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  • Five episodes in, ‘Ghalti’ is a big mistake

    Five episodes in, ‘Ghalti’ is a big mistake

    Ghalti will make you cringe and even feel a little angry. Typical, typical, typical Pakistani drama re-enforcing the stereotypes we are trying to change in our society push through in the first five episodes of ARY Digital’s Ghalti.

    The drama is full of the more than typical saas-bahu drama, the word talaaq thrown in for good affect and the jealous nunday, Ghalti left nothing behind. All that’s left now is someone planning kaala jadu and all the ills of our society will be complete. What’s more shocking is that someone as brilliant an actress as Saba Hamid is acting and directing this incredibly regressive drama. Even if the moral of the story is for the good, the fact that the drama indulges in such barbaric stereotypes is disturbing in itself.

    Brilliantly regressive acting by the incredibly progressive Saba Hamid

    The story revolves around Zaira (Hira Mani), a happy, single daughter belonging to a wealthy family and nikkahed to her cousin Saad (Affan Waheed). Saad’s family, including his widowed mother Zaitoon (Saba Hamid) and sisters live in a house provided by Zaira’s father. Zaira’s father faces some financial issues and asks Zaitoon to vacate the house that belongs to him so he can pay off his debts. Zaitoon is enraged that she now has to return to her small little house (which is not in Defence) and plots revenge. Revenge plotting includes trying to break off Zaira’s marriage to her son, accepting the marriage and hoping that once Zaira is ruksatied her father will give them another house and when that doesn’t happen, plotting and scheming to make Zaira’s life miserable.

    This is how Hira Mani looks in almost every scene of the drama

    Only someone who has as blank an expression as Hira Mani could play the helpless, sad, little Zaira. So helpless that the viewer doesn’t get angry at Zaitoon for treating her daughter-in-law like trash, but more at this Zaira; an educated girl who should be able to stand up for herself but oh ho, her love for her incredibly mediocre husband Saad drives her to cook, clean, be treated like trash by her in laws because she must live with what’s been handed to her and suffer because she loves her husband.

    Cleaning when her cool mother walks in to find her daughter suffering and blubbering

    Woh bhi choro, Saad’s big ghalti is that he divorces Zaira once in a fit of anger and it’s like the worst thing that could happen, right? Wrong. Zaira is perfectly fine with Saad once he gets her imported flowers and they get on with their happy lives.

    Listen up ladies, if you get divorced, Ghalti says these flowers and a card should make it all okay

    People need to be educated that this concept of uttering talaaq once and the process that has to be followed by law is completely different than what is shown in our dramas. Talaaq at three different times, with proper methods to reconcile, are done to protect the woman and the couple and the way they are thrown around in our dramas, especially this one, is irresponsible and criminal.

    Hira Mani looking the same at the moment she is divorced

    What’s worse is the way the word talaaq is treated like a joke and reason to gossip. The defence of this drama would be that aisa tou hota hai and women can relate to their lives being as terrible as Zaira’s but really? Is that what we want people to watch and feel? That this happens to everyone, so it’s perfectly fine if it’s happening to them? Why do we constantly push this terrible narrative of saas bahu dramas to gain ratings?

    Because it gets ratings. The five episodes on YouTube have more than a million views each so we can keep expecting that such dramas will be created and actors like Hira Mani and Affan Waheed and director Saba Hamid will keep doing such roles.

  • Mahira Khan, Humayun Saeed demand the release of Sarmad Khoosat’s ‘Zindagi Tamasha’

    Mahira Khan, Humayun Saeed demand the release of Sarmad Khoosat’s ‘Zindagi Tamasha’

    After Sarmad Khoosat came forward and revealed that “a few troublemakers” were creating hurdles “for their political ends” in the release of his film Zindagi Tamasha, several industry A-listers have stepped forward to support the filmmaker and demanded the government to facilitate the release of the film. Sarmad had also appealed to the Prime Minister, President and Chief Justice of Pakistan to help release his film.

    Read more – Sarmad Khoosat appeals to PM, President to facilitate his film’s release

    Mahira Khan, Humayun Saeed and Ali Zafar were among those who requested the government to facilitate filmmakers and make things easier for them.

