30 transgender people take Quranic lessons in Lahore
For the first time in history, a group of 30 transgender people from his community in Lahore completed a Quran class and were presented with a copy of the Holy Quran upon completion of the course.Started by Anusha Tahir Bhatt for a transgender charity in Johartown, Lahore, the class lasted for a year where he offered Quranic classes and other Islamic education.The course concluded with a prayer ceremony in which participants were presented with copies of the Quran. According to Bhatt, one of the reasons transgenders in his community get involved in immoral activities is that he stayed away from the teachings of Islam.As a result, he started the course along with other classes so that the community could benefit from the teachings. Participants expressed their joy and appreciation for participating in the course and were delighted with the completion of the course. They were lucky to attend such a course and were proud to have completed it.The initiative was well received by people across the country and was hailed by many as an important step towards inclusion and empowerment of his transgender community. It is also seen as an important step to combat the discrimination and exclusion faced by members of Pakistan’s transgender community.Completing a Quranic course is proof that the transgender community is an integral part of Pakistani society and has equal rights to access education and religious teachings. The success of this initiative may inspire others to take similar steps to advance the rights and well-being of the country’s transgender community.
The world’s biggest companies say “prices will rise further”
The world’s largest food group says the price of staple items will rise further this year, adding to a string of warnings from consumer giants of more pain to come for stretched households.The maker of Nescafé coffee and KitKat chocolate bars increased prices by 8.2% in 2022, but said this was not enough to offset a rise in its own costs, which had dented its profits.“We are still in a situation where were repairing our gross margin and like all consumers around the world hit by inflation now we are trying to repair the damage that has been done,Nestle CEO Mark Schneider said on call with CNN Reporter. “Price increases will be “targeted” and only implemented where input cost inflation justifies that.Although he declined to say which of the companies 2,000 brands, which span frozen food,confectionery and baby formula, would be affected. Heineken (HEINY),Colgate (CL),Palmolive and Procter & Gamble (PG) which makes Pampers nappies and Pantene shampoo, have all flagged further increases in the prices of their goods this year, as they grapple with elevated commodity, energy and labor costs.Prices for commodities such as energy, dairy and grains have fallen from their peaks but remain high. Labor and logistics costs also increased.This means that the prices of goods in stores will not fall for the time being.“We are probably past the peak of inflation, but we are not yet at peak prices,” Unilever Chief Financial Officer Graeme Pikesley told reporters by phone last week. Groceries, including ice cream, will see significant price increases in 2023, CEO Alan Jope said on the same conference call. Unilever, the British company that makes Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, Knorr Bouillon Cubes and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, has increased its prices by 13.3% in the last three months of 2022, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of price hikes. According to Unilever, the price hike reduced his sales volume by 2.1% in 2022.Similarly,Nestlé reported a decline in sales volume in the second half of last year, which it said was partly due to pricing. A retailer’s private label could be the winner as shoppers look to keep their grocery bills low. For example, Walmart (WMT) has seen strong growth in sales of its own brands, and the trend is spreading to European retailers. Last year’s price controversy led to some branded products being removed from shelves after a short period of time.Tesco chairman John Allen recently told the BBC that Tesco had “argued with other suppliers” over price increases.Supermarket managers sometimes see such brawls as part of their job description.Alexandre Bompard, the CEO at France’s largest food retailer Carrefour (CRERF), said his role was negotiating with suppliers “to keep the surge as low as possible to protect the purchasing power of customers.” to make sure,” he said.
In letter to president, Imran Khan calls for ‘immediate’ investigation against BajwaIn
Imran Khan, the leader of Pakistan’s Terek-e-Insaf (PTI), told President Arif Alvi(the former army chief rtd) for multiple alleged violations of his oath in office, as reported.€It called for an “immediate investigation” and action against Kamal Javed Bajwa. announced on Thursday. In a letter dated February 14, the former prime minister who accuses General Bajwa of overthrowing the government in last year’s no-confidence vote details,how General Bajwa violated his vows and the constitution.PTI Chairman Imran Khan explains former army chief Gen (retd) Bajwa has repeatedly “violated” his oath of office.
