Current Final

Author: News Desk

  • Pakistan condemns Modi for not allowing India-based foreign journalists to visit Pakistan

    Pakistan condemns Modi for not allowing India-based foreign journalists to visit Pakistan

    India has refused permission to allow five India-based international journalists to travel to Pakistan via Wagah.

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi pointed out how the Indian government’s decision indicated that the space for free speech and independent journalism was shrinking in India under a “dictatorial regime”. Qureshi said the five journalists were to travel to Pakistan and were also to visit the Azad Kashmir Assembly.

    Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry also condemned New Delhi for refusing permission to the international journalists to visit Azad Kashmir. 

    The minister took to Twitter and questioned India for its freedom of expression.

    National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf said these “are the actions of an insecure government that has much to hide”.

    Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari questioned whether the foreign journalists will expose the growing myth of Indian democracy under the fascist Modi regime.

    Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar tweeted, “We want the world to see what is happening in Azad Kashmir and they want to hide what is happening in Indian Occupied Kashmir. The difference between right and wrong cannot get more stark than this.”

    A request by Pakistan to allow a group of five India-based foreign journalists to travel to Islamabad through Wagah has been declined by Indian authorities as the border crossing is virtually closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, reported Times of India.

    The report stated that Pakistan planned to take the journalists for interactions with top political leadership and senior officials on the overall situation in Afghanistan.

    “One of the persons familiar with the development said the visit was planned from August 3 to 7,” read the report.

     

  • Man arrested for taking girlfriend’s exams, dressed as woman

    Man arrested for taking girlfriend’s exams, dressed as woman

    A Senegalese student has been arrested on the charges of fraud after allegedly posing as a woman and sitting for his girlfriend’s high school exams, his lawyer told AFP on Tuesday.

    The girlfriend has also been detained.

    Both are due in court in the West African country on Thursday, on charges of fraud and complicity in the fraud, lawyer Serigne Ndiongue said. The suspects are contesting the charges.

    Photo via AFP

    According to the prosecution, the university student moved to the central city of Diourbel in order to take his girlfriend’s baccalaureate exams on her behalf.

    Read More: Viral meme ‘Friendship ended with Mudasir’ sold for $51,000

    Photos circulating on social media showed the student wearing a red dress and a black shawl.

    Local media reported that supervisors caught him on the third day of the exams after noticing something wrong with his attire. They then reported him to the police.

  • Zarnish Khan, Hamza Sohail are disturbed with rising ‘horrific incidents of feminicide’

    Zarnish Khan, Hamza Sohail are disturbed with rising ‘horrific incidents of feminicide’

    Actors Zarnish Khan and Hamza Sohail have expressed their concern on the rising crimes against women in Pakistan.

    Taking to Instagram, the Sun Yaara actress wrote: “Nowadays, whenever I open my social media, I only see stories about people being raped, murdered, harassed, or fight over women’s clothes. Why is this country in such a mess?”

    The Yeh Dil Mera star urged people to raise their voice, saying: “Raise your voice for the greater good instead of bashing individuals for their dressing, their statements, or their personal choices. It is time for the Awaam to rise up and use social media to demand basic human rights instead of fighting about petty issues and wasting time on gossips.”

    She added, “I find it extremely depressing to see that our society has become crippled as well as finding itself teetering on the edge of lawlessness. There needs to be an end to this chaos by the authorities as soon as possible so that we can all feel safe at home and on the streets. We have been racked by terrorism for decades, and now we have these animals wearing human skin to continue the sad story. When will it all end?”

    Raqeeb Se actor Hamza Sohail expressed his concern for the plight of women in Pakistan with an exclusive heartfelt statement to The Current, “The recent surge in horrific incidents of femicide across the country is heart wrenching for all Pakistanis. I feel there’s a dire need to prevent the unfurling moral decline in our society. It’s high time that we condemn these horrendous crimes and take a pledge to protect our women.”

    He also penned a thought provoking note on his Instagram handle.

    On the work front Hamza will be seen next in Big Bang Entertainment’s Main Hari Piya.

  • Honey Singh accused of domestic violence and adultery by wife Shalini

    Shalini Tanwar, wife of popular Bollywood rapper, Hirdesh Singh, known professionally as Yo Yo Honey Singh has lodged a complaint against her husband on the charges of domestic violence and adultery under the ‘Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act’ in Delhi’s Hazari Court, and has sought Rs 10 crore as compensation.

