Hum TV on December 16 celebrated the 16th anniversary of its premier entertainment channel in Islamabad in a special show hosted by Ahmed Ali Butt and Shiffa Yousafzai.
The anniversary celebrations was a star-studded event attended by prominent faces of the country’s entertainment landscape and dignitaries including DG ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Zulfi Bukhari, Adnan Siddiqui, Bushra Ansari, Hamza Ali Abbasi, Farhan Saeed, Sarah Khan, Vaneeza Ahmed, Momina Duraid, Usman Mukhtar, Sultana Siddiqui President HUM Network Limited and CEO HUM Network Duraid Qureshi.
While everyone enjoyed watching their favourite stars take the stage, it was DG ISPR and SAPM Zulfi Bukhari who Twitter couldn’t stop talking about.
DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor praised #DeepikaPadukone for being a brave person and “standing both with youth and the truth.”
However, later he deleted his tweet for reasons unknown.
Deepika won the appreciation of the public after she visited Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to stand in solidarity with the students who were protesting after masked assailants wielding batons and iron rods attacked the university leaving more than two dozen injured.
According to an Indian journalist, the masked mob was linked to a BJP linked student group. They barged into hostel rooms and assaulted left-wing students and also beat up visually impaired people. There were reports that they were carrying acid as well.
Deepika’s presence at the protest signifies that she is most likely standing with them in protest of these BJP-linked attacks and not the tuition fees hike protests that had been happening at the university earlier. The hostel fee hike is an ongoing issue and protests were held against it previously.
Previously, in a media interaction when asked about the ongoing protests, Deepika had said that she is proud that the students are not scared of expressing themselves.
“I feel proud about it that people are coming out – be it on the streets or wherever they are – they are raising their voice and expressing themselves as it is important. If we want to see change in life and society, it is important that a point of view be put forward,” Deepika had said.
Meanwhile, several other Bollywood personalities including Vishal Bharadwaj, Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Dia Mirza, Rahul Bose, Richa Chadha and Taapsee Pannu led hundreds of people in a peaceful protest against the violence.
India’s cybersecurity chief on Saturday stressed the need for a unified public relations command for the three wings of the armed forces to ensure an upper hand in the narrative warfare with Pakistan, which, he opined, has “got its act together” through its Director General Inter Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor.
According to a report in India Today, National Cyber Security Coordinator Lieutenant General Rajesh Pant (retd) while speaking at a seminar said the three wings of the armed forces have their own public relations officers and “they are going in different ways”.
“When are we going to have our own equivalent of the DGISPR,” he is reported to have said, adding, “The (Indian armed forces) services have their own PRs and they are going in different ways.”
Pant remarked that Pakistan has got “its act together” in narrative warfare because of DG ISPR.
Elaborating further Pant said, “When they (DGISPR) conduct narrative warfare, let’s say in the case of Kashmir, the message they send to Europe is that human rights are being infringed. When they engage with Islamic nations they tell them that Islam is under threat. And what they told Southeast Asia is that there is a regional instability.”
“So, they seem to have got their act together,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, General Asif Ghafoor also took to social media to share his reaction.
Key to success is truth based information. But if it habitually goes like sham surg strike 2016, sham IAF Balakot strike, denial of 2 IAF jets hit by PAF on 27 Feb 19 and laughable claim of shooting F16 by Mig21; it ought to fail except in bollywood. https://t.co/KCZlYRk7rd
Romanian pop band Akcent’s lead singer Adrian Sina, after his concert at the Alhamra Cultural Complex in Lahore, paid a visit to the ISPR Headquarters where he had a “fantastic cup of tea” with DG ISPR Major General Asif Ghafoor.
Taking to Twitter, the singer shared a short video of himself with Gen Ghafoor in which he says, “I am so happy that I had a chance to travel from Romania to Pakistan to meet General Asif Ghafoor and ISPR.”
Sipping on his tea, he added, “I discovered, once again, that Pakistani tea is fantastic.”
Meanwhile, Akcent’s concert in Lahore on Sunday was embroiled in controversy. The pop band was initially scheduled to perform at Governor House to ‘express solidarity with the Kashmiris’.
However, the event drew ire on social media with users questioning the logic behind holding a concert to raise voice for Kashmir. Following the backlash, the Punjab government, including Governor Chaudhry Sarwar and Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, withdrew its support and logistics. The government also did not allow the organisers to provide Kashmir flags to the concert participants. All flexes referring to the oppression of Kashmiris were also pulled down.
