Ahead of the historic Kartarpur opening, scheduled to be held on November 9, billboards featuring images of Prime Minister Imran Khan have popped up in Amritsar, India.
The posters which featured images of PM Khan and former Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu read, “Navjot Singh Sidhu and Imran Khan are the real heroes, for opening Kartarpur Corridor.”
Punjab: Posters of former Punjab Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and Pakistan PM Imran Khan seen in Amritsar. The posters read,"Navjot Singh Sidhu and Imran Khan are the real heroes, for opening Kartarpur Corridor." pic.twitter.com/9LlpzQWGhJ
However, the hoardings were taken down within hours of being put up as they irked the Indians who widely criticised them.
And in Amritsar, posters with Sidhu and Imran appear.
I have always said that Pakistan wants the Kartarpur corridor not for Sikh pilgrims but for re-starting Khalistani terrorism in Punjab. In Sidhu they have found the perfect Mir Jafar. Now, India needs another KPS Gill. pic.twitter.com/xg9sjJgUeK
According to India Today, supporters of Sidhu put up hoardings calling him and PM Imran the real heroes of Kartarpur. The report further added that the hoardings were put up by Amritsar Municipal Councillor Harpal Singh Verka who is known to be close to Sidhu.
Master Harpal Singh, a Councillor from Verka who put up the posters says,"We wanted to congratulate the people who made it happen, Sidhu sahab aur Imran Khan. More posters are to be put tomorrow." #Amritsarhttps://t.co/imsx51YzC6pic.twitter.com/QOVQay8Qdp
Speaking to India Today, Verka said, “Imran Khan had asked his friend Navjot Singh Sidhu what he can do for him as he visited his swearing-in ceremony in Pakistan. Sidhu put forth a demand before Imran Khan that the Kartarpur corridor be opened for Sikh devotees. I put up hoardings of my own as I wanted to send out the message to the people about Sidhu’s role in getting the corridor opened.”
As per reports, Sidhu was the first Indian politician who received the first invitation card to the opening ceremony bearing number 001 from Imran Khan three days ago.
Sidhu has reportedly been given permission to visit Pakistan on November 9 when the Kartarpur corridor will be formally inaugurated.
Ahead of the historic inauguration of the Kartarpur Corridor which will connect Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur in India to Darbar Sahib Gurdwara in Kartarpur, the government has released a special song, which highlights the message of peace, love and religious harmony.
The song was released in a special ceremony in Islamabad by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan. Members of the Sikh community were also present at the event.
Addressing the ceremony in Islamabad, Dr Awan said the opening of Kartarpur Corridor is the execution of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision of protection and freedom of all minorities, Radio Pakistan reported.
Dr Awan said this song will go a long way in promoting a soft image of peace and inter-faith harmony in the country and that the release of this song will send a signal to the world about the true face of Islam.
The song, which has a Punjabi beat, features Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu and SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
Meanwhile, preparations for the 550th birth anniversary of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev are underway in full swing. Thousands of Sikh yatrees have arrived in Pakistan for the special occasion and to witness the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor on November 9.
The corridor will facilitate visa-free movement of Indian pilgrims, who will have to just obtain a permit to visit Kartarpur Sahib, which was established in 1522 by Guru Nanak.
Along with the song, Pakistan has also released a commemorative postage stamp and a coin to mark the occasion.
Pakistan is home to several sacred Gurdwaras including Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Hasan Abdal, Gurdwara Janamasthan, Nankana Sahib, Gurdwara Sacha Soda Farooqabad among others.
Senior journalist and analyst Hamid Mir has said that there is a lot of difference between the ongoing Azadi March of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and that of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from 2014.
“When one used to visit the 2014 sit-in, you could smell perfumes. When you come here, you can smell attar. So it’s perfume versus attar,” Mir said when approached by a private media outlet during his visit to Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s Islamabad protest last week.
He further said that Imran Khan’s sit-in “had scores of rich people”. “You could see a lot of lipsticks. At this sit-in, what you see is…” the journalist added as he pulled in front of the camera a JUI-F worker.
WATCH VIDEO:
The viral video then shows the worker kissing a smiling Mir on his forehead. It isn’t later that another JUI-F activist to the journalist’s left, pulls and kisses him.
