Newly elected Senator from Balochistan, Abdul Qadir, joined Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday. Qadir was elected as an independent candidate with the support of Balochistan Awami Party (BAP). Defence Minister Pervez Khattak and Saifullah Nyazee were also part of the meeting.
— PTI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (@PTIKPOfficial) March 9, 2021
It should be noted that PTI had withdrawn the party ticket awarded to business tycoon Abdul Qadir in Balochistan for the Senate election after strong opposition from the PTI provincial leadership and zonal heads. PTI awarded its Senate ticket to Syed Zahoor Agha. Later, when Abdul Qadir contested the Senate election as an independent candidate with the joint support of BAP and the government, PTI’s Zahoor Agha withdrew his nomination papers.
پاکستان ٹحریک انصاف امیدوار سید ظہور آغا بلوچستان عوامی پارٹی کے حق میں دستبردار۔
گذشتہ روز بلوچستان عوامی پارٹی کی قیادت نے پی ٹی آئی کے مرکزی قیادت اسپیکر قومی اسمبلی اسد قیصر،اسد عمر،پرویز خٹک صاحبان سے اپنے امیدوار کو دستبردار کرنے کی گذارش ک تھی۔ شکریہ پاکستان تحریک انصاف
The United States (US) of America has blocked the supply of 30 Turkish-made ATAK helicopters to Pakistan, as per the statement by Ibrahim Kalin, Press Secretary to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
“The move is made to create pressure to stop Turkey from buying the Russian S-400 missile system, but the tender is likely to go to China,” he added.
He further said that “The United States has blocked our planned sale of combat helicopters to Pakistan. This will likely lead to the fact that the tender in question will go to China, and the losers will be the United States.”
Kalin revealed that Turkey had bought the Russian S-400 because America had refused to supply Patriot air defense systems to Ankara on favorable terms.
The value of this contract is nearly $1.5 billion, and this contract was the largest one-time supply defence deal in history. Pakistan and Turkey had signed a deal for the supply of 30 ATAK helicopters in 2018.
However, the move to block the supply of American weapons to Turkey has delayed the implementation of the contract as ATAK helicopters use 800-4A engines manufactured by the American company LHTEC.
As a counter move, Turkey has announced that it will develop its helicopter engines, and has decided to continue the S-400 purchase from Russia.
The PTI government has offered the post of Senate deputy chairman to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F). Defence Minister Pervez Khattak says he offered the position of deputy chairman Senate to JUI-F’s Abdul Ghafoor Haideri.
ہم نے عبدالغفور حیدری کو آفر کی ہے کہ ہمارے ڈپٹی چیئرمین سینیٹ بن جائیں
JUI-F, led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman, is part of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). Reports indicate that PDM will offer deputy chairman slot to JUI-F and Leader of Opposition in Senate to the PML-N. However, these decisions have not been officially announced. PDM has officially nominated Yousaf Raza Gilani as its joint candidate for Senate chairman. Haideri said that he cannot predict who will become Senate Chairman on March 12. He also said that he has not been informed about PDM’s decision about candidates for the slot of deputy chairman.
Maulana Ghafoor Haideri told the media that he condemns the government ministers’ discussion about this issue. “We don’t accept this government so there is absolutely no standing of any offer from this government,” Haideri added.
Bangladesh’s first transgender news presenter made her debut on national television on Monday after which she broke down into tears.
As per reports, there are almost 1.5 million transgender people in Bangladesh, who face severe discrimination and violence and are often left to live by begging, sex trade or crime.
The experience of Tashnuva Anan Shishir, who delivered the three-minute news bulletin on the private Boishakhi TV was historic.
Born Kamal Hossain Shishir, she learnt in her early teens she was trapped in a man’s body. She says she was sexually assaulted and bullied for years.
“The bullying was so unbearable I attempted suicide four times. My father stopped talking to me for years,” said Shishir.
“When I couldn’t cope with it any more, I left home … I couldn’t stand the neighbours telling my father about how I should act or walk in a masculine way.”
She escaped her home in a southern coastal district to live alone in the capital Dhaka and then in the central city of Narayanganj.
There she went through the hormone therapy. She did jobs working for charities and acted in theatres, while continuing her studies.
In January she was the first transgender person to study for a master’s in public health at the James P Grant School of Public Health in Dhaka.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government has since 2013 allowed trans people to be identified as a separate gender and in 2018 they were given the right to vote as a third gender.
Shishir’s broadcast coincided with International Women’s Day and followed a series of steps by public and private firms to overcome deep-seated prejudices against the community.
