Pakistani star-singer Atif Aslam was invited to Sanjay Kapoor’s birthday bash in Dubai. Atif attended the event with his wife Sara Bharwana.
Both Pakistani artists posed for pictures with Bollywood actors and their family members. Cricketer Shoaib Malik’s better half Sania Mirza also graced the event with her presence.
Actor Sami Khan also met Anil in the Dubai and shared the moment on social media.
The people of Swat have already witnessed enough bloodshed. The people of Swat were displaced. Peace returned in 2009. In the blink of an eye, the situation turned into chaos where despite the presence of a large number of security forces, the Taliban entered, resettled, and sabotaged peace in the region.
Earlier this month, one man was killed while two students were injured when unidentified militants opened fire on a school van in Charbagh tehsil. This incident of violence gripped the valley, prompting citizens to take to the streets against the rising tide of insurgency. The incident brought back memories of the attack on the then-school girl Malala Yousafzai, on October 9, 2012, who survived a gun attack by Taliban gunmen nearly a decade ago. Though militants had been behind the attack on the Nobel Prize winner, the authorities are tight-lipped about the latest incident, while no group has claimed responsibility yet.
The outfit known as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is gaining ground across Swat Valley once again. The people of Swat and other areas of KP must be commended for courageously demanding their right to live in peace. They have witnessed firsthand the bloody rule of the militants, and the associated pain of conflict and dislocation. No one can say for certain how and why TTP members have now resurfaced in Swat as well as several other adjoining tribal districts. This is the main reason for the unease among the people of Swat and is sure to give many a sleepless night to officials, both in the civilian setup as well as the military. And what have the latter done to allay the fears of the people? Not much, unfortunately.
The return of TTP militants to their respective areas is part of the TTP-government negotiations being held in Kabul, Afghanistan, but no agreement has been reached to this effect. It, therefore, remains unclear who, if anyone for that matter, allowed the militants to return before a formal deal had been reached. It would not be wrong if we say the ghosts of the past are coming back to haunt the residents of Swat Valley. The valley has seen enough bloodshed, we hope and pray peace prevails in the region.
Pakistan has lost 80,000 lives in the war on terror. We fought bravely to get rid of terrorism on our soil. The return of terrorism is a bad omen for peace in the country and the region.
Singer and actor Hadiqa Kiani mother Khawar Kiani, who was also a renowned poetess, has passed away.
The announcement came out through Hadiqa’s personal Instagram, which read: “Mother, grandmother, and poetess Khawar Kiani passed away peacefully at her home today, surrounded by her family and friends. We ask everyone to please respect the family’s privacy during this difficult time.”
As soon as the news broke out, many actors from the entertainment industry mourned Hadiqa’s loss. Actor Omair Rana wrote: “My deepest Deepest condolences Hadiqa Jee. I pray Allah grants you the Sabr needed at this time.” Whereas, Muniba Mazari commented: “Meri piyari Ammi! Inna Lillahi wa ilayhi raji’un!.”
Actress Sakina Samo also payed her condolences on the Instagram post.
Khawar Kiani was a well-known poetess, who wrote some very famous hit Pakistani songs including Boohey Barian, Intehai Shauq, Aas Pass and the Cricket World Cup 1999 anthem. She also wrote numerous critically acclaimed books.
Last year Hadiqa posted a long note in which she appreciated the government’s new policy related to allowing children of single mothers eligible to acquire CNIC without father’s information.
In a ruling, the Sindh High Court (SHC) has ordered the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) to issue a Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC) to a woman who didn’t know about her father’s whereabouts, reported Samaa.
The Zindagi Gulzar Hai singer stated: “Only Allah knows the hardships a single mother faces in our country. Today I have been sent so many clips from my conversation with Sameena Peerzada regarding only the surface of those hard realities but today our country has taken one step forward. I am so grateful to the courageous men and women who fought to make this change. Let’s continue on the right path, let’s make a stronger and safer Pakistan.”
