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  • Gen Bajwa to Opp and COVID-19: A 2020 recap

    Gen Bajwa to Opp and COVID-19: A 2020 recap

    A rather tough year has came to an end, surprisingly, in the blink of an eye.

    But while it negates the belief that hard times pass slow, here are all the major updates that added to the very happening COVID-19-infected year as most of the world stayed indoors.

    Extension for Gen Bajwa

    After some drama following earlier reservations, the Supreme Court (SC) on November 28, 2019 approved a short 6-month extension in General Bajwa’s term as the chief of army staff.

    Subsequently, on January 7, 2020, the National Assembly passed three bills concerning the tenure of the three services chiefs — chief of army staff, chief of air staff and chief of naval staff — and the chairman of the joint chief of staff committee.

    Gen Bajwa was granted extension up to three years till November 29, 2022.

    Surprisingly though, the two major opposition parties — PML-N and PPP — were on board for the changes which was why the bills faced no resistance even in the opposition-dominated Senate.

    Smooth sailing of the Army Act was also what prompted Federal Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda to bring with him an army boot to a live talkshow.

    Coronavirus

    After wreaking havoc in China and beginning to do the same in Europe as well as the worst-hit US, the first case of COVID-19 was reported from Karachi on February 26, 2020. Hundreds of thousands of infections and several deaths were reported.

    Prominent figures were also on the list of COVID-19 patients.

    Amid spotless management and timely closures as well as public behaviour in line with coronavirus SOPs, Pakistan managed to contain the outbreak as soon as the first wave peaked in July-August.

    A second wave is, however, currently underway since after the reopening of businesses and educational institutions besides other businesses.

    While Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s smart lockdowns stay in place to deal with the pandemic but not at the cost of livelihoods, it is too early to predict what 2021 would hold for Pakistan with vaccines rolling out but also the discovery of a new strand of the virus.

    PIA Crash

    A plane crash killed 97 people on May 22, which was said to be a result of human error by the pilot and air traffic control.

    Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan said the pilots of the Karachi-bound PK8308 flight of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) from Lahore were distracted while talking about coronavirus.

    The passenger plane came down on houses in Karachi with only two survivors. Subsequent investigations into the licenses of Pakistani pilots led to the grounding of hundreds across the globe and the imposition of a temporary ban on PIA flights to Europe and the United States (US).

    Karachi Rains

    Around 30 to 40 people lost their lives in various rain-related incidents in the port city lacking monsoon infrastructure.

    While blame games continued as authorities hesitated to take responsibility for the misery of people of the country’s largest city, the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) said it wanted all stakeholders to contribute to ameliorating the situation instead of politicising a “pure natural disaster”.

    The situation was improved after the intervention of the federal government and a military-aided rescue operation.

    Opposition Alliance

    The year also witnessed a rather common sight in Pakistan when opposition parties put their differences aside in an attempt to oust the PTI government.

    After a round of meetings, almost all opposition parties, including PPP, PML-N, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl), Awami National Party, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Balochistan National Party among others, launched a series of countrywide protests.

    While the highlight of the protests remained Nawaz Sharif’s fiery speeches and Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari’s entry into politics, no leader seemed to be going easy on the government.

    The foremost demand of the 11-party alliance, named Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), is the resignation of “selected” Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan. It has threatened to march to Islamabad if the premier doesn’t resign before midnight on December 31 (today).

    While the opposition seems satisfied with its anti-government campaign, the government is confident of cracks emerging within PDM ranks before it could pose an actual threat.

    Khadim Rizvi’s Death

    Renowned cleric and Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Khadim Hussain Rizvi passed away on November 19.

    Earlier it was reported that he was suffering from high-grade fever for the past couple of days, which had led to speculations if he was suffering from COVID-19.

    While the cause of his sudden death was not determined, his funeral prayers in Lahore were attended by hundreds of thousands of supporters from across the globe, adding to COVID-19 superspreader event fears.

    Rizvi, who had returned from a sit-in protest against French president’s take on blasphemy a day before his death, was known for his aggressive speeches besides promotion of extremist element in the religio-political landscape of the country.

