Private Schools Federation (APPSF) President Kashif Mirza said at a press conference in Lahore. “We must be allowed to open schools from June 1.”

    He described the concept of online education as a “flopped project”.

    He further said the closure of schools till July 15 would result in the permanent closure of 50 percent of the private schools and around one million people would lose their jobs. He said even the worst-hit countries were letting educational institutions work.

    “We have formulated SOPs following international standards,” he said, suggesting the government to talk with them. He demanded that the government announce a relief package for private schools.

    Educational institutes in Pakistan have been closed since March. The measure was taken to curb the spread of coronavirus

    The number of reported coronavirus cases in Pakistan has gone to 66,457. The virus has claimed 1,395 lives in the country so far.

  • Rare striped hyena rescued in DI Khan

    Rare striped hyena rescued in DI Khan

    WARNING: This article may contain graphic images which may be distressing for some people

    The DI Khan police have rescued an endangered striped hyena, which was captured by some locals to take part in a dog fight, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa MPA Faisal Amin Khan has shared. The hyena, which has been identified as a female, has been sent to Peshawar for treatment before it can be released back into the wild.

    Khan also shared that hyena was being cared for and that Chief Conservator Wildlife KP is “personally taking care” of the injured animal.

    Read more – Cher thanks Pakistani govt for freeing lonely elephant Kaavan

    According to Deputy Commissioner DI Khan’s official Twitter account, the hyena was caught by some tribal locals and their hunting dogs.

    From the limited details available, it can be understood that the animal had been captured by the locals to take part in a dog fight.

    The matter of the captive hyena had come to light after a Twitter account dedicated to saving Pakistan’s wildlife “from the threats of hunting, loss of habitat and pesticides” raised alarm and shared videos of people capturing the hyena. Sharing the location of the incident, they had urged the authorities to take swift action and rescue the animal.

    https://twitter.com/wildpakistan/status/1266341857895878656?s=20

    Meanwhile, conservationist Javed Mahar shared some characteristics of the rare animal, called lagar bagar in the local language, and said that they are mostly found in Sindh along the Kirthar National Park.

  • PPP writes to ISI chief for action against Pakistan-based US blogger over tweet about Benazir Bhutto

    PPP writes to ISI chief for action against Pakistan-based US blogger over tweet about Benazir Bhutto

    Former ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has written to the director general (DG) of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), seeking action against Pakistan-based American blogger and columnist Cynthia D Ritchie over her “hateful comments and slander” against the late former prime minister (PM) Benazir Bhutto.

    As per the details, Ritchie made the comment on a tweet discussing the recent violent confrontation between model Uzma Khan and a woman named Amna Usman, who accused the model of having a relationship with her husband of 13 years and used this allegation to justify her violent treatment of the model.

    Ritchie’s tweet garnered a strong reaction from PPP leaders and supporters, with Sherry Rehman saying, “Attributing such filth to a champion for women’s rights, a martyred prime minister degrades the writer of this bot-handle more than anything else.”

    While Ritchie is since continuing her tirade against the PPP over the micro-blogging website, former PPP senator Sehar Kamran has written to spymaster Faiz Hameed, seeking an investigation into the “notorious activities” of Ritchie.

    In the letter, a copy of which is available with The Current, Kamran highlighted how the American columnist has “time and again instigated controversy” and is also playing a role in “deepening the civil-military divide”.

    “The imagery presented by her pictures with military leadership and senior bureaucracy, and access as a foreign tourist to generally sensitive locations ([erstwhile] FATA [Federally Administrated Tribal Areas], Kashmir, etc) is deepening the civil-military divide by unnecessarily implicating national institutions as her support base. It may be useful at this juncture to further investigate all of Ms Ritchie’s activities, which I am certain range beyond her social media commentaries, to protect our national interests,” read the letter.

    The excerpt was followed by a list of questions:

    • Why and in what capacity is Ms Ritchie a resident in Pakistan?
    • What is the nature and duration of her visa status?
    • Who is her sponsor to this end?
    • A regular expat who initially introduced herself as a ‘tourist’ and a ‘belly dancer’ has somehow become embroiled in Pakistani politics, by her own assertion at the highest levels? How?
    • What Is the purpose behind her provoking public sentiment, and furthering bitterness in an already politically polarised society?
    • Furthermore, why is her vitriol targeted towards Sindh, and has conveniently emerged at a time when the province was receiving praise and support for its efforts in the fight against COVID-19?
    • What is the official government policy on the continued presence of such suspicious characters in Pakistan?

    While the PPP leader also sought Ritchie’s deportation, here’s what the blogger hit back with:

    As neither side appears to be going easy on each other, a war of words is continuing over Twitter.

    Separately, in a letter to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), an advocate at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and Islamabad president of the PPP, Shakeel Abbasi, has also sought action against Ritchie for her “very derogatory and slanderous remarks” about Bhutto and former president Asif Ali Zardari’s marital life.