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  • ‘It was my mistake to believe ASP Sheherbano,’ says Nadia Hussain

    ‘It was my mistake to believe ASP Sheherbano,’ says Nadia Hussain

    Model and makeup artist Nadia Hussain has firmly opposed Punjab government’s actions against protesting students, questioning why such swift and effective measures aren’t taken against actual culprits when incidents of violence against women occur regularly in the country.

    She went further to demand justice for all victims of sexual assault, especially those accused of spreading misinformation for propaganda purposes.

    On Instagram, she posted a video in which she stated:

    “I want swift action against the rapists the same way as how swiftly videos were made by the ASP, or how quickly press conferences were held by the CM or the PGC principal! I demand immediate justice for any rape victim! Justice delayed is justice denied! And why is there such a fear of protests?

    This is something I have been advocating from day one! Protests are a right of every citizen of this country! Violence against protestors will not be tolerated, be it in Lahore, Pindi, or anywhere!”

    Earlier, she posted another video on Instagram where she explained:

    “Yesterday, I made a video expressing my happiness over the fact that the Punjab college incident was perhaps based on misinformation and that this unfortunate event may not have occurred,” she said.

    “The only reason I said I was happy was because I believed and wanted to believe what ASP Shehrbano was saying, as she is a responsible officer.”

    “I want to make one thing clear: I am not related to Shehrbano, nor am I connected to the Punjab police or PGC. When I uploaded the video, I expressed happiness over the student protests and the outrage.

    I believe protests are extremely important to raise awareness and make noise, but a lot of people messaged me, saying, ‘I’m sorry this incident happened,’” Hussain shared.

    “I faced significant backlash for my video, despite always standing up for women’s rights. I am one of the only celebrities who speaks openly about incidents involving women being harassed.

    So, I would just like to add that if anyone has any information regarding this incident, they should share it with me because, honestly, I am not the type to be silenced by anyone regarding women’s issues and rights,” she added.

    Hussain called the incident “very serious” and reiterated that she is not connected to any of the authorities investigating it. “I want to verify this matter, and if it is true, I will raise my voice. If not, I will hold anyone accountable if they have spread false information,” she concluded.

  • Fakhar Zaman likely to be dropped for Australia tour

    Fakhar Zaman likely to be dropped for Australia tour

    Pakistan left-handed opener batsman Fakhar Zaman is likely to be dropped from the squad for the Australia tour.

    According to Express, Fakhar’s selection in the squad seems unlikely as he has failed the fitness test. After returning from a long trip to the West Indies, he was given the task of running two kilometres in eight minutes, which he failed to complete.

    Zaman reportedly suffers from a problem with his knees; he is playing domestic cricket to be fit, while the selection committee has decided not to compromise on fitness.

    Earlier, he tweeted in favour of Babar Azam before the squad announcement against England for the second Test, but after some time, the announcement of dropping the star batsman came out. It seemed like Fakhr criticized the decision. Later, PCB issued a show-cause notice to him.

    Some former cricketers had also suggested that Fakhr be given leadership in the white ball.

    Till Thursday night, Salman Ali Agha was the favourite to take over the White Ball captaincy, but now again, Muhammad Rizwan seems to be leading the race.

  • Cotton’s potential revival: Strong harvest drives 52 per cent increase in ginning factories

    Cotton’s potential revival: Strong harvest drives 52 per cent increase in ginning factories

    Cotton farmers breathed a sigh of relief as the final bale of their successful harvest was loaded onto trucks en route to the ginning factories. After a 48 per cent decline in cotton output from last year, the first fortnight of October recorded an 8.87 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, reigniting the hopes of many in the cotton industry.

    The cotton harvest crossed the one million bale mark compared to the same time last year. This increase in the yields, amounting to an extra 90 thousand bales of cotton, resulted in 184 ginning factories reopening. That is an incredible 52.27 per cent increase in the number of operational factories. The owners of these factories are set to benefit as the factories have gone from collecting dust to receiving cotton trucks.

