Tag: trending

  • Osman Khalid Butt, Meesha Shafi shocked and disappointed over acquittal of Qandeel Baloch’s brother

    Osman Khalid Butt, Meesha Shafi shocked and disappointed over acquittal of Qandeel Baloch’s brother

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday acquitted the prime suspect and brother of model Qandeel Baloch, Waseem Azeem, in her murder case, abolishing the life imprisonment awarded to him by a sessions court.

    The LHC’s Multan bench cancelled life imprisonment of the accused after witnesses deviated from their statements in the trial court and Qandeel’s mother submitted a reconciliation agreement stipulating parental pardon.

    In 2016, Muhammad Waseem was arrested after he confessed to killing Qandeel Baloch, 26, for posting what he called ‘scandalous’ pictures on social media. The case became Pakistan’s most high profile “honour killing” of recent years.

    Actor Osman Khalid Butt tweeted, “Qandeel Baloch’s murderer walks free today after serving less than six years of his life sentence. He is on record admitting to drugging and murdering his sister. Someone please make this make sense to me.”

    He went on to comment, “We are in the concluding stages of a high-profile and incredibly brutal murder case even now – how does this ruling inspire any confidence (except to the guilty) in our judicial system? Six years – and an anti-honour killing Bill – later, we’re back to square one.”

    Osman concluded with, “This is not the first time sentences for heinous crimes have been reduced or overturned. Why do these loopholes still exist in our judicial system whereby murderers can eventually walk free?”

    Singer Meesha Shafi also spoke about Waseem’s acquittal. “So Qandeel Baloch killed in cold blood,” the popular singer tweeted, adding, “Her father, who tried to pursue justice above and beyond his means.. passed away. Her murderer, her brother, alive and roaming free once again. We’re living in the opposite world.”

    During the hearing on Monday, defending lawyer Sardar Mehboob argued before LHC Justice Sohail Nasir that the father of the model and complainant had passed away, adding that the witnesses had also deviated from their statements in the trial court.

    He said the sessions court had ignored the settlement reached between the parties. After hearing the arguments, the court acquitted Waseem by cancelling his life imprisonment. “He has been fully acquitted”, his lawyer Mehboob told AFP, without giving further details. The court order has yet to be made public.

  • Karachi Kings spinner Imad Wasim fined for breaching PSL Code of Conduct

    Karachi Kings spinner Imad Wasim fined for breaching PSL Code of Conduct

    Karachi Kings’ former captain Imad Wasim has been fined five per cent of his match fee for breaching Level 1 one of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Code of Conduct during his team’s clash against Islamabad United at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Monday.

    Read More – Quetta’s Jason Roy fined for breach of code of conduct

    The incident happened in the first over of the match when Imad Wasim used inappropriate language after dismissing opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who had earlier hit him for a couple of sixes. Wasim was found to have violated Article 2.5 of the PSL Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel.

    While he also celebrated in a teasing style when he got the wicket of Islamabad captain Shadab Khan.

    The Article relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal during a PSL Match”.

    Meanwhile, Imad admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed to be imposed by the match referee Ranjan Madugalle and, as such, there was no need for a formal hearing.

    The charges were levelled by on-field umpires Asif Yaqoob and Richard Illingworth, third umpire Rashid Riaz and fourth umpire Nasir Hussain.

  • Fakhar Zaman kisses and tells: reveals reason behind flying kiss in PSL match

    Fakhar Zaman kisses and tells: reveals reason behind flying kiss in PSL match

    Pakistan cricket team’s hard-hitting batter Fakhar Zaman has revealed why he blew a flying kiss in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2022 match against Quetta Gladiators after he scored his sixth 50-plus score.

    Zaman grabbed the attention of all his fans when he sent a flying kiss after completing his half-century.

    Fans were quick to notice Fakhar’s actions and kept speculating the story behind the “flying kiss celebration”. However, the star batter revealed that the celebration was as per the instructions of his son, Zain.

    In a video shared by the Lahore Qalandars’ official Twitter handle, Fakhar said: “The flying kiss was for my son Zain. He sent me a voice note along with a video of a cartoon where a character sends a flying kiss. He had asked me to do this for him when I score a half-century.”

    “I sent the voice note to Shaheen Afridi, Rashid Khan, and Haris Rauf and did the celebration for my son. Zain was watching in the stands when I did the celebration and was covering his face,” Fakhar said.

    Speaking about Qalandars’ performance during the ongoing season, Fakhar urged fans to keep on supporting the team.

