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ARY NEWS

Zahid Noor

  • Kell Brook beats Amir Khan via 6th round TKO to end bitter rivalry

    Kell Brook beats Amir Khan via 6th round TKO to end bitter rivalry

    One of British boxing’s most bitter and long-running rivalries finally settled as dominant Kell Brook has beaten British Pakistani boxer, Amir Khan, in Manchester.

    Kell Brook, the former IBF welterweight champion – who was forced to change his gloves in the ring after a pre-fight dispute – produced a superb performance in a long-awaited grudge match nearly 20 years in the making, hurting the spirited Amir Khan on several occasions before referee Victor Loughlin stepped in to stop the contest 51 seconds into round number six.

    This was Khan’s 40th fight of his career and he stepped into the ring after two years of break. Tonight’s event at Manchester Arena sold out in just six minutes.

    Aamir Khan after losing the battle said: “40 fights, that’s a lot of fights. Winning two world titles, fighting up and down America and around the world.”

    Read more: Boxer Amir Khan extends help to underprivileged in Pakistan amid lockdown

    “I need to sit down with my family, but I think it is more towards the end of my career now, yeah.

    “Obviously that love of the sport is not there anymore like it was before. When I was in the ring I used to have that excitement and that push, but I just didn’t have that in me, I felt quite flat.

  • #HijabRow: British MP Naz Shah demands review of trade deal with India

    #HijabRow: British MP Naz Shah demands review of trade deal with India

    British parliamentarian Naz Shah has said that the hijab ban in Indian schools is a violation of article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adding that more than 250 million Muslims are under attack under BJP-ruled India

    Talking exclusively to ARY News, Naz Shah said that the real face of fascist India under BJP rule has been unmasked.  She said that the recent acts of regression by the Modi government moved her to write to the British Foreign Secretary Liz truss and urged him to clarify UK’s stance on the hijab ban in Indian schools.

    In the letter, Naz wrote that the Hindu nationalists under Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) rule are trying to hide their Islamophobia and discriminatory policies by terming it an ” issue of school uniform”.

    She also informed the Secretary of State about the Indian courts’ interim decision to sustain the hijab ban until the courts’ final verdict, practically asking Muslim girls to choose between their faith and education.

    “However, this is not just an issue of the hijab, but a further extension of the regressive and hard-line extremist alienation of the Muslim in India by RSS and BJP.”

    Shah also quoted renowned American linguist and intellectual Naom Chomsky who had said that the Modi government is systematically dismantling Indian secular democracy.

    Naz demanded that it should be made clear to the Indian government that the UK has a rights-centred trade policy, and they will have to revisit Indo-UK trade if the suppression of minorities in India is not brought to a halt.  She concluded by urging the Secretary of State to stand with the liberal and pro-democracy voices of India and against the hijab ban in Indian schools.

    Protests had broken out throughout India last week after some students were refused entry to their college after they fell afoul of the 5 February order by Modi’s government to ban hijab.

  • Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham to visit Pakistan in Oct. 2022

    Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham to visit Pakistan in Oct. 2022

    Consulate General of Pakistan and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) organised the inaugural virtual meeting of the Steering Group established to facilitate the visit to Pakistan of a delegation led by the Mayor of Greater Manchester Mr Andy Burnham in October 2022.

    The delegation’s visit will coincide with the 75th anniversary of the bilateral relations between the two countries and will comprise representatives from prominent business houses, investors, educational and cultural institutions.

    It will catapult the existing relations between Pakistan and the Greater Manchester region in all spheres.

    The meeting was chaired by Mr. Tariq Wazir Consul General of Pakistan and attended by Mr. Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, Mr. Mike Nithavrianakis, United Kingdom’s Deputy High Commissioner in Pakistan and representatives from University of Bolton, University of Salford, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester Airport, The Textile Institute, Manchester Museum, Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, Department of International Trade and the British Council.

    Mr. Tariq Wazir welcomed the participants and apprised them about the historical linkages between Pakistan and the United Kingdom and the need to further cement these linkages by engaging different institutions, businesses, and organisations from both sides. He identified the immense opportunities for cooperation available in the areas of trade, investment, skilled human resource and tourism.

