Here’s what’s happening across the border: 26/11 mastermind’s son to contest Pakistan election, and Monday is man-day at Karachi’s amusement park.
Pakistan teen to toss the coin for FIFA
When he tosses the coin Friday for the Brazil-Costa Rica match, a 15-year-old from Sialkot will become the first Pakistani ever to be on a FIFA World Cup field in an official capacity.
According to a report in Dawn, Ahmed Raza’s family has been hand-stitching footballs for the FIFA World Cup for three generations. His journey from Sialkot to Moscow, where he will also meet his favourite footballer, Neymar Jr, is set to be filmed for a documentary by sponsor Coca-Cola in association with two-time Academy Award winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. The documentary is scheduled to be released July.
Social media celebrates as women steer ‘difficult’ Gilgit flight
Two women pilots of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have taken social media by storm after flying a plane on the “challenging” Islamabad-Gilgit route, reported The Express Tribune.
A photograph of the women, Captain Maryam Masood and First Officer Shaumaila Mazhar, has gone viral, with hundreds of users posting encouraging comments.
PIA spokesperson Mashood Tajwar, however, said the duo wasn’t the first example of an all-women flight crew in Pakistan’s skies. “Capt Ayesha Rabia and First Officer Saadia Aziz made the first all-female crew a few years ago,” he added, referring to a PIA flight from 2006.
The national carrier said in a tweet that the flight to Gilgit was very challenging and required a lot of precision and technique, even though “their dynamic duo”, Masood and Mazhar, had made it look so easy.
The flight to Gilgit is very challenging and requires a lot of precision and technique. Our dynamic duo, Captain Maryam Masood and First Officer Shumaila Mazhar make it look so easy as they fly through the mountains celebrating the beauty of our northern areas! Way to go!! #PIA pic.twitter.com/UOQC8VbRUZ
— PIA (@Official_PIA) June 21, 2018
PIA first officer and captain pilot for flight to Gilgit, you go girls ?✈️?✈️more power to you #PakWomen?? pic.twitter.com/t2jiJx841T
— Nazia Memon (@NaziaMemon01) June 21, 2018
The daring ladies! One of the difficult landings is at #Gilgit #PIA pic.twitter.com/TajAX58j1U
— Asad (@Aay_Em_Khan) June 21, 2018
Karachi park shifts from norm to keep male patrons happy
A Karachi amusement park has reserved Monday for male patrons alone, after several patrons reportedly complained about its families-only policy.
It’s a common practice for public and private establishments in Pakistan to have ‘family days’ and ‘families-only’ policy, a measure aimed at women’s safety. But male patrons of Karachi’s Askari Amusement Park reportedly approached the authorities to make an exception, reported The Express Tribune.
“Nine out of the 10 messages we got on our Facebook page were of males who wanted to visit us but with their friends or cousins who happen to be boys,” the park’s creative marketing director, Anam Feroze, told the paper.
The reaction on social media was mixed: While some cheered the move, others said the move was only introduced “because men harass women”.
Some women Facebook users, meanwhile, demanded that the park introduced a women’s-only day too.
After so many requests we will be dedicating Monday to all the Men who wants to enjoy with their fellow mates. Monday…
Askari Amusement Park यांनी वर पोस्ट केले बुधवार, २० जून, २०१८
265 candidates launched by Hafiz Saeed for 25 July elections
26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s son and son-in-law are among the 265 candidates the Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), his terror outfit, has fielded by proxy in the upcoming general election, reported Times of Islamabad.
The JuD was declared a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in June 2014, and is banned in Pakistan too.
The terrorist group’s earlier attempt to seek political legitimacy, with the launch last year of the Milli Muslim League, was foiled after the Election Commission of Pakistan refused to register it. This is why it has now chosen a little-known “dormant entity”, the Allaha-u-Akbar Tehreek, to contest the elections with the aim to make Pakistan “a citadel of Islam”.
“The nomination papers of 265 candidates — 80 on National Assembly (NA) and 185 on provincial assembly seats — including that of Hafiz Saeed’s son Hafiz Talha Saeed and son-in-law Hafiz Khalid Waleed have been accepted by the returning officers,” the report added.
Saeed, who also carries a $10 million American bounty on his head, is not contesting the election.
Travel bar on Nawaz and Maryam?
Pakistan’s caretaker government has formed a three-member committee to deliberate on whether to place former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz on the Exit Control List (ECL), reported Dawn.
The news was confirmed by caretaker law minister Syed Ali Zafar Thursday. He said the government had received an application from the anti-graft body, National Accountability Bureau, seeking restrictions on the duo’s foreign travel. In its letter, the bureau said, “There is apprehension that they may leave the country to avoid legal outcomes of the judgment which are expected to be announced shortly.”
Those listed on the ECL are restricted from traveling outside the country without approval from the federal cabinet. However, the cabinet approval is not required for inclusion or withdrawal of names. The committee consisting of Interior Minister Mohammad Azam, Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar and Zafar himself are yet to decide on Shaif and Nawaz since both are currently abroad due to Kalsoom Nawaz’s sickness.
Contributors: Sharanya Munsi, Priyamvada Grover, Hansa Kapoor, Manisha Mondal, Alind Chauhan, Prateek Gupta, Rupanwita Bhattacharjee and Anagha Deshpande.