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  • ‘Tandav’ makers issue ‘unconditional apology’ after series sparks outrage

    ‘Tandav’ makers issue ‘unconditional apology’ after series sparks outrage

    The cast and crew of Amazon Prime show Tandav have offered an “unconditional apology” after the political drama was accused of hurting Hindu sentiments. The official apology was tweeted by the creator of the show Ali Abbas Zafar.

    “Our sincere apologies,” read the statement. “We have been closely monitoring viewer reactions to the web series Tandav and today during a discussion, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has informed us regarding a large number of grievances and petitions received on various facets of the web series with serious concerns and apprehensions regarding its content hurting the sentiments of the people.”

    “Tandav is a work of fiction and any resemblance to acts and persons and events is purely coincidental. The cast and crew did not have any intention to offend the sentiments of any individual, caste, community, race, religion, or religious beliefs or insult or outrage any institution, political party, or person, living or dead.”

    “The cast and crew of Tandav take cognizance of the concerns expressed by the people and unconditionally apologise if it has unintentionally hurt anybody’s sentiments,” it added.

    In a follow-up tweet, Zafar said: “We just want to share a quick update with everybody. We are in further engagement with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to resolve concerns that have been raised.”

    He added that they “should have a solution shortly”.

    Directed by Zafar, the political drama stars Saif Ali Khan, Sunil Grover, Dimple Kapadia, Sarah-Jane Dias, Gauahar Khan, Kritika Kamra, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, and Dino Morea in lead roles.

    Khan and the makers of Tandav have been at the receiving end of backlash and outrage after a local official from India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party registered a police complaint against Amazon Prime’s latest web series alleging it insults Hindu gods and goddesses.

    Following the outrage and backlash, Saif was given police security. A set of policemen were seen guarding his building to ensure all the safety required to the star and his family.

    Meanwhile, Kangana Ranaut has been having a field day on Twitter, lashing out at the actors and web series and demanding strict action against them.

    In a now-deleted tweet, Ranaut even said: “Because even Lord Krishna forgave 99 mistakes of Sheshupala…. pehle Shanti phir Kranti (First calm, then revolution)…. time to take their heads off.”

  • Foreign investment falls by 30%

    Foreign investment falls by 30%

    Foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 30 per cent in the first half of the current fiscal year (H1FY21), according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

    According to a report based on the data compiled by a local media outlet, Pakistan received $952 million in foreign investment during July-December FY21 compared to $1.357 billion in the corresponding period last year.

    In addition to the damage done by the pandemic, the impact of heavy outflow from the portfolio also played a key role in making the balance sheet poorer in the first half of FY21. The data shows that the outflow during July-December was $244m compared to a net inflow of $18.8m in the same period last year.

    The breakup further shows that China made 38pc contribution to the overall $952m FDI the country received in July-December period of FY21. However, the FDI inflows from China also contracted to $359m in the period under review compared to $396m in the same period of last fiscal year.

    The other significant contributions were from the United States and UK at $65m and $63m, respectively, both improved from $44m and $58m in the same period of last fiscal year. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has started disinvesting; however, in July-December FY21, the inflow was $16.3m.

    The country received the highest foreign investment of $261m in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sectors. While an inflow of $137m was noted in financial and insurance sectors.

  • Marriage teaches you how to act, says Humayun Saeed

    Marriage teaches you how to act, says Humayun Saeed

    Humayun Saeed has joked that marriage teaches you how to act.

    Speaking on Ahsan Khan’s new show, Time out with Ahsan Khan, Saeed remarked that marriage helps one with acting. The actor was invited to the show along with Fahad Mustafa. In a candid chat with Khan, the superstars shared their thoughts on marriage, producing local content, and their two cents on the rise of social media.

    When Khan asked if marriage helps to be an actor or if it has an effect on acting, Saeed laughed and said: “It does help with the acting. Since you know, we never really learned it.”

    Mustafa chimed in, saying, “You know how singers have certain pain in their voice, actors express the pain better after their marriages.”

