- Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Actor Aamir Khan is the latest among a host of celebrities who have fallen victim to deepfake videos. Amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, a video of the actor purportedly promoting a political party recently went viral, evoking reactions from the audience. On Tuesday, Aamir's official spokesperson issued a statement,…
Amir Sarfaraz Tamba, an accused in the murder of Sarabjit Singh, the Indian death row prisoner in Pakistan, was attacked by unidentified gunmen in Lahore on Sunday. Though some media reports claimed that Tamba was killed in the attack, Pakistan daily Dawn quoting some officials said he was alive but…
An Islamabad-bound PIA flight carrying Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, and a high-level delegation returning from Saudi Arabia was diverted to Lahore to offload the VIPs, causing inconvenience to other passengers, according to a media report. Interestingly, the incident came close on the heels of…
More than 100 supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party have been arrested from different parts of Punjab province of Pakistan for staging rallies against alleged vote rigging, police said on Sunday (4). On the call of party founder Imran Khan, supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party…
PAKISTAN's newly formed parliament elected Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday (3) as prime minister for a second time, three weeks after uncertain national elections caused delays in the formation of a coalition government. "Shehbaz Sharif is declared to have been elected the prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan," National…
Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, made history by becoming the first-ever woman chief minister of Pakistan's most populous Punjab province, a development described by her party as a "giant leap" for the country. The 50-year-old senior vice president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)…
A young woman went viral for wearing a dress with Arabic script printed but for the wrong reasons. An angry mob charged at the woman who was spotted in Ichra Bazaar of Lahore city in Pakistan. A prompt action was taken by the police to save the woman as the…
SUPPORTERS of Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's party have clashed with police in various cities across the country as they staged protests against alleged rigging in the general elections held on February 8. In Lahore, supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) gathered outside the Lahore Press Club and the…
LADY SHREELA FLATHER, who has died, aged 89, came into her own when she entered the House of Lords in 1990, the first ethnic minority woman to be given a peerage. Her passing last week was announced by the Lord Speaker, Lord McFall of Alcluith, who said: “My Lords, I…
Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Tuesday withdrew from the race for the prime minister, saying that his party would support Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's candidate for the premier's slot without being part of the government. The decision of Bilawal came hours after Pakistan's former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif…
Pakistan's army chief told feuding politicians Saturday to show "maturity and unity" after an election failed to produce a clear winner, leaving the military's favoured party having to cobble together a coalition in order to rule. The country faces days of political horse-trading after a strong performance by independent candidates…
I was introduced to Baroness Flather exactly 30 years ago, soon after my wife Heather and I were married. At our wedding, Julie Barnes, the wife of one of my best friends from boarding school, who was a senior journalist working at the Maidenhead Advisor, said I must meet her…
Supporters of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan had the edge on Friday in Pakistan's election results from over 100 seats, after vote counts were hit by unusual delays that the government ascribed to a suspension of mobile phone services. A total of 265 seats were contested in Thursday's election…
Mobile services in Pakistan have been suspended due to the "deteriorating security situation", the caretaker government said on Thursday (8) as the people were voting to elect a new administration, a day after twin terror attacks killed at least 30 people. The interior ministry said it has decided to “temporarily…
At least 12 people were killed and 25 wounded Wednesday (7) by a blast outside a poll candidate's office in southwestern Pakistan, officials said, on the eve of an election marred by violence and allegations of poll-rigging. The attack occurred near the office of an independent candidate in Pishin district,…
A new political party named Pakistan Markazi Muslim League, believed to be a new face of the banned groups of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed, will participate in the February 8 general elections, according to a media report. A BBC Urdu report said some of the candidates…
FORMER Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan is popular in his constituency and ancestral homeland of Mianwali, but the political posters that line the streets do not bear his face and flags do not fly his colours. A relentless crackdown widely attributed to Pakistan’s powerful military has seen him and his…
PAKISTAN’S rice exports are likely to jump to a record high in the year ending in June as India’s decision to curb its own shipments forces buyers to purchase more from Islamabad. The record exports are helping to alleviate tight supplies following the restrictions imposed last year by India, the…
THE Deol family have been an integral part of Bollywood for more than 60 years. They had been largely in the wilderness until an unexpectedly successful 2023 turned things around for them. After two decades of forgettable flops, the sequel Gadar 2 defied negative reviews to become a Bollywood blockbuster,…
The political party led by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan alleged on Friday (19) that Pakistani intelligence agencies are engaging in the overt abduction and harassment of candidates supported by the party in the run-up to the general elections scheduled for February 8. A spokesperson of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf…
KL SAIGAL was arguably the most influential singer in Hindi cinema history. The first singing superstar of India helped define Bollywood music and inspired all those who followed in his giant footsteps, including music icons like Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi and Mukesh. Born on April 11, 1904, Saigal…
The Agra Summit in 2001 collapsed primarily due to Pervez Musharraf's public airing of hawkish Kashmir views, his insufficient actions against terrorism, and his insistence on linking overall progress to developments in Kashmir, not solely due to LK Advani's firm stance. This is what Ambassador Ajay Bisaria, who served as…
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has put forward its chairman and former foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, as its official prime ministerial candidate in the upcoming general elections on February 8, a media report said on Thursday (4). The PPP's Central Executive Committee (CEC) discussed in detail the party's campaign…
THE Indian team is likely to get clearance to travel to Pakistan for the Davis Cup tie against their neighbours in February, the country’s national federation said last Saturday (30). The All India Tennis Association (AITA) had written to the sports ministry, asking for permission to send the national team…
The provincial government of Lahore on Saturday (16), announced the use of artificial rain for the first time in Pakistan as a measure to tackle the perilous smog levels in the megacity. In the first experiment of its kind in the South Asian country, planes equipped with cloud seeding equipment…
IN the packed paediatric emergency room of a Lahore public hospital, parents holding sick children lined up for treatment this month, part of a surge of young patients caused by the air pollution crisis in Pakistan’s second-most populous city. “We are disturbed and tense,” said Mohamad Qadeer, holding a nebulising…
A GROUND-BREAKING year in entertainment saw glass ceilings shattered, greater heights conquered, creative horizons expanded, and new paths carved globally. There was also ground-breaking work, international crossovers, and exciting new talent announcing their arrival. Top south Asian talent from diverse fields were at the forefront of the marvellous moves being…
IN HER book, What’s in a Name? Friendship, Identity and History in Modern Multicultural Britain, the author Sheela Banerjee deals with the question which confronts all British Asian parents. What should they call their newborn? Most want the name to reflect the child’s ethnic and cultural heritage, but at the…
HUNGARY plans to turn Hungarian Indian painter Amrita Sher-Gil’s Ganga Ram Mansions on The Mall in Lahore into a museum, a top diplomat of the country said. Sher-Gil was born in Hungary and was one of the most distinguished visual artists from the Indian subcontinent. At an event to mark…
Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister, Imran Khan has lodged a challenge against his five-year disqualification in a Pakistani court on Thursday (7), ahead of the general elections due in February 2024. Khan, 71, has been in jail since August 5, when he was arrested after a conviction in the Toshakhana…
AN Islamabad court on Wednesday (6) rejected former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan's request to withdraw a key appeal so he could move it to a different court in Lahore, his lawyer said. Khan appealed last year in the Islamabad High Court against the Election Commission of Pakistan's (ECP) finding…
FROM small taboo-busting independent films like Joyland to record-breaking blockbuster The Legend of Maula Jatt, Pakistani cinema has been on the rise in recent years. Forthcoming film Gunjal looks like adding to that momentum, with the Pakistan-set story based on real events of child labour activist Iqbal Masih, who was…
HEAVY pollution-fuelled smog forced authorities to close schools and markets this week in Pakistan's most populous province, including the eastern city of Lahore which has risen to one of the world's worst cities for hazardous air quality. "The government has decided to close down markets for four days from 9…
PEOPLE in New Delhi woke up to a thick layer of toxic haze on Friday (3), and some schools were ordered to be shut for two days as the air quality index (AQI) entered the "severe" category in several parts of the Indian capital. A filthy smog forms over Delhi…
SRI LANKA’S cricket stars and newspapers on Tuesday (31) mourned the death of a beloved “super fan” who had become a one-man cheer leader and a permanent presence at international games. Percy Abeysekara, 87, died at a hospital outside the capital Colombo on Monday (30) following a brief illness, according…
THREE-TIME Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif ended four years of self-imposed exile on Saturday (21), launching his political comeback at a rally attended by thousands of rapturous supporters ahead of elections due next year. Fireworks marked his arrival at the event in a park in his power base of Lahore,…
PAKISTAN’S Supreme Court has upheld a controversial law seeking to curtail the powers of the chief justice but barred its retrospective application. The law upheld by the majority of judges, including the sitting chief justice, deprived the chief justice of forming benches for different cases as the new law provided…
If not for his children, superstar Aamir Khan says he would have quit making films as he was "angry and irritated" with himself for not being able to spend enough time with his family and loved ones. The 58-year-old said it was somewhere around 2.5 years ago when he realised…
Aamir Khan on Tuesday announced his next production venture Lahore, 1947, starring Sunny Deol and to be directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. The superstar confirmed the project in a statement posted on his banner Aamir Khan Productions' (AKP) official page on microblogging site X. Khan said he and his team at…
Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed that there have been no alterations in party supremo Nawaz Sharif's intention to return to Pakistan next month. Shehbaz Sharif said that his elder brother is scheduled to present an 'agenda of progress' on October 21, the media…
Popular singer-songwriter Guru Randhawa has signed with the US-based Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for international representation. The singer, who started his career as an independent musician in the early 2000s, is known for his Punjabi and Bollywood chartbuster songs such as "Same Girl", "Patola" and "Lahore". "More than anything, I'm…
CANADIAN prime minister Justin Trudeau’s accusation on Tuesday (19) that the Indian government was behind the killing of a Sikh leader in Canada led to an escalating war-of-words and diplomats being ejected from both countries. India described as “absurd” Trudeau’s claims that “credible allegations” linked Indian agents to the June…
AVANT-GARDE artist Amrita Sher-Gil’s oil on canvas The Story Teller has unseated Sayed Haider Raza’s Gestation as the most expensive work of Indian art sold at auction worldwide. The 1937 artwork went for `618 million (£6m) in New Delhi last Saturday (16) at Saffronart’s Evening Sale: Modern Art. Featured in…
PAKISTAN Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif will return to the country from London on October 21 to lead the party's political campaign in the upcoming elections, ending his over four years of self-imposed exile in the UK. "Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan on October 21," his younger brother…
Pakistani censors have banned a TV drama over scenes reminiscent of a notorious gang rape case, saying the series would "tarnish" the nation's image by depicting it as an "unsafe place for women". Regulators said the show Hadsa would be pulled from airwaves due to parallels to the real-life case…
ALLROUNDER Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Najmul Hossain Shanto smashed centuries before Bangladesh's pace bowlers shared eight wickets to beat Afghanistan by 89 runs in the Asia Cup in Lahore on Sunday (3). Miraz hit a 119-ball 112 for his highest ODI score while Shanto scored a 105-ball 104 to help…
VIRAT KOHLI walked up to Haris Rauf and they hugged each other and exchanged a few words and laughter. Perhaps, they were having a bit of a joke about those two sixes on a starry Melbourne night last year. It wasn't a mere put on. There was a touching genuineness…
FAST bowler Matheesha Pathirana was hailed as his team's 'X-factor' after returning impressive figures of 4-32 to help Sri Lanka to a comprehensive five-wicket win over Bangladesh in the Asia Cup on Thursday (31). Spinner Maheesh Theekshana struck early before Pathirana joined forces to dismiss Bangladesh for 164 in the…
A 16-year-old British Pakistani student, Mahnoor Cheema has set a record in the UK and internationally after passing a total of 34 subjects at the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) level. This accomplishment is the result of Mahnoor passing 17 GCSEs in the previous year, coupled with an additional…
AN anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has approved the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan in a case related to violence at an army building in Lahore, broadcaster Ary News reported on Wednesday (23), citing sources. Khan is currently jailed after a graft conviction. Wednesday's ruling relates to violence that…
A petition filed by imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan against his conviction and sentence in the Toshakhana corruption case will be considered by a two-member bench of the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday (22). Judge Humayun Dilawar of the Islamabad-based sessions court on August 5 found the 70-year-old chairman…
A 70-member special unit has been established by the Islamabad Police on Thursday (17) in response to the escalating incidents of attacks targeting religious minorities in Pakistan. The primary purpose of this unit is the "protection of minority places of worship and communities" in the national capital. "Seventy jawans (policemen)…
SEVERAL churches were set on fire by a rampaging mob in eastern Pakistan on Wednesday (16) after a Christian family was accused of blasphemy, officials said. Hundreds of people armed with sticks and rocks stormed the predominantly Christian area in Faisalabad city, police in the area said. Images on social…
Pakistan's president Arif Alvi issued an appeal on Monday (14) to political leaders, urging them to set aside their discord and animosity. The plea came as the financially strained nation marked its 76th Independence Day anniversary. Addressing a flag hoisting ceremony held at the Convention Centre, the president also expressed…
The outgoing prime minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, has announced that his brother and former premier, Nawaz Sharif, is set to make his return to Pakistan in the upcoming month. Nawaz Sharif's return aims to address his pending court cases and to spearhead the party's efforts for the forthcoming general…
A SLOWDOWN in in global consumption and a rise in energy costs following the outbreak of war in Ukraine have compounded problems for Pakistan’s industrial manufacturing sector. The textile sector, which accounts for about 60 per cent of Pakistan’s exports, has been hit by the critical state of the country’s…
IMRAN KHAN’S conviction and his three-year jail term in a corruption case have cleared a “major hurdle” in holding general elections in Pakistan, and will help the ruling party and the powerful military to get the “desired results” in the polls, some analysts and political leaders believe. Political analyst Hasan…
FORMER Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, who has been convicted and jailed on graft charges, was barred from politics for five years on Tuesday (8), an official order said. The order by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), seen by Reuters and confirmed by a senior officer, said Khan was…
Imran Khan's conviction and his three-year jail term in a corruption case have cleared a "major hurdle" in holding general elections in Pakistan and will help the ruling PML-N and the powerful military establishment to get the "desired results" in the polls, some analysts and political leaders believe. Political analyst…
AT LEAST 30 people were killed and 80 others injured on Sunday (6) after several compartments of an express train derailed in Pakistan's southern Sindh province, in the latest rail disaster to hit the country. The Hazara Express, travelling from Karachi to Rawalpindi derailed in Nawabshah district near the Sarhari…
Lawyers representing former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, on Monday (7) were making efforts to initiate legal proceedings against his three-year sentence on corruption charges. This sentence has effectively disqualified him from participating in national elections. The ex-international cricket icon had been arrested at his residence on Saturday (5) and…
AN Indian citizen, who was swept into Pakistan by floodwaters of the river Sutlej has been handed over to an intelligence agency, officials in Pakistan's Punjab province said on Wednesday (26). "The Indian national who is in his 50s is deaf and communicates through sign language. He said he is…
