In what appears to be a rather confusing episode, it has emerged that the official Instagram account of the Pakistani government is following an account titled ‘мαиσ вєℓι ??’, purportedly run by one Maham, among the total 14 accounts it follows, including President Arif Alvi, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and his teammates.
While it is not yet confirm who the handler of the account is or why it is followed by the government of Pakistan, netizens seem to be having a field day coming up with theories as to why does the official government handle follows it.
Among other users followed by the official account are:
President Arif Alvi
PM Imran Khan
Information Minister Shibli Faraz
Radio Pakistan
PM’s ex-information aide Asim Saleem Bajwa
Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi
Foreign Office of Pakistan
PM’s aide in capacity of Minister of State Zulfi Bukhari
Ministry of Overseas and Human Resource Development
UPDATE: Later in the day, The Current was informed by sources that someone from the government’s social media team had accidentally followed the account.
They further said that the Instagram account had now been unfollowed.
Shah Rukh Khan recently posted a picture of himself playing pool on Instagram, captioning it: “As long as there is pink in the world, it will always be a better place.”
The actor was seen sporting long locks in the picture, reportedly his look for his upcoming action-thriller Pathan.
Nabila is at the receiving end of flak for leaving “bitter” comments and mocking a makeup artist Fatima Nasir’s work.
Commenting on Eman Suleman’s post, in which the model had shared pictures from a recent shoot, Nabila wrote: “Great idea, executed badly, especially the Icchra looking hairpiece. When the subject is so beautiful it’s a sin to not up to our game.”
While Nabila’s comments appear to be well-intentioned, her choice of words did not sit well with the makeup artist and model.
Defending Nasir, Eman wrote: “I think it’s a job well done, better than any parlour could have done.”
Instead of ending the debate there, Nabila continued her criticism saying: “In my opinion, the hair finish looks too synthetic and takes away from the regal styling.”
“Obviously we can choose to be reactive or grow from criticism. I prefer the latter,” added the makeup maestro.
At this point, Fatima jumped in to defend her work and explained the process behind the hairdo.
“It’s a lot easier to just criticise someone’s work don’t you think?,” she questioned, to which Nabila replied: “I see you choose to react and defend. All the best.”
During the exchange, Fatima pointed out to Nabila that it was wrong of her to use the word ‘Ichhra’ to describe her work.
“Sorry if I hurt you, but false empathy can be interpreted as false flattery in my dictionary. If I were you, I would investigate how I can improve my finishing skills. But you are not me. Let’s leave it at this,” concluded Nabila.
Soon, models Farwa Kazmi and Rehmat Ajmal also jumped in to defend Fatima and called out Nabila for her comments.
“It’s sad to see such a condensing and wicked comment coming from a very senior artist who has been in the industry for 35 years. One can only claim their right to criticise when they also praise the work others do,” wrote Kazmi.
Similarly, Ajmal wrote that the senior makeup artist’s comments were “quite disgusting and off-putting”.
Farwa further wrote: “If I were you, I would write my opinion and leave my suggestion in a polite way without attacking the artist, the work and the locality which would have been well received.”
“But you aren’t me, you are Nabila. Let’s leave it at that,” she added.
Nabila had earlier come under fire when she had demanded for salons to be opened when coronavirus cases were at an all-time high in Pakistan.
Maya Ali and Hira Mani have crossed five million followers on Instagram. The actors shared the news and excitement on social media and thanked their fans for the love.
“Thank you for all the five million family,” wrote Maya on social media, adding: “So grateful for all of you, and for all the love and appreciation you guys show me.”
Similarly, Hira Mani, who recently said that she has become anofficial singer, announced that she has crossed five million followers on the social media application.
Sharing a goofy picture of herself, Mani wrote: “Thank you for liking me and liking my Instagram and liking my song and liking my face and liking my kids and liking my originality.”
Meanwhile, Ayeza Khan and Aiman Khan are the most followed Pakistani celebrities on Instagram with 7.9 million followers each. Mahira Khan follows closely behind with 7 million followers.
