Current Final

Author: News Desk

  • Usman Mirza Case: ‘probability’ victim couple took money for settlement, SSP

    Usman Mirza Case: ‘probability’ victim couple took money for settlement, SSP

    Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Investigation Attaur Rehman, while talking to Journalist Rauf Klasra, has talked about the Usman Mirza couple harassment case in details.

    He told Klasra the video of the couple being harassed by Usman Mirza was sent to “Punjab Forensic Science” to check its authenticity, and the “Punjab Forensic Science Agency” confirmed that the video was authentic and the people in the video are the same.

    He added that police arrested the accused persons after working very hard as the incident happened 8 to 9 months before the video went viral.

    He also said that police is providing the victim couple with protection but they are not coming forward due to “social taboos”.

    The journalist also asked the SSP about the confession of the accused persons to which he said that the accused persons have confessed to the crime.

    Read more- Follow up: What happened in the Usman Mirza case?

    Talking about the future of the case SSP said, “On the next hearing, we will go with scientific and forensic [evidence]. He continued by explaining that there are two types of evidences: one is circumstantial evidence and the other is the statements of the witnesses. “Other than that there are forensic evidences also, which play a key role, and we have many forensic evidences in this case.” He hoped that this case will still be pursued and the involved people will be punished.

    He also said that despite the fact that victims have retracted their statements, he will try to get the accused persons will get punished based on other evidence.

    The journalist further asked the SSP that how the couple agreed for an out of the court settlement when the police was standing behind them. Were they facing any threats or did they take any money? To which the SSP said being a police officer, he will say that as long as the threats were concerned, he doesn’t think that’s the case. Talking about the couple taking the money he said, “there is a probability” that they took money, but i can’t say that with “authenticity”.

    The case came back into the limelight again yesterday when Journalist Rauf Klasra, in a tweet said that the victim couple in the Usman Mirza case have refused to recognise the accused persons. He further said that police has said the couple have taken “one crore and have reached a settlement.”

  • Two brothers reunite at Kartarpur Corridor after 74 years from Pakistan, India

    Two brothers reunite at Kartarpur Corridor after 74 years from Pakistan, India

    Two brothers who got separated during the partition of the sub-continent have finally reunited at the Kartarpur Corridor after 74 years, reports ARY News.

    Muhammad Siddiq aged 80, residing in Faisalabad, Pakistan who separated from his family during the partition, and his brother, Habib who lives in the Indian Punjab. The moment when they hugged each other brought tears to their eyes.

    https://twitter.com/thesinghsonia/status/1481167726827937793?s=20

    The Kartarpur Corridor, which links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district, reopened in November.

    The pilgrimage to the Kartarpur Sahib gurdwara was suspended in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

  • Bilawal in Parliament says not expected from a player like Imran Khan to impose taxes on condoms

    Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari during his speech in the National Assembly (NA) on Tuesday lamented how the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has imposed taxes on the people of Pakistan.

    Talking about a list of items on which the government-imposed taxes, Bilawal said that the people of Pakistan are in pain. He said, “It is always said [by the goverment] that Pakistan does not have inflation, this is not based on reality. If you see the statistic, Pakistan has the most inflation as compared to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and India.”

    Asking for the Speaker’s attention, Bilawal said, “Speaker Sahib, tax on contraceptives has been imposed as well.”

    “It was not expected from a khiladi [player] like [Prime Minister (PM)] Imran Khan to impose a tax on contraceptives as well,” said Bilawal.

    “Sir, contraceptives are not a laughing matter. There is a population explosion in regions of Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. You [PM Khan] are not even providing basic needs to the [people] in terms of food, sufficient jobs, education, and health. The entire world is supporting this sector and you are imposing a tax on contraceptives,” said Bilawal.

    The PPP chairman further said, “There is a crisis of HIV and AIDS, which is not being informed to the people. This a very serious matter.”

    “Through this mini-budget, by imposing a tax on contraceptives, you have proved to the nation that Imran Khan Sahib has imposed a tax on everything and did not leave [contraceptives] out of it. Khan Sahib is imposing a tax on an infant’s food, milk this is a direct hit on the weakest class in our society. You [Imran Khan] have literally snatched food from a child’s mouth.”

    “You are damaging women’s empowerment. You are damaging the right of choice and independence of women,” said the PPP leader.

    “Both your [Imran Khan] decisions [to impose a tax on contraceptives and milk, food products of infants] will have historic damage,” said Bilawal Bhutto.

    However, it is pertinent to mention here that the most common contraceptives that are available in the market which are being taxed are condoms.

