Two women have stepped up to contest the provincial election being held in ex-Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Geo News reported.
FATA was finally merged into KP in May 2018 after then president Mamnoon Hussain signed the 25th Constitutional Amendment Bill into law.
People of the tribal districts on Saturday are casting a ballot for the first time to elect members of the provincial assembly on sixteen seats up for grabs in seven newly-merged districts.
In the 16 constituencies up for grabs, almost all contestants are men; however, two women from the Awami National Party (ANP) and Jamaate Islami (JI) have stepped up to give them a tough time.
Naheed Afridi from the ANP is hoping for a win in Khyber district’s PK-106. There are a total of 148,470 voters in this constituency, of which 65,652 (44 per cent) are female.
JI’s Malasa Bibi, on the other hand, is running for PK-109 of the Kurram district. In her constituency, there are 187,844 voters in all, of which 82,560 are women.
The two women are breaking barriers by contesting the election in extremely conservative tribal districts where women have not always been allowed to even cast their votes.
Poori zindagi guzar gayi iss soch main keh whether jinns and supernatural creatures exist or not.
Nonetheless, media reports from Karachi are saying that a weird, mysterious creature has been spotted in Shershah scrap market sparking fear among traders who have businesses there. Traders are now closing their shops earlier than before.
The guard who has seen this creature claims that this creature is approximately 5 feet tall and dark-coloured with two glowing eyes. He recounted that this started about eight days ago when he was fulfilling his duties outside a warehouse. He said that he heard dogs barking nearby and got up from his chair to see what was going on. As he walked towards where the noise was coming from, Gulzar said that he felt a strange sensation before he spotted a “strange creature.” He immediately ran away. Gulzar said he has been working as a watchman for the last 25 years but has never seen anything like this before.
Local initially believed that Gulzar was making up stories, but the next day, another watchman, Abdul Qayyum, claimed to have spotted the creature as he was taking a round of the area. This has sparked fear and panic among the locals.
Shopkeepers also believe that this creature is killing their animals and sucking their blood. They have submitted their reports and concerns to the local police station.
Meanwhile, some people believe that this is just an elaborate plan to scare the locals. Whatever the matter may be, it does sound a little eerie.
Ever felt like you’ve entered a new world just by walking up two steps? That’s Okra Test Kitchen – a small off-shoot of Okra, one of Karachi’s most loved fine dining restaurants.
Okra’s well known for pushing the boundaries and creating fancy phoo-phoo food. But it’s also homey, organic and comforting. Many uncles and aunties would say, 1000 Rupees for an “anday ka omelette” isn’t worth it, but with the younger lot, knowing the main guy, Vincent, and getting a table for Sunday Brunch is equal to hanging out with Kareena Kapoor in London.
View of the Restaurant from the Kitchen. Source: Okra Test Kitchen’s Facebook Page
Okra Test Kitchen doesn’t have that kind of pressure. A very small place, with three, four tables, it’s walk-in only. And when you walk in, take a deep breath.
It smells like Paris, freshly baked bread, croissants, soft music, the soft clinking of cutlery, the bright light streaming in from the large window. Breathe it all in and take the corner table.
Some of the most enviable Instagram moments are images of small cafes, on bright sunny days, scintillating conversation, softly munching on bread. That’s what Okra Test Kitchen has managed to achieve. A place that sings Europe with such authenticity that you feel like you’re on vacation. It’s okay if you’ve come out in your lounge pants and you really don’t know Vincent. But the thing is, you don’t need to.
Portuguese Custard Tart. Source: Okra Test Kitchen Facebook
The menu hangs on the wall, the chefs greet you from the small, makeshift kitchen, cooking right there, baking right there. You order right where the menu hangs, you ask for a coffee from the coffee machine you can see.
If you make it to heaven, you’ll ask for an Okra Test Kitchen croissant. If you live outside Karachi, you’ll take boxes with you because you won’t find it anywhere else. You’ll never say this out loud but you know that Parisian croissants have nothing on the incredibly soft, flaky, crunch of the Karachi Croissant. You’ll ask for more, and if it’s not your day, they’ll be sold out.
The Croissants. Source: Okra Test Kitchen’s Facebook (and my heart)
The scrambled eggs are moist and fluffy, slow-cooked but without much comfort. The maritozzo, a sweet Utalian brioche bun, filled with cream, is light but doesn’t do much for the Pakistani palette, except making you start to count calories. However, the Portuguese custard tarts are sweet and delightful, joy filled in their crust.
Okra Test Kitchen is all about the bread, the pastry, the croissants, and there is nothing else like it in Pakistan. The food is above average, (pushed up by The Forbidden Croissant) and strongly elevated by the atmosphere it has so flawlessly created. You ignore that the place is so small, you’re bound to knock off one of the bottles, precariously resting on a shelf on the wall, causing a rather embarrassing stir, promising to pay for it but not having to in the end. You ignore that sometimes you’ll walk in and never get a place to sit but are willing to wait a good hour just so you can stay there and breathe. You will go back, week after week, just so you can step into a different universe, one that promises a mini vacation for an hour or two. It’s an hour or more, of first world peace, before you step back into the grime of Karachi, relishing the time when you could get away and be transported to the streets of Europe.
