Actor Neelam Muneer has expressed concern over Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s Azadi March speech, wherein the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) had mentioned “institutions’ support to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government” and sought Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s resignation.
Taking to Instagram, Muneer said she respected all religious scholars, but the country could not afford anarchy.
“I highly respect all religious scholars from the bottom of my heart. I seek guidance from their lectures and speeches on [a] daily basis. Today, Maulana Sahib, threatening to arrest Imran Khan from his house, broke my heart,” she wrote.
“Our country can’t afford anarchy or civil disobedience. We the youth need to take charge of our destiny and the only way to do that is to not listen to anyone who wants to create chaos in Pakistan.”
She further urged youngsters to unite against all entities “trying to destroy Pakistan.”
A man has accused Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) of “forcefully” taking his madrassa-going son to Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s Azadi March in Islamabad and threatening him when he questioned them about his son.
“I sent my son to the madrassa for education, but they forcefully took him to Islamabad. When I asked them about my son’s whereabouts, they told me that he had gone to the sit-in,” he said in a video doing rounds over the internet.
The man also claimed that when he asked his son’s teacher about the youngster, the cleric said he didn’t know anything about it and later threatened the man’s younger son.
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“I sent him for education, not sit-ins. What was our fault? I demand from the authorities to take action against those who forcefully took my kid with them,” he said further.
Makeup artist and stylist Shoaib Khan has been taking Instagram by storm recently with his incredibly mind-blowing transformations. The makeup artist first wowed everyone with his Maleficent look and now he has recreated Deepika Padukone’s iconic look from her debut film Om Shanti Om.
“Finally! The look I’ve been meaning to do for so long! My Inspiration, My Queen, Deepika Padukone, arguably the most elegant and sensational actress I’ve ever seen!,” Shoaib wrote in the caption.
“I just love every bit of her, be it her beauty, her acting skills or her personality! How smart & sophisticated this lady is with everything, the way she carries herself and pulls off every look is literally to die for!”
Members of the film fraternity including Minal Khan, Hira Mani, Sadaf Kanwal and Amna Ilyas also lauded Khan for his skills.
Previously, Shoaib had also transformed himself into the Joker and we can’t decide who looks better. The iconic facial expression of the character with a painted white face, red coat, and sporting green hair left us all shook.
Shoaib also shared with his fans how artists work with devotion regardless of what’s going on in their personal lives.
“Being an artist we feel every emotion more than any other person, and you can see those emotions through our work. No matter what’s going on in our lives we still have to be at work on time and do our work with all the dedication,” he wrote in the caption.
He shared that he could relate to the Joker on some levels which is why he recreated this look.
“Recently I watched Joker and I don’t know I felt that this story is telling lots of people’s stories and I could relate to it, so I thought my next look should be dedicated to this great character and I tried my best to give all my emotions in one look.”
Lastly, here is Shoaib as Angelina Jolie from Maleficient.
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Asif Ghafoor has said that Pakistan Army is an impartial institution and its support lies only with the democratically elected government.
Speaking to a private media outlet on Friday night, the military spokesperson said that Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman was a senior politician and he should elaborate as to which institution he was talking about in his Azadi March address.
Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor’s statement came as JUI-F’s anti-government march on Friday reached Islamabad and Fazl trained guns at the “illegitimate” Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
Addressing the protesters, he said that they did not want any confrontation with the institutions, but wanted them to be impartial. “We are giving you two days to stop backing the government,” he said, reiterating his demand for the institutions to be impartial.
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Following the JUI-F chief’s fiery speech, the ISPR DG said that the army had only discharged its constitutional and legal duties during the 2018 election. “The opposition should take its reservations to the authorities concerned.”
He added that unrest at such a crucial time was not in the better interests of the country.
“So far there has been good coordination between the government and opposition committees,” Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said and added that democratic issues should only be resolved democratically.
He also said that no one will be allowed to harm the country’s stability.