    At these factories, cotton is cleaned and refined by separating it from impurities such as leaves, dirt and, most importantly, cotton seeds. These seeds are a major byproduct of the purification process and a source of profit for the factory. If farmers manage to increase yields, factory owners can count on getting more seeds with each additional deposit of raw cotton to the factory.

    The availability of these extra seeds will likely translate into an increase in the production of cottonseed oil and animal feed. This is going to spell good news for businesses involved in poultry as the increased supply of animal feed in the market will potentially result in lower feed prices for their hens.

    Due to lower cotton production levels earlier in the year, import deals to bring in approximately 3 million bales of raw cotton have been formalised. However, the cotton is still not on Pakistani shores.

    The wait times associated with the import of cotton by Pakistan from the United States, which sources most of Pakistani cotton imports, is a staggering 44 days. If this cotton was sourced internally from local farmers, however, this time could be cut down to just 2-3 days. Unfortunately though, farmers cannot currently scale up production to meet the domestic demand of cotton.

    If cotton farmers can continue to ramp up production, the business community will not be the sole beneficiary. Pakistan has been importing billions of dollars of cotton, recently being the 5th largest importer of the raw material in 2022. If local farmers can meet domestic demand, the economy will be spared a huge import bill, thereby reducing the balance of the trade deficit, which stood at a glaring $24.8 billion in FY 2023.

    October may mark the end of the woes faced by farmers this year. However, only time will tell if they can reach the level of production they enjoyed just a year prior.

  • Justice Mansoor Ali Shah unlikely to be next CJP: Report

    Justice Mansoor Ali Shah unlikely to be next CJP: Report

    Justice Mansoor Ali Shah is unlikely to become the next Chief Justice of Pakistan after Justice Qazi Faez Isa if the coalition government manages to pass the 26th constitutional amendment, The News has reported.

    The News report stated that according to government sources, the ruling coalition and its allies will choose Justice Yahya Afridi as the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) after Justice Qazi Faez Isa retires on October 25.

    The three most senior judges after Isa who are next in line for the slot of CJP will be Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Yahya Afridi.

    In recent months, Supreme Court judges have been involved in controversy upon contriversy, and there has been a clear lack of consensus amongst the higher judiciary on many things.

    Justice Afridi, however, has remained neutral, The News reported.

    How will the proposed constitutional amendment affect the next CJP?

    The constitutional draft the government is trying to pass suggests: “The Chief Justice of Pakistan shall be appointed on the recommendation of the Special Parliamentary Committee from amongst three most senior Judges of the Supreme Court. The Committee, constituted for the aforesaid purpose, shall send the name of the nominee to the Prime Minister, who shall forward the nominee to the President for appointment. Provided that where the nominee under this clause declines, the next most senior judge shall be considered by the Committee and so on till the appointment of the chief justice of Pakistan.”

    Suppose the government succeeds in passing the amendments with a full majority in Parliament. In that case, the ‘special parliamentary committee’ will decide the next Chief Justice of Pakistan, making it significantly different from the past procedures.

    “The Special Parliamentary Committee, in this article referred to as the Committee, shall consist of the following twelve members, namely:- (i) eight members from the National Assembly; and (ii) four members from the Senate. Provided that when the National Assembly stands dissolved, the total membership of the Committee shall consist of the members from the Senate only…” proposed the 26th constitutional amendment draft.

    Representation of each political party would be according to the strength it holds in the Parliament. According to this draft, the parliamentary committee would send the nomination to the Prime Minister fourteen days before the retirement of the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

    In September, the coalition government remained unsuccessful in passing the Constitutional Amendment Bill amidst protests by the opposition party and senior lawyers. The Government failed to get the magic number to pass the bill, with JUI-F President Fazal ur Rehman holding the key. Fazl took centre stage as the opposition and coalition government raced to meet with him to get his support.

