Current Final

Author: News Desk

  • Coronavirus: PIA suspends flight operations to Beijing till March 15

    Coronavirus: PIA suspends flight operations to Beijing till March 15

    Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Monday announced to once again suspend flight operations to China till March 15, journalist Sophia Saifi and Geo News reported.

    Reports quoted a PIA spokesperson as saying that a decision about extending or ending the suspension would be taken after reviewing the situation.

    “PIA has suspended flights to Beijing till March 15,” Geo reported.

    The decision comes amid the spread of the deadly virus to another neighbouring country, Iran, where the death toll rose to eight since the infection was reported on Wednesday last week.

    Last month, Pakistan had suspended operations to China briefly amid coronavirus outbreak and allowed airlines to resume flights only after installing screening machines at airports.

  • Aurat March 2020 murals torn down in Lahore

    Aurat March 2020 murals torn down in Lahore

    A mural created by participants of the Aurat March 2020 at Lahore’s Hussain Chowk was torn down Saturday evening.

    While talking to a media outlet a volunteer Amna Chaudhry said, “We had arranged a poster competition where female illustrators and designers were told to design posters for the march and send them in.”

    They decided to install a mural in the city after receiving an overwhelming response, “All the artists were called to put up their posters on the wall to showcase the spirit of the march and promote it,” Chaudhry said.

    But after four to five hours they had put up their posters, they were torn down. “The posters were not just torn, somebody had ripped through them,” the volunteer said.

    Chaudhry also told that before even planning the activity permission had been taken from the authorities. “We had chosen Hussain Chowk as it is the center of the city and a good place for promotion purposes,” she said.

    Organizers of the Aurat March posted the before and after pictures of a mural on the march’s official social media accounts after which support started coming in for them.

    Many activists condemned the incident. Salman Sufi, the founder of the Salman Sufi Foundation, called it a show of the “insecurities deeply embedded within certain elements of society”.

    Human rights lawyer Nighat Dad took to Twitter and wrote that if the posters put up by women receive this much hatred, what about the hatred received by women who stand up for their rights.

    https://twitter.com/nighatdad/status/1231229342400860160?s=20

    Chaudhry said that the incident did not and will not bring the spirits of the volunteers and organisers down. “You can tear down the posters but you can’t tear us apart. We will resist all things like these and keep putting up posters,” she said.

    Chaudhry added that they will soon file a complaint. “We have shared the posters on social media and have asked supporters to print them out and put them up in their neighborhoods as a form of resistance.”

    The Aurat March will take place across Pakistan on March 8. Fundraisers for the march have started in several cities.

    “For those who ask why we march – this is why!” Chaudhry added.

  • Pakistan has a cure for coronavirus and Chinese can’t stop thanking for it

    Pakistan has a cure for coronavirus and Chinese can’t stop thanking for it

    Pakistan has an effective drug for COVID-19, over 300,000 pieces of which have been exported to China, said an article published by Economic Daily – China Economic Net (CEN) on February 21, which has gotten 5.71 million page views and 38,000 likes.

    In nearly 10,000 comments, in addition to a lot of thanks to Pakistani friends for their help, some netizens were interested in the “multinational enterprise” mentioned in the CEN reporter’s article and wanted to know the hero behind the scenes who urgently dispensed the effective drugs at a Bayer — German multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences company — subsidiary in Pakistan.

    On February 20, after noticing that the official Weibo account of Bayer China said it had made an emergency deployment of chloroquine phosphate tablets in Pakistan at the beginning of this month, the CEN reporter quickly contacted to verify the matter.

    The official Weibo account of Bayer China confirmed the news and said that the batch of medicines was completed in 24 hours. 200,000 of the 300,000 tablets were “sold” to Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited (GPHL) at zero yuan.

    READ: Iran blames Pakistan for spread of coronavirus

    Earlier, Economic Daily reported that on February 5, GPHL first purchased 15,000 tablets of chloroquine phosphate in Pakistan through various channels, and then purchased another 200,000 tablets. The drugs arrived in Guangzhou at 7 pm on February 8.

    Data from clinical trials being performed in China has revealed that chloroquine phosphate could help treat the new coronavirus disease, Covid-19.

    China National Center for Biotechnology Development deputy head Sun Yanrong said that chloroquine, an anti-malarial medication, was selected after several screening rounds of thousands of existing drugs.

    AFP has also verified claims pertaining to the effectiveness of the drug against the virus.

    It took less than four days from purchasing in Pakistan to arriving in Guangzhou. In addition to the international and domestic airline time, it is not easy for Pakistan, a country with less developed transport infrastructure that is suffering from a severe locust plague, to urgently collect, transport and cooperate to undertake the fastest international rescue for dispensing the effective drugs to treat COVID-19.