While Hamza Ali Abbasi is a talented actor, his social media needs some ‘monitoring’. Abbasi’s tweets land him in controversy every now and then, and it isn’t without reason.
On July 18, following former prime minster Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s arrest, Hamza tweeted:
1st time in the history of Pak a civilian Govt arresting THE BIG FISH who have raped Pak for decades! Maybe why sum think its a conspiracy bcz its never happnd be4: & be4 u say “MUSHARRAF”, he is absconder just like civilians Sharif sons, Ali Imran, Ishaq Dar, Altaf Hussain etc
We think Hamza was rightly schooled. Rape analogy is not something to be used lightly. Many people on social media use rape as an analogy in tweets related to sports or rivalries or politics. Not only is it in bad taste but it is also a disservice to rape survivors.
As Lala Mustafa explained to Hamza, “Rape is about power. Rape is more of a psychological crime against a person whereby they are stripped of their power and agency.”
From intimidating accountability watchdogs, telling the judiciary how to do its job, to placing increasingly fascist restrictions on press, Imran Khan has reached levels of desperation that seem unprecedented
We have been here before. A government, drunk on its
newfound power, now finds itself in unfamiliar territory where it has to lead a
nation and not just tear down all that holds that country upright.
An opposition, being oppressed, harassed and victimised for
speaking to the aspirations of the people, at whose will, it serves. It’s not
new. It’s a vicious cycle that has revisited this country one too many times
now.
The 2018 general election was among the most tainted in this
country’s history, the impact of which the nation now suffers. The country is
in the grip of an economic crisis that can only be described as a financial
Armageddon, corruption is ironically at its peak, a glimpse of which has been
seen in the recent report put forth by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on the
Peshawar BRT project.
In the Prime Minister’s (PM) House, our own version of the
Mad King has begun to unravel. In an attempt to distract everyone from how the
country’s economy has continued to unravel under his watch, he has decided to
demolish every institution we hold dear in the country.
From threatening and intimidating the country’s accountability watchdogs, telling the judiciary how to do its job, to placing increasingly fascist restrictions on the press in Pakistan, Imran Khan has reached levels of desperation that seem unprecedented.
Why though? Why this sudden surge in desperation on the part
of the PM?
Nawaz Sharif has been unfairly put behind bars. The top tier
leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is being threatened day
in day out with mala fide cases in an attempt to shut them up.
Why is the government so spooked that it continues to up the
ante and show its ill intent when despite its reservations and grievances over
the election process, the opposition has on various occasions declared its
intentions to let the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) remain in power and
complete its term?
What perturbs the government is that it can see the writing
on the wall. Going forward, electoral politics will revolve around the next
generation of voters — the youth — and at present, no one has shown to
connect with the youth of this country quite like Maryam Nawaz.
People know her as the current force that has kept the party
going in her father’s absence, but what people do not realise is that she has
been there for quite some time now.
When Nawaz was in exile during Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf-led
military rule, it was Maryam who pushed and encouraged her father to return to
the country because she believed the people needed her father’s leadership. Now
she is burdened with the responsibility to fight for her family and her party.
She has been burdened with the responsibility to fight for
all of us… for the very democratic soul of the country.
The Mad King fears his government will fall apart once and
for all as his false claim of representing the youth nears collapse. It is for
this very reason that his government is going to ridiculous lengths to try and
harass the opposition.
What he needs to remember is that we have been here before.
And inevitable is that authoritarians have time and time again fallen from
their positions of power and been forced to feel the unforgiving wrath of the
will of the people.
That wave, let’s call it a tsunami, is building up, making its way to sweeping away the PTI government and its politics.
Any author’s views do not reflect that of The Current
Despite slogans of austerity and claims of bringing an end to Pakistan’s VIP culture, ministers of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government have installed biometric machines outside bathrooms of the Ministry of Industries and Production for top-ranking officers. The ministry comes under Abdul Razak Dawood who is Adviser to Prime Minister Imran Khan for Commerce, Textile, Industry and Production, and Investment of Pakistan.
According to reports, only an additional secretary or an officer above the rank can use these ‘VVIP’ bathrooms. Those who are of the same rank from another ministry can also use these washrooms.
Meanwhile, the bathrooms for the rest of the people working there allegedly don’t even have soaps or other basic toiletries.
Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s reading habits recently made headlines when The Current cited sources as saying that he is an avid reader who prefers books over television.
Since the premier is a fan of non-fiction and is currently reading “The Silk Roads: A New History of the World” by Peter Frankopan, here are five books that we think he should give a read.