    His wife has accused Honey and his family for subjecting her to physical, verbal, mental, and emotional abuse. In addition to that Honey Singh’s wife alleged in her complaint that Honey Singh “began having frequent casual sex with multiple women” when he was travelling and “to further his sexual intents and illicit relationships, never disclosed to the public, that he was married”.

    They married a decade ago in India.

  • Abdul Qayyum Niazi nominated as PTI’s candidate for AJK PM

    Abdul Qayyum Niazi nominated as PTI’s candidate for AJK PM

    Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry announced that Prime Minister Imran Khan has nominated Abdul Qayyum Niazi as the next premier of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

    The information minister took to Twitter and said that the premier made the decision after “considerable consultations and suggestions”.

    In a tweet, the minister wrote, “He [Abdul Qayyum Niazi] is a dynamic and genuine political activist and his heart beats for the people.”

    Abdul Qayyum Niazi was a member of the AJK Legislative Assembly from border area Abbaspur Poonch. He is also Central Joint Secretary of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

    Last week, PM Khan started interviewing some of the elected members of the Azad Jammu Kashmir Legislative Assembly for the slot of AJK prime minister.

    PM Khan took lengthy interviews of the candidates in which he asked questions about the environment, tourism, economy, border issues, and their future plans.

  • Meet Abtaha Maqsood, Britain’s first hijab-wearing cricketer

    Meet Abtaha Maqsood, Britain’s first hijab-wearing cricketer

    Abtaha Maqsood is Britain’s first hijab-wearing Muslim female to play international cricket, reports Geo News. She wants other young British Muslim girls to not hold back if they are thinking about cultural and religious obstacles and take up cricket as a profession.

    Abtaha’s parents are from Lahore, Pakistan. She was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on June 11, 1999 — the day Pakistan won from Zimbabwe to qualify for the semi-finals of the Cricket World Cup played in England and Scotland.

    The 22-year-old cricketer is currently playing for Birmingham Phoenix in the new short format 200-ball cricket tournament “The Hundred” in England. Since her childhood, she used to play cricket in the garden of her house with her father and brothers.

    Abtaha joined her local cricket club “Poloc” at the age of 11. Only four months after joining the club, she was selected to represent Scotland’s under-17 squad against Ireland in a T20 tournament.

    Speaking to Geo, Abtaha said that her family supported her to join cricket as a profession. Abtaha said that her father is her top supporter throughout the journey.

    “My dad and my mom are both massive cricket lovers. But my dad, in particular, says all sports are important,” she said.
    Abtaha Maqsood also holds a black belt in Taekwondo that she acquired at the age of 11. She has participated in British and Scottish Taekwondo championships as well.

    The young cricketer said she never thought of taking cricket as a career at that time. But the experience of playing cricket so far has been wonderful for her.
    Talking about her choice to wear the hijab, Abtaha said that she started it at the age of 11 after she saw her mother doing the same. She, however, said that her decision to wear one was completely her choice.

    “Wearing a hijab was my own choice. I went to perform Umrah with my family when I was 11, and on our way back to the UK, I saw my mum started wearing hijab. So I asked her why was she wearing that and then she told me [how it was a religious obligation], so I decided to wear one as well,” said Abtaha.

    “It was really important for me at that time as it is now and I’m going to keep wearing that”, she added.

    Responding to a question of whether people should focus more on her cricketing skills rather than her hijab, Abtaha said that she thinks talking about her hijab is equally important as it is the representation that matters.

    “This is the first time people have really seen a woman wearing the hijab and playing cricket at the highest level, so I think it’s still important to be talked about,” she said.

    “I never really had a role model who looked like me when I was growing up. I think that would have really helped me and given me a sense of belonging. So, hopefully, I can be that person for young girls now”, she added.

    She told Geo that although she never came across any cultural barriers herself, she is aware that there are hurdles out there for other young Muslim girls. She, therefore, wants to be a role model for those girls.

    “I really hope that people, when seeing me, could realise that it is possible to play cricket and wear hijab at the same time. And there are people out there who can support young girls through it if they really want to play cricket at a high level or any other professional sport for that matter”.

    xplaining her experience in playing “The Hundred”, she said that representing Birmingham Phoenix in the tournament is the most amazing experience of her life.

    Talking about her experience in the tournament so far, Abtaha said that she still can’t believe that she’s playing with some of the best cricketers in the world — a chance she never had before.