    The CEN reporter learned from further interviews that chloroquine phosphate production was suspended in China for 20 years. In order to deliver the first batch of effective drugs successfully, from February 5 to 8, in addition to GPHL and Bayer, there are many more heroes behind the scenes, such as China Southern Airlines and Urumqi Customs.

  • Shatrughan Sinha reveals the story behind his mysterious visit to Pakistan

    Shatrughan Sinha reveals the story behind his mysterious visit to Pakistan

    Pakistanis were taken aback after pictures of Bollywood actor and ex-BJP member Shatrughan Sinha attending a wedding in Lahore went viral on social media with people wondering if it was actually him or a lookalike. Though it was later confirmed that the actor was indeed in Pakistan, details about his visit were not known and people were very curious to find out, especially considering tense Indo-Pak relations.

    As Sinha returned to India after spending two-three days in Pakistan, the ex-member of the Lok Sabha took to Twitter to share details of his visit. Sinha revealed that his visit was purely a personal one and he was here to attend a wedding on the invitation of a dear friend. On his visit, he interacted with several prominent personalities including Reema and former Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa.

    Sinha also said that he had a lovely time meeting the President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi and his wife in Lahore, adding that he knew the family very well and had attending Dr Alvi’s son’s wedding a few years back in Karachi.

    For good measure, Sinha decided to tag Indian journalists, activists and politicians in his tweets.

    Sinha’s visit comes as a surprise, especially considering that last year, the All India Cine Workers Association (AICWA) had banned and boycotted Mika Singh from the film industry after the singer performed at a wedding in Pakistan. Since then, Bollywood and Indian actors have refrained from interacting with Pakistani artists or people.

    The relationship between the two neighbouring countries went from bad to worse after the Modi government scrapped Article 370 stripping Indian-occupied Kashmir of its special status. The valley has been under lockdown ever since.

  • Faryal Makhdoom, Amir Khan welcome baby boy

    Faryal Makhdoom, Amir Khan welcome baby boy

    Boxing champion Amir Khan and his wife Faryal Makhdoom have welcomed their third child – a baby boy. The couple previously have two daughters: Lamaisah, four, and 21-month-old Alayha.

    The boxer shared the happy news on his social media.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B84BsxhjzKd/

    The couple had announced their third baby in August 2019, with a gender reveal balloon and an emotional Faryal.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B1b0EFUhGSM/

    Since then, Faryal has been documenting her pregnancy on Instagram, sharing snaps of her growing baby bump.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B8l-LzzhWT4/

    Faryal and Amir tied the knot in 2013 and have been embroiled in more than just a few controversies over the years.

    While Amir was mired in cheating claims, a family feud between Faryal and her in-laws threatened to break apart the couple. In 2017 Amir split from his wife and publicly accused her of cheating on him with boxer Anthony Joshua, before withdrawing his claims and reconciling with his pregnant wife.

    But with the latest baby, it appears that all is well and we hope things stay this way.

  • Fawad Khan answers the burning question we’ve all been asking

    Fawad Khan answers the burning question we’ve all been asking

    Fawad Khan rarely makes an appearance – on social media or otherwise (unless it’s for Pepsi) – but when he does it has to be for something big. And this time the actor made a surprise social media appearance to answer the burning question we’ve all been asking: when is The Legend of Maula Jatt revealing?

    And turns out the rumours have been true all along – the film is expected to hit the screens on Eid ul Fitr 2020 as per Fawad and the film’s producer Ammara Hikmat. Not only that, Fawad gave his fans a double treat by sharing a picture from his first day of the shoot for the film.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B83yFBpAwN7/
    https://www.instagram.com/p/B83xzzEBU22/

    The film has been directed by Bilal Lashari and also starres Hamza Ali Abbasi, Mahira Khan, Humaima Malick and Gohar Rasheed among others. The film has been touted as Pakistan’s most expensive production to date.

    Read more – ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’s producer throws it back to the early days of the film

    Mahira also gave Maula her ‘mubarak’ on this latest development.

    It has been a long wait but the makers of The Legend of Maula Jatt have finally managed to sort out the film’s legal battles and clear the path for its release.

    Reports had revealed that Sarwar Bhatti who had filed a case against the film for copyright infringement has withdrawn his case and has reached an agreement with the makers.

    Speaking to a private news outlet Bhatti had said “Ammara [producer] and Bilal Lashari [director] are like my children. Someone misguided them but all kids tend to make mistakes and therefore I am willing to put everything behind me. I am doing this for their welfare, for the revival of cinema and to give the much-needed boost to Pakistan’s film industry. I will no longer be a hurdle in the release of The Legend of Maula Jatt.”

    Bhatti had claimed that Maula Jatt was his property and had filed an application for a stay order to prevent the director from using the character, name and dialogues and asked the court to stop the film from being released.

    Read more – Case against ‘The Legend of Maula Jatt’ reportedly withdrawn

    Meanwhile, it is likely that it will be Fawad vs Fawad at the box-office this Eid ul Fitr because Fawad’s other project Money Back Guarantee is also scheduled to release on Eid-ul-Fitr along with Urwa Hocane and Farhan Saeed’s Tich Button.