Hadiqa adopted her son Naad-E-Ali in 2005 from Edhi Foundation and has raised her child as a single mother.
Actor Syra Yousuf appeared on Pyar Zindagi Aur Karachi for Fuchsia Magazine where she and the host strolled through Karachi, talking about their earliest memories of famous landmarks, and food items as well as how life has been for both of them. As they started their mini trip, Yousuf shared a lot about Karachi’s famous food places, her life as a teen, and her routine with Nooreh.
Then came a much-pondered question about Nooreh’s bond with the latest addition to the Sabzwari family, her younger sister Zahra.
“You know all of her friends have siblings and even Alishba [Yousuf’s eldest sister], she has two kids, so she has seen siblings everywhere and she wanted one. So when Zahra was born she was on top of the world and it’s lovely to see, it makes me very happy to see her feel that way towards [her sister],” the Sinf-e-Aahan actor said.
When the host brought up videos that show Nooreh’s bond with the newborn, Yousuf added that she’s glad those videos steered clear of all forms of negativity. “I don’t think we should pollute the minds of children. They are innocent, they are pure and we should keep it that way,” Yousuf added.
Yousuf also shared that she wants to do a TV drama and is currently in the process of reading different scripts. “I’ll be very honest, I’ve come to the conclusion that dramas and films take a lot of time. There are grueling working hours, it takes a lot of time. I’m not going to pick up crappy scripts just because I have to be on screen. I’m a mother, I’d much rather spend time with my child. Till I don’t get a good script until I don’t feel like this is what I want to give my time to, I don’t see why I should pick a script.”
When asked if she’d be absent from the screen for long because of these scripts, Yousuf said people “should be able to accommodate each other” because she’s a single mother and cannot leave her daughter for days on end.
Earlier this year, the Mera Naseeb star spoke about her widely speculated divorce with Shahroz Sabzwari, the media’s insensitive coverage of the issue, and how she battled with that phase in a recent interview.
She also revealed how her personal life was sensationalised across the board, with her divorce being highlighted in the media repeatedly. Syra shared, “I don’t feel betrayed because I didn’t expect much. But I do find it very insensitive because where you are recycling a story and making connections again and again for the sake of likes and numbers, it’s very important for you to understand that someone else is actually living through what you are constantly talking about.”
She elaborated further, “For me, it was my life in real-time, and I was experiencing it already, and that kind of bombardment from the industry, I feel like it was insensitive. Personal lives should stay personal, and if you do end up finding something out from some source, there’s a way to put it out there.”
Speaking about how, initially, the media storm made her feel vulnerable, the Project Ghazi star added, “I felt very exposed. I just kept wondering when people would stop talking about it so that I could process it on my own.”
However, the actor explained how she found light at the end of the tunnel, sharing, “I feel like in shutting out the outside world, I had the opportunity to go inwards. So, sometimes uncomfortable situations can actually help you end up in a better place.”
Syra and Shahroz tied the knot in 2012 after a long on-off relationship that began in 2006. The celebrity couple separated in late 2019 and later confirmed their divorce in February 2020. The very same year later, Shahroz tied the knot with model Sadaf Kanwal.
On the work front, Syra was last seen in ARY’s Sinf-e-Aahan, written by Umera Ahmed and helmed by Nadeem Baig.
Foreign Minister (FM) Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday said that the incumbent government has decided to summon United States (US) Ambassador Donald Blome for an official demarche on US President Joe Biden’s remarks on Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.
In a press conference at the Bilawal House in Karachi today, he went on to say that Pakistan had nothing to do with Biden’s statement. “We will call their ambassador and issue a demarche, but I don’t think this was an official function […] it wasn’t an address to the parliament or an interview.”
“It was a fundraiser […] it was an untraditional conversation in which this sentence was used so it should be [looked at] in this manner, I think we will look at this statement in this way,” he elaborated.
However, at the same time, Bilawal said that the nation should desist from “getting into conspiracy theories”.