FAZL’S REACTION:
“We don’t know on what basis he [Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor] has issued the statement,” the JUI-F chief said later in the day while speaking to media after attending a multi-party conference of opposition leaders at his residence.
Fazl added that the statement should have come from a politician instead of the ISPR chief since he represents the institution of army.
Earlier, the JUI-F chief gave Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan two days’ time to tender his resignation. “After this, we will make our own decision. We will not wait anymore.” He expressed his readiness to have a dialogue with the institutions, but said that the government had to go.
A journalist affiliated with BBC has claimed that senior journalist and analyst Hamid Mir on Friday advised Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif to run off ahead of Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s fiery speech against the Imran Khan government.
“A few moments ahead of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief’s dangerous speech, Mir advised Shehbaz to take flight,” Rifatullah Orakzai tweeted.
آزادی مارچ کے کنٹینر میں مولانا فضل الرحمان کی تقریر سے چند لمحے پہلے حامد میر نے از راہ تفنن شہباز شریف سے کہا کہ اس پہلے کہ مولانا ایک خطرناک تقریر شروع کریں آپ موقع سے فرار ہو جائیں اور سب ہنس دئیے@HamidMirPAK@juipakofficial @yousafzai_aqeel @Alikhanyzaipic.twitter.com/X37wxk4Rl1
— Rifatullah Orakzai رفعت اللہ اورکزئی (@RifatOrakzai) November 1, 2019
Sharing an image of the trio laughing inside Fazl’s Azadi March container, Orakzai further wrote that Mir’s advice had the JUI-F chief, Shehbaz and Mir himself in fits of laughter.
Earlier, the journalist also addressed the protesters from atop the container to guarantee that women journalists would be permitted to cover the Azadi March.
“I addressed the gathering after I got a ton of grumblings from women reporters that they were not being permitted to cover the jalsa,” Mir said later, adding that he was approached by JUI-F leadership to make the declaration from the phase that women columnists could cover the walk and that they were permitted to report the occasion.
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“I, at that point, made the declaration on stage and expressed gratitude towards Fazl,” he said.
A number of women journalists had on Friday complained that the conservative JUI-F was barring them from covering its anti-government sit-in in the federal capital.
The revelations had come amid criticism for the religio-political party for having no women participation in its Azadi March.
Federal Minister for Science & Technology Fawad Chaudhry has warned Azadi March protesters against underestimating the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, saying that it is “exercising self-restraint only on Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s call”.
Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam- Fazl (JUI-F) is currently holding a sit-in in Islamabad against the “illegitimate” Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government that they say “stole people’s mandate”.
Protesters belonging to the JUI-F as well as other opposition parties on Friday reached Islamabad as Fazl gave the premier a two-day deadline for his resignation following fiery speeches by Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.
With government members stepping up to support PM Imran, Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Saturday tweeted to warn the opposition members.
Dont dare to under estimate #PTIGovernment we are exercising self restraint because @ImranKhanPTI has desired so, if he makes a call these bunch of opportunists ll not find a place to hide in Pakistan
“Don’t dare to underestimate #PTIGovernment we are exercising self-restraint because @ImranKhanPTI has desired so, if he makes a call these bunch of opportunists ll not find a place to hide in Pakistan,” he wrote.
Opposition parties are yet to react to the federal minister’s statement.
A report titled ‘Hostile Bytes – a study of online violence against women journalists’ launched by Media Matters for Democracy (MMfD) says that 95 percent of women journalists feel online violence has an impact on their professional choices, while 77 percent self-censor as a way to counter online violence.
It also says that 105 out of 110 women believe online violence impacts the mental health of female journalists.
“The sexualised and personal nature of abuse directed towards them not only affects them on a personal level, but also affects journalism in general that is heavily occupied by men leaving no room for women’s voices. In times when their voices should be amplified, hate campaigns against women journalists is a very well-thought out strategy to ensure systemic oppression of women in professional spaces,” says Hija Kamran, programs manager at MMfD and the author of the study.
