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‘I remember crying in the shower for hours’: Imam ul Haq opens up on nepotism accusations
Imam-ul-Haq has opened up about the mental pressures that came with being accused of nepotism when he entered the national team. Imam, who is the nephew of legendary former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in October 2017. His situation was worsened with the fact that Inzamam was also the chief selector for Pakistan at the time.
Speaking to former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta on his ESPNCrincinfo chat show Cricketbaazi, Haq said: “When all of this started happening, I would have my meals all alone. It was my first tour and you know how it can get on the first tour. And whenever I would open my phone, there were people tagging me on social media posts or sending me stuff. I was very disheartened and couldn’t understand anything.”
“I stopped talking to my family because I didn’t want to put them under any pressure that I’m facing problems,” he continued. “I switched off and handed both my mobile phones to my manager, and said, ‘I can’t take this, please take them off me.’”
“I remember crying in the shower for hours that I haven’t even played yet. It’s very easy for young players to get surrounded by self-doubt. The only thing running constantly in my mind was that I haven’t even played [for the national team] yet, what if I play and don’t perform well? Then my career will be over. I wouldn’t step a foot out of my room, fearing people might trouble me outside, because there is a large Pakistan community in Dubai.”
Read more – Ex-Indian cricketer recalls when ‘shy’ Imran Khan didn’t leave his hotel room to play Holi
Imam played the third match of the series. “We were living in Dubai, and from there we had to travel to Abu Dhabi on the match-day, which is a two-hour drive. So we had to leave around 11 am-12 pm for the match and I got his (Arthur’s) message at around 9.30 am, which I still remember, ‘Immy, it’s your time, be ready and good luck,’” said Imam.
“After that, I don’t remember anything. My mind was completely blank. I was hoping he hadn’t messaged me. He shouldn’t have. Because my confidence had hit the rock-bottom and I was feeling so low that I felt I won’t be able to perform in the match.
“I was focusing less on the match and more on what would happen after. What if I couldn’t perform? My career will get badly affected and everyone will say they were right to criticise me. Because the media was only discussing my inclusion in the side.”
Imam went on to score a century in that match, thus becoming the second Pakistani batsman to score a ton on debut.
Meanwhile, the cricketer, who was hit on his left-hand during the practise match, has been declared fit to bat by the team doctor. He is part of Pakistan’s squad for the England series.
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Meera requests Punjab Govt for financial assistance
Meera has requested Rs 40 million from the Punjab Government under the Artist Support Fund, launched by the Punjab Information and Cultural Department, claiming that she is in financial trouble. However, the department denied her request, adding that they can only offer her Rs 5000-10,000 at this point.
According to reports, a meeting was held at the Alhamra Arts Council after the actor appealed to senior officials for financial support. In the meeting, it was unanimously decided that the department cannot give the actor more than ten thousand rupees. Moreso, it was also decided that an artist should have a monthly income of less than Rs 15,000 and be above the age of 50 in order to receive aid from the fund.
Meanwhile MPA Sadia Sohail Rana, who supervised the meeting said that she was surprised with Meera’s request.
“I am surprised why Meera applied for the help as in this situation she herself should be supporting other poor artists,” said Rana. “Meera should understand that everything is not a joke. Artists of her stature should set aside funds for difficult times when they earn large amounts.”
However, Meera said that she had no choice because her shows in USA and Canada had been cancelled due to the pandemic because of which she had to suffer financially.
“I suffered a loss of around $100,000. I have to pay back a loan I took in Dubai. I am forced to apply for financial support,” said the actor.
Meera added that she intends on taking up the matter with the Federal Government also.
Earlier, Meera had also appealed to the government to assist her journey back home when she was stranded in New York due to the COVID-19 lockdowns across the world.
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Madrassa students qualify for finals of Turkey’s biggest tech competition
Students from Jamia Bait-ul-Salam, Talagang, have qualified for the final round of TEKNOFEST 2020 that will be held in Istanbul, Turkey from September 22 to 27.
According to reports, Blatu, the Bait-ul-Salam team has topped the category of Technology for Humanity-Social Innovation with 87 points out 100.
Earlier in 2019, Jamia Bait-ul-Salam has won robotics competition beating participants from 20 other universities that were held at HITEC University Taxila.
Hamza Ali Abbasi also took to social media to applaud the students.
Turkish Ministry of Industry and Technology and the Turkish Technology Team Foundation (T3) organize the TEKNOFEST Aerospace and Technology Festival every year in a bid to make Turkey a technology producing society.
Many students from different institutions participate in TEKNOFEST to showcase their abilities in more than a dozen different categories.
