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  • Malala’s picture in Punjab textbook causes uproar

    The Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB) confiscated an Oxford University Press (OUP) social studies book for grade 7 on Monday for including Malala Yousufzai’s picture alongside that of 1965 war hero Maj Aziz Bhatti Shaheed in a list of significant personalities, Dawn News has reported.

    Malala’s picture was published on page 33 of the book among other personalities, which includes, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, national poet Allama Iqbal, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Liaqat Ali Khan, legendary philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, Begum Raana Liaquat Ali Khan, Nishan-e-Haider recipient Major Aziz Bhatti Shaheed.

    The book has already been distributed in various educational institutes across Pakistan.

    As per Dawn News’ sources, police and other agencies were conducting raids on shops across the city late at night to confiscate copies of the book for publishing Malala’s picture besides that of Aziz Bhatti.

    A team of officials conducted a raid at OUP office located in Gulberg, Lahore, and confiscated the entire stock of the book that had Malala’s picture in it, giving the reason that the book had not been issued a No-Objection Certificate (NOC).

    One of the publishers, while talking to Dawn, said, “The Oxford University Press has published the book despite not being issued the NOC.”

    https://twitter.com/arshdchaudhary/status/1414586420233134083?s=21

  • Afghan Taliban want China’s friendship, say will not interfere in Chinese affairs

    After seizing about one-third of Afghanistan’s districts, the Taliban this week swept through the northeastern Badakhshan province, reaching the mountainous border with China’s Xinjiang region, reports The Wall Street Journal.

    These days, the Taliban go out of their way to ease China’s concerns, eager to secure Beijing’s acquiescence to their rule.

    “The Taliban want to show China goodwill,” said Qian Feng, head of research at the National Strategy Institute of Tsinghua University in Beijing. “They hope that China can play a more important role, especially after America pulls out its troops.”

    With the American military withdrawal nearly complete, China is also becoming increasingly powerful in the Central Asian states that border Afghanistan to the north.

    “We care about the oppression of Muslims, be it in Palestine, in Myanmar, or in China, and we care about the oppression of non-Muslims anywhere in the world. But what we are not going to do is interfere in China’s internal affairs,” said a senior Taliban official in Doha, Qatar.

    Another official, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen, pointed out that the Islamist group pledged in the February 2020 Doha deal with Washington to not let the country’s territory be used against other nations and to not accept any refugees or exiles outside the framework of international migration law.

    “We will not allow anyone whether it is an individual or an entity — to use the soil of Afghanistan against the United States, its allies, or any other country, and that includes China,” Shaheen said.

    While caring about the plight of the Uyghurs of Xinjiang, the Taliban will seek to help their fellow Muslims through political dialogue with Beijing, he added. “We do not know the details. But if we have the details, we will show our concern,” he said. “If there are some problems with the Muslims, of course, we will talk with the Chinese government.”

  • Indians demand boycott of Farhan Akhtar’s ‘Toofaan’ for glorifying Muslim-Hindu marriage

    Indians demand boycott of Farhan Akhtar’s ‘Toofaan’ for glorifying Muslim-Hindu marriage

    Indians have a problem with the interfaith marriage being shown in the film between the lead characters, played by Farhan Akhtar and Mrunal Thakur reportedly in an upcoming movie sports filmToofaan.

    Toofaan trended on Twitter on Sunday in India as netizens rallied behind the call of a mass snub of the film. Those asking for its boycott have accused the makers of the film of promoting ‘love jihad’ in the film as it features a Hindu girl-Muslim boy love angle.

    Here are some of the tweets of the netizens in India:

    https://twitter.com/Bitan_Pandey/status/1413684430774804480?s=20
    https://twitter.com/iSengarAjayy/status/1413697118762520577?s=20
    https://twitter.com/WIcZ2DNiKjnOQeT/status/1413750417528295425?s=20
    https://twitter.com/beingarun28/status/1413744793088270348?s=20
    https://twitter.com/Honey4SSR/status/1413711176450547714?s=20

    The film release on an Amazon Prime.

  • Video: Falak Shabir showcases Sarah Khan’s luxurious personal wardrobe

    Video: Falak Shabir showcases Sarah Khan’s luxurious personal wardrobe

    Singer Falak Shabir took to his Instagram stories to give his fans a peek of his and Sarah’s wardrobe before his musical show.

    Falak and Sarah are excited to celebrate their first wedding anniversary on July 16th. The duo intends to make their fans a part of their celebration and they have a surprise planned for them on the occasion of their marriage anniversary.

    The Sabaat diva shared a video on her Instagram in which Falak announces a surprise for their fans which will be revealed on their anniversary.

