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  • VIDEO: Pakistani-origin British MP Afzal Khan takes oath in Urdu

    VIDEO: Pakistani-origin British MP Afzal Khan takes oath in Urdu

    Pakistan-origin British MP Afzal Khan who recently won in the general elections honoured his Pakistani roots by taking his oath in Urdu.

    Taking to Twitter, Afzal expressed his feelings on his win and shared the video of his oath-taking.

    “Thrilled to be back in Parliament as an MP for Manchester. I am proud to represent a city where over 200 languages are spoken,” Afzal wrote.

    https://twitter.com/Afzal4Gorton/status/1206979696417787905

    At least 15 British citizens of Pakistani origin won seats in the United Kingdom’s (UK) General Elections.

    According to the results, most British-Pakistanis won their electoral contests from the Labour Party followed by the Conservative Party. UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson belongs to the Conservative Party.

    More than 70 candidates of Pakistani origin had been given tickets by Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrats parties for the first time, whereas, many contested the UK general election as independent candidates.

  • Was offered bribes, lucrative positions to drop Musharraf’s case: CJP Khosa

    Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Asif Saeed Khan Khosa has reportedly said that he was “offered lucrative positions and bribes multiple times to drop former military ruler Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf’s case”, but he refused to accept any.

    According to Geo News, the top judge, during an informal discussion with journalists, said that the Supreme Court (SC) had already declared the former president’s case as “open and shut” and the judges feared nothing for as long as they were providing justice to the masses.

    CJP Khosa was also quoted as saying that the decision regarding the extension of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa “would have long term effects that the people would realise later”.

    “I have already accepted a fellowship offer at Harvard to pursue following my retirement,” the CJP said.

    On Tuesday, a special court awarded death sentence to former military dictator Musharraf in absentia for suspending the constitution on November 3, 2007.

    While the counsel for the convict and the armed forces’ media wing in separate statements strongly criticised the decision that they said was taken “in haste”, opposition parties maintained that “justice had prevailed”.

    According to The Express Tribune, the outgoing CJP is said to have played a key role in making sure the six-year-old treason trial against the former president was concluded before he retired.

  • ‘Who’s trying to save their dad?’ Bilawal asks PM Imran

    A day after the government announced to review the death sentence awarded to former military ruler General (r) Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has taken a dig at Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan by asking him that “who was trying to save their father”.

    “Who is running a ‘Save the Dad’ (abbu bachao) campaign?” the chairman of the country’s second-largest opposition party said in a tweet that apparently came in response to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ministers and the premier himself repeatedly calling out Bilawal and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Maryam Nawaz for launching “Save the Dad” campaigns.

    On Tuesday, a special court awarded death sentence to former military dictator Musharraf in absentia for suspending the constitution on November 3, 2007.

    While the counsel for the convict and the armed forces’ media wing in separate statements strongly criticised the decision that they said was taken “in haste”, opposition parties maintained that “justice had prevailed”.

    Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan has said that the government will “review in detail” the ruling.

    “We will review in detail, today’s verdict as well as yesterday’s,” Dawn quoted her saying on Tuesday. She further said that legal experts would analyse all legal and political aspects as well as the impact on national interests, after which a government statement would be presented to the media.

    In response to a question about whether the government will bring Musharraf back to Pakistan, Awan said the government would assess the matter with its legal team. “The premier himself will look at the relevant ground realities and legal framework, following which a final decision will be taken.”

  • Chunian child rapist-murderer given death sentence on three counts

    A special court on Tuesday awarded the Chunian child rapist-murderer death sentence on three counts, along with a life sentence on one count and a fine worth Rs3.2 million, for one of the four rape and murders he had committed earlier this year. He has also been directed to pay Rs200,000 compensation to the legal heirs of the victim.

    According to reports, the court awarded the verdict to the 27-year-old rickshaw driver over the murder of only one of the four children, whose remains were recovered back in September. However, the cases of the remaining minors are still pending before the court.

    On October 1, the perpetrator Sohail Shahzad was arrested by police in a case pertaining to the rape and murder of four minors in Chunian, located about 70 km south of Lahore. Four children — aged between eight and 12 years — had gone missing since June this year with the latest, eight-year-old Faizan, disappearing on the night of September 16.

    Soon after, the remains of three of them were found on September 17 from sand dunes near Chunian bypass. The discovery sent waves of shock and terror among the residents who protested against the continuous cycle of child abuse in the area.

    Considering the matter was of grave concern, Prime Minister Imran Khan took notice of the incident, ordered an inquiry and overhauled the local police set-up.

    Two weeks later, Shahzad was arrested after his DNA matched with samples recovered from the remains of a victim. During the initial questioning, Sohail confessed to sexually abusing and killing all four children.

    Due to security concerns, the trial against the convict was held at Kot Lakhpat Jail. A total of 23 witnesses recorded their statements against the convict.

  • Fawad Chaudhry expresses disappointment over Musharraf verdict

    Fawad Chaudhry expresses disappointment over Musharraf verdict

    Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry says that no one in Pakistan was happy with Musharraf verdict.

    A Special Court on Tuesday awarded death penalty to former dictator General (retd) Pervez Musharraf for high treason.