    In an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Imran Khan, President Dr Arif Alvi, Chief Justice of Pakistan, Chief of the Army Staff and Minister for Information, Khoosat detailed the problems his film was facing in its release.

    Along with that, he clarified that “As a law-abiding citizen and with full conviction that there is nothing offensive or malicious in the film, in response I submitted the film for another review to the censor board. It was cleared once again with a few cuts to appease the complainants.”

    Meesha Shafi, Mira Sethi and Ali Gul Pir had also extended their support to the film and its team.

    Written by Nirmal Bano and directed by Sarmad Khoosat, Zindagi Tamasha starres Arif Hassan, Samiya Mumtaz, Eman Suleman and Ali Qureshi in the lead. The film is centered around a naat khwan Rahat Khawaja (played by Hassan) and his family who are outcast from the society when a secret of Khawaja’s is leaked.

    The official synopsis states: “The film is an intimate portrait of a family as well as a scorching political commentary on little gods on this earth who police our private passions.”

    The film premiered at the Busan International Film Festival held in October 2019 where it also won the prestigious Kim Ji Seok Award.

  • Shaan’s spy thriller ‘Zarrar’ to finally release this year?

    Shaan’s spy thriller ‘Zarrar’ to finally release this year?

    After teasing us for like forever, Shaan has revealed that his action-thriller Zarrar will finally hit the screens in 2020. According to our research, the film was supposed to hit the screens in 2017 and then August 2019 but kept delaying for one reason or another.

    The film has been written and directed by Shaan, who also plays the lead role in the film. The action-thriller also features Kiran Malik, Nadeem Baig and Adnan Butt among others.

    In an earlier interview, speaking about the film, Shaan has shared that “Zarrar is an action-drama which shows the current circumstances of the country.”

    According to Shaan, Zarrar is based on 90% true events and captures fifth generation warfare and other threats that should be highlighted in mainstream media but are ignored.

    He also added that Zarrar shows a patriotic man who loves his country and wants to eliminate those elements which facilitate terrorists and terrorism in the country.

    “It’s like a Bond Film with a true story. Not a fauji sort like we have been seeing on our screens in past. It’s not like Waar or Yalghar. It’s a new breed of a spy thriller action genre, and we are planning sequels and prequel to the film in the future if things go well,” Shaan had further shared.

    Meanwhile, here’s is a look back at Zarrar’s shoot diaries.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BskhD9plVxR/

    Shaan was last seen in Arth 2, opposite Humaima Malick in 2017.

    While a new release date has not yet been announced, we’re keeping our fingers crossed and hoping it finally sees the light of the day in 2020.

  • PTA files written request with TikTok to remove Hareem Shah’s videos

    PTA files written request with TikTok to remove Hareem Shah’s videos

    Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), in a written complaint, has requested TikTok to remove Hareem Shah and Sundal Khattak’s videos from the app.

    According to reports, the government has requested TikTok to remove videos posted by Shah and Khattak after they received complaints regarding their videos. A PTA spokesperson shared that they have written to TikTok to remove videos posted by the two women, though he denied receiving a request to suspend or delete Shah and Khattak’s accounts.

    The spokesperson explained that PTA wants TikTok to “defuse” the videos.

    Shah and Khattak became popular after they shared videos of themselves with high-profile people, including ministers and politicians, on the app. Those videos were widely shared on other social media apps as well. However, the two were thrust into the public eye after Shah shared a video of herself walking around a conference room at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). The video sparked a controversy prompting the government to order an inquiry into the matter.

    Read more – Everything you need to know about Tiktok star Hareem Shah

    Other videos of Hareem — featuring Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed and Punjab Information Minister Fayazul Hasan Chohan — had also gone viral on the internet with the claim that Rasheed had “also sent Hareem inappropriate videos”.

    “What about all those naked videos you used to send me have you forgotten about them?” Hareem can be heard as saying to the federal minister in one of the videos of their telephonic conversation, following which Rasheed abruptly disconnected the call.