For more details about the report, read this Twitter thread:
Hi, I authored a research “Hostile Bytes” that looks at the experiences of women journalists facing and trying to combat #DigitalAttacks directed at them as they do their job. The findings are pretty shocking. A thread… or as Jack Dorsey says, #IDEI2019#EndImpunityhttps://t.co/tXgPdcIEDl
We have all grown up playing board games like Monopoly, Scrabble, Cluedo, Snakes and Ladders, Ludo and many more, there are some new board games that are equally fun!
Board games industry has seen a resurgence. According to the BBC, industry forecasters predict the global board game market will be worth more than £9bn by 2023.
The Current recommends these three board games that you must try:
Wits & Wager
This is an extremely fun party game. It is played in seven rounds. One trivia question is asked each round, and each player gives a numerical answer to every trivia question. Players simultaneously place their written answers to the trivia question on the betting mat, and then bet on the answer they believe is closest to the right answer but not over it. The house pays players who choose the correct answer based on the odds marked on the board. The player with the most chips after the seventh question is the winner.
2. Risk
Risk is a game of military strategy where you acquire and defend your territory from possible attacks or takeovers. According to Rave, this “dice-rolling war game hits themes of diplomacy and conquest and will go down in history as one of the most popular board games with a major fan base of enthusiasts”.
3. Trivial Pursuit
If you’re a trivia buff, this is the game for you. The object of the game is to move around the board by correctly answering trivia questions. Questions are split into six categories: Geography, Entertainment, History, Arts & Literature, Science & Nature and Sports. The game includes a board, playing pieces, question cards, a box, small plastic wedges to fit into the playing pieces, and a dice.
Ministry of Interior has expressed fear that terrorists can attack the ongoing ‘Azadi March’ of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), targeting Maulana Fazlur Rehman,ARY News reported.
According to the details, the Ministry has issued a fresh alert saying that terrorists want to attack JUI-F chief and for that, they can use an explosive-laden vehicle.
The interior ministry has directed officials for the provision of Maulana’s security and has informed Home Secretaries of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in this regard.
Earlier on October 25, the interior ministry had issued an alert notice of possible terror attacks by banned militant outfits. The copies of the notice were also sent to chief secretaries of all province by the authorities.
The notice stated, “The protest march announced by JUI-F increased risks for the internal security of the country besides creating the situation of instability. The notice warns that anti-state elements could take benefit of the instability by targeting public gatherings”.
Dubbed the ‘Azadi’ March, the caravan, which set off from the Sindh province, left Punjab’s city Lahore on Wednesday and culminated its journey last night in Pakistan’s capital city, Islamabad.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has included Lahore in its list of cities that have been designated as Unesco Creative Cities. A total of 66 cities have been selected for 2019’s list.
The cities on the list have been selected for one particular field. While Lahore has been selected in the field of Literature, other categories include gastronomy, music, design, media arts, and film. Meanwhile, other cities on the list include Angoulême (France), Kuhmo (Finland), Wonju (Republic of Korea), Wrocław (Poland), Slemani (Iraq), Leeuwarden (the Netherlands), Beirut (Lebanon), Nanjing (China), and Odessa (Ukraine).
Unesco Director-General Audrey Azoulay made this announcement and said that this step would promote political and social innovation, particularly among the youth.
“All over the world, these cities, each in their way, make
culture a pillar – not an accessory – of their strategy,” he said.
The project is being run by Unesco’s Creative Cities to make
these places home of ideas and help in the contribution to attaining the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through innovative ideas and action.
The cities on the list have committed to support and achieve the SDGs especially those that directly benefit communities at the urban level.
The Unesco Creative Cities Network now counts a total of 246
cities. The member cities come from all continents and areas with different
populations and income levels.
Unesco representatives said the cities work together towards
a common mission. placing creativity and the creative economy at the core of
their urban development plans to make cities safe, inclusive and sustainable,
in line with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
