Current Final

Author: News Desk

  • Cracks in PML-N ranks over party’s ‘anti-establishment’ stance

    Cracks in PML-N ranks over party’s ‘anti-establishment’ stance

    The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is in quandary for taking an anti-establishment stance, as a number of its leaders from Punjab and Balochistan have distanced themselves from the “anti-state” narrative of the party.

    Amid these reservations, PML-N leader Abdul Qadir Baloch has also decided to bid goodbye to the Nawaz league for allegedly speaking against the army.

    The decision to quit the party was taken after the PML-N leaders refused to invite former chief minister Sanaullah Zehri to the Quetta rally over his feud with Akhtar Mengal, the chief of Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M). However, Qadir said he was leaving the party with “heavy heart” over “anti-army” rhetoric of the PDM leadership.

    “I am product of the army and cannot stand by the narrative of disobedience since it would be extremely injurious to the country. I have taken the decision of parting ways with heavy heart,” said the retired general who had served as Corps Commander in Quetta.

    This resignation was followed by several leaders of the PML-N going public with their reservations over the rhetoric employed by the PDM leaders against the state institutions of Pakistan.

    The statement of Ayaz Sadiq, wherein he said Indian pilot Abhinandan was released by Pakistan because it feared an Indian attack, also irked some PML-N leaders, who decided to disown the statement and the party line.

    PML-N MPAs Nishat Daha and Younas Ansari said that their heads hang in shame because of MNA Ayaz Sadiq’s controversial statement.

    “The entire nation was hurt by the statements of Nawaz Sharif and Ayaz Sadiq, what they are doing is not good for the country,” Daha added.

    Speaking at a press conference in Lahore, Younas Ansari said, “Our family has been in politics for 35 years but I am ashamed at what is happening in the National Assembly. Ayaz Sadiq should be remorseful at his statement.”

    The party leaders in Attock district also disagreed with the leadership over its so-called anti-state remarks.

    At separate press conferences in different towns of the district on Sunday, PML-N MPA Jehangir Khan­zada, former MNA Malik Itabar Khan and former MPA Shahwaiz Khan criticised the recent remarks of Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and Ayaz Sadiq.

    Khanzada termed Ayaz Sadiq’s statement “anti-state”. “He should not have talked in such a way while speaking in parliament,” the MPA said while highlighting sacrifices rendered by the armed forces.

    Itabar Khan said he could not support the “anti-national narrative”, adding that Maryam Nawaz, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Maulana Fazlur Rehman had made statements which did not “serve the interest of the country”.

    Shahwaiz Khan, former MPA from Hassanabdal, said he did not support the party leadership’s recent “anti-state” stance and condemned their criticism of state institutions.

    PML-N MPA from Shakargarh Allama Ghiyasuddin has also condemned the statements of the opposition parties against the Army. Former PML-N MNA Sardar Mansab Dogar has also announced to quit the party over what he said the “anti-state” statements of the party leadership.

    RELEASE OF ABHINANDAN:

    Sadiq, a former National Assembly speaker, is under fire for accusing the government of taking the decision to release the India pilot under pressure.

    Foreign Minister (FM) Shah Mahmood Qureshi had “begged the opposition to release Abhinandan, otherwise, according to the FM, India would have attacked Pakistan at 9 pm that day,” the lawmaker had said during a session of the National Assembly.

    In response, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Major General Babar Iftikhar held a press conference to set the record straight about the events surrounding the capture and release of the Indian wing commander.

    “Yesterday such a statement was given in which facts were attempted to be twisted surrounding the events that day,” the military spokesperson said during the media briefing.

    On Friday, Federal Minister for Information Shibli Faraz hinted at legal action against Ayaz Sadiq for accusing the government of releasing Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman of the Indian Air Force (IAF) under pressure. “What Ayaz Sadiq said is not forgivable,” he tweeted, adding that law will take its course now.

  • Inspired by ‘Crime Patrol’, 17 -year-old kills father

    Inspired by ‘Crime Patrol’, 17 -year-old kills father

    A 17- year-old boy from India’s Uttar Pradesh reportedly murdered his father and then watched Indian TV series Crime Patrol to destroy the evidence of his crime.