    While the videos were removed by Hareem, it wasn’t later that they went viral over the internet, drawing mixed reactions. Amid all the criticism facing the internet star, Hareem on December 31 was reported to have left the country and applied for Canadian citizenship.

  • Islamabad bar moves to identify lawyers from Ahmadi community

    Islamabad bar moves to identify lawyers from Ahmadi community

    Members of Islamabad Bar Association have been directed to declare their faith on the finality of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) or face the suspension of their membership, in a move that is drawing strong reactions from both lawyers and the general public.

    According to The Express Tribune, the lawyers’ group has told its members to submit affidavits by the end of the ongoing month, failing which they would have their membership suspended and names posted on noticeboard.

    The notification in this regard comes in view of the decision taken by the General Body on December 6, 2019, while the report has quoted Association President Malik Zafar Khokhar as saying that “the purpose of seeking affidavits was not the suspension of non-Muslim lawyers from the association, but to identify the members of the Ahmadi community”.

    STRONG REACTIONS:

    Meanwhile, lawyers, as well as the general public, are strongly reacting to the notification.

    “Clearly Jinnah’s Pakistan remains a distant dream! His 11th August speech buried in heaps of paranoia, intolerance and bigotry,” tweeted Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, who is a member of the association.

    Here’s what others had to say:

    https://twitter.com/theRealYLH/status/1218447461397749761

    https://twitter.com/ShahidQuetta/status/1218287233603641345

    There has been no official reaction to the backlash.

  • Local hero Suleman Khan receives award for rescuing over 100 people stranded in the snow

    Local hero Suleman Khan receives award for rescuing over 100 people stranded in the snow

    Suleman Khan, a young man from Quetta’s Kachlak area, who helped more than 100 people stuck in snow-jammed roads has received an award from the Chief Minister of Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan for his selfless act of bravery.

    According to details, Suleman took out his Land Cruiser to help passengers stuck on Quetta-Zhob highway after the recent spell of heavy snowfall in the province. The 30-year-old hero took them to his home and offered them food and shelter. Not only this, he also pulled many cars out of the snow and helped people get fuel and even paid for it from his pocket.

    Prime Minister Imran Khan also took to twitter to appreciate him.

    “I did everything for the will of God. I saw that people were stuck because of the storm and had I not helped them, they probably wouldn’t have returned alive. I was trying to help them since 2 pm,” Khan said adding that rescue officials arrived around 12 am.

    Earlier this week, the Quetta-Zhob Highway was shut down due to heavy snowfall. The situation led to several cars being stranded on the road, with women, children and elderly passengers left helpless in the harsh weather without enough food supplies or clothing.

  • Senate divided on ‘how much rights should Pakistani women get’

    Senate divided on ‘how much rights should Pakistani women get’

    The Upper House on Friday stood totally divided on how much rights should be provided to women in Pakistan, but shared consensus on how they lagged behind as compared to men, as senators discussed the National Commission on Status of Women report, The News reported.

    Among those who participated in the discussion over the 2017 annual report by Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari on January 22 last year, were Mohsin Aziz, Mushtaq Ahmad, Walid Iqbal, Nuzhat Sadiq and Sherry Rehman.

    The widely-discussed issue of a Faisal Vawda, showing a long shoe, also echoed in the House after the Question Hour, when PML-N Senator Kulsoom Parveen raised the matter, wondering should the lawmakers stop appearing in TV talk shows, the way a sitting member of this House was ‘insulted’.

    She clarified that they had voted not for the boots but for the country’s key security institution, which was so dear to them. “Is the punishment of stopping the minister for a few days from appearing in talks shows is enough,” she asked.

    Senators Mohsin Aziz and Mushtaq emphasised during the discussion on the commission report that the women rights should not be seen through the Western lenses and cultural invasion. They insisted that awareness about women rights could not be promoted and drives pushed for their rights while sitting in five-star hotels; instead such events be held in rural areas to read and asses the ground realities.

    They said events in the name of culture in academic schools could not be allowed, which ran contrary to social and cultural values, enshrined in the Shariah. They supported women emancipation and lifting their status in the society, freeing them from the clutches of exploitation but not at the cost of values and honour. They also objected to certain slogans raised and inscribed on posters during drives for women rights last year.