The foreign minister said that Pakistan’s nuclear assets “meet each and every international standard in accordance with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) as far as security and safety is concerned”.
“Pakistan is adamant about ensuring its integrity and safety. Security questions, if any, should be raised on the nuclear weapons of India that recently fired a missile into Pakistani territory by accident,” he observed. Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also stated that, “This is not only irresponsible and unsafe but raises genuine and serious concerns about the safety of nuclear-capable countries,” he pointed out.
“I am surprised by the remarks of President Biden […] I believe this is exactly the sort of misunderstanding that is created when there is a lack of engagement,” he said.
Bilawal said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan was a liar and it was the government’s responsibility to expose his reality in front of the nation.
The FM claimed that Khan failed to fulfill any of the promises he made to the people. Bilawal criticised Khan’s foreign policy, claiming that it created huge losses for the country and he compromised Pakistan’s bilateral ties with friendly countries.
“Today, we are trying to correct that loss […] we will have to work hard but I’m satisfied that the direction of our foreign policy is now right.”
Going on, he recalled that Imran has passed “irresponsible statements” on the country’s nuclear assets in the past. “When he had to leave the prime minister’s seat, he publicly said that it was better that an atomic bomb was dropped on Pakistan. Find me one example in world history, where a person who is a former premier, says such things about his own country,” he said.
It is pertinent to mention here that US President Joe Biden has said that Pakistan may be “one of the most dangerous nations in the world” as the country has “nuclear weapons without any cohesion”.
The remark came about during the US president’s address at a democratic congressional campaign committee reception.
The Foreign Office (FO) of Pakistan said that United States (US) officials had taken notice of an incident in which Finance Minister (FM) Ishaq Dar was heckled at the Dulles International Airport in Washington DC.
FO Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad recalled the time when Saudi authorities raised the issue when the government delegation was targeted by certain individuals during the visit.
On Thursday, Dar was harassed at the airport and people can be heard chanting “chor”. This was followed by an exchange of abusive words from both sides.
Dar is currently in the US on a four-day visit to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
It is pertinent to mention that this is not the first time that a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader has been harassed.
Prior to this incident, Minister of Information Marriyum Aurangzeb was heckled and harassed by a group of PML-N’s political opponents in London while she was in a coffee shop.
In July, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal was harassed by a group of PTI supporters when he went to a restaurant in Pakistan.
President of the United States of America (USA), Joe Biden, has said that Pakistan may be “one of the most dangerous nations in the world” as the country has “nuclear weapons without any cohesion”.
The remark came during the US president’s address at a democratic congressional campaign committee reception.
“Did anybody think we’d be in a situation where China is trying to figure out its role relative to Russia and relative to India and relative to Pakistan,” the American President asked during his speech at the reception.
Talking about his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the US president termed him as a man who knew what he wanted but had an “enormous” array of problems.
“How do we handle that? How do we handle that relative to what’s going on in Russia? And what I think is maybe one of the most dangerous nations in the world: Pakistan. Nuclear weapons without any cohesion,” Biden said, adding that despite a lot going on, the US has a hunk of opportunities to change the dynamic in the second quarter of the 21st century.
Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif reacting to US President’s statement said that Pakistan rejects the remarks reportedly made by the US President, which are factually incorrect and misleading.
“Over the past decades, Pakistan has proven to be a most responsible nuclear state, wherein its nuclear programme is managed through a technically sound and foolproof command and control system,” read an official statement from the prime minister’s office.
“The real threat to international peace and security is posed by ultra-nationalism, violation of human rights in regions that are struggling against illegal occupation, violation of global norms by some states, repeated nuclear security incidents, and arms race among leading nuclear weapon states and introduction of new security constructs that disturb the regional balance.”
“Pakistan and the US have a long history of a friendly and mutually beneficial relationship. At a time, when the world is confronted by huge global challenges, it is critically important that genuine and durable efforts are made to recognize the real potential of the Pakistan-US relationship while avoiding unnecessary comments. It is our sincere desire to cooperate with the US to promote regional peace and security.”
