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  • Arabic teaching compulsory in Islamabad schools after Senate okays bill

    Arabic teaching compulsory in Islamabad schools after Senate okays bill

    All primary and secondary schools in Islamabad are required to introduce the Arabic language as a compulsory subject after the Senate approved the Compulsory Teaching of the Arabic Language Bill 2020 on Monday.

    The bill presented by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senator Javed Abbasi was endorsed by all members of the upper house, except Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani who wrote a dissenting note. The bill will be implemented within six months.

    As per the bill, Arabic will be taught in schools in Islamabad from grades 1-5, while Arabic grammar will be taught in grades 6-12.

    Senator Abbasi said Arabia is “the fifth most spoken language in the world”, adding that it would also open up more job opportunities for Pakistanis in the Middle East. According to the senator, the Holy Quran is in Arabic and “we would not go through the problems we are currently facing had we understood the Holy Quran”.

    Parliamentary Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Ali Muhammad Khan also agreed with Abbasi. He said the bill was in line with Article 31 of the Constitution that says: “Measures should be taken to spend our lives according to the Holy Quran and Sunnah.”

    According to Khan, learning Arabic was crucial to “become a good Muslim […] and understand God’s message”.

    However, PPP’s Rabbani said that legislation to make Arabic a mandatory language in schools was an attempt to “use Islamic for political purposes”. He further termed this an attempt to erase the diversity of Pakistan by imposing the foreign Arabic culture.

    “The Arab culture is not mine, [the] Indus Valley [Civilisation] is my culture,” he said, adding the Arabic language has nothing to do with Islam or Quran beyond being the language it was revealed in.

    In a response to The Current’s story on Instagram, PPP Senator Sherry Rehman said that contrary to the media reports, the PPP opposed the said bill.

  • Exercise instructor unintentionally captures Myanmar coup in workout video

    Exercise instructor unintentionally captures Myanmar coup in workout video

    An aerobics instructor filming her exercise routine in front of Myanmar’s parliament has gone viral on social media after it unintentionally captured the first moments of a dramatic coup in the background.

    The video recorded in capital Naypyidaw shows a woman, reportedly named Khing Hnin Wai, do her workout as black SUVs drive up to a security checkpoint on the road leading to the Assembly of the Union complex behind her.

    As the upbeat song she is dancing to builds tempo, the convoy swells in sync with the music. As per details, the dancer is oblivious to what is happening behind her.

    According to The Guardian, Wai on Tuesday early morning clarified that video was real and that she had filmed many videos in the location before.

    She has been filming dance videos outside the assembly for 11 months, said Wai.

    Meanwhile, social media cannot get enough of the video and has been cracking jokes on it ever since it surfaced. The original clip shared on Twitter has received more than 12 million views till the filing of this story.

    https://twitter.com/RexChapman/status/1356461428522237955?s=20
    https://twitter.com/CT_Bergstrom/status/1356359909525188608?s=20
    https://twitter.com/donmoyn/status/1356333329147113473?s=20

    People are also debating if the video is fake or real.

  • ‘Get vaccinated at your own risk,’ Punjab health minister tells people

    ‘Get vaccinated at your own risk,’ Punjab health minister tells people

    As Pakistan is all set to kick off its vaccination campaign, Punjab Health Minister Yasmin Rashid has implied that the government won’t be responsible for the potential adverse effects of the coronavirus vaccines.

    According to The News, due to the reported side effects of the vaccines, the minister told people to get the vaccine at their own risk. “We will make the public aware of the side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine,” she added while addressing a press conference in Lahore.

    “Although research on corona is still going on all around the world, news of deaths of some COVID-19 vaccine recipients in certain parts of the world is disturbing,” she was quoted by the news outlet as saying.

    The minister said that the vaccination campaign in Punjab will start tomorrow. “We have been conveyed by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) that all chief ministers shall simultaneously inaugurate a vaccination drive in their respective provinces,” she added.

