June 21 marks Pakistan, and the Muslim world’s first female Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s birthday. She would have been 66 today.
The Current got in touch with those close to Benazir and asked them what the former PM would have liked as a present.
Most of them told us that Benazir had a sweet tooth and loved chocolates with nuts so that would have been the ideal gift. She was also very fond of ice-cream with caramel.
Apart from that cotton shalwar suits would have also been a great gift for Benazir, who we all know had a strong fashion sense.
Reading was one of her favourite past times and she would regularly read books on current international politics. Books would have also been an ideal gift for her.
All in all, books, chocolates and a shalwar suit are the three things BB would have liked as a present. Simple.
Interim chief executive officer (CEO) of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), Asadullah Khan, has said that Afghanistan is currently better than Pakistan in all aspects of cricket.
According to senior sports journalist Ibrahim Momand, Asadullah in a recent television interview said that Pakistan should “seek Afghanistan’s help to improve their cricket”.
“We are currently far better than Pakistan in cricket and they should ask us for technical, coaching and more support for the betterment of their cricket [sic],” Asadullah is reported to have said.
Acting CEO of @ACBofficials#Mr.Assadullah recently responded to Pakistani media claims in a TV interview & said,We are currently far better than Pakistan in cricket & they should ask us for technical,coaching & more support for the betterment of their cricket.@ShafiqStanikzaipic.twitter.com/va4o5hXiLq
In case you missed it, Mehwish Hayat recently did a special song for Meera Jee’s upcoming film Baaji. The song has Mehwish channel her inner rebel and show off her moves. Needless to say, the song irked Pakistanis and many called for Mehwish’s Tamgha-e-Imtiaz to be cancelled.
Mehwish being Mehwish responded to all the haters and trolls last night with a tweet in which she basically said that she doesn’t give a damn about what people say and that she is very proud of her cameo.
Oops I did it again! After 5 years another cameo that I am very proud of. R u ready for Gangster Guriya?A woman in control of herself & knows wat she wants! ”You can’t play me boy..nahi hoon mai khilona” Thank you @aClockworkObi,Saqib Malik,Taha,Akif ILyas,Anila,Mo Azmi n team pic.twitter.com/7QQ0gX4URf
She also said that doing these dance numbers is her personal choice and that they make her feel empowered.
To do these dance numbers has been my choice. As an actress and performer it is my job. As a woman I find my work empowering. Dance to me is aesthetically the purest form of art. https://t.co/KzGNoXJXhU Incase you’ve missed it here’s the link ☝
He also requested people to not “hurl obscenities & vicious abuse their way.”
Please. It’s not too much to ask that you be civil in your criticism. No one is taking away your freedom of speech or your right to call out something you feel strongly against. But that doesn’t give you the right to tag someone and hurl obscenities & vicious abuse their way.
Iqra Aziz and Yasir Hussain’s relationship is an open secret. The two may not have officially confirmed their relationship but their Instagram profiles and stories make this fact pretty evident. In fact, the couple was recently on a vacation in Thailand from where they posted daily updates.
Iqra and Yasir were now recently spotted hanging out at designer Ali Xeeshan’s studio and history is proof that all celebrity marriages are subtly announced with spottings at designers studios.
Fans also seem to think the two are getting married.
However, there were some others who commented that the duo is probably getting their wardrobes sorted out for the upcoming awards ceremonies including the Lux Style Awards and Hum Awards.
A majority of fans have been left disheartened ever since Pakistan’s humiliating defeat against arch-rivals India in the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
While some hope for a comeback from the Green Shirts as witnessed in the 2017 Champions Trophy and many other times, everyone is confused over the national cricket team’s future in the tournament.
CAN PAKISTAN STILL QUALIFY FOR THE SEMIS?
The simple answer to this question is yes. Pakistan can still manage to secure a spot among the four teams that will be playing in the semi-finals of the World Cup.
As per the current table, Pakistan are at number nine out of the ten teams playing in the tournament.
The situation doesn’t look very good; however, Pakistan still has another four matches to play against South Africa on June 23, New Zealand on June 26, Afghanistan on June 29 and Bangladesh on July 5.
In order to qualify, Pakistan need to win all four matches while maintaining a good Net Run Rate (NRR) — a statistical method used in analysing teamwork and performance in cricket.
Other than performing well, Pakistan also has to hope that New Zealand loses all its remaining matches because considering their current forms, India, Australia and England will most probably be the top three teams that will qualify.
Imtiaz Hussain, a folk artist from Boghaki village of Parachinar, has set up conflict-ridden Parachinar’s first music academy.
The music academy which is the first of its kind in the tribal district will teach the youth how to play musical instruments including the rabab and harmonium, as well as how to sing in the traditional Pashto style. Twenty-eight boys have already enrolled in the academy.