A 34-year-old married Indian woman named Anju travelled to Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to meet her 29-year-old Facebook friend, Nasrulla, whom she had befriended and for whom she developed romantic feelings, police said on Sunday (23). Anju, who hails from Kailor village in Uttar Pradesh and resides in Alwar…
The release of the much-anticipated Hollywood Barbie film was delayed in Pakistan’s Punjab province Friday over “objectionable content,” officials said. Films in Pakistan need to be cleared by provincial boards that censor anything deemed a violation of the country’s social and cultural values. “There will be a full review of…
FIERCE rivals Pakistan and India will meet in Sri Lanka on September 2 for their first one-day international clash in four years, according to the Asia Cup schedule announced Wednesday (19). The six-nation tournament starts on August 30 with four matches in Pakistan and the remaining nine in Sri Lanka…
PAKISTANI mountaineer Shehroze Kashif faces sub-zero temperatures and biting winds in his race to scale the world’s highest peaks, but his biggest challenge is finding the money. Kashif, 21, aims this year to become the youngest person to climb every peak above 8,000 metres (26,247 feet), all of which are…
VIRGIN ATLANTIC ended its operations in Pakistan with the British carrier’s last flight taking off from Islamabad to London’s Heathrow Airport last Sunday (9). A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority said the final flight left from Islamabad International Airport to Heathrow at 8 am (local time). The British airline…
PAKISTAN’S main opposition leader and former prime minister Imran Khan expressed support for a recently-reached bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after a meeting with officials of the lender last Friday (7), his party said. The IMF said it was, in the lead up to national elections in…
Pakistan's top election body on Tuesday (11) issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against former prime minister Imran Khan in a case of contempt. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) also issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against former information and broadcast minister Fawad Chaudhry for the same offence. The commission initiated…
A special court in Pakistan acquitted Suleman Shahbaz, the son of prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, and all other accused individuals named in the Rs 16 billion (more than £44.5 million) money laundering case initiated by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The order was issued on Monday (10) by the special…
THOUSANDS of people rallied in streets across Pakistan on Friday (7) to condemn a Koran burning in Sweden that has outraged Muslims around the world. Last week, Salwan Momika, an Iraqi living in Sweden, stomped on the Muslim holy book and set several pages alight outside a Stockholm mosque. His…
PAKISTAN'S former prime minister Imran Khan has been named in six cases of violence, including attacks on the Army’s installations this year, a media report said on Thursday (6). Three of the cases were registered under the tough Anti-Terrorism Act. Khan’s supporters breached the gates of the Army's General Headquarters…
A minimum of 50 people, including eight children, have lost their lives due to floods and landslides caused by the ongoing monsoon rains in Pakistan, officials said Friday (07). The country has been battered by these heavy rains since last month. South Asia heavily relies on the summer monsoon, which…
PAKISTAN has issued a presidential ordinance granting extra detention powers to the country's anti-graft body, which is currently investigating a case involving former prime minister Imran Khan, media reported on Tuesday (4). Khan, the country's main opposition leader who has faced a string of cases since being ousted from power…
WHETHER it was Mehmood, Johnny Walker, Johnny Lever or lead stars showing off their funny side, there have been many great comedians in Indian cinema across the decades. But the first talented comedian was iconic actor Noor Mohammed Charlie. Armed with his trademark Charlie Chaplin moustache and a natural swagger,…
Netflix, one of the leading streaming media platforms in the world, is home to innumerable blockbuster films and binge-worthy shows. The streamer has launched several hit shows and films in the first half of 2023. Its slate for the second half of the year looks even more electric. Let’s have…
PAKISTAN Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged his elder brother and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief to return from London to lead the party and the country. Addressing a meeting of the central general council meeting of the party on Friday (16) where he was re-elected as the president of…
India's IndiGo Airlines confirmed on Sunday (11) that one of its flights, 6E-645, en route from Amritsar to Ahmedabad, entered Pakistan airspace briefly due to adverse weather conditions. The aircraft went up to Gujranwala in Pakistan before returning to Indian airspace safely, according to a statement issued by the airline.…
FORMER Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan had his bail renewed in over a dozen cases on Thursday, a month after his three-day detention sparked violence, thousands of arrests, and the resignations of much of his party's leadership. The 70-year-old former international cricket star, facing more than 150 cases registered against…
Laughter is the best medicine, as the old saying goes, and this certainly appeared to be the case with the author Moni Mohsin, whose session was one of the hits of the recently held Khushwant Singh Lit Fest (KSLF) in London. Mohsin, who created a character called “the Social Butterfly”,…
Pakistan has leased its iconic Roosevelt Hotel in New York to the New York City administration for three years, the cash-strapped government has announced, in a deal that will enable the country to earn up to $220 million (£177m). The Roosevelt Hotel, named after former US president Theodore Roosevelt, has…
PAKISTAN'S embattled former Prime Minister Imran Khan has accused the powerful military and its intelligence agency of openly trying to destroy his political party, saying he had "no doubt" he would be tried in a military court and thrown in jail. Khan has hinted previously at the military's hand in…
With military courts, intimidation of the press and mass arrests, Pakistan's rulers are seeking to destroy former prime minister Imran Khan's support ahead of elections, analysts say. Khan's brief arrest earlier this month sparked days of street protests freighted with anger at the powerful army perceived to have orchestrated his…
Actors Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel are set to make you nostalgic with the re-release of their iconic film Gadar Ek Prem Katha. On Thursday, Sunny and Ameesha took to Instagram and shared the update with their fans and followers. The audience can once again watch the film in theatres…
The Kohinoor diamond, claimed by India, is on display at the Tower of London with the organisers of the exhibition trying to contextualise its turbulent colonial history in a “transparent” way. Kohinoor, also referred to as Koh-i-Noor, forms part of the new Jewel House exhibition at the tourist attraction and…
A PAKISTANI court in the eastern city of Lahore on Thursday (25) handed 16 civilians over to the military for trial over their suspected involvement in violent protests following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan this month. The military said after the violence that the suspects would be…
Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan said Wednesday (24) that senior leaders were being pressured into resigning from his party amid a crackdown, as a former cabinet minister became the latest to quit. Rights monitors said authorities have detained thousands of supporters of Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party since days…
Shireen Mazari, Pakistan's former human rights minister and a close aide of ousted prime minister Imran Khan, on Tuesday (23) quit the party and announced her retirement from active politics following her arrest over the recent violence. Mazari, 72, made the announcement after she was released following her arrest for…
Pakistani police and government officials arrived at the Lahore home of former prime minister Imran Khan on Friday (19) to discuss a possible search for suspects involved in this month's attacks on state and army buildings, authorities said. Police would only start the search after agreeing on terms and conditions,…
Pakistan's powerful anti-corruption agency has summoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan for questioning on Thursday (18) into the graft charges that led to his arrest on May 9. A spokesman for the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which has in the past investigated, put on trial and jailed all those who…
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday (17) that police had surrounded his house and that he expected to be rearrested soon, after the government warned him to hand over supporters who it blamed for attacks on the army. Khan was arrested by the army on May 9…
A Pakistan high court on Tuesday (16) extended bail for former prime minister Imran Khan in two cases relating to inciting violence and sedition until June 8. A single bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) heard the pleas in cases pertaining to allegations against top officers of state institutions…
Several thousand pro-government protesters on Monday (15) demanded the resignation of Pakistan's top judge for releasing Imran Khan from arrest last week, as the former prime minister went back to court facing yet more legal cases. Khan, who was ousted from power in April last year, was arrested on corruption…
THERE is a "very real possibility" that Pakistan will boycott this year's World Cup in India if they lose rights to host the Asia Cup, the chairman of the country's cricket board Najam Sethi said. Bilateral cricket has been a casualty of the soured political relations between India and Pakistan…
British colonial troops bombed an area where prime minister Rishi Sunak’s paternal grandfather lived, according to a report in The Times. Ram Dass Sunak was two years old in 1919, the year in which the Jallianwala massacre took place - with British troops firing at unarmed civilians who had gathered…
Former prime minister Imran Khan has gone from being the chosen one to a thorn in the side of Pakistan's military - long considered the nation's political power brokers. His arrest this week - after delivering another broadside against a senior intelligence officer - marks an escalation in the duel…
Pakistani authorities took senior functionaries of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party into custody as the government called out the army to help end widespread and deadly protests sparked by Khan's arrest. At least three senior functionaries of the party have been arrested so far, one from outside the Supreme…
Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan is scheduled to appear in a special court located at the police headquarters in the capital city, where he will address allegations of corruption on Wednesday (10). His unexpected arrest triggered widespread violent protests throughout the country. Khan's detention comes after a prolonged period…
Supporters of Imran Khan on Tuesday stormed the Pakistan Army headquarters in Rawalpindi and the Corps Commander's residence in Lahore after the former prime minister was arrested in connection with a corruption case. Khan, who travelled from Lahore to capital Islamabad, was at the Islamabad High Court when the paramilitary…
Pakistan security forces arrested former Prime Minister Imran Khan at Islamabad High Court on Tuesday (9), his aides said, in a dramatic move that threatens fresh turmoil in the nuclear-armed country. Geo TV reported that cricketer-turned-politician Khan was arrested in connection with a corruption case. Footage of the arrest shared…
Pakistani authorities are expected to go ahead with their goodwill gesture to release Indian fishermen arrested for allegedly fishing illegally in the country's waters, despite the death of an Indian civilian who was to be repatriated with them. Kazi Nazir, a top police official in the jail and corrections department…
EDUCATIONAL non-profit foundation, CARE Foundation, has provided scholarships to 1,000 Pakistani students from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue college or university education. Students can pursue education at colleges and universities in Pakistan such as NUST, GIKI, GCU, UET, FCC and King Edward Medical College, as well as study in universities across…
There perhaps isn’t a young talent as unique as Amar Khan in Pakistan. The versatile actress is also an accomplished writer and trained filmmaker, who is always looking to do things differently. The daughter of famous actress Fareeha Jabeen has starred in hit drama serials, and made her film debut…
Ali Sethi's song "Pasoori" whose title roughly translates to "difficult mess" has taken the world by storm, blending traditional poetry with contemporary beats to elevate the Pakistani singer's stardom. The Punjabi track, which explores the complexities of forbidden love, became the most-searched song on Google in 2022 and has amassed…
Imran Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has been granted interim bail until May 4 by an anti-terrorism court in Lahore. The bail is related to three cases involving violent clashes between Khan's supporters and the police during an operation to arrest the former prime minister in the…
A Pakistani court last week scheduled a hearing for the Toshakhana corruption case against former prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday (12). The plea was filed through Senator Barrister Syed Ali Zafar, and the hearing will be held by a five-member bench of the Lahore High Court, led by Justice…
Imran Khan alleges that General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the former Army chief, had urged him to establish cordial relations with India. The relationship between the two countries has been fraught with tension over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism from Pakistan. However, their relationship took a nosedive after India repealed…
I (FELICITY) am apparently descended from a lineage of Sikhs, whose legendary kingdom once spanned Punjab, Peshawar and Kashmir. In the 19th century, its 12-year-old maharaja was coerced into surrendering the empire’s most treasured possession to Viscount Henry Hardinge, signifying a British victory over the Lahore Darbar. It is in…
Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif appealed to parliament on Tuesday (28) to act against predecessor Imran Khan over accusations that his party was involved in violence that erupted when police tried to arrest him for alleged corruption. The clashes occurred earlier in March after Khan's supporters prevented police and paramilitary…
FORMER Pakistan prime minister and leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, Imran Khan criticised the government led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Saturday. He stated that those who are currently in power will come to understand that the people's passion cannot be suppressed through obstacles and the…
Renowned singer Atif Aslam and his wife Sarah Bharwana have been blessed with a baby girl. On Thursday, the singer took to Instagram and shared the good news with his fans and followers. The couple has named their daughter Halima. Sharing a picture of the newborn in a pink outfit…
On Wednesday (22), authorities reported that a powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake, originating from Afghanistan's Hindu Kush region, shook Pakistan and resulted in the deaths of at least nine individuals and injuries to over 160 others. The quake also caused three fatalities in Afghanistan, as per the Khaama Press, an online…
On Tuesday (21), an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Islamabad postponed a ruling on the request by former prime minister Imran Khan to be excused from attending a hearing related to a terrorism case against him. Khan's legal representative, Sardar Masroof Khan, was present in court to file the exemption request…
On Monday (20), Pakistan's anti-corruption watchdog summoned Imran Khan's third wife, Bushra Bibi, in a corruption case. This comes after a day when a terrorism case was registered against the former Prime Minister and over a dozen leaders of his party for their alleged involvement in vandalism and causing unrest…
On Sunday (19), Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, declared his determination to pursue legal action against all officers who participated in the raid on his Zaman Park home in Lahore. During the search operation, which resulted in the brutal beating of his party workers, over 10,000 armed…
A PAKISTAN judge dropped an arrest warrant against former prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday (18), his lawyers said, after the ex-cricketing star, who had skipped several hearings, travelled to court. The 70-year-old has been tangled in a slew of court cases since he was ousted in a no-confidence motion…
Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan said on Saturday he expected to be arrested as he headed to court on Saturday. The 70-year-old former cricket star has been tangled in a slew of court cases, a frequent hazard for opposition figures in Pakistan's politics. "I am going to the Islamabad…
A number of Pakistani celebrities have expressed their concern over the chaos at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s residence at Zaman Park in Lahore, Pakistan. PTI workers and police engaged in a standoff outside the home of PTI leader Imran Khan in Zaman Park for nearly 24, with the…
According to an aide, Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, is scheduled to appear in court on Friday (17) to support his request for a halt to a police operation aimed at arresting him for not attending a hearing. Fawad Chaudhry, the aide, informed Reuters that Khan would…
Former Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan's supporters vigorously defended him against the police's attempts to arrest him. Despite the chaotic scene, the 70-year-old opposition leader maintained that he is a staunch believer in law and order. "I believe in rule of law," he told AFP inside his Lahore compound on…
Pakistani security forces on Wednesday (15) withdrew from the area around Imran Khan's home, putting an end to clashes that erupted after police attempted to arrest the former prime minister for failing to appear in a case involving the sale of state gifts. Police and other security personnel were seen…
Pakistani police and Imran Khan supporters clashed outside the former prime minister's home in the eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday (14), injuring several on both sides ahead of his possible arrest, according to a government spokesman and witnesses. The police used batons to charge the supporters and lobbed teargas…
HOURS after Pakistan's media regulator banned broadcasts of ousted prime minister Imran Khan's speeches, the private ARY TV news channel was taken off air on Monday (6) for airing his address a day earlier. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Sunday (5) night banned satellite television channels from…
EVERYONE has been talking about how great recently released Bollywood documentary The Romantics is, without noticing the key elements it missed out, along with flaws that ultimately made it inauthentic. The four-part Netflix series details the iconic rise of legendary Hindi production house Yash Raj Films (YRF), from Yash Chopra…