    According to Indian media reports, the incident took place on May 2 when the boy got upset at his father who yelled at him. He reportedly killed his 42-year old father, Manoj Mishra, by hitting him on the head with an iron rod and then strangling him to death as he lay unconscious.

    Later, the same night, the boy with the help of his mother, carried the body on his scooty to a forest area about five kilometers away and burnt it with petrol and a toilet cleaner to destroy the identity.

    On May 3, police found the partially burnt body that remained unidentified for almost three weeks as no missing person report was filed in any police station.

    The family, finally, lodged a missing person complaint on May 27 under pressure from ISKCON officials since Manoj Mishra worked there as a donation collector.

    Some of his colleagues identified that the body was of Manoj from his spectacles. The victim’s colleagues at ISKCON said that they did not doubt his prolonged absence since Manoj often used to travel to preach Bhagavad Gita.

    Mathura Superintendent of Police Udai Shanker Singh said that whenever police called Manoj’s son for questioning, he would evade coming and would instead ask the police under what provisions of the law they were trying to interrogate him.

    However, when police checked his mobile phone, they found a history of the boy watching Crime Patrol episodes at least 100 times. Police said after several rounds of questioning, the boy finally broke down and admitted to his crime.

    The police arrested the boy and his mother Sangeeta Mishra, 39. They have been booked for murder and destroying evidence.

    The 11-year-old sister of the accused has been handed over to the grandparents.

  • Two men cheat London-returned doctor, sell him ‘Aladdin’s lamp’ for Rs 2.5 crore

    Two men cheat London-returned doctor, sell him ‘Aladdin’s lamp’ for Rs 2.5 crore

    Two men allegedly cheated an Indian man from Uttar Pardesh by selling him “Aladdin ka Chiragh” or Aladdin’s Lamp for Rs 2.5 crore.

    According to reports, Dr Laeek Khan had returned to India from London a few years ago. He approached the police to register a complaint against the two men. In his complaint, the doctor stated that the men pretending to be tantriks or occultists and told him that the gold lamp would help him fulfill all his wishes.

    Dr Khan said that it all started in 2018 when he would frequently visit a female patient named Sameena for post-surgery dressing.

    It was through her that the doctor met a tantrik, who claimed that he had magical powers. The man promised to give the doctor ‘Aladdin Ka Chiragh‘ and make him a billionaire.

    According to Indian news reports, the tantrik and his friend would show the doctor a ‘jinn‘ (genie) appear from the lamp but would not allow him to take it home, saying that touching it would be ominous for him.

    Believing what he saw, the doctor said he paid the men Rs 2.5 crore in installments and was finally able to take home the lamp recently. However, later, the doctor realised that the ‘jinn’ he had been seeing was the husband of the woman.

    Khan realised that he was being cheated on and contacted the local police. This week, the police arrested the two accused Islamuddin and his friend Anees while a search for the woman is underway.

  • PM Imran trolled for saying his ‘selection was right’

    PM Imran trolled for saying his ‘selection was right’

    With Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan saying the fact that the opposition was criticising the chiefs of the army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) proves he appointed the right people to the posts, he is being trolled by those who have misconstrued his words.

    The premier, who on Sunday arrived in Gilgit-Baltistan to mark the 73rd Independence Day of the region, was speaking to the attendees and participants of the Azadi Parade.

    “If these thieves [opposition] are speaking against them, it means they [chiefs] are the right people,” he said, responding to the recent remarks from the opposition.

    Lawmakers of opposition parties have time and again referred to the premier as “selected” for they allege that the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) came to power after “stealing the mandate of the people”.

    While PM Imran was referring to the people he has selected, the headline of a report carried by Dawn led to people trolling the premier for “conceding that he himself was selected”.

    While the tweet is flooded with comments by those who were cracked up, a number of Twitterati have also pointed out that the premier was misinterpreted and his statement was taken out of context:

    Have something to add to the story? Let The Current know in the comments…

  • Woman fined Rs 0.65m for calling man ‘shameless’ in public

    Woman fined Rs 0.65m for calling man ‘shameless’ in public

    A woman has been fined Dh15,000 (Rs0.65 million) after she called a man ‘shameless’ in a public space, The News has reported.