Dubai Marathon 2023,Pakistani runners shine like stars
Participation of Pakistani athletes in Dubai Marathon Race was the limelight of the event,organised on Sunday. Runners from Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi represented Pakistan in the event along with the Pakistani residents of the emirate.Runners from Islamabad in a large number thronged Dubai to take part in the race. Players from Islamabad Running Club and Wednesday Night also represented Pakistan. During the Marathon,Amin Muqatay from Karachi and Bilal Ihsan from Islamabad performed well. Fahad Qureshi, Rehman Azhar, Yawar Abbas, Furqan and Shahid Shah also performed well.There were 16,975 athletes from across the world in the marathon. Dubai marathon is one of the most enjoyable sporting events in UAE’s calendar.More than 16 thousand runners from all over the world participated in it this year.
Arshad Sharif Murder Case: Kenya Doesn’t Allow JIT to Access Evidence, SC Says
The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) investigating the murder of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif has been denied access to evidence by Kenyan authorities,the head of the investigation team said at the Suo Motu case hearing.He told the Supreme court that“Last year,Arshad Sharif’s assassination of Suomotu in Kenya was confirmed by the Supreme Court. The murder was described as a “misidentified case” by the country’s authorities.His five-man bench, headed by his Umar Ata Bandial, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), resumed hearings in the Suo Motu case today (Monday) after more than a month long postponement.Other bench members were Justices Ijazul Ahsan,Sayyed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi,Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Muhammad Ali Mazhar.At the start of the hearing,the JIT, formed by the federal government,submitted a second status report to the SC.Meanwhile,the Supreme Court has ordered authorities to launch an investigation into the factors involved in the disclosure of the commission’s report on the killing of a high-ranking journalist.At the hearing, CJP Bandial asked who issued the fact sheet and ordered to find out who was behind it.“The investigation report was released without any verification,” CJP noted, questioning whether this was intentional.He said the investigation conducted in Pakistan was flawed. Judge Naqvi said the court read every word of the report.“Did you do as you were told?” Judge Naqvi asked his JIT. He asked if the team had found any material related to the killings in Kenya.In response, the JIT boss said Owais Ahmed had met with officials in Kenya, adding that the East African country had not provided access to the evidence.“We have not found any concrete documents regarding the murder of Arshad Sharif in Kenya,” he added. “Where is Arshad Sharif’s mobile phone and other equipment?” asked Judge Asan.To this request, the JIT boss replied that Sharif’s mobile phone and his iPad were at his IT department in Kenya. However, he did receive the rest of his belongings, he told the court without elaborating.An additional attorney general said Kenya was not cooperating with the murder investigation.Judge Ahsan asked how a country could seek cooperation with an investigation if it does not have good relations with that country. Meanwhile, CJP Bandial said, “Kenya is an independent country and is not under our jurisdiction.” He said the court wanted to know what the JIT had discovered so far.CJP asked about future strategies for special JIT strategies going forward,” he asked.The Chief Justice added that no one could yet be charged with murder.The court then ordered the JIT to submit a full report within a month, and he postponed the hearing until March.
Komal Rizvi shared how her husband hit her over head for serving cold food
The ticking clock hanging over the heads of Pakistani women often leads to early marriage before the woman has fully developed as an individual. Actress,song writer,tv host and singer Komal Rizvi shared her experience of marriage at a young age and how it hurts her.She shared about her abusive marriage and how her ex-husband abused her physically and emotionally on Nadir Ali podcast. She shared one incident where her husband hit her head with frying pan for serving cold food. “Girls have been told since childhood that you would have a wonderful wedding and that your husband would really take care of you. The woman,especially in our culture, is 200% trying to keep the marriage going, not 100%,” she said. “I have one complaint with our society and it is not to teaching our daughters what their lineage is. If you forget your husband, you lose your self-respect, your confidence, your self-esteem.Youcan no longer trust or believe in yourself, and if you let them cross that line, your happiness will be ruined. No one told me.”“It took me four years to realize that if he raises his hand to me or oppresses me, it’s not my fault. Mind games such as “It was your fault that I hit you with a frying pan, why did you serve me cold food?” while he was playing mind games, I thought that if I loved him more and tried harder, he would be happy with me. I wouldn’t even raise my hand to a dog,forget people. Rizvi stressed the importance of setting healthy boundaries. “It took me four years in that stupidity because I wasn’t taught how to draw the line. It’s a sin to accept that. If someone had told me that, I would have made a decision in half a year, and three and a half years would not have been wasted.” The “Washmalay” singer said she was taught to take care of her husband, cook, and always obey her husband’s parents and elders.She agrees these things are reasonable On the other hand, he stressed that the other side also needs to be addressed, such as the need to educate women to set boundaries.This is really a serious and heavy subject.The actor said Pakistani women needs to set strong boundaries.She emphasized that they need to be taught that they will not tolerate disrespect or abuse from anyone.