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Official, who banned books in Punjab over ‘blasphemous and anti-Pakistan’ content, is a ‘pervert and misogynist’
Punjab Curriculum & Textbook Board (PCTB) Managing Director (MD) Rai Manzoor Hussain Nasir, who had on Thursday banned 100 books being taught in private schools for carrying “blasphemous and anti-Pakistan” content, has come under fire for being what Twitterati call is a “pervert and misogynist”.
BOOKS BAN:
Addressing a press conference, Nasir said that the PCTB had started critical review of 10,000 books being taught by private schools across the province and in the first phase had banned 100 books of 31 publishers including Oxford and Cambridge for blasphemous, immoral and anti-Pakistan content.
The PCTB MD said that the board had formed 30 committees for this purpose. He said it was sad that nobody checked these books earlier and had no idea what was being taught to our kids in private schools against hefty fees. He said the banned books had distorted facts about Pakistan and its creation, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Muhammad Iqbal while these books also carried blasphemous content. He said Pakistan was portrayed as an inferior country to India while Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) was also shown as part of India in maps in some of these books.
Rai Manzoor Nasir said that instead of including sayings of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Muhammad Iqbal, etc. one of the books carried sayings of Mahatma Gandhi and some unknown people. He said in a book of Mathematics counting concepts were made explained to the young students showing pictures of pigs. He said one of the books by Cambridge tried to promote crime and violence among the students on the basis of unemployment in the country.
The PCTB MD said that these 100 books had been immediately banned and the publishers had been directed to immediately stop publishing and selling the books. He said District Education Authorities (DEAs) across Punjab will visit private schools (after reopening of schools) to check if these books were still being taught. He said FIRs would be registered against the publishers for violation under the provisions of the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board Act 2015.
‘PERVERT AND MISOGYNIST’:
Already under fire for what was criticised as a move to “crackdown on the future of children by banning books”, things took an uglier turn for the PCTB MD as Twitterati called him out over “hypocrisy” and being a “pervert and misogynist”.
Besides calling him out for liking porn videos on Twitter, netizens also highlighted that Nasir was involved in moral policing over the social networking site.
He was also criticised for being a racist and tweeting against Afghan refugees.
Have something to add to the story? Let The Current know in the comments below.
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‘Pyar Ke Sadkay’: The curious case of Mahjabeen’s pregnancy
Pyar Ke Sadkay has been treating viewers to a myriad of emotions, the most recent being grief. However, in the latest episode, the makers of the drama take the viewers from grief into total shock by making Mahjabeen (Yumna Zaidi) pregnant. While this is a usual trope in most dramas to bring together estranged couples, in this particular drama it creates confusion because most viewers believed that Mahjabeen and Abdullah (Bilal Abbas Khan) did not consummate their marriage. All through the drama, every time Abdullah’s stepfather Sarwar (Omair Rana) would ask him about his marriage, Abdullah would say that there are no marital relations between him and his wife which is why audiences are now questioning how Mahjabeen could have gotten pregnant.
Read more – ‘Pyar Ke Sadkay’ takes a disappointing turn
According to our research and analysis, Mahjabeen and Abdullah consummated their marriage in Episode 16 when they skipped Shanzay’s valima and stayed home instead even though Mahjabeen was all dressed up to attend the wedding. From that moment onwards, Abdullah stopped sleeping on the sofa and moved to the bed.
The next morning when they went down and sat with Abdullah’s parents, the two were all shy and smiley, hinting the new developments in their relationship.
While it has now been established that Mahajabeen getting pregnant is not out of the blue, the next question is: was that really necessary? Was that the only way to bring Mahjabeen and Abdullah together? Couldn’t it have been organic with Abdullah realising his love for Mahjabeen and taking a stand for her? At this point, you half wish that the two don’t end up together because Abdullah doesn’t deserve Mahjabeen anymore. He did not value her enough. And though some may argue that he is being misled by Sarwar, we have to accept that Abdullah is not as stupid as he comes across. He’s sharp and intelligent, the only thing he lacks is confidence.
Apart from that, at some points, it does feel that the drama is being unnecessarily dragged – for instance, the scene at Munshi Sahab’s grave felt extra and out of place. Unless the makers are preparing us for Mahjabeen suddenly becoming rich and powerful. Other than that, I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again, the Shanzay (Yashma Gill) storyline is completely unnecessary. The plot could have moved forward without it. Nonetheless, hoping it wraps up soon so we can focus on the main couple and the evil father-in-law.