Julfikar Ali Manik, a spokesperson for Boishakhi TV said the channel was determined to give Shishir an opportunity to prove herself despite the risk of backlash from some viewers in the conservative country. Her debut marked a “historic step,” he added.
Shishir said she approached other channels for the auditions but only Boishakhi was “brave enough to take me in.”
Ahead of going live for Monday’s broadcast she was terrified, she expressed, but managed to get the better of her fears.
“I tried to think of stage dramas I’ve performed in and follow techniques I’ve learned there. But I was shaking inside,” she said.
“I don’t want any members of the (transgender) community to suffer. I don’t want them to live a miserable life. I hope they will find work according to their skills,” she said.
Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser has said that he will resign if the opposition’s allegations regarding the number of votes Prime Minister Imran Khan secured in the vote of confidence turn out to be true.
Qaiser said that he is willing to challenge that not even a single vote was wrong. “Without my vote and [Faisal] Vawda’s, the numbers were 178.”
Historic announcement for #PrimeMinisterImranKhan by Speaker Asad Qaiser. With 178 votes, PM wins the Vote of Confidence in National Assembly. Congratulations Pakistan, Insaf Won! Chants of Wazeer e Azam Imran Khan heard from Parliament to D Chowk now. #ہو_گئی_انصاف_کی_جیتpic.twitter.com/YsQeeEeTN1
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has rejected a petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) seeking to stop the notification of newly-elected Senator Yousaf Raza Gilani.
According to reports, the election watchdog sought amendments to the petition.
فی الحال الیکشن کمیشن نے یوسف رضا گیلانی کا نوٹیفیکیشن روکنے کی PTI درخواست مسترد کر دی ہے۔ PTI کو ترمیم شدہ درخواست جمع کروانے کا کہا گیا ہے۔
Last Wednesday, Gilani, who was fielded as a joint candidate of the 11-party Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) on a technocrat seat from Islamabad, defeated Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh in Senate elections in a major setback to the government. He received 169 votes to the latter’s 164.
On Saturday, three PTI leaders — Farrukh Habib, Maleeka Bokhari, and Kanwal Shauzab — approached the election commission to halt the issuance of the victory notification for Gilani until a probe into a contentious video, showing the former prime minister’s son Ali Haider Gilani explaining to MPs how to waste their votes, is completed.
In another petition filed on Monday, the trio sought an early hearing of the case which was earlier scheduled for March 11 — a day before the election for the office of Senate chairman.
“The matter is extremely important as a senator elected with corrupt practices is now aspiring to become the chairman of Senate,” the petition said.
“It is a matter of utmost importance, which will have far-reaching consequences.”
“The election of Yousuf Raza Gilani has been a rare incident in the national political history,” the request further said.
“Hopefully, the election commission will hear the matter urgently, as it heard the issue related to [the] by-election in NA-75, Daska.”
“The issuance of the notification should be stopped till the action on the video scandal is completed,” the petition said.
The video, which had emerged hours before legislators across the country were set to go to Senate elections, showed Ali Gilani explaining to MPs how to cancel their votes. In a press conference, Ali Gilani accepted that he was in the leaked video, but denied he was engaging in a deal to buy votes for his father.
A separate video clip showed Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah assuring four MPs of getting paid “over and above” the agreed amount and also resolve all issues from the provincial government.
The person, who was seen finalising the deal, told Shah that all the four were “sold” and, in return, Shah also assured the legislators that all the tasks of his “brothers” were now his own responsibility.
Peshawar Zalmi Head Coach Daren Sammy was spotted playing cricket with locals on the roads of Lahore.
After the abrupt end of the PSL 2021 due to an outbreak of COVID-19, Sammy is also an honorary citizen of Pakistan, opted to stay back in the country and experience it as a tourist. And one of those experiences include playing street cricket.
In a video posted on Peshawar Zalmi’s official account, the former West Indies player can be seen playing tape-ball cricket.
“Peshawar Zalmi Head Coach Daren Sammy stops on his way to play cricket with young cricketers in Lahore,” read the caption.
Sharing pictures, Sammy said: “Played some street tape ball cricket earlier in Lahore. Where’s next?”
Earlier, Afridi hosted a dinner in honour of Sammy and South African cricket great Hashim Amla. Captain of Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Wahab Riaz and Kamran Akmal were also present at the feast.
After Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, Imran Abbas is the latest Pakistani to visit the set of superhit Turkish drama Diriliş: Ertuğrul and Kuruluş: Osman in Turkey.
Taking to Instagram, the Khuda Aur Mohabbat star shared posted the photos with Turkish star Celal AL, who portrays the role of Abdur Rehman in Diriliş: Ertuğrul, and producer of Kuruluş: Osman.
Celal also presented him with a flag of the Kayi tribe. Thanking them, Abbas wrote: “Thank you, Celal Al and Ozcan Ayma, for presenting me this handmade flag and showing me around the sets of Ertugrul Ghazi and Kuruluş: Osman.”
Last week, Imran posted a video of himself and Celal jamming to the late Junaid Jamshed’s popular song Dil Dil Pakistan.
Celal also hosted Pakistani actors Reema Khan, Sadia Khan, Adnan Siddiqui and Humayun Saeed in Turkey last month.
Earlier, Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry visited Turkey on a trip with his family. He also visited the sets of Kuruluş: Osman where he interacted with the actors of the Turkish historical series.
Meghan Markle has revealed that she and Prince Harry had a secret wedding before their official ceremony at St. George’s Chapel on Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018.
“You know, three days before our wedding, we got married – no-one knows that,” Meghan told Oprah in a bombshell interview that has created waves across the world and raised some serious concerns on the way the Firm works.
“[It was] just the two of us in our backyard with the Archbishop of Canterbury,” she added.
Talking about the official wedding ceremony Meghan said: “I’ve thought about this a lot because it was like having an out of body experience I was very present for.”
“That’s the only way I can describe it because the night before I slept through the night entirely, which in and of itself is a bit of a miracle. And then woke up and started listening to that song Going to the Chapel. And just tried to make it fun and light and remind ourselves that this was our day — but I think we were both really aware, even in advance of that just, this wasn’t our day. This was the day that was planned for the world,” said Meghan.
Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan talked extensively about their relationship with the Palace, including conversations around Archie’s skin colour and revealed how damaging it was for them. Harry claimed that he had discussed his family’s decision to step away from royal duties with the Queen and did not “blindside” her as various reports had suggested.
“I’ve never blindsided my grandmother, I have too much respect for her,” said Harry. When asked where that story came from, Harry said: “I’d hazard a guess that it probably could have come from within the institution.”
“I had three conversations with my grandmother and two conversations with my father before he stopped taking my calls. And then he said, can you put this all in writing?”
“By that point I took matters into my own hands, it was like, I needed to do this for my family,” said Harry. “This is not a surprise to anybody. It’s really sad that it’s got to this point, but I’ve got to do something for my own mental health, my wife’s and for Archie’s as well.”
Prince Harry said that he felt let down by his father Prince Charles and that his late mother Diana would have been angry and upset at the way the British royal family had treated his wife Meghan.
“My family literally cut me off financially,” Harry said. “But I’ve got what my mum left me and without that we would not have been able to do this.”
While talking about his relationship with elder brother Prince William, Harry said: “Much will continue to be said about that … as I said before, you know, I love William to bits, he’s my brother, we’ve been through hell together and we have a shared experience. But we’re on different paths.”
“The relationship is space at the moment, and you know time heals all things, hopefully.”
Later, responding to another question on whether he would have stepped away from the royal family if it had not been for Meghan, Harry said: “The answer to your question is no … I wouldn’t have been able to, because I myself was trapped.”
“I was trapped but I didn’t know I was trapped. Like the rest of my family are, my father and my brother, they are trapped. They don’t get to leave and I have huge compassion for that,” said Harry further. “It’s a very trapping environment that a lot of them are stuck in. I didn’t have anyone to turn to.”
He continued: “For the family they very much have this mentality of ‘This is just how it is, this is how it’s meant to be, you can’t change it, we’ve all been through it.”
“What was different for me was the race element, because now it wasn’t just about her. It was about what she represented.”
Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai is expanding her partnership with Apple Inc to produce dramas, children’s series, animation and documentaries that will air on the tech giant’s streaming service, Reuters has reported.
As per Apple’s websiteMalala, 23, and her new production company Extracurricular have joined Apple TV+’s growing roster of content creators including Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Will Smith, Octavia Spencer and Jennifer Aniston.
“I hope that through this partnership, I will be able to bring new voices to this platform, to this stage,” Malala told Reuters in an interview. “I hope that through me, more young people and girls will watch these shows, get inspired.”
Malala also made an official announcement about the new partnership on her social media accounts.
“I believe in the power of stories to bring families together, forge friendships, build movements and inspire children to dream,” wrote Malala, while sharing the news.
She continued: “I’m thrilled to partner with Apple Tv to help bring new stories to life – and to support women, young people, writers and artists in reflecting the world as they see it.”
“Today I’m announcing a multi-year programming partnership with Apple TV+ that will span dramas, comedies, documentaries, animation and children’s series,” added the young activist.
