ISLAMABAD, Dec 6 (APP):Bilal Khan, a top-notch Pakistani musician and YouTuber, is back with another super hit track ‘Qurban’ and fans are stunned by the soulful blend of Urdu and Pashto lyrics.
The singer-turned-actor took to his official Instagram account and left netizens in awe as he shared the captivating teaser along with the caption “New song Qurban out on YouTube”
The much-talked-about track has received an overwhelming response from celebs as well as fans. Stunned by the song’s spellbinding Pashto lyrics, netizens are crowding the comment section with loved-up comments to let the superstar know his voice can “fit in any genre”.
In just two days of its release, the simple yet enchanting lyrical video has managed to sweep the internet and got thousands of likes and comments on Khan’s official YouTube channel.
“Happy to listen to your mesmerizing voice and light beats again” a comment reads.
Another excited fan commented, “A huge surprise for all the pathan fans of yours out there! Loved it”
Furthermore, the ‘Lamha’ hit-maker also expressed gratitude towards fans for the love and admiration he received for his latest track by replying to fans’ comments and posting them on his Insta reel.
ISLAMABAD, Dec 06 (APP):National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervez Ashraf and Deputy Speaker Zahid Akram Durrani on Tuesday expressed their grief and sorrow over the death of former State Minister Sahibzada Nazir Sultan.
Speaker and Deputy Speaker in their separate condolence messages paid a moving tribute to the political and social services of former Minister of State late Sahibzada Nazir Sultan.
They prayed to Almighty Allah to grant the deceased a high place in jannah and give strength and courage to the bereaved families to bear this irreparable loss.
ISLAMABAD, Dec 6 (APP):The usage of mobile phones was significantly diminishing and decreasing book reading habit among writers, intellectuals, authors, poets, students and other readers.
Talking to APP, Assistant Professor of Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur, Dr Sahib Khan said that the people especially students were reading books, newspapers, thesis and other materials by using the internet on cell phones rather than hard copies and it had badly affected book reading.
He said that the people belonging to every age were busy with messages, texts, tweets by using Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and other social networking Apps and it was promptly decreasing the concept of book reading among its lovers.
He said that reading books were enhancing knowledge and giving ample information to compete with the world and also making a person able to talk with others with logic, evidence, proof and solid imagination.
He said, “Read thousands of books then words will come into the reader’s mind like floods.”
Poet, Khalid Ahmed Tyagi said that the young people were wasting their precious time and money by using mobile phones and they were not focusing on studies and examinations.
He urged the youth to read immense books, novels and poetic verses which would teach them the dynamic ways of talking and postures.
Reading study material’s on smartphones was leading poor comprehension and understanding among the readers compared to reading the books.
Managing Director of National Book Foundation, Dr Raja Mazhar Hameed said the foundation provide more conducive and enriched supportive academic environment to the authors either writing for children’s, school and college going students or at university level.
He said, “Our moderate prices of textbooks and general books never impact our publishing.”
A shopkeeper selling the books on stall in Saddar Rawalpindi said the people were showing less interest in purchasing books from stalls compared to past. Before the emergence of mobile phones, he had sold almost 400 books on weekend but now readers were purchasing around 40 books.
Reading books would give readers massive knowledge to compete in the world and also teaching ways of talking and postures. Intellectuals always considered the books as one of their friends in solitude and a room without books was a body without soul.
ISLAMABAD, Dec 6 (APP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday paid tribute to the former senior president of the women’s wing of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and senior parliamentarian Najma Hameed for her contribution towards democracy and the party.
The prime minister visited the residence of the late Najma Hameed who passed away recently and offered Fatiha for her soul to rest in peace.
He extended condolences to Najma Hameed’s sons, her sister Tahira Aurangzeb and niece Marriyum Aurangzeb and said Najma Hameed was a valuable asset to the party.
ISLAMABAD, Dec 6 (APP): On the 30th anniversary of the demolition of the historic Babri Mosque in India, Pakistan on Tuesday urged the international community and the United Nations to play their role in preserving the Islamic heritage sites in India from the extremist ‘Hindutva’ regime.
