Here’s what’s happening across the border: Pakistan foreign secretary lodges protest with US official over Trump’s tirade; Bohemian Rhapsody plays to empty theatres in Lahore.
Imran Khan draws flak for making wrong claims about Jesus Christ
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan was subject to considerable flak from his own country’s netizens after a video clip of him making controversial remarks about Jesus Christ went viral on the internet, reported Pakistan Today.
“Moses got some mention but Jesus Christ has no mention in history,” he said at the inauguration ceremony of a conference in Islamabad.
After Khan’s comment, several people took to Twitter to criticise the prime minister.
Gul Bukhari, Lahore-based human rights defender, shared the video captioning it with the word “What?”.
WHAT!?!?
“Moses got some mention, but Jesus Christ has no mention in history” – Prime Minister Pakistan Imran Khan. pic.twitter.com/glnwN2qRMc
— Gul Bukhari (@GulBukhari) November 20, 2018
Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader, called the claim a “crazy statement” clarifying that the Quran has several references to Jesus Christ.
Quran has many references of Hazrat Isa (as) will trolls defend this crazy statement of IK? https://t.co/uJ3QGVEEGz
— Ahsan Iqbal (@betterpakistan) November 20, 2018
Pak foreign secretary raises Donald Trump’s tirade with US official
Pakistan’s foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua Tuesday summoned United States Charge d’ Affaires (CdA) ambassador Paul Jones and lodged a strong objection against the “unwarranted and unsubstantiated allegations made against Pakistan” by US President Donald Trump recently, reported Dawn.
According to a press statement, Janjua brought to Jones’s attention the fact that contrary to Trump’s allegations, Pakistan indeed supplied the “initial evidence to trace the whereabouts of (Osama) bin Laden.”
“The US must not forget that scores of top AQ [Al-Qaeda] leaders were killed or captured by active Pakistani cooperation. Pakistan’s continued support to the efforts of international community in Afghanistan through Ground/ Air and Sea lines of communication was unquestionably critical to the success of this Mission in Afghanistan,” Janjua told the CdA.
The foreign secretary also reminded Jones that Pakistan and the US were working closely in coordination with regional stakeholders when the latter recently announced that it sought peaceful a political solution in Afghanistan.
“At this critical juncture, baseless allegations about a closed chapter of history could seriously undermine this vital cooperation,” read the statement.
CJP Nisar off to England for Diamer-Bhasha dam fundraiser events
Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar will be flying off to the United Kingdom Tuesday on a nine-day long visit to raise funds for the Diamer-Bhasha dam, reported Dawn.
Nisar is scheduled to attend three fundraising programmes in London from 21 to 25 November. He is expected to attend another event in Manchester on 23 November. He will also address Muslim MPs in the British Parliament.
Senior Supreme Court of Pakistan judge Gulzar Ahmed will assume the duties of the Chief Justice during Nisar’s absence.
Asia Bibi’s lawyer says her family needs German passport to leave Pakistan
The lawyer of Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian who was acquitted of blasphemy charges last month, has appealed to Germany to grant citizenship to her family to start afresh in the European country, reported The News International.
Saiful Mulook, who successfully led Bibi’s case in the Supreme Court, was speaking at a news conference in Frankfurt when he said that “the whole world” was questioning why Bibi and her family are not leaving Pakistan.
“The answer is first that to leave a country you need a visa or you require a passport of another country,” he said.
Mulook added, “If the German chancellor directs her ambassador to give a passport to her, her husband and her two daughters conferring German nationality, nobody can stop her for one second because she is no longer Pakistani.”
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ in Lahore opens to empty cinema halls
Bohemian Rhapsody, a film that celebrates the legacy of the famous British rock band Queen, released few weeks back in Lahore but to scarcely filled cinema halls, Momina Masood wrote for Dawn Images.
Masood wrote that the film shows the life of Freddie Mercury, the lead vocalist of the band, and has explored his homosexual identity along with his equation with other band mates.
Apart from Masood, just two “middle-aged men” were watching the film in a cinema hall in Lahore, she wrote.
She explained how scenes, like that of men making out “makes watching Bohemian Rhapsody in Lahore an anomaly, an oversight.”
She further wrote, “While our collective cultural sensibility might still be coming to terms with Pakistan’s trans community, the LGBT community in Pakistan doesn’t really exist, or so we continue to believe.”
Islamabad zoo elephant could be freed if medical exam confirms mental health conditions
Kaavan, the only elephant at the Islamabad zoo, has been living a life of isolation but might soon be freed if his medical investigation confirm that he is suffering from mental health conditions, reported Samaa TV.
The elephant would, however, have to stay at the zoo if he is found to be “okay” in the medical investigation, said Sohail Khan, the zoo’s director.
International wildlife organisation Free the Wild will make arrangements to shift Kaavan to the Cambodia Wildlife Sanctuary if the elephant is released.
The elephant has been living a life of isolation for the past 34 years. Its only companion, Saheli, passed away in 2012 after which he has been displaying signs abnormal behaviour.
Kaavan was gifted to Pakistan by Sri Lanka.