    Watch the first look of The Legend of Maula Jatt here:

  • Jhelum dentist accused of selling drugs to students

    Jhelum dentist accused of selling drugs to students

    A man, reportedly a dentist, allegedly sold ice (methamphetamine) to students at a government school in Jhelum.

    According to the Jhelum DPO, “We seized the drugs from the bags of two students of grade six. When we questioned the students, they told that they had gotten the drugs from a dentist.”

    The DPO added that an investigation was instantly conducted into the matter after which the dental clinic was raided. While the doctor managed to escape, an employee working at the clinic was arrested and taken into custody.

    As per reports, three packets of ice have been seized from the clinic.

    A case has been registered and further investigations are underway.

  • Peshawar Zalmi stars meet differently-abled fan

    Peshawar Zalmi stars meet differently-abled fan

    It was a dream come true for Saeed Ullah, who came to Karachi from Quetta to meet his favorite Peshawar Zalmi players on Friday during Pakistan Super League (PSL) match.

    While talking to the media he said, “I feel as if I am dreaming. I am so happy.” Saeed was invited from Quetta to meet his favourite players of the team Peshawar Zalmi at the National Stadium in Karachi. The Kings won the match but for the differently-abled fan who couldn’t walk, it was an experience of a lifetime.

    He thanked Zalmi owner Javed Afridi for inviting him all the way to Karachi so he could meet his favourite stars.
    “Our fans live in our hearts and these special fans are really close to our hearts,” said Afridi. “Zalmi’s name and fame are all because of their [fans] prayers.”

  • Ahmed Godil is no longer part of PSL

    Following the opening ceremony of the fifth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Pakistanis found a new person to hate on: Ahmed Godil. The Karachi-based VJ opened the opening ceremony of the PSL 5 and drew irk and widespread criticism from audiences for his performance on stage.

    The backlash and trolling became so unbearable that the next morning, Godil made several TV appearances in which he appealed to the audiences to spare him, explaining that he wasn’t even the host of the show – Fakhre Alam was. He also requested the audience to leave his mother and sisters out of this.

    https://twitter.com/VJGodil/status/1230835348542021632?s=20

    In his latest post, Godil has announced that he is no longer part of the PSL or PCB. In a five-minute video, the host explained that PCB let him go following the trolling and his appearances on multiple media channels.

    Godil also expressed his frustration with the PCB for their mismanagement and not supporting him amidst the trolling. He said that he gave the organisation his everything and in return, they fired him.

    “I was just about to get in the car and leave for the stadium around 12 pm when I received a call from the PSL management to inform me that my services are no longer needed,” said a visibly emotional Godil in the video, adding that all he did was try to save the opening ceremony from failing without a script in hand or any preparation.

    https://www.facebook.com/651890267/posts/10163407042365268/

    Earlier, while speaking a private news channel, Godil had remarked that the opening ceremony of PSL 2020 was a “very poorly managed show”.

    “I was told to come to the stage for the pre-show as they [organisers] said the audience was bored since 4:30 pm,” he said, iterating that he was not the host of the event.

    When Shoaib Akhtar, who was also on the show, commented that he didn’t understand the opening ceremony, Godil responded, “It was a very, very poorly managed show.”

    Read more – ‘It’s not funny anymore’: Ahmed Godil responds to the trolling

    Meanwhile, social media began to speculate that Godil was reportedly sacked for revealing that PCB has strictly banned Ali Zafar’s songs from being played in the stadium. Godil responded to the rumours.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B83yXjwpu0x/

    Bilal Ashraf, Imad Wasim and Asim Azhar voiced their support for Godil and requested fans to stop trolling and hating on him.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B813E-slSb0/

    PCB has not yet officially commented on the matter.

  • TikTok’s life-threatening ‘skull-breaker challenge’ is trending

    TikTok’s life-threatening ‘skull-breaker challenge’ is trending

    To go viral and gain views, TikTok users have started the ‘Skull-Breaker Challenge’ causing people to end up in the hospital with broken bones and fatal injuries.

    The challenge begins with three people standing alongside one another and in a row, the middle person jumps while the other two kick his/her legs out from under causing a dangerous fall.

    https://twitter.com/britishchickAD/status/1228335700132712450?s=20

    Falling like this is life-threatening and can cause paralysis and even death as severe head trauma could lead to serious internal bleeding in the brain.

    Meanwhile, TikTok does not allow content that is harmful. The community guidelines for the app state: “We do not promote participation in activities that could lead to harm. We also do not permit users to encourage others to take part in dangerous activities. We do not allow content that promotes self-harm or suicide, but we do allow our users to share their experiences in order to raise awareness about these issues.”

    However, TikTok has not officially responded to this matter.