British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was caught in a tricky situation at a memorial service for police officers when his umbrella just refused to open, causing great amusement to Prince Charles and other dignitaries who could not stop their laughter seeing him in a fix.
The clip that went viral on social media after being shared by Sky News, shows Johnson struggling to control his errant umbrella.
….up, up and nearly away ☂️
PM Boris Johnson struggles with his umbrella whilst seated next to Prince Charles at a memorial recognising the sacrifice of police officers who have died on duty.
Johnson’s umbrella first refused to open and when it did, it turned upside down much to the amusement of Prince Charles and the other officials who were attending the event with the PM.
After the heavy downpour in the capital leading to urban flooding, President Arif Alvi extended his concern for the people of Islamabad.
Taking to Twitter, Alvi tweeted, “I am confident that Islamabad’s administration are doing their job well but if need be, I am ready with my boat.”
Islamabad is my city just like Karachi and all other lovely cities of Pakistan. I am confident that Islamabad's administration are doing their job well but if need be, I am ready with my boat 🙂 pic.twitter.com/whOskBKsNf
Following two deaths and widespread flooding in the federal capital, Islamabad Commissioner Amir Ahmed has ordered a probe in this regard.
Meanwhile, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) said all officers and employees have been asked to remain on high alert for the next week in light of the heavy downpour.
President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi took to Twitter yesterday to condemn the video of a man who forced a Hindu worker of the Thar coal project to mock and hurl abuse at his religious deities.
Three tweets were sent from the official handle of the President of Pakistan to condemn the act, but one of his tweets was taken out of context by many social media users.
“Our society should remain alert. Such isolated ugly incidents are used to give a bad name to the country. I condemn it and I assure all citizens that we in Riasat-e-Madina cannot and will not allow this to happen.”
This tweet was widely shared by social media users in the context of Noor Mukadam’s case and in the context of rising violence against women in the country.
Our society should remain alert. Such isolated ugly incidents are used to give a bad name to the country. I condemn it and I assure all citizens that we in Riasat-e-Madina cannot and will not allow this to happen.
— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) July 27, 2021
President Alvi then took to his personal Twitter account to clarify the context of the tweet.
I am glad the harasser of the Hindu boy has been arrested. The tweet below was in sequence and in relation to that incident. Firstly such incidents should not happen and if they do fast response by government functionaries is important. https://t.co/zTHs7imena
Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Inam Ghani in a tweet has assured to provide space and unbiased space to the victims of abuse and harassment.
“While victims of abuse and harassment are bravely trying to take action against the perpetrators, they are pressurised, threatened and silenced by the very same perpetrators through their position, relations, financial position or network of connections,” wrote Inam Ghani in a tweet.
“In all such instances, the public should know and remember that my office is always open for all victims and vulnerable persons as a safe, unbiased space and we will support every victim who approaches us, to our best capabilities.”
“No injustice will be tolerated and protection and support will be given to all those who need it. Call 1787 in any such situation, in which case it will be given priority by me personally.”
No injustice will be tolerated and protection and support will be given to all those who need it. Call 1787 in any such situation, in which case it will be given priority by me personally. (3/3) #EndFemicide
— Inam Ghani QPM & Bar, PSP (@InamGhani) July 27, 2021
IG Punjab’s tweets came after Noor Mukadam was beheaded in Islamabad.
In an interview with PBS Newshour, Judy Woodruff asked Prime Minister Imran Khan about Pakistan’s alleged military, intelligence, and financial support to Afghanistan.
PM Khan replied, “I find this extremely unfair.”
The premier added that when the Pakistani government decided to join the United States (US) war on terror, “we were devastated by that”. PM said that 70,000 Pakistanis died because of the US war in Afghanistan, even when “Pakistan had nothing to do with what happened” [in New York on September 11, 2001].
Al Qaeda was based in Afghanistan at the time, and “there were no militant Taliban in Pakistan,” he said, maintaining that Pakistan was not involved in the 9/11 attacks.
“We had nothing to do with it,” he repeated, regretting that the war in Afghanistan had resulted in a loss of $150 billion to Pakistan’s economy.
PM further added that the US “really messed it up in Afghanistan”.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan: "the U.S. has really messed it up in Afghanistan, you see first of all, they try to look for a military solution in Afghanistan when there never was one. " @NewsHour tonight
Judy Woodruff asked PM Imran about claims of Taliban sanctuaries being present in Pakistan and a report about 10,000 fighters crossing the border to help the group in Afghanistan.
“Judy, for a start, this 10,000 Taliban — or as the Afghan government says, Jihadi fighters — have crossed over, is absolute nonsense. Why don’t they give us evidence of this?” asked PM Imran.