  • 2020 Sports Roundup – Some losses, some gains

    2020 Sports Roundup – Some losses, some gains

    2020 has been a very strange year for sporting events around the globe due to the coronavirus pandemic. Stadiums, courts and all other sporting activities were suspended as people practised social distancing and stayed away from each other. The Olympics, scheduled to be held in Japan were also cancelled along with a plethora of other events and those which did take place happened behind closed doors in biosecure bubbles. Nonetheless, some major sporting events and incidents took place in Pakistan and here is a round-up of those.

    2020 Kabbadi World Cup – February 2020

    The 2020 Kabaddi World Cup was the seventh edition of the Kabaddi World Cup (Circle style), held from February 9 to February 16, 2020, with the Opening Ceremony on February 9, 2020, at the Punjab Stadium, Lahore.

    This was the first time the Kabaddi World Cup was held in Pakistan. All of the previous six circle-style kabaddi world cups have been hosted by India with the most recent event taking place in 2016. The tournament was eight-day long with matches in Lahore, Faisalabad, Kartarpur and Nankana Sahib.

    Other than India, teams from Iran, Canada, Australia, United States, Sierra Leone and Kenya also participated in the event.

    Pakistan emerged victorious from a close contest against India in the final of the Kabaddi World Cup in Lahore’s Punjab Stadium. The hosts won 43-41 to become Kabaddi world champions for the first time.

    2020 Pakistan Super League – February 2020

    The fifth edition of the Pakistan Super League started on February 20, 2020. This was the first time the league was held entirely in Pakistan. A total 34 matches were played in four venues: Lahore, Karachi, Rawalpindi and Multan.

    Days before the season was to conclude, the league was postponed over coronavirus fears.

    The playoffs and the final later took place in Karachi in November 2020 with Karachi Kings taking home the trophy for the first time. It was also the first time Lahore Qalandars made it to the final.

    Sami Aslam quits Pakistan cricket – December 2020

    On December 3, Pakistani test cricketer Sami Aslam announced that he is quitting Pakistan cricket and joining hands with USA Cricket. According to reports, Aslam struck a deal with USA Cricket that will see him spend two years and 10 months playing league cricket in the States and eventually represent the US.

    The Lahore-born cricketer was disgruntled after not being selected in the 35-member squad for the New Zealand tour despite his string of solid domestic performances in the previous campaigns.

    Mohammad Amir announces retirement – December 2020

    Perhaps the most shocking news from the year. Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir announced his retirement from international cricket on December 17 while he was in Sri Lanka, playing the Lanka Premier League (LPL).

    Speaking to journalist Shoaib Jatt, Amir said that he cannot continue playing for the country under the current management. Amir said that he will continue to play franchise cricket but has made up his mind not to carry on playing for Pakistan, adding that he has been “mentally tortured”.

    Amir had retired from Test cricket last year citing workload issues.

    Aaron Summers to play Pakistan domestic cricket

    Fast bowler Aaron Summers is set to make history by becoming the first Australian to take part in domestic cricket in Pakistan. The 24-year old will play for Southern Punjab in the 2021 One-Day Cup, which is scheduled to begin on January 8 and will run until the end of the month.

    The deal is understood to be in its final stages, with official confirmation from the PCB imminent. While Australia’s borders are currently closed to both departures and arrivals due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Summers has received a travel exemption from the Australian government, clearing the path for him to come to Pakistan.

    Summers reached Pakistan on December 28 and is currently in Lahore and has joined the Southern Punjab squad.

  • The best books of 2020

    The best books of 2020

    There is no doubt that more books were read this year by people who love them. Finally having the ability to say that they’re going to stay in, for bookworms it was the year where they did what they love most. One of our favourite Pakistani accounts for the best book finds is The Writing Room run by Mariam Tareen. She lists her favourite books of the year, ones that should not be missed by book enthusiasts everywhere.

    Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

    Between the World and Me is written as a letter by Ta-Nehisi Coates to his teenage son. Coates’s prose is charged with emotion, fear, honesty, and poise as he attempts to share with his son what he knows about being a black man in America. His love for his son jumps up from every page, but also fear on his behalf. Coates does not wish to protect or shield his young son from hard truths about the world they live in and the responsibilities that come with discovering them. 

    The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay

    The Far Field – a sharp, nuanced, and engrossing novel – shows us the uncomfortable distance between the comfort of the privileged and the lives of the oppressed. 

    The Shapeless Unease by Samantha Harvey

    A short, luminous and inventive examination of novelist Samantha Harvey’s year-long struggle with insomnia – the “blankness and blackness; the yawning expanse of a night awake.”

    Daughters of the Sun by Ira Mukhoty

    What a fantastic book! A parallel history of 200 years of Mughal rule that has been tragically absent from our history books: that of the women of the Empire.

    We Need New Stories by Nesrine Malik

    Award-winning Guardian journalist Nesrine Malik was born in Sudan and moved to the UK in 2013. The book reads less like journalism and more like a history/social science study, which I loved (but it’s also why it took me a while to read it). With the sharpness of a surgeon, she dissects each of the toxic myths of our time with clinical precision to expose the truth.

    Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter

    It’s about loss and grief and “moving on”, about how a grief-stricken father and his two boys mourn the unbearable loss of their mother, and the crow who comes to help them. “I won’t leave you until you don’t need me any more.”

    The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

    It tells the story of a man remembering events from when he was a 7 year old boy. It explores childhood and memory, the darkest moments from our childhoods, the ones that still feel warm and others that still hurt, the ones that left scars, both visible and invisible. But it’s very convincingly disguised as a children’s book.

    Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall


    If you consider yourself a feminist, read this book. It’s addressed to white feminists in America but is essential reading for all of us.

    The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

    The Graveyard Book rounds off my Neil Gaiman hat-trick this October. I loved this book. I found myself wishing I had read it sooner. I think if I had read it as a kid, it would have made my childhood better in some way, and I would have remembered it in a way you can only remember things you read as a child.

    Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

    The novel centres on a family of Ghanian immigrants in America. It’s a novel about Big Themes like addiction, faith, family, science, immigration, and racism, but it doesn’t feel like Gyasi set down a checklist of themes to write about (as it sometimes does in many “novels of our time”.)

    This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett

    I’ve loved Ann Patchett’s writing for a long time and really enjoyed reading this essay collection about writing and life, especially the essay “The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir about Writing and Life”, where she writes about the distance between having an idea for a novel in your head a and trying to get it onto the page.

    99 Nights in Logar by Jamil Jan Kochai

    “99 Nights in Logar” is Jamil Jan Kochai’s debut novel, and it is a unique book. I’ve never read a book in English where non-English words were not italicized. Toshaks, pakols, dusmals. Sadaqah. Rakah. Astaghfirullah. They’re written without hinting at foreignness. Pashto, Arabic and English are not foreign in the mind of the narrator, and that’s all that matters. There is an entire chapter towards the end of the novel in untranslated Pashto.

    Less by Andrew Sean Greer

    The book, written in crisp, vivid, screenplay-prose, is about running away from your problems. 

  • Karachi’s traffic plan for New Year’s Eve

    Karachi’s traffic plan for New Year’s Eve

    The Karachi traffic police has announced a traffic plan for New Year’s Eve.

    According to the route prepared by the traffic police, no main roads will be closed for traffic this year. However, traffic from Sea View McDonald’s to Village Hotel will be one-way, while parking will be not allowed on Sea View, Shah-Ra-e-Faisal, Abdullah Haroon Road and Ziaud Din Ahmed Road. Parking will also be banned on Mai Kolachi Road, Korangi and MT Khan Road.

    The traffic police added that if anyone rides a motorcycle without a silencer, they will be handed over to police. Aerial firing is also banned and people can send video complaints of aerial firing via WhatsApp on 0343 -5142770.

    The police will be appointed in all areas of Karachi from 8 pm today to 3am tomorrow.