A BRIGHT moment in newly released British film What’s Love Got To Do With It? is the presence of path-breaking Pakistani star Sajal Ali. The talented actress added to her impressive body of work across film and television with an accomplished English-language debut that has set a platform for further…
LOS ANGELES-based Indian producer Apoorva Charan is thrilled about her critically-acclaimed debut feature film Joyland coming out in the UK this week and is looking forward to its India release next month. Charan, born in Hyderabad, was drawn to the very simple characters of the film set within a South…
Los Angeles-based Indian producer Apoorva Charan is thrilled about her critically-acclaimed debut feature film "Joyland" coming out in the UK this week and is looking forward to its India release next month. Charan, born in Hyderabad, was drawn to the very simple characters of the film set within a South…
The intriguing story of how a "shy" teenage Pakistani girl travelled on her own to Bengaluru to meet and marry an Indian man was revealed by her uncle who said she sold her jewellery and borrowed money from friends to buy air tickets to Dubai and onwards to Kathmandu from…
LONDON-BORN actor Shazad Latif stressed the importance of representation in mainstream cinema as he took on his first leading role on the big screen in this week’s new release What’s Love Got to Do with It? Latif said the film, which is centred around the British Pakistani community, is of…
THE south Asian movie that was most adored by the international film festival circuit in 2022 was Joyland. Although the path-breaking drama did not receive an Academy Award nomination, it became the first Pakistani movie in history to be shortlisted for an international feature Oscar. But more importantly, it expanded…
British-Pakistani actor and Oscar winner Riz Ahmed recently joined the team of the much-talked-about Pakistani film Joyland (2022) as the executive producer. The film is Pakistan’s official entry in the Best International Feature Film category at the upcoming 95th Academy Awards. Ahmed joins the ranks of Malala Yousafzai, who also…
Veteran screenwriter, lyricist, and poet Javed Akhtar attended the Faiz Festival in Lahore during which he fired potshots at Pakistan in regard to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. In a video posted by GNN YouTube channel, he could be heard saying, "Haqeeqat yeh hai ki hum dono ek dusre ko…
Pakistanis are queuing for hours to grab coffee and pastries from Canadian chain Tim Hortons, which opened its first outlet in the South Asian country this week just as its economic crisis took a turn for the worse. In less than a month, Pakistan's currency has lost more than a…
Over 75 suspects, including members of the radical Tehreek Laibbaik Pakistan (TLP) outfit, have been arrested for their alleged role in the lynching of a blasphemy-accused man in Punjab province of Pakistan, police said on Monday. A violent mob on Saturday stormed the police station at Warburton in Nankana Sahib,…
Writer and television producer Jemima Khan has turned her hand to scriptwriting for a new romcom ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’ that captures her change of heart towards arranged marriages after seeing them up close during her life in Pakistan, as the ex-wife of former Prime Minister Imran…
An Indian national, who was earlier denied a visa by a Pakistani court, entered the country on Tuesday to complete his marathon journey on foot to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj. Shihab Bhai, 29, arrived in Pakistan via the Wagah border and was welcomed by Sarwar Taj, who had filed…
Pakistan's former military dictator General Pervez Musharraf, the architect of the Kargil War, toppled the democratically-elected government in a bloodless military coup in 1999 and ruled the country for nine years during which he survived numerous assassination bids.Born in a middle-class family of Urdu-speaking Mohajir parents in Delhi in 1943,…
It was the "Kargil episode" of 1999 that created the biggest rift between then Pakistan president Parvez Musharraf and then prime minister Nawaz Sharif after he denied any knowledge of it to make himself look clean, according to a book written by the deceased ex-military ruler.The book 'In the Line…
Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan on Friday accused ex-president Asif Ali Zardari of paying terrorists and hatching a fresh plan along with people in the country’s powerful intelligence agencies to assassinate him after the previous two attempts failed. Khan, during a virtual press conference from his Lahore’s Zaman Park…
Joyland, Pakistan’s official entry for the Oscars 2023, is set to have a theatrical release in India. An upcoming release schedule posted by PVR Pictures, the film production and distribution arm of PVR Group, an Indian multiplex chain based in Gurgaon, confirms the development. Joyland is set to become the…
Pakistan's national grid suffered a major breakdown on Monday, the power ministry said, leaving millions of people without electricity for the second time in three months and highlighting the infrastructural weakness of this heavily indebted nation. Power Minister Khurrum Dastagir told Reuters the outage was caused by a large voltage…
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is travelling to different countries around the world with a "begging bowl" but none of them is giving him a penny, ousted premier Imran Khan said on Sunday. "See what this imported government has done to Pakistan," Khan, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party chairman, said in…
Filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi says as a storyteller he would never cash in on the trending genres and would rather go by his instincts.The director, whose filmography features beloved movies such as "Andaz Apna Apna”, “Ghayal” and “Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani”, said he believes in trying his hand at something…
Pakistan's deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif is likely to return to the country next month to end his over three-year self-exile in the United Kingdom, some senior leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said on Thursday. Punjab province Governor Baligur Rehman of PML-N said Nawaz's daughter and PML-N chief organiser…
In a major diplomatic victory for India, Abdul Rehman Makki was designated a global terrorist by the UN after China lifted its hold on a joint India-US proposal to blacklist the deputy chief of Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba. The UN Security Council’s 1267 ISIL (Da’esh) and Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee…
Pakistan cricket captain Babar Azam is not having the best of time on the ground as his team has faced some humiliating losses at home of late, including a 0-3 defeat against England in Tests but now it seems the ace batter has courted a serious off-the-ground controversy as well.…
Pakistan's electronic media watchdog on Thursday launched a crackdown on cable operators airing Indian content on TV channels in the country. The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) field staff conducted raids at four cable operators "for airing illegal Indian channels as well as Indian content," the watchdog said in…
Pakistan's ousted prime minister Imran Khan has asked the powerful establishment to refrain from "political engineering" in the general elections later this year as he asserted that his party is the only party that can pull the cash-strapped country out of the current economic quagmire. Addressing the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)…
LAST year may have been a bad one for Bollywood, but that didn’t stop it from being an interesting 12 months for films with a strong south Asian connection. There were marvellous movies made across different languages and genres, which delighted audiences on multiple platforms, from streaming sites to cinemas…
In a fresh attack on Gen (retd.) Qamar Javed Bajwa, Pakistan’s ousted prime minister Imran Khan has alleged that the former army chief wanted to have him murdered and impose a state of emergency in the country. Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, made the startling allegation during…
The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the assassination attempt on Pakistan's ousted prime minister Imran Khan has said that the firing was carried out from four different sites and three more shooters, other than the arrested suspect, were involved in the attack. Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI),…
Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan has said that retired Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa called him a “playboy” during their last meeting before his ouster from the Constitutional position last year through a no-confidence motion. In his interaction with media persons on Monday at his Lahore residence, the…
The Indian American community in Washington has observed the maiden 'Veer Bal Diwas' during which they paid tributes to the unparalleled sacrifices made by 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh's four sons who laid down their lives while defending their faith. The martyrdom day of Guru Gobind Singh's sons - Baba…
Babar Azam has no intention of giving up the Pakistan captaincy despite overseeing a first-ever 3-0 Test series whitewash at home, saying that leading the side was "a matter of honour". Pakistan lost to England Tuesday in the third and final Test in Karachi by eight wickets, after going down…
“MY FATHER died on Sunday, November 20, at 5:55 pm at home, in his own bed, in New Delhi. “At the end, death came to him like a mother and lifted him up gently, tenderly, to carry him through the exit to the other side. It was sandhya, dusk, when…
Pakistan’s ousted prime minister Imran Khan said on Friday that he was "completely helpless" as the premier the "real man in power" was former army chief Gen (retd.) Qamar Javed Bajwa, who called all the shots. Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, has been targeting Gen Bajwa and…
Pakistan's interior minister accused India on Tuesday of being behind a bombing in 2021 near the house of Hafiz Saeed, the founder of a militant Islamist group blamed for a deadly 2008 attack in Mumbai. A suicide bomber rammed a car into a police checkpoint just outside Saeed's house, killing…
A total of 100 cases of forced faith conversion, forced and child marriage and abduction of girls and women belonging to the Christian community have been reported in Pakistan between January 2019 and October 2022, a new report said. According to the report titled "Conversion without Consent" released by Conversion…
Pakistan's Punjab government has opened the first transgender public school here in the provincial capital in its bid to empower more trans persons in society. Earlier, Pakistan's Punjab government had set up three transgender schools in the province- Multan, Bahawalpur, and D.G Khan- to educate and teach skills to trans…
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif would return to the country next month from London where he has been living since last three years, a senior party leader has said. The 72-year-old former three-time premier had left for London in November 2019 after the Lahore…
A group of lawyers moved the Peshawar High Court on Monday to ban the movie Joyland and remove its trailers from social media, following which the court ordered the government, regulators, and filmmakers to respond to the petition, Dawn reported. The petition filed by the lawyers demanded a response from…
There is a possibility of another assassination attempt on Imran Khan, the Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court said on Friday and asserted that it was the government’s responsibility to take cognisance of the looming threat on the former prime minister. Chief Justice Aamer Farooq’s remarks came while hearing a…
Pakistani film 'Joyland' which received multiple international awards has finally got the green signal from the censor board of Pakistan after cutting a few scenes, Geo News reported. The full board has allowed the local screening of Joyland, which was banned earlier, after deleting some parts. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif…
Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, who got married in April 2010 and are parents to a baby boy, Izhaan Mirza Malik, have separated, according to reports. While the couple has yet not reacted to the reports doing the rounds in the media world over, some…
Pakistan’s former premier Imran Khan will return to the political arena within two to three days following surgery after being injured in an assassination bid, one of his party leaders has said. Khan, 70, suffered a bullet injury in the right leg on Thursday when a gun-wielding man fired a…
Imran Khan is stable after an attempt on his life and the former Pakistan prime minister is determined to continue his political struggle to press the government to call for an early election, his party has said. Khan, 70, suffered a bullet injury in the right leg when a gun-wielding…
After the announcement of Imran Khan's being safe and stable following the "assassination attempt," Goldsmith took to Twitter and conveyed their sons' gratitude to the man who caught the attacker. "The news we dread... Thank God he's okay. And thank you from his sons to the heroic man in the…
India on Thursday (3) said it is keeping a "close" eye on developments relating to the attack on former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan during his protest march in Pakistan's Punjab province. "This is something that we are closely keeping an eye on and we will continue to monitor the…
Faisal Javed Khan, a Senator of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), who was injured in "the firing incident" near the container carrying Imran Khan during the long march, has said it was an "assassination attempt" on the former Pakistan Prime Minister, according to media reports. Imran Khan has been injured in a…
Pakistan's intelligence chief accused former Prime Minister Imran Khan of asking the country's powerful military for "illegal and unconstitutional" support for his government, in a scathing and unprecedented news conference on Thursday (27). The news conference by the chief of the country's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lieutenant-General Nadeem Anjum, came…
Over the killing of TV anchor Arshad Sharif in Kenya, senior Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Faisal Vawda said that the "plan was hatched" inside Pakistan, media reports said. These remarks by the PTI leader came hours after the Pakistani government reconstituted the inquiry committee meant to probe Sharif's killing. During…
With Rishi Sunak on the threshold of becoming the first non-white prime minister of Britain, arch-rivals India and Pakistan are on the cusp of history to share a pride, though none of them played a role in it. Sunak’s grandparents originated from British India but their birthplace Gujranwala lies in…
King Charles III took over the reins of the British Monarchy after the Queen's demise last month. His coronation ceremony will be held on May 6, as per the official statement of Buckingham Palace. One question, however, that has garnered the most attention is whether Queen Consort Camilla will wear…
Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif has reunited with his daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif in London three years after authorities returned her passport following a court order. Maryam, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice-president, who arrived in London on Thursday, was received by her brother Hassan Nawaz Sharif and son…
Malala Yousafzai, who heads her own production company, Extracurricular Productions, has come onboard as an executive producer for Pakistan’s film Joyland. Pakistan’s Oscar Selection Committee has selected Joyland as its submission for the 95th Academy Awards in the International Feature Film Award category. Joyland is an Urdu-language film that revolves…
A film crew entered the premises of Gurdwara Panja Sahib in Punjab province of Pakistan while wearing shoes and shot a movie without permission that has outraged the Sikh community in the country, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa claimed, sharing a video of the incident. "Blasphemous actions continue…
This year’s London Film Festival runs from October 5-16 and once again has a strong south Asian line-up, which touch upon diverse genres and have interesting storylines. There will be cinema screenings, and some films will be available online. Eastern Eye looked ahead to the annual event, with a preview…
Allrounder Moeen Ali said Sunday that captaining England against Pakistan -- where his family have roots -- was a "huge and proud moment". England are on their first tour of Pakistan in 17 years, and will play seven Twenty20s. The first T20 will be played in Karachi on Tuesday. Captain…
SENIOR SOUTH ASIAN and Black leaders have urged King Charles to make sure their communities continue to have a strong influence on Britain’s future. While he was a prince, the new monarch was outspoken on issues which concerned him. They included highlighting the dangers of climate change, the benefits of…
A Buckinghamshire man has completed the first of three gruelling challenges inspired by ‘three gems’ who died within 20 months of each other. Suki Sandhu, from Milton Keynes, took part in the London Duathlon on Sunday (4 September) in aid of the charity Brain Tumour Research, running 10km, cycling 44km…
A FEDERAL minister in Pakistan's ruling PML-N on Monday (15) announced that the party's supreme leader and deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif will return to the country from London next month, ending a three-year self-exile. “Former prime minister Sharif will return to Pakistan from London in September. Upon his return,…
The journalists' bodies and press clubs termed the arrest of ARY News senior Vice President an act of victimization and said that journalists will call for a nationwide protest if Ammad Yousaf is not released immediately, ARY News reported. Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) in its statement said that…
Seventy-five years of the independent polity have been tumultuous and turbulent for the state of Pakistan. Oscillating between military rule and civilian governments, the country to date has failed to witness even one complete five-year tenure of any of its Prime Ministers. This offbeat political tug of war has raised…
England will tour Pakistan in September for the first time in 17 years to play seven Twenty20 and three test matches in two spells, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Tuesday. England pulled out of their Pakistan tour last year soon after New Zealand had abandoned their tour of…
WHY TOURING THE UK IS LIKE A HOMECOMING FOR RIZWAN MUAZZAM GROUP When it comes to technique, performance, power and vocal delivery, the Rizwan-Muazzam group is one of the finest qawwali acts on the planet. Led beautifully by brilliantly talented brothers Rizwan and Muazzam Ali Khan, they have delighted audiences…
With the economy shrinking and rising inflation in Pakistan, there is an acute shortage of anaesthetics in Lahore, and as a result, hundreds of surgeries have been postponed putting the lives of numerous critical patients at risk. A shortage of anaesthetics in public and private hospitals has emerged allegedly due…
PARTITION, for so many people from south Asia, evokes the horrors of the violent and brutal separation of India and the creation of Pakistan. Less mentioned, however, is life before 1947, when people from different cultures and religions lived side by side largely in harmony for many years. Author Kavita…
