In an interview with Aaj News, President of the Awami National Party Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mian Iftikhar Hussain sounded alarm bells over the precarious security situation in KP province, saying, “In southern districts, terrorists rule once the sun goes down.”
He stressed that the government has no writ in the areas. “Police hide in their stations in the evening. They [militants] come out openly on the roads as the sun goes down and prove to people that they’re the ones ruling.”
The ANP leader stressed that the security environment of the province was deteriorating with increasing cases of target killings, extortion, and religious extremism.
“They do whatever they want to do at night. As the sun rises, the writ of state comes back,” criticised Hussain.
A woman was beaten to death by her in-laws when she took a long time to cook food in Kot Sultan village Korywali, Layyah, reports Dawn.
Parveen Bibi’s husband, Muhammad Yusuf, along with his brothers Muhammad Ejaz, Muhammad Younis, and Nadar, allegedly assaulted her for the delay in the preparation of food.
Local police in Kot Sultan have registered a murder case on the complaint of Abdul Majeed, the uncle of the victim, Parveen.
FIR states that the suspects severely beat Parveen Bibi with sticks until she fell unconscious. Seeing the gravity of injuries, she was shifted from the tehsil headquarters hospital to the district headquarters hospital and then to Nishtar Hospital in Multan, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Complainant Majeed said an autopsy was conducted after her death.
Layyah District Police Officer Asadur Rehman claimed that the suspects would be arrested, saying violence against women will not be tolerated and a special team has been formed to investigate the case.
Fashion ace Hassan Sheheryar Yasin, also known as HSY, recently criticized celebrities for undergoing beauty procedures that make them look the same.
In a podcast with actor-host Ahmad Ali Butt called ‘Excuse Me,’ HSY was asked what he didn’t like. “Fakeness. People in our industry are so fake – they would say something to your face and then talk behind your back. The truth always comes out, and the person who said it ends up looking foolish,” HSY replied immediately.
He then said that Pakistanis are hypocrites.
Talking about the trend of cosmetic procedures, HSY noted, “These days, men or women, everyone is just pretty, with poufy hair and the same kind of beard. Everyone has their jawlines chiseled, chins fixed, nose jobs done, and eyebrows lifted. Everyone has the same face, with fillers.”
“At this point, everyone looks the same,” he criticized. “All of them say, ‘I went to Dubai or Turkey, and it’s about the weather there’. Come on! We all know what procedures you are getting, so I don’t find that sexy. It’s about individuality. No doubt they are all pretty but not sexy; it’s an attitude,” he explained.
HSY named Mehwish Hayat and Ayesha Omer as some of the most appealing women in the industry, praising their unique personalities.
An anti-terrorism court has turned down the bail petition of incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan in three cases related to the May 9 violent protests, GEO News reported on Tuesday.
Judge Khalid Arshad of Lahore ATC announced the reserved verdict after hearing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) founder bail pleas in the May 9 violent protest cases.
The riots occurred last year after Imran Khan was arrested in a corruption case.
Several PTI supporters attacked multiple state buildings, including Jinnah House Lahore and GHQ Pakistan Army Rawalpindi.
The incarcerated former Prime Minister was ousted from office through a no-confidence motion in April 2022, and currently, he is in Adiala jail facing corruption and terrorism cases.
Imran Khan also secured relief in multiple cases, including a £190 million reference and the Toshakhan case. However, he will remain behind bars due to his conviction in the Iddat case.
The security situation in Pakistan has gotten grim as eight people – five security officials and three children – lost their lives in three separate terror attacks in Lakki Marwat, North Waziristan, and South Waziristan yesterday.
In North Waziristan, Captain Muhammad Osama Bin Arshad, 24, who belonged to Rawalpindi district, embraced martyrdom during an intense clash between forces and terrorists.
The military’s media wing has stated that a sanitisation operation was underway to eliminate any remaining militants in the area.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir attended the Captain’s funeral on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, in South Waziristan, three soldiers lost their lives, and 12 others were injured in a militant attack in the district.
A police officer and his three minor nephews lost their lives in Lakki Marwat district.
Unsatisfied with his academic low score, a matriculation student in Lahore committed suicide after the result was released yesterday (July 9).
15-year-old Arsalan, a resident of the border village of Padana in Lahore, took his own life by jumping from the water tank. He suffered multiple head and neck injuries, which proved fatal, reported Dawn.
The police said that the boy was disappointed by his low score. The forensic team and the police collected the evidence.
Results of matriculation examinations have been announced by 9 education boards of Punjab, including the Lahore Board.
Gory grottos with demons impaling sinners on stakes and people drowning in a pool of blood are not part of your average theme park experience.
But at Hell’s Museum in Singapore, the main attraction at the Haw Par Villa Park, visitors are welcomed to a kitschy, air-conditioned hell on Earth.
Inside the sprawling park complex, which features over 1,000 statues and dioramas showcasing Asian culture, faiths, and philosophy, Hell’s Museum exhibits various religious views on the afterlife.
