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Author: News Desk

  • PDM to decide on long march, resignations today

    PDM to decide on long march, resignations today

    The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) will decide on long march and resignations from assemblies today in a meeting chaired by PDM chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

    Maulana Fazl, while talking to the media on Monday had said that in his personal opinion, without submitting resignations, the Opposition alliance does not stand to gain much benefit from the long march.

    PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz also said that the issue of resignations will be decided in the PDM meeting on Tuesday. She said the PML-N will try to convince those who don’t agree on resignations.

    “We have also agreed to their ideas before and they should also help us with the last push to get rid of this government in the larger interest of the nation,” said the PML-N VP.

    On the other hand, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is said to be reluctant when it comes to resigning from the assemblies.

  • Pakistan concerned as Sri Lanka mulls banning burqa, shutting Islamic schools for national security

    Pakistan ambassador in Colombo and a United Nations expert have expressed concerns over Sri Lanka’s proposed move to ban the wearing of burqas.

    Last week, Sri Lanka announced plans to ban the wearing of burqas and said it would close more than 1,000 Islamic schools known as madrassas, citing national security.

    Pakistan’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, Saad Khattak, tweeted the ban would “only serve as injury to the feelings of ordinary Sri Lankan Muslims and Muslims across the globe.”

    The United Nations’ special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Ahmed Shaheed, tweeted that the “burqa bans are incompatible with [international] law guarantees of the right to manifest one’s religion or belief & of freedom of expression.”

    On Saturday, Sri Lanka’s minister of public security, Sarath Weerasekara, called the burqa a sign of religious extremism and said it has a direct impact on national security.

    Weerasekara signed a paper on Friday seeking Cabinet approval to ban burqas.

    The wearing of burqas in Sri Lanka was temporarily banned in 2019 soon after the Easter Sunday bomb attacks on churches and hotels that killed more than 260 people in the Indian Ocean island nation.

    Two local Muslim groups that had pledged allegiance to the Daesh group, or Daesh, have been blamed for the attacks at six locations — two Roman Catholic churches, one Protestant church, and three top hotels.

    Sri Lanka also plans to ban more than 1,000 religious seminaries, saying they are not registered with the authorities and do not follow the national education policy.
    The decision to ban burqas and seminaries is the latest move affecting Sri Lanka’s minority Muslims they make up about 9 per cent of the 22 million people in Sri Lanka.

  • Yasir Hussain lists his favourite ‘underrated’ actors

    Yasir Hussain lists his favourite ‘underrated’ actors

    Yasir Hussain has shared a list of his favourite “but sadly underrated actors of the Pakistani drama industry”.

    Read more – Yasir Hussain vs Nausheen Shah: Who said what?

    Taking to Instagram stories, the Lahore Se Aagey actor shared a collage of the actors which included Anoushay Abbasi, Hasan Ahmed, Furqan Qureshi, Afraz Rasool and Zain Afzal.

    Meanwhile, earlier in an interview with a local media outlet, when Yasir was asked to name an actor who should have stayed on television instead of doing films, the actor had named Shahroz Sabzwari.

    Responding to Yasir’s comments, Sabzwari had said: “I think everyone has their own opinion and I respect Yasir’s. I respect everyone’s opinions, whether it comes from someone in my family or a random person on the street. No one has been subjected to flak the way I have.”

    The actor further said: “And he’s [Yasir’s]… I know him. So if that is what he thinks, then that’s fine by me.”

    “I own all my characters and my films. One of them Chain Aye Na was a dead flop, but I own it. I think everyone should do that too. A bad film or a character that doesn’t work for you should never define your potential. An actor is only done when he tells himself in the mirror that he is done,” expressed Sabzwari.

    “Yasir is entitled to his opinion and if you ask me mine, I will say that I respect all the actors around me,” said Shahroz, adding: “Even someone who plays a minor role is significant to me because when the camera is rolling, even saying ‘Assalamualaikum, kaisay hain aap’ becomes a task.”

  • COVID-19: Walk-in vaccination for seniors aged 70 and above begins

    Walk-in vaccination for seniors aged 70 and above will be available in Pakistan from today.

    According to the National Command Operation Center (NCOC) registered senior citizens aged 70 and above can get vaccinated from any health centre. However, the walk-in corona vaccination facility will only be available for registered senior citizens.

    Punjab Minister for Health Dr Yasmin Rashid has urged all citizens to register themselves before heading to the facility to avoid inconvenience.

    Vaccination of people over 60 years and above commenced on March 10. Among those who received their shot is President Arif Alvi and Samina Peerzada, who also praised the government for the facility.

    Meanwhile, 2511, people tested positive in last 24 hours in Pakistan and the positivity rate has jumped to 7.21 %. Whereas, 58 people have lost their lives to the virus.

