Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Barrister Ali Zafar said on Thursday that PTI founder Imran Khan will write a letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to bring attention to alleged rigging in the general elections held on February 8.
“IMF, European Union, and other organisations have their charter that says these organisations will work in a country where there is good governance. For good governance, a country needs to have democracy that requires free and fair elections,” Ali Zafar said while speaking to media outside Adiala Jail.
The PTI leader and lawyer also alleged that the people’s mandate was stolen, and those who were losing on February 8 were declared winners the next morning.
“Democracy cannot be run with this fake mandate,” he said, adding that “no organization can give loans to a country where elections are rigged.”
The prominent lawyer also said that, through a letter, the PTI founder will request that the IMF to send a monitoring team to look at the matter of poll rigging first and then give loans to Pakistan.
He also mentioned that “any loan to the government that doesn’t have people’s mandate will not be in favour of Pakistan.”
Every year, PSL songs take the limelight as fans get divided over the best Pakistan Super League song, comparing them to previous years, while artists take it as a challenge to put up their best.
This year, The Current has exclusive insights to a new controversy, which involves a seasoned artist – Ali Zafar.
A source who spoke to us claimed that Ali Zafar was, once again, trying to lobby for the PSL anthem.
According to a source, PCB was in talks with Ali Zafar to sing this year’s anthem but some PSL franchises pushed back saying the artist would tarnish the PSL brand because of the controversies surrounding him.
In response to our article previously published, Ali Zafar had this to say:
“I was indeed officially contacted by PCB to create the PSL anthem for this year. After working on it for two months, hiring musicians and music producers at my personal expense, I came up with three different versions of the anthem for the PCB to choose from. After one of them was finalized and the release was being planned, I was informed that PCB can’t go ahead with the anthem for reasons that I would not like to disclose at this point.
I wish the next team all the best with their endeavours.”
What Happened?
To show his social media strength and popularity to counter PCB’s reasoning, Ali Zafar went over to social media with a plan.
On January 12, Zafar posted on X (formerly Twitter), asking if an anthem by him will “enhance the image of the brand of PSL and PCB, deepen the connection with people, and bring more financial benefit to all stakeholders or will it prove to be otherwise?”.
Do you think that if I did the anthem of PSL this year, it will enhance the image of the brand of PSL and PCB, deepen the connection with people, and bring more financial benefit to all stakeholders or will it prove to be otherwise? Be honest with your votes. I have no ego and I…
This was followed by a poll, adding that “I will explain later, why I have posted this tweet”.
But when the results started to apparently turn against him, Zafar deleted his poll. This was followed by a post claiming that the polls were rigged with the help of bots.
“Told you to wait to see why I started the poll”, he said.
X users started trolling Ali Zafar because in the screenshots of polls he shared, the time stamp is the same throughout, indicating, according to users, that the pictures were photoshopped.
X (formerly Twitter) Reacts
Bhai images pe time stamps tau sahi tarah photoshop kar letay fazool excuses banaaney se pehlay.
Had to delete your own poll after your terrible plan backfired.
In January 2016, while performing at the launch event of the team Islamabad United, Ali Zafar released the team anthem “Chakka Choka” and performed it in the opening ceremony of PSL 2016 the following month.
Then in 2017, Zafar released the anthem for that year’s PSL “Ab Khel Jamay Ga”.
Controversy
In 2018, singer Meesha Shafi accused Ali Zafar of sexual harassment which Zafar denied, taking the matter to court and filing a defamation case against Shafi for slander.
While the case is still ongoing, Ali Zafar has been under heavy criticism for his condescending tone towards Shafi in interviews, while award shows and the entertainment industry has been condemned for engaging him.
Singer Ali Zafar and his brother Danny Zee released a rap song on September 22 titled ‘Sushi // Woofer Paar De!’, featuring the rapper Mykko Montana. However, the internet isn’t really feeling the vibe this time. The song is going viral on social media with many users criticising the lyrics as “cringey”, particularly a line rapped by Daniyal that says, “I nut so thick she burpin’”.
A user on X posted a screenshot of the music video with this lyric and wrote: “as if danyal zafar couldn’t get more disgusting …”
Indian poet Javed Akhtar’s comments about Mumbai attacks at the recent Faiz Festival circulated heavily on social media. Akhtar attacked Pakistan for refusing to hold accountable the terrorists behind 26/11 attacks. He also said that India had always honored and celebrated the legacies of Pakistani musicians like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mehdi Hassan, but Pakistan refused to do the same thing.