As a 90-year-old Indian woman, Reena Varma stands on the balcony of the house in Pakistan where she was born, visiting on Wednesday for the first in 75 years, she recalls her playful childhood. "I would stand here and sing," said Varma, as her eyes filled with tears. "These are…
After former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won the Punjab bypolls, PML-N leader and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that early elections are on the cards however the decision will only be finalized post discussion with the coalition parties. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Sanaullah made…
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has come out in support of star Indian batter Virat Kohli after the latter's dip in form. Babar took to his Twitter and wrote, "This too shall pass. Stay strong. #ViratKohli," along with a photo of him and Kohli. After missing the first ODI against England…
In response to cash-strapped Pakistan's request for fresh loans, the UAE has offered to buy minority shares in publicly-listed government-owned companies at a negotiated price and a seat on each of the firm's boards, according to a media report on Tuesday. The development comes amid China's decision to roll over…
An anti-terror court in Pakistan has quietly sentenced the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack mastermind and a senior member of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Sajid Mir. Mir, who is among India's most wanted for his role in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, was awarded 15 years in jail term. Mir was LeT's operations…
A former ICC elite panel umpire now runs a second-hand clothes shop in Lahore, Pakistan, and says he has no interest in cricket anymore, media reports said. Asad Rauf, 66, umpired 170 international games from 2000 to 2013, is now an owner of a shop in Landa Bazaar, Lahore. "I’ve…
Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan on Sunday said that his party will continue protests against Pakistan's 'imported' government till the announcement of fresh elections.The PTI chief asked his party workers to be prepared for his call as they want a date for fresh elections and protests will be continued till…
THE wives of prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and his predecessor Imran Khan are richer than their husbands, according to the statements of assets filed for the fiscal year ending on June 30 of 2020 with the Election Commission of Pakistan. Khan owns four goats worth £796, possesses six properties, as…
Amid the ongoing electricity shortage and worsening power cuts, the Pakistan government has imposed a ban on wedding functions after 10 pm, to be effective from Wednesday. The Restriction has been implemented on the orders of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Geo TV reported citing sources. It further stated that…
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party lawmaker Attaullah has threatened Shehbaz Sharif government to carry out a suicide attack if even a "single hair strand" of party Chairman Imran Khan's head is harmed, adding that his partymen are ready to carry 'suicide attacks'."If a single hair on Imran Khan's head is harmed, then…
Pakistan singer Shae Gill hit back at trolls after receiving criticism for condoling the death of Punjabi singer-politician Sidhu Moose Wala, who was shot dead on Sunday, 29 May. Gill, who rose to fame earlier this year after featuring in the Coke Studio Season 14 song ‘Pasoori’ alongside Ali Sethi,…
The Arts of India auction at Roseberys on Tuesday June 14th features a wide array of art from the Indian subcontinent and encompass a vast range of artistic output. [caption id="attachment_186136" align="alignright" width="292"] A Gandhara life size standing standing figure of Buddha, 2nd/3rd century[/caption] Alice Bailey, Head of the Islamic & Indian…
South Asia was in the grip of an extreme heatwave on Friday, with parts of Pakistan reaching a temperature of 50 degrees Celsius as officials warned of acute water shortages and a health threat. Swathes of Pakistan and neighbouring India have been smothered by high temperatures since April in extreme…
A REMARKABLE rise has seen Hussain Manawer impact the British cultural landscape with perfectly written poetry. This has not only drawn attention to the power of words, but broken new ground for creative talent, including him becoming the first poet to open Soccer Aid, the FA Cup and BAFTA awards.…
AMERICAN newcomer Ranjah teamed up with established British talent Raxstar for recently released debut song Nakhre. The top tune has several musical influences and that was also apparent when Eastern Eye got the singer to select 10 songs he loves. Before choosing, he said: “This is a hard question to…
Power outages compounded the misery of millions of people wilting in a heatwave across India and Pakistan on Friday, with experts blaming climate change for an early onset of roasting summer temperatures. In the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh hundreds of forest fires have broken out in recent weeks,…
THE Chairman of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto is likely to meet Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif in London on Wednesday (20), a day after he excused himself from taking oath as the foreign minister. The two leaders are expected to "discuss the current political situation" in…
PAKISTAN’S new prime minister Shehbaz Sharif is a ‘hard-core realist’ and has over the years earned the reputation as a matter-of-fact person.Shehbaz, the younger brother of three-time prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, has served as the chief minister of the country's most populous and politically…
THE England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will charge up to 12 former Yorkshire staff in connection with the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal, it was reported on Monday (11). The ECB announced their investigation into Yorkshire's handling of Rafiq's allegations in November 2021 after receiving the club's report on the…
Australia's cricketers were heading home Wednesday after completing their first tour to Pakistan since 1998. Pat Cummins' side won the three-Test series 1-0, lost the one-day internationals 2-1 and rounded off an incident-free trip with victory in the lone Twenty20 international. Eastern Eye highlights five things we learned from the…
Skipper Aaron Finch returned to form with a half century and pace bowler Nathan Ellis took four wickets as world champions Australia beat Pakistan by three wickets in the only T20 international in Lahore on Tuesday. Finch scored a 45-ball 55 to anchor Australia's chased a 163-run target after Ellis…
YORKSHIRE County Cricket Club (YCCC) aspires to be a "beacon of hope" for diversity in English cricket, its chairman Kamlesh Patel has said. The club was rocked by a racism scandal last year after Azeem Rafiq, a former England under-19 captain of Pakistani descent, alleged that he had been a…
Pakistan president Arif Alvi told the election commission on Wednesday to fix a date for a new national ballot, as the supreme court sat to decide the legality of political manoeuvres that led to parliament being dissolved. The court must rule if the deputy speaker of the national assembly violated…
Actor Riz Ahmed, who won his first Academy Award for live-action short The Long Goodbye at the recently concluded Academy Awards, has congratulated Brooklyn-based Pakistani vocalist Arooj Aftab for scoring her first Grammy on Sunday. Taking to Instagram stories, the critically acclaimed actor shared a photo of Aftab from the…
Nearly naked and covered with a black, foul-smelling muck, Shafiq Masih struggles out of a sewer he has just cleaned by hand in an upmarket district of Lahore, Pakistan's second biggest city. Every day the 44-year-old descends into the city's sewers, braving toxic gases emitted by excrement, pollutants and other…
Skipper Babar Azam hit a second successive century and Imam-ul-Haq an impressive half century Saturday to anchor Pakistan's first series win over Australia since 2002 with a nine-wicket victory in the third and final one-dayt international in Lahore. It was a dominant performance by the home team at Gaddafi Stadium…
REGARDED as a wily cricket captain during his playing days, Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan appeared on Sunday (3) to have stumped his political opposition as well.The country's president dissolved the national assembly just hours after the deputy speaker declined to accept a no-confidence motion that would likely have seen…
Banned, Pakistani film, Javed Iqbal: The Untold Story Of A Serial Killer, will receive its World Premiere as the Opening Gala at the 24th, UK Asian Film Festival – the world’s longest-running South Asian film festival outside India. The ‘Dare To Dream’ theme of this year’s festival commemorates 75 years…
Skipper Babar Azam and opener Imam-ul-Haq smashed brilliant centuries to help Pakistan pull off their highest ODI run-chase in a six-wicket triumph over Australia in Lahore on Thursday. Azam hit an 83-ball 114 and Haq notched a 97-ball 106 as Pakistan chased down a stiff 349-run target with six balls…
Australia's Mitchell Marsh will join IPL side Delhi Capitals after being ruled out of the remaining limited-overs matches in Pakistan following a hip injury, his country said Wednesday. The 30-year-old all-rounder was expected to play a key role in the three-match ODI series but missed Tuesday's first game, won by…
THE DEBUT novel of Asian author Aamina Ahmad combines crime fiction and 1960s Pakistan to tell a story of murder, corruption and finding long-lost family. The Return of Faraz Ali is available on Amazon from Tuesday (5). Set in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1968, it tells the story of inspector Faraz…
Australian skipper Pat Cummins was thrilled to claim a historic Test series in Pakistan just months after their Ashes victory, on their first tour to the country in 24 years. "I think everyone is totally elated. Winning at home in the Ashes series and winning overseas doesn't happen very often,"…
Australia claimed a historic victory against Pakistan on Friday, taking the three-Test series 1-0 with a 115-run win on the fifth day of the last match in Lahore. Australia are in Pakistan for the first time since 1998, having previously refused to tour over security fears. Jubilant crowds of Pakistani…
When Australian cricket fan Luke Gillian last visited Pakistan in 1998, home supporters threw stones at him when he ventured out in public. These days everyone wants a selfie. Gillian is back in Pakistan with a small contingent of Australian fans on their first tour of the country in nearly…
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has long established his credentials in limited-overs cricket, but his 196 against Australia put him up there with some greats in the long form of the game too. Azam fought valiantly for 10 hours and seven minutes in an innings lasting 425 deliveries to help Pakistan…
Pakistan named two surprise inclusions to their limited-overs squads on Thursday for the one-day international and T20 matches against Australia later this month. Little known spin-bowling allrounder Asif Afridi and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Haris were brought in following impressive performances in the recently concluded Pakistan Super League. The 35-year-old Afridi took…
Australian Usman Khawaja finally reached a hundred in the country of his birth Pakistan on the opening day of the second Test in Karachi on Saturday. The 35-year-old pushed spinner Sajid Khan for a sharp single towards square leg, punching the air to celebrate his tenth Test hundred, his second…
EARLIER this year, Javed Iqbal: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer was banned in Pakistan shortly before its highly anticipated release, despite being passed by censors. The hard-hitting drama is based on the investigation of real-life 1990s serial killer Javed Iqbal, who sexually abused and murdered 100 children in…
PAKISTAN'S opposition parties have submitted a no-confidence motion against prime minister Imran Khan, holding his government responsible for the spiralling inflation.The motion, signed by about 100 lawmakers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), was submitted to the National Assembly Secretariat on Tuesday (8)."We have taken…
Steve Smith said he was annoyed at missing out on a century Monday as Australia's first Test in Pakistan in nearly a quarter of a century headed for a draw in Rawalpindi. Mitchell Starc was on 12 and skipper Pat Cummins four as Australia reached 449-7 in reply to Pakistan's…
VIRGIN ATLANTIC's Delhi-London flights will have a slightly longer flying time as the Russian government has banned all British planes from crossing its airspace. In response to the Russian military offensive in Ukraine, Britain announced that Russian national carrier Aeroflot will not be allowed to land in the UK. Consequently,…
RUSSIA'S president Vladimir Putin met Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan in Moscow on Thursday (24) in his first face-to-face talks since the start of a special military operation in eastern Ukraine. During their meeting in the Kremlin, the leaders discussed bilateral cooperation and current regional topics, including developments in south…
A Pakistani man who murdered his celebrity sister was freed on Saturday after a court ruled it was not an "honour killing", allowing their mother to pardon him, lawyers said. Qandeel Baloch was strangled to death in 2016 by her brother Muhammad Waseem, who described her suggestive behaviour on social…
A MIDDLE-AGED mentally challenged man was stoned to death and his body hung from a tree by a mob for allegedly desecrating a religious book in a remote village in Pakistan's Punjab province.The incident, coming months after the lynching of a Sri Lankan national, has sparked nationwide outrage.Police said on…
BIG-NAMED artists from India and Pakistan will be delivering huge live concerts across England throughout the year. The first of these popular singers to perform live in major arenas is Atif Aslam. The Pakistani superstar will be performing his greatest hits this week at ExCel in London on Saturday, February…
CRICKET AUSTRALIA on Friday (4) confirmed its first tour of Pakistan since 1998, locking in a three-Test series despite lingering security concerns.Australia will play Tests - in Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore - fresh off the back of a comprehensive home Ashes victory against England.They will also play three one-day internationals…
Pakistan paceman Mohammad Hasnain was suspended Friday from bowling at international level after biomechanical testing confirmed his action was illegal, the country's cricket board said. Hasnain, 21, was reported for a suspect action during a stint with the Sydney Thunder in Australia's Big Bash Twenty20 league last month. The Pakistan…
Cricket Australia on Friday confirmed its first tour of Pakistan since 1998, locking in a three-Test series despite lingering security concerns. Australia will play Tests -- in Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore -- fresh off the back of a comprehensive home Ashes victory against England. They will also play three one…
POWERFUL courtesan drama Pakeezah marks its 50th anniversary on February 4. One of the greatest Bollywood films in history has become iconic since it released in 1972 and gave a career-defining performance to lead star Meena Kumari, who is widely regarded as the most technically gifted leading lady in Hindi…
A PAKISTAN boy, 14, shot dead his entire family, including mother and two minor sisters, "under the influence" of the online game PUBG, police said in Lahore on Friday (28).Nahid Mubarak, a 45-year-old health worker, was found dead along with her 22-year-old son Taimur and two daughters aged 17 and…
TEN Pakistan troops were killed in a checkpoint firefight earlier this week, an army statement said Thursday (27), in an attack claimed by separatists in the country's southern province of Balochistan.The army said the soldiers were slain "during intense exchange of fire" while defending against a raid on a post…
PAKISTAN has raised a $1 billion (£740 million) loan through the Sukuk bond at a record 7.95 per cent interest rate, media reports said on Tuesday (25).It is the highest cost of borrowing the cash-strapped country has agreed to pay in its history on an Islamic bond. The ministry of…
PAKISTAN’S anti-terrorism court has sentenced a man to one-year imprisonment for justifying the lynching of a Sri Lankan citizen in a video.On December 3 last year, a mob of more than 800 men attacked a garment factory in the Sialkot district near Lahore and lynched its general manager Priyantha Kumara,…
PAKISTAN swore in Ayesha Malik as its first female supreme court judge on Monday (24), a landmark occasion in a nation where activists say the law is often wielded against women.Malik attended a ceremony in Islamabad where she now sits on the bench alongside 16 male colleagues at Pakistan's highest…
SECURITY was beefed up across Pakistan's capital on Friday (21), police said, a day after three people were killed and 22 wounded by a bomb in the eastern city of Lahore.The country has suffered a string of blasts and attacks since December when a truce between the government and Pakistan's…
PUNJABI LEHR, the Pakistan-based YouTube channel that brought together two brothers separated by the partition of India, has reunited more than 200 friends and families across the border.A video of the tearful reunion, showing the elderly brothers - one from India and another from Pakistan - hugging each other at…
PAKISTAN has decided to offer a permanent residency scheme for wealthy foreign nationals, including Sikhs living in the US and Canada, to attract investments, it emerged on Saturday (15).Information minister Fawad Chaudhry through an overnight tweet announced that the new scheme was in line with the new National Security Policy,…
Pakistan’s largest city Karachi is launching a door-to-door campaign to vaccinate women, who are lagging behind men in rates of coronavirus inoculation as the country enters a fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior official said on Friday. Pakistan on Friday reported nearly 1,300 cases in a single day,…
PAKISTAN'S deposed premier Nawaz Sharif has slammed prime minister Imran Khan over the "fraud" detected in the ruling party's foreign funding. He said Khan has been exposed as a "corrupt and dishonest political con man." According to a report by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) recently, Khan's ruling Pakistan…
PAKISTAN reported more than 700 Covid-19 cases in a single day on Monday (3), its highest tally in two months, as authorities warned of a fifth wave of infections. At least 708 cases in the past 24 hours pushed the positivity ratio to 1.55 per cent, the highest since October…
PAKISTAN prime minister Imran Khan has said rising corruption and sex crimes were the two main evils confronting the Muslim world. He said this during an interactive dialogue on ‘Riyasat-i-Madina: Islam, Society and Ethical Revival' with top Muslim scholars from the world on Sunday (2), organised by the recently set…
FORMER Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez announced his retirement from international cricket on Monday (3), ending an 18-year career that included a 12-month ban from bowling because of a suspect action. The 41-year-old last played for his country at the Twenty20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in October-November last…