“The Indian government must ensure the safety, security, and protection of minorities, particularly Muslims, and their places of worship,” the Foreign Office said in a statement on completion of three decades marking the demolition of the historic Babri Mosque in the Indian city of Ayodhya by Hindu zealots.
The FO said, “The occasion is a sad reminder of the growing anti-Muslim frenzy in India ever since,” adding that “We condemn the ongoing construction of a Hindu temple on the site of the demolished mosque, and the acquittal of the criminals responsible for its destruction.”
It mentioned that the Hindu supremacist groups in India were demanding the conversion of some other mosques into temples, including the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi. “These demands might lead to more tragedies like that of Babri Mosque,” it said.
The FO stressed that there was a persistent assault on the religious freedoms of Indian Muslims and the ruling party in India continued to incite hysteria and hatred against Muslims.
“As also demanded by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation through its various pronouncements, we call upon the Government of India to ensure that the Babri Mosque is rebuilt on its original site and the criminals responsible for its destruction are awarded befitting punishment.” it said.
“The international community needs to take coginzance of the growing Islamophobia, hate speech and hate crimes in India,” it said.
ISLAMABAD, Dec 06 (APP):Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said on Tuesday that the religious card of the shameless, incompetent, corrupt Kashmir seller has failed.
In a tweet, she said that Imran Khan had ruined governance, economy and foreign relations of the country during his four year rule.
بے شرم نالائق نااہل چور کشمیر فروش کا مذہب کارڈ فیل،گورننس،معیشت،خارجہ تعلقات تباہ،احتساب بیانیہ فیل،خارجہ تعلقات تباہ،امریکی سازش کا بیانیہ دفن، فارن ایجنٹ ،ہیروں توشہ خانہ چور ،شہدا کے خلاف مہم میڈیا اور سیاسی مخالفین پہ ظلم کرنے والا شہباز شریف کو نہ بتائے کشمیر پہ کیا کرنا ہے https://t.co/diPiB4fDDk
The minister said that the accountability narrative of PTI leadership failed and they destroyed relations with friendly countries. “Imran Khan’s US conspiracy narrative has been buried”, she maintained.
The minister termed Imran Khan a foreign agent, who had stolen diamonds and other Tosha Khana item when in power. The person who launched a media campaign against martyrs of the nation and victimized and jailed political opponents, should not tell Shehbaz Sharif what to do about Kashmir, she said.
ISLAMABAD: December 06 – Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif addressing at a seminar “10 Years of UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity in Pakistan”-APP
ISLAMABAD, Dec 6 (APP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said media freedom and democracy reinforced each other and expressed his government’s resolve to support an environment for journalists free of intimidation and harassment.
“My government believes that no journalist or human rights activist should be called out in the line of duty,” he said, expressing his firm resolve to proactively facilitate the implementation of the Journalists Safety Law.
Addressing at an event here to mark 10 years of the United Nations’ Plan of Action organized by Journalist Safety Forum, the prime minister termed a free media and freedom of expression the important pillars of a State.
Shehbaz Sharif said press freedom in Pakistan had been close to the hearts of journalists and civil society.
He said journalists of the country over the years greatly contributed to press freedom and mentioned that Hamid Mir, as the chairperson of Journalist Safety Forum, faced difficult challenges including an attempt on his life.
He termed the killing of prominent journalist Arshad Sharif an “extremely sad incident” and said that he soon after spoke to the government of Kenya and later wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan to form a judicial commission.
ISLAMABAD: December 06 – Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif addressing at a seminar “10 Years of UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity in Pakistan-APP
Shehbaz Sharif said despite the chequered history with 33 years of military rule, the collective political efforts led to resumption of democracy to put the country on right track.
He termed the 1973 constitution ‘a very sacred document’ which acted as a binding force among the units of the federation and ensured democratic values besides ensuring basic rights of citizens.
In 2013, he said, Pakistan became the first country in Asia to pass legislation on the safety of journalists and last year, the parliament passed the landmark ‘Protection of Journalists and Media Protection Act’.
Shehbaz Sharif, on requests of the media community, assured to look into the Section 6 of the Act to prevent harassment and intimidation of journalists.
He mentioned that there were still challenges facing the journalists in their line of duty and required sustained efforts by media, civil society, UN and international bodies.