Why our media and so-called “elite” is mum over highly condemnable comments made by Javed Akhtar on our own soil? pic.twitter.com/tpLEswwt1x
Pakistani actors have slammed the Indian screen writer for his inappropriate comments and especially for misleading the audience into believing that Indian actors and musicians were not respected in Pakistan. Actor Ejaz Aslam criticized Akhtar for refusing to own up to the destruction India had done in Kashmir, instead of hating on the country that had invited him as a guest.
“Mr javed akhtar would you mind shedding some light on Kashmir issue ? You shouldn’t have come if you have so much hatred for pakistan, we still let u go back safely & thats our answer to your nonsense”
Mr javed akhtar would you mind shedding some light on Kashmir issue ? You shouldn’t have come if you have so much hatred for pakistan, we still let u go back safely & thats our answer to your nonsense #javedakhtar#goback#nonsense # pic.twitter.com/b7DCIdnH1o
Actress Saboor Aly reacted to the celebrities who were praising Javed Akhtar at the mehfil, and said she was ashamed that they refused to set professional boundaries towards someone who had disrespected them in this manner. She also felt that it was shameful how many local celebrities who are equally as talented are not given the honor and respect Akhtar was given for three days.
“These people were celebrating someone who had insulted them in their own home, and then sat at his feet and singing praises. What a shame! So-called educated people. You have never respected your own talent the same way. Some of the biggest stars in this country had passed away in severe circumstances when they didn’t even have any money to pay for their operation. Where were these people then who respected talent so much?”
Fashion designer Zara Shahjahan criticized the elite participants who had attended the conference where Javed Akhtar had said this, and also later had hosted a mehfil for him.
“He was not just allowed to come to Pakistan, he was allowed to shit on Pakistan and then the Lahori “fake” elite hosted a party for him where they cried on his knees.”
He was not just allowed to come to Pakistan, he was allowed to shit on Pakistan and then the Lahori “fake” elite hosted a party for him where they cried on his knees. https://t.co/jUgDFVUtdP
Actress Resham, who had also shared video clips of attending the mehfil hosted by Ali Zafar where Akhtar was honored, gave her defence on her Instagram stories. She shared that she deeply respected her country and its people, and was not aware of the comments he had made.
“I hold my country Pakistan in deep respect, and was not aware of the type of comments Javed Akhtar had made at the conference on the Faiz Festival that day. I condemn his words. As per our customs of special treatment, we consider guests God’s mercy but Pakistan is more precious to us than our hearts and lives.”
A five-member bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday (today) heard Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s plea challenging Governor Balighur Rehman’s orders to de-notify him as CM.
During the hearing, Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh remarked that the governor can ask a chief minister to take a vote of confidence from the assembly.
While Elahi’s lawyer Barrister Ali Zafar responded that his client became the chief minister by taking votes in the assembly, Justice Hafeez said that the chief minister should always have the support of the majority of the lawmakers (186 members) in the house.
At one point, Justice Sheikh said that if a consensus could not be reached between the governor and the chief minister, then the case would be heard on “merit”.
“The matter has now prolonged beyond a reasonable time,” he remarked, adding that the court would have to look at assembly dissolution, violation of the governor’s orders, and the way forward.
In the late hours of December 22, Rehman denotified Elahi as CM. At the time, the governor had said that since the chief minister had refrained from taking a vote of confidence at the appointed day and time, he ceased to hold office.
Subsequently, Elahi approached the court, saying the move was “unconstitutional, unlawful and of no legal effect”.
LHC later reinstated Elahi as the chief minister after he assured the court that he would not dissolve the Punjab Assembly until the next hearing, which was held today.
Bollywood actor Madhuri Dixit recently stunned her fans by sharing a dancing reel on Pakistani singer-actor Ali Zafar’s chartbuster song, Sun Re Sajaniya.
The Kalank diva nailed the video with her sizzling dance moves and gorgeous facial expression.
Earlier this year, Pakistan actress Alizeh Shah took to her official social media handles to flaunt her singing skills by crooning Madhuri Dixit’s O Re Piya.
Bollywood star couple, Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal recently shared updates regarding their wedding preparations. While reporting this news, an Indian journalist Prashant Jain of Navbharat Times tagged singer Ali Zafar instead of the Mirzapur star, Ali Fazal.