    Mr. Andy Burnham and Mr. Mike Nithavrianakis, while acknowledging the contributions of the Pakistani diaspora in all spheres, also emphasized on the need to further expanding the existing linkages and venturing into the Pakistani market offering immense opportunities to the business houses, investors, and organisations from the United Kingdom in general and Greater Manchester in particular. Mr. Muhammad Akhtar, Commercial Counsellor, updated the participants about the overall business environment in Pakistan and opportunities for the enterprises from UK.

    In the end, Consul General thanked all the participants in taking keen interest to make the scheduled visit of Mayor Andy Burnham and his delegation productive and beneficial for both sides.

  • Inflation in Pakistan due to rise in exchange rates: SBP governor

    Inflation in Pakistan due to rise in exchange rates: SBP governor

    MANCHESTER: Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Reza Baqir on Thursday has said that Inflation in Pakistan is artificial and will be put under control soon, ARY News reported.

    Addressing a press conference in Manchester, SBP governor Reza Baqir said that the prices of commodity products were increased in Pakistan due to the rise in exchange rates and added that buyers of imported goods were affected more by inflation.

    He said that it should be kept in mind that the devaluation of rupee has benefited overseas Pakistanis.

    On talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he said that negotiations with the fund are heading in a positive direction. “The deal with the IMF will be made public and added that no deal will be struck with the IMF that will further damage the country’s economy.

    Read more: TALKS WITH IMF MOVING IN POSITIVE DIRECTION: SBP GOVERNOR

    Speaking on the Financial Action Task Force’s action plan, the SBP governor said that Pakistan implemented almost all the FATF’s action plan.

    Earlier, Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Reza Baqir had said that Pakistan’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are moving forward in a positive direction.

  • Two tonnes of cocaine worth around £160m held in NCA, AFP raid, six held  

    Two tonnes of cocaine worth around £160m held in NCA, AFP raid, six held  

    LONDON: More than two tonnes of cocaine worth around £160m has been seized and six men arrested in a dramatic operation at sea conducted jointly by the United Kingdom and Australia’s law-enforcing authorities.

    The men – one Briton from Stockton on Tees, County Durham, and five Nicaraguans – were arrested on Thursday evening 80 miles off the coast of Plymouth in an operation led by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and supported by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Border Force.

    The suspects were aboard the Kahu – a luxury Jamaican-flagged yacht sailing from the Caribbean. It was escorted back to the UK mainland where a team carried out a deep rummage search and discovered the enormous haul of Class A.

    The men, whose ages range from 24 to 49, were arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking and are in custody awaiting interview.

    Matt Horne, NCA deputy director, said: “This is a massive haul of cocaine with an estimated street value of around £160m.

    “There’s no doubt these drugs would have been sold on into communities across the UK in such ways as County Lines fuelling more crime and misery.

    “Organised crime groups are motivated by money. The deprivation of these drugs will smash a hole in the OCG’s plans and ability to operate.

    “Also, the arrests of the men transporting the drugs means the crime group has lost trusted offenders who would have been key to their operation.

    Read More: SMUGGLERS HIDE COCAINE IN FACE MASK CONSIGNMENT

    “We continue to work with partners at home such as Border Force and those abroad such as the AFP to protect the public from the Class A drugs threat.”

    AFP Assistant Commissioner Lesa Gale, said: “Intelligence from Operation Ironside had enabled the AFP to assist international enforcement partners in disrupting an alleged sophisticated criminal network.

    “Operation Ironside has opened the door to unprecedented collaboration across law enforcement agencies around the globe.”

  • British MPs criticise UK govt for keeping Pakistan on ‘red list’, promoting India to amber

    British MPs criticise UK govt for keeping Pakistan on ‘red list’, promoting India to amber

    LONDON: British lawmakers have criticised their government for keeping Pakistan on its ‘red list’ whilst promoting India to the ‘amber list’ for international travel despite a clear difference in the COVID-19 situation in both countries.

    The criticism was launched by some British MPs following updated travel listings issued by the UK government where Pakistan and other countries were placed on high-risk countries’ red list while India will be promoted to medium risk countries’ ‘amber list’ from August 8 along with Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

    It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan had been placed on the red list in early April and India on April 19 due to a spike in COVID-19 cases and detection of the Delta variant following the UK’s ‘traffic light’ system for international travel.