To a question about safe-havens, the premier questioned where the sanctuaries are located in Pakistan.
“Taliban are not some military outfit. They are normal civilians. If there are some civilians in these camps, how is Pakistan supposed to hunt these people down? How can you call them sanctuaries?” asked PM Imran.
“First of all, they tried to look for a military solution in Afghanistan when there was never one. And people like me, who know the history of Afghanistan and kept saying there isn’t a military solution, were called anti-American. I was called Taliban Khan,” said PM Imran.
The prime minister further added, “I don’t know what the objective was in Afghanistan, whether there was to have some nation-building, democracy or liberate the women. Whatever the cause was, the way they went about it was never going to be the solution.”
“When they finally decided there is no military solution, unfortunately, the bargaining power of the American or North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) forces had gone,” said the premier.
more Prime Minister Imran Khan: "when they finally decided that there is no military solution, unfortunately, the bargaining power of the Americans or the NATO forces had gone…the Taliban thought they had won."
“Once they had reduced the troops to barely 10,000 and when they gave the exit date, Taliban thought they had won,” said PM Imran. He added that it is difficult right now to ask the group to compromise or “force them” to take a political solution.
“It’s very difficult to force them into a political solution because they [Taliban] think that they won,” said PM Imran.
PM Khan further said, “Pakistan is hosting over three million Afghan refugees. And what we fear is that a protracted civil war would [bring] more refugees. And our economic situation is not such that we can have another influx.”
“Secondly, the worry is that the civil war will flow into Pakistan because Taliban are ethnic Pashtuns. Now there are more Pashtuns on our side of the border than Afghanistan. And so the worry is if this goes on, the Pashtuns on our side will be drawn into it and that is also the last thing we want,” said PM Imran.
Over the last few days, the news has been inundated with the different versions and revelations in relation to the murder of Noor Mukadam.
Here’s a list of the different versions of the same story.
1.Zahir Jaffer’s confession:
Reportedly, Zahir Jaffer has confessed to the murder of Noor Mukadam. Police also gathered video evidence of Noor being tortured by Zahir.
The accused made the confession during interrogation but has not given a reason for murdering Noor. Dawn, The Express Tribune, ARY News, Dunya have reported that Zahir Jaffer, the prime suspect in the murder of Noor, confessed to killing her before the investigators during his interrogation. Sources said the prime suspect has repeatedly changed his reasoning for committing the brutal crime.
However, Geo News and Samaa have not reported on the confession yet.
2.CCTV footage of the incident:
All news outlets have confirmed that the Islamabad police have also found video evidence of him torturing Noor on his mobile phone, as well as CCTV footage of the incident.
3.Noor seeking driver’s help:
Only two media organisations reported the story of Noor seeking help from her driver while being held as a hostage at Zahir Jaffer’s house.
Noor Mukadam asked her driver to arrange Rs700,000 and bring it to the house of Zahir Jaffer, the main accused in her murder, Noor’s driver told Geo News.
The Express Tribune reported, the victim’s family reportedly informed the investigation team that Noor had instructed her driver to bring Rs700,000 to the accused’s house. However, the investigation team said no money has been recovered yet. A senior police officer added that there was no confirmation of the money being withdrawn from the victim’s account, from her home, or from any other relatives. However, Geo news says that the driver collected three lakh rupees from his own resources, friends, and acquaintances.
No other major news outlet has run this story.
4.Crime Scene:
All major news outlets reported that a guard at the house of Zahir Jaffer saw Noor Mukadam trying to escape as she jumped off the balcony. When she jumped off the balcony, she landed on the Air Conditioner Unit ( Condenser). Zahir too jumped off from the balcony and grabbed her. The guard tried to help her but Zahir grabbed her by her hair and took her back into her room and locked the door.
BBC Urdu reported that Noor jumped out of the ‘Roshandan‘ [a small window].
BBC Urdu, Dawn, and The Express Tribune added that Noor hid in the guard’s room after finding the gate locked, adding that later the accused broke into the room and dragged her back into the house.
Geo News did not report Noor hiding in the guard’s room.
5.Presence of friends:
Editor of The Nation Salman Masood, mentioned that Zahir brutally killed Noor and chopped off her head from the body while the Therapy Works team and a group of mutual friends tried to enter his room.
Dawn reported that the SSP Rehman further said her [Noor’s] friends reached the house of the accused, but he refused to let them enter, adding that he remained on the balcony, brandishing weapons and hurling abuses at them. One of the friends informed the girl’s father while another friend called the police.