    The verdict was announced by the Abu Dhabi Court of Appeals, according to which, the defendant had called a young man ‘shameless’ in a mall. 

    Following the incident, the man filed a complaint against the woman, followed up with a civil suit claiming Dh100,000 in moral damages.

    The civil court, in addition to court fees, ordered the defendant to pay Dh15,000 in compensation.

    However, the woman appealed the ruling, saying that the man had attempted to stalk her daughter and pass on his contact details to her. 

    The appellate court rejected this appeal, as there was no evidence regarding the provocation by the man.

  • Prince William reportedly contracted COVID-19 in April

    Prince William reportedly contracted COVID-19 in April

    Britain’s Prince William reportedly contracted COVID-19 in April at a similar time to his father Prince Charles, British media reported late on Sunday, citing Kensington Palace sources.

    William, grandson of Queen Elizabeth and second-in-line to the British throne, kept his diagnosis a secret because he did not want to alarm the country, The Sun newspaper reported.

    “There were important things going on and I didn’t want to worry anyone,” William was quoted by the newspaper as having told an observer at an engagement.

    He was treated by palace doctors and followed government guidelines by isolating at the family home Anmer Hall, in Norfolk, the newspaper said, adding he still carried out 14 telephone and video call engagements during April.

    “William was hit pretty hard by the virus – it really knocked him for six. At one stage he was struggling to breathe, so obviously everyone around him was pretty panicked,” a source told The Sun.

    BBC News also confirmed the news from sources late on Sunday, with Kensington Palace and the office of Prince William refusing to comment officially to the news outlet.

    According to royal reporter Chris Ship, Kate and the couple’s children did not test positive for the virus.

    The residence of William’s father, Prince Charles, had said on March 25 that Charles tested positive for the coronavirus. The heir to the throne had self-isolated at his residence in Scotland for seven days with mild symptoms.

    Britain has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak and has reported 46,717 COVID-19 deaths – defined as those dying within 28 days of a positive test. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday ordered England back into a national lockdown after the United Kingdom passed the milestone of one million COVID-19 cases and a second wave of infections threatened to overwhelm the health service. The one-month lockdown across England will kick in at a minute past midnight on Thursday morning and last until December 2.

  • Pakistan’s decision to lift lockdown early helped boost exports: report

    Pakistan’s decision to lift lockdown early helped boost exports: report

    Pakistan’s decision to loosen pandemic restrictions early has helped the country’s exports emerge stronger than its South Asian peers, Bloomberg reported on Saturday.

    Bloomberg reported that outbound shipments have grown at a faster pace than Bangladesh and India as textiles, which account for half of the total export, led the recovery.

    The country saw total shipments grow 7 per cent in September, compared with New Delhi’s 6pc and Dhaka’s 3.5pc.

    It stated that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s administration was the first in the region to ease pandemic restrictions, allowing export units to reopen in April, a month after locking them down to stem the spread of Covid-19. This helped draw companies from the South Asian nation.

    “Pakistan has seen orders shifting from multiple nations including China, India and Bangladesh,” the report quoted All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Secretary General Shahid Sattar as having said. “Garment manufacturers are operating near-maximum capacity and many can’t take any orders for the next six months.”

    Even as lockdown curbs disrupted trade in India and Bangladesh for at least two months beginning late March, Pakistan was already making face masks and personal protective gear for export.

    The South Asian nation also gained some orders from companies looking to diversify their supply chains amid the trade war between the U.S. and China, the world’s top textile exporter, despite factories there reopening as early as April.

    “This war between two giants has given us new opportunities in polyester-cotton products,” the report quoted the nation’s largest textile maker, Nishat Mill’s Garment and Home Textile Operations Head Khalid Mehmood having said. “So there is a six-month slot for Pakistan now to capture the maximum number of customers who were China-based.”

    Executives from Nishat Mills and Interloop Ltd, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of socks that counts Nike Inc. and Adidas AG among its clients, said they have seen some orders diverted to them from China.

    Meanwhile, Gadoon Textile Mills Ltd. received orders redirected from Bangladesh, the world’s second-largest apparel exporter, and India, the third-largest textile exporter.