Yorkshire announced on Tuesday they had formed a partnership with Pakistan Super League team Lahore Qalandars that includes a player exchange programme following a damaging racism scandal at the English club. Pakistan-born former player Azeem Rafiq accused Yorkshire of failing to deal adequately with his allegations of abuse while at…
Police have registered an FIR against Pakistan Test leg-spinner Yasir Shah and his friend on the allegations of kidnapping, molesting and threatening a girl. The FIR was registered at the Shalimar police station in Lahore after the girl complained. The Pakistan cricketer is yet to respond on the issue. In…
AUTHOR JS Rajput writes under a pen name and is based at an unspecified location in Europe. That air of mystery has breathed life into his new Lahore-set novel Dreams Of Another Tomorrow, which is a multilayered story of decadence, a seditious affair, mystery and an unexpected journey of self-discovery.…
StudioCanal and Working Title Films on Thursday unveiled a first look image from cross-cultural British rom-com What’s Love Got To Do With It? The film is directed by Shekhar Kapur and written by Jemima Khan. It is set for release in cinemas worldwide in 2022. Love Got To Do With…
THE WEST INDIES cricket team arrived in Pakistan on Thursday (9) for a visit which local officials hope will scotch bitter memories of a New Zealand tour abandoned on security grounds. During their first visit since 2018, the West Indies will play three Twenty20 and three one-day internationals - all…
AN INTER-CITY train driver in Pakistan has been suspended after he made an unscheduled stop to pick up some yoghurt. A video of the driver's assistant collecting the snack from a street stall before climbing back into the carriage has been circulating on social media. The incident on Monday (6)…
LEGENDARY Pakistani musical maestro Ghulam Ali is widely regarded as one of the greatest ghazal singers in history. A remarkable career has seen him perform all over the world, release timeless albums and deliver iconic ghazals that have delighted millions across different generations. Born in 1940, he turns a year…
It took more than a wave of a wand, but Pakistani university students transformed their 150-year-old campus into Hogwarts this week as they kicked off a festival celebrating the fictional young wizard Harry Potter. With its vast halls and soaring archways, Government College University in the eastern megacity of Lahore…
THE BODY of a Sri Lankan national, who was lynched by a mob in Pakistan's Punjab province over allegations of blasphemy, was flown to Colombo on Monday (6). The wooden coffin has the words ‘Human remains of late Don Nandasri P Kumara Diyawadanage. From Lahore to Colombo,’ transcribed on it.…
A MOB in Pakistan lynched a Sri Lankan national on Friday (3) before burning his body over alleged blasphemy in the country's Punjab province. Priyantha Kumara, who was in his 40s, was working as the general manager of a factory in Sialkot district, some 100 km from Lahore, a Punjab…
AN ANTI-SMOG squad van careens through choking traffic in Lahore, on its way to track down factories belching out smoke - a seemingly futile task in one of the world's most polluted cities. Inside the white vehicle sits an armed escort protecting the six members of the team, who clutch…
A CZECH model sentenced to more than eight years in prison for drug trafficking in Pakistan in 2019 was released Saturday (20) after her acquittal this month, the Czech foreign minister said. Tereza Hluskova, 25, was arrested at the airport in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore for allegedly trafficking…
PAKISTAN on Thursday (18) freed the leader of a radical religious party that staged massive anti-France protests, after lifting a ban on the group earlier this month to end the latest round of deadly unrest. Hundreds of supporters could be seen cheering and throwing flower petals as Saad Rizvi, head…
DOZENS of Sikh devotees from India offered prayers at the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan on Thursday (18) after the visa-free Kartarpur corridor reopened for pilgrims after a gap of 20 months. The more than four-km long Kartarpur corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Kartarpur, the final resting place…
PAKISTAN Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja was "pleased no end" after the ICC on Tuesday (16) awarded them the 2025 Champions Trophy, signalling the return of a big-ticket global event to the country after more than two decades. The development comes less than two months after both New Zealand…
INDIA's capital has shut down its schools until further notice due to dangerous levels of air pollution, while residents of Lahore in neighbouring Pakistan have pleaded with officials to take action over the acrid smog engulfing the region. Air quality has worsened across northern India and adjacent parts of Pakistan…
NOBEL Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, who married a top-ranked Pakistan cricket official last week, said she had concerns about marriage but she was lucky to get a husband “who understands my values”. The women’s rights activist from Pakistan told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday (14) that she…
UK-based historians have uncovered records of 320,000 troops from the Punjab who fought in the first world war, which was left unread in a basement for 97 years, The Guardian reported. These will offer new insight into the contribution of Indian soldiers to the allied war effort, the report added.…
ENGLAND have agreed to play two postponed men's Twenty20 internationals in Pakistan next year after the heads of the countries' cricket boards met in Lahore on Tuesday (9). Pakistan officials and fans were left fuming after England controversially withdrew their men's and women's teams from T20I series in September, citing…
He was the fresh-faced 15-year-old who stared down Shoaib Akhtar in the nets, became the highest-ranked T20 batsman in the world before being elevated to national hero after masterminding a rare Pakistan victory over India. In the breathless aftermath of that 10-wicket win over their fiercest rivals at the World…
PAKISTAN'S government has lifted a ban on a radical party that staged massive anti-France protests, after striking a deal with the group which ended the latest rounds of deadly protests. In a notification published on Sunday (7), the government said the move was in the "national interest", coming after seven…
Australia will tour Pakistan for the first time in 24 years in March-April, the Pakistan Cricket Board said on Monday, despite England and New Zealand recently pulling out of matches there. Australia will play three Tests, as many one-day internationals and a single Twenty20 international. "Australia are one of the…
PAKISTAN is to free more than 2,000 jailed activists of a banned Islamist militant group and allow the movement to contest elections, under a deal with the government struck to end weeks of violent clashes, negotiators on both sides said. In return, the Tehrik-e-Labaik Pakistan has agreed to shun the…
Indian and Persian rugs set to go under the hammer A KASHMIR carpet from the late 19th century has been included in a Christie’s auction due to be held on Thursday (28). It is part of the auction of the “Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs…
INTERMITTENT rain and winds led to a rare drop in pollution in India's capital last month, with residents breathing the cleanest air in at least four years, but authorities warn that air quality is set to drop sharply in November. A delayed end to the monsoon and a sharp pick-up…
A CZECH model sentenced to over eight years in prison for drug trafficking in Pakistan has been acquitted, her lawyer said on Monday (1). Tereza Hluskova, 25, was arrested at the airport in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore for trafficking nine kilograms of heroin in January 2018. "The prosecution…
A HARDLINE Islamist group of Pakistan has called off a protest march to Islamabad after reaching a deal with the government, ending two weeks of clashes that left at least seven policemen dead and scores injured on both sides. The Tehrik-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP) began the march calling for the release…
AT LEAST three policemen were shot dead and 70 more wounded when supporters of a banned Islamist party opened fire at a rally in Pakistan on Wednesday (27), the country's interior minister said. The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) is protesting over the detention of its leader Saad Rizvi, arrested in April…
Standing at an imposing 6ft 6ins (1.98m), Shaheen Shah Afridi, the first-strike destroyer of India at the T20 World Cup, is the latest high-end product of Pakistan's fast bowling factory -- left-arm division. From Wasim Akram to Mohammad Amir, with passing hat tips in recent years to the likes of…
FORMER Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar was embroiled in a controversy when he walked out of a TV programme and resigned from his job as cricket analyst after being told to leave the set by the host of the show at state-owned PTV. Akhtar, 46, said he had been treated badly…
PAKISTAN’S government has released 350 activists of the banned outfit Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), interior minister Sheikh Rashid has announced, averting another showdown with the radical Islamist party. TLP workers have been holding violent protests across the nation, especially in Lahore, against the government of prime minister Imran Khan for not…
Death toll rises to 10 as protesters clash with Pakistan police SIX people died on Saturday (23), taking the death toll to 10 in clashes between the police and radical Islamists in Lahore, as the banned Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) began a procession to Islamabad seeking the release of their party…
Shahid Afridi, the box office trailblazer of Pakistan white ball cricket, believes his "unpredictable" nation can summon the spirit of 2009 and win a second T20 World Cup. Afridi was man of the match in a nail-biting seven-run semi-final win over South Africa in the tournament 12 years ago where…
AFGHANISTAN'S junior female football team and their immediate families are set to relocate to Britain from Pakistan after recently escaping their homeland, the UK government said on Monday. "We are working to finalise visas to the Afghanistan women's football team and look forward to welcoming them to the UK shortly,"…
PAKISTAN'S several ministers, retired civilian and military officials, businessmen as well as owners of top media outlets were named in the Pandora Papers following an investigation uncovering financial secrets held by high-profile individuals. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) on Sunday (3) unveiled “Pandora Papers”, according to which finance…
Pakistan''s floundering football setup got a boost on Friday when former England star Michael Owen signed a three-year deal to become the ambassador of the Pakistan Football League, a private venture to be launched in the country. The owners of the private league, Global Soccer Ventures (GSV), announced the signing…
FORMER spinner Mushtaq Ahmed believes that England's cricketers would happily tour Pakistan and says his country deserved better having travelled the other way at the height of the pandemic. Ahmed, who has a foot in both camps after serving as England's spin-bowling coach in 2009-2015, voiced his frustration to AFP…
Former Pakistan captain and most capped player Inzamam-ul-Haq had to undergo an emergency angioplasty at a private hospital in Lahore after complaining of heart-related issues and breathing difficulty. A family member said that Inzamam felt uneasy and complained of having difficulty in breathing on Monday. He was taken to a…
THE female principal of a Pakistan school has been handed down capital punishment for blasphemy in an eight-year-old case. Salma Tanveer, who is also the owner of the private school, was charged with distributing photocopies of her writings in her Lahore neighbourhood in 2013, denying the finality of prophethood and…
Australia batter Usman Khawaja has criticized the decisions by New Zealand and England to scrap their tours to Pakistan and said they would not have made the same call if they had been due to play lucrative series in India. New Zealand returned home from Pakistan after abruptly abandoning the…
ENGLAND cricketers had no role in the team's decision to abandon their tour of Pakistan next month, the players' union has said. New Zealand returned home from Pakistan after abruptly abandoning their tour minutes before the opening fixture in Rawalpindi, citing a security alert from their government. England followed suit…
A THREAT to New Zealand's cricket team that prompted them to call off a tour of Pakistan came in an email that originated in India, Pakistan's information minister claimed on Wednesday (22). Fawad Chaudhry said, "this email was generated from India through a VPN showing the location of Singapore." New…
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja said on Tuesday (21) he felt "used and then binned" after England cancelled a white-ball tour for their men's and women's teams next month. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) cited "increasing concerns about travelling to the region" just days after New Zealand…
ENGLAND have withdrawn their men's and women's teams from next month's tour of Pakistan, the country's cricket board (ECB) said on Monday (20), three days after New Zealand abandoned their tour of the country amid security concerns. The England teams were each scheduled to play two Twenty20 international matches on…
AFTER a decade spent trying to woo back cricket's international elite, Pakistan is facing the prospect of being declared the game's no-go area again, and the anger is palpable. A sense of deja vu swept the country on Friday (17) when New Zealand abruptly pulled the plug on their first…
NEW Zealand Cricket officials on Saturday (18) threw a veil of secrecy over the security threat that forced the abrupt cancellation of their Pakistan tour. According to Pakistan's interior minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern told Pakistan leader Imran Khan that the team feared an attack…
Pakistan's new backroom team are seeking an immediate impact when their one-day international team face a largely second-string New Zealand in a home series for the first time since 2003 this week. International cricket in Pakistan was suspended in the aftermath of terror attacks on the Sri Lanka side in…
Members of Afghanistan's national girls' football team have fled across the border into Pakistan, officials said Wednesday, a month after the hardline Taliban swept back into power. The group of junior players and their coaches and families had tried to escape the country last month but a devastating bomb attack…
PAKISTAN Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz has lashed out at the Imran Khan-led government, saying the performance of the "illegitimate and incompetent" dispensation in the country was a "story of destruction". Nawaz, who is the daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, made the comments to the media…
TALENTED author Awais Khan follows up his highly acclaimed debut In The Company Of Strangers with a second novel set among the backdrop of honour killings in Pakistan, which perhaps has the highest number per capita than anywhere in the world. Instead of following the conventional path of documenting the…
After creating magic on celluloid with his magnificent films, celebrated filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali is set to make his digital debut with Heeramandi, a streaming show set at Netflix. According to reports, the high-profile show will feature a host of Bollywood actresses in principal roles. Several names have been linked…
PAKISTAN announced Monday (30) that it will allow a small number of Covid-19 vaccinated fans at the limited-overs home series against New Zealand starting next month. New Zealand will play three one-day internationals and five Twenty20 internationals on their first tour to Pakistan in 18 years. "The National Command and…
Pakistan coach Misbah-ul-Haq has tested positive for Covid-19 and will quarantine in Jamaica for 10 days, his country's cricket board announced Wednesday. "Misbah has tested positive and, as such, will not depart for Lahore with his side later today. Misbah, who is asymptomatic, will now undergo a 10-day quarantine, following…
A POWERFUL explosion ripped through a Muharram procession in central Pakistan's Punjab province on Thursday (19), killing at least two people, including a seven-year-old girl. A senior minister and police officials said 59 people were injured in the blast. The incident took place at Bahawalnagar, some 260 kilometres from Lahore…
Well-known Pakistani actress Mahira Khan is shocked to hear about the terrifying incident where a woman was molested by a mob of 400 men at Minar-e-Pakistan in Lahore. She has demanded strict action against those involved in the incident. The Raees (2017) actress took to Twitter and expressed her anguish…
NEW Zealand will go ahead with its tour of Pakistan subject to clearance from security consultant Reg Dickason after some Kiwi players expressed concerns about touring the country following the Taliban's takeover of neighbouring Afghanistan. New Zealand are due to reach Islamabad on September 11 to play three ODIs and…
THE Sikh community in Pakistan has said that it would bring the statue of first Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh, installed at the Lahore Fort, to Peshawar if the authorities in Punjab province cannot protect it. A nine-foot-tall cold bronze statue of Ranjit Singh was on Tuesday (17) vandalised by…
LAHORE police have booked 400 people who allegedly harassed and molested a YouTuber girl on Pakistan's Independence Day, officials said. The police got into action following the videos of her harassment and molestation that went viral on social media with calls to prime minister Imran Khan and Punjab chief minister…
AUTHOR AWAIS KHAN DISCUSSES HIS POWERFUL NEW NOVEL TALENTED author Awais Khan has followed up his highly acclaimed debut In The Company Of Strangers with powerful new novel No Honour. The deeply emotional story of a 16-year-old village girl who defies society and escapes to Lahore with the help of…
According to reports, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is in consideration for one of the lead roles in ace filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s next project Heeramandi. Set at Netflix, the streaming show is about love, betrayal, succession, and politics. It is set in pre-independent India and revolves around the lives of the…
A DAY after India dismissed as "lies" Pakistan's allegations of Indian intelligence support to a deadly bus bombing in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad on Saturday (14) said it will not accept New Delhi's denial of its role in the attack. At least 13 people, including nine Chinese…
Set at Netflix, Heeramandi is an upcoming streaming show from the house of Sanjay Leela Bhansali Productions. The project had been in news even before its official announcement. The buzz around it has only heightened after Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Netflix officially announced the project a couple of days ago.…
PAKISTAN cricket authorities on Friday (13) confirmed that the England cricket team will play two Twenty20 internationals in October on their first tour of the country since 2005. "The England men's side will visit Pakistan in October for two Twenty20 internationals. Both matches will be played at the Pindi Cricket…
PAKISTAN authorities have completed the restoration of the Hindu temple badly damaged by a mob last week in Punjab province and arrested around 90 people allegedly involved in the attack. Hundreds of people, carrying sticks, stones and bricks attacked the temple at Bhong city of Rahim Yar Khan district, some…
