Playwright Khalil Ur Rehman Qamar’s stepdaughter Hanish Qureshi took to Instagram asking social media users to stop harassing her siblings over their father’s personal opinions.
In an Instagram story, Hanish wrote that people had been tagging her in strange posts about the Meray Paas Tum Ho writer.
She said that he is her sibling’s father and is related to her. “The cuss words you’re using are affecting his young children who are being bullied and dragged into the mud.”
Hanish is the daughter of Qamar’s wife from a previous marriage with the actor and host Faisal Qureshi.
Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan has dared Indian chief of army staff (COAS) to attack the region, adding that the armed forces of the country were ready to avert any and all attacks against its soil.
Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, in his maiden press briefing as the top Indian military commander, had on January 11 said that the forces were ready to take appropriate action to gain control over Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
The statement had come five months after Indian Foreign Minister (FM) Subrahmanyan Jaishankar had said that he expected India to gain physical control over AJK one day.
“Don’t forget what has happened in the past. The armed forces of Pakistan are always ready to give a befetting response to India,” Khan reportedly said on Saturday.
Khan further said that if the United States (US) wanted to act as a mediator in resolving the Kashmir dispute, it would have to take action against the brutalities of Indian forces in held Kashmir first. “The troubled valley is a living hell. Youngsters are being imprisoned, people are being electrocuted and even kids are being labelled as enemies.”
He also thanked China for playing its role in highlighting the issue in the United Nations (UN).
As Meray Paas Tum Ho inches closer to the finish line, the hype surrounding it is increasing. While some love the show, others are criticising it for being misogynistic and sexist. Nonetheless, everyone agrees with the fact that the show is one of the biggest hits of recent times.
Mansha Pasha, in a tweet, congratulated the entire team of the drama for its success adding that “one may disagree with personal opinions but no one can deny the success and the talent of everyone involved”.
Congratulations to the entire team of Meray Paas Tum Ho! One may disagree with personal opinions but noone can deny the success and the talent of everyone involved from the writer to the actors! Heres hoping that more dramas reach such heights! @iamhumayunsaeed@Ayezakhan_ak
Soon after, the actor started getting trolled for supporting it. However, Pasha had strong responses to all the criticism.
Using Game of Thrones, Hannibal and You as examples, Mansha explained that a drama should be seen as entertainment and people should not take it seriously or get influenced from it.
It is a story. The industry produces a wide variety of dramas and at the end of the day it is an entertainment industry. Did you search for morality in Game of Thrones? In Hannibal? In You? A drama needs to be well written and its characters shud be interesting. End of. https://t.co/0dckkjyEWd
While GOT may have been fantastical, YOU, sacred games & numerous other shows are made to look realistic. But it is still fiction and a story. Take it as such. Its purpose is entertainment. Any morality one derives is on the discretion of the makers. Its not a requirement. https://t.co/KphmOkK7oB
In that case noone should ever watch a horror movie cuz it will make u a killer. Pls dont overestimate the influence of a film and drama. If u do bad things that not because u saw it in a show. Its cuz thats who you are. https://t.co/vWCO19aPwG
He also spoke abt how it disagreed with his morality but he did it cuz it was a good character. My point is: take a show as a show. Personal morality doesnt weigh into a show made for entertainment purposes. https://t.co/J6wx0YEpv7
When someone brought in Khalil ur Rehman Qamar’s problematic statements, Mansha remarked that “a writer’s personal opinions should not be confused with his work.”
A writers personal opinions should not be confused with his work. U may disagree with personal opinions but one could still be a great writer. Hemingway was a genius who killed himself but noone says his books are bad for mental health or promote suicide. https://t.co/yxVduQdpkP
At the end of it all, Mansha thanked her fans for engaging with her and sharing their perspective on the matter.
Thanks guys for engaging. Conversing with one another, disagreeing sometimes help us look at other perspectives. Ideas are ever evolving, not stationary and debating over them is how we grow. I appreciate all the messages sent in will think over them. Thanks & love!
Arguably our privelege is perhaps what dictates our beliefs in the first place. Which is why i will say again since everyone has a different morality, banning meray paas tum ho or zindagi tamasha means banning ideas and thoughts cuz u disagree with their morality. Both wrong. https://t.co/CZMVjPToV6
Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul Wazir, who is known for making statements that leave people in fits, has showered praise on Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan for having a charismatic personality and killer smile.
“If we talk about the body language of PM Imran Khan, I think he is the finest charismatic man,” she can be heard as saying a video doing rounds over the internet.