    “The orders we were exporting to Europe and the US have not recovered,” Gadoon Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Muhammad Imran Moten said during an analyst briefing. “But the diversion of orders from China and Bangladesh is the compensating factor.”

  • Yasir Hussain reveals he once lived with a ghost

    Yasir Hussain reveals he once lived with a ghost

    Halloween means that everyone gets a chance to share their encounters with the supernatural.

    Yasir Hussain, while speaking to a local media publication, revealed that he once lived with a ghost.

    “I used to live in a two-bedroom apartment,” shared the actor. “While I lived in one of the rooms, a supernatural old man used to live in the other.”

    He continued: “I don’t know what he was but he never disturbed me. In the morning, he would come into the lounge and say his Fajr prayers and when my friends would come over, he would go into the kitchen and start moving the utensils. I would call out to him not to make noise because my friends were over and he would stop.”

    “I never got scared but my friends did,” said the actor.

    Read more – ‘Just better yourself’: Anoushey Ashraf hits back at Yasir Hussain

    Sharing another spooky incident, Yasir said that when he was shooting for horror drama Dareecha in a house in Karachi’s PECHS area, strange things would keep happening there.

    “Shoots would get stalled and things would move around themselves,” shared the actor. “One day, the woman from whom the house had been rented came around and said to one of the crew to take care of her son. He asked her where her son was and she said that he lived in the home.”

    “We later found out that someone had committed suicide in the home after which the woman had moved away and rented it out,” added the actor.

    Yasir, however, said that such things don’t bother him and he doesn’t get scared by them.

  • Villagers kill rare Indus dolphin near Nawabshah

    Villagers kill rare Indus dolphin near Nawabshah

    Villagers from Sindh’s Nawabshah district allegedly killed a rare Indus River Dolphin, also known as the blind dolphin. According to journalist Amar Guriro, who shared a video from the incident on social media, the dolphin was stranded in Gujjar Canal when the villagers caught it. In the video shared by Guriro, the villagers can be seen celebrating the man who caught the dolphin.

    Further reports revealed that the dolphin died due to injuries and mishandling.

    https://twitter.com/wildpakistan/status/1322135427034288133?s=20

    The official Twitter handle of the Sindh Wildlife Department also shared details about the incident and said that a criminal case is being registered against those involved in the incident.

    https://twitter.com/sindhwildlife/status/1322146810094387201?s=20

    Later, they announced that the “offender whose unlawful act of trapping Indus Dolphin that stranded in a minor irrigation canal has been arrested with the help of Sindh Police.”

    Meanwhile, several Twitter users including Fatima Bhutto, expressed their sadness over the incident.

    According to WWF-Pakistan, the Indus River dolphin is one of the world’s most endangered freshwater river dolphins. Currently, there are only about 2000 dolphins in the waters of the Indus.

  • VIDEO: Turkish chef Burak Ozdemir eats meal at Islamabad panahgah

    VIDEO: Turkish chef Burak Ozdemir eats meal at Islamabad panahgah

    Renowned Turkish chef Burak Ozdemir arrived in Pakistan today (Saturday) and ate Pakistani food at Islamabad panagah with several citizens there.

    Burak has become a global sensation with almost 500,000 followers on Twitter and 17.2million followers on Instagram.

    Upon his arrival in Pakistan, the celebrated chef said that both countries share an extraordinary harmony when it comes to cultures and food and he has traveled all the way from his country to experience what Pakistan actually looks like in reality.

    The chef became famous after one of his videos of making a giant-sized kebab, went viral on social media. The 26-year-old Turkey-based chef relishes cooking large-sized meals on camera.

    Talking to media in Islamabad, Burak said that he was happy to visit the country and thanked Pakistanis for their messages and support for the recent earthquake in Turkey’s Izmir.

    The two countries have always cherished excellent relations, he noted.

    He said that this time he will go back after a short trip due to the earthquake but promised to visit different cities including Lahore and Karachi when he visits Pakistan next time.

    “I will start learning to cook more Pakistani food, Today I will go to the shelter home and will cook Pakistani food there,” he said while telling about his plans for the day.

    “We love Kashmir,” the Turkish chef said, adding that he has especially come to Pakistan to eat Kashmiri food.

    https://twitter.com/HniaziISF/status/1322498468758380544?s=20