1. Grade VI Geography:
No, we’re not kidding. The world broke into laughter when PM Imran said, “…on the border region of Germany and Japan” while addressing a gathering in Tehran.
While a lot of people argued that the idea of Germany and Japan sharing a border was just a slip of tongue, we don’t think taking a look back at those geography lessons from grade VI is a big deal.
2. ‘Gandhi and Civil Disobedience: The Mahatma in Indian Politics’
The Salt March of 1930 was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi.
Since the PM, before coming to power, was somewhat a civil disobedience fan, we think he might enjoy this one by Judith M Brown.
3. Grade VIII Physics:
It is hard to forget how the premier once said that the Chinese are working on a train that travels not at light ki speed, but “speed ki light”. We’re sure it was yet another slip of tongue, but…
Maybe PM Imran can give grade VIII’s physics book a quick look before making such a claim again.
4. ‘How Democracies Die‘
This one is not that important since we might not be there yet. But every political leader should read “How Democracies Die” by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt.
In the book, the Harvard University political scientists explain how elected leaders can gradually subvert the democratic process to increase their power.
5. Trump: The Art of The Deal
PM Imran will soon be leaving for the United States (US) on his maiden visit to the country since being handed the reins of the country.
Since the premier will be meeting President Donald Trump, giving this book a read to know him better appears to be a good idea.
The book, credited to Trump, talks about the US president’s childhood. It also describes his early work, building The Trump Organization as well as his actions and thoughts.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and Malala Yousafzai have made it to the list of the World’s Most Admired People of 2019. While PM Khan was number 17 on the list, Malala scored the sixth position. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also in the list on number six.
More than 37,000 people from 35 countries were part of the annual study compiled by YouGov.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Michelle Obama topped the list which included influential people from different fields.
Michelle Obama replaced Angelina Jolie as the world’s most admired woman. The American actress and humanitarian went down to the third position this year.
Meanwhile, Microsoft founder Bill Gates remains the world’s most admired man. He tops the list every time YouGov conducts a survey.
Other people who made it to the list include Vladimir Putin, Hillary Clinton, Taylor Swift, Madonna, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Aishwariya Rai, Shahrukh Khan and Salman Khan.
Twitter in Pakistan has burst with praise for Pakistan Army’s late Captain Qadeer Ahmed, who went undercover as a beggar for three long years to arrest Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.
Commander Jadhav — an Indian Navy officer working for Indian covert agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) — was arrested on March 3, 2016, from Balochistan while entering Pakistan from Iran.
A day after the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) verdict in the Jadhav case, Pakistanis took to Twitter to praise Capt Qadeer for his role in the Indian spy’s arrest.
According to reports, working with the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Captain Qadeer spent more than three years in Balochistan as a beggar, attired in dirty tattered clothes, and kept an eye on Jadhav’s activities.
He slept on the pavement and scoured dustbins while keeping a watch. Pictures of the young captain in his beggar avatar are also doing rounds on social media.
Despite being born to a wealthy family, Qadeer chose a military career against his family’s wishes.
He passed away on June 2, 2018, while his car was on way to Khuzdar from Quetta. A female relative sitting on the passenger seat sustained injuries in the accident in Lakoran area, while the officer died on the spot.
He was reportedly on his way home from an undercover duty to see his baby daughter who was ill.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has opposed the formation of a committee to investigate the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) has reported.
As per the details, treasury members of the KP Assembly have
opposed the opposition’s proposed suggestion to form a house committee to probe
the long-pending project.
The chair, however, has admitted the question for a full
debate under Rule 48 of Assembly Procedure, reports said.
“The government would not form a parliamentary
committee unless it was aimed to facilitate people and provide them
relief,” KP Law Minister Sultan Khan said on the floor of the provincial
assembly during question hour.
He rejected the allegations of corruption in BRT and said
that public funds had been utilised on the project in a “judicious and
transparent” way.
The minister was responding to a question raised by Pakistan
People’s Party (PPP) legislator Nighat Orakzai, who argued that public money
had been “deliberately misused” in the project.
According to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report released
earlier this month, the KP government significantly deviated from the original,
agreed design and used inferior quality material in the Rs70 billion Peshawar
metro bus project putting lives and assets at risk in the process.
The inferior quality construction could damage the project’s reputation at the international level, warned the lender that had approved a $335 million (Rs53 billion) loan for the project in mid-2017.
PESHAWAR METRO:
The Peshawar metro is rather infamous for its incompletion as
the authorities concerned have failed to meet deadlines time and again. The government
has now issued yet another deadline for completion of the much-delayed project,
saying that it will be operational by the end of current year.
The KP government and the project’s execution agency had earlier promised to open the project, launched in October 2017, within six months on April 20, 2018. However, the deadline was missed.
The project managers kept changing the launch dates from May
20 to June 30 to December 31 in 2018 to March 23, 2019. The project’s cost has
also jumped to Rs68 billion from earlier Rs49 billion.
