Tag: trending

  • China will not attend G20 meeting to be held in Indian-Occupied Kashmir

    China will not attend G20 meeting to be held in Indian-Occupied Kashmir

    China has said that it is opposed to a G20 tourism meeting next week in the disputed Himalayan territory in Indian-Occupied Kashmir, confirming that it will not attend, handing a significant diplomatic victory to Pakistan.

    “China is firmly opposed to holding any kind of G20 meetings in disputed territory, and will not attend such meetings,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.

    India, which holds the chair of G20 this year, has organised a series of meetings across the country in the run-up to the summit in New Delhi in September.

    Srinagar, the capital of the occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir, will host a meeting of the tourism working group for G20 members on May 22-24.

    Despite backlash for holding the meeting in disputed territory, the Modi-led government has not backed off from its plans to do so.

  • Fact-check: Is the First Lady of Pakistan ill?

    Fact-check: Is the First Lady of Pakistan ill?

    Claim: A screen grab of a news channel apparently airing news that Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif’s wife Tehmina Durrani is experiencing heart trouble is doing the rounds on social media.

    The screenshot says that Tehmina Durrani is experiencing heart complications.

    Fact: Taking to Twitter, Durrani clarified that she is doing very well.

    She wrote, “A country that makes falsehood it’s national language needs to recognise that TRUTH is Islam. By the grace of God, I am very well.”

    VERDICT: The news is false.

  • Modi says want normal and neighbourly relations with Pakistan

    In an interview with a Japanese news media outlet, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that he wants “normal and neighbourly relations” with Pakistan.

    “However, it is incumbent upon them to create a conducive environment free from terrorism and hostilities. The onus is on Pakistan,” he added.

    While talking about Indian’s relation with China, Modi said, “Peace and tranquility in the border areas are essential for normal bilateral ties with China”.

    He said that future development of India-China relationship can only be based on mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interests.

    He added that “normalising” the ties would benefit the wider region and the world.

  • JI chief Siraj-ul-Haq attacked by suicide bomber in Balochistan

    JI chief Siraj-ul-Haq attacked by suicide bomber in Balochistan

    A convoy led by Siraj-ul-Haq, the Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), was attacked by a suicide bomber on Friday in Zhob, Balochistan.

    The Secretary General of the party, Ameer ul Azeem, has confirmed that an explosion took place near the convoy. He further said that the attacker has been killed.

    Siraj-ul-Haq and all members of his convoy are safe.

    The JI chief was on his way to address a rally in Zhob when the attack took place.

  • Imran Khan says crackdown on party worse than Zia, Musharraf eras

    Imran Khan says crackdown on party worse than Zia, Musharraf eras

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has expressed concern on recent crackdowns by law-enforcement authorities on party members.

    In a tweet, Khan said that such episodes didn’t even take place during General Ziaul Haq and General Pervez Musharraf’s regimes.

    He added that despite all of this his party will not bow down.

    The Punjab government has claimed that terrorists who were involved in the attack on military installations on May 9, are hiding at Khan’s Zaman Park residence. The authorities have asked the former Prime Minister to hand them over. On May 18, an operation was expected to take place at Imran Khan’s home, however, it didn’t happen.

    Now, it is being reported that Punjab police have obtained warrants from the court to carry out a search operation in Zaman Park.

    According to details, an officer of the rank superintendent of police will lead the party which will also include female personnel. Commissioner Lahore Division will accompany the search team.

  • Renowned PCB official sacked, some in the line of fire

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee has seen immense changes after the arrival of Chairman Najam Sethi.

    Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Najeeb Soomro, has been sacked by the Board, and it is being said that he was unable to play his role in saving several players from injuries.

    Despite a power show of performance by the players in the New Zealand series, many players are playing without proper rest and recovery which caused problems for the management committee. Several players, including Yasir Shah, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shahawaz Dahani, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, and Imam-ul-Haq have suffered injuries. Despite not being fully fit, some players were given the go ahead to play, which not only aggravated their injuries but also affected the team.
    Meanwhile, PCB has given an advertisement for the post of Director Sports Medicine.

    Senior General Manager Finance and Accounts, Ateeq Rashid, was also recently asked to hand in his resignation. Another official was sacked due to apparent irregularities regarding honorary match tickets.

    Another director is now also on the hit list. Board officials are not satisfied with his work. Sethi is currently in England, therefore a decision is expected after his return to Pakistan.

  • 5 Pakistani’s make it to the Forbes ’30 Under 30′ list

    5 Pakistani’s make it to the Forbes ’30 Under 30′ list

    Forbes magazine has unveiled its highly anticipated list of 30 under 30 successful individuals across Asia, which features 300 people who have excelled in the fields of arts, tech, medicine and more. This year, spotted among the prodigies, are five Pakistanis who exceeded against the odds and made their mark in the fields of media, finance, marketing. Check them out below!