    Earlier, it was reported that a ban will be imposed on aerial firing in the city and restaurants and commercial centers can only remain open till 8 pm on New Year’s Eve.

    On December 30, it was reported that Karachi Commissioner Navid Ahmed Shaikh instructed the police to keep Sea View and surrounding areas open for the public on the day with better traffic and security arrangements.

    The directives came amid the current pandemic while checking the security and traffic plan and other arrangements for December 31.

  • Bushra Iqbal says Aamir Liaquat divorced her over the phone

    Bushra Iqbal says Aamir Liaquat divorced her over the phone

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA and TV host Aamir Liaquat Hussain’s first wife Bushra Iqbal has opened up about her divorce and has revealed that Liaquat divorced her over the phone at the behest of his second wife Syed Tuba Aamir.

    In a social media post, Bushra Iqbal confirmed the separation and wrote: “Salam. I think its I bring about some clarity regarding my relationship with my ex-husband Aamir Liaquat.”

    “He has divorced me,” stated Bushra adding that he did it over the phone in front of Tuba at her request.

    “Divorcing me is one thing, but doing it in front of Tuba on call at her request, was perhaps the most painful and traumatic thing for my children and I,” said Iqbal.

    “I rest my case to Allah,” she added.

    Liaquat and Bushra have two children together. The television host married for the second time in 2018.

    Earlier, Liaquat was engaged in a Twitter spat with his daughter Duaa Aamir, who called out Tuba for breaking her home.

  • Minister, who got PIA flights banned in Europe, refuses to admit mistake

    Minister, who got PIA flights banned in Europe, refuses to admit mistake

    Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar has refused to admit that his controversial remarks that accused the Pakistani pilots of having fake licences caused massive losses to the national airlines and resulted in a ban on its flights in Europe.

    In a show with Geo’s Shahzeb Khanzada, the minister said he didn’t say anything wrong and that his honesty must be “appreciated” and that the entire sector was facing losses due to COVID-19, not just the national carrier.

    After a deadly plane crash in May 2020, the minister on the floor of parliament had claimed 262 pilots had fake licences. His statement created an uproar, resulting in a ban on Pakistani pilots. The ban in Europe still persists.

    Also, investigations had reportedly revealed that 182 out of the 262 pilots have valid credentials.

    However, the minister said despite all the bans his steps should be lauded because he was pushing for transparency.“Should we not have taken any action? You should appreciate that someone is taking initiative. Our transparency should be appreciated,” he said in the show.

    He further said that the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) had a satisfactory score of “97.6%” which was considered “great”. At this, the host retorted that the EU ban on the PIA still remains, no matter the score, because of the statement made by the minister.

    But, Ghulam Sarwar insisted that his steps should be appreciated despite the fact that PM Imran Khan and the attorney general had already said that the PIA issue was mishandled.

    According to a report in July, the PIA was likely to incur losses over Rs100 billion due to suspension of international flights amid the fake licences controversy and the coronavirus pandemic.

  • Aiman, Minal’s father passes away

    Aiman, Minal’s father passes away

    Aiman and Minal Khan’s father has passed away after struggling with health issues.

    Aiman’s husband Muneeb Butt shared the sad news on social media, saying that the Namaz-e-Janaza details will be updated later.

    While the exact details behind his death are not yet known, it is believed that the twins’ father was struggling with major health issues from quite some time. On December 19, Minal had requested fans to pray for her father’s speedy recovery.

    “Please pray for my father’s health. He’s extremely sick,” she had written on social media.

    Later, Aiman shared the details of her father’s Namaz-e-Janaza in her Instagram Story.

    Last week, Sarah Khan also lost her father.

    Meanwhile, Nida Yasir shared a video of Aiman and Minal’s family meetup on her show Good Morning Pakistan.

  • Azhar Ali thinks Fawad Alam is Pakistan’s Ertuğrul

    Azhar Ali thinks Fawad Alam is Pakistan’s Ertuğrul

    Pakistan former captain Azhar Ali has likened Karachi batsman Fawad Alam to Turkish legend Ertuğrul.