    Amid the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases, various corona related restrictions have been re-imposed in different cities of country. The Sindh Government has imposed smart lockdown across the province until April 15 to fight against the third wave. The Punjab Government has also issued a notice and urged people to follow strict SOPs in the province.

    Meanwhile, Dr Yasmin has also said that administrative officers and police staff will be vaccinated in the next phase.

  • Haseeb Hasan shares first teaser of Ahad, Sajal’s ‘Dhoop Ki Deewar’

    Haseeb Hasan shares first teaser of Ahad, Sajal’s ‘Dhoop Ki Deewar’

    Haseeb Hasan has shared the first teaser of the most anticipated upcoming web series Dhoop Ki Deewar.

    Wishing Ahad Raza Mir and Sajal Aly a happy first wedding anniversary, the award-winning director shared the first teaser of the web series and wrote: “Always make each other smile! Happy Anniversary Ahad and Sajal.”

    “Cherishing my favourite moment of Vishal – Sara from Dhoop Ki Deewar on this day,” he added.

    In the video, Ahad (Vishal) can be seen singing a song for Sajal, who is playing Sara in the series.

    “Sara don’t be mad warna India and Pakistan will very sad… Sara Sara Sara….”

    Earlier, Shailja Kejriwal, who is producing the web series shared pictures of the actors from the sets of the series.

    As per details, the series follows the story of two teenagers whose lives change forever overnight.

    Besides Sajal and Ahad, other actors who play key roles in the series include Adnan Jaffer, Zara Tareen, Paras Masroor, Hammad Siddiqui, Ainy Zaidi, Salma Hasan, Lubna Aslam, Raza Talish, Samiya Mumtaz and Zaib Rehman.

    Written by Umera Ahmad, Dhoop Ki Deewar is directed and co-produced by Hassan under the banner of Hamdan Films along with Shailja. Haseeb is one of the leading directors in the industry with popular drama serials including Nanhi, Mann Mayal as well as feature film Parwaaz Hai Junoon to his credit.

    Earlier, while speaking to The Current, Haseeb had shared his experience of shooting the series, saying that he had total creative liberty with the project.

    “It had creative input but I enjoyed total liberty which was becoming a challenge in the [local] industry each passing day,” said Hassan. “Indeed there were better budgets which justified enabling to achieve the required product and standards,” adding that the budget was “not crazy enough to buy an aeroplane”.

    Read more – Pakistanis can no longer subscribe to Zee5

    The series is expected to stream on Indian media platform Zee5. A release date has not been announced yet.

  • Hindu temple’s caretaker beats Muslim boy for drinking water from temple

    Hindu temple’s caretaker beats Muslim boy for drinking water from temple

    A 14-year-old Muslim boy in India was beaten up for drinking water from a temple.

    The incident of the temple caretaker beating a child in India’s Ghaziabad gained public attention after a video of the incident surfaced online.

    As per reports, the 23-year-old temple caretaker, Shringi Nandan Yadav, beat the boy who went in to drink water.

    The video showed the caretaker kicking and punching the boy after he asked the boy’s and his father’s name. On revealing his name and his father’s name, Yadav started beating the boy. The identity of the boy’s father is being withheld as per law to protect the child. The child’s father is daily wage labour.

    “My son stopped to drink water from a tap located inside the temple as he was thirsty. He was beaten up after they asked about his identity. He suffered a head injury. He generally doesn’t venture inside the temple but this time he told me he was just very thirsty. I have asked him not to go there in the future.”

    The temple authorities say they had banned the entry of non-Hindus inside the temple. Another caretaker of the temple, Yati Narsimhanand Saraswati accused that the boy was beaten for spitting inside the temple, implying that the abuse was justified.

    “There are several taps outside the temple from where people drink water. Our caretakers caught the boy spitting inside the temple. They have been arrested and we will seek to legal recourse to get them bail.”

    Ghaziabad police arrested Shringi Nandan Yadav and another caretaker, Shivanand Saraswati, who recorded the incident.

  • President Dr Arif Alvi, First Lady receive COVID-19 vaccine

    President Dr Arif Alvi, First Lady receive COVID-19 vaccine

    President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi and his wife Samina Arif Alvi have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Islamabad on Monday.

    As per details, President Alvi and Mrs Samina Alvi got their COVID-19 vaccination administered after they registered themselves for the vaccine. They received the confirmation message on Sunday along with the designated vaccination centre.

    Speaking to the media after getting vaccinated, Dr Alvi said: “Elites around the world broke the line for the vaccination. The vaccine is being administered to senior citizens in Pakistan as per age categories.”

    The President added that he registered himself on the 1166 helpline and got the shots “as per my turn”.