However, Faryal did not let the trolls win and clapped back by posting another photo from the same photoshoot, writing: “This is for the social media trolls. Hoping this platform provides you with that moment of importance you needed to assure your self-righteousness.”
Imran Abbas, in a recent Q&A session on Instagram, spilled all the beans, and answered a number of questions ranging from marriage to acting to religion and his relationship with Allah.
Here are some of the most interesting replies from his session.
Imran shared that he offers his namaz five times a day and said that his relationship with Allah is private.
Muggers looted over Rs 84.8 million from aHong Kong social media influencer after she flaunted her wealth online.
According to details, 25-year-old So Mei-yan, who has 86,000 followers on Instagram, became famous for showing off her luxury lifestyle. Sharing details of the incident, Mei-yan said that three men burst into her home in Hong Kong with knives while she and her son were sleeping. They tied her, her six-month-old baby boy and his 45-year-old nanny up and then robbed her blind.
Following the incident, she appealed to thousands of her followers for help and to bring the robbers to justice, offering £194,000 as an incentive.
In a statement, police said: “As the doorbell rang, the maid opened the door and three men rushed into the unit.”
As per reports, Mei-yan was sleeping in the master bedroom of her flat while her baby was in the sitting room with the helper at the time of the incident.
The police spokesman then said that two of the robbers were either carrying a ‘fruit knife or a wooden rod.’
The robbers then tied her and the child’s helper up with the tape and pushed them into the babies room, where one stood guard and the other two searched the flat.
But the robbers became increasingly frustrated when they couldn’t find any cash and returned to Mei-yan, punching her in the face and repeating their demands.
Mei-yan went on to explain, “One of them returned and pulled my hair asking where I put my money.”
It is thought that the robbers could have gained all the information about her wealth via her social media account where she is famous for flaunting her goods.
Eventually the displeased thieves settled for her luxury items which she says were worth hundreds of thousands.
After the thieves had left, she managed to wriggle out of her restraints and call the police.
The Current starts its day with a morning mood to engage followers and find out what they are interested in. This is done via a ‘This or That’ poll and the winner has to compete in the same category the next day. It is mostly done over a week’s time and we found out a lot about our followers – and Pakistanis – based on what they vote for.
The Current has compiled a few fun polls it did on its Instagram account.
Professor VS Berlin: What would you like to be?
Professor wins with 67%.
Who is your favourite female anchor?
We put this poll the whole week and got our winner. Can you guess who that was?
ARY’s Maria Memon won the vote beating the likes of Sana Bucha, Meher Bokhari and Asma Shirazi.
Favourite male anchor
Waseem Badami is clearly the winner beating all prominent news anchors of Pakistan.
Gone are the days when fans would glue themselves to television screens just to get the slightest glimpse of their favorite celebrity’s personal life. God bless Instagram for ensuring that we all are a click away from stalking our favorite celebrities, giving birth to our own online identities, participating in influential social media movements, and being the Emilys in our own virtual Paris.
However, such accessibility comes with heavy responsibility which intensifies in the case of celebrities. From being an average application for posting pictures to becoming a social media giant, Instagram, and its management is now an art. So, let’s dive in and analyze how well our Pakistani celebrities have succeeded in influencing fans through their Instagram feeds. The analysis will take place through the Current ranking edition where you can find an exclusively ranked scorecard highlighting the top and the bottom three Instagram feeds of Pakistani celebrities.
The magic formula for Instagrammy perfection combines just the right proportion of posts featuring everyday adventures, western and eastern dressing styles, catchy captions, precise bios, a classy overall outlook, adequate interactivity with the followers through comments or live sessions, and lastly, a unique special strategy which sets your feed apart from all the others. The perfect score sums up to a total of 16 points with 2 points per category.
If you’re done taking notes, scroll down to see which three best and worst Instagram feeds have made it to the Scorecard. Remember, you are what your Insta feed is!
