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Author: News Desk

  • Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor reacts to Cyril Almeida’s ‘RIP ISPR’ tweet

    Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor reacts to Cyril Almeida’s ‘RIP ISPR’ tweet

    Reacting to journalist and former Dawn assistant editor Cyril Almeida’s tweet, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief Major General Asif Ghafoor has called him out over his “unwarranted assertion”.

    “RIP ISPR, PTI [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf], etc…” Almeida tweeted Thursday while quoting a statement by Twitter Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jack Dorsey, who had announced the microblogging website’s decision to block political advertisements all across the globe.

    https://twitter.com/cyalm/status/1189640211493478403

    Retweeting the journalist with a comment, the ISPR director general (DG) challenged him to prove his claims pertaining to alleged adverts by the military’s media wing.

    https://twitter.com/peaceforchange/status/1189771746251071488

    “Dear @cyalm [Almeida], quote one such instance by ISPR [so as] to validate your unwarranted assertion. In case you fail, I wishfully expect a moral obligation from you. Should you succeed, I will take your advice,” Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor tweeted.

    It wasn’t later that the journalist responded to the ISPR chief.

    https://twitter.com/cyalm/status/1189784213194715136

    “Was a joke, Gen sb… a bit of (apparently failed) humour in this space where we are all prisoners of Twitter and its policies… maybe @jack [Dorsey] will turn his attention to the trend wars next… [sic],” Almeida said.

    TWITTER BANS POLITICAL ADS:

    Earlier, CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted that the social networking site will be banning all political advertisements — albeit with “a few exceptions” like voter registration.

    “We believe political message reach should be earned, not bought,” Dorsey said.

    While it’s not totally clear how broad those exceptions will be, it sounds like the ban will apply to both ads endorsing candidates and ads advocating a position on political issues.

    Dorsey said the company will share the final policy by November 15, and that it will start enforcing the same on November 22.

    “Internet political ads present entirely new challenges to civic discourse: machine learning-based optimization of messaging and micro-targeting, unchecked misleading information, and deep fakes,” he wrote. “All at increasing velocity, sophistication, and overwhelming scale.”

    This came after Facebook faced heavy criticism around its refusal to fact-check political advertising (even as it took steps to fight election-related misinformation elsewhere), with employees of the social media giant writing an open letter objecting to the company’s stance.

    Dorsey didn’t mention Facebook by name in his tweets, but he seemed to allude to the company’s position when he wrote, “For instance, it‘s not credible for us to say: ‘We’re working hard to stop people from gaming our systems to spread misleading info, buuut if someone pays us to target and force people to see their political ad…well…they can say whatever they want! ????‘ [sic].”

  • Pakistan is one of the best performing nations for social entrepreneurship: Reuters

    Pakistan is one of the best performing nations for social entrepreneurship: Reuters

    Innovative Pakistanis are pushing boundaries by starting and leading start-ups that focus on social entrepreneurship. Along with Australia and the Netherlands, Pakistan is one of the top three countries whose overall ranking has improved the most since the first experts’ poll on the best countries for social entrepreneurs was conducted by the Thomas Reuters Foundation in 2016.

    Maheen Bashir, co-founder of Dot and Line a start-up which trains women to become tutors , was recently at the World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington DC to speak about their work

    In just three years, Pakistan has jumped 18 spots to place 14th among the world’s 45 biggest economies and the foundation credits a lot of this to start-ups which are focusing on pressing social issues – such as turning organic waste in fertilizers, plans for solar powered mobile carts for street vendors and helping farmers share farming equipment.

    Aerosync, founded by Neelum Hassan, in 2016 was created to design and manufacture products with a social or environmental impact.
    Photo Courtesy: Faceebook

    Young Pakistanis, are interested in creating growth and since two-thirds of Pakistans 210 million people are younger than 30, a lot more is expected from this ‘youth boom’.

  • Pakistani social media is seriously debating why we celebrate Halloween

    Pakistani social media is seriously debating why we celebrate Halloween

    On Halloween Day, while the world is breaking the internet by posting their pictures of themselves in their Halloween costumes, Pakistan is debating why a ‘foreign holiday’ being celebrated in our country?