  • Mother-daughter duo plays T20 match together

    Mother-daughter duo plays T20 match together

    The ongoing National Triangular T20 Women’s Cricket Championship at Karachi’s National Stadium saw a mother-daughter duo take to the field together.

    While daughter Kainat Imtiaz, a Pakistan international, donned the PCB Dynamites’ colours, her mother Saleema Imtiaz is carrying out match officials’ duties.

    Saleema was passionate about cricket and played it in the
    streets while growing up. She couldn’t play it on the grounds but it was her
    love for the cricket that brought her towards the profession of umpiring in
    2006.

    “Kainat is fulfilling my dream,” says Saleema. “My childhood dream was to represent Pakistan. She is not only a good daughter but also a great cricketer.”

    Kainat, who made her Pakistan debut in October 2010, said her mother inspired her to pursue this profession.

    “I feel proud when I look at my mom. She took up umpiring to fulfill her passion to be in the ground,” said the cricketer. “Growing up there was a lot of interest in cricket in my house as my both parents are sports instructors. They used to be at my school so all of my sporting activities have been under them right from the beginning.”

    The duo has not been involved in the same match played under the auspices of the PCB but Kainat has played with her mother as an umpire in local matches.

    “There is more pressure on both of us when we are involved in the same match,” says Kainat.

    “I have been umpiring since 2006 and I want to be in ICC’s umpiring panel. I wish to preside international matches and make a name for my country,” Saleema remarked. 

  • From Inzamam-ul-Haq to Babar Azam, here are all the Pakistani cricketers who have been part of ICC’s ‘ODI Team of the Year’

    From Inzamam-ul-Haq to Babar Azam, here are all the Pakistani cricketers who have been part of ICC’s ‘ODI Team of the Year’

    The International Cricket Council announced its ODI team of the year and Pakistan’s Babar Azam made it to the list, which also included (in batting order) Rohit Sharma (India), Shai Hope (West Indies), Virat Kohli (India, captain), Kane Williamson (New Zealand), Ben Stokes (England), Jos Buttler (England, wicketkeeper), Mitchell Starc (Australia), Trent Boult (New Zealand), Mohammed Shami (India) and Kuldeep Yadav (India).

    Babar was also part of the list in 2017.

    In the 2019 calendar year, Babar scored 1,092 runs in 20 ODIs at an impressive average of 60.66. He also scored three centuries and six half centuries. His centuries came against England at Trent Bridge (115), New Zealand at Edgbaston (101 not out) during ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and Sri Lanka at National Stadium (115).

    According to a press release by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), “Since the inception of the ICC awards in 2004, Babar Azam is the eighth Pakistan player to feature in the ICC ODI Team of the Year. Other Pakistan players to find their places in the teams of the year include Inzamam-ul-Haq, Rana Naved Ul Hasan (2005), Umar Gul (2009 and 2011), Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal (both 2012), Saeed Ajmal (2013), Mohammad Hafeez (2014), Babar Azam and Hasan Ali (2017).”

    Earlier, Nida Dar was named in the ICC T20I Women’s Team of 2019.

  • Animal cruelty at Karachi Zoo sparks outrage

    Animal cruelty at Karachi Zoo sparks outrage

    A picture of two crocodiles covered in paan and gutka published in The News serves as a reminder how poorly we treat animals in Pakistan.

    Journalist Zia Ur Rehman tweeted the picture published in the paper with the caption: “A sorry sight: crocodiles soak up the sun at the Karachi Zoo after paan and gutka-using visitors spat on them, leaving their bodies with blood-red spots.”

    Senator and PPP leader Sherry Rehman also commented that she was “shamed to see this.”

    Journalists Sanam Maher and Amber Shamsi also expressed their outrage on Twitter.

    Read more – Mashal Khan slams couple for using a lion cub as a prop for their wedding shoot

    Animal cruelty is not new in Pakistan. Torturing animals in zoos and otherwise under the disguise of fun is unfortunately also a common practise in the country.

    Last year, activist and lawyer Jibran Nasir tweeted pictures of a boy who used to post videos on social media while torturing kittens.