Disclaimer: Nothing Personal
Mahira Khan: 12 / 16
Although Mahira doesn’t post frequently about her everyday adventures and uses lengthy and boring letters involving her emotional experiences as captions, the girl checks all other boxes for a perfect Instagram account. Her work, individualism and nature-oriented posts give a nostalgic outlook to the feed. Popular instances of interactivity include 2018’s incident when Mahira ended up gifting her Eid outfit to a fan who expressed a desire to wear that dress in the comment section of Mahira’s Eid post. Mahira may reply to your comments as well, you never know! This feed neutralizes its western dimension which stems from a preference for western clothing by a traditional aspect added by her bio titled ‘Funkaar’.
Besides, who could not like the post featuring her incredibly hot gown for Cannes 2018? Everything aside, the point winner for Mahira’s Instagram feed is her special strategy which never lets the glory of her old characters die as fans are constantly reminded of her signature roles like Khirad (Humsafar) or Falak (Shehr-e-Zaat) via her posts. You go, girl!
Aiman Muneeb: 9.5 / 16
Acknowledging the fact that Aiman does not have a striking bio and she rarely replies to comments, her frequent highlights about travelling (Florence, Dubai, Lahore etc.), diet plans and lunch dates really capture the interest of the followers. Her feed maintains a traditional outlook with family-oriented posts about sister dates, her daughter, husband, and mother. Aiman doesn’t shy away from influencing fashion trends by posing in stunning trench coats and desi kurta shalwar. The most captivating part about this feed is its brief, catchy and impactful captions like, “Be your own muse”. All the aforementioned qualities help Aiman skillfully market her special strategy which revolves around the ‘keeping it real’ vibe of a young girl getting the best of both worlds. This strategy does a remarkable job in attracting all those Pakistani girls who dream of making it big, just like our Aiman did.
Ayeza Khan: 3.0 / 16
Jeez, that score’s pretty low but what could we do. The raw bio and majorly sponsored posts and highlights make this feed seem more like a wedding photo album than a celebrity’s feed. Don’t believe us? Try stalking this diva and all you’ll find are some breathtaking but clichéd and glossed up pictures of Ayeza in designer clothes. Her audience interactivity was pretty low until she dedicated a video post to her fans on October 3, 2020, just to let them know that she does read all their messages and comments but is unable to reply due to her busy schedule. This actor does get a decent score for her special strategy through which induced temporary curiosity among her fans. What was it?
On May 3, 2019, Ayeza made headlines by turning her Instagram private after reaching 3.1 million followers. In her own words she “wanted fans not followers” …for a short while though. This move did get her Instagram account under the spotlight. Master stroke, indeed.
And here comes the #ouch part. Below are the ranks and scores of three of Pakistan’s least followed celeb accounts on Instagram according to The Current Scorecard. The grading criteria remains the same, however, there’s a twist. Here, we have graded every category out of -2 with 0 being the highest (which means no damage done) and -2 being the lowest. The maximum score obtainable is -16. By the way, to compensate for the brutal critical analysis, The Current has given #free suggestions to help improve the feeds. So scroll down to discover who has done the most irrecoverable damage (it’s predictable though).
Meera Jee: -15.5 / -16
This feed seems outdated as videos that could have sufficed well as highlights can be seen featuring everyone but herself. Where to begin! Absolute lack of audience interactivity, lack of defined styling preferences in the very few solos posted, and a bio that seems more like a nice and concise resume are just a few of the Instagram blunders we have identified. The whole concept of public engagement seems to have been turned upside down. You’ll see plenty of posts featuring people without adequate description. For instance, did you see the post regarding a gentleman who “is a very creative man in the world of educational”?
Also, dedicating a video post to Zulfi Bukhari without having him or herself in either of them is nothing but awkward. The Current’s Instagram feed takes inspiration from this people-oriented feed to improve as news media because you shall find random posts regarding celebrities’ birthdays, deaths, marriage anniversaries, award nominations, COVID-19 test results, and makeup reviews. Moreover, we all know the major issue with captions. In the broader picture, let us ponder over the unreasonable motivation to be who we aren’t meant to be.