  • Three year prison sentence, fine for false moon-sighting witnesses: bill

    Three year prison sentence, fine for false moon-sighting witnesses: bill

    The moon-sighting issue in Pakistan is a socio-religious challenge as many religious events(Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha) are directly related to it. In a bid to put an end to the moon sighting controversies around key festivals like Eid, the Pakistan government is imposing a three years imprisonment and a Rs 50,000 fine for anyone who announces the false moon sighting before the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee.

    Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan introduced the Pakistan Ruet Hilal Bill 2021 on behalf of the Federal Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Noorul Haq Qadri.

    The proposed bill mainly aims to tackle the formation of a Federal Ruet Hilal committee, led by recognised Ulema and scholars from all sects and schools of thought which has a history of announcing Eid and the start of Ramazan.

    The bill authorises only the chairperson of the federal committee or his nominee to make an announcement regarding the sighting of the moon. The bill proposes a fine of up to Rs50,000 for anyone violating the law.

    The federal committee, according to the bill, will comprise 16 members, including the chairperson. The federal committee will consist of two Ulema from each province and Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir; a grade-20 officer from Met Office, a science and technology expert and a representative of the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission and an officer of the level of director general from the Ruet Hilal Affairs division of the ministry, who will act as the secretary of the committee.

    The bill has suggested a complete ban on any other committee formed by individuals under any name for sighting of the moon for commencement of each Islamic Hijri calendar month.

  • Virushka celebrate first birthday of daughter Vamika, host party in ‘bubble’

    Virushka celebrate first birthday of daughter Vamika, host party in ‘bubble’

    India’s most celebrated couple, Test team captain Virat Kohli and Bollywood actor Anushka Sharma have hosted the first birthday party of their daughter Vamika in South Africa in a bio-secure bubble.

    Taking to Instagram stories, sharing a picture with Virat from Vamika’s birthday celebration, Anushka wrote: “The sun was bright, the light beautiful, the table full, and just like that our little girl turned one.”

    Talking about the party and thanking those who made the day special, she added: “The evening was made extra special with the warmest people. And here I was worried about her first birthday being in a bubble! Thank you guys (you know who you are).”

    Anushka also shared a picture of herself, holding Vamika in her arms and captioned it, “My baby girl.”

    Virat and Anushka welcomed their bundle of joy on January 11 last year. The two have been fiercely protective of her privacy and have given strict instructions to the paparazzi from clicking or sharing her pictures.

    Read more – Anushka Sharma slams photographer for invading her privacy

    The family is in a bio bubble since Virat is playing for Team India in the ongoing Test series against the host nation, but Anushka confirmed that Vamika’s birthday was perfect in every manner.

  • KP government wants harsher sentences for those convicted in Mashal Khan case

    KP government wants harsher sentences for those convicted in Mashal Khan case

    The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday accepted for hearing a set of appeals by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government seeking to enhance the sentences of the convicts involved in the 2017 lynching of Mardan university student Mashal Khan, reports Dawn.

    Additional Advocate General (AAG) for KP Nisar Khan, told Dawn that the appeals were filed against the November 2020 verdict in which the Peshawar High Court had commuted the death sentence awarded to primary accused Imran Ali in Mashal Khan lynching case, but maintained the jail terms handed down to 32 others.

    Mashal Khan, a 23-year-old student of the Department of Mass Communication at Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, was lynched by a mob and shot over allegations of blasphemy on April 13, 2017.

    In June 2017, a 13-member joint investigation team concluded that the allegations of blasphemy against Mashal Khan were unfounded and were used as a pretext to incite a mob against him.

  • Follow up: What happened in the Usman Mirza case?

    Follow up: What happened in the Usman Mirza case?

    Usman Mirza is prime suspect in couple harassment case. A video of Usman Mirza and his friends went viral on social media in which they were torturing and assaulting a couple in Islamabad. Moreover, the accused persons continued blackmailing the couple after filming the couple in which they were forced to have sexual intercourse at gunpoint.

    Soon after the details were revealed, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan directed the police to ensure justice. However, recently the case has taken an unexpected turn. The following is the brief timeline of the incident which has created a debate on media platforms.

    July 6: A video of Usman Mirza harassing a couple went viral on social media which created an outrage across the country.

    July 7: Usman Mirza was arrested by Islamabad police.

    August 2: Mirza filed a bail plea but was rejected by Islamabad High Court (IHC) and he was sent to Adiala Jail till September 10.

    September 27: The police submitted a challan in the court, in which victims’ statements were recorded.