    Sharing a collage of Fawad’s century celebration and Ertuğrul Ghazi ready for battle in a still from the popular Turkish series Diriliş: Ertuğrul, Azhar said the batsman has a “heart of a lion.”

    “What a knock from Fawad Alam!,” said the former skipper. “A lot of courage and character and determination.”

    Thanking Azhar, Alam replied, “Jazaakallah bro.”

    Similarly Mohammad Hafeez also congratulated Alam on his achievement.

    Eleven years, five months and 16 days from the day he scored his first Test hundred, Fawad pulled Wagner behind square – that shot had served him well both in defence and attack – past a diving deep fielder to bring up a second Test hundred.

    The last one he scored was way back in 2009 when he hit 168 on Test debut against Sri Lanka while opening the innings. Since then Alam has played just six Tests having made a comeback in 2020.

    Read more – Fawad Alam gives another reminder to Misbah with his third century

    Babar Azam’s injury gave him another go and yet he proved to be an ace for the team.

    In a post-match video, Fawad credited Ali for the celebration.

    “During a four-day game, Azhar Ali and I had a discussion. He told me if I get a century, this is how I should celebrate it,” said Fawad. “Maybe God granted his wish. And I remembered what he had told me. So, this celebration was for him.”

  • ‘79.3 per cent effective’: Govt to order 1.2m doses of Chinese vaccine

    ‘79.3 per cent effective’: Govt to order 1.2m doses of Chinese vaccine

    Pakistan has decided to purchase 1.2million doses of a Chinese vaccine, developed by China’s state-owned company Sinopharm, amid a worsening coronavirus outbreak across the world.

    According to Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry, the vaccine will be available in the first quarter of 2021 and it will be administered to frontline health workers in the first phase.

    “The Cabinet Committee has decided to initially purchase 1.2 million doses of the vaccine from the Chinese company Sinopharm, which will be provided free of cost to frontline workers in the first quarter of 2021,” the federal minister wrote on Twitter.

    Meanwhile, China has approved its first homegrown coronavirus vaccine, developed by state-owned pharmaceutical giant Sinopharm.

    CNN reported that the vaccine is 79.34% effective as per the interim analysis of Phase 3 clinical trials. China has drastically scaled up its vaccine emergency use program in recent weeks.

    Since December 15, the Chinese government has administered more than 3 million vaccine doses on “key groups” in the population, Zeng Yixin, vice-minister of China’s National Health Commission, said at a news conference.

    According to the report, fewer than 0.1 per cent developed a light fever, and about two people per million developed “relative serious adverse reactions” such as allergies.

    Beijing Biological Products Institute Co., a Sinopharm subsidiary, has said that interim results show the Sinopharm vaccine is safe and people who received two doses produced high-level antibodies.

  • Pakistan students win top 2 prizes at global tech competition

    Pakistan students win top 2 prizes at global tech competition

    Pakistani students have won the top two positions at the Huawei ICT Competition Middle East 2020.

    The team of three Pakistani students, Kalim Ullah (MS IT SEECS-NUST), Maria Aftab (MS IT, SEECS-NUST) and Asadullah (Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro), won first place in the competition in the Middle East category of the tech contest and qualified for the final global competition.

    According to details, a virtual event happened this year in which more than 15,000 students and 440 universities from all over the world participated.

    The final leg included 13 teams from 27 universities in which Pakistan’s team emerged victorious, winning prizes that include US$20,000 prize money, laptops smartphones and also a chance to join Huawei Pakistan.

    The winning students are from National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) and Mehran University of Engineering and Technology Jamshoro.

    The students were glad that the Chinese tech company offered them a learning opportunity during the pandemic that affected the global education system.

    Thousands of students from Pakistan applied for the contest but only 500 were selected.

    “The list was further narrowed down to 150 students” who were offered free training and virtual classes during the preliminary round

    Lastly, the best 30 students from Pakistan were finalized for the final national round and the top six were shortlisted for the competition.