Tag: Pakistan

  • ‘Girls are not display items’, Maya Khan on rishta rejections

    ‘Girls are not display items’, Maya Khan on rishta rejections

    A video of actress and TV host Maya Khan talking about how people search for girls for marriage is making rounds on social media and it seems like a lot of people agree with her.

    In the video that got a lot of attention, she talks about how people visit a girl’s house to consider marriage, but they end up not marrying her

    The actress said, “After seeing the girl, the people who come ask the girl’s parents for a few days and then say on the phone that their istikhara is not correct, they cannot have a relationship. In the same way, the girl’s parents get a call from someone else to come to see the girl and then the family asks the girl to stay at home or leave the office early.”

    Maya Khan stated, “The people who come for the second time also do the same, see the girl, leave after drinking tea and water and ask for an answer after a few days.”
    She added, “Calls for girls to see relationships are coming again and again and every time the girls are decorated and dressed like a ready-made item in a showroom.”

    The actress’s video discussing Pakistani culture regarding girls’ relationships became really popular. Users commented on it and agreed with her. They said that some people pretend to pray for guidance (istikhara) when they don’t really intend to marry the girl.

  • Hamid Mir received death threats, CPJ urges authorities to investigate

    Hamid Mir received death threats, CPJ urges authorities to investigate

    The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has urged Pakistani authorities to “swiftly and impartially investigate death threats and online harassment targeting prominent television anchor Hamid Mir and ensure his safety.”

    Hamid Mir, a prominent journalist in Pakistan who hosts a political talk show ‘Capital Talk’ on Geo News, has survived at least two assassination attempts in the past.

    Mir told the CPJ that he had received multiple death threats on social media and warnings that his life was in danger from two journalists familiar with the situation.

    The Islamabad police is yet to register an FIR after Hamir Mir reported the threats to the police last week.

    The CPJ reported that on April 28, YouTuber Imran Riaz Khan posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he had been told that “preparations are being made to take action” against Mir for his comments in support of freedom of speech in Pakistan

    On April 27, he filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court seeking the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the 2022 killing of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif in Kenya. In February, Mir spoke out on his show against the detention of Imran Riaz Khan and journalist Asad Ali Toor.

    Mir also told CPJ that he saw at least two people filming him last week while he was in his vehicle near his Islamabad home but they ran away when he approached them. Mir also reported the incident to the police.

  • PM orders inquiry on wheat import last year

    PM orders inquiry on wheat import last year

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered an inquiry committee to investigate the import of wheat last year under caretaker setup despite abundant harvest.

    Shehbaz appointed Secretary Cabinet Division Kamran Ali Afzal as head of the probe body.

    “What led to the import of wheat despite abundant production,” the prime minister inquired.

    Farmers in Punjab have staged protests because the government is not buying wheat crops from them at the agreed-upon rates.

    “All necessary measures should be taken for buying wheat and farmers should be compensated for their hard work soon,” Shehbaz assured.

    Importantly, Shehbaz has removed Federal Secretary National Food Security and Research Division Captain (R) Muhammad Asif from his post on the issue of wheat import during the caretaker government.

    Asif is a Grade 21 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service. He has been made OSD.

  • ‘Mujhay easy na laina’, Gandapur slams federal govt for not paying KP dues

    ‘Mujhay easy na laina’, Gandapur slams federal govt for not paying KP dues

    Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur criticized the federal Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led government on Thursday, threatening that people from his province will march towards Islamabad if the Centre does not pay KP’s dues. 

    While speaking at an event in Peshawar, Gandapur said that “They [centre] are making a mistake by denying the rights of the province.” 

    The chief executive of the province said that he will protest against the federal government, and the people of KP will stand by him.

    “Clear the dues of my province as soon as possible, otherwise no body will even thank you,” he told the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government in Islamabad.

    “I will ask the federal government not to take me easy.”

    The KP chief minister believes that his province deserves its fair share, as the province shares its sources with the country.

  • GCU students protest against American band concert

    GCU students protest against American band concert

    Students of Government College University (GCU) held Palestinian flags while protesting against a US Consulate-sponsored concert of the American band Raining Jane in Lahore.

    University administration canceled the concert after the students protested by raising the Palestinian flag at the US Consulate concert.

    In videos that emerged from the protest, it can be seen that students remained undeterred and raised the popular slogan, ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

    GCU Vice Chancellor Dr. Shazia Bashir told Dawn that all the demands of the students were accepted and the event was postponed.
    She said no disciplinary action was taken against any of the students.

  • ‘All that’s left for them now is to murder me – but I’m not afraid to die’, writes Imran Khan

    ‘All that’s left for them now is to murder me – but I’m not afraid to die’, writes Imran Khan

    Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan wrote an op-ed for The Telegraph on May 2, blaming the military establishment for oppression, election rigging and trying to upend his political party PTI.

    “The military establishment, under the direct guidance of Gen Asim Munir, the chief of army staff, has tried every tactic to decimate my party’s presence from the political environment of Pakistan,” wrote Khan.

