With the sixth case of coronavirus being confirmed in India, the Hindu Mahasabha — a political organisation formed to protect the rights of the Hindu community and to safeguard Hinduism — has decided to organise a gaumutra [cow urine] party to ensure that the virus doesn’t spread in New Delhi.
As per the details, Party President Chakrapani Maharaj has told The Print that there was a need to create greater awareness among the people on “how cow urine and cow dung, besides consuming cow products, can help eliminate coronavirus”.
“Just like we organise tea parties, we have decided to organise a gaumutra party, wherein we will inform people about what is coronavirus and how, by consuming cow-related products, people can be saved from it,” Maharaj, who heads one of the two factions of the Mahasabha, said.
“The event will have counters that will provide gaumutra for people to consume. At the same time, we will also put cow products like cow-dung cakes and agarbatti made from that. Upon using these, the virus will die immediately.”
The event will be first organised at Hindu Mahasabha Bhawan in Delhi, following which such ‘parties’ will be held across the country.
“We are in touch with gaushalas (cow shelters) across the country, who can collaborate and work with us in our mission to eliminate corona,” he said, adding that coronavirus had come to India because some ministers angered it by publicly consuming chicken.
TikTok has claimed another life in India as a young man was killed while recording a video on the railway tracks. Vikas died on the spot after he was electrocuted by the tracks.
According to reports, the incident took place in Haryana. The 25-year-old was making a video with his friends at 4 am when he climbed up the electrical pole for a better shot. He continued to climb higher and accidentally touched one of the high voltage wires overhead. He was the only casualty in the incident.
When he died, his friends ran away. The body was there on the wire for almost two hours. Some passersby saw the body and informed the police.
Government Railway Police (GRP) shut off the power and took down the body. The deceased was sent to a hospital.
Meanwhile, the police have seized his mobile phone for investigation. They suspect that Vikas and his friends had been drunk when they attempted to make the TikTok video that sadly took his life.
Vikas lived alone with his mother. His elder brother is currently serving a prison sentence while his father has passed away.
TikTok related deaths are not uncommon in the sub-continent. Recently a teenager in Sialkot accidentally shot himself while making a TikTok video.
An intermediate student has been found dead in the washroom of a Unique Group of Institutions (UGI) academy on Wahdat Road in Lahore.
The body was recovered by the police, following which protests by students erupted as the deceased’s family alleged murder.
As per reports, 22-year old Mohammad Naeem was found dead with his nose bleeding. Naeem had gone to the academy on Monday but not returned home. His family called him on his mobile phone, but when nobody answered, they visited the academy where the staff didn’t allow them to enter the premises, claiming that Naeem had already left.
Khurram, a relative of the deceased has told the media that on failing to contact him, Naeem’s family once again went to the institute where his class fellows told them that his motorbike and bag were still there. However, the staff refused to let them enter the building.
The family then reported the matter to the police.
Police officials, along with the family, later went to the academy and after searching, found the boy‘s dead body in a washroom. The family insisted that Naeem was murdered, demanding registration of a case and arrest of his killer(s).
Refuting the family’s claims, media manager of UGI, Zunair Chaudhry, told The Current that the body was found in a toilet stall that was locked from the inside. “The family kept on going to the wrong campus where the guard also told them that it wasn’t the one their son attended.”
The body was recovered after eight to nine hours and initial post-mortem reports have declared that the cause of his death was a brain haemorrhage, he added.
Superintendent of Police Capt (r) Mohammad Ajmal has also rejected the family’s claims of Naeem being murdered, saying the washroom was locked from inside when the police found the dead body.
The SP said the blood from the nose of the deceased suggested that either he consumed drugs or was suffering from some serious disease that caused his death. He added that the doctors who examined the body were also, as of yet, not certain about the cause of death.
“The actual cause of death will be figured out in the light of the postmortem examination report that is still awaited.”
Meanwhile, students of the institution on Wednesday took to roads, seeking justice for their fellow.