    However, Saeed later said that he feels that an actor who has tied the knot takes his career more seriously.

    Answering the same question, Fahad said, “When I was getting married, we were doing a play together. It was his [Humayun] production, and I told him that I’m getting married and he just gave a look and didn’t say anything after that.”

    “That look was enough,” laughed Fahad.

    The actors then directed the question towards Khan and asked his thoughts on the same.

    “I think it’s fine either way. An actor can be successful with or without tying the knot,” said Khan.

    Humayun is married to Samina Humayun Saeed and the two are considered to be one of the most powerful couples in the industry. On the other hand, Fahad is married to Sana Fahad and they have two children together.

    Meanwhile, while talking about reviews and interviews, Humayun said that they have “lost their charm”.

    “Ten years ago from today, whenever we would have an interview, whenever we would have a review, it held certain importance,” said the actor. “Now, it is so easy to pay someone to write reviews, say anything we want. I don’t have an issue with this, I just think these things have lost their charm.”

  • IN PICTURES: Faysal Quraishi celebrates son’s first birthday

    Faysal Quraishi’s youngest child Farmaan Quraishi turned one on January 18, and his parents celebrated with a truck art-themed birthday. Pictures from the small and lowkey event are being widely circulated on social media.

    Check out pictures from the celebrations below:

    Earlier, Faysal had penned a heartfelt note for his son on his birthday, saying that he looks “forward to being able to see you grow up”.

    Meanwhile, take a tour of Faysal’s house in his exclusive interview with The Current.

  • Video defending Naeem Bukhari’s posting as PTV chairman comes back to bite Faraz

    Video defending Naeem Bukhari’s posting as PTV chairman comes back to bite Faraz

    Weeks-old footage of Information Minister Shibli Faraz is making rounds on Twitter, in which the minister had claimed that the appointment of then Pakistan Television (PTV) chairman Naeem Bukhari was made in line with the Supreme Court verdict.

    Faraz, who had appeared on the Hamid Mir show, had said that the appointment of Bukhari was in line with the court order. He had added that the government wouldn’t take any risks and make an appointment against the SC verdict in the Ataul Haq Qasmi case.

    But, it seems the minister was lying through his teeth. Because a fortnight after the claim, an Islamabad High Court (IHC) verdict had asked the federal cabinet to review the appointment of Bukhari because he was overaged for the post. The federal cabinet had subsequently removed him from the post.

    In the clip, Hamid Mir had asked Faraz about the appointment of the PTV chairman, alluding to the plea in the high court that had questioned the qualification of Bukhari for the post.

    At this, Faraz said that Bukhari was named as the PTV chairman after fulfilling all the requirements laid out by the top court in its judgement pertaining to the Ataul Haq Qasmi case. He also claimed that the journalist was being misled by some people who are making the appointment of Bukhari controversial.

    BUKHARI BECOMES PTV CHAIRMAN:

    In November 2020, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had notified Bukhari, who has a vast experience of doing TV programmes, as chairman of PTV. The appointment was made after a court ruling in Sept 2020 declared the appointments of PTV chairman Arshad Khan and independent members of the board of directors illegal while directing the government to fill the vacant slots in accordance with the law. 

    Bukhari, who has worked as an anchorperson and commentators on PTV for decades, had joined PTI in June 2016. At the time, he called Imran Khan the “only political leader who had the courage to speak the truth”. Bukhari also represented Imran when he went to the Supreme Court against then prime minister Nawaz Sharif following the Panama Papers leak.

    The pleas that were later admitted by the apex court which disqualified Nawaz Sharif for being “dishonest” under Article 62 (1)(f).

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had also hired the services of Bukhari as a special prosecutor to take up cases against close confidants of Sharif brothers — former Lahore Development Authority chief Ahad Cheema and former principal secretary Fawad Hassan Fawad.

  • Reema gets her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

    Reema gets her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine

    Reema Khan has received her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the US.

    Taking to Instagram, Reema shared a video of herself getting the first shot. When asked that how is she feeling, Reema replied: “I’m fine.”