Since the Romanian band was invited and payments were made, it performed at the Alhamra Cultural Complex before a large crowed but without any gesture for held Kashmir – it was held as a music concert without any political or diplomatic agenda.
Akcent performing at Alhamra
The development upset many including Sina, who was reportedly disappointed that he could not speak a word about the Kashmiris. Sina’s press conference, which was scheduled at the Governor House, was also reportedly cancelled.
Chief Minister’s Taskforce on Women Development chairperson Tanzila Imran Khan, the host of the event, also expressed her disappointed saying that she herself had contacted the band’s lead and made payments from her own pockets to raise voice for the Kashmiris.
Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s office has again confirmed the three-year extension given to Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa recently, saying a notification pertaining to the extension in the general’s tenure has already been issued on August 19, Pakistan Today reported.
According to the details, the statement came after a meeting between PM Imran and Gen Bajwa amid reports of an alleged rift between the civilian government and the military establishment. This was the second meeting of the two bigwigs in a week.
During this meeting, the top leaders discussed matters pertaining to national security, said the statement issued by the PM House.
In the earlier meeting, Gen Bajwa met Imran in an apparent attempt to allay the latter’s concerns over the recent political developments in the country. The statement further said that the two sides discussed the prevailing situation in Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK) and at the western border, and internal security issues were discussed.
The PM’s meeting with the army chief was followed by a meeting with Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed on Tuesday.
However, media reports dub these meeting as an attempt to assuage Imran’s concerns by the military. “The government and army are not on the same page due to disagreement on certain points, especially the exit of former PM Nawaz Sharif from the country on health grounds,” reports had earlier stated.
After these statements, military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor refuted claims of an alleged divide between the country’s civilian and military leadership, reiterating that both sides are on the same page.
“This is baseless gossip. There is absolutely nothing of the sort,” said ISPR director general as he dismissed speculations of a rift.
“The army is supporting a democratically elected government as per the constitution. There will be no let-up in this [support] as it is a must for the progress and prosperity of Pakistan”, he added.
EU Disinfo Lab, an independent non-governmental organization, has found that there are at least 265 “coordinated fake local media outlets” that were “designed to influence the EU (European Union) and the UN (United Nations) by repeatedly criticising Pakistan”.
Thereport shows how the NGO investigated and found that Indian stakeholders are deliberately trying to influence countries against Pakistan by getting stories posted on sites like eptoday.com, which is “the website of a self-proclaimed magazine for the European Parliament in Brussels”. After investigating the site and the increasing anti Pakistan articles and op-eds, the Disinfo Lab found a pattern that matched 265 fake local media outlets, including timesofgeneva.com, “an online “newspaper” that is “approaching 35 years in business”. Strangely enough, Times of Geneva publishes the same type of content as EP Today and produces videos covering events and demonstrations criticising Pakistan’s role in the Kashmir conflict.”
After the report was published, D.G. ISPR tweeted that koyi shak (any doubt), hinting that there was zero doubt that India is trying to influence the world against Pakistan by publishing fake news.
Here it goes…. Internationally certified now. کوئ شک؟
Uncovered: 265 coordinated fake local media outlets serving Indian interests – EU DisinfoLab https://t.co/IHT15PWL2Q
Other findings from the report include that most of the fake outlets are named after an outdated newspaper or are fake versions of real media outlets. They also republish content from agencies and have little original content. It also showed that the coverage was mostly of the same Indian-related demonstrations and events and also republications of the same anti-Pakistan content.
Military Spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor did a briefing yesterday, updating the press of Pakistan’s fight for Kashmir’s rights. He spoke about how Kashmir was Pakistan’s “jugular vein” and how Pakistan would protect it at all costs. He also warned India of any “misadventure” and said that “nuclear countries do not go to war”. During his briefing, the background was of a green leaf.
D.G. ISPR Asif Ghafoor’s press briefing
The leaf is a chinar tree leaf and symbolizes Kashmir. The chinar tree is largely found in Kashmir or European countries and it is largely believed that the Mughal Emperor Akbar planted chinars in the Kashmir valley.
A large chinar tree
1,200 saplings of chinar were planted at the same time in a ‘Char Chinar’ pattern, which is four chinar trees planted in four corners of a piece of land.
Chinar leaf in autumn
The Char Chinar pattern creates overarching shade so a person standing in any part of the area would have shade during the whole day.
Chinar trees in autumn in Srinagar
For Indians, visiting Srinagar in autumn, is an attractive holiday since the chinar leaves turn golden before they fall.