According to details, Hussain wanted to become a musician himself which is why last August he decided to set this up to encourage others to learn music.
The academy is being viewed as a sign of peace in the tribal district which has seen sectarian conflict, militancy and scores of suicide attacks in the past decade or so.
“Music itself brings peace and harmony. A singer or musician is a harmless person and only spreads music,” Hussain said, adding that some level of peace has been achieved in the city.
Imtiaz shared that the academy currently lacks proper equipment and musical instruments and that he hopes to get help and guidance to improve the academy.
Though Hussain has faced some resistance from elders who believe that music is forbidden he says that the academy is his passion and he hopes to develop it into a proper music school.
Officials of the Sindh Food Authority (SFA) sealed the Larkana branch of KFC which was the Pakistan Peoples Party’s favourite food spot in Larkana. According to The Current’s sources, officials of the PPP including Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari used to regularly eat food from there during the 2018 General Elections campaign.
As per details, the branch was sealed because it was providing unhygienic and substandard food to its customers. The authority’s food safety officer (FSO) Mehboob Ali Bhatti, while speaking to the media said that the outlet was previously given a warning and a fine of 100,000 rupees was imposed on them but they paid no heed to it. However, when the SFA team reached to seal the outlet, the restaurant’s manager and staff put up resistance due to which an employee was taken into custody.
Minister for Power Division Omar Ayub Khan has said his grandfather and former president of Pakistan, Ayub Khan, had “laid the foundation of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)”.
Taking the floor of the National Assembly on Wednesday, Omar Ayub said, “Former president of Pakistan Ayub Khan had laid the foundation of CPEC by starting work on the Karakoram Highway.”
He further said that the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan-led government was determined to achieve the set target of Rs5,500 billion in the financial year 2019-20.
The minister added that the country had to pay billions of rupees as interest on the loans taken by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) governments.
CPEC:
CPEC is a collection of infrastructure projects that are currently under construction throughout Pakistan with China’s help. Originally valued at $46 billion, the value of CPEC projects is worth $62 billion as of 2017.
The project is expected to generate employment and boost the country’s economy in the years to come.
With exams over and the summer break in full swing, now is the best time to start planning on how to spend your holidays and make the most of them. While sleeping through the days and binge-watching shows through the night does sound tempting, it becomes boring after a little while and can leave you feeling lazy and low.
Here are some exciting things you can do this summer.
Volunteer at an old home
Make voluntarily visits to old homes or orphanages. Spend some quality time with the people there by playing games or reading them story books.
Alternately, if you’re someone who’s fond of animals, you can even volunteer at an animal shelter. Such places are usually short of staff and they can always do with an extra pair of hands.
Internships
Internships during the summer break offer many advantages. Not only do you learn new skills, but you also get work experience which will help you when you start looking for jobs.
Travel
Travel to some new place, meet new people and learn a new culture or explore your own city with your friends. Take a lot of pictures and Enjoy! Here are the places you can visit this summer that are not very popular.
Expand your knowledge
Take advantage of your free time and expand your knowledge. Make a list of books you always wanted to read or find the best sellers or you can ask your friends and family for the books that are worth reading.
Take Courses
Learn cooking, baking and surprise your family with a yummy cake or you can go for some tech courses. Master photoshop this summer and get your pictures perfectly edited.
Plant a garden
Decide what you would like to grow, flowers or vegetables, and google how to plant and care. Keep your garden watered and weeds out of your garden. If you don’t have a lot of space at home, you can plan in pots but make sure they get enough sunlight.
Soon after Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Accountability Shahzad Akbar said the British government has agreed to extradite Ishaq Dar, it was reported that the former finance minister had approached Home Office in London “to apply for political asylum”.
Dar, 69, is currently in London, “undergoing medical treatment”. He is absconding from several cases in Pakistan since 2017 and has been declared a proclaimed offender by the courts.
He is facing charges of accumulating assets beyond known sources of income.
With the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government continuing to claim Dar is only evading the cases against him since he has been spotted walking upright on the streets of London time and again, PM Imran Khan’s special assistant on Tuesday said the former finance minister “will be brought back soon”.
A day later, a private media outlet claimed that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader had reached the Home Office in London for a second interview with regard to political asylum in the United Kingdom (UK).
Rejecting the reports, a close aide of Dar told The Current that he had visited the UK Home Office “only to inform them about the fabricated reports in the name of a recently-signed extradition agreement between the two countries”.
The source’s claim was validated when British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the United Kingdom (UK) would not sign any extradition treaty that could be used for “politically-motivated” cases.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Hunt confirmed the two had discussed the issue of an extradition treaty between Pakistan and the UK.
WATCH VIDEO:
“Let me say it straightforward. The UK will never sign any treaty allowing for politically motivated extradition,” said the British official to which Qureshi added that Pakistan did not intend to use the treaty against political rivals.
