Though Hamza Ali Abbasi’s decision to quit acting and pursue his religious calling was predicted by fans back in October when he shared that his “journey of more than a decade comes to an end,” his announcement has still stirred a debate on social media.
Read more: Hamza Ali Abbasi quits acting to focus on his ‘spiritual journey’
The news we’ve all been waiting for since the end of October has finally been revealed. Though we all kind of predicted it, it is nonetheless still a big revelation.
In a 23-minute long video message posted to Youtube, Hamza Ali Abbasi shared that he will be quitting acting to focus on religion, his relationship with Allah and to spread the message of Islam.
“I had this divine revelation some time back, that all that I am doing in this world will end the moment I die,” Hamza said in the video, adding that death is inevitable.
“All these trophies, all these accolades will not bring me any good on the day of judgment when I meet my Maker. I have decided that I want to leave everything that might be a hurdle when it comes to making my matters easier on the day of Judgment.”
Though Hamza will be quitting acting, he shared that he will still continue to make videos and use his voice and popularity to spread the message of Islam and inspire others to undertake this spiritual journey.
“My perspective of life has been changed since I realised that I have to meet my God. With this realisation, what I decided to do is that I now wish to talk to people. I wish to spread the message.”
However, Hamza asserted that making movies is not haraam, adding that he might even consider making movies that are not vulgar and propagate the message of peace and patriotism.
Addressing the rumours of him joining politics, Hamza clarified that he is not joining electoral politics.
“I think in politics, you have to lie a lot to defend your party and your peers. It isn’t something I resonate with. I don’t wish to lie or do something I don’t believe in, so entering politics is not on the cards right now,” he said.
It is pertinent to mention here that Hamza has been a loyal and vocal supporter of Prime Minister Imran Khan and has even served as the Cultural Secretary of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) for a short while.
Hamza also thanked his fans for their support through the years, saying that he would be nothing without them.
The actor-activist in October had tweeted that he had a very important announcement to make at the end of the month.
Following that, speculations were rife that the actor will be quitting the entertainment industry. On a poll posted by The Current, 58 percent of people agreed that the actor will be quitting acting.
Hamza made his film debut in 2013 with the films Waar and Main Hoon Shahid Afridi. Over the years he has had several successful projects to his credit including Pyaray Afzal, Mann Mayal, Jawani Phir Nahi Ani and Parwaaz Hai Junoon. His latest drama Alif is currently on air while his last film, The Legend of Maula Jatt, has no release date as of now.
Meera Jee is on an Instagram and travelling spree and since this morning she has posted more than 30 videos and pictures from different countries including Maldives and USA on her Instagram. However, we still haven’t figured out where exactly she is.
While Meera’s marital status is still a mystery, just like her age, the actor was spotted vacationing with alleged husband Captain Naveed.
“I am here in Maldives at the Paradise Island Resort, see,” Meera says in the video below as she points towards the fresh, blue waters of the Indian Ocean.
“Lots of fun, beautiful weather and I am having so much fun,” Meera added.
In this video, Capt Naveed shares that the two will go swimming the serene ocean.
Meera even wished her beau a happy birthday with a video of him in the Maldives.
“Happy birthday Nav,” she wrote under another picture of him.
Meera also shared pictures of the two having a great time in New York with their friends.
Following the drama of a leaked video, Rabi Pirzada on Thursday released a video statement asserted that she has bid goodbye to the entertainment industry in order to focus on her religious obligations.
According to Geo News, the singer in a video statement apologised to her fans for her past behaviour and shared details of her new spiritual journey. The video is reportedly her first appearance since an explicit video of her went viral on social media a few weeks ago.
Read more: Rabi Pirzada bids farewell to showbiz
Clad in a black dress and a headscarf, Rabi said, “My mistakes are between myself and my Creator, the One who knows what is in the hearts of the people. He is the All-Forgiving and the Most Merciful.”
Throughout the video, released privately to the media, Pirzada quoted religious texts extensively and shared that she had found her true calling in religion.
“I realised that even after I run away from the world, I cannot run away from my Lord. That is when I realised that whenever a woman is dragged into the public debate, so many things go wrong,” Rabi said.
Talking about her leaked video, Pirzada revealed that soon after the video went viral, she was approached for films, television commercials, concerts and other private events. She detailed how people had ridiculed her and accused her of seeking cheap popularity.
Read more: Rabi Pirzada faces jail time for posing with reptiles
“Some said it was a punishment for speaking against Modi or PM Imran,” Rabi said while crying. The singer broke into sobs more than once during the video.
At the same time, “a lot of women also offered to support and protect me, assuring me that no one would be able to raise a finger against me. These included those affiliated with #MeToo and #MeraJismMeriMarzi.”
Rabi also warned those who were sharing the leaked video saying that they would be apprehended.
“I think I have been given a new life, and the meaning of my life is now only religion,” she concluded.
Watch the full video here:
The shocking news about a man from Rawalpindi raping and molesting 30 children left everyone stunned.
According to reports, the suspect, identified as Sohail Ayaz was arrested after a woman filed a case against him for kidnapping her 13-year-old son, drugging him and then raping him for four days. The man even recorded videos of the children and blackmailed to release them if they exposed him.
It is pertinent to mention here that the 46-year-old man is a chartered accountant by profession and worked at a government department in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to the police.
He has also been imprisoned for raping children in the United Kingdom and Italy. He was then deported from both the countries after he completed his prison sentences.
Among those who spoke up against the heinous act were actors Mehwish Hayat, Mansha Pasha and Sanam Saeed, who expressed their disgust on Twitter.
Mehwish called for a “shut down [of] all the networks and mafias exploiting our children in this way.”