However, as per Geo News, a neighbour had gone to the Kohsar Police station to inform them and not a friend. By the time the police reached, the team of Therapy Works had tied up Zahir.
6. When did Noor go to Zahir’s house:
Editor of The Nation Salman Masood and Geo News reported that Noor was detained for two days at Zahir’s house.
Other media outlets have not reported the duration of stay.
7. Reason for murder:
The reason for murder has yet not been confirmed.
However, Geo News reported that Zahir called his parents before the murder and told them that Noor has refused to marry him.
Meanwhile, ARY News reported that allegedly Zahir in his statement said that he killed Noor for cheating on him
Recent update on #JusticeForNoor case:
The parents of Zahir Zakir Jaffer — a key suspect in Noor Mukadam’s murder — on Tuesday moved a bail petition in a district and sessions court in Islamabad against their detention. Admitting the petition, the court issued a notice to the police and set July 30 as the date for the hearing.
In an interview with Judy Woodruff of PBS NewsHour, Prime Minister Imran Khan clarified that his previous comments about rape were taken out of context.
“Anyone who commits rape, solely and solely that person is responsible. So let’s be clear about that. No matter how provocative the woman is or whatever she wears, the person who commits rape is fully responsible. Never is the victim responsible,” said PM Khan.
"The person who commits rape is fully responsible for the crime; the victim is never responsible" Prime Minister Imran Khan categorically states his thoughts on sexual crimes. He also claimed that his statement was taken out of context deliberately in an interview few weeks ago. pic.twitter.com/Ggki7p2sZM
“More than rape, there is child abuse [cases] which are going through the roof, so my comments were in that context,” said PM Khan.
The premier stated that he used the word “pardah”, adding that the word does not just mean clothes or is restricted to women only. He said that “pardah” is also for men and means to “bring down temptation in a society”.
“And I have to say because I know all the interviews I have given. Never would I say such a stupid thing where a person who is raped is somehow responsible. It is always the rapist that is responsible,” added the premier.
Woodruff also questioned the PM if he believes that in his country the importance of Islam complicates PM’s ability to take a stronger stand against violence against women.
“Absolutely not. Islam gives dignity [and] respect to women,” the PM responded to her question. He added that after traveling all over the world, he found that in Muslim countries, women are treated with more respect.
“In Pakistan, even in other Muslim countries I have seen, women [are] treated with far more respect and given more dignity,” said PM Khan.
The PM admitted that there are “odd cases” in relevance to the respect of women but he explained that such a situation was “everywhere in the world”.
“But you look at the situation in Pakistan even now, I mean look at the rape cases here, compared to Western countries, they are minuscule,” said the PM.
The premier accepted that there are problems in Pakistan and he linked them to “cultural problems”. He then went on to say that such cultural problems exist in every nation and are resolved with cultural evolution and the right education.
“As far as a woman’s dignity and respect goes, I can say after going all over the world, this [Pakistani] society gives more respect and dignity to women,” concluded PM Imran.
Last month, in an interview with “Axios on HBO” with Jonathan Swan, PM Khan had said that “if a woman is wearing very few clothes, it will have an impact on the men, unless they are robots”. His statement was heavily critised and he came under fire for his reaction to the rising cases of sexual violence in Pakistan.
The confusion is real. Was Zahir Jaffer taking clients and was a practicing therapist at the organisation Therapy Works? In a social media post, the organisation stated, “He [Zahir Jaffer] did not complete his coursework and International Essays, and accordingly was never ever given permission to see clients. This is borne out by our list of authorised therapists in which his name has never been included.”
On Geo News programme, ‘Aaj Shahzeb Kahnzada Kay Sath’, Journalist Shahzeb Khanzada revealed that Zahir Jaffer was giving therapy sessions to children at Beaconhouse’s Rawalpindi branch.
According to leaked audio of Therapy Works CEO Tahir Ahmed Zahoor, Zahir Jaffer along with Dr Umber Zaidi ( an authorised counsellor of Therapy Works, as listed on their website) had visited Beaconhouse to give a counselling session to students, on how to cope up with the increasing pressure in education. Khanzada shows leaked audio and video of Tahir Ahmed Zahoor saying that he was not responsible for Zahir going to Beaconhouse since Zahir went on his own. Khanzada aired a clarification from Beaconhouse, in which the school states that they had reached out to TherapyWorks for their counsellors to come to the school sessions and Zahir had been sent by the organisation.