Celebrated filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who completed 25 years in Bollywood on Monday, has teamed up with Netflix for his ambitious streaming show titled Heeramandi. Rumours about him working on the high-profile show had been swirling around for several months. On Tuesday, the filmmaker made the official announcement. Set in…
AS Pakistan continues its massive drive to plant 10 billion trees to reduce smog, prime minister Imran Khan urged citizens to heed the dire warnings in a UN climate change report released on Monday (9). Khan made the remarks as he inaugurated what officials say is the largest urban Miyawaki…
PAKISTAN’S law enforcement agencies have arrested more than 50 people, including the main suspects, allegedly involved in an attack on a Hindu temple in a remote town of the country's Punjab province. The arrests were made a day after the Supreme Court admonished the authorities for their failure to protect…
THE UK government has turned down former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s request for an extension of his visa. The British Home Office, however, said the Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader can appeal its decision in the immigration tribunal. His party spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb confirmed the development but added that…
NEW Zealand will visit Pakistan in September for the first time in 18 years to play three one-day internationals and five Twenty20 matches in Rawalpindi and Lahore, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Thursday (5). Top teams have avoided touring Pakistan, citing security concerns after the 2009 attack on…
Richa Chaddha has signed on to portray an important character in celebrated filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s much-talked-about streaming show Heera Mandi, a leading Indian publication reports. Set to be mounted on a lavish scale, Heera Mandi is a period drama that will mark Bhansali’s foray into the digital space. Chadha…
A GRISLY murder in the heart of Islamabad involving families from the privileged elite of Pakistani society has dominated headlines for the past week, stirring national outrage over femicides in the south Asian nation. Noor Mukadam, 27, the daughter of a former Pakistani diplomat, was found beheaded in a posh…
PAKISTAN prime minister Imran Khan has identified a “common friend” who allegedly offered a bribe on behalf of Shahbaz Sharif to withdraw the Panama Papers case in the Supreme Court against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Khan in 2017 had alleged that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shabaz offered him…
A PAKISTANI businessman and his wife have been arrested for “hiding evidence” in connection with the murder of a former diplomat’s daughter, in which their son is the suspect. Noor Mukadam, daughter of Pakistan’s former ambassador to South Korea, was found beheaded in Islamabad on Tuesday (20). Zahir Jaffer, a…
SEVERAL Pakistani ministers have lashed out at former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for meeting Afghan national security advisor Hamdullah Mohib in London, saying the PML-N supremo is a “close friend of every enemy of Pakistan”. Afghanistan's National Security Council on its Twitter account shared a picture of Mohib and Afghan…
BORN and raised in Lahore, Pakistan, singer, songwriter and composer Umer Durrani has been surrounded by songs his entire life. The marvellous music has fed the Los Angelesbased artist’s creativity and enabled him to produce some stunningly unique work, which is worth finding. He also hosts the Thinking Out Loud…
HEALTHCARE workers, pharmacists, faith leaders, restaurateurs and retailers have expressed concern over rising Covid-19 infection rates, as experts predicted the UK will soon have more new cases each day than it did at the height of a second wave of the pandemic earlier this year. Laws requiring masks to be…
DOHA has taken a lead over Dubai in a battle to become the pre-eminent travel hub in the middle east, travel analytics firm ForwardKeys has found in latest research. Crunching the world’s freshest and most comprehensive flight-booking data, ForwardKeys has said that the Qatar city has gone ahead of its…
ONCE a week Ghulam Ahmed, 38, takes time out from his cryptocurrency consulting business to log into a WhatsApp group with hundreds of members eager to learn how to mine and trade cryptocurrency in Pakistan. From housewives looking to earn a side income to wealthy investors wanting to buy crypto…
A PAKISTANI father of three has described the joy that his collection of 5,000 model cars brings him. Aamir Ashfaq, 49, from Lahore, got his first toy car aged eight. Today his hobby is housed in his study, and it includes model cars, from Bugatti to Suzuki. “When I hold…
PAKISTAN authorities confiscated copies of a school textbook that had a picture of education activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousufzai. The Grade 7 social studies book published by the Oxford University Press (OUP) had images of several important people of Pakistan, including the country’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah…
PAKISTAN suffered a setback ahead of its ODI series against England as middle-order batsman Haris Sohail will return home due to a hamstring injury. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Thursday (8) that the 32-year-old left-hander has been ruled out of the series. Sohail said he was disappointed but hoped…
INDIA'S double Olympic hockey champion Keshav Chandra Datt has died at the age of 95, the sport's national body said on Wednesday (7). The centre halfback, born in Lahore, in what is now Pakistan, was part of India's gold medal-winning team at the 1948 and 1952 Olympic Games in London…
ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL TO HONOUR THE REMARKABLE CAREER OF A GREAT ACTOR BRILLIANT supporting actors add a backbone to Bollywood blockbusters and the greatest of all time was Pran. He went from being the best movie villain in Hindi cinema history to playing unforgettable positive roles and unpredictable grey characters in a…
PAKISTAN has blamed India for a bomb blast in Lahore last month, claiming there is “concrete evidence” of its “sponsorship of the terror attack”. National security adviser Moeed Yousaf said the mastermind of the blast “belongs” to the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) of India and “is based in India”.…
PAKISTAN police said they arrested 10 suspects in connection with a fatal car bomb blast in Lahore last week, blamed on a “hostile intelligence agency”. Three people, including a six-year-old boy, died last Wednesday (23) when explosives stuffed into a car exploded outside the house of Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz…
PAKISTAN prime minister Imran Khan was facing a growing backlash on Thursday (24) after he blamed victims of rape for wearing "very few clothes". Former playboy cricketer Khan told television show Axios that how women dress affects men's behaviour, outraging activists in the deeply conservative Islamic country. "If a woman…
PAKISTANI security agencies arrested two suspects in connection with a car bomb blast outside the house of Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, the alleged prime conspirator of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. The counter terrorism department (CTD) has arrested two suspects who had a connection with the sale and purchase…
PAKISTANI authorities on Thursday (24) took several suspects into custody after an explosion outside the house of Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, who is the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. At least three people were killed and 21 others injured in the blast that took place at…
Arshad Nadeem once dreamed of becoming a star cricketer, but after switching to athletics he has the opportunity to grab Pakistan's first individual Olympic medal in more than 30 years. "Right now there is a chance for me," Nadeem told AFP as he prepared for next month's Covid-delayed Tokyo Games.…
A POWERFUL car bomb exploded outside the house of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind and banned Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief, Hafiz Saeed, in Lahore on Wednesday (23), killing at least three people and injuring 21 others. The blast took place at a police picket outside Saeed's residence in Jauhar town,…
PAKISTANI police said on Monday (21) that a hardline Muslim cleric appeared in court hours after they arrested him on charges of sexually abusing a student at a religious school. The charges against Aziz-ur-Rehman, in his early 60s, who has been leading anti-blasphemy rallies over cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad, were…
By Amit Roy THE Khushwant Singh Literary Festival (London) is to be held digitally for the first time, next Saturday and Sunday (26-27), and will feature Kabir Bedi talking about his recent autobiography, Stories I Must Tell: The Emotional Life of an Actor. It will also feature Dr Jane…
SOUTH AFRICA batsman Faf du Plessis said he suffered some memory loss after suffering a concussion during a Pakistan Super League (PSL) T20 match in Abu Dhabi on Saturday (12) but is confident of making a quick return to action. Du Plessis collided with Quetta Gladiators teammate Mohammad Hasnain while…
PAKISTAN police arrested a man over the killing of London law graduate Mayra Zulfiqar, more than a month after she was found shot dead in a Lahore apartment. Zahir Jadoon is one of the two men named as suspects by Zulfiqar’s uncle. A second man, who was not arrested, was…
A TRAIN that derailed onto the path of another oncoming passenger express began its journey despite a faulty carriage link, Pakistan's railway minister said on Wednesday (9), as authorities probed the cause of the crash that killed 63 people. The Sir Syed Express passenger train on Monday (7) ploughed through…
A WOMAN died after an ex-security guard at a Pakistani hospital posed as a doctor and performed surgery on her, police said on Monday (7). Shameema Begum, 80, died on Sunday (6), two weeks after Muhammad Waheed Butt attempted to treat her back wound at a public hospital in Lahore.…
A PAKISTANI court on Thursday (3) ordered the release of a Christian couple sentenced to death for blasphemy, lawyers said, weeks after the European Parliament criticised the country over the case. Shafqat Emmanuel and Shagufta Kausar were jailed in 2014 after being convicted of sending a text message insulting Prophet…
THERE are a whole host of great novels on the way in the coming months by talented authors at the top of their game. Eastern Eye decided to give literary lovers something to look forward to in the next six months by presenting a preview of 10 books. I Know…
CONTROVERSIAL batsman Umar Akmal has paid a hefty fine of Rs 4.5 million (£20480.9 ) to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which now entitles him to join its anti-corruption rehabilitation programme. A source in the PCB confirmed on Wednesday (26) that Akmal had deposited the fine imposed on him by…
Teenage fast bowler Naseem Shah has been suspended from playing in the remaining matches of Pakistan Super League (PSL) in Abu Dhabi for breach of Covid-19 protocols before his departure from the country. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has released Shah, of Quetta Gladiators, from isolation in Lahore after he arrived at…
A SUSPECT in the murder of UK-based law graduate Mayra Zulfiqar has reportedly admitted to her murder, a report in Pakistan said. Zahir Jadoon, 26, is alleged to have made a confessional statement saying he killed Zulfiqar as he was fed up with “blackmailing” by her, Pakistani media outlet SAMAA…
THE INDIAN High Commission (IHC) has clarified that an official’s wife tested negative for Covid on an RT-PCR test conducted in Lahore. It was reported yesterday (24) that 12 High Commission officials were asked to quarantine along with their families and drivers as an official’s wife tested positive. But the High Commission has denied the…
THE FATHER of a British law graduate who was shot dead in Pakistan on May (3) has complained about the lack of progress in the investigation and demanded the death penalty for those found guilty of the crime. In an interview with the Associated Press last Friday (21), Muhammad Zulfiqar said, “I…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY-j4T4sWWs By Murtuza Iqbal Due to the pandemic, many films have been releasing on OTT platforms. A few days ago, we saw Salman Khan starrer Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai (a disappointing film), and now, today, Arjun Kapoor starrer Sardar Ka Grandson has started streaming on Netflix. Sardar Ka Grandson…
PAKISTAN’S federal government of prime minister Imran Khan on Monday (17) added opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif’s name to the no-fly list, barring him from leaving the country for medical treatment. Earlier this month, the Lahore high court had granted permission to the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to travel abroad once…
By Pooja Shrivastava Pakistani barber Ali Abbas does not limit to scissors when it comes to giving haircuts to his customers. This path-breaking barber uses an unusual array of tools, including blowtorches, meat cleavers, and even broken glass, to give his service. Abbas’ shop is in Eastern Lahore where customers…
A week after British law graduate Mayra Zulfiqar was found shot dead in Lahore, the needle of suspicion has pointed to an unknown contract killer, who, police feel, may have pulled the trigger. The inkling of the police is in line with her family’s suspicions that two young men whose…
THE faithful flock to mosques across Pakistan for prayers despite the third wave of coronavirus in the country. Meanwhile, schools and restaurants have closed, shops pull down their shutters early every evening, and the military has been mobilised to combat the spread of the virus. Anxious over the virus's deadly…
THOUSANDS of Shiite Muslim devotees –- many not wearing masks -- gathered in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore for a religious procession on Tuesday (4), fanning fears about the spread of the coronavirus after similar crowds were blamed in neighbouring India for its own surge. The federal government had issued…
PAKISTAN restored Facebook, Twitter and several other social media apps on Friday (16) after blocking them for about five hours on security grounds amid a crackdown against a violent Islamist group, officials said. "In order to maintain public order and safety, access to certain social media applications has been restricted…
THOUSANDS of supporters of a Pakistan Islamist party who blocked major roads to protest the arrest of their leader also disrupted critical oxygen supplies for Covid-19 patients, health officials said Tuesday (13). Major intersections remained closed in Lahore, Pakistan's second-biggest city, after the arrest on Monday (12) of Saad Rizvi,…
Pakistan police used tear gas and water cannon on Monday on thousands of supporters of an Islamist anti-blasphemy party after the arrest of their leader, who has called for the expulsion of the French ambassador. Anti-French sentiment has been simmering for months in Pakistan since the government of president Emmanuel…
Hundreds of Pakistani Hazara women are learning how to deliver side kicks and elbow blows as martial arts booms within the marginalised community. Hazaras, who are mainly Shia Muslims, have faced decades of sectarian violence in the southwestern city of Quetta, living in two separate enclaves cordoned off by checkpoints…
BRITISH-BORN Al-Qaeda terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh has been shifted to Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail from Karachi, officials said on Friday (9). He was on death row for 18 years before his acquittal last year in the kidnapping and beheading of US journalist Daniel Pearl. Pearl, the 38-year-old South Asia…
Pakistan's men's and women's national team players fear their careers could be jeopardised with the country's football federation (PFF) staring at a FIFA ban after a forced takeover of its national headquarters in Lahore. A group of football officials led by Ashfaq Hussain, which was elected by the Supreme Court…
A British-born militant sentenced to death for the murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl was ordered to be let out of prison Thursday (25) by Pakistan's Supreme Court in the latest twist to a legal saga spanning nearly two decades. The court said, however, that Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh should…
A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced two men to death over the gang rape of a French-Pakistani mother, lawyers said, an attack that prompted nationwide protests and tough new anti-rape legislation. The woman was attacked in September last year in front of her small children on the side of a…
A university in deeply conservative Pakistan expelled two students who embraced after getting engaged on campus, after a video of the incident spread on social media this week. In the clip, a female university student gets down on one knee and proposes to her boyfriend; the couple can then be…
Disgraced opener Sharjeel Khan has returned to Pakistan's Twenty20 squad for the away series against South Africa and Zimbabwe, four years after being banned for spot-fixing during matches. The 31-year-old was banned for five years -- with half the period suspended -- for his part in a gambling fix during…
The Pakistan Super League was suspended on Thursday after seven players tested positive for coronavirus, the country's cricket board said. The Twenty20 competition, which started on February 20, was put on hold "with immediate effect", a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) statement said. "The decision was made after seven cases were…
Pakistan cricketer Umar Akmal's 18-month ban over corruption charges has been reduced to a year, the Court of Arbitration for Sports said on Friday. The verdict from the Lausanne-based body will likely come as a relief for the troubled batsman, who has a history of disciplinary issues that have earned…
It is two months since Shazia underwent a so-called virginity test during a rape examination at a Karachi hospital, but the Pakistani teenager is still visibly traumatised. She winces as she describes how the doctor carried out the "two-finger test" (TFT), in which a doctor inserts fingers into the vagina,…
A Pakistani lab will soon receive Russia's Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine for commercial sale, a company official said, making Pakistan one of the first countries to market shots privately as it scrambles to secure supplies. Despite concerns over fairness and higher prices, Islamabad agreed this week to allow the commercial…
Tail-ender Hasan Ali hit two sixes in the penultimate over to help Pakistan clinch the Twenty20 international series against South Africa with a four-wicket win in the third and final match in Lahore on Sunday. Hasan finished with a seven-ball 20 not out as Pakistan overhauled a 165-run target in…
In-form wicketkeeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan hit a maiden T20 international hundred as Pakistan edged out South Africa by three runs in a thrilling last-over finish to the series opener in Lahore on Thursday. Needing 19 to win off the last over, Bjorn Fortuin (17 not out) and Dwaine Pretorius (15…
Pakistan's new Test captain Babar Azam said on Monday they can get even better after a historic first series win against South Africa since 2003. He led Pakistan to a 2-0 sweep over the Proteas in Rawalpindi on Monday in a hard-fought 95-run win on the fifth and final day…