    “Finally got the first COVID-19 vaccine dose,” she captioned the post.

    Earlier, the film star also shared a video in which she said that she is going to get her first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and prayed that the vaccine is available in Pakistan soon.

    “This is very important,” she said.

    In the video, she also urged her followers to get vaccinated, not only for themselves, but for their loved ones as well.

    Meanwhile, Imran Abbas lauded Reema for getting the vaccine, calling her a “pioneer”.

    Reema lives in Washington DC with her husband Dr Tariq Shahab and son Ali Shahab. Due to coronavirus lockdown, Reema and her son were stuck in Pakistan. As soon as flight operations resumed, the two flew back to the USA in August.

    According to Reuters, the first vaccine was administered in the United States in mid-December. Since then till the filing of this report, nearly 12.3 million doses have been given, out of 31.2 million doses distributed. The total includes 1.6 million people who have received both doses.

  • PTI UK member claims Buzdar govt official told him to run Twitter campaign against Aurat March, critics

    In a first, a worker of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) United Kingdom (UK) wing has stepped forward with damning allegations against a key person of the Usman Buzdar administration, Azhar Mashwani.

    In a video message, Arslan Mushtaq, who was appointed as the deputy head of PTI UK Twitter in September last year, has accused Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Buzdar’s Focal Person on Digital Media Azhar Mashwani of telling him and others to run smear campaigns against critics of the PTI government and Aurat March participants among others.

    “I lead [PTI] UK’s Twitter. What do you do there? Have you not told us to run campaigns against people such as [journalist] Amber Shamsi and [Ahmad] Waqass Goraya? Did you not use to tell me what to tweet against Aurat March participants? Did you not use to send me voice notes, telling me what message to send in which groups?” Mushtaq asked as he confronted Mashwani in the video message.

    He went on to accuse the Punjab CM’s aide of seeking retweets and help to make videos against political opponents such as Maryam Nawaz of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) go viral.

    While the announced sequel of the video message has not yet been released, the claims are doing rounds over the social media, leaving users asking if campaigns against critics were “government-approved”.

    Twitter users in Pakistan have time and again been left shocked to find that most of the top trends on the popular microblogging site included such cuss words against journalists, activists and government critics, which cannot be reproduced here.

    Recently, a hashtag calling for the arrest of journalists briefly became the top Twitter trend in Pakistan, deepening concern over a shrinking space for dissent in the country.

    Many users accompanied such tags with a composite photograph of prominent journalists and TV anchors, some of whom regularly criticise the government led by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

    Women journalists have especially been targeted time and again. Months ago, the routine had prompted a group of well-known Pakistani women journalists and commentators to seek protection against what they termed “vicious attacks” directed at them through social media, allegedly by people linked to the ruling PTI government.

    While Baloch’s claims add weight to what several targets of online trolls seem to always have believed, the same have been rubbished by those he accused.

    Speaking to The Current, Mashwani called Baloch a “pathological liar”.

    “It’s funny that a pathological liar and imposter’s statement, who was exposed by me, is being quoted against me. That too without any evidence,” he said.

    Terming the claims as “totally baseless and ridiculous”, Mashwani has also not shied away from tweeting his side of the story.

    In conversation with The Current, Mohammad Kamran, the PTI’s social media head, said that an episode transpired on Twitter Sunday night between Mashwani and UK deputy head Baloch.

    “They had a fight in private, which led to a public fight on Twitter. Some things were said that were not true. The fight was settled and they deleted their tweets but as you know, once something goes on social media, it will be questioned. An inquiry against our deputy lead Baloch has been called by Overseas head Zeeshan.”

    Kamran further said he would send the case to the disciplinary committee. “It is our internal matter that will be heard by our disciplinary committee and then any needed action will be taken against whoever is at fault,” he added.

  • ‘That’s just my face’: JLo hits back at troll accusing her of using ‘tons of Botox’

    Jennifer Lopez has fired back at a troll on Instagram who accused her of getting ‘tons of botox’.