    Wasim & Shaniera Akram with Sharmila Faruqi and Hisham Riaz at a Halloween party last year

    The debate ranges from people discussing how it’s against Islam to celebrate a ‘pagan’ holiday and others saying that ‘The West’ does not celebrate Eid, so why is Pakistan celebrating their holidays? The counter-argument to this is that if that’s the case, then we should also not celebrate birthdays.

    Sheheryar Munawar at a previous Halloween party

    Others are pressing the fact that Pakistanis need to live and let live and if people want to celebrate Halloween they should be allowed to do so; the counter to which is that celebration of the event is ruining our culture and should not be promoted.

    Ahmed Ali Butt at a Halloween celebration

    Despite people passing judgement against the celebration of Halloween, there are many events happening in major cities for children to dress up and enjoy the holidays. Some people are planning small trick or treating events in their areas, hoping it also promotes their children to get to know their neighbours.

  • VIDEO: Nadia Jamil reveals a powerful politician’s daughter used to bully her

    VIDEO: Nadia Jamil reveals a powerful politician’s daughter used to bully her

    Nadia Jamil has made some staggering revelations in her recent interview.

    Speaking on Samina Peerzada’s show, Nadia revealed how an influential politician’s daughter used to bully her. She said she won’t reveal her name as she is passing through a hard time these days.

    “At the time, girl’s father was the Chief Minister and the family was very influential,” Nadia said.

    She continued, “She was my junior in school and once said to me: ‘Tumhaara baap meray baap ka naukar hai.’”

    Nadia further said that when she told her grandmother about this incident, her grandmother scolded her that she should be very cautious as the family could destroy her father’s business. To which Nadia had responded that how could she say this about my father.

    Meanwhile, sources tell us that the girl Nadia was referring to in her interview was former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz. The two studied in the Convent of Jesus and Mary, Lahore, where Nadia was Maryam’s senior.

     

    Apart from that, Nadia also had a candid discussion about her illness, childhood and career with the host. Watch Nadia’s full Interview here:

  • Kaaf Kangana writer says ‘women should rape men if they want equality’

    Kaaf Kangana writer says ‘women should rape men if they want equality’

    Renowned screenwriter and director Khalilur Rehman Qamar has come under fire for saying that “women should rape men if they want equality”, while netizens call him out over misogyny, which they say, has always been key to his characters and stories.

    “A few weeks ago, a feminist group had a conversation with me regarding equality. I asked them if they’ve ever heard about a gang of men kidnapping a woman? They assured me they have. I asked them then why don’t women do the same?” Qamar, whose recent offering “Mere Pass Tum Ho” revolves around a woman who’s willing to overlook her affectionate husband for a man who’s richer, said in a recent interview.

    “If you wish to strive for equality then kidnap men as well. Rob a bus, gang rape a man, so that I can understand what you [women] mean by equality.”

    Defending his ideas and “philosophy” around how he sees society, Qamar said that “Mere Pass Tum Ho” was “the story of several men, not just one”.

    “I have come across multiple married couples who go through the same ordeal. I’ve observed when a married woman cheats, she doesn’t feel ashamed at all. The reason behind her not feeling guilty is because she has been backed by another man. When an unmarried woman cheats, she feels guilty.”

    “But when a married man betrays his wife, he feels guilty. He feels embarrassed.” Qamar then also asserted that women should not criticise “Mere Pass Tum Ho” because women themselves have ridiculed men.

    “I’m only narrating this story in your [women’s] favour. Like it or not, I don’t call every woman a woman. To me, the only beautiful trait a woman can possess is her loyalty and her modesty. If a woman isn’t loyal then she is not a woman. Register an FIR against me for if you don’t subscribe to my point of view but I won’t budge.”

    “Get someone to try me under #MeToo, I won’t care about that either. But I won’t be able to call every woman a woman. That simply isn’t true for me,” he said.

    “A man leaves all his honour, his self-esteem with his wife when he goes out to earn a living. And I curse those women who violate that trust. That was the concept behind Mere Pass Tum Ho and so I’m fighting for the ‘good women’. It would be unfair to these [good] women to be classified along with those who aren’t loyal.”

    He then mockingly said that men have hijacked women’s rights so cleverly that women don’t really understand what their actual rights are. “Rather than figuring out your own rights, you’re only asking your part from men’s rights. That’s never going to happen!” he said. “The most one of these feminist groups can do is chant slogans against me, tweet a few thousand tweets but that’s it! Women can’t do anything else.”

    Qamar believed that if women were to challenge men, the whole society will collapse.

    “I was once in conversation with Sultana Siddiqui, and she asked me, ‘Khalil, why don’t you write anything against men?’ I asked her what should I write about men? Should I abuse him? I would, but then what? She said, ‘What do you mean? Even men remarry and indulge in extramarital affairs. Why do you choose to be so selective?’ I just had one question in response, ‘But with whom? A woman, right?’”

    According to Qamar, if a woman learns to say no to men, then men won’t be tempted to have an extramarital affair.

    When the host finally intervened and made a point about how loyalty should be exercise by both the man and the woman, Qamar replied, “You have to understand this philosophy. A wife is worried about what? Another woman. That other woman isn’t a man. So riddle me this: you are destroying a man and you’re the one who’s complaining about it as well.”

    He concluded by saying, “A man cannot say no. He just can’t. A good woman can.”

  • ‘With more vehicles, comes more pollution,’ Zartaj Gul blames Azadi March for smog

    Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul has said that the pollution in Lahore is increasing due to the extra number of vehicles entering Lahore for Azadi March.

    In a video posted on Twitter from Gul’s official account, the minister has termed all reports fake which are claiming that Lahore has entered into the list of most polluted cities of the world.

    She said that the company which has released this data wants the government to install their equipment for monitoring air pollution and is spreading misleading reports for the past two years.

    “They take their equipment out for recording data when the traffic is dense and use these reports to spread panic”, the minister added.

     

    Yesterday, the air quality monitoring station installed in US Consulate Lahore indicated that the Air Quality Index (AQI) of the city is near 469, while the threshold for hazardous levels of air quality is 300.

    Moreover, the London-based non-governmental organisation, Amnesty International in a statement released to the media on Wednesday stated that the levels of air quality in the province has been rated “near unhealthy” to “very unhealthy” for most of the year.

    The report also said that the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Lahore has reached 484 in the early morning. Meanwhile, EPA is still unable to show the actual picture of the scenario and is showing the unrealistic data in this regard.

    The South Asia Campaigner at Amnesty International, Rimmel Mohydin has also urged the government to do more to adequately address such a severe public health crisis — one that endangers people’s health and even their lives”.

  • Spooky halloween events in your city

    Spooky halloween events in your city

    Halloween is the day when the boundary between the living and the dead becomes a blur and the ghosts of the dead return to earth. But the question is how to celebrate this creepy day properly. Here are a few events in major cities that might make your Halloween a little more spooky.

    For people in Lahore

    Howdy, Johar Town Lahoris can head over to Howdy Johar town for a drum circle and wear the spookiest costume if they want to win the best costume award. Date: 31st Oct (Today) Time: 7 PM – 10 PM Venue: 7 R3, Johar Town, Near Shaukat Khanum Hospital   Emporium Mall Emporium mall’s spooktacular Halloween will last till 3rd November. You can find the gruesome graveyard, tarot card reading, exorcism room, and haunted house all in one place. Date:  24th Oct- 3rd Nov Time: 11 AM-11 PM Venue: Johar Town  

    Karachi

    Halloween at islands of fun If you are a Karachiite, you can spend your Halloween with some adventurous rides along with Halloween competitions and prizes at ‘Halloween at islands of fun’.   Date: 31st Oct Time: 3PM-12AM Venue: Islands Of Fun, Main University Road, Gulshan-e-Iqbal Koyla Chai If you are more of a scary movie type person, you can visit the Koyla Chai for an Open Air cinema to watch horror movies. Date: 31st oct Time: 7 PM – 10 PM Venue: 7 R3, Johar Town, Near Shaukat Khanum Hospital

    Islamabad

    Safa Gold Mall Grab your broomsticks and head over to Safa Gold Mall for trick or treat. Date: 29th Oct- 3rd Nov Time: 3 pm-9 pm Venue: Safa Gold Mall, Jinnah Super, College Road, F-7 Markaz Centaurus Mall At Centaurus mall’s haunted city, you can explore horror house, blood-curdling makeover and photo booth.   Date: 1-3rd Nov Time: 11AM-11PM Venue: F-8, 4th floor, Centaurus Mall.
  • Nation accuses govt of killing 74 as minister blames passengers for train fire

    Nation accuses govt of killing 74 as minister blames passengers for train fire

    With Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed blaming passengers for the train fire that killed at least 74 near Rahim Yar Khan, people across the country have stepped up to condemn the minister’s remarks and accuse Pakistan Railways (PR) of criminal negligence.