Medium pacer Hasan Ali took a maiden ten-wicket haul to help Pakistan win its first series against South Africa since 2003 with a 95-run victory in the second Test on the fifth and final day in Rawalpindi on Monday. Hasan finished with 5-60 to record his best match figures of…
ACTRESS RICHA CHADHA DISCUSSES HER HOTLY DEBATED NEW MOVIE AND DEATH THREATS by ASJAD NAZIR A RAGING pandemic bringing everything to a standstill hasn’t been able to stop acclaimed actress Richa Chadha from having three back-to-back movie releases in a short time. Her three contrasting new films Shakeela, Madam Chief…
South Africa will play their first Test in Pakistan for 14 years this week, a match being described as a "monumental moment" for the revival of international cricket in the country. The match in the port city of Karachi starting Tuesday marks a significant vote of confidence for Pakistan where…
The South African cricket team arrived in Karachi on Saturday to play two Tests and three Twenty20 internationals on their first tour of Pakistan in 14 years. The team, led by wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock, was whisked from the airport under state-head level security accorded by the hosts, the Pakistan…
Raped at 14, Shazia took the rare and courageous step of reporting the crime to Pakistani police, only to face a traumatic "virginity test" -- a long-standing practice that denies justice to victims. The teenager was still in a daze after she was assaulted by her father's cousin when police…
England Women will tour Pakistan for the first time in October, joining the men's side in an unprecedented joint trip, cricket chiefs announced on Thursday. No England team have played international cricket in the country since 2005. Cricket-obsessed Pakistan spent a decade in international sporting isolation after gunmen targeted the…
A Pakistani court on Friday (8) sentenced a militant leader accused of plotting the 2008 Mumbai attacks to five years in jail for terror financing. Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, a senior figure in the banned militant organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was arrested in the eastern city of Lahore on Saturday where he was…
By Amit Roy NARINDAR SAROOP, a former Indian army major who died on December 19 in London at the age of 91, played a crucial role over 40 years in laying the foundations of the close relationship that exists today between the Conservative party and voters of Indian origin. In…
A court in Pakistan's most populous province on Monday outlawed virginity tests on rape victims -- a longstanding practice in the country used to assess a woman's so-called honour. Critics of the tests, including an invasive "two-finger test", had filed petitions in the eastern city of Lahore in a bid…
By Murtuza Iqbal Richa Chadha is on a roll. On Christmas last year, Shakeela starring Richa had hit the big screens, and now, within a month she will be having one more release. Subhash Kapoor’s Madam Chief Minister which stars Richa in the lead role is all set to release…
A LEADING musician, community leaders, campaigners and choreographers are among Asians honoured in the Queen’s New Year Honours List, announced this evening (30). This year’s is the most ethnically diverse list yet, with 14.2 per cent of recipients coming from a black, Asian or ethnic minority (BAME) background. In total,…
Pakistan has approved the chemical castration of rapists as part of sweeping new legislation sparked by outcry over the gang rape of a mother on a motorway. New laws approved by President Arif Alvi on Tuesday will see rape cases expedited through the courts and create the country's first national…
The creator of an animated film on blasphemy in Pakistan is hoping it will prompt discussion on tolerance at a time that rights advocates say hate speech on social media is increasingly triggering violence. The short film Swipe is about a boy obsessed with a hypothetical smartphone app that allows…
ACTRESS ARMEENA RANA KHAN ON CHOOSING PRINCIPLES OVER HER CAREER, DOING GOOD WORK AND POST LOCKDOWN PRIORITIES by ASJAD NAZIR SHE may be originally from Canada, but Armeena Rana Khan has been residing in the UK long enough to be hailed as a great British success story. The talented actress…
Pakistan's cricket tour of New Zealand was in the balance on Thursday after six squad members tested positive for Covid-19 and the team received a "final warning" for flouting quarantine rules. New Zealand health authorities revoked the Pakistan players' ability to train while in isolation at their Christchurch hotel, making…
Intensive care units across Pakistan are nearing capacity as a second, deadlier wave of the coronavirus builds momentum and officials struggle to counter public indifference to the pandemic. Several doctors told AFP on Wednesday (25) that hospitals are turning away suspected Covid-19 patients, with the potential for a major health…
By Amit Roy BARRISTER and QC Marina Wheeler has given her support to the National Trust which is under attack from a section of the Conservative party for publishing a report on the colonial or slave trading links of nearly 100 of the houses that it looks after. She told…
WRITER SATVINDER SINGH JUSS SHEDS NEW LIGHT ON BHAGAT SINGH WITH HIS BRAND NEW BOOK by ASJAD NAZIR ICONIC Indian freedom fighter Bhagat Singh was executed on March 23, 1931, aged just 23, and has since then continually captured the imagination of countless people across different generations. British writer Satvinder…
Massive crowds of maskless mourners gathered in Lahore on Saturday for the funeral of hardline Pakistani cleric Khadim Hussain Rizvi, who for years terrorised the country's religious minorities, incited riots and advocated the destruction of European nations in the name of fighting blasphemy. Vast throngs of men were seen packing…
England will tour Pakistan next year for the first time since a 2009 attack by gunmen on the visiting Sri Lankan team in a move hailed by England cricket authorities as "a significant moment". England will play two Twenty20 internationals in Karachi on October 14 and 15 in their first…
A Pakistani court on Thursday(19) sentenced Islamist leader Hafiz Saeed to 10 years in prison on two charges of terrorism financing, his lawyer said. Saeed is the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the militant group blamed by the US and India for the 2008 Mumbai siege. The sentences for the two…
One of the world's leading batsman, Babar Azam knocked a commanding half century to help the Karachi Kings win their first Pakistan Super League title with a five-wicket win over the Lahore Qalandars on Tuesday. Azam smashed seven boundaries in his 49-ball 63, but it was skipper Imad Wasim who…
The return of England's cricket team to Pakistan next year, their first visit since a deadly attack on Sri Lanka's team, is a vote of confidence in the country's improved security –- but challenges remain, analysts say. Cricket-obsessed Pakistan spent a decade in international sporting isolation after gunmen targeted the…
High-flying international CEOs do not often come in a more thoughtful and engaging form than Salman Amin, who heads up pladis Global and dominates the biscuit scene in the UK. His vast experience makes Amin a touchstone of wisdom and a clear voice in an uncertain time, especially because he…
Tens of thousands of Muslims protested in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Palestinian territories on Friday (30) after killings in a French church prompted a vow from president Emmanuel Macron to stand firm against attacks on French values and freedom of belief. French interior minister Gerald Damarnin said France - home to…
Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday (28) wrote to the leaders of Muslim countries calling on them to act together against Islamophobia, as anger grows over France’s defence of the right to mock religion. Muslims across the world have reacted furiously to French president Emmanuel Macron's defence of free…
Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced on Tuesday it will send a security assessment delegation to Pakistan this weekend with a view to the playing in the country in early 2021. If the tour goes ahead it will be South Africa's first visit to Pakistan since 2007/08. Two subsequent "away" tours…
Pakistan summoned France's ambassador Monday (26) to complain about a "systematic Islamophobic campaign" in the European nation after French president Emmanuel Macron criticised Islamists and defended the publication of religious cartoons. The move came as small, scattered protests were held in cities across Pakistan and a day after prime minister…
Pakistan on Monday (19) opted to rest senior players Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Amir and Sarfaraz Ahmed for their limited over series at home against lowly ranked Zimbabwe starting later this month. Head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq said it was a "strategic decision" to allow younger players a chance to…
Pakistan bowler Umar Gul, who earned the nickname 'Gul-dozer' for his rattling of stumps, has called time on his 17-year cricket career. With no crowds to bid farewell to the national hero because of coronavirus restrictions, the Twenty20 World Cup winner bowed out to a guard of honour from teammates…
Supporters of Pakistan opposition parties were converging on a stadium in the city of Gujwanwala on Friday to begin a countrywide protest campaign to oust prime minister Imran Khan, who they accuse of being installed by the military in a rigged 2018 election. Nine major opposition parties formed a joint…
England could tour Pakistan for the first time in over a decade after officials confirmed they had received an invitation to visit the Asian giants early in 2021 for a "short white-ball series". Fifty-over world champions England have not played in Pakistan since 2005/06. An attack by armed militants on…
A mixed martial arts specialist is challenging a Pakistani ban on TikTok, the video sharing app on which he was pinning his hopes of gaining a mass audience and helping people get fit. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) last week blocked access to TikTok, which is owned by China-based ByteDance,…
ACTRESS-MODEL DISCUSSES BEAUTY, PHOTO-SHOOTS AND FASHION by ASJAD NAZIR AS A model, actress and qualified dentist, there are a lot of things Kaneeze Zainab does well. The hard-working Pakistani star has acted in drama serials, including Bubu Ki Beti, Paimanay, Katto, Jugnu and Tasweer, but she is now also turning…
A Pakistani man on Tuesday (13) was charged with being the main suspect in the gang rape of a mother on the side of a motorway, a case which sparked nationwide protests. The woman said she was raped in front of her two children after her car ran out of…
After endlessly swiping through pictureless profiles on dating apps, Muhammad Ali Shah still hasn't found the one -- or really anyone -- to get serious with in Pakistan. In the ultra-conservative Islamic republic, where arranged marriages are the norm, he says many women choose to stay anonymous, making online dating…
SINGER USMAN ALI RAEES DISCUSSES HIS DEBUT SONG by ASJAD NAZIR PAKISTAN has always had a proud tradition of producing world-class singers and exciting talent Usman Ali Raees has been bubbling under the surface for a number of years. After making his name as a live performer in the past…
A Pakistani court has overturned the 2014 conviction of a Christian man sentenced to death for blasphemy in a case that prompted a mob to set churches and hundreds of homes ablaze. Sawan Masih, a sanitation worker and father of three, was first arrested in 2013 in the eastern city…
PAKISTAN's anti-graft agency arrested the parliamentary leader of the opposition on corruption charges on Monday(28) after a court rejected a plea for bail, a move his party says is linked to planned opposition protests against prime minister Imran Khan. Shehbaz Sharif, a former chief minister of Punjab province and younger…
PAKISTAN's prime minister Imran Khan has said that he would like convicted rapists to be publicly executed or chemically castrated, reacting to a question on the rape of a woman on a highway last week that has caused uproar in the South Asian nation. Last week, a mother of two…
A Pakistani police chief faced a growing backlash Friday(11) after he seemed to blame the victim in a gang rape case because she was driving at night without a male companion. The controversy started after a woman said she was assaulted and raped by multiple men in front of her…
FORMER Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday (9) filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court (IHC), stating that his health condition would not allow him to return home from London and surrender in a corruption case by September 10, according to a media report. Last week, the IHC…
RAISING concerns over threats to journalists and human rights defenders, especially women, a top UN body has called on Pakistan to unequivocally condemn violence against religious minorities and "encourage respect for diversity of opinion". The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in Geneva on Tuesday (8) that it was…
A Pakistani court has sentenced a Christian man to death on blasphemy charges. Asif Pervaiz, a garment factory worker, had been accused by his supervisor of sending derogatory remarks about the Muslim Prophet Muhammad to him in a text message. Insulting the prophet carries a mandatory death penalty in Pakistan,…
Pakistan cricket coach Misbah-ul-Haq urged more nations to tour the country, saying Monday the sport needs "mutual support" to recover from the coronavirus crisis. His appeal comes just a week after Pakistan finished a tour of England, where they played three Tests and as many Twenty20 internationals in empty stadiums.…
FRENCH satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, the target of a jihadist attack in 2015, has said that its latest edition reprinting controversial caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed had sold out in just one day. Wednesday's (2) issue featured a dozen cartoons mocking the prophet of Islam, including images that sparked huge…
Anti-France demonstrators rallied on Thursday in Pakistan and the foreign minister lodged a diplomatic complaint as the backlash grew against a French magazine republishing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. Satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, the target of a massacre by Islamist gunmen in 2015, reprinted the controversial caricatures this week to…
A PAKISTANI court has given former prime minister Nawaz Sharif a “last chance to surrender” and appear before it on September 10 for hearing in a corruption case. Sharif, 70, has been in London since November last year after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for…
SIX months after the coronavirus arrived in Pakistan, the country appears to have dodged the worst of the pandemic, baffling health experts and dampening fears its crowded urban areas and ramshackle hospitals will be overrun. Following an initial surge, the number of infections has plummeted in recent weeks, with Covid-19…
England should "definitely" tour Pakistan provided it it is safe to do so, according to new England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Ian Watmore. England have not visited Pakistan since 2005/06. An attack by armed militants on Sri Lanka's team bus in Lahore in 2009 ended major cricket tours…
Virgin Atlantic will in December start services between Britain and Pakistan, where local airlines face a ban on flying to most European destinations due to a scandal over unqualified pilots. Virgin, 51 per cent owned by Richard Branson's Virgin Group and 49 per cent by US airline Delta (DAL.N), said…
AROUND 3am each morning this week, Khurshid Alam woke up in his Pakistan home to watch survivors give testimony against the man who shot dead 51 worshippers in New Zealand mosques, including his brother, Naeem, and nephew, Talha. Divided by thousands of miles, a seven-hour time difference and the coronavirus…
THE Pakistan government has declared former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, currently in London for treatment, an “absconder”, and approached the UK government for his extradition. Adviser to Pakistan prime minster on accountability, Shahzad Akbar, said that Sharif’s four-week bail on medical grounds expired in December last year. “The government is…
A SPRAWLING mansion in the heart of London which was presented as a marital home to Maharaja Duleep Singh's son, Prince Victor Albert Jay Duleep Singh, has gone on sale as a modern refurbished family house with a price tag of £15.5 million. Duleep Singh, as Maharaja Ranjeet Singh's youngest…
Wasim Akram has insisted England "owe" Pakistan for going ahead with their tour amid the coronavirus pandemic as he urged English officials to honour a planned returned visit in 2022. England have not played in Pakistan since 2005/06. An attack by armed militants on Sri Lanka's team bus in Lahore…
by LAUREN CODLING and PRAMOD THOMAS TWO survivors of India’s Partition have recalled the experience of fleeing their homes in 1947, ahead of Indian Independence Day on Saturday (15). Padam Rosha, 97, and Rajini Rosha, 87, were both in Lahore, now Pakistan, at the time of Partition. The couple, who…
Pakistanis flocked to gyms, salons and restaurants that opened on Monday for the first time in five months after being shut to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The South Asian country has recorded more than 280,000 cases of COVID-19 and nearly 6,100 deaths, but has seen a slowing of…
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief executive Wasim Khan has urged England to send a team to the country before their scheduled return in 2022 after Azhar Ali's side agreed to travel to Britain during the coronavirus pandemic. England have not visited Pakistan since 2005/06. An attack by armed militants on…
To understand the culture of fast bowling in Pakistan, look no further than Imran Khan -- once a feared quick, and now the country's prime minister. Not all of Pakistan's pacemen will fly so high, but Khan's rise underlines a tradition where speed is king, and blistering pace is essential…
Pakistan's decision to tour England despite the risks of travelling during the COVID-19 pandemic was not part of a reciprocal agreement but the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) expects its English counterpart to "do the right thing" in 2022. Pakistan are the second test team, after West Indies, to tour England…
Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal's three-year ban from cricket for failing to report a match-fixing approach was on Wednesday reduced to 18 months on appeal, meaning he can resume playing in August next year. Former Pakistan supreme court judge and independent adjudicator Faqir Mohammad Khokhar announced the appeal result, which had…
PAKISTAN's health minister on Monday (6) said he had tested positive for Covid-19, the latest senior figure to contract the novel coronavirus in a country where rising cases are putting pressure on the health system. "I have tested positive for Covid-19. Under (medical) advice I have isolated myself at home…
AT LEAST 22 Sikh pilgrims -- 19 from the same family -- were killed on Friday (3) when a train smashed into a van in eastern Pakistan, authorities said. The vehicle was going through an unmanned level crossing when it was hit by an oncoming train near the small city…
PAKISTAN's planning minister has warned that the number of coronavirus cases in the country could double by the end of June and peak at more than a million infections just a month later. The warning from planning minister Asad Umar comes as many in the country continue to ignore guidance…