“Do you understand the difference now?” he then asks the reporter, laughing.
New Delhi and the areas surrounding the city have been engulfed by a cloud of smog which is choking the city and its residents. The air quality index has reached hazardous levels as the Indian capital has been hit by the worst pollution in three years. A public health emergency has been declared and people have been advised to stay indoors.
According to a report in Khaleej Times, as smog levels exceeded, authorities parked a van with an air purifier near the Taj Mahal – the iconic 17th-century marble mausoleum 250 kilometres (150 miles) south of Delhi – in a bid to clean the air in its surrounds.
The air purifier van deployed by the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) has the capacity to purify 15 lakh cubic metre air in eight hours within a 300-metre radius.
Regional Officer of UPPCB Bhuvan Yadav shared that a mobile air purifier van has been deployed at the west gate of the Taj Mahal keeping in mind the developing situation and consistent deterioration in air quality.
Agra: In a bid to combat pollution district admn has deployed air purifying machines in Taj Mahal. RK Rathi, Executive Engineer,Agra Municipal Corp says,"an agency has been directed to do mechanised cleaning as well as deploy two air purifying machines at the gates of Taj Mahal." pic.twitter.com/geFbNbdwD7
Pollution around the white marble mausoleum has been a cause of concern for a long time as it has been damaging the monument, one of the seven wonders of the world. Pollution causes the white marble of the monument to turn yellow.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government has declared a public health emergency in the city following the deterioration in air quality. The local government also directed the closure of all schools till November 5 in the interest of the health and safety of children. Free pollution masks were also handed to the children to limit their exposure.
Construction work in the city has been put on hold and private cars have been banned on the roads to limit pollution.
According to a recent study, almost one million Indians died prematurely every year as a result of inhaling this pollution-ridden smog. Experts have warned that both state and national governments needed to go beyond short-term remedies and find a solution to combat this problem which hits every year.
Across the border, Lahore is also suffering from the effects of smog. The air quality index in the city has also reached hazardous levels making breathing tiresome for the residents.
Considering that the participants of the JUI-F’s Azadi March have to sit-in for long hours, they came prepared for their Islamabad protest.
According to reports, the participants are using solar panels and power banks to charge their mobile phones. In fact, these solar panels are even being used to provide electricity in some tents.
A protester shared that they have been using power banks to charge smaller mobile phones while the panels are being used to charge bigger phones. He added that the panels are also being used to provide electricity in some tents too.
Despite the government’s ban on cellular signals in the areas where the protest is being staged, protestors are walking up to four kilometres to share updates from the march on social media.
PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz has been released on bail, the only condition being that she cannot leave the country. Speculations regarding her joining Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s ‘Azadi March’ have already begun.
Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul has said that the (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government is “proud to have the army as its spokesperson”.
“We are proud that we are judiciary’s spokespersons [and] we are proud that the army is our spokesperson,” Gul said during her appearance on a SAMAA TV talkshow as she slammed the opposition for accusing the government of making state institutions controversial.
She said that neither had the PTI government burdened the country with loans worth Rs31,000 billion nor had it enslaved the masses. “This is why the people and the army are with us.”
Calling out opposition members, including former prime minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman “for making judges and the armed forces controversial”, she also questioned their ideology and what they were standing for.
When asked about the way forward with the opposition, she said a “13th player” of the team was doing politics and wished to take others’ children to D-Chowk in Islamabad.
Gul added that opposition leaders at the Islamabad sit-in were “only troubled by the fact that this time they were not a part of the parliament”.
“Do take ki aurat,” has taken over social media and the Pakistani meme world. The episode was one of the biggest searches on Google yesterday, with people asking what will happen next.
Meme doing the rounds
ARY uploaded a ‘coming up next’ for episode 13 but it doesn’t say much….at all. The teaser shows Danish (Humayun Saeed) remembering Mehwish (Ayeza Khan) and her walking with Shehwar (Adnan Siddiqui).
A lot of the shots look as if we have seen them in previous episodes, so here’s to hoping its not one of those ‘remembering’ episodes where Danish and Mehwish are sitting, reminiscing about the past. Boring. Especially after such a big high in episode 12.