    The former Prime Minister also said that even though the electoral symbol of a cricket bat was taken from PTI “the people came out and voted overwhelmingly for candidates supported by my party, the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI).”

    Khan emphasized that PTI supporters were “falsely accused” of attacking military installations on May 9 2023 because it was used “as a pretext for a crackdown” on PTI workers.

    “Military leadership has been subjected to overt criticism at a level unseen before in our history. The government is a laughing stock,” stated Khan.

    He also expressed regret over the “sorry state of judicial affairs” in the country and warned that the country is going on “the same path it trod in 1971, when it lost East Pakistan, now Bangladesh.”

    Naming the COAS General Asim Munir publicly, he wrote:

    “The military establishment has done all they could against me. All that is left for them is to now murder me. I have stated publicly that if anything happens to me or my wife, Gen Asim Munir will be responsible. But I am not afraid because my faith is strong. I would prefer death over slavery.”

  • Police say 20 killed in mountain bus accident in Pakistan

    Police say 20 killed in mountain bus accident in Pakistan

    At least 20 people were killed on Friday when a bus plunged into a deep valley in Pakistan’s mountainous northern region, police said.

    The driver lost control of the vehicle on a bend near the city of Chilas, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, around dawn, falling into a rocky ravine where the River Indus flows.

    “The local Ulema (Muslim leader) announced the news of the accident from the loudspeaker of the mosque and urged the people to donate blood for the injured,” Azmat Shah, a police official in the city told AFP.

    “Rescue operations have been completed. Among the 21 injured, the condition of five is very critical.”

    The bus was travelling from the capital Islamabad to Gilgit.

    Road accidents with high fatalities are common in Pakistan, where safety measures are lax, driver training is poor and transport infrastructure often decrepit.

  • Foreign Office laments German envoy incident at AJ Conference

    Foreign Office laments German envoy incident at AJ Conference

    Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on Thursday expressed regret over the incident faced by German Ambassador Alfred Grannas during an event in Lahore.

    Last week, the German envoy was heckled and booed by pro-Palestine protestors over Germany’s complicity in Israel’s genocide against the people of Gaza.

    In the footage, it could be seen that the activist shouted, “Why your country is brutally abusing the people speaking for the rights of Palestinians,” addressing the German envoy.

    However, Ambassador Grannas, who was visibly taken aback, began shouting while asking the protesters not to shout. He also gestured at the students while waving his left hand in the air, asking them to “go out”.

    Mumtaz also rejected allegations of former advisor to Prime Minister Shehzad Akbar’s claims that he was attacked by the state of Pakistan.

    “We categorically reject the allegations made by Shahzad Akbar against the state of Pakistan, its institutions and agencies. These claims are baseless and politically motivated. As we have said in the past safety and security of Pakistani nationals, wherever they are, are a matter of priority for Pakistan,” said the FO spokesperson during her weekly press briefing.

    She reiterated that Pakistan does not have a policy of targeting citizens abroad. Baloch said several dissidents are living in foreign countries but Pakistan has never engaged against them.

    Even though, “Some of them have (even) maintained links with terrorist entities inside Pakistan,” the spokesperson said.

    On April 29, Akbar served a copy of his legal action to the Pakistan High Commission in London. It names several Pakistan government officials as responsible for the attack.

    Akbar had initiated legal action against the Pakistani government over an acid attack in 2023 that left him “scarred for life”.

  • Bella Hadid stops modeling: ‘I won’t pretend anymore’

    Bella Hadid stops modeling: ‘I won’t pretend anymore’

    Supermodel Bella Hadid is stepping back from her glamorous career and starting afresh in Texas with her partner, Adan Banuelo.
    “After 10 years of modeling, I realized I was putting so much energy and love into something that, in the long run, wasn’t necessarily giving back to me,” Hadid told Allure magazine, as reported by ‘The Hollywood Reporter’.

    She explained that her life in Texas is different now, with a strong group of friends. She said that she enjoys her time with them without feeling the need to overdo it when getting ready for a night out.

    “For the first time now, I’m not putting on a fake face. If I don’t feel good, I won’t go. If I don’t feel good, I take time for myself… And I’ve never had the opportunity to do that or say that before,” she said.

    Hadid emphasized that when people see her in pictures and say she looks happy, she genuinely is. “I am feeling better; my bad days now were my old good days,” she added.

    Over the past year, Hadid has been quietly working on her mental and physical health. She has opened up about her battle with Lyme disease on social media and has shared that she is “finally healthy.”

  • ECP once again raises concerns over PTI’s intra-party polls

    ECP once again raises concerns over PTI’s intra-party polls

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has raised concerns over the recent intra-party polls of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). The electoral body asked PTI to submit a response in written form.

    The PTI’s political future is at risk as the ECP raised concerns that the party is holding central meetings without intra-party polls.

    The ECP asked how various PTI party organisations are working if the intra-party polls have not been held for five years. It was the opinion of the commission that PTI has no structure and no electoral symbol.

    It also objected to the PTI’s new intra-party elections. After the initial hearing on April 30, they told the PTI to submit its response