    Addressing a press conference in Jeddah, Fawad said that countries cannot function without the army.

    “GHQ has a vital role in formation of the country’s security policy,” said Chaudhry adding that all state institutions should respect each other and not tread into others’ jurisdiction.

    Earlier in the day, Fawad also expressed his displeasure over the verdict saying that what’s the point of verdicts like these which only serve to create further distances.

    It must be remembered that when Musharraf declared Emergency on November 3, 2007, Imran Khan said on Dr. Shahid Masood’s show that Musharraf must be tried for high treason and should get the death penalty.

    https://twitter.com/hyzaidi/status/1207003979596652544?s=20

  • ‘A son of the soil’: Mehwish Hayat, Shaan respond to Musharraf verdict

    Former military dictator General (r) Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday was handed death sentence in the high treason case against him.

    According to reports, the court, in its short order, said that it analysed complaints, records, arguments and facts in the case for three months, adding that it found Musharraf guilty of high treason according to Article 6 of the constitution.

    While everyone including members of the media, civil society and politicians had thoughts to share on the matter, people were very curious to know what Mehwish Hayat has to say on the matter given that she had earlier tweeted in favour of Musharraf and was brutally trolled for it.

    https://twitter.com/cyalm/status/1206960344561782784?s=20

    Here’s what Mehwish had to say on the verdict.

    Meanwhile, here’s what she had tweeted earlier:

    Other celebrities who shared their thoughts on the matter included Shaan and Hamza Ali Abbasi.

    Elan’s creative director Khadija Shah also expressed her disappointment on the court’s verdict.

    https://twitter.com/khadijah_shah/status/1206851891679965184?s=20
  • Pakistan ranked 151 out of 153 in gender equality index: WEF

    Pakistan ranked 151 out of 153 in gender equality index: WEF

    According to the Gender Equality Index report of the World Economic Forum, Pakistan stood 151 out of 153. The only two countries below Pakistan are Iraq and Yemen.

    Though grand claims have been made about improving educational opportunities for youth, empowerment of democracy and the betterment of health facilities in the country, all have been shattered after the INGO placed Pakistan at number 150 in the list of economic participation and opportunities, 143rd in education attainment, 149th in health and survival and 93 in political empowerment globally.

    While Pakistan stood 112th in 2006, the standing has drastically slipped to 151 in the the last 14 years.

    The report highlights that there is a huge gap of 32.7 percent between men and women in the context of economic opportunities. The gap has also widened to 94.6pc – which means that women do not have the same facilities in comparison to men.

    On the contrary, Bangladesh ranked 50, followed by Nepal 101, Sri Lanka 102, India 112, Maldives 123 and Bhutan 131.

  • Sri Lankan commentator Russel Arnold becomes a Biryani fan

    Famous Sri Lankan cricket commentator Russel Arnold has become a fan of Karachi’s biryani. The former cricketer is now  in Karachi with the ICC’s official commentators’ team for the second Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

    Russel took to Twitter to express his love for biryani, stating Karachi as the ‘Biryani Capital’ of the world.

    Unsatisfied with a single plate, Russel even hit an extra session in the gym to eat  some more biryani.

    The arrival of Sri Lankan cricket team has marked the return of Test cricket in Pakistan. With the first Test match in Rawalpindi being washed out by rain, everybody is now waiting for Karachi Test that will decide the series.

    The matches are scheduled from December 19 (Wednesday) to December 23 (Monday) at the National Stadium, Karachi.

  • ICC selects Pakistan’s Nida Dar for its T20I team of the year

    ICC selects Pakistan’s Nida Dar for its T20I team of the year

    Pakistan’s Nida Dar, more popularly known as Lady Lala, was picked in the ICC Women’s T20I team of the year.

    The 32-year-old is the only Pakistani player in the 11-member squad led by Australia’s Meg Lanning. The maximum number of players have also been selected from Australia namely Alyssa Healy, Ellyse Perry and Megan Schutt.

    Other members in the team include India’s Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma and Radha Yadhav, South Africa’s Lizelle Lee and Shabnim Ismail. Dani Wyatt is the only England player in the team.

    Nida Dar made her debut as a bowler in women’s twenty20 match against Sri Lanka in 2010. She took her first five-wicket haul in a match against Sri Lanka in women’s Twenty20 Asia Cup 2018. She was also named as the standout player in the team by the International Cricket Council for the 2018 ICC Women’s World Twenty20 tournament.

  • These steamy photoshoots will turn up the heat in this cold

    These steamy photoshoots will turn up the heat in this cold

    The mercury might be falling, but latest celebrity photoshoots sure are turning up the heat.

    Ayeza Khan & Danish Taimoor

    Real-life couple Ayeza and Danish have set our screens on fire with their latest photoshoot. Their chemistry is sizzling.

    Urwa Hocane & Farhan Saeed

    The couple celebrated their third wedding anniversary with an all-black, glittery photoshoot.

    Saba Qamar & Emmad Irfani

    Shayan and Mannat from Cheekh reunited for a magazine shoot and oh boy!

    Rubbab Ali

    Model Rubbab Ali, makeup artist Fatima Nasir and photographer Alee’ Hassan got together for an editorial shoot and here are the results.