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  • Forced conversion issue in only three districts of Sindh: Noor-ul-Haq Qadri

    Forced conversion issue in only three districts of Sindh: Noor-ul-Haq Qadri

    A parliamentary committee on Wednesday rejected the anti-forced conversion bill. The bill was opposed by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. The bill was aimed at protecting minorities from forced religious conversion.

    Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Noor-ul-Haq Qadri while speaking about the issue in Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, said that the issue of forced conversion of religion was only in three districts of Sindh, whereas such cases in KP, Punjab, and Balochistan were rare. He said that the issue could be resolved through administrative discipline.

    However, journalist Benazir Shah while quoting a study has said in a tweet that, “Between 2013-2020, the highest incidence of alleged forced conversions was reported in Punjab, finds the Centre for Social Justice.”

    He continued by adding, “We opposed the forced conversion of religion because according to Islamic teachings, no one could be forced to change religion.”

    The minister also said that there should be no restrictions on anyone under the age of 18 changing their religion, as this would be considered interfering in someone’s personal life.

    The proposed bill which is rejected also included punishment between five to 10 years and a fine from Rs100,000 to Rs200,000 to any person who uses criminal force to convert a person to another religion.

  • ‘PM Khan cannot take no for an answer’: Rauf Klasra reveals premier’s relationship with establishment

    ‘PM Khan cannot take no for an answer’: Rauf Klasra reveals premier’s relationship with establishment

    Senior journalist Rauf Klasra, while presenting his political analysis on the present rift between the government and establishment on the appointment of new director-general (DG) Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency on Hum News, said, “Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan cannot take ‘no’ for an answer.”

    “I think the prime minister is offended by this. A popular leader or hero is accustomed to having ‘yes’ said to them. They cannot take ‘no’ for an answer. Our brothers in Rawalpindi [establishment] need to share the blame here. You [establishment] have made a child used to the [yes culture] in [the past] three years,” said Klasra, alluding to PM Khan.

    “You [establishment] made the child habitual of hearing a ‘yes’, now you have said ‘no this cannot happen’, eventually the child will react,” added Klasra.

    Klasra further said, “You [establishment] have always done fire fighting for PM Khan, managed everything for him, you did not let Khan Saab get hurt by a mere thorn. You [establishment] managed the media and the media owners [for him], you [establishment] managed anchors and politicians [for him] as well. You [establishment] managed Opposition, Parliament and Senate too, name anything [and you (establishment) managed that for him].”

    Klasra went on to reveal that the establishment even helped the premier in taking down two tweets of journalists. After this statement, anchorperson Mohammad Malick interjected and said that “allegedly two tweets were asked to bring down, let’s keep it safe .”

    “You [establishment] have managed so much for the premier and now if he has asked for something, he hasn’t asked for the moon, he only asked for six months extension of his favourite Lieutenant General (Lt Gen) Faiz Hameed’s tenure,” said Klasra.

    Klasra said that the reason for this demand of the premier wanting Lt Gen Faiz Hameed to stay as the DG ISI was for his work in Afghanistan. Adding that as per his sources, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has explained to PM Khan that “ISI is an institution, and it handles matters in Afghanistan, India, America as an institution and not on the basis of an individual. Nothing will get affected by the appointment of the new director-general. The new appointee will get the support of the institution and the situation in Afghanistan shall be handled.”

    The army has always handled regional security issues, not the prime minister, said Klasra. “In my opinion, PM Khan needed Lt Gen Faiz Hameed for his personal and political issues,” said Klasra, and Malick once again interjected and said “Allegedly”.

  • ‘Katdey’: Ghana Ali lashes out at netizen for referring to her husband as ‘saand’

    ‘Katdey’: Ghana Ali lashes out at netizen for referring to her husband as ‘saand’

    Actor Ghana Ali has clapped back at trolls for derogatory comments on her husband Umair Gulzar.

    Ghana Ali

    She recently clarified on being questioned for her pregnancy’s timeline.

    She recently garnered attention for her statement on Bilal Saeed’s latest look for his music video.

    On the work front, the Saraab star will be seen next in Gawah Rehna opposite Emaad Irfani.

    Gawah Rehna (2021)
  • Zahid Ahmed, Usman Mukhtar laud the decision of Zahir Jaffer’s indictment

    Zahid Ahmed, Usman Mukhtar laud the decision of Zahir Jaffer’s indictment

    Actors Zahid Ahmed and Usman Mukhtar has welcomed the decision of Islamabad court to indict Zahir Jaffer the prime suspect in Noor Mukadam murder case.

    The Alvida actor while sharing the news said, “Finally, words of hope for mankind.”

    Similarly, Hum Kahan Kay Sachay Thay star Usman Mukhtar shared the screenshot of the news report on his Instagram story saying, “About Time.”

    An Islamabad court yesterday indicted Zahir Jaffer, his parents and three others in Noor Mukadam murder case. In addition to Jaffer, two of the family’s employees, Jamil and Jan Mohammad, as well as the CEO of Therapy Works, Tahir Zahoor, have been charged.

  • Fawad Chaudhry says PM Khan will meet all candidates for DG ISI slot

    Fawad Chaudhry says PM Khan will meet all candidates for DG ISI slot

    Following the emergency meeting of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) parliamentary group at Parliament House yesterday, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told the media that the notification regarding the appointment of new director-general (DG) Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency would be issued in two to three days, reports Dawn.

    Fawad denied that the premier would take interviews of the potential candidates but said: “Prime Minister Imran Khan will just meet all candidates (for the slot of DG ISI)”.