    Abtaha Maqsood has represented Scotland’s national team 17 times in international T20 matches, claiming 23 wickets so far in her career at an impressive average of 12.28.

  • Viral meme ‘Friendship ended with Mudasir’ sold for $51,000

    The ‘Friendship ended with Mudasir’ meme, which went viral in 2015, has now been auctioned off as a Non-Fungible Token for $51,530 (roughly Rs8,491,427.73). The sale was concluded on the online platform Foundation, which facilitates live auctions for non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

    It was bought by Andrew King, co-founder of Mechanism Capital, BBC has reported. Asif, while speaking to BBC, said that the sale was ‘unexpected’ for him.

    In 2015, a Gujranwala-based man named Asif Raza Rana created a manipulated artwork that became the Pakistani friendship breakup meme. Rana had broken up with Mudasir Ismail Ahmad. He also revealed that he had met a new closest friend in Salman Ahmad Naqash. The meme was widely shared by social media users.

  • Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem tops his group in Javelin Throw qualification at Tokyo Olympics

    Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem tops his group in Javelin Throw qualification at Tokyo Olympics

    It was a momentous day for athletics in Pakistan when javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem hurled a massive 85.16m throw to reach the finals of the Men’s Javelin Throw event in Tokyo Olympics.

    Nadeem was in group B of the qualification event and topped his group to make it into the finals. His overall performance marked him as the third-highest thrower in both the groups combined, behind India’s Neeraj Chopra and Germany’s World number one Johannes Vetter.

    Soon after Nadeem ensured a final spot, Twitterati rejoiced over the fact that they will see a lip-smacking India vs Pakistan contest in the finals of the event on August 7.

    Here are some of the Tweets:

    Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Provincial Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Rai Taimoor Khan Bhatti and Punjab Assembly MPA Andleeb Abbas lauded the 24-year-old athlete for making the nation proud for his achievement.

  • ‘If a phone call and a security relationship is a concession, Pakistan has options’: Moeed Yusuf tells US

    ‘If a phone call and a security relationship is a concession, Pakistan has options’: Moeed Yusuf tells US

    National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf has said that Pakistan has other options if United States (US) President Joe Biden continues to ignore the country’s leadership.

    While speaking to Finacial Times (FT), Yusuf categorically said, “If a phone call is a concession, if a security relationship is a concession, Pakistan has options.”

    “We’ve been told every time that . . . [the phone call] will happen, it’s technical reasons or whatever. But frankly, people don’t believe it,” Yusuf added.

    Moeed Yusuf’s statement came as a complaint about Joe Biden’s failure to contact Prime Minister Imran Khan as Washington seeks help to stop the Taliban from taking over Afghanistan following US troop withdrawal.

    “The cold shoulder from Washington comes as the Taliban has captured swaths of territory across Afghanistan in a ruthless offensive emboldened by the US pullout,” the report added.

    “The president of the United States hasn’t spoken to the prime minister of such an important country who the US itself says is make-or-break in some cases, in some ways, in Afghanistan — we struggle to understand the signal, right?”

    A Biden administration official told FT, “There are still a number of world leaders President Biden has not been able to speak with personally yet. He looks forward to speaking with Prime Minister Khan when the time is right.”

    The US State Department, however, has assured Islamabad that Washington recognises Pakistan’s vital role in restoring peace in Afghanistan and wants the country to play that role. “Pakistan has much to gain and will continue to have a critical role, be well-positioned to have a role in supporting the outcome” in Afghanistan, said US State Department’s spokesman Ned Price, reported Dawn.

    A person familiar with last week’s discussions between Yusuf and his American counterpart Jake Sullivan told FT: “The conversation about Afghanistan had been tough but that securing a political settlement … could help improve the US-Pakistan relationship dramatically.”

  • Nida Yasir’s son Balaj trolled after appearing on morning show, takes immediate action

    Nida Yasir’s son Balaj trolled after appearing on morning show, takes immediate action

    Nida Yasir’s youngest son appeared on her morning show to celebrate his birthday with the viewers. After the show was broadcasted, Nida posted her son’s pictures on her official Instagram handle.

    Soon after the Nadaniyaan star posted Balaj’s pictures, netizens flooded the comment section with derogatory comments, primarily for his hairstyle. Gendered statements were passed for the child.

    Nida changed his hairstyle immediately and updated her fans with an Instagram post. She mentioned that ‘Trollers to bachon ko bhi nahi chortay’.