    September 28: Indictment of at least three suspects, including Mirza.

    October 3: Initiation of legal proceedings against the suspects.

    January 10: The lawyer of the victim reported that the victims’ mobile phones were switched off. Reports that victims had been paid off.

    January 11: On the day of the hearing, the female victim refused to identify any of the accused and said she does not want to pursue the case.

    She also told the court that she did not want to appear for subsequent hearings in the case. However, the judge told her that she would have to appear and adjourned the hearing for January 18.

  • Karachi Eat 2022 will be held this weekend despite 20 percent positivity rate in city

    Karachi Eat 2022 will be held this weekend despite 20 percent positivity rate in city

    The annual food festival, Karachi Eat 2022 will be held at the Beach View Park in Clifton from Friday till Sunday this month. The organisers are hopeful that the festival will be held according to schedule. They are not intending to cancel the event despite the covid positivity rate increasing to 20 percent in Karachi.

    East River, which is responsible for public relations and digital media of the festival, has taken strict precautionary measures to ensure SOPs compliance for the crowd. They have also uploaded the mandatory instructions on their official Instagram for people who want to attend the food festival.

    According to the Head of Special Projects Amna Saleem, people will receive booster shots of Pfizer at the festival in partnership with HANDS, a Non-Governmental organisation (NGO). It is also mandatory to wear masks and carry your vaccination certificate.

    The company has arranged an online ticketing system and partnered with TicketWala this time to avoid overcrowding at the ticket booth.

    Meanwhile, the Covid positivity rate has increased to 20 percent in Karachi which is an alarming situation. Until now, 1,223 cases of coronavirus of omicron variant are confirmed in the city.

    According to the Sindh health ministry, “The ratio of Omicron variant being reported in Karachi has reached 95 percent.”

  • ‘So hateful’: Ahmad Ali Butt, Anoushey Ashraf school Sakina Samo for remarks on Humayun Saeed

    ‘So hateful’: Ahmad Ali Butt, Anoushey Ashraf school Sakina Samo for remarks on Humayun Saeed

    Actor Humayun Saeed has been roped in to play Dr Hasnat Khan, Princess Diana’s love interest in Season five of the hit Netflix series The Crown.

    Journalist Hasan Zaidi confirmed the news last night after speculations had risen that actor Fawad Khan would be seen as Dr Khan in the Netflix drama.

    “Was holding back the information until Netflix officially came on the record but, since speculation was rife, it’s only a matter of time”, Zaidi tweeted.

    Senior actor and director Sakina Samo took to her twitter handle to condemn the choice of casting by the Netflix makers.

    She suggested the name of Humsafar star Fawad Khan in place of Humayun.

    On the contrary former host and actor Noor Bukhari disagreed with the Dobara diva. She stated that the Meray Paas Tum Ho star is the best choice for the film.

    Now actor Ahmad Ali Butt has shared his opinion on Sakina’s remarks.

    Host and actor Anoushey Ashraf also agreed to Ahmad’s point and cheered Humayun for bagging the part.

    Photos: Ahmad Ali Butt, Humayun Saeed, Anoushey Ashraf/Instagram
  • Cricketer Yasir Shah declared innocent in rape case

    Cricketer Yasir Shah declared innocent in rape case

    Pakistan Test Cricketer Yasir Shah has been declared innocent and cleared from the rape case of a 14-year-old girl registered at Islamabad’s Shalimar police station after the complainent admitted that the cricketer’s name was wrongly added in the First Information Report (FIR).

    As per details, the victim said Shah’s name was added to the FIR due to a misstatement.

    The SHO Shalimar police station said that the cricketer has nothing to do with the assault case.

    In December last year, the Islamabad police registered a case against Yasir for his alleged involvement in aiding the rape and harassment of a 14-year-old girl. The complainant alleged that Yasir’s friend, Farhanuddin, raped her at gunpoint and also filmed an obscene video of her.

    “The national cricketer and his friend also threatened her to share the video on social media,” the FIR said.

    She claimed that Yasir also warned her of embroiling her in a case if she approached the police. The FIR further stated that Yasir also used his influence to coerce the minor to marry his friend, Farhan.

    Earlier on Monday, Shah’s friend escaped from the Islamabad’s district and sessions court after his pre-arrest bail application was rejected in the sexual assault case.

    Later, the cricketer issued the statement on his social media saying: “The truth has been prevailed. Alhamdulillah! The harassnment case against me has been dismissed with the support and prayers of my fans. family and PCB”

    He also stated that he dealt the case through the courts of law to expose the truth.