    No such interviews have been taken in the past by any prime minister. Rather the official who is selected as head of the ISI pays a goodwill visit to the prime minister after his appointment.

    However, during the parliamentary meeting, PM Khan assured the party leaders that the issue of the appointment of the new ISI chief has been amicably settled by him and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and that the government will complete its five-year term.

    Prior to the party meeting, Fawad Chaudhry while talking to reporters at Parliament House, said, “Everyone, at the turn of every hour, is trying to twist the matter to gain some popularity.”

  • Petrol prices likely to increase by Rs5.90 per litre

    The Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) has sent a summary to Prime Minister Imran Khan for the approval to increase the price of petrol by Rs5.90 per litre, Geo News has reported. The petrol prices are likely to be increased on October 16, 2021 as per sources of Geo News.

    If approved, The petrol prices can reach up to Rs133.2. In addition, Ogra has recommenced an increase in high-speed diesel price by Rs10.

    In early October, the government had increased the price of petrol by Rs4 per litre taking its price to a record level of Rs127.30 per litre.

  • Pakistani cricketers wish Babar Azam on his birthday

    Pakistani cricketers wish Babar Azam on his birthday

    Pakistani cricketers and cricketing fraternity wished the captain of Pakistan cricket team, Babar Azam, on his birthday.

    Taking to Twitter, Safaraz wrote: “Happy birthday bobby. Celebrating another year of your life with health and happiness. I hope your birthday is a great occasion and I wish you all the very best! You’re a shining star ! Keep making Pakistan proud brother Be strong like your cover drive and on drive.”

    While pacers Hassan Ali and Haris Rauf — among others — wished the captain on social media.

    Born in Lahore and a first cousin of the Akmal brothers, Azam made his way up through age-group cricket. His journey began at an under-15 world championship in 2008 and he played two under-19 World Cups in 2010 and 2012, where he was Pakistan’s top run-scorer.

    He is currently in the 10th position in the list of highest run-getters in men’s T20 internationals, having scored 2,204 runs in 56 innings at an average of 46.89. While he is the number two Twenty20 batsman worldwide as of September 2021 with 819 points.

    Meanwhile, the Pakistan cricket team has left for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to participate in the T20 World Cup.

    Taking to Twitter, Babar wrote: “Off to UAE. Your support means more than anything. Stand by your team. Keep supporting. Keep praying. Keep believing. #PakistanZindabad.”

  • IT ministry notifies amended social media rules framed under Peca

    IT ministry notifies amended social media rules framed under Peca

    The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication on Thursday notified the amended social media rules that stakeholders and digital rights activists have strongly criticised, reports Javed Hussain for Dawn.

    The rules titled the “Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content (Procedure, Oversight, and Safeguards) Rules, 2021”, have been framed under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca), 2016.

    The rules are as follows:

    Social media companies will have to register with Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) within three months.

    Social media outlets will be required to establish an office in Pakistan “as and when feasible” — instead of nine months as required previously.

    PTA will give 48 hours, instead of 24 hours previously, to a social media company for removing or blocking access to online content.

    Meanwhile, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan recently formed the National Social Media Coordination Working Group (NSMCWG).

    The premier constituted NSMCWG to work on relevant policies related to Social Media, provide input to the government of Pakistan on social media-related issues, and engage with international social media companies in a coherent and coordinated manner.

    Dr Arslan Khalid, focal person to PM on Digital Media, who is also the spokesperson of NSMCWG, said, “Social media is one subject which is being dealt with by many ministries and departments. It was observed that there was weak coordination between the government stakeholders resulting in delays and confusion over some policy matters. This working group will bring all the relevant stakeholders on one platform which will help in better result-oriented engagement with the social media companies.”

    The Working Group consists of Ministry of Information &Technology as the Lead ministry, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Ministry of Law & Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Digital Media (Spokesperson), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and Digital Media Wing as permanent members while Chair of NSMWG can include any other ministry/department or Think Tank as a Co-opted member as and when required.

  • Fawad Khan flaunts his cooking skills in Hunza

    Fawad Khan flaunts his cooking skills in Hunza

    Actor Fawad Khan is currently on a work trip to Hunza with family and collegues. During his trip the Humsafar actor took out time to flaunt his cooking skills.

    In a recent viral picture the actor can be seen cooking in a local restaurant, along with makeup artist Adnan Ansari.

    On the work front, Fawad will be seen next in Neelofar opposite Mahira Khan in Neelofar.

    In pictures: Behind the scenes of Fawad, Mahira-starrer 'Neelofar'
  • Prime suspect in Gojra motorway gang-rape taken into custody

    Prime suspect in Gojra motorway gang-rape taken into custody

    The prime suspect in the gang-rape case of an 18-year-old woman on the M-4 motorway in Gojra has been arrested, reported Geo News.

    According to the Punjab Police, the main suspect is under interrogation, while a search is underway to find the other suspects.

    Moreover, the police have confirmed that the rape survivor underwent medical examination and a DNA sample is being taken, adding that the action has been initiated to arrest the other suspects.

    The suspects lured the young woman from Toba Tek Singh on the pretext of offering her a job.

    In the First Information Report (FIR), the survivor’s paternal aunt said that her 18-year-old niece received a message on her mobile phone for a job interview in Gojra.

    Her aunt said that upon reaching the place, the suspects put the survivor into a car, raped her on the motorway, and fled after throwing her at the Faisalabad Interchange.