    On the work front, Sarah will be seen next in Laapata opposite Ali Rehman Khan and Ayeza Khan.

  • Pet dogs that attacked Karachi lawyer euthanised

    Pet dogs that attacked Karachi lawyer euthanised

    The two pet dogs that attacked a Karachi lawyer have been euthanised as per the conditions of the compromise agreement reached between the dogs’ owner and the victim, confirmed the police.

    As per reports, the dogs were euthanised at a veterinary clinic. The owner of the dogs informed the police about it.

    Last month, two pet dogs attacked and injured a resident of Defence Housing Authority (DHA) in Karachi.

    The video that did rounds on social media showed the two dogs rushed towards the resident and injured him. The pet-sitter at first tried to pull off the dogs from the man but upon seeing the dogs out of control, he ran away from the scene leaving the victim to defend himself.

    The victim, Mirza Akhtar Ali, later registered a complaint with Darakshan Police Station. However, an agreement was reached between the Mirza Akhtar Ali, and the dogs’ owner, Humayun Ali Khan, on July 6.

    “The two dogs involved in the incident will be euthanised/put down by a veterinarian immediately. Any other such dogs that Humayun Khan has, he shall give them away,” stated one of the conditions of the agreement.

    The other conditions of the agreement are:

    • Humayun Khan tenders unconditional apology to Mirza Akhtar Ali for the hurt and injury caused to him.

    • Humayun Khan and family shall not keep at their home any dangerous or ferocious dogs as pets. Any other dogs kept as pets shall be registered with the Clifton Cantonment Board and shall not venture out on the streets without a properly trained handler and shall be muzzled and leashed at all times they are outside.

    • Humayun Khan shall make a donation of Rs1,000,000 to the Ayesha Chundrigar Foundation — ACF Animal Rescue.

    While Ayesha Chundrigar Foundation (ACF) has refused to take the donations

  • Ramiz Raja, Shoaib Akhtar lash out at Pakistan’s performance after another loss to England

    Ramiz Raja, Shoaib Akhtar lash out at Pakistan’s performance after another loss to England

    The Pakistan cricket team lost the second One-Day International (ODI) to a ‘second string’ England team. It has sent shockwaves across the cricketing world. Shoaib Akhtar and Ramiz Raja lashed out at the selectors after the loss.

    After a decent bowling performance, Pakistan still lost the second ODI against England by 47 runs. With this loss, Pakistan has also lost the three-match ODI series.

    Former players like Akhtar and Raja have come out in the open to express their disappointment with the team.

    After three players and four management team members from England’s ODI squad contracted coronavirus, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced a completely new team to play ODI and T20I series against Pakistan. Nine out of the 18 team members are uncapped players, which means that they have never played an international game before. Thus, it was being speculated that Pakistan might have a good chance to win the series with newer players in the England team.

    The English youngsters have turned that speculation around by winning the first two ODIs with ease. Now a single ODI and a three-match T20I series remain for Pakistan to salvage something from the tour.

    “So on a Richter scale, this defeat would be 15,” wrote the former captain while sharing his thoughts on Twitter.

    England scored 247 runs in the first innings in the second ODI but the batsmen could not stand the bowling from English pacers. Raja said he was shocked to see Pakistan go on the way they did.

    “If you map this series defeat on the Richter scale, the value of shock will clock fifteen. It’s a massive blow and I don’t understand how one can defend it. It’s England’s No.2 team, in terms of talent,” Raja said in his latest YouTube video.

    “We are talking about a glorified county team that has beaten Pakistan. People underestimated them and hoped for an ODI series whitewash in England. But look how the tables have turned that now Pakistan are under the threat of a whitewash,” he continued.

    On the other hand, Shoaib said that Pakistan’s team is a T20I side and they play accordingly. “No one enjoys criticising anyone. But tell me, which kid will start playing cricket after watching this team? The PCB’s plan is that no one should watch or follow cricket and they don’t have to spend anything,” Akhtar explained. “What was there in the wicket, first tell me that. Pakistan is only a T20 team. They play like T20 and get out like that. They lose five wickets in twenty overs. In T20s also, they score 150-175 and exactly the same in ODIs.”

    While talking to Geo News, the former speedster said that at present, there is not a single player in the Pakistan team whom the spectators came to the stadium by spending money to watch.

    “Cricket is not just about sixes and fours, batsmen should also take singles. Except for Hassan Ali, no bowler knows how to take a wicket, looking at the Pakistan team, it looks like a club-level team is playing a match,” said Akhtar.

    Meanwhile, today Babar Azam-led Pakistan will face the Ben Stokes-captained team England at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham for the third and final ODI of the series.