    “Keep supporting Lahore Qalandars,” he said, adding that Qalandars’ fans are happy with their performance.

    “We will try our best to make our fans happy. Ups and downs are part of the game, so always support us.”

    Fakhar Zaman has been exceptional in the ongoing seventh edition of the PSL, scoring five half-centuries and a ton. The left-handed batter is currently the top scorer of the PSL.

  • Rare meeting: Army Chief meets both President Alvi and PM Khan on same day

    Rare meeting: Army Chief meets both President Alvi and PM Khan on same day

     Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Bajwa on Monday met President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

    It is rare for an army chief to meet both heads of the state and the government on the same day. The Prime Minister Office (PMO) in a statement said, “Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa called on Prime Minister Imran Khan today. Professional matters pertaining to Pakistan Army were discussed during the meeting”.

    The presidency, speaking about the meeting between COAS and the president, said, “During the meeting, the president was briefed about the professional preparedness and measure being taken by the security forces against the terrorist elements.”

  • Cross-border love: Areeba Habib and Taapsee Pannu indulge in online banter

    Cross-border love: Areeba Habib and Taapsee Pannu indulge in online banter

    Bollywood star Taapsee Pannu has responded to Pakistani model and actor Areeba Habib’s praise for her latest Netflix movie Loop Lapeta.

    Turning to her Instagram Stories this week, Areeba captured a still from the movie while she praised Pannu for her acting prowess.

    “Kamal,” wrote Areeba while tagging the Pink star.

    Re-sharing the comment on her Instagram Stories, Pannu responded “Thank you” with a green heart emoticon.

    The comedy flick, which is inspired by Run Lola Run, also stars Tahir Bhasin.

    Last year, Indian film and television producer Ekta Kapoor thanked Areeba for praising her latest web series.

    Habib took to her Instagram story, to praise Kapoor’s web series Broken But Beautiful, which has been recently released. “Next level must watch”, wrote Areeba, while sharing the screengrab of the web-series. She also tagged Ekta in the post.

    Amidst the political turmoil between the two neighboring countries, this cross-border camaraderie is a breath of fresh air.

  • ‘The answer is’: Aagha Ali hits out at troll for asking a personal question to Hina Altaf

    ‘The answer is’: Aagha Ali hits out at troll for asking a personal question to Hina Altaf

    Actor Aagha Ali has responded to a netizen under his wife Hina Altaf’s comment section. The netizen asked the Aatish diva that why doesn’t she post pictures with her husband?

    Earlier Aagha has responded to a netizen who asked him about his alleged separation with wife Hina Altaf citing the lack of their social media interaction.

    The rumours about their separation emerged when Aagha was spotted at industry events without his better half.

    The A-list actor replied that there is a world beyond Instagram and the couple is doing great together.

    Earlier in August 2021, the Dour diva took to Instagram to clarify that a statement of her husband had been misreported by various publications. “He said ‘most of the girls I met in my life were fake’, ” she posted on her Instagram stories.

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Hina-Altaf-Post-560x1024.jpg
    Hina

    “He never used the words ‘women in the industry’. These are entirely two different statements that hold different meanings,” the Aatish star wrote.

  • Quetta’s Jason Roy fined for breach of code of conduct

    Quetta’s Jason Roy fined for breach of code of conduct

    Quetta Gladiators’ batter Jason Roy has been fined five per cent of his match fee for a Level 1 breach of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Code of Conduct during his team’s eight-wicket defeat against Lahore Qalandars in the 20th match of PSL 7 at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, on Sunday.

    Roy was found to have violated Article 2.21 of the PSL Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “conduct that brings the game into disrepute”, following his reaction after he was adjudged caught behind by Asif Yaqoob off Shaheen Shah Afridi.

    In the video, posted by PSL official Twitter account, he can be seen misbehaving with the umpire despite the fact that he had the option to challenge the umpire’s decision of giving him out.

    England’s cricketer accepted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed to be imposed by Roshan Mahanama and, as such, there was no need for a formal hearing.

    The charges were levelled by the on-field umpires Asif Yaqoob and Michael Gough, third umpire Rashid Riaz and fourth umpire Waleeed Yaqoob.

    All first-time offences of Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official warning and/or imposition of a fine of up to 25% of the applicable match fee.

    It was also reported that Roy had reported Shaheen’s bowling action but the reports were denied by the Quetta Gladiators.