Head coach Misbah-ul-Haq is adamant Pakistan's upcoming tour of England amid the coronavirus pandemic is not dependent upon a return visit. Next month international cricket is set to resume for the first time since the outbreak as England host the West Indies in a three-Test series staged behind closed doors.…
RISING British music star DJ Vish has lit up events with his dynamic skills on the decks and shown quite comprehensively that he knows how to entertain large crowds. Having been brought up in the film industry, he has been surrounded by hit songs from a young age and turned…
When Mohammad Amir bowled a no-ball against England on the opening day of the 2010 Test at Lord's, no one could have imagined his long stride past the crease marked the first step in a historic fixing scandal. Two days later it was revealed that three no-balls -- two by…
Four weeks ago, with its most important festival coming up and millions of people facing starvation as economic activity dwindled, Pakistan lifted a two-month-long coronavirus lockdown. Now, the government data shows over 20,000 cases of the virus were identified in the three weeks before the lockdown was lifted, and more…
by LAUREN CODLING RESTAURATEURS have revealed how they have continued to engage with local communities, despite eateries being shut during the coronavirus pandemic. Since lockdown began in March to stop the spread of the coronavirus infection, restaurants and pubs were instructed to close down with imminent effect. Although some have…
SEARCH teams on Thursday (28) recovered the cockpit voice recorder from the wreckage of a Pakistani airliner that crashed last week, a spokesman for the airline said. The Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A320 crashed on May 22 into a crowded residential district of the port city of Karachi, killing 97…
As Fazal Rahmaan, 80 and his wife, Wahida Rahmaan, 74, boarded a plane in the Pakistani city of Lahore on Friday, their family's biggest fear was that they might get catch the coronavirus on their way to spend the holiday in Karachi. Instead the couple, who had been married for…
One of the two people to survive a plane crash in Pakistan that killed 97 people on board has described jumping from the burning wreckage of the aircraft after it hurtled into a residential neighbourhood. The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane came down among houses on Friday after both engines…
Ninety-seven people were killed and two survived when a passenger plane crashed into homes in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi, health officials said Saturday (23). The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane had made multiple approaches to land at the city's airport when it came down in a residential area, damaging…
A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) plane with 99 passengers and crew crashed into a residential area of the city of Karachi on Friday (22), with many feared dead, officials said. Smoke billowed at the scene where flight PK 8303 came down, some rooves were caved in, and debris lay scattered…
PAKISTAN will resume domestic flights in a phased manner from Saturday (16) after the government eased some of the restrictions imposed following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. The total COVID-19 cases in Pakistan stands at 37,218 and the deadly virus claimed 802 lives so far in…
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will not rush into a decision about their upcoming tour of England amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, chief executive Wasim Khan has said. England are scheduled to host the South Asian side for three tests from July 30, followed by three Twenty20 internationals, but with…
Markets across Pakistan were teeming on Monday after opening up for the first time in over a month as the country began to lift its lockdown despite a rise in the rate of coronavirus infections. Pakistan announced last week that it would begin a phased lifting of its lockdown because…
Starring Irrfan Khan and Pakistani actress Saba Qamar in lead roles, Hindi Medium was one of the most successful films of 2017. The audience loved the concept of the movie as much as they loved the chemistry between the lead pair. After the huge success of Hindi Medium, Irrfan Khan…
Controversial Pakistani batsman Umar Akmal was banned on Monday (28) from all forms of cricket for three years after pleading guilty to failing to report match-fixing approaches, the country's cricket board announced. Umar, who turns 30 in May, last month withdrew a challenge to the charges. The batsman's ban is…
Pakistanis on Saturday celebrated the country's first day of the holy month of Ramadan by flocking to mosques and markets, ignoring advice to stay home as coronavirus cases rise. Prime minister Imran Khan has come under pressure for his handling of the virus crisis, after causing confusion by saying Pakistan…
Dozens of Pakistani doctors and nurses have launched a hunger strike demanding adequate protective equipment for frontline staff treating coronavirus patients, the lead organiser of the protest said Saturday. Health workers have complained for weeks that the country's hospitals are suffering chronic shortages of safety gear, prompting the arrest of…
Married as a child and wrongly imprisoned for nearly 20 years over the murder of her husband in Pakistan, Rani Bibi is now free and fighting for compensation in a test case for thousands of other false convictions. Bibi was only 13 when police arrested her for killing her husband…
By Amit Roy WHEN Joanna Lumley appeared as a guest on Classic FM last Sunday (12), she was introduced by a star-struck presenter John Humphrys – he is no longer the fierce inquisitor from his Radio 4 Today days – with the gushing words: “There are so many Joanna Lumleys…
At least nine Tablighi Jamaat activists have been tested positive for COVID-19 in Pakistan's Punjab province, reports said. Two weeks ago, 198 Tablighi Jamaat workers were quarantined in Pakpattan and nine of them have now tested positive. India allows e-tailers to deliver non-essentials from April 20 The total number of…
Dozens of prisoners in a Pakistani jail have contracted the novel coronavirus, officials have said, with more than 150 additional inmates potentially infected as cases of COVID-19 continue to soar in the impoverished country. At least 49 inmates at a jail in the eastern city of Lahore have tested positive,…
THE total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has risen to 3,278 including 48 deaths in Pakistan, according to the latest reports on Monday (6). According to health ministry figures at least 512 people were tested positive while eight deaths were registered from Friday to Sunday. The country's eastern Punjab…
Pakistan has quarantined 20,000 worshippers and is still searching for tens of thousands more who attended an Islamic gathering in Lahore last month despite the worsening coronavirus pandemic, officials said on Sunday (5). Authorities said they want to test or quarantine those who congregated at the event held by the…
by LAUREN CODLING and S NEERAJ KRISHNA THOUSANDS of Britons “stranded” in India following the Covid-19 pandemic will be repatriated in the coming days, the UK government announced on Monday (30). The response comes after a number of British nationals stranded in India accused the UK government of “abandoning” them…
INDIA and Pakistan have sealed off centres belonging to a Muslim missionary group and began investigating how many coronavirus cases were linked to its activities. Tablighi Jamaat is a Deobandi Sunni Muslim missionary movement that preaches worldwide. Every year, tens of thousands attend its congregations in the Pakistani city of…
PAKISTAN batsman Umar Akmal could face a lifetime ban if convicted of match-fixing charges unveiled recently by the country's cricket authorities. The 29-year-old was provisionally suspended by the anti-corruption unit of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on February 20, the day when the Pakistan Super League commenced in Karachi. The…
Indian authorities sealed off the headquarters of a Muslim missionary group on Tuesday (31) and ordered an investigation into accusations it held religious meetings that officials fear may have infected dozens of people with the coronavirus. India has registered 1,251 cases of the coronavirus, of whom 32 have died, the…
PAKISTANI GREAT MEERA ON HER AMAZING CAREER by ASJAD NAZIR LEGENDARY Pakistani actress Meera has had an amazing career spanning nearly 25 years. She has delivered diverse roles in various genres and is regarded as one of the all-time greats of Pakistani cinema. Meera plays a legend looking to recapture…
Pakistan's perennial problem-maker Umar Akmal could face a lifetime ban if convicted of match-fixing charges unveiled on Friday (20) by Pakistan cricket authorities. The 29-year-old old was provisionally suspended by the anti-corruption unit of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on February 20, the day when Pakistan Super League commenced in Karachi.…
THE British deputy high commissioner in Karachi, Mike Nithavrianakis, has concluded a three-day visit to Pakistan’s industrial cities of Sialkot, Lahore and Faisalabad in a bid to strengthen bilateral trade between the UK and Pakistan During his visit, Nithavrianakis held a series of meetings with prominent businessmen and visited industrial units to discuss potential trade opportunities for mutual benefit, and…
Pakistan's Twenty20 cricket league was suspended Tuesday (17) after English batsman Alex Hales developed suspected coronavirus symptoms before the start of the semi-finals. The Pakistan Super League (PSL) announced last week that the playoffs would be truncated with this week's semi-finals and final in Lahore to be played with no…
Pakistan's Twenty20 league will continue despite closed stadiums and an exodus of foreign players who are heading home over the coronavirus crisis, cricketing authorities in the country said Friday. On Thursday the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said upcoming matches would be played in an empty stadium in Karachi, and offered…
Pakistani authorities arrested a media mogul on corruption charges on Thursday (12), in a decades-old case his representatives said was motivated by a desire to retaliate following the broadcast of several investigative programmes. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) arrested Mir Shakeel-ur-Rehman -- the editor-in-chief of the Jang Group that includes…
Scotland Yard has launched an investigation after former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif's personal physician was injured in a robbery incident near Park Lane, London. Dr Adnan Khan was allegedly assaulted with metal rods by two masked men, who snatched his wristwatch on Monday (9) night. Khan was in London…
He calls himself "Pakistan's biggest feminist", but soap-opera writer Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar sparked a national row this week after he hurled abuse at a women's rights activist on live television. The invective-laden diatribe came just days before thousands of people marched in cities across Pakistan to mark International Women's Day, adding…
With her flashing rings, green-streaked hair and "Hack the patriarchy" laptop stickers, Nighat Dad is a digital warrior. But this human rights award winner and founder of Pakistan's first cyber-harassment helpline still tears up as she describes receiving calls from women afraid of being killed by male relatives for using…
Protesters marking International Women's Day in ultra-conservative Pakistan on Sunday came under attack with stones and sticks, reflecting the movement's challenge in a society where females are still put to death under ancient "honour" codes. During a march in the capital, Islamist counter-protesters hurled sticks and stones at the women's…
Pakistan on Tuesday (3) said it wrote to British authorities seeking the return of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who flew to London for medical treatment in 2019 after a court granted him indefinite bail on medical grounds. Sharif, a former three times prime minister, was ousted over corruption allegations…
MAHARAJAH Ranjit Singh has been voted the greatest leader of all times in a poll conducted by BBC World Histories magazine. The founder of the Sikh empire, known as the Lion of Punjab, emerged supreme with 38 per cent of votes from more than 5,000 readers, ahead of other prominent…
PAKISTAN will request the British government to deport former prime minister Nawaz Sharif as he is an "absconder". "The government has decided in principle to write a letter this week to the British government, seeking deportation of PML-N supreme leader Nawaz Sharif, as he is an absconder not fulfilling the…
Inside a small Lahore courtroom, the packed crowd attending the hearing of a blasphemy case against a Christian pastor is most notable for the absence of hardline clerics shouting insults and demanding the death penalty. For years, they would attend such hearings in force, seeking to pressure magistrates to convict…
West Indies' twin T20 World Cup-winning captain Darren Sammy will become an honorary citizen of Pakistan and receive the Nishan-e-Haider in March 2020, reports said. Reports said his application of honorary citizenship has been forwarded to the president of the country. Darren Sammy is currently in Pakistan to lead Peshawar…
Pakistan's perennial problem-maker Umar Akmal was suspended Thursday under an anti-corruption rule, cricket officials announced, sidelining him from the Pakistan Super League pending an inquiry. The 29-year-old has received numerous fines and suspensions in his 11-year career, and was arrested in 2014 after violating traffic rules in his native Lahore.…
Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal has escaped a ban from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for allegedly making crude remarks to a trainer during a fitness test at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. The said incident occurred late last month when all the players who hold central and domestic central…
Pakistan anti-corruption officials raided the properties of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in Lahore on Saturday (15) to collect evidence in a money laundering case, even as his mother left for London to be with her son ahead of his cardiac treatment. An accountability court has already exempted the 69-year-old…
Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara will relive his fateful 2009 journey to Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium on Friday (14) after returning for the first time since the deadly attack which plunged Pakistan into cricket isolation. Sangakkara is captaining England's venerable MCC for four games in Lahore, where he was wounded in…
A Lahore anti-terrorism court has jailed the alleged mastermind of the Mumbai attacks, Hafiz Saeed, for 11 years in Pakistan on terror charges, his lawyer said Wednesday (12). The is the first time he has been imprisoned since the 2008 assault. His lawyer said he would appeal. The ruling came…
THE British High Commissioner to Pakistan led the UK’s team in a skiing competition held in the Swat Valley. Dr Christian Turner and his team from the British High Commission in Pakistan competed alongside a host of international teams. The Karakoram International Alpine Ski Cup 2020 is held in Malam…
A leading member of the Pakistan Taliban has escaped custody more than two years after surrendering to authorities, a senior security official said Sunday (9). The confirmation comes days after Ehsanullah Ehsan -- the former spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) -- released an audio message claiming he had escaped…
The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party led by prime minister Imran Khan has suspended the general secretary of its Lahore chapter over posters that featured an insulting slogan targeting the minority Hindus after public backlash, a media report said on Saturday. Mian Akram Usman put up the poster in connection with…
Pakistan's parliament passed a resolution on Friday (7) calling for the public hanging of convicted child killers and rapists, drawing a quick backlash from human rights organisations. The non-binding resolution follows a spate of high-profile child sex-abuse cases that have provoked outrage and riots across Pakistan in recent years. Child…
PAKISTAN Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai’s shooter Ehsanullah Ehsan escaped from an Army jail last month. In an audio recording released on Thursday (6) and shared via an online private messaging platform, Ehsanullah claimed that he has escaped from jail on January 11. Speaking in Urdu, Ehsanullah claimed that he had…
Recalled Shoaib Malik smashed a solid half-century to anchor Pakistan's five-wicket win over Bangladesh in the first Twenty20 international in Lahore on Friday. Malik's 45-ball 58 not out for his eighth Twenty20 fifty as Pakistan overhauled a modest 142-run target in 19.3 over to take a 1-0 lead in the…
NEW TALENT ABDULLAH MUZAFFAR ON HIS IMPRESSIVE RISE by ASJAD NAZIR PAKISTAN has an incredibly rich history of producing world-class singers, and there is now an exciting new generation to carry that impressive legacy forward. One of the super solo artists generating noise in the country right now and making…
by LAUREN CODLING THE visit to Bradford by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge last Wednesday (15) has been described as a “great moment” for the British Asian community there by a local business owner. The royal couple visited the West Yorkshire city on their first official engagement of the…
A Pakistani journalist critical of the government and the army has been detained for five days for having published "anti-state" comments online, his lawyer told said Tuesday, in a new illustration of shrinking freedoms in Pakistan. Azhar-ul Haq Wahid, who worked for a small television and newspaper with a limited…
Pakistani authorities refused to let a top human rights lawyer leave the country, citing her "anti-state activities", she said on Monday (20), in what appeared to be the latest example of an ongoing rights crackdown. Jalila Haider, who last year featured on a BBC list of 100 inspiring and influential…
Recalled Pakistan allrounder Mohammad Hafeez on Friday (19) said he will retire from international cricket after the Twenty20 World Cup later this year, vowing to end his career on a positive note. The 38-year-old was Thursday recalled to Pakistan's Twenty20 series against Bangladesh starting in Lahore from January 24. Hafeez…
A Pakistani court has sentenced more than 80 Islamists to 55 years in prison each after protests linked to the 2018 acquittal of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman accused of blasphemy, one of their senior leaders told AFP. The sentence -- an unusually harsh one in Pakistan, where blasphemy is…
Bangladesh’s wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim has declined to visit Pakistan for the forthcoming series, a team official said on Thursday. "Mushfiq(ur) rang me today to inform that he will not go to Pakistan. We are now waiting for his formal letter. Once he does that, we will leave him out of…
BRITISH boxing star Amir Khan has opined that England is not a racist country and “people in Britain are very loving”. The former Olympic gold medallist commented after he met Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, when they visited Bradford on Wednesday (15). Speaking inside the MyLahore Asian restaurant, he said he hoped the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as…