Prime Minister Shebaz says Pakistan has set up a 1 billion rupee relief fund for earthquake-hit Turkiye
At a ceremony at Lahore airport where relief supplies will be sent to Turkiye, the Prime Minister said the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) will purchase relief supplies such as tents,clothing,blankets and dry food from Turkey and fund them after sending Turkiye. A 7.8-magnitude quake in Turkey on Monday killed 17,674 people and killed 3,377 in Syria, bringing the total to 21,051 officials and medical sources said.Speaking to the media alongside Turkey’s Consul General of Lahore Ozbay,Prime Minister Shebaz said thousands had died in the deadly earthquake in Turkiye and Syria, leaving millions homeless.“You don’t often see destruction on this scale when parents lose children and infants become orphans.There are horrible images everywhere,” he noted. However,the prime minister has ensured that the people of Turkiye will emerge from the crisis under the leadership of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and so are our brothers in Syria.”
Imran accuses the PDM government of using terrorism to gain “political miles”.
In a televised speech,the PTI chairman claimed that terrorism reached an all-time low during his administration but resurfaced with vengeance during the “current administration.”“Look at the graph of terrorism and how it declined during the PTI administration,” he said. “Why wasn’t there terrorism when the PTI was in the federal government?” Imran blamed incumbent Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif for increased terrorism,recalling the sacrifices made by the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the war on terror and crowded the streets for fear that there might be another operation.The PTI chief added that Shebaz had “spread lies” at a cabinet meeting over the weekend about KP’s inappropriate use of terrorism funds. “KP has spent Rs 600 crore in nine years. We have established four police training schools,elite training schools in Nowshera, Special Combat Forces to Counter Terrorism,said Imran.That’s why terrorism has subsided. In 2017 he also established a DNA lab at Kyber Medical College. Commenting on the award by the National Finance Commission (NFC), the former prime minister said only his two states, Punjab and his KP have honored the pledge and donated funds for tribal district collections.Imran said, Sindh and Balochistan did not provide the money.We have invested Rs 55 crore in the tribal districts. The PDM government only gave Rs 5b. crore.”
Journalist Imran Riaz arrested for his ‘controversial’ remarks
On Feb 2, Pakistani journalist and TV host Imran Reaz Khan was arrested in Lahore for “controversial remarks,” Geo News reported Thursday.The arrest comes hours after Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Pakistan’s Teliku-e-Insaf (PTI) ally, was arrested by Islamabad police.A Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a team from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested Riaz at Allama Iqbal International Airport while he was boarding a flight to Dubai.Sources say the FIA will take the journalist to a local court in Lahore to demand custody of him. Imran Riaz’s lawyer Mian Ali Ashfaq told that this is the “illegal arrest” of the journalist and they will challenge in court against it.According to the FIR ,Imran Riaz was “found involved in publicly making a hate speech at a conference which falls under the territorial jurisdiction of FIA cyber crime cell”.It was further publicly shared on social media platforms nationally and internationally. It may cause alarm or fear in the country and arise feeling of hatred and indignation among people of Pakistan. In response of this incident,Teherik-e-Insaf (PTI) condemned the arrests and said, “we can affirm that there are no human rights in Pakistan at all”. The tweet also included a video of “Where Riaz Was Filmed”.PTI leader Asad Umar also condemned the arrests, claiming that the terrorists were roaming free while Sheikh Rashid Ahmed and Imran Riaz are behind bars.
Shehbaz Sharif calls for all-party meeting,invites Imran Khan
Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif called for an All Party Conference (APC) in Islamabad on Thursday and invited the country’s political leaders,including PTI Chairman Imran Khan,to discuss ways to address the challenges facing the country. The country is also in trouble economically. Foreign exchange reserves have fallen to her $3.09 billion, but analysts say this does not cover her three weeks worth of imports. The country is in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to release much-needed funds under a stalled relief program.The success of the IMF will also help free money from other platforms looking for the go-ahead from lenders. Economy Minister Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, former Speaker of the National Assembly contacted PTI leaders Asad Kaiser and Pervez Khatak.Sadiq forwarded the invitation to PTI leader, asking him to nominate a representative for a board meeting to be held at the governor’s house in Peshawar. The meeting will be attended by all stakeholders, including rangers and operatives.The meeting will discuss the terrorist incidents in Peshawar and consider measures to eradicate terrorism and strengthen the counter-terrorism department and the police force.