  • Gujranwala bride goes to hospital to marry ‘wounded groom’

    Gujranwala bride goes to hospital to marry ‘wounded groom’

    A bride in Gujranwala went to a hospital to marry the man who got injured in a traffic accident one day before the wedding ceremony.

    As per reports, Rizwan, a resident of Dhaunkal town of Punjab’s Gujranwala district, and Maria planned to tie the knot on July 9 but unfortunately, the groom met with a road accident and got his leg fractured on July 8.

    The couple did not postpone the wedding as the bride went to the private hospital in a traditional dress along with her family where the nikah was held after getting permission from the hospital’s administration.

    Read More: Groom carries bride on shoulders across a flooded river

    The video of the ceremony went viral on social media that showed the bride sitting near a table while the groom was sitting at the hospital’s bed with his mother. After the nikkah, the newly-wed couple posed for the photoshoot inside the hospital.

    Rizwan and Maria became friends via Facebook five years ago and he came to Pakistan from Italy to marry her.

  • Eid ul Azha: Only vaccinated individuals to be allowed to visit tourist resorts

    Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Services, Dr Faisal Sultan, on Monday said that only vaccinated people will be allowed to visit tourist resorts during the Eid holidays from July 20 till July 22.

    People can travel once they are fully vaccinated. Dr Sultan stressed that it is necessary to have a vaccination certificate to travel during the Eid holidays.

    While talking to the media, he appealed to all citizens to follow Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and to get vaccinated.

    Dr Sultan said that in the last few days, the positivity rate of Pakistan’s Covid-19 cases has jumped from two percent to four percent. The main cause of this surge is violation of SOPs, and the Delta Variant.

    Dr Sultan also said that the government may seek help from the army to implement SOPs, as per sources.

    According to the latest statistics by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), 47,015 tests for coronavirus were conducted across the country in the last 24 hours, of which 1,808 people tested positive.

  • Another Indian superstar becomes a fan of ‘Mere Paas Tum Ho’

    Another Indian superstar becomes a fan of ‘Mere Paas Tum Ho’

    Mere Paas Tum Ho is the highest rated drama of recent years in Pakistan. The drama was headlined by four primary characters essayed by Humayun Saeed, Adnan Siddiqui, Ayeza Khan and Hira Mani.

    Indian Punjabi superstar Ammy Virk, who’s making his Bollywood debut with the Ranveer Singh-Deepika Padukone starrer 83, took to his Instagram stories to express his love for the drama and its OST. He tagged the cast members and the writer of the drama in his story.

    Amitabh Bachchan - Movies, Biography, News, Age & Photos | BookMyShow

    While talking to BBC Urdu Amitabh Bachchan shared how he felt about Pakistani dramas and also about Pakistani actors and singers coming to India to work. He said, ”I like it when people from Pakistan come to work in India. We have seen the work done in Pakistan. The drama serials that are shown on Pakistani television are exceptional. A channel in India is dedicated to showing Pakistani drama serials which are very fine and I accept the fact that Pakistani TV serials are far superior to those which are being made in India. The artist in Pakistan are brilliant too. Even very long ago many Pakistani serials were extraordinary”.

    Priyanka Chopra cousin Meera is no less than anyone in terms of style - Kalam Times

    Bollywood Actress Meera Chopra, who is a cousin of Priyanka Chopra and Parineeti Chopra praised Mere Paas Tum Ho. The actress was massively impressed by Humayun and Adnan Siddiqui’s performance in the drama. She turned to her social media handle and wrote, “Watching Meray Pass Tum Ho, finding the show extremely slow. But both these men Humayun Saeed and Adnan Siddiqui, you guys are amazing. Can’t help to hate one and love the other, what performances. I’ve become fan for life.”

  • Yumna Zaidi and Azaan Sami Khan shine in the first look of ‘Ishq-e-Laa’

    Yumna Zaidi and Azaan Sami Khan shine in the first look of ‘Ishq-e-Laa’

    Riding high on the success of his last venture, Dushman E Jaan, director Amin Iqbal has managed to pull off a casting coup by getting on-board a stellar cast in his upcoming biggie. Powerhouse performers Sajal and Yumna are the leading ladies of this ambitious project, penned by the veteran writer, Qaisera Hayat of Alif Allah Aur Insaan fame. It features debutant Azaan as the leading hero, along with Adnan Samad Khan of Ehd-e-Wafa fame.

    Yumna Zaidi has shared an exclusive first look of her character along with Azaan’s character from the much awaited drama.

    Their co-star Sajal posted hearts on both their posts showing her team spirit.

    The shooting is going on full swing and the drama is expected to release later this year.