The mystery surrounding Humaima Malick’s relationship status has been intriguing fans for a while now. The actor has been spotted with a mystery man, Akbar Dedhai, on more than one occasion making fans wonder what the deal is.
In a recent Instagram post, Humaima posted a picture of herself with Akbar and captioned it, “Purest one.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4U-I5qA93K/
Under another picture, which also had producer Ammara Hikmat in the frame, Humaima wrote, “With people who matter the most. “La Familia.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4JynpsA40b/
Does that mean Humaima has finally revealed that she is a relationship with Akbar?
We can’t be too sure because Humaima has previously also shared pictures with her alleged beau. However, they were later deleted.
Meanwhile, back in Ramazan, Humaima also performed Umrah with Akbar and shared a selfie of the two in Makkah. This led fans to speculate that the two are married because Umrah cannot be performed without a mehram.
While it does seem that Humaima and Akbar are a couple we can only be sure when the actor makes an official comment on the matter. Till then we’ll have to wait patiently and keep our ‘inner aunty’ in check.
Humaima was previously married to actor-director Shamoon Abbasi. The two separated after a brief marriage and maintain that they are still friends.
On the work front, Humaima will be seen next in the much-anticipated The Legend of Maula Jutt.
You won’t be able to tell that 40 minutes went by in one of the fastest episodes of Meray Pass Tum Ho. Just 12 episodes in, the show is bound to be one of the biggest blockbusters in Pakistani drama history.
Mehwish (Ayeza Khan) has decided to leave her son and husband for loaded Shehwar (Adnan Siddiqui). Husband Danish (Humayun Saeed) relents and tells her that she can go and as predicted serves her with divorce papers in this episode.
She doesn’t flinch when he gives them to her but there is a flicker – of shock or happiness, one can’t be certain – but she is definitely taken by surprise when he hands them to her.
One can’t be sure in the beginning of the episode of Danish’s motives. He brings a cake to celebrate his wedding anniversary with Mehwish, which seems like a really weird and creepy thing to do since she’s leaving him for another man.
Making Mehwish cut a wedding anniversary cake with him
The weirdness of it freaks Mehwish out too and she tell Shehwar to come over and get her – eight hours before she actually has to leave. We start to see cracks in Danish’s cool demeanour as he starts passing comments on his marriage with Mehwish – and we finally see that he really is incredibly angry and just very good at hiding it.
Mehwish on the other hand, couldn’t care less and one loses a little respect for her in this episode. When Danish hands her her phone, she finds that the phone is covered in Danish’s blood – blood from an accident he had had the same night. She ignores it – and checks for Shehwar’s message. Ouch.
Mehwish realizing Danish’s blood is on her hands
Her soon-to-be ex-husband and father of your child is bleeding and she couldn’t care less. Seems like a whole new Mehwish. Ayeza Khan had warned her fans not to watch this episode since they would hate her at the end of it. Don’t hate her but definitely don’t like her anymore.
Danish’s biting responses and out of the blue reactions make this episode a truly riveting watch. Humayun Saeed has done it again, proving he is the best actor in the industry. He succeeds in making everyone watching feel for him and also feel incredibly uncomfortable watching him behave and react so strangely. He offers his cheating wife and her lover tea and asks them to sit in his house- until he tells Mehwish to leave with Shehwar.
Danish made Shehwar and Mehwish chai after he gave Mehwish permission to call Shehwar over to take her
When walking them to the door, he says to Shehwar that, “waisey tou bohat intelligent businessman lagte hain aap, lekin yahan bhao karte huye hairaan kardia aapne mujhe. Is do takay ki larki kay liye aap mujhe 50 million dey rahe thay…“ and that’s it.
Danish telling Shehwar that Mehwish is a do take ki aurat
Mehwish hears it and realizes that that’s the moment she truly lost her husband – not when she told him she wanted to leave, not when he found out that she had an affair, not when he gave her divorce papers.
Mehwish realizes she’s lost her husband forever
She realizes that she’s lost the man who truly loved her when she’s walking out of her house and he reveals how he truly feels, you can tell – she has a flicker of admiration and fear for him. Admiration that he finally, finally stood up for himself and fear because now she knows that she can never come back.