    Dr Alvi further said: “The government has introduced an easy and the best mechanism to avoid long queues.”

    The President also advised those who have received the vaccine to exercise precaution and follow the SOPs even after getting the shot.

    Read more – Samina Peerzada gets vaccinated, praises government

    “In wake of third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, people should continue wearing face masks, wash their hand frequently and maintain social distancing.”

    He also lauded the PTI regime’s efforts and strategies in light of the pandemic, saying the government’s smart lockdown policy “reduced economic losses”.

  • Government demands resignation of Chief Election Commissioner

    Seeking disbanding of the election watchdog, the ruling party has called on the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) to resign for “failing to hold the recently-held Senate elections in a transparent manner”.

    “It was a longstanding demand of the prime minister that the power of money should not be used to influence elections,” said Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood while addressing a press conference alongside Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz and Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry.

    “For this purpose, the premier wanted the Senate elections to be held via an open ballot.”

    Mahmood said it is the sole responsibility of the ECP to ensure transparent polls are held. He said that the government had told the ECP to implement a system wherein it would not be possible for corrupt practices to take place.

    The minister called on the election commission to be disbanded, alleging that it had failed to meet up to the standards required of it.

    “To ensure transparent elections are held is the responsibility of the election commission. This responsibility was not fulfilled,” he said. “The election commission failed to act as a neutral umpire hence it should resign,” added Mahmood.

    Explaining the government’s demand for the ECP to be disbanded, Mahmood said the PTI was the most popular political party in the country yet it did not have confidence in the ECP. He claimed the ruling party was not the only one which didn’t trust the ECP.

    Earlier, Federal Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari had also taken a dig at the CEC, saying: “It is unfortunate that he is increasingly creating a partisan image of the ECP which erodes its credibility as well as [the] credibility of future elections under its supervision.”

    The minister had alleged that the CEC was partial and added that “instead of supporting PM & PTI’s demand for open ballot to ensure transparency in Senate elections, PDM’s opportunism & CEC’s partisan approach prevented fair, free and transparent Senate elections”.

    “CEC must take prime responsibility for this sorry state of electoral affairs.”

  • 14-year-old student dies in Peshawar Police custody

    14-year-old student dies in Peshawar Police custody

    A 14-year-old student of Grade 7 was found dead in police custody in Peshawar on Sunday. According to the police, Shahzeb was arrested on Sunday after a fight with a shopkeeper and a weapon was recovered from him. The police claimed that the youth later committed suicide in the lockup. An alleged CCTV footage of his suicide is also doing the rounds on social media.

    Read more – Police brutality, again

    On the other hand, Shahzeb’s father said his son had gone to get his pictures taken around 2 pm on Sunday as he needed them for his school. He said when he reached the police station after he got a call that his son had been arrested, the police did not tell him for three hours about his son’s condition. He believes that his son did not commit suicide but died due to police torture.

    Responding to the incident, Peshawar CCPO said that “in view of the tragic young death, the entire staff of the respective police station has been suspended, [an] FIR registered and responsible staff arrested.”

    The CCPO added that he has also requested a judicial inquiry into the matter. Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police (IG) KP has said that he will monitor the incident himself.

    Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Chief Minister KP on Information and Public Relations, Kamran Bangash has said that CM KP Mahmood Khan has ordered a judicial inquiry into the tragic incident and is monitoring the situation personally.

    He added that he and Deputy Speaker Provincial Assembly Mahmood Jan met with the family of the deceased and offered condolences on behalf of the government.

    Video report of the incident:

    Incidents of police brutality are not uncommon in Pakistan. Earlier in January 2020, five officials of Islamabad Police’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) were arrested after they gunned down a 21-year-old boy, Usama Satti, in cold blood near Srinagar Highway, G-10 sector in the federal capital.

  • World’s only man-made, heart-shaped lake is a new romantic destination in Dubai

    World’s only man-made, heart-shaped lake is a new romantic destination in Dubai

    The world’s only man-made and heart-shaped ‘Love Lake’ in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become a new tourist spot for lovebirds to spend some quality time away from the city’s chaos. The lake has been built in the middle of the Dubai desert and spreads over an area of ​​550,000 square metres.

    Considered a symbol of love at Al-Qudra Oasis, the two gigantic interconnected heart-shaped lakes has grabbed the attention of everyone around the world.

    The lake has been built away from the urban area and has many species of plants, more than 16,000 trees and hundreds of thousands of colourful flowers.

    The lake’s surroundings are also exceptional with the word “Love” attracting tourists from around the globe.

    A heart-shaped gate welcomes the tourists and there is also a place “Hadirah” for picnics and barbecue.

    Entry to the lake is free and it remains open 24 hours. It is also equipped with basic facilities such as clean water and washrooms.