  • ‘I know India much more than rest of my own countrymen’: PM Khan

    ‘I know India much more than rest of my own countrymen’: PM Khan

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Sunday said that no one in Pakistan knows India better than him. PM Khan was talking to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria about Pakistan’s relations with India.

    “I understand and know India much more than the rest of my own countrymen or probably all over the world,” said PM Imran Khan, adding that he has many friends in India.

    Racist RSS ideology has taken over India: PM Imran Khan

    “The moment my government came into power, the first thing I did was reach out to India. I told them [PM Narendra Modi] if he took one step forward, I would take two. Our only issue is Kashmir, and we should solve it like good neighbours on the dialogue table,” said PM Khan.

    “Unfortunately Fareed, there is a tragedy unfolding in India. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideology has taken over India. We are in this day of information technology. All we have to do is Google who are the founding fathers of RSS,” said the premier.

    “It’s a racist ideology which has taken over India. It’s an ideology that assassinated the great Gandhi. It’s very difficult to come to terms with the ideology,” said the prime minister.

    “We have made no headways. But my worry is Fareed that what is going on in India is much more damaging for India than for Pakistan,” added PM Khan.

    The only option the world has right now is to engage with the Taliban for things to move forward: PM Khan

     The premier further talked about Pakistan’s diplomatic relations with the new Taliban government in Afghanistan and the current state of the war on terror.

    PM Khan said that sooner or later, the Taliban will have to be recognised by the world as it is about the well-being and future of about 40 million Afghans.

    “Forty million people in Afghanistan are in dire straits because of the ongoing situation in the country,” the premier said, adding that the people of the United States (US) should understand that disliking the Taliban government is one thing but thinking about the welfare of the Afghans is another as they are facing “extreme difficulties”.

    “Afghanistan is on the verge of experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis,” PM Imran Khan said. “Considering the circumstances, is there any other alternative to the Taliban in Afghanistan? No, there isn’t.”

    “Therefore, the only alternative we have is to work with the Taliban government [for the sake of the Afghans] because turning the Taliban away would only lead to chaos in the country,” PM Imran Khan reiterated. 

    He went on to say that the US’ War on Terror (WoT) backfired and increased the number of terrorists worldwide, adding that because of the war, there had been extensive casualties in Pakistan as more than 80,000 Pakistani citizens lost their lives during the war.

    “Pakistan had to bear the brunt of the war in Afghanistan by witnessing numerous suicide attacks,” he said. “The US must reconsider its policy on carrying out drone attacks.”

    The situation in Xinjiang is not what the western media portrays: Premier

    When asked about China’s treatment of Uyghur Muslims, PM Khan said that Pakistan’s ambassador to China Moin ul Haq had visited Xinjiang and said that the situation over there is “not what the western media portrays”.

    The premier said that a comparison of Pakistan’s condemnation of India committing genocide of innocent people in occupied Kashmir and the issue of Xinjiang is not fair.

    “Occupied Kashmir is a disputed territory between Pakistan and India and India is ruled by an RSS ideology,” the premier said. “Until the Kashmir issue is resolved, the fear of war between the two nuclear powers will remain intact.”

  • ‘When I first saw Shahid Afridi’: Wasim Akram pens heartfelt note for Afridi

    ‘When I first saw Shahid Afridi’: Wasim Akram pens heartfelt note for Afridi

    Shahid Afridi, one of the most popular cricketers of this era, bid goodbye to his career in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) due to long-lasting back pain. Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram penned a heartfelt note for his former colleague.

    In his tweet, Wasim shared the first memory of Afridi: “The first time I saw @SAfridiOfficial was in the nets in 1996 and he impressed us, apart from his bowling, with his batting. He smashed the then fastest hundred and became a big mega star. Had won Pakistan so many matches and is hugely popular.”

    He further wished him luck for his future and praised Afridi for his various match-winning performances.

    Former pace ace Shoaib Akhtar tweeted: “Araam kero Lala. Is umar main ye ishq nahi asaan.” (Take a break Lala, it is hard to have a love for the game at this age.)

    Other cricketers like Rumman Raees and Anwar Ali Khan also took to their social media to share their thoughts about Shahid Afridi and prayed for his health.

    Earlier, pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi while replying to Shahid Afridi’s tweet in which he said goodbye to PSL, said that Afridi’s presence will be missed in the PSL. He added that Afridi is the “pride of Pakistan” and wished him to get well soon.

    Quetta Gladiators’ Afridi played his last PSL game against Islamabad United on February 12 where he got two wickets for 27 runs in his four overs and ran Azam Khan out with a direct hit.