“The manner in which the premier walks, which can be seen in various videos, he comes with so much confidence and authority, which removes all doubts from our minds amid crises,” she adds.
WATCH VIDEO:
PM Imran Khan has a killer smile … videos have been made showing his body language … when he walks into a crisis … such charisma of his personality … whatever doubts we have go away: Pakistan’s Minister for Climate Change Zartaj Gul Wazir pic.twitter.com/YXcfLCovaS
This is not the first time the minister has expressed how starstruck does the premier leave her.
Believe it or not, she had once said that the reason Pakistan was getting an abundance of rain and snowfall was because an honest man like Imran Khan was the country’s PM.
Magazine covers from the beginning of the previous decade highlight the contrasting fortunes of Pakistan and India as the two neighbouring countries enter a new decade on the back of an eventful past ten years, Geo reported.
While India has been declared “intolerant”, about a decade ago, as shown in The Economist’s cover, it was portrayed as the fastest growing country that would eventually outpace the growth of China.
However, on the contrary, Pakistan is “the best holiday destination for 2020” according to the cover of Conde Nast Traveler magazine.
Pakistan was known as “one of the most dangerous countries” in the world just about ten years ago, but is now the top tourist destination for travellers as reported by Forbes.
Seventeen episodes of Sana Javed and Mikaal Zulfiqar’s Ruswai, based on the story of a rape victim, have been aired so far and recent episodes just make you want to pull your hair out. What irks you further is the fact that the drama has been written and directed by women – namely Naila Ansari and Rubina Ashraf.
The premise of the drama is fairly simple – Sameera (Sana) and Salman (Mikaal) are family friends and are in love. Their parents are also well-acquainted though Salman’s mother looks down upon Sameera’s family because she considers herself to be above them. At the same time, Sameera’s brother, Hamza is hitched to Salman’s sister, Wardah. Its a perfectly normal case of watta satta. Though Salman’s mother is okay with Wardah marrying Hamza, she doesn’t want Sameera as her bahu. But Salman is insistent about marrying Sameera. So she is left with no choice.
However, one evening when the family is walking out of a restaurant after dinner, a group of men abduct Sameera and rape her before dumping her back on the road. The intentions behind their actions are not yet known. Sameera’s father ends up saving his bahu, Wardah instead of his daughter. After the incident, life goes on and the weddings take place as planned though Salman is now disgusted with his wife because she is no longer the pure virgin he wanted to marry. Soon after the wedding while Hamza and his wife enjoy marital bliss, Sameera is miserable at Salman’s house. He starts mistreating her and with each passing episode his actions get worse. He also starts having an affair with another girl who his mother had wanted him to marry. Meanwhile his parents especially his mother doesn’t care about Sameera and in the latest episode even commented that she deserves to die.
This is where the drama starts getting frustrating. Sameera is a qualified, well-educated doctor who has been working in the hospital well before her marriage. However, she chooses to give into her husband’s demands while her parents encourage her to stay in an abusive marriage just for the sake of marriage and because Salman “nay usko apna naam aur izzat di“. She doesn’t pursue a case against her rapists because of her husband and father who want the matter brushed under the carpet and erased from their memories. On the other hand, Hamza who initially appeared to be a level-headed character chooses to ignore his sister’s misery and focus on his own marriage.
Hamza & Wardah
Why are we time and time again shown miserable women? Showing Sameera’s miseries were fine in one or two episodes but extending it is making the whole drama, which was probably an honest attempt to depict the ordeal of a rape victim, a drag. The only glimmer of hope appears to be Sameera’s senior at the hospital Dr Feroze. He seems to genuinely care about Sameera and is trying to ensure that she does not go down the rabbit hole which she is going.
At the same time, what sends a chill down your spine is the fact that the drama, if not 100 percent, does depict reality. Rape victims are often ostracised and shunned for something that is not even their fault. Instead of being handled with care and dealt with gently, they are shunned and seen as impure.
Salman’s mother and Sameera
Sana has done a great job as Sameera. Osama Tahir as Hamza and Irsa Ghazal as Salman’s mother stand out among the rest of the cast with their brilliant performances. However, Mikaal falls short as Salman – his body language is too stiff and his expressions wooden.
While Ruswai does a decent job in sensitising us towards the plight of a rape survivor, it also chooses to lean on the typical saas-bahu drama and meek, helpless larki to garner ratings.
