Weekly News Update (1-6 August ’21)
In news this week – Arshad Nadeem will compete against India in the finals for Men’s Javelin Throw at the Tokyo Olympics’20, the Kashmir Premier League (KPL) is in full swing, a Pakistani man’s act of kindness goes viral and much, much more! Read on to find out:
Arshad Nadeem To Compete In Finals Against India For Men’s Javelin Throw – Tokyo Olympics’20
With a throw of 85.16 metres, Arshad Nadeem went through to the final of the men’s javelin and reignited the hope of Pakistan’s chance at an Olympic medal. With Pakistan’s performance more than underwhelming this time around, the 24-year-old from Khanewal is making news as he will be competing against India’s Neeraj Chopra on the 7th of August’21 .
Speaking to the media after qualifying for the final, Nadeem said he was thankful for the support given to him by Pakistanis. He also appealed to the nation for more prayers so that he can given a phenomenal performance in the final. The athlete also thanked his coach for his tireless efforts in training him for the Olympics. “We will keep performing like this,” he said, ending with an emphatic “Pakistan Zindabad”. We wish him all the best!
Shahid Afridi Speaks Out Against BCCI’s Tactics To Derail KPL
Earlier this week Pakistan’s former captain, Shahid Afridi, expressed his concerns on Twitter over BCCI’s attempts to derail the Kashmir Premier League (KPL). PCB also issued a statement and said, “…the BCCI has brought the game into disrepute by issuing warnings to multiple ICC Members to stop their retired cricketers from featuring in the Kashmir Premier League, further threatening they will not be allowed entry into India for cricket-related work…Such conduct from the BCCI is completely unacceptable, against the preamble of the Spirit of Cricket and sets a dangerous precedence, which can neither be tolerated nor ignored. The PCB will raise this matter at the appropriate ICC forum and also reserves the right to take any further action that is available to us within the ICC charter.”
However, despite numerous attempts to derail the tournament, the first edition of KPL storms into action today. The first match will be played between the Rawalakot Hawks (Shahid Afridi is currently team captain and head coach is Arshad Khan.) vs Mirpur Royals (Shoaib Malik is currently team captain and head coach is Inzamamul Haq) at 20:30 local time. Only 30% of vaccinated spectators will be allowed to watch the match on the ground and SoPs will be strictly followed. Moreover, protocols for a bio-secure bubble have been put in place for the safety of the participants. Good luck teams!
The Chase To Track Down Rahul Makes News Around The World
Ghazi Taimoor won hearts online this week as he recounted how he tracked down a man to return his wallet. With no discernable clue in the wallet apart from a bank card with the owners’ name on it – Rahul R***, the task was daunting but not impossible. After no luck with Google Image search or any social media platform, Taimoor resorted to LinkedIn to find his Rahul. After narrowing done his results and the company Rahul worked at, he found the company’s address from its annual accounts filed to the registrar of the companies, and two hours later he had finally found his mystery man! The story moved many Pakistanis and Indians and they praised Taimoor’s efforts online.
In conversation with Geo and The News, Ghazi Taimoor said that his first thought at finding the wallet was to realize that someone will face a huge amount of trouble by reporting his lost bank card details to the banks and the police and he could lose money if his cards ended up with criminal gangs. He went on to say,“I decided to give it a try and find him using his bank card name. I had no other clue and no way to reach him. I then took to Twitter and what a journey it has been.” We definitely need more good samartitans like him around! Kudos to you Sir!
Audiences Impatiently Wait For ‘Prince Charming’
Prince Charming is a short film by Sheheryar Munawar starring Mahira Khan and Zahid Ahmed set to release today, August 6th on See Prime – a channel that’s commanding quite a reputation for putting out meaningful content and pioneering a short film screening fest in Pakistan. Mahira Khan will play the role of Sheherzad and Zahid Ahmed will play the role of Akbar.
While the team has kept the narrative undercover, Zahid Ahmed gave fans a glimpse into his character on Instagram. His caption read, “Story of Akbar. A man torn between his reality and expectations. In his struggle to be the man he wanted to be, he has become the man Sheherzad never wanted. What has he become? Just another man, or any man or like every man? Or someone else?”. We can’t wait to find out the story and see Mahira Khan and Zahid Ahmed in their element!
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Khalil Ur Rehman’s Misogynistic Comments – An Attempt To Stay Relevant?
Khalil Ur Rehman Qamar is known for his problematic statements regarding women, so it’s no surprise that he’s crawled out of the woodwork, once again, to blame feminists and feminism for everything under the sun. However, this time his statement has hit a nerve. In an ill-timed and grossly insensitive tweet, Mr Qamar links the diminishing narrative of feminism to the heinous and brutal murder of Noor, implying that feminism had a key role to play in her death and was responsible for pushing Zahir Jaffer over the edge.
It is such a shame that mindsets like that of Khalil Ur Rehman still exist in our society and maybe that’s why victims of domestic violence, abuse, etc seldom come forward. Khalil Ur Rehman highlights the key problem in our society – men who find it hard to believe women when they tell them their truth and who will go to any lengths to malign them and make light of their tragedies. We can only hope that he’s held accountable for all the hatred he spews and that he finds it in himself to apologize. But to be honest, we’re not holding our breaths.
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Sadaf Kanwal & Her “Culture” In The News For All The Wrong Reasons
Model turned actress, Sadaf Kanwal, recently appeared on a talk show, ‘Hamare Mehmaan’ on ARY Digital with husband Shehroz Sabzwari. Post interview, her statements on feminism, Aurat march and roles in marriage divided Twitter. Some supported her while others went completely against her notion. Here’s what she said in the interview:
Many didn’t understand the reason for public backlash after the interview aired. The problem lies here, patriarchal views such as these, are harmful to those women who are in abusive, toxic marriages. Secondly, each relationship has its own dynamics. Imposing a mindset on a relationship that works for you might not necessarily work for someone who hails from a totally different socio-economic background – hence the backlash. Lastly, coming to the feminist and the Aurat march notions, they were based on the basis to help oppressed women, those in abusive relationships. These movements work towards breaking down patriarchal barriers and give a ray of hope to those who need it. So, questioning or contemplating them and even misinterpreting them is not okay. Background research is always needed. We can only hope Sadaf Kanwal is more mindful of what she says in the future.
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On Her 40th Birthday Meghan Markle Makes Appeal To Support Women Reentering The Workforce
In conversation with Melissa McCarthy, the former Duchess of Sussex said, “For my birthday, I have asked 40 friends, activists, athletes, artists, and world leaders to help kickoff a global effort by contributing 40 minutes of mentorship to support women re-entering the workforce”. This is welcome news as many women were made redundant during the pandemic and had to multi-task their job seeking efforts with childcare and homeschooling. Women empowerment is a key part of Meghan’s platform and she hopes to enable women by assisting them in gaining financial independence. We can only hope Pakistanis take a page or two out of her book and redouble their efforts in encouraging women to reenter the workforce.