    At least 11 people lost lives due to coronavirus while over 400 tested positive on Monday, the minister said, adding that there was lockdown in 18 areas in Lahore. Some areas in Gujranwala, Gujrat and other cities were also under lockdown and movement of 5,634 people was restricted, she disclosed.

  • MQM founder Altaf Hussain in ICU due to COVID

    MQM founder Altaf Hussain in ICU due to COVID

    Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain has been under treatment for nearly three weeks in Britain due to coronavirus.

    Altaf urged his followers to continue praying for him, saying he would speak to them again after recovering.

    “May Allah protect everyone from this disease, COVID-19,” he was quoted by a news media outlet as saying. The MQM founder also appealed to listeners to “take precautions and help each other” in the times of a pandemic.

    On Jan 23, the MQM from its official Twitter handle tweeted: “MQM founder leader Mr Altaf Hussain got ill. After the check-up, the doctor advised him to rest and suspend his political activities.”

    Britain has had one of the world’s highest Covid-19 mortality rates and has recorded more than 106,000 deaths — the worst toll in Europe. The country is currently under a third national lockdown as it battles new strains of the coronavirus.

    On October 10, Hussain was charged by the UK’s Crown Prosecution Services with the terrorism offence in a case related to his incendiary speech relayed from the UK to his followers in Pakistan in 2016.

    After the speech, a crackdown was launched against the MQM and the government sealed its headquarter, Nine Zero, in Karachi. Later, MQM leaders in Pakistan also distanced themselves from him and removed his name from the party constitution, resulting in the formation of MQM-Pakistan.

  • President Alvi shares his list of 10 must-read books

    President Alvi shares his list of 10 must-read books

    After Prime Minister Imran Khan’s monthly book recommendations, President Dr Arif Alvi has shared a list of his favourite books.

    Read more – Duchess of Cornwall shares a list of her favourite books

    In a 14-minute-long video shot inside President House’s library, President Alvi listed his top must-read books and encouraged the youth to read them.

    “I want the interest of book reading to stay alive in Pakistan,” says President Alvi in the video.

    Check out President Alvi’s recommendations below:

    1. Revelation: The Story of Muhammad (Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him) by Meraj Mohiuddin

    2. Capital & Ideology by Thomas Piketty

    3. The Anarchy by William Dalrymple

    4. Upheaval (How Nations Cope with Crisis and Change) by Jared Diamond

    5. Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson

    6. The Metric Society by Steffen Mau

    7. The Big Picture by Sean Carroll

    8. Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark

    9. Superintelligence by Nick Bostrom

    10. The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolf Dobelli

    Later, President Alvi’s son Awab Alvi shared that the president makes a conscious effort to include reading in his daily routine.

  • ‘All in the details’: Bakhtawar shares closeup of mehndi outfit

    ‘All in the details’: Bakhtawar shares closeup of mehndi outfit

    Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari and Mahmood Choudhry’s wedding extravaganza over the weekend is all anyone can talk about. The two tied the knot in an intimate nikkah ceremony on January 29 with a wedding reception the next day. Pictures and details from the wedding festivities are limited considering there was a no cellphone policy at the event and guests were also limited because of COVID-19 SOPs.

    However, while thanking everyone for their prayers and wishes, the bride promised that the couple “will be sharing [their] joy” with their wellwishers through the moments captured.

    Staying true to their word, Bakhtawar and Mahmood shared pictures of themselves from their mehndi night on social media. While the groom donned a cream shalwar kameez with a shawl for the occasion, the bride glowed in a red and green outfit by Zara Shahjahan. Bakhtawar also shared a closeup of her outfit to show the details which included a tribute to her late mother Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto.

    The dupatta was embroidered with the poem, ‘Woh ladki laal qalandar’ and Bakhtawar also held a pouch an embroidered portrait of Benazir on it.

    Speaking to a local media outlet, the designer shared that the “lehnga had patchworks of Sindhi embroidery and mirrors” on it. She further revealed that the embellishments on the shirt “were worked with flowers and at the centre of every flower, we embroidered Bakhtawar and Mahmood’s names.”