With the Aurat March scheduled to take place this weekend, things are heating up and the controversy surrounding it keeps growing.
A petition was also filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) against the march with the petitioner calling the march “un-Islamic” with a ” hidden agenda to spread vulgarity.” However, the LHC dismissed the petition saying it couldn’t be banned under the law of the land.
The slogan ‘Mera Jism, Meri Marzi’, in particular, stirred a storm with Khalil ur Rehman Qamar abusing journalist and human rights activist Marvi Sirmed on live television. While some say the slogan is “vulgar” and is used by women marchers in “an attempt to westernise the Pakistani society”, the marchers themselves say it pertains to “the right of choice and that to safety of women and even minor girls who are subjected to sexual assault in this very society”.
Here are some interesting posters from the Aurat March’s official Instagram account which explain ‘Why Women March’.
Pakistani human rights activist and lawyer Jalila Haider is being honoured by the United States Department of State with the International Women of Courage Award for the year 2020. Jalila is among the 12 women from across the world who will be receiving the honour.
According to a statement posted on their official website, the award recognises women around the globe who have “demonstrated exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equality, and women’s empowerment at great personal risk.”
The department stated that Haider was the “Iron Lady” of Balochistan, who had initiated a non-profit to support local communities by strengthening opportunities for vulnerable women and children.
The statement further read: “She has fought against violence against women in public spaces. She specializes in defending women’s rights and provides free counseling and legal services to poverty-affected women. The first female attorney of her Hazara community, Haider led a peaceful hunger strike to recognise the right to life for the Hazaras.”
Other women on the list include Zarifa Ghafari (Afghanistan), Lucy Kocharyan (Armenia), Shahla Humbatova (Azerbaijan), Ximena Galarza (Bolivia), Claire Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso), Sayragul Sauytbay (China), Susanna Liew (Malaysia), and Amaya Coppens (Nicaragua).
Haider is a rights lawyer giving free legal services to women in poverty. In October last year, Haider was named one of the 100 most influential women of 2019 by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
Besides being a vocal activist for the rights of women, she is also the founder of We the Humans, a non-profit organisation working with local communities to provide opportunities for vulnerable women.
Writer and director Khalilur Rehman Qamar, who is not new to controversy and is rather infamous for his misogynist views both on and off the screen, has abused journalist and rights activist Marvi Sirmed on live television.
According to the details, Qamar on Tuesday appeared on a talk show to discuss the aftermath of a petition against the forthcoming Aurat March being trashed by the Lahore High Court (LHC). The petition calling the march “un-Islamic” with a ” hidden agenda to spread vulgarity” was wrapped up by the court that said it couldn’t be banned under the law of the land.
“First of all, the court has barred them [women marchers] from using filthy slogans like ‘mera jism, meri marzi’ [my body, my choice],” Qamar can be heard as saying in a video clip of the show doing rounds over the internet, in reference to the court’s order that participants of the march should “refrain from hate speech and immorality”.
Attempting to launch a tirade against the phrase, Qamar can then be heard as criticising Sirmed for using such slogans, to which the journalist reacts with murmuring the same that had led to a war of words over the internet after the slogan went viral following last edition of the annual Aurat March.
While some say the slogan ‘mera jism, meri marzi’ is “vulgar” and is used by women marchers in “an attempt to westernise the Pakistani society”, the marchers themselves say it pertains to “the right of choice and that to safety of women and even minor girls who are subjected to sexual assault in this very society”.
“Don’t interrupt!” the writer tells Sirmed in a rather aggressive tone, to which the rights activist once again chants the same slogan but in a louder voice.
“What is there in your body? Who the hell are you? Go take a look at your body… no man spits on you,” Qamar adds while also abusing Sirmed who continues to repeatedly chant “mera jism, meri marzi“.
WATCH VIDEO:
Khalil Ur Rehman hurled expletives and profanities at @marvisirmed and the anchorperson didn’t even stop him?!
The third panellist, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Senator Maulana Faiz Muhammad, and the host of the television show can in the meantime be seen requesting Sirmed to stop talking and hear Qamar out.