At least 100 provincial lawmakers of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Thursday submitted their resignations from standing committees of the Punjab Assembly to register their protest against non-acceptance of their demands.
According to sources, the PML-N lawmakers submitted their resignations to the secretariat of the provincial house for not appointing Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and not issuing production orders for jailed party leaders, including Khawaja Saad Rafique.
As many as 97 members of the standing committees out of 100 had on Wednesday submitted their resignations to the party leadership.
“It is a black day in the history of the Punjab Assembly when over a hundred members have tendered their resignations from the standing committees,” PML-N leader Malik Nadeem Kamran said.
He trained guns at the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for not issuing Hamza Shehbaz’s production orders and said that the government had backtracked on its promise of appointing Hamza as the PAC chairman.
“Now, the standing committees will not have any political or moral status for legislation and circumstances called for such extreme measures.”
A day earlier, an accountability court in Lahore extended Hamza’s judicial remand till November 28 in the assets beyond means case.
During the hearing, Presiding Judge Amjad Nazeer expressed resentment at the PML-N leader for not maintaining the decorum of the court and instructed him to come to the rostrum and stay quiet.
Hamza also exchanged harsh words with the judge and explained that the people interacting with him had come to the court on their own. “Next time, you will come straight to the rostrum,” the judge directed Hamza.
The defence counsel sought exemption from personal appearance for Shehbaz Sharif, saying he had to appear before the federal cabinet in Islamabad.
Not that we didn’t know that already, but a new report has confirmed that Karachi is one of the worst cities to drive in.
According to a French-based survey, which ranked 100 global cities to determine which were the best, and worst, destinations for drivers, Karachi was at number five. Mumbai topped the list while Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia came second and Kolkata, India third.
On the other hand, Calgary, Canada was the best city in the world for driving followed by Dubai (2) and Ottawa (3).
Read more: Karachi declared world’s 57th safest city
Meanwhile, the same study ranked Karachi number three on the list of cities with the most incidents of road rage. Road rage is defined as aggressive or angry behaviour exhibited by a driver of a road vehicle. Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia topped the list while Moscow, Russia came second.
Read more: Karachi second in chars consumption worldwide
The study took three factors into consideration – infrastructure, safety and costs – when drawing up comparisons and deciding which city made a good location to drive.
To determine a city’s infrastructure, a number of factors were examined, such as the number of cars per capita, traffic congestion, road and public transport quality, among others. Air quality levels were also investigated in order to determine the city’s commitment to providing fresh air and good visibility for its drivers and citizens alike.
The costs associated with driving in each city were also evaluated, including not only the price of combustibles and annual road tax paid in each location but also the purchase parity of each country to determine how affordable it was to drive in that particular city.
The Kingdom of Bahrain on Tuesday conferred the Isa Award for Service to Humanity to the Edhi Foundation for their tireless efforts towards humanity. The award includes a US$1 million reward, a medal made of pure gold and a certificate of appreciation.
Faisal Edhi received the award on behalf of the foundation.
According to reports, the Edhi Foundation received the award at a grand royal ceremony attended by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain in Manama, the capital.
An international jury recommended the foundation which was selected after shortlisting several qualifiers.
A press release issued by the awarding committee said that the honour, which is given every two years, was established in 2008 by a Royal Decree in memory of Emir Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa after whom the award is named. It recognises individuals who have dedicated their lives to humanitarian work.
The Edhi Foundation, founded by the late Abdul Sattar Edhi, is the largest Pakistani charity foundation, known worldwide for its humanitarian work. It serves all human beings, regardless of race, religion or nationality. Edhi runs several shelter houses, old homes, an ambulance network, orphanages, soup kitchens, morgues along with multiple other welfare services.
Until his death on July 8, 2016, Edhi dedicated his life and that of all his family members to the service of people. The award honours him, and the work that is still being done by the foundation for the betterment of the people across Pakistan.
Minister for Science and Technology, Fawad Chaudhry doesn’t mince words when it comes to expressing his thoughts.
Recently, while responding to a tweet about the upcoming Bollywood historical saga Panipat, Fawad wrote on Twitter, “When idiots try to rewrite history under RSS influence this is minimum one should expect, agay agay dekheiye hota hai kiya…”
Panipat which features Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Kapoor and Kriti Sanon in the lead is directed by ace filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker (Lagaan, Swades, Jodha Akbar). The film reportedly depicts the story behind the Third Battle of Panipat, which was fought between the Maratha Empire and the King of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1761.
While Arjun will be playing Maratha warrior Sadashiv Rao Bhau, Dutt will essay the role of the Afghan ruler Abdali.
Read more: ‘Another anti-Pakistan project’: Mehwish Hayat lashes out as SRK’s ‘Bard of Blood’ stirs controversy
The film has not only irked Pakistanis for misrepresentation of Muslim rulers but according to The Print, the Embassy of Afghanistan has also expressed concerns to New Delhi and sought a meeting with the Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar to discuss the film.
The Afghans are critical of the way the former Afghan emperor Ahmad Shah Abdali has been portrayed in the period drama. Abdali is a revered figure in Afghanistan and is regarded as the founder of the modern state of Afghanistan.
The Afghanistan Embassy in New Delhi also wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs regarding the matter, while the ex-Afghan ambassador to India tweeted directly to Dutt over the portrayal.
Panipat is scheduled to hit the screens on December 6. The demolition of the Babri Masjid in the city of Ayodhya, in Uttar Pradesh, took place on the same date in 1992.
Previously Ranveer Singh’s portrayal of Alauddin Khilji in last year’s Padmaavat left many historians aghast and irked the Muslims who felt that the great emperor was turned into a vile villain.
Read more: Arts vs Politics: A contentious debate engulfing India
Watch trailer here: