Current Final

Author: News Desk

  • Karachi man requests court to legalise hashish in public interest

    Karachi man requests court to legalise hashish in public interest

    A man has approached the Sindh High Court, asking it to decriminalise carrying and smoking small quantities of hashish in the public interest.

    The petitioner had requested the court that people be allowed to carry 10 grammes of hashish (chars) on their person. “What kind of a petition have you brought? Do you want everyone to start smoking chars?” responded Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, visibly perturbed by the plea.

    At this, petitioner Ghulam Asghar Saeein informed the bench that several countries in the world have decriminalised hash.

    “If you want to smoke hash then go to those countries, it is not allowed here,” responded Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, as he dismissed the petition.

    “It will increase the country’s income and revenue,” said the petitioner at the judge’s questioning. “We do not want such money, as there are legitimate ways to increase income,” responded the judge.

    Many Pakistanis are surprisingly open to using cannabis, with the spongy, black hash made from marijuana grown in the country’s tribal belt and neighbouring Afghanistan the preferred variant of the drug, said AFP news agency in a feature on the use of hashish in Pakistan in 2017.

    Whereas alcohol is explicitly forbidden in Islamic scripture, hash seemingly straddles a theological gray zone, which could explain its popularity in the country.

    Even if most observant Muslims in Pakistan scoff at the idea of drinking, a prod into their feelings on marijuana often triggers a wry smile followed by a trite maxim about how good it makes food taste or how restful sleep can be after a toke.

    People have been smoking hash on the subcontinent for centuries.
    It predates the arrival of Islam in the region, with reference to cannabis appearing in the sacred Hindu Atharva Veda text describing its medicinal and ritual uses.

    According to a 2013 UN survey, cannabis was the most widely consumed drug in Pakistan with around four million users, representing 3.6 per cent of the population – a figure that has drawn scepticism in a country where reliable data can be hard to come by.

  • Sana Javed throws it back to her ‘baat pakki’

    Sana Javed throws it back to her ‘baat pakki’

    Sana Javed, who recently tied the knot with Umair Jaswal, reminisced about her engagement/baat pakki . Sharing a solo picture, Sana joked that she is not posting her husband’s picture because he was not dressed for the occasion.

    Under her post, Umair commented, “Lagaooo naaa.” He then shared their picture together on his own Instagram account.

    Umair said that he got into a lot of trouble for not dressing up for the occasion. Meanwhile, Sana glowed in a grey-blue outfit.

    “Truth be told I was riding my bike and went straight to Sana’s place. She was furious but couldn’t stop laughing. Forced me to at least take off my biker jacket for this picture”, he added.

    Later Sana commented that she loves Umair’s “biker look”. She also shared the picture on her own Instagram account.

    View this post on Instagram

    I love your biker look ❤️? @umairjaswalofficial

    A post shared by Sana Javed (@sanajaved.official) on

    Umair and Sana tied the knot on October 20 in an intimate Nikkah ceremony in Karachi.

  • Troubled Tareen returns to Pakistan ‘after assurance on ongoing issues’

    Estranged Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Jahangir Khan Tareen, whose sugar mills were allegedly involved in corrupt practices, has returned to Pakistan after spending five months in London.

    Tareen, once a close confidant of PM Imran Khan, had a falling out with the prime minister and party leaders after he was named in an inquiry ordered by the PM over hike in sugar prices. The report made public by the government had named other politicians as well.

    A news report claimed that Tareen took this decision to end his self-imposed exile after Imran assured him a free trial about the ongoing issues among other things.

    Speaking about his return at the airport, the PTI leader said that he was staying in London for medical reasons. He also rejected the inquiry report that named him for manipulating sugar industry to make profits, saying that he was ready to face all these accusations.

    Earlier this year, following the shortage of wheat flour in the country and the subsequent price hike, sugar had also gone missing from the market. Taking notice of the situation, the premier had formed a committee to find out those responsible for the crises.

    The inquiry report subsequently had named PTI bigwig Tareen, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s (PML-Q) Moonis Elahi and a relative of then minister for national food security Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar as the beneficiaries of the price hike.

  • ‘Taliban poster’ outside women college tells them to quit education or get killed

    ‘Taliban poster’ outside women college tells them to quit education or get killed

    A poster allegedly by proscribed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) outside a women degree college in Samarbagh area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Lower Dir district has warned the students to abandon education or face dire consequences.

    According to the principal of Government Ghazi Umara Khan Degree College, the poster was pasted outside the institution’s main entrance on Friday night.

    The principal has also sent a letter to the KP Higher Education Department director, asking for security measures for safeguarding the lives of the female students.

    The poster threatened the students with death if they did not stop coming to the college.

    The college management has also informed the Lower Dir administration and the police about the development.

    While the poster has left worried the parents who demand of the district administration to probe the matter and take appropriate preventive measures, the TTP, in a statement, has reportedly distanced itself from the same.

    It is pertinent to note that one of Pakistan’s only two Nobel laureates, Malala Yousafzai, was also shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012 for raising her voice for girl education.

    The attempt on Malala’s life was made while she was on a school bus in the Swat district that was back then under Taliban occupation.

  • Did Maryam Nawaz just ask PML-N workers to harass those who leave party?

    Did Maryam Nawaz just ask PML-N workers to harass those who leave party?

    Kicking off her one-week-long political campaign ahead of the November 15 election in the semi-autonomous Gilgit-Baltistan region, Maryam Nawaz on Thursday told party workers to confront those Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders who were switching loyalties “under pressure”.

    “Promise me you will not vote for those who change their loyalties. Those who backstab their party do not deserve your votes,” the PML-N leader said while addressing a public gathering in Skardu.

    She went on to say that those who succumbed under pressure could never stand for the rights of the people. “They need to be taught a lesson,” Maryam added.

    Earlier during an informal discussion upon her arrival at the airport, the PML-N suggested that workers should gherao all such turncoats.

    Gherao or encirclement is a tactic similar to picketing. It is mostly used by labour activists and union leaders in South Asian countries where a group of people would surround a politician or a government building until their demands are met, or answers given.

    Later at the public gathering, Maryam began her speech by thanking former premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Pervez Rasheed and former Gilgit-Baltistan chief minister (CM) Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman for staying by Nawaz Sharif’s side through thick and thin.

    “Today, politicking has changed. And it should change,” she told the crowd. “Those who remain loyal to their party and aren’t sell-outs, deserve votes.”

    “I have heard that out of our 16 candidates, eight or nine have changed loyalties. Remember this when you go out to vote that those who cannot endure pressure, will never stand for the public’s rights,” she reiterated.

    “The fake prime minister (PM) announced to make Gilgit-Baltistan a province. You may be a fake premier but you are still a premier. You don’t realise how people are struggling due to inflation,” Maryam said while taking a dig at PM Imran Khan.

    Blaming the incumbent government for the sugar and wheat crisis, she recalled the premier’s promise of 10 million jobs. “Has any youth in Skardu found employment? Did he fulfill his promise to provide housing?”

    The PML-N leader also urged the people of Skardu to send the “lying premier” home. “He is about to go. The last push will be given by the people of Gilgit-Baltistan.”

  • Celebrities ‘honoured’ to be part govt’s special advisory board on Kashmir

    Celebrities ‘honoured’ to be part govt’s special advisory board on Kashmir

    Chairman of the Special Committee of the Parliament on Kashmir Shehryar Afridi has announced the formation of a special advisory board, that will work in liaison with the entertainment industry in Jammu and Kashmir towards internationally promoting the rich and diverse cultural heritage of the valley and its people. The aim of the board is to highlight the plight of the Kashmiris under decades of Indian oppression.

    According to a press release, the due to be notified board will be a “creative alliance of some of Pakistan’s top media personalities from the country’s television, cinematic and sporting spheres as well as in equal ratio some of J&K’s finest academics, thinkers and artists, and will be aimed at propagating Kashmir’s cultural richness both at home and abroad.”

    The initiative is in line with Pakistan’s long-standing position, which is to promote the freedom of the Kashmiris from Indian oppression.

    Actors and celebrities who have been invited to be part of the board include Humayun Saeed, Saba Qamar, Fahad Mustafa, Atif Aslam, Anwar Maqsood, Shaan Shahid, Ali Azmat, Yousaf Salahuddin, Saira Kazmi, Rahat Fateh Ali, Hadiqa Kiani, Shehzad Roy, Humaima Malick, Yousaf Salahuddin, Shaniera Akram, Adnan Siddiqui, Bilal Ashraf, Samina Peerzada and Shafqat Amanat Ali.

    Film Producers Jerjees Seja, Momina Duraid and Ammara Hikmat have been chosen for the advisory role, while directors Syed Noor, Nadeem Baig and Bilal Lashari are also part of the list.

    Meanwhile, sportspersons including Aisam ul Haq, Jahangir Khan, Jansher Khan, Maria Toorpakai, Wasim Akram, Sana Mir and Karishma Ali have been also been invited to join.

    In a tweet, Adnan Siddiqui said that the invitation to join the board was a “matter of great honour and immense pride for him”.

    Shaan said that everyone must support every initiative taken for Kashmir.

    “No political point scoring should be done on issues that are of immediate attention,” added the actor.

    The Legend of Maula Jatt’s producer Ammara Hikmat also said that she was honoured to be part of the board.

  • Man fined Rs 100,000 for demanding gifted property from wife after 16 years

    Man fined Rs 100,000 for demanding gifted property from wife after 16 years

    Lahore High Court (LHC) imposed a fine of Rs 100,000 on a man for demanding the land he had gifted to his second wife after 16 years.

    According to the details, LHC judge Shahid Waheed dismissed Muhammad Riaz’s petition, remarking that it was disgraceful to call the mother of his children and the sick wife in the court without any reason.

    While further condemning the bid to drag an ailing woman and a mother to the court, the LHC imposed Rs 100,000 as a fine on the complainant.

    A resident of Mandi Bahauddin, Riaz had married Fatima, a divorcee and mother of two daughters, after the death of his first wife. He had gifted 56-kanal land to her but approached the courts 16 years later to get the property back.

    After civil court dismissed his petition, he moved the LHC for civil revision against the trial court’s ruling and accused his wife of getting the property through fraud. He told the court that even if the gift proved to be valid in favour of his wife, he had withdrew it.

    Justice Waheed ruled that the complainant failed to prove the claims of fraud and conspiracy against the woman in the case, stating that the petitioner had voluntarily and consciously gifted the land to his wife.

  • Twitter slams Qasim Ali Shah over misogynist comments

    Twitter slams Qasim Ali Shah over misogynist comments

    Motivational speaker Qasim Ali Shah landed himself in controversy for making misogynist remarks during an interview, a clip of which went viral on social media.

    “Go to schools where our daughters are studying and till matric, they are not taught how to be good wives, even though in a woman’s life, the ultimate role of a women is to be a good wife and a good mother..,” he shared in the interview.

    The speaker’s recent remarks are being viewed as sexist by some. While others believe that his remarks were blown out of proportion.

    As the clip went viral, many are questioning him on why is he only concerned with the upbringing of daughters and not of sons.

    https://twitter.com/Shehzad89/status/1323299001177878530?s=20

    Others are criticising him over his anti-women feedback, saying that women’s goal in life shouldn’t just be limited to being good wives and mothers.

    https://twitter.com/iSadiaSheikh/status/1323711211867983889?s=20

    Comedian Ali Gul Pir trolled Qasim for being a misogynist.

    There have been multiple incidents when prominent personalities in Pakistan have made misogynist remarks in the past. Member of National Assembly Talal Chaudhary making lewd remarks about Firdous Ashiq Awan, and soap-opera writer Khalil-ur-Rehman using abusive and foul language with Marvi Sirmed, are two of the recent examples.

  • Medical board to ascertain age of teenage Christian bride

    Medical board to ascertain age of teenage Christian bride

    The Sindh High Court has ordered the formation of a medical board to determine the age of Arzoo Raja — a teenage Christian girl who was kidnapped, forced to marry a 44-year-old man in Karachi after conversion to Islam.

    The matter was brought to the court attention after her parents approached the high court, seeking custody of their daughter. They had said that the girl was underage and didn’t convert out of her own free will.

    The high court, however, had rejected the plea, allowing the girl to stay with her alleged husband, Ali Azhar. This prompted a strong response from the civil society and the government that filed another plea in the case.

    Subsequently, the court ordered police to recover the girl and sent her to a shelter home. The purported husband was also detained and sent on judicial remand.

    As a two-member bench comprising Justice KK Agha and Justice Amjad Ali Sahito took up the case today (Thursday), the counsel representing Azhar and Arzoo urged the court to quash the forced marriage case against him.

    The court, however, observed that the matter now was about the girl’s age. To this, the counsel said a separate law would be applied in that case. Arzoo also told the bench that she wanted to stay with her alleged husband, whom she married out of her own choice.

    When Arzoo informed the court that she was 18 years of age, the bench pointed out that the NADRA documents showed her a teenager.

    The counsel representing the state in the case asked the bench not to record the statement of Arzoo at this point.

    Observing that the case can only proceed once the girl’s age is determined, the bench directed authorities to submit a final report on her age in the next hearing on November 9.

    The CASE:

    On Oct 27, a two-member bench of SHC had admitted a petition that claimed that she was 18 years old and had married Ali Azhar and converted to Islam with her free will. The petition also sought protection against alleged harassment of the girl’s family.

    Underage girls in such cases in Pakistan come under intense pressure, including threats to them and their families, to give false statements in court.

    Azhar allegedly abducted Arzoo in Karachi’s Muhalla Railway Colony West Camp Road locality on Oct. 13, according to the family, which registered a kidnapping case on the same day.

    On Oct. 15 police summoned them to the local station and showed them documents claiming that Arzoo was 18 years old and had willingly converted to Islam after marrying Azhar.

  • Pakistan exports record 5.7 million tons of cement

    Pakistan exports record 5.7 million tons of cement

    The cement sector in Pakistan has reported the highest ever monthly sales in October 2020.

    According to the data released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), 5.735 million tons of cement was exported in October.

    The domestic sales of cement in October 2020 increased by 15.83 per cent to 4.859 million tons from 4.195 million tons in October 2019, while exports registered an increase of 11.58 per cent, increasing to 875,266 tons from 784,433 tons in the same month last year.

    In the north region, domestic cement despatches increased by 15.53 per cent to 4.165 million tons during October 2020 from 3.605 million tons in October 2019. Exports from the north increased by 8.54 per cent to 0.283 million tons in October 2020 from 0.261 million tons in October 2019.

    There has been positive growth in the southern region as well where the domestic cement despatches increased by 17.70 per cent to 695,221 tons from 590,690 tons in October 2019. Exports from the South continued to grow and increased by 13.09 per cent to 591,877 tons in October this year from 523,353 tons in October 2019.

    In the first four months of this fiscal year, 19.321 million tons of cement was despatched, which is 19.89 per cent higher than the first four months of the last fiscal year.

    Total cement dispatches during the first four months of the current fiscal year increased by 19.89 per cent to 19.321 million tons from 16.116 million tons in July-Oct 2019. Domestic despatches registered a healthy increase of 17.94 per cent, increasing from 13.315 million tons to 15.704 million tons.

    Exports also showed encouraging growth increasing by 29.15 per cent from 2.8 million tons to 3.617 million tons.

    In the South (Sindh-Balochistan) the domestic growth remained healthy at 12.08 per cent as consumption in the first four months increased from 1.860 million tons to 2.085 million tons this year.

    The exports from the south posted a growth of 46.56 per cent in the first four months of this fiscal which increased to 2.712 million tons from 1.85 million tons during Jul-Oct 19.