With netizens losing it over the remarks made by Qamar and also calling out the host of the show for doing nothing to stop him, here’s what the anchor has to say:
Claim: Former CJP Saqib Nisar’s daughter in law wore an outfit made by an Indian designer for her Valima
Fact: Former CJP Saqib Nisar’s daughter in law wore by Élan’s Champs-De-Patchouli collection launched in 2017 and another outfit by Dr Haroon.
Former Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar’s son Najam Saqib tied the knot in a grand wedding over the weekend. For the unacquainted, Nisar was the mastermind behind the Prime Minister and Chief Justice of Pakistan Diamer Bhasha and Mohmand Dam Fund. His son’s wedding had a string of events including a qawali, mehndi, baraat and valima.
Pictures from the events soon went viral on social media and reports began to circulate that Nisar’s daughter-in-law was wearing a Rs 1.5 crore outfit by Indian designer Anita Dongre on the valima. The Current did some digging and it turns out that the reports are incorrect because the bride, Rida wore an outfit by Élan on her valima. It was from the brand’s Champs-De-Patchoulicollection launched in 2017.
Élan’s bridals start from Rs 10 lakhs.
The bride’s makeup was done by Mariam Khawaja while Irfan Ahson did the photography.
Meanwhile, Rida wore a red outfit by Dr Haroon on her baraat.
Despite being an annual event, every year when the date of the Aurat March approaches, people begin to lose their calm and begin to target the march, its organisers and women in general. This year, the march’s posters were torn down and a petition was filed in the Lahore High Court (LHC) against the march. The petitioner had claimed that the march was ‘anti-state’ and ‘anti-Islamic’. However, the LHC disposed of the petition.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator and senior member Sherry Rehman, while condemning the outrage against the march, slammed JUI-F’s Maulvi Faiz Muhammad who had remarked that “Mera jism meri marzi azaadi nahi, awargi hai (My body, my choice is not freedom, it is obscenity).”
Rehman not only defended the march but also slammed Maulvi Faiz for his comments on the march.
Human rights lawyer, Nighat Dad took to Twitter to support the powerful response.
It is pertinent to mention here that the PPP, including Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari, has thrown its weight behind the march and are supporting it.
Minister for Human Rights, Shireen Mazari also tweeted her support for the march.
Our govt is committed to ensuring an end to discrimination against & harassment of women & has put in place programmes, policies & legislative measures to empower women & girls.
The Aurat March is scheduled to take place on March 8 to commemorate International Women’s Day. Last year, women from all across Pakistan came together to participate in the march.
Police arrested a gang that was smuggling drugs to the United Kingdom in lehengas. The suspect identified as Najam Rafique was arrested in Dadyal. Najam was caught in possession of many packs of heroin hidden inside wedding outfits.
As per reports, Najam is a part of an international drug network that is smuggling drugs to the UK. A heroin smuggler who goes by Mushtaq Nawabi is an important member of this international drug gang. Mushtaq is currently hiding in Dubai.
Police officer Faisal Siddique (SHO) said that the arrest was made after getting hints that Nawabi has been transporting drugs concealed in lehengas to the UK.
Najam was traveling on a motorcycle when he was stopped and arrested. The five lehengas in his possession were laced with 1.5 kg of heroin. After his arrest, he revealed that “In total ten lehengas were to be sent to the UK with the drugs inside them.”
Najam’s arrest was just one in a series of raids to bust this international drug network. While this gang is run by Mushtaq Nawabi, the mastermind is his son-in-law Hafiz Mansoor Sultani from Kotli. Hafiz Mansoor is also living and hiding in Dubai.
During a police press conference, DSP Nadeem Arif and Faisal Siddique asserted that the gang target poor people to work for them. Najam Rafique has received Rs 5 lakhs (£2,500) commission for 10 lehengas. Sometimes people are offered transport ‘gifts‘ in exchange for money. Sometimes people don’t even realize they’re being used.