    “It was all done very minutely which is why it isn’t easily visible in the photographs,” she added.

    The couple had earlier also shared glimpses of their nikkah ceremony.

    Mahmood also shared a picture of himself tying his own turban saying: “Gentlemen always tie your own pugree.”

    Meanwhile, check out pictures from the reception below:

    UAE Minister for Culture Sheikh Nahayan bin Mubarak Al Nahayan also flew to Pakistan to attend the reception.

    Bakhtawar and Mahmood got engaged in an intimate ceremony in November 2020 at Bilawal House. Bilawal was unable to attend the event since he had tested positive for coronavirus at that time and was in quarantine.

  • Sarfaraz Ahmed celebrates son’s birthday with fellow cricketers

    Sarfaraz Ahmed celebrates son’s birthday with fellow cricketers

    Imagine being four years old and having some of Pakistan’s best cricket players celebrate your birthday?

    Sarfaraz Ahmed’s son Abdullah Sarfaraz got just that as Babar Azam, Hassan Ali, Yasir Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Muhammad Rizwan, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Faheem Ashraf and Azhar Ali all came to celebrate his birthday at the Movenpick Hotel in Karachi.

    Sharing pictures from the celebrations, Ahmed thanked everyone for coming and making Abdullah’s day.

    The excited father also shared a video of the celebrations on social media.

    https://twitter.com/SarfarazA_54/status/1355597546828169217?s=20
  • Senior journalist accuses close aide of PM of disrupting Pak-Qatar ties; Twitter is guessing who…

    Senior journalist accuses close aide of PM of disrupting Pak-Qatar ties; Twitter is guessing who…

    Senior journalist Arif Hameed Bhatti has accused a close aide of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan of disrupting Pakistan-Qatar business ties.

    Speaking during a talk show on Saturday, Bhatti claimed that a cabinet member, who is also an advisor of the premier, visited Qatar and snubbed the government by asking to start personal business ties.

    He went on to claim that the issue was also discussed in the recently-held cabinet meeting.

    When the host of the current affairs programme, Paras Jahanzaib, asked Bhatti to name the advisor who visited Qatar and told the authorities to end business ties with the Pakistan government, Hameed seemed reluctant to answer, but Twitterati have not been holding back their guesses.

    What do they owe their guesses to? Well, this clip from the show…

    WATCH VIDEO:

    What do you think of the claims? Let The Current know in the comments below…

  • Shoaib Malik gets a cheeky birthday wish from Sania Mirza

    Sania Mirza has penned a cheeky wish for husband Shoaib Malik on his 39th birthday.

    Sharing a picture of herself and Shoaib from her birthday celebrations in Karachi, Sania wrote: “Happy birthday to this guy who I can’t live with or without.”

    “May you have the best year, month and day with lots of love, laughter and success,” she continued. “I will tell you all this when you are back from practice in person but as they say – is it really a birthday wish if it hasn’t been done on the gram?”

    Besides Mirza, ICC, PCB, colleagues and fans also extended their wishes to Malik on his birthday.

    Read more – Shoaib Malik becomes the first Pakistani to play international cricket over four decades

    https://twitter.com/alisanalysis/status/1356137251621756931?s=19
    https://twitter.com/majabar37/status/1356119409039958019?s=19
  • IN PICTURES: Nida Yasir’s star-studded birthday

    IN PICTURES: Nida Yasir’s star-studded birthday

    Queen of morning shows Nida Yasir celebrated her birthday on a bright Sunday afternoon at The Forest in Karachi.

    All of Nida and husband Yasir Nawaz’s friends including Bushra Ansari, Javed Sheikh, Zeba Bakhtiar, Humayun Saeed, Adnan Siddiqui, Iqra Aziz, Yasir Hussain and Faysal Quraishi were present on the occasion.

    Check out pictures and videos from the star-studded party below:

    The birthday girl also shared a short video of her birthday highlights on social media the next day.

    Meanwhile, this year Nida is all set to make her debut as a film producer with Chakkar.