    According to details, after Lopez, popularly known as JLo, posted a video of herself trying out the ‘limitless’ mask from her beauty brand, J Lo Beauty, an Instagram user commented on it and accused the pop diva of having “tons of Botox”.

    “But can I just mention that brows and forehead don’t move at all when you talk or try to express… you definitely have Botox. And tons of it. And it’s all good. Just saying,” commented the social media user. 

    In response, the 51-year-old star snapped back, writing: “LOL that’s just my face! For the 500 millionth time, I have never done Botox or any injectables or surgery! Just sayin’.”

    “Get you some JLo Beauty and feel beautiful in your own skin,” said Lopez further, adding: “And here is another JLo Beauty secret: try spending your time being more positive, kind, and uplifting of others. Don’t spend your time trying to bring others down that will keep you youthful and beautiful too! Sending you love.”

    Lopez had earlier also quashed rumours of getting a botox done, saying: “I haven’t ever had botox to this day. I’m not that person. I don’t have anything against people doing that; it’s just not my thing.”

    “I’m more about a natural approach to skincare…but I want [my products] to work. I want the hyaluronic acid in there. I want the things that are going to help because I don’t want to have to go to the needles at some point. I’m not saying one day I won’t, but I haven’t yet,” she added.

    Read more – Getting wet is the new viral trend in photoshoots

    For the unacquainted, Jennifer launched her skincare company JLo Beauty on January 1 after three years of development. The brand offers a range of anti-aging products.

    Meanwhile, Lopez is all set to perform at Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ inauguration on January 20. She will be joined by Lady Gaga singing the national anthem as Biden and Harris are sworn in on the West Front of the US Capitol.

  • Minister says Bilawal may have received NRO, but not from PTI

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Ali Muhammad Khan has claimed that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is not taking part in the protest outside the Election Commission of Pakistan because he may have been given an NRO [National Reconciliation Ordinance].

    The PTI minister, who appeared on Nadeem Malik’s show alongside PPP’s Qamaruz Zaman Kaira, said the PPP chairperson is avoiding the opposition rally because he may have reached a deal over the corruption cases against him. He, however, went on to say that the incumbent government doesn’t believe in making deals with corrupt politicians.

    The PTI minister, however, refused to confirm if Bilawal and his father have actually been given a clean chit in the graft cases against them: “Maybe they have received the NRO, I have no idea.”

    However, Ali Muhammad Khan claimed that his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has never received or given an NRO.

    This prompted the host to ask if the PTI has refused to give NRO to anyone, then who has given Bilawal this alleged NRO to dissuade him from joining the opposition protest. “Is there a government above the PTI government,” he asked.

    The host asked: “Has Bilawal been given an NRO?”

    “I don’t know,” said Ali Muhammad Khan. “We don’t give NRO,” he said, adding that the PPP and PML-N’s politics is based on NROs.

    Taking a dig at the PTI leader, Kaira said that on the one hand the minister says “his party doesn’t give NROs, and, on the other, he claims that Bilawal has received an NRO which is why he is not a part of the opposition protest; who is dishing out these NROs then — is there a government above the government?”

    He said the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) is protesting outside the ECP for the very same reason — an end to the government above the government.

    PROTEST OUTSIDE ECP:

    Tensions are running high in the twin cities, especially the federal capital, as the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) remains undeterred on plans to hold a protest outside the office of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against the delay in the decision of ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) foreign funding case.

    With security around the ECP being tightened to avoid any untoward incident, Geo News reported that the federal government has deployed two platoons of Punjab Rangers along with police personnel and sealed the election watchdog’s main entrance with barbed wires.

  • Hira Mani is now an ‘official singer’

    Hira Mani has said that she is now an “official singer”.

    Sharing a picture of herself from her new song Saawari, Mani wrote: “Official singer”.

    She then thanked all her fans and followers for making it possible.

    “Please keep loving me like you do,” said Hira.

    The Mere Pass Tum ho actor is very fond of music and has often shared videos of herself singing on her Instagram handle.