Responding to him, Chadha tweeted, “Ali Zafar is a Pakistani singer/actor, who is already married,” along with a thinking face emoji.
Ali Fazal and Richa Chadha are dating since 2015, but made it official in 2017, when the 3 Idiots actor Instagrammed a selfie with Richa Chadha, saying: “Hai toh hai.” Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal, co-stars of Fukrey, also shared screen space in Fukrey Returns. They also had extended cameos in Netflix’s Call My Agent: Bollywood.
During an interview last month with News18, Richa Chadha on being asked about her wedding plans: “We will get married this year. We’re very excited to get married but just worried about Covid and want to be responsible. Don’t want to be in the news for the wrong reasons. Plus, we’ve both gotten really, really busy when stuff opened up, and work resumed at full pace. So I’m saying we have to like do a live production job of taking combination dates and making this happen this year.”
This year marks the 75th year of independence for the country and to commemorate the occasion, 253 Pakistani citizens from all walks of life, as well as foreign nationals, were awarded the highest honors: the Pakistan Civil Awards by the President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi, for showing excellent courage and remarkable achievements in their respective fields. A number of prominent Pakistani celebrities, belonging to the field of entertainment and sports were also conferred with the Civil Awards.
The list of the celebrity recipients is as follows:
Nishan-e-Imtiaz
Musical composer Ahmed G. Chagla
Actor Qavi Khan
Hilal-e-Imtiaz
Writer, author Amjad Islam Amjad (Urdu Literature)
Sitara-e-Imtiaz
Filmmaker Riaz Shahid
Poet Naseer Turabi
Singer Hassan Jahangir
Actor Tauqeer Nasir
Actor, singer, anchorperson, pilot Fakhr-e-Alam
President’s Pride Of Performance
Singer Gul Zari Wagma
Singer Arooj Aftab
Actress Anjuman
Actor Afzal Ahmed
Actress Sangeeta
Tamgha-e-Imtiaz
Urdu poet Neelam Bashir
Author Noorjehan Bilgrami
Actor Arbaz Khan
The awards were conferred on the occasion of the country’s 75th Independence Day. However, the Investiture Ceremony of these awards will take place on Pakistan Day, 23rd March, 2023.
Actor-singer Ali Zafar recently shared some bold seminude pictures on his official Instagram handle, which is generating polarising response from netizens.
Now, the Teefa in Trouble star has created an uproar on the internet by posting scandalous clicks of himself on his social media handle.
Zafar decided to set the internet on fire once again when he accepted a dare from his friend a posted a rather controversial picture. “A friend dared me to post this picture. Sorry.”, captioned the Kill Dill hero.
Whosoever has never ever clicked her nudes should only have right to criticise #AliZafar posing
Singer, Meesha Shafi has won a civil revision challenge at the Lahore High Court against a stay order obtained by Ali Zafar against a defamation suit which Meesha had filed against him.
The stay order that was issued on February 13, 2020 issued by the trial court had stopped the proceedings of a civil defamation case filed by Meesha Shafi in 2019 under the Defamation Ordinance 2002 for false and defamatory statements made by Ali Zafar in the media and social media.
In its application for a stay order against Meesha’s defamation case, Ali Zafar had argued that Meesha’s suit should be stayed until a separate defamation case filed by Ali Zafar is decided. However, the Lahore High Court has overturned this order by accepting a civil revision challenge which has stated that the cause of action of the two suits is sufficiently different and the trial against Ali Zafar can proceed and Meesha Shafi’s legal team can now pursue the case against Ali Zafar.
What is Meesha’s defamation suit?
Meesha Shafi had filed a case on September 17, 2019 pertaining to a defamatory smear campaign by Ali Zafar. In the suit, Meesha contended that statements made by Ali Zafar on a private Pakistani news channel on falsely stated that she was a “liar” and that she made sexual harassment allegations to obtain fame and Canadian immigration.
Ali also stated that Meesha wanted to “become another Malala Yousafzai”, implying that Malala fabricated her assassination attempt.
Meesha Shafi reacted to the news, thanking her legal team and all those who support her.
All those who have continued to support this cause against all odds are the reason I am celebrating today! IA this epic struggle will pave the way for a just and safe outcome for ALL SURVIVORS! Thank you to superwoman @Sabhamid for being my rock! This has not been easy for my