Visitors are encouraged to learn about the 10 Courts of Hell through intense depictions of punishments for earthly sins.
At court number two, for instance, corruption gets you frozen in ice, while rapists at court Seven are thrown in boiling oil.
The 10 Courts of Hell are “the result of the mixing of four different religions and philosophies: Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Confucianism”, said Eisen Teo, the chief curator of Hell’s Museum in the multicultural city-state.
“The sculptures and dioramas are a visual dissection of many classics, stories and moral values that many Singaporeans have and are familiar with,” Teo said.
Visitor Gin Goldberg told AFP she wasn’t so surprised to learn that many religions had differing opinions on the afterlife.
“One person’s heaven would be another person’s hell,” the American said.
Party in hell
The odd park stands apart from gleaming Singapore’s mainstream tourist attractions such as the luxury shops of Marina Bay Sands or the towering “supertrees” of Gardens by the Bay.
Haw Par Villa was built in 1937 by entrepreneur Aw Boon Haw, known for co-developing Asia’s much-loved Tiger Balm pain relief rub.
While fondly remembered by older generations, the park has had trouble attracting the Gen Z crowd and younger millenials, according to Journeys, the firm that manages the park.
To broaden appeal, it has held several rave parties and other private events — but not too near to religious exhibits.
“After they came here (for the parties) they fell in love with the quirky, eccentric park, with these cool sculptures. Fell in love with them and they keep doing repeat visits,” said Savita Kashyap, Journeys’ executive director.
While Haw Par Villa isn’t just about the afterlife, and raves — it also displays scenes from Chinese folklore such as “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” — its hellish attraction remains the top draw.
But not for all.
While leaving, one Filipina visitor told AFP that she won’t be returning anytime soon.
Pakistani actor Saheefa Jabbar Khattak has always been open about her mental health struggles. In a recent Instagram post, she talked more about her ongoing battles and the emotional toll it has taken on her and her family, especially her father.
In her latest post, Khattak said, “No father deserves to see his daughter in pain. I wish for health for myself so that my father can stop worrying about me. I don’t want this hollowness to go away because I can’t handle it; now I want it to go away because my father can’t take it. Allah, you are both the Most Merciful and the Most Compassionate. Either make me so strong that I can bear this pain myself, or take it away forever. You know what’s best for me and what tests I should go through. I leave it in Your hands. Just make it easier for my family.”
This heartfelt message follows other posts where Khattak has shared her mental health journey, talking about the challenges and the stigma. Earlier, she said, “I don’t know about fulfillment anymore, but words matter. The right words, at the right time. I’m feeling this hollowness in my heart, exhausted by the pain and panic returning, the numbness, the fear.” She added, “I’m ashamed of this disease I have, why? Because it makes me feel shallow knowing my privileges and support system. It’s relentless, and I find myself asking Khawaja Saab, ‘Why am I like this?’ He always says the right thing: ‘You are the best the way you are. Some lows in life do not define you as a person.’”
Khattak has been honest about her use of prescribed antidepressants and the challenges of managing her mental health. “Being on prescribed antidepressants has given me mixed feelings. Initially, I felt numb—not happy or sad, just numb to every feeling, thought, and emotion. Slowly, I decided to lower the dosage to see if I have healed, but I felt an extreme shift. Previously the numbness I mentioned started to make me feel good. Now, I feel pain, fear, and anxiety coming back. I am a little scared too. But it’s alright; I’ll get through this one too.”
Following an invitation extended by the government and the local Bohra community, Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the spiritual leader of the Bohra community, arrived in Karachi on July 4 to host ‘Ashara Mubaraka’ congregations this year.
Over 80,000 Dawoodi Bohras from Pakistan and around the world are expected to attend the events. He delivered the first sermon of “Ashara Mubaraka” in Taheri Masjid, Saddar, on July 8.
A Dawn report states that Syedna addressed a majlis of “over 80,000 attendees” with Bohra members from diverse areas and professions gathered in Karachi for a single purpose — the remembrance and commemoration of the martyrdom of Imam Husain.
Syedna elaborated upon a number of hadith by Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) which highlight the role of conviction and self-growth in the sermon.
For instance, he quoted the Prophet’s statement regarding the honeybee which “consumes only that which is pure, and gives back only that which is pure”.
Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, 77, is currently serving as the 53rd al-Dai al-Mutlaq and present leader of the worldwide Dawoodi Bohra community. He is currently as a Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University.
Bohra community trace themselves back to Fatimis who held the caliphate from 10th to 12th century.
Brad Pitt’s previously untitled Formula One film, co-produced by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, will be called F1, it was announced on Friday at the British Grand Prix.
After months of speculation, the title was confirmed by Formula One, and is due for release next year.
Pitt, 60, was at Silverstone on Friday where he is filming scenes for the movie using an adapted Formula Two car that he drives on track between sessions involving other racing series.
The long-awaited movie was delayed by the United States actors’ and writers’ strike last year.
Hamilton has been involved in the script creation to ensure authenticity.
The film is being directed by Joseph Kosinski, who made Top Gun: Maverick.
