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  • ‘Have found nothing but goodwill and love in Pakistan,’ America’s senior bishop addresses interfaith gathering

    Anglican Archbishop of North America Most Reverend Dr Foley Beach has said that people in the United States (US) have mixed views about Pakistan; however, hitherto he had found nothing but goodwill and love wherever he went.

    He was speaking at a reception hosted in his honour by the National Council of Churches in Pakistan President and Bishop of Raiwind Dr Azad Marshall at the Saint Peter’s School in Lahore on Tuesday.

    Among those who attended the interfaith gathering were Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) Chairman Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi, Badshahi Masjid Khateeb Dr Abdul Khabeer Azad, Jamia Naeemia’s Dr Ragheb Naeemi, Pir Ziaul Haq Naqshbandi Qadri, Maulana Asim Makhdoom and Bishop of Multan Leo Roderick Paul.

    Addressing the gathering, Bishop Dr Azad called for peaceful coexistence of all religious and ethnic groups living in Pakistan. He said that both Christianity and Islam preached peace and brotherhood and called for promoting tolerance.

    PUC chief Ashrafi highlighted the services of the council and other Islamic outfits for the country’s minorities, rejecting the impression of a divide between the minority and majority communities. “Everyone is an equal citizen under the constitution.”

    Clerics Khabeer and Naqshbandi said Pakistan was a diverse society and people belonging to all religions lived in harmony.

    Thanking the hosts, Archbishop Dr Beach said he was glad to see Islamic scholars propagating the need for interfaith dialogue. “Every society has its fair share of problems, but every religion preaches love and tolerance. And to overcome the ills of extremism and fundamentalism, there is a need to promote ideas of peace, love and tolerance.”

  • ‘Babar Azam is a classy player’; Ricky Ponting all praise over ‘extraordinary batting skills’

    Former Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has labelled Pakistani batsman and skipper Babar Azam a “classy player” and praised him for his “extraordinary batting skills”, Cricket Pakistan reported.

    According to the details, Ricky Ponting while speaking during an interview said, “We have not seen the best of him [Babar Azam] yet. 20 odd Tests for an average of 35 – he is better than that. He averages 54 in one-day cricket at a strike-rate of about 90. He is a very, very classy player”.

    He added, “He is a really exciting talent and probably the guy I am looking forward to seeing the most this summer. I have seen the Aussies a lot and I have seen a lot of the Kiwis, but I am really excited to see him”.

    The former Australian skipper believes that Pakistan need to utilise Babar in a better way in the longer format, adding that Australia needs to be wary of him in the upcoming two-match Test series between the two sides.

    After scoring back to back fifties in the recently concluded T20I series against Australia, Babar played a brisk 157-run knock in the four-day practice match against Australia A in Perth.

    It remains to be seen whether the 25-year-old can perform well in the Test series against the hosts, starting from November 21 at Gabba, Brisbane.

  • VIDEO: BJP leader thrown out for disrupting Suri’s speech at Asia Pacific Summit

    VIDEO: BJP leader thrown out for disrupting Suri’s speech at Asia Pacific Summit

    Vijay Jolly, an Indian politician from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was escorted out by the security at the Asia Pacific Summit 2019 after he tried to disrupt the speech by Pakistan’s National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri.

    Deputy Speaker Suri was speaking about Kashmiris’ right to self-determination and Indian atrocities in Indian-held Kashmir at the summit in Cambodia when Jolly angrily got up from his seat and walked in front of the hall saying, “I want to protest.”

    Security officials quickly swung into action and grabbed Jolly. They then escorted him out of the summit as Suri continued with his speech.

    Suri highlighted the atrocities by India in Occupied Kashmir.

  • Google Maps get an Indian arrested in Pakistan

    Google Maps get an Indian arrested in Pakistan

    Two Indian nationals were arrested by the Pakistani police for illegally entering the country last week.

    Prashant Maidam, a software engineer from Hyderabad, and Durmi Lal, a farmer from Madhya Pradesh, were arrested in the Cholistan desert area in Bahawalpur on November 14th as per an FIR.

    The Bahawalpur police registered an FIR against them under the Pakistan (Control of Entry) Act.

    They had crossed the border without any identification papers and proper documents, such as a valid visa and passport, police sources told The Hindu.

    Police sources said Prashant told them that he was in love with a woman in Turkey and was going there through Pakistan and Afghanistan. Prashant was reportedly on foot and following Google Maps route.

    Bahawalpur Judicial Magistrate Yazman asked the local police to travel to Multan and hand over the two Indians to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Bahawalpur police sources said that the two Indian nationals were thoroughly investigated and were sent back from Multan as the FIA doesn’t think this case falls under its jurisdiction.

    The two are now back in the custody of the Bahawalpur police.

    “Prashant is lucky he was arrested here. We don’t know what would have happened if he had gone to Afghanistan via Pakistan,” said one police officer.

    Police sources said the two will most likely be repatriated after due process is followed. The Indian High Commission will have to get in touch with the police and initiate the process of repatriation.

  • Australia bans female cricketer for leaking team news on social media

    Australia bans female cricketer for leaking team news on social media

    Cricket Australia have banned wicketkeeper Emily Smith of Hobart Hurricanes for revealing team news on Instagram before of its official release time, Samaa reported.

    According to the details, Emily had posted the team line-up on her personal Instagram handle ahead of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) match against Sydney Thunder on November 2, leaking the news one hour before its official publication time.