Washma (Shra Asghar), as always stole the show. Washma is one character which I feel every Pakistani drama needs to have: she’s strong, sassy and a doer. She doesn’t sit around waiting for things to happen – she makes them happen. The way she defends Mahjabeen or stands up to Sarwar and her mother, one can’t help but root for her.
The next couple of episodes should come with interesting developments. We’ll also find out whether Abdullah has signed the divorce papers or he is just pretending to have signed those. But one thing is for sure, Abdullah and Mahjabeen will have a happy ending, or at least that’s my prediction.
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KP govt to launch world’s longest, highest cable car project
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has decided to set up a 14-kilometre long cable car, which will connect the scenic tourist resort of Kumrat in Upper Dir with Madaklasht area of Chitral.
According to a statement by the KP government, the decision was taken in a meeting of the tourism department, chaired by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and attended by Tourism Secretary Mohammad Abid Majeed and other senior officials.
The meeting gave go ahead to the department to make a detailed feasibility study and engineering design of the project.
The statement said that the cable car project would be the longest and highest of its kind in the world. After completion, it was likely to appeal to eight million foreign and local tourists to the province and create employment opportunities.
The project would have car parking facilities on both the stations. It will also have an intermediate station with a restaurant and many other facilities. The project will be completed in five to six months.
“The proposed cable car will be built on international standards which, on completion, would attract foreign and local tourists in a large number. The project is environment-friendly and feasible on the grounds that no land acquisition process is involved therein,” said the statement.
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103yo Pakistani becomes one of world’s oldest coronavirus survivors
A 103-year-old man has recovered from COVID-19 in Pakistan to become one of the oldest survivors of the disease in the world, beating the odds in a country with a weak healthcare system, his relatives and doctors said.
Aziz Abdul Alim, a resident of a village in the mountainous northern district of Chitral, was released last week from an emergency response centre after testing positive in early July.
“We were worried for him given his age, but he wasn’t worried at all,” Alim’s son Sohail Ahmed told Reuters on the phone from his village, close to the border with China and Afghanistan.
Ahmed quoted his father as saying that he had been through a lot in life and the coronavirus did not scare him. He did however, not like being in isolation.
READ: Pakistan’s secret to ‘flattening the curve’
A carpenter until his 70s, Alim has outlived three wives and nine sons and daughters, said Ahmed, who is himself in his 50s, adding that his father had separated from his fourth wife and is currently married to his fifth.
Alim also had to be provided with moral and psychological support during his isolation and treatment, Dr Sardar Nawaz, a senior medical officer at the Aga Khan Health Service emergency centre told Reuters on Friday.
The makeshift centre was set up in a girls’ hostel just weeks before Alim was brought in and is the only one equipped to deal with COVID-19 patients for miles.
Pakistan has registered more than 270,000 cases of the disease and 5,778 deaths. While the number of people testing positive has dropped over the last month, government officials fear there could be another rise during the Eidul Azha holidays and Muharram.
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200-year-old Gurdwara reopens in Quetta after 73 years
A 200-year-old Gurdwara in Quetta has been restored and handed over to the Sikh community by the Balochistan Government so they can continue their religious practices there.
According to reports, the historical Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha on Masjid Road in central Quetta had been converted into a government school for girls after the Partition.
Provincial Parliamentary Secretary for Minority Affairs Dhanesh Kumar said that the historic place of worship covers an area of 14,000 square feet and is worth billions of rupees because of its location. He lauded the government’s decision to “hand it over to Sikh brothers instead of using the building for any other purpose”.
Chairman of the Sikh community in Balochistan Sardar Jasbeer Singh, expressed his happiness at the restoration and said that it was a “gift from the government to the Sikh community” living in the province.
“Sikh community of the province is very pleased that our ancient Gurdwara has been handed over to the Sikh community by the Government of Pakistan and the Balochistan High Court after 73 years and now we are able to continue our religious practice,” said Singh. “The Sikh community from all over Pakistan and the rest of the world appreciated this initiative.”
Jasbir added that there were 10-15 more historical gurdwaras in Balochistan which are still occupied.
“We are hopeful that the government will focus on opening these closed shrines in shrines in Balochistan.”
Other Sikhs present on the occasion of the reopening also expressed their happiness on this development. According to details, there are approximately 2,000 Sikh families living in Quetta, Dera Bugti, Osta Muhammad and Pashtun areas of the province.
Meanwhile, the students of the school have been allowed to take admission in a nearby girls’ school so that their education is not affected by this.
Earlier in February this year, the Balochistan government handed over a 200-year-old temple to the minority Hindu community in district Zhob.