نورمقدم کاقاتل ظاہر جعفر اپنی پرتشدد ہسٹری اورمنشیات کی لت کے باوجودکیسے تھیراپی ورکس میں تھیراپسٹ بننے کے لیول4تک پہنچا۔ کیسے تھیراپی دیتارہا۔
تھیراپی ورکس کےCEOکواسکے ماضی کاپتہ تھا توپھر کیوں یہ سب نظرانداز کیا۔ حقائق دیکھیے
It was further revealed that Dr Umber and Zahir were affiliated with the Therapy Works and that they both shared their credentials with the school principal on arrival.
The official Beaconhouse statement reads:
“In Jan 2019, A teacher of Beaconhouse Senior Boys Branch, Satellite Town, Rawalpindi was enrolled in a course at TherapyWorks. She asked her teacher, Dr Umber Zaidi (an authorised counsellor of TherapyWorks as listed on Therpary Works website) to visit the school as a guest speaker and talk to students about coping with study pressures. Dr Umber Zaidi brought Zahir to the school with her. Both shared their TherapyWorks credentials with the school head before the session with Students and Teachers. At no point were the students left unsupervised.
In short, Beaconhouse did not invite Zahir. It was Dr Umber Zaidi’s decision to bring him along. Since she is an authorised counsellor of TherapyWorks, the school did not question her decision. It is pertinent to note that the session took place in Jan 2019″.
During the show, Shahzeb Khanzada exposed other contradictions that CEO Tahir Ahmed had been stating as the truth. Khanzada reported that Tahir knew about Zahir’s mental health and let him become a therapist and take on clients anyway.
In the leaked audio, Tahir Ahmed says that it was only after June 2021 that Zahir’s parents contacted him and asked him to help their son [Zahir].
“He is seriously ill, he will do something,” Tahir Ahmed to Zahir’s parents.
However, Zahir’s father ignored Tahir’s warnings.
Dr Imtiaz Dogar, President Pakistan Psychiatric Society, a guest on the show said, “The murder of Noor Mukadam is not a psychological but a criminal matter.”
نورمقدم کاقتل سائیکولوجیکل نہیں بلکہ کرمنل معاملہ ہے۔ سائیکولوجیکل کیسز میں ایسے منصوبہ بندی کیساتھ قتل کے واقعات سامنے نہیں آتے۔ ڈاکٹرامتیاز ڈوگر، صدر پاکستان سائیکیٹرک سوسائٹی pic.twitter.com/kAfj4DSXUI
Punjab Prisons Minister Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan has responded to the allegations against the Punjab government of giving 1.5 year remission to Shah Hussain, the man convicted of stabbing Khadija Siddiqi.
Shah Hussain did not receive any “legal remission” from the government but had actually availed “technical remissions”, said Chohan.
In another tweet, Khadija tagged Punjab Prisons Minister Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan and wrote: “You are responsible for allowing early release of my attacker.”
I waited, waited and waited for them to reach out! Zero response.
I want answers from IG jail and Minister for prisons, @Fayazchohanpti
Your silence reeks of complicity
You are responsible for allowing early release of my attacker!
Siddiqi was stabbed 23 times on a busy Lahore street while she was picking her six-year-old sister from school on May 3, 2016. Shah Hussain is the son of a senior Lahore High Court lawyer.
Noor Mukadam left her house at 9:15pm on Sunday (July 18) and reached Zahir’s house at 10pm. Noor called her driver Khalil the next morning (Monday, July 19) at 9.50am and asked him to arrange Rs700,000 and bring it to Zahir Jaffer’s house, reports Geo News.
As per Geo News, the driver told Noor that he could not arrange such a large sum of money. Noor told him that it was important that he brings it and asked him to take it from a friend or arrange it from his acquaintances. However, Khalil said that he could only arrange Rs300,000.
“When I called Noor, she said she can’t come out and that I hand over the money to the cook,” her driver told Geo. He then handed the money over to the cook.
As per Express Tribune, a senior police officer said that there was no confirmation of the money being withdrawn from the victim’s account, from her home, or from any other relatives.
The driver also revealed to Geo News that when Noor called him for the first time, she told to inform her parents that she was going to Lahore.
When Khalil went inside the house to inform Noor’s parents, her mother was already talking about the same thing with her husband. Noor’s father was asking why she was going to Lahore when it was Eid the next day, the driver said.
He added that after hearing the conversation between Noor’s parents, he realised they already knew what Noor had asked him to tell them and so he left without saying anything.
According to the investigating sources, Noor was in touch with her mother. Noor also spoke to her mother over the phone the day she was murdered.
When Geo News contacted the police about the driver’s statement and asked about a possible kidnapping and ransom, they replied that the case is under investigation.