He appreciated the contribution of international community in supporting economic and social development of Pakistan, particularly UNESCO and countries including Norway, Denmark and France.
He expressed confidence that the outcomes and recommendations of the Forum would help leading towards a free media in Pakistan.
Ambassador of France Nicolas Galey said freedom of expression could not be termed as an obstacle in the working of a government and emphasized the need to promote safety of journalists, media pluralism, and the right to inform and be informed. He lauded Pakistan’s law on the safety of journalists as a significant step in encouraging freedom of expression.
Ambassador of Denmark Linulf said it was crucial to promote freedom of expression and ensure a safe environment for journalists. He said Denmark backed the ‘community journalism’ in Pakistan. He congratulated Pakistan for its remarkable step to legislate on the safety of journalists, the first in Asia.
Ambassador of Norway Per Albert Ilsaas said best quality journalism provides proper information and ensure democratic values. Pakistani journalists, he said “self-censored” the content, which could otherwise be said directly, such the use of word “establishment”.
Chairperson Journalist Safety Forum Hamid Mir proposed that federal and Sindh governments must notify the safety commissions under the laws passed by the National Assembly and stressed passage of similar laws for the journalists of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Punjab.
He demanded immediate removal of the Section 6 from the Federal Journalists Safety Law, which acts as a pre-qualifier for journalist before benefiting from the law, and pointed out that it was “mysteriously” added to the final draft bill without the knowledge of journalists.
He called for taking journalists out of the purview of online expression through laws such as PECA (Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act) or other regulations and emphasized support by the federal and provincial governments against attacks, intimidation and harassment of women journalists.
The event was attended by journalists, human rights experts and representatives of national and international organizations.
UNITED NATIONS, Dec 06 (APP):Despite global progress in expanding use of the Internet and information communications technology (ICT), the digital divide between developed and developing countries remains wide, Pakistan has said during an online discussion organized by a UN body that conducts independent research on international security issues.
“The inability of the developing countries to reap benefits of digital transformation offered by extraordinary opportunities for innovation, communication, sustainable development and economic growth is amplifying the risk of further deepening of the already existing digital divide,” Ambassador Aamir Khan, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the webinar sponsored by the Geneva-based United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR).
If unchecked, he warned that the exponential proliferation of disinformation through online platforms and social media was exacerbating social discord, competing nationalisms, discrimination, hate speech, stigmatization, racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and related intolerances.
According to statistics, out of 2.9 billion people offline, 96% live in developing countries.
Bridging the digital divide will require addressing the major impediments that developing countries face in engaging with and accessing new technologies, such as an appropriate enabling environment, sufficient resources, infrastructure, education, capacity, investment and connectivity, the Pakistani envoy said.
At the same time, he said, the new era of strategic competition transformed by significance of the unconventional battle space and the coercive power of hybrid warfare has seriously undermined the space for international cooperation.
“There is no doubt that in order to have an open, stable, accessible, secure and peaceful cyberspace, the need for formulating a comprehensive framework for cyber capacity-building is more than ever before,” Aamir Khan said.
Achieving real and sustained progress in the various dimensions of digitalization requires skills development and effective training, in particular in developing countries,” he said, adding, “This is necessary to unlock the benefits of technology, including the more effective use of emerging technologies and ensuring that individuals stay safe, protected and productive online.”
In this regard, Aamir Khan called for prioritization of transfer of technology and technical assistance based on an open, fair and non-discriminatory access to ICT-related science, technologies, products and services.
Pakistani pacer Haris Rauf suffers grade-II strain, out of England series.
ISLAMABAD, Dec 06 (APP):Pakistani pacer Haris Rauf has been ruled out of the Test series against England due to a grade-II strain in right quad.
The fast bowler underwent an MRI during the first day’s play of the Rawalpindi Test after he rolled over the ball while fielding, said Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
The scans and the subsequent assessment by PCB medical staff concluded that the fast bowler suffered a grade-II strain.
Haris would now travel to Lahore to begin his rehabilitation at the National High Performance Centre.
It may be mentioned that England won the first of the three Tests on Monday by 74 runs. The second and third Tests would be played in Multan (December 9-13) and Karachi (December 17-21), respectively.