“Let no one have any doubts. Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state and we are proud that our nuclear assets have the best safeguards as per IAEA requirements,” tweeted the premier.
“We take these safety measures with the utmost seriousness,” said the prime minister.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supreme leader Nawaz Sharif said that Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state that is perfectly capable of safeguarding its national interest whilst respecting international law and practices.
“Our nuclear program is in no way a threat to any country,” he said on Twitter. “Like all independent states, Pakistan reserves the right to protect its autonomy, sovereign statehood, and territorial integrity.”
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said he had two questions regarding the US president’s statement. “On what info has Biden reached this unwarranted conclusion on our nuclear capability when, having been PM, I know we have one of the most secure nuclear command & control systems?
“Unlike the US which has been involved in wars across the world, when has Pakistan shown aggression esp post-nuclearisation,” he asked.
Khan claimed that Biden’s statement showed the “total failure of the imported government’s foreign policy and its claims of a reset of relations with the US”.
“Is this the ‘reset’? This government has broken all records for incompetence,” Imran tweeted, adding that he feared the incumbent government would end up compromising national security.
The ruling PML-N has held PTI responsible for Biden’s statement, saying, the lobbying firm hired by the Imran Khan-led party is doing what it was paid to do.
“Make no mistake about it, this is a direct attack on the national security of Pakistan.”
Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan — a senior member of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet — has termed the US president’s statement about Pakistan’s nuclear programme “baseless”.
While answering a question about President Joe Biden’s comments regarding Pakistan during a press conference today, the former defence minister said, “Pakistan’s nuclear command and control system is absolutely safe which has been confirmed by international organisations many times”.
He said that the US president’s doubts about Pakistan’s nukes are “completely wrong and the statement is baseless”.
Meanwhile, ex-minister Fawad Chaudhry demanded that Biden should immediately retract his statement, asserting that Pakistan’s leadership may be weak but its people were not.
A video of a doctor in California, USA, removing 23 contact lenses stuck inside a woman’s eye has gone viral on social media. As per the doctor, the patient forgot to remove her lenses at night.
Posting the video on the California Eye Associates Instagram page, Dr Katerina Kurteeva wrote: “A rare occasion when someone ‘forgot’ to remove contact lenses at night and kept on putting a new one in every morning. 23 days in a row!!! I got to deliver the contact lens yesterday in my clinic.”
The ophthalmologist can be seen using a cotton bud to take out the ‘lost’ contact lenses stacked up inside the woman’s eye.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) has suspended Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah’s arrest warrant today (Friday) in an inquiry related to the purchase of plots in a housing society. The court also stopped the Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) from arresting the minister and raiding his house.
According to Adviser to Punjab Chief Minister for Anti-Corruption, retired Brigadier Musaddiq Abbasi, Sanaullah had taken two plots as a “bribe” from an “illegal housing society” known as the Bismillah Housing Scheme in Chakwal district.
The court has sought case record from ACE by October 17.
On October 10, an ACE team said that they couldn’t arrest the minister because Islamabad police didnt cooperate with them.
Earlier, a judicial magistrate issued a non-bailable arrest warrant for the federal minister over his non-appearance in an anti-corruption inquiry.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Talal Chaudhry posted a video on his Twitter handle in which a man can be heard giving threatening remarks about the PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz who is currently in London.
He said that he has told his family that he would murder Maryam if Khan was illegally arrested.
The man said that he would prefer to remain a worker and did not want any post in the party. However, he said that he would not like anything illegal done to Imran Khan.
Surprisingly, when the man was passing these remarks, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader and former National Assembly (NA) Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri was sitting there, smiling.
Talal Chaudhry took to Twitter to blame Khan for the threats. “After losing by-elections in NA-108, where Imran Khan himself was a candidate, they are issuing threats now.”
Chaudhry also urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and police to take action against the threats.