    The
    anti-corruption code of Cricket Australia restrains “disclosing inside
    information to any person (with or without reward) where the participant knew
    or might reasonably have known that such disclosure might lead to the
    information being used in relation to betting in relation to any match or
    event”.

    Cricket Australia head of integrity and security Sean Carroll has said, “Since the commencement of the WBBL, Cricket Australia has had in place a robust anti-corruption programme”, adding that “We have been working with Emily throughout the process and Emily now realizes the mistake she made. Unfortunately, in this instance, Emily’s actions breached the anti-corruption code.”

    Nine months of the ban have been suspended, meaning that Smith is
    likely to miss only three months of action.

  • Karachi’s new picnic spot offers a lot in one place

    Karachiites have another beautiful spot for a picnic that has a waterfall and a lake and also offers boating. The Safari Park administration opened the newly built ‘Kashmir Point’ to provide a pleasant atmosphere to visitors.

    As per reports, KMC authorities had planned to set up a
    particularly beautiful, pleasant and calm spot at a hilly site of the park. A 200-feet waterfall is created from which the water flows down
    into a lake spanning 4 acres. It also offers a boating facility to visitors.

    “We have upgraded the lake at all points and built beautiful
    fences around it,” the Safari Park director said.

    Flying birds in the park make the scene quite attractive. People can visit the point and the boating costs for Rs100. The
    boating facility is available from 11 am to 9 pm with proper lighting in the
    evenings.

    Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar inaugurated the Kashmir Point on
    Sunday. He urged the people to visit the place as it’s a good initiative and a
    great addition to the recreational park in the city.

  • Minal Khan’s Europe vacation will make you want to pack your bags asap

    Minal Khan’s Europe vacation will make you want to pack your bags asap

    Minal Khan is currently on a Europe vacation and pictures from her travels make you want to instantly pack your bags and book the first flight out.

    Minal is touring the continent with her friends. She started her trip with Berlin, before heading to Brussels, Amsterdam, Valencia and finally Barcelona. Wondering where she’ll jet off to next.

    Check out her pictures here:

    Berlin, Germany

    Brussels, Belgium

    Barcelona, Spain

    Valencia, Spain

    Amsterdam

  • ‘Laal Kabootar’ wins another award

    ‘Laal Kabootar’ wins another award

    Pakistan’s official submission for the 92nd Academy Awards in the ‘International Feature Film Award’ category, Laal Kabootar has bagged yet another award.

    It won the Best Feature Film Award at the Vancouver International South Asian Film Festival 2019.

    Director Kamal Khan received the award on the Closing Night and Awards Ceremony held at Surrey City Hall in Surrey, British Columbia on November 17.

    However, this is not the first award the film has won. Laal Kabootar also won the Archana Soy Audience Award for ‘Best Feature Film’ at the Tasveer South Asian Film Festival 2019 in Seattle. In addition to this, it was screened at the Singapore South Asian International Film Festival 2019 and at the prestigious Washington DC South Asian Film Festival 2019, where Ahmed Ali Akbar, won the ‘Best Actor Male’ Award for his performance.

    Laal Kabootar is centred around a hustling taxi-driver Adeel Nawaz (Ahmed Ali Akbar) looking for a way out of Karachi. But with his back against the wall, Adeel has some hard choices to make. He crosses paths with Aliya Malik (Mansha Pasha) a strong-headed and stubborn girl. What follows is an action-packed rollercoaster ride.

    The film has been directed by Kamal Khan with Harvard graduates Hania Chima and Kamil Chima as Executive Producers.

    Ahmed shared the film’s win on his social media.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B5CdgIIHIWs/

  • International Men’s Day: Men open up

  • Former PM Nawaz spotted in his air ambulance

    Former PM Nawaz spotted in his air ambulance

    Ailing former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif, who is currently travelling from Lahore to London for medical treatment, was on Tuesday evening spotted in his air ambulance along with his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif and personal physician Dr Adnan Khan.

    Seven people are travelling with Nawaz, who was granted special permission by the court to seek medical treatment abroad despite his conviction in the Al-Azizia reference case and subsequent jail term. He had earlier been granted bail on humanitarian grounds while he sought treatment at Lahore’s Services Hospital.

    He had been shifted to the hospital from Kot Lakhpat jail after a precarious drop in his platelet count last month and later diagnosed with acute immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), an immune disorder that leads to an abrupt and sharp drop in blood platelet.

    The air ambulance that arrived at 8:45am at Lahore Airport on Tuesday, had Qatar as its first destination, from where it will continue its journey towards London. At least 21 senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders saw off their party supremo from the Hajj Terminal of the Lahore Airport earlier in the day.

    Since Nawaz’s name remains on the Exit Control List (ECL) even after the court allowed him to go abroad for medical treatment, he produced the court order to get past immigration officials. According to reports, his name will remain on the no-fly list as per the law, but his exemption according to the court order was mentioned in the computerised record.

    LHC VERDICT:

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Saturday permitted to remove Nawaz’s name from the ECL without any conditions for a time period of four weeks.

    On Friday, the LHC called the plea admissible regarding the removal of former premier’s name from the ECL on a conditional basis — the government had said it would allow a “one-time permission”, provided Nawaz deposited surety bonds worth Rs7-7.5 billion.

    In its decision, the LHC said that in case Nawaz’s health doesn’t improve then the time-period can be extended, adding that the government officials will be able to contact Nawaz through the Pakistani Embassy.