Shoaib Malik, whose surprise return to the squad and unbeaten half century – which helped Pakistan chase down Bangladesh’s 142-run target at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Friday – has become the first Pakistani and eighth player to play international cricket over four decades.
Other players who have played over four decades include Wilfred Rhodes, Brian Close, Frank Woolley, Sachin Tendulkar, Jack Hobbs, George Gunn and Sanath Jayasuriya, according to sports journalist Saj Sadiq.
Shoaib Malik who made his international debut in 1999 has become only the 8th player to play international cricket over four decades. The other 7 are Wilfred Rhodes, Brian Close, Frank Woolley, Sachin Tendulkar, Jack Hobbs, George Gunn and Sanath Jayasuriya #Cricket
Despite earlier criticism, Malik manged to win his fans and hearts of the cricket audiences when he led the host team to victory by scoring a match-winning 58 not out in the first T20I. The win further consolidated Pakistan’s chances of hanging on to their world No. 1 ranking in the shortest format.
Following his successful innings at the match, Malik shared a picture of himself with his Man of the Match trophy.
The 37-year-old, who made his debut in 1999 against West Indies in an ODI, played his 434th international game on Friday in Lahore.
Malik is, however, only the third Pakistan player to play over 20 years. The other two are Imran Khan and Mushtaq Mohammad. Prime Minister Imran played for 20 years and 218 days while Mushtaq played for 20 years and 3 days.
A man was sentenced to jail for eight months by the Hunza wildlife magistrate for illegally hunting two Himalayan ibex cubs.
According to Dawn, the Gilgit-Baltistan wildlife department had discovered the carcasses of ibex cubs during the inspection of a vehicle at Ganish bridge on the Karakoram Highway in Hunza area. The officials seized the carcasses and arrested Rehmat Khan of Altit area.
The DFO of the area shared that the poacher hunted the ibex cubs in the surroundings of Attabad Lake before attempting to transport their carcasses to Gilgit. He revealed that the wildlife department with the help of police seized the carcasses and hunting gear. The poacher was handed eight months imprisonment under the Wildlife Preservation Act, 1975.
Meanwhile, the Khunjerab Village Organisation has accused personnel of Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) to have hunted three Himalayan ibexes in Khunjerab National Park in upper Hunza. They claimed that the FWO personnel killed ibexes after cordoning off the area, and took away the carcasses, adding that they have substantial evidence to prove their claims.
The most anticipated Saturday night: The double episode finale hits television screens and cinemas tomorrow and almost all cinema tickets in major cities are sold out. So we asked you the question that everyone is talking about: Apparently, someone is going to die in the last episode: Who is it going to be?
More than 450 of you replied to our poll and here are the results:
Poll results are in
Poll results show that 43 percent of people think that Danish (Humayun Saeed) is going to die in the last episode, followed by Mehwish (Ayeza Khan) at 35 percent, baby boy Rumi at eight percent, Hania (Hira Mani) at seven percent, Shehwar (Adnan Siddiqui) at six and three percent of you said writer of the drama, Khalil ur Rehman Qamar would die after the final episode.
The Trump administration on Thursday announced new visa rules to restrict birth tourism, in which women travel to the United States to give birth so their children can get US citizenship.
According to the rules in the Federal Register, applicants will not be given tourist visas if they are determined by consular officers to be coming to the US only to give birth.
It is a bigger hurdle to overcome, proving they are travelling to the US because they have a medical need and not just because they want to give birth here. Those with medical needs will be treated like other foreigners coming to the US for medical treatment and must prove they have the money to pay for it including transportation and living expenses.
“Closing this glaring immigration loophole will combat these endemic abuses and ultimately protect the United States from the national security risks created by this practice,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement.
While the new rules deal specifically with birth tourism, the Trump administration also has turned away pregnant women coming over the U.S.-Mexico border as part of a broader immigration crackdown. Those women were initially part of a vulnerable group that included others like small children who were allowed in, while tens of thousands of other asylum seekers have been returned to Mexico to wait out their cases.
While President Trump’s administration has been confining all forms of immigration, Trump has been particularly worried by the issue of birthright citizenship anyone born in the US is considered a citizen, under the Constitution.
The Republican president has criticized the practice and threatened to end it, but scholars and members of his administration have said it’s not so easy to do.
Regulating tourist visas for pregnant women is one way to get at the issue, but it raises questions about how officers would determine whether a woman is pregnant, to begin with and whether a woman could get turned away by border officers who suspect she maybe just by looking at her. Critics of the new policy say it could put pregnant women at risk.