  • PTI MNA speaks out on harassment ahead of Constitutional Amendments

    PTI MNA speaks out on harassment ahead of Constitutional Amendments

    Journalist Hamid Mir, while talking to Aaj News on October 18, revealed that an unnamed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA is allegedly being subjected to harassment to get him to vote for the upcoming constitutional amendments in the parliament.

    “A PTI MNA from Punjab called me from a different number. He is currently hiding in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Not only was his house demolished, but also the women of his family were subjected to severe pressure,” revealed Hamid Mir.

    However, Mir also stated, “This has been done so that they [PTI MNAs] show their detachment from PTI and vote for the constitutional amendment in favour of the government. However, despite oppression and repression, these MNAs are steadfast and will not vote for the government under any circumstances.”

    Mir narrated that he received calls from an Indonesian number, but he did not pick up. Then he received a message from a UK number telling him the identity of who was calling.

    Hamid Mir further stated that this PTI MNA belongs to Punjab, but currently, he is hiding in Peshawar. Mir said, “I asked him why he was calling me. He replied: I am calling you to make you a witness that I am resisting and won’t go to Islamabad to participate in any voting.”

    On October 16, PTI member Meher Bano Qureshi, the daughter of former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, posted on X that her sister-in-law, the wife of PTI MNA Zain Qureshi, was abducted from near their home by “masked men in plain clothes and multiple cars.”

    “They have not been able to break us for the last year and a half despite all kinds of threats and are now resorting to such low-level tactics. Mine & my family’s faith in Allah is unbreakable. He will see us & Pakistan through this fascism,” she wrote.

    A few hours later, Qureshi posted a photo with the caption: “Alhamdulillah, she’s home. Thank you for your prayers and support!”

    In a separate post, the PTI member also revealed on X: “She was taken literally yards away from interior minister’s @MohsinnaqviC42 house who happens to be our neighbour.”

    Furthermore, Chairman Balochistan National Party (BNP) Akhtar Mengal, who recently handed over his resignation as an MNA citing unheard grievances of Balochistan, took to X (formerly Twitter) to write that his lodges in Islamabad had been raided.

    Mengal also wrote: “My party Senator Naseema Ehsan is confined to her apartment, and her son has been abducted. Meanwhile, my party’s other Senator Qasim Roonjo, who went for his dialysis at 8 a.m. in Islamabad, has been untraceable along with his son since then. Is this what democracy looks like?!!!”

    Mengal also showed solidarity with PTI’s Meher Bano Qureshi, writing, “All boundaries have been breached to ensure the votes get pushed through. It’s a déjà vu of Musharaf’s dictatorship. Shameful act.”

  • Lawrence Bishnoi’s life to be portrayed in upcoming web series

    Lawrence Bishnoi’s life to be portrayed in upcoming web series

    Notorious gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, imprisoned in an Indian jail, is in the news for the murder of former Maharashtra minister and National Congress Party leader Baba Siddique, who was killed in Mumbai last week, and fresh threats against superstar Salman Khan.

    According to Indian media reports, Jonny Fairfox Film Production House will release a web series, ‘Lawrence, A Gangster Story’, based on the life of Lawrence Bishnoi.

    The Indian Motion Pictures Association has reportedly already approved the series titled Lawrence Bishnoi.

    The web series will explore the life of Lawrence Bishnoi, especially his rise to become a dangerous gangster.

    Lawrence Bishnoi from Ferozepur in the Indian state of Punjab has been imprisoned in a Rajasthan jail since 2014, but it is said that he is running a criminal network in the country and abroad while sitting inside the jail.

  • Here’s how the chief justice will be appointed after 26th Constitutional Amendment

    Here’s how the chief justice will be appointed after 26th Constitutional Amendment

    A draft of the government’s proposed 26th Constitutional Amendment has unveiled the process of the appointment of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP).

    Ruling out the scenario of the most senior judge being appointed the Chief Justice of Pakistan, it has been suggested in Constitutional Amendments that the appointment shall be made from among the three most senior judges of the Supreme Court on the recommendation of a special parliamentary committee.

    Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar and Justice Yahya Afridi are in the running on the basis of seniority.

    Eight members of the National Assembly and four members of the Senate will be part of the 12 members of the special parliamentary committee.

    The majority of the special parliamentary committee will be from the ruling government.

    The proposed Constitutional Amendments further suggested that if the National Assembly is dissolved, then all committee members will be from the Senate.

    However, the special parliamentary committee will send the name of the judge to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, and then the President will give consent to the appointment of the top court judge.

    The next senior judge’s name would be considered for the CJP if the Prime Minister rejects the special committee’s proposed judge name, and the process will continue until the CJP is appointed.

    The majority of the special parliamentary committee would be responsible for sending the name of the nominated judge to the Prime Minister prior to 14 days of retirement of the CJP.

    No decision or action of the commission or committee shall be questioned or deemed illegal following the vacancy in membership or the absence of any member in the special parliamentary committee, the 26th constitutional amendment concluded.

  • Hezbollah drone hits Netanyahu’s home in Israeli town

    Hezbollah drone hits Netanyahu’s home in Israeli town

    A drone was launched towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in northern Israel on Saturday, his spokesman informed, adding that he was not in the vicinity and there were no casualties.

    Earlier, the Israeli military announced that a drone was launched from Lebanon and that it had hit a building. It was not immediately clear what the building was.

    However, two more drones that crossed into Israeli territory were intercepted.

    There were no casualties reported and police said explosions had been heard in the town where Netanyahu has a holiday home.

    The drone attack was not immediately claimed by the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which has been trading fire with Israel since last October, or any other militant group.

  • ‘Nation salutes you’: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari tells Qazi Faez Isa

    ‘Nation salutes you’: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari tells Qazi Faez Isa

    Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari praised Chief Justice Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa over his verdicts on risky cases in the past.

    Speaking at a PPP rally in Hyderabad held to mark the 17th anniversary of the Karsaz incident, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, in a roaring tone, remarked that Qazi Faez Isa delivered a brave judgement on the Faizabad Dharna case, which no other judge had the courage to deliver.

    “History will remember you (Qazi Faez Isa) for declaring former dictator General Musharraf a traitor and showing courage in calling Musharraf a dictator,” the former Foreign Minister stated.

    “The nation salutes you,” he added.

    Responding to the political parties’ lack of consensus on the 26th Constitutional Amendment in parliament, Bhutto said that he would be forced to push the Constitutional Amendments through parliament using a “brute majority” to break the ‘one unit’ system in the judiciary.

    “It is my desire to have consensus among all political parties in parliament for this amendment. The second option, which is not my preferred path, is to rely on the majority’s vote to pass it,” he maintained.

    However, the incumbent government is reportedly short of 13 votes in the National Assembly (Lower House) and nine in the Senate (Upper House) to pass the Constitutional amendments.

  • Muhammad Amir wins hearts with message defending Babar Azam

    Muhammad Amir wins hearts with message defending Babar Azam

    After Pakistan’s Test win against England in Multan, Pakistani fast bowler Muhammad Amir came forward to support former captain Babar Azam.

    Babar Azam was intensely criticised online after Pakistan’s win, with internet trolls citing his absence from the team as the reason for Pakistan’s win. The 30-year-old has been under constant scrutiny following his recent failures with the bat.

    Amidst the growing backlash, Babar received unexpected support from Amir, who advised the public to desist from this vile practice.

    The left-arm fast bowler wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Please stop this nonsense that Babar was not in the team, so the team won. We played with a better plan, took advantage of home conditions and won. Please don’t get personal with your players; yes, talk about the performance, but don’t get personal.”

    He was possibly referring to Shoaib Jatt in his tweet, who has been critical of Babar Azam for a long time and attributed the 30-year-old batsman’s absence to Pakistan’s win.

    Babar is currently out of the national team after being dropped for the remainder of the England series but is expected to be back in the squad ready for the tour of Australia.

    Pakistan will play ODI matches against Australia o