Author: News Desk

Pakistani-born British singer Annie Khalid has shared the experience of how her seven-year-old daughter suffered two cardiac arrests in less than 24 hours.

In an Instagram post featuring videos of her daughter Isha’s brave journey, Annie began by saying, “I can’t believe I finally have the courage to post this… It was January 23rd, 2024. A date etched into my soul forever.”

She revealed that Isha, who was perfectly healthy, suddenly had two cardiac arrests within just eight hours.

“Her tiny heart was overwhelmed by arrhythmia and hypoxia. Oxygen deprivation for 45 long, brutal minutes caused her organs to start shutting down, one by one,” Annie wrote.

Doctors had to put Isha on life support. She was intubated, connected to a heart-lung bypass machine, and placed on dialysis to keep her kidneys working. Annie recalled, “I watched through a blur of tears as my little girl, who once danced through our home with endless energy, lay motionless, tangled in wires and machines.”

There was no warning before this happened. “My Isha. Born perfectly healthy. Not a single condition. Now facing organ failure, brain damage, and paralysis,” she shared.

Doctors later told Annie that Isha had developed peripheral neuropathy and that due to the brain injury, she could no longer walk.

But even during this painful time, Annie held on to her faith. “Because when medicine had no more answers… Allah did,” she wrote.

She described Isha as a miracle of God: “He is Ar-Rahman, Ar-Raheem, the Most Kind, the Most Merciful. And Isha is His miracle.” Doctors were surprised at her survival, but Annie believes it was God’s mercy. “Where logic ends, divine mercy begins.”

“She’s here. My daughter is alive. She’s smiling, laughing, healing. She’s stronger than I ever knew a child could be. And Insha’Allah, she will walk again one day. I believe that with every beat of my heart,” she wrote.

Annie also explained why she had been missing from the public eye for so long. “People have been asking, ‘Annie, where have you been?’ I’ve been here!! doing the most important thing in the world. Being a mother to the most courageous, resilient, and beautiful girl I’ve ever known.”

She ended her post by asking everyone to remember her daughter in prayers, “Please keep Isha in your Dua’s.”

Sajal Aly is facing strong criticism online, not just for a line her character says in Main Manto Nahi Hoon but also for reposting a fan story that mocked another male co-star. 

Despite featuring a high-profile cast and airing in a prime-time slot on a national channel, the show is under fire for promoting body-shaming and toxic humour.

The backlash began after a controversial scene in a recent episode. Humayun Saeed, who plays Professor Manto, is interrupted during a lecture by Mehmal, played by Sajal Aly. She asks, “Are you married,” a question viewers felt was unprofessional in a classroom setting.

When Manto avoids answering the question, Mehmal jokes, “You look like someone who’s married with two kids and a fat wife.” He looks visibly uncomfortable and asks why she would say that. She replies, “The lack of motivation on your face means your wife must be fat.”

While the class laughed, the audience did not.

Online, viewers were quick to condemn the scene. Many called it outdated, offensive, and damaging. “Pretty girls get away with anything. If this was me, I’d be charged with harassment and body shaming,” wrote one user. 

Another commented, “Sajal is equally responsible. She’s a big name now. She shouldn’t have agreed to deliver those lines.”

Others raised concerns about the unhealthy portrayal of a student-teacher relationship. One viewer posted, “Romanticising this dynamic is dangerous, especially when we hear of real-life abuse and harassment in academic settings.”

But things escalated further when Sajal Aly reposted a fan’s Instagram story that took a dig at another male co-star. The caption read, “When you give an ugly guy a chance and he starts roasting you.”

In response, a user criticised, “To all those surprised by her role — this is PTV’s favourite: fat-shaming in the drama, face-shaming on Insta stories.”

Another comment read, “This isn’t funny or sarcasm. People have become too comfortable calling others ugly. Imagine being that actor, excited to share the screen with Sajal Aly, only to have her repost a reel calling him ugly to millions.”

Others pointed out the irony that Sajal Aly is often celebrated for portraying “strong female characters.” One disappointed fan wrote, “Seeing THE Sajal Aly say such poor-quality lines shows how broken the industry is in terms of writing.”

Writer Khalilur Rehman Qamar, known for his misogynistic views on gender and women, is also being criticised for scripting the offensive dialogue.

Episode 4 of Mai Manto Nahi Hoon and the teaser of Episode 5 reveals exactly what we had feared with a Khail-ur-Rehman Qamar drama. Misogynistic remarks have started to creep in and comments by teachers towards their female students, which are not okay at all under any circumstances, seem to be heading towards the norm. 

The effect is cringe at best because how much can a beautifully crafted drama with superstar characters do, if the dialogues are packed with off-putting misogyny. 

We get inklings of where the drama could be headed, with the standard comments of “our girls don’t attend university” and the pressure to get married to a guy selected by the parents but it comes to the forefront in episode 4 with Mehmal (Sajal Aly) saying that Mr. Manto (Humayun Saeed) looked like he likely had a “moti biwi”. Sexist remarks aside, we also see a very strange relationship developing between – you won’t guess this if you haven’t seen it – Ms. Maria (Sanam Saeed) and Mehmal. Ms. Maria invites her students to her party, blurring professional lines, but then also calls Mehmal on the phone to make sure that she’s coming to the party, so people would know that the great don’s daughter is there. Maria also gets Manto to call Mehmal and pressurise her to come, despite, of course, her not being allowed to go out at night. 

In the teaser for episode 5, we see Manto telling Mehmal that she looks beautiful when she comes to the party, which is so cringey, you want to set the set on fire. Why? Such high hopes from this beautifully shot drama, the A-listers that are part of the cast, especially Sanam Saeed who chooses her scripts so carefully, and here we have the hero professor hitting on the student. You can actually hear Qamar bellowing, “So what? What’s the big deal?” 

The big deal is that we are once again, through one of the most impactful mediums of change, telling society that girls sent to universities are looking for – and falling into – trouble; the age-old story with the same incredibly problematic messaging. I hope I’m wrong but I don’t think I am. 

The episodes air on ARY Digital on Friday and Saturday at 8pm and are uploaded on YouTube on the same night.