    Bolton South East MP Yasmin Qureshi said in a series of Twitter messages, the UK Government and the Secretary of State for Transport announced that the UAE, Qatar, India, and Bahrain will be moved to the amber list for travel – that’s great. She added, “But Pakistan remains on the red list.”

    Yasmin Qureshi MP said, “Despite Pakistan not having any variants of concern, it remains on the red list. I have questioned the Govt directly, spoken in parliament, asked parl qs, and coordinated letters, to no avail. India, where the delta variant originated, is now amber.”

    While criticising the decision, “The Government is seeking to penalise Pakistan in favour of the potential economic benefit. This is clear and blatant discrimination towards Pakistan. To add insult to injury, the hotel quarantine cost is set to increase by between £450-£800, to a total of £2.2k.”

    The lawmaker announced to write a letter to the British transport minister, Grant Shapps, to raise the issue.

    ‘Callous behaviour’

    Bradford West MP Naz Shah said in a statement, “I am surprised that India has moved to the amber list, whilst Pakistan remains on the red list. It is not the first time that this government has shown such callous behaviour when dealing with the quarantine traffic light system.”

    She highlighted, “India’s seven-day infection rate is 20 per 100,000 people and is now on the amber list but Pakistan, whose seven-day infection rate is just 14 per 100,000 people – well below the vast majority of amber list destinations, remains on the red list.”

    “The last time this government favoured political choices rather than science and risked our nation’s Covid efforts, it failed to place India on the red list. That led to the Delta Variant becoming the most prominent Covid variant in the UK.”

    “Whilst families have been forced away from loved ones for months, it is unacceptable for decisions to be made in such ways,” said Naz Shah. She announced that she will be raising the issue further.

    ‘Tough to see the reasoning’

    Labour MP for Luton North Sawah Owen said in a Twitter message, “It’s tough to see the reasoning behind latest changes to travel lists, even when vaccination rates are taken into account.”

    “When you see figures like this, Tory Ministers have a lot of explaining to do as to why India is going amber yet Pakistan & other countries remain red.”

    ” Decisions taken in isolation with no scrutiny are never good for the people we seek to represent. These decisions have big health/personal consequences. Many people don’t want to holiday, it’s to see the family they’ve not seen for over a year or say goodbye to loved ones.”

    ‘No scientific reason’

    Federal Minister for Human Rights, Shireen Mazari, censured the UK government, saying that Britain was playing politics on Covid restrictions and “there was no scientific reason for this discrimination”.

    Shireen Mazari said, “Only politics coming into play again — UK cabinet showing clear political proclivity towards India. Unfortunate indeed.”

    Online petition

    Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry posted an online petition to demand the British government for removing Pakistan from its red list for international travel.

    The petition will be considered for debate in the British parliament after it gets 100,000 signatures.

    Following the updated travel instructions, the United Kingdom (UK) will end mandatory quarantine for fully-vaccinated travellers returning to England and Scotland from France as well.

    The country also added Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Romania and Norway to its green list.

  • British MP disappointed by UK’s failure to denounce Israeli violations in Jerusalem

    British MP disappointed by UK’s failure to denounce Israeli violations in Jerusalem

    BOLTON: British Member of Parliament Yasmin Qureshi has written to their Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressing disappointment over his silence and “failure to condemn” the violation of human rights meted out to Palestinians outside Masjid e Aqsa at the hands of Israeli forces, ARY News reported Sunday.

    She said that reportedly 200 Palestinians have been wounded by the brute Israeli forces as they “fired on protestors” and furthered added that it is feared about 1,500 Palestinians are in the crosshairs of being displaced from their homes with their settlements demolished in the Jerusalem neighborhood.

    The storming of one of the holiest sites in Islam and that in the month of Ramazan “is a reprehensible provocation” against the feelings of millions of Muslims globally, she writes while inquiring her PM on how he is responding to what also constitutes violations of the international law.

    She enquired from her PM what steps will he take to hold the Israeli government accountable for “the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in Jerusalem”.

    READ ALSO: Turkey’s Erdogan calls Israel “terror state” over Palestinian clashes at Al-Aqsa

    It may be noted that for the same events, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called Israel a “terror state” on Saturday after Israeli police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades towards rock-hurling Palestinian youth at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque on Friday.

    He added that Ankara had launched initiatives to mobilise international institutions.