Free suggestion for improvement: Be Yourself
Embracing yourself and being comfortable in your skin can make you a stronger personality to be marketed on Instagram. Instead of promoting others in a language that is not exactly your expertise, why not try writing captions in Roman Urdu or Urdu? Also, we recommend using your amazing solos from your highlights as posts. After all, your fans want to see the iconic celebrity in you!
Sanam Jung: -9.5/16
Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the Jaago Pakistan Jaago feed. Although Sanam’s Instagram feed seems to have a balanced mix of work-oriented posts with a tinge of everyday adventures, it lacks maintenance. You’ll see plenty of grid photos highlighting workout routines, travelling experiences, notable literature preferences and many more, but the absence of relevant captions seem to confuse the followers between sponsored and non-sponsored content. Almost all posts uniformly follow Eastern styling trends only. Additionally, choosing a list-like format for a lengthy bio is never a good option as self-descriptions should be different from grocery lists, don’t you think? Despite zero audience interactivity, this feed might capture the attention of female fans of morning shows with its content about family adventures; however, it fails to properly grip the admiration of other genders. We expect more from you, Sanam!
Free suggestion for improvement: Get Out of the Box
Instagram can be your best resort to help separate the real you from the “the stereotyped Pakistani beti/bahu” identity of yours, thanks to the morning show fandom. We suggest you to start promoting individualism in your feed because we are sure that there’s another amazing side of the ever-empowered Sanam, which the world is yet to see.
Mira Sethi: -2.0/-16
This feed has a soothing outlook as is laden with life-oriented posts appreciating humanity, family, poetry, music, art and culture. Seeing Mira play sports or hug her pets in vividly colored sarees and some classic tank gives us an exotic feel. With brief and multi-lingual captions and a perfect bio, this lady does a considerably good job of interacting with the audience as she asks them for their reviews on her drama episodes (Yeh Dil Mera) and more. However, all these plus-points dim in comparison with a major flaw related to mass appeal. This feed does an outstanding job in luring elite Urdu/English literature enthusiasts and Pakistanis settled abroad. Unfortunately, that makes up the narrowest segment of the Pakistani population. While posts about Californian parks or #BlackLivesMatter are immensely appreciated, sadly, they will fail to interest a regular Pakistani, who can barely relate with them.
Free suggestion for improvement: Go more desi
Your Instagram displays the progressive mentality that we all hope to see among the Pakistani population one day. However, today isn’t that day and the best you can do is make your target audience inclusive of all Pakistani population segments because we all deserve to discover the charismatic international face of our country.
Ahead of Play Station 5’s (PS5) launch, a hilarious new Instagram filter has gone live that lets you trick your friends into thinking you already have the PS5.
The filter was created by AR On Everything as a ‘bit of fun’.
They explained: “I hope everyone is having a good time with my AR filter for PS5 box.
“I have created this filter for fun purpose only, any misuse (sale, fake give away etc) of this may attract legal consequences for which ‘AR On Everything’ will not be responsible.
“I humbly request everyone to use this ethically and responsibly. Thank you and enjoy flaunting your virtual PS5,” the added.
To try the filter yourself, open Instagram and go to the Story option, by tapping the camera icon in the top left corner.
Swipe through the filter carousel at the bottom of the screen, until you reach the Search option at the end.
https://get-latest.convrse.media/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mirror.co.uk%2Ftech%2Finstagram-filter-lets-you-trick-22967164&cre=center&cip=14&view=web Tap on this and it will open the Effect Gallery. Tap the magnifying glass in the top right corner, and search PS5 Box.
Tap on the PS5 Box filter, then tap ‘Try It’. Now you’ll be able to virtually place the PS5 box in your house and trick your friends into thinking you have the new console!
The official release date is November 12, with fans in the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand South Korea able to get their hands on the console on that date.