    The train, Tezgam, was on its way from Karachi to Rawalpindi when a gas cylinder carried by a passenger exploded, resulting in hundreds of casualties on Thursday morning. The fire destroyed three of the train’s carriages, including two economy class and one business class carriage.

    “It isn’t PR’s fault and passengers are to be blamed for it,” the minister said while speaking to journalists after the tragedy left the nation shaken.

    “It is unfortunate that passengers take cylinders with them. They don’t fear the law,” he said, adding that several people jumped to their deaths from the burning train.

    While Rasheed promised an inquiry to ascertain how the passengers had managed to carry cylinders with them, his statements were not very well received by the people.

    “Be the change you talk about,” journalist Adeel Raja tweeted while urging Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan to sack the minister. There has been a significant increase in the number of train mishaps ever since Rasheed was handed the reins of PR. Hundreds of casualties have been reported in derailings and collisions.

    Senior journalist and analyst Moeed Pirzada pointed out that the train didn’t have any fire-fighting equipment and the staff appeared to have no training to deal with such untoward situations.

    Retweeting his colleague Rauf Klasra’s statement, Moeed also accused PR of incompetence and criminal negligence over its failure to bar passengers from carrying gas stoves with them as per the rules.

    Meanwhile, an eyewitness has claimed that the fire was caused by a short circuit in one of the bogies’ fans.

    “The train kept moving even when it was on fire and there were no emergency facilities available inside the train,” the witness said as he blamed PR authorities for not taking complaints of the passengers seriously.

  • VIDEO: Another old statement comes back to bite Imran as 65 killed in train fire

    With 65 people losing their lives and hundreds reportedly sustaining injuries in Thursday’s tragic train fire incident, an old statement has come back to haunt Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

    The train, Tezgam, was on its way from Karachi to Rawalpindi, when a gas cylinder carried by a passenger exploded, leaving several dead and injured. The fire destroyed three of the train’s carriages, including two economy class carriages and one business class carriage.

    As the incident shook the entire nation, people on social media started sharing old videos of then member of opposition Imran, who had said that a South Korean PM resigned from office after a ferry sunk.

    “He wasn’t helming the ferry, but he resigned because he couldn’t bear that someone died under his rule,” the now premier can be heard as saying in the video.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief was referring to former South Korean PM Chung Hong-won, who resigned after a ferry sank leaving around 300 people dead or missing and resulted in widespread shame, finger-pointing and blame.

    Chung had stepped down after claims by the victims’ relatives that the government did not do enough to protect or rescue their loved ones.

    Demanding resignation from both the premier and Federal Minister for Railways Shiekh Rasheed over negligence and poor performance, here’s what Twitterati have to say about the episode:

    https://twitter.com/WajidShahPAK/status/1189786784131092480

    https://twitter.com/KhuwajaMax/status/1189785023219740674

    https://twitter.com/umair_sheikh722/status/1189788504429072385

    https://twitter.com/AlarmaDita/status/1189791729534287872

    Meanwhile, the minister has blamed passengers for the tragedy.

     

  • Pakistan introduces commemorative coin for Guru Nanak’s 550th anniversary celebrations

    Pakistan introduces commemorative coin for Guru Nanak’s 550th anniversary celebrations

    To mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Devji, the founder of the Sikh religion, the Government of Pakistan has issued a memorial coin.

    The move comes after Islamabad and New Delhi signed a treaty to open the Kartarpur Corridor for Sikh pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib without a visa. The Gurdwara is one of Sikhism’s holiest pilgrimage sites in Narowal district of Punjab.

    Prime Minister Imran Khan will formally inaugurate the corridor on November 9, three days before the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak.

    The PM also laid the foundation stone of Baba Guru Nanak University in Nankana Sahib on Monday.

    As per reports, pilgrims will be able to buy this coin worth Rs 50. Postage stamps, worth Rs 8 with the image of Gurdwara Janam Asthan will also be issued. They can be used commonly.