    Azam Mahmood as screenwriter for ‘Ramy’

    Originally from Karachi, Azam Mahmood is a story editor for the Peacock show ‘Queer As Folk’, who is also working with the Golden Globes award winning actor Ramy Youssef for the show ‘Ramy’.

    Anas Niaz as the founder of ‘Bioniks’

    Niaz is a mechatronics engineer who is the founder and CEO of Bioniks, a social enterprise from Karachi which is developing low-cost bionic arms using 3D printing technology, to create custom-made prosthetics which can allow users to manipulate objects using robotic fingers.

    Ayesha Mubarak Ali as a visual tech artist

    Mubarak is a multimedia visual tech artist whose work revolves around identity politics, space applications and the future of humanity. She made history by becoming the first Pakistani artist to collaborate with NASA scientists with her work being sent to the International Space Station for the Maleth II mission.

    Shershah Hassan and Waleed Amjad Islam, co-founders of KalPay

    Shershah Hassan and Waleed Amjad Islam are co-founders of the fin-tech startup KalPay, a Sharia compliant buy now pay later venture, which aims to provide financial access to a country where credit card use is less than 1%. The company had previously partnered with Pakistani ventures like Food Panda and Muawin to provide users with a convenient and easy way to conduct banking transactions.

  • ‘Ignored all science, history, humanity’: Activist expresses anger over Shariah Court’s decision to declare changing gender ‘unislamic’

    ‘Ignored all science, history, humanity’: Activist expresses anger over Shariah Court’s decision to declare changing gender ‘unislamic’

    The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) has announced its verdict on pleas against the Transgender Persons Rights Act 2018, stating that no one can change their gender on the basis of their self-perceived identity, which means a person cannot change their gender at will.

    Gender will remain the same as it is assigned at the time of birth.

    Lawyer Asad Jamil wrote in a tweet,” FSC has accepted petitions challenging Transgender Persons Rights Act2018. Principle of self-perceived identity is declared unIslamic and cert defs in s.2 & 2020 Rules also declared unIslamic.”

    Transgender people’s gender will be decided on physical factors rather than their emotions. Section 2F has been repealed by the court, and section 3 of the act has also been declared null and void.

    Dr Mehrub Moiz Awan, while talking to The Current, expressed her disappointment with the verdict, “Federal Shariah Court has ignored all science, history, and humanity, to give a decision that looks like a copy paste out of a Western transphobic playbook.”

    “Ironic that Pakistani Shariah is much closer to JK Rowling and Candace Owens now, then it is to the fatwas of Imam Khomeini and Shah Tantawi that affirmed transgender existence back in the 80s,” she added.

  • ‘Horrifying’: Twitter users slam ‘Tere Bin’ promo for depicting assault

    Trigger warning: discussions of marital rape, assault

    In the topsy-turvy world that is Pakistan right now, ‘Tere Bin’ is playing its part by keeping fans running around in circles. With the love-hate relationship between the main leads Murtasim (played by Wahaj Ali) and Meerab (Yumna Zaidi) switching from adorable to toxic to downright horrifying in the recent episode, fans have had enough.

    The recent episode of the drama tried to one-up itself to see how low it can go in disappointing its viewers, with once again the writers deciding to bring out the Murtasim caught cheating with Haya card, and ending the episode with Meerab’s assault.

    From the promo, viewers can definitely assume that Meerab has been assaulted by her husband and has chosen to leave him.

    Was it necessary that Murtasim, who is currently one of the most feminist male leads on our screens, be thrown under the bus just to churn up some views? Why did the writer even assume that after stalking, slapping and attempted suicide, this ‘love story’ had to hit its peak with the most heinous thing: domestic violence?

    Legal analyst Reema Omer criticised the scene on Twitter, writing:

    “TW: After months of justifying Murtasim slapping, shoving, dragging, asking Meerab to jump off the roof to prove her chastity + other toxic/violent behaviour, even #TereBin fan club is up in arms over the possible marital r*pe suggested by the promo Some silver lining, I guess.”

    Founder of ‘Something Haute, Aamna Isani wrote that she was shocked by the depiction of assault, and how could this possibly be a chance after this that Murtasim’s character would be redeemed.

    Users were tweeting that they were heartbroken at how the writer of the show has completely destroyed Murtasim’s character

    Many were tweeting that this was the end of their support for the drama, given that there is no possible justification to depict marital rape and domestic abuse.

  • Imran finally condemns attack on Lahore CC House

    Almost 10 days after Corp Commander House in Lahore was ransacked and burnt during protests by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters, party Chairman Imran Khan has condemned the attack, Geo has reported.

    In an informal chat with journalists outside an anti-terrorism court in Lahore, Imran Khan said that the attacks led to Pakistan’s image being damaged, adding that they should not have happened.

    “I have condemned it earlier too. Every Pakistani is condemning it,” the former Prime Minister reportedly said.

    He also lashed out at the Pakistan Democratic Movement led government for “arresting 7000 people.” However, he said that he has been stressing on dialogue since 11 months.