    The clashes at Islam’s third-holiest site and around East Jerusalem, which injured at least 205 Palestinians and 17 police officers, came amid mounting anger over the potential eviction of Palestinians from homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers. Israel’s Supreme Court will hold a hearing on the case on Monday

     

  • English Queen appoints Pakistani-origin Farooq new High Sheriff

    English Queen appoints Pakistani-origin Farooq new High Sheriff

    NEWCASTLE: The Queen of England has chosen Pakistan-origin Farooq Hakim, a British Telecommunications expert, as the new yearly High Sheriff for Tyne & Wear county, a ceremonial post which he will keep for the year 2021-22, ARY News reported.

    The Office of High Sheriff is an independent non-political Royal appointment for a single year and in total there are 55 High Sheriffs serving the counties of England and Wales each year.

    Among the duties of High Sheriffs, supporting the Crown and the judiciary remain focus while they actively lend support and encouragement to crime prevention agencies, the emergency services and to the voluntary sector.

    Further, a High Sheriff receives no remuneration and no part of the expense of a High Sheriff’s year falls on the public purse.

    For the first time, a Pakistani-origin, belonging to Azad Kashmir, Hakim has been appointed as the High Sheriff for Newcastle.

    Hakim is presently associated with the telecommunications sector of England and works for Oracle company, which followed his earlier tenure with British Telecommunication (BT).

    He has thirty-plus years of involvement in this sector with expertise in business transformation programmes. He has held executive roles as Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

    Hakim as further led on a number of major programmes playing a significant part in delivering information and communications technology and business process outsourcing in excess of £4billion.

    Farooq has a really entrepreneurial approach to business in creating possibilities and delivering value by applying his excellent communication & commercial skills, drive for innovation and customer focus.

    In his previous role in BT Hakim was the CIO for Group Services with responsibility for delivering ICT transformations for a number of group functions globally including Facility Services, Supply Chain, HR Learning and Finance.

    In March 2014, Farooq Hakim graduated from Oxford University with an MSc in Major Programme Management. He is also a non-Exec for Sunderland University, North East LEP and North East Chamber of Commerce. In 2018 Farooq was named the Non-Exec of the Year.

    In 2014 and 2015 Farooq was included in The Journal’s list of “most influential” people in the North East.

    In 2021 Farooq has the honour of being the Tyne & Wear High Sheriff in supporting Her Majesty and the Judiciary.

  • Publicity campaign organized in England to call out India’s treatment of Kashmiris

    Publicity campaign organized in England to call out India’s treatment of Kashmiris

    MANCHESTER: In an effort to publicly denounce India for its human rights violations meted out to innocent people across Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), locals carried out publicity campaign in the British city, ARY News reported on Saturday.

    The campaign comprised posters and banners, critical to Indian atrocities inflicted on IIOJK people, on local taxis of Manchester.

    Organizers of the campaign designed banners to demand India stopped its violations in Kashmir.

    The organizers say their sole purpose is to channel the world focus on what is happening in Kashmir by Indian occupation forces.

    They said they will expand their publicity campaign against Indian egregious violence across other cities as well.

    READ: We expect international community to force India to end its terrorism: PM

    It may as well be noted that earlier today, Prime Minister Imran Khan said Pakistan had provided irrefutable evidence to the world community about India’s state-sponsored terrorism inside Pakistan and expressed that in the face of such detailed evidence, it could not remain indifferent or silent.

    In a series of tweets, the prime minister said: “We have provided irrefutable evidence of India’s state-sponsored terrorism inside Pak. Details of financial & material support & Indian state’s direct involvement in terrorism have been given to the world which, in the face of this evidence, cannot remain indifferent or silent.”

  • Pakistan’s women-only STEM Hackathon concludes after pitting 200 teams for 48 hours

    Pakistan’s women-only STEM Hackathon concludes after pitting 200 teams for 48 hours

    KARACHI: National Incubation Center announced results of woman-only tech competition it conducted wherein over 700 women in 200 teams participated in a Hackathon from 28 cities across Pakistan, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

    The competition of STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] Hackathon, namely ‘Built By Her’, was a coding marathon wherein only women, associated with the tech industry, participated from across the country and which the Team Elletech and Barricade won when the race was called.

    In the online 48 hour-long Hackathon, conducted from 23rd to the 25th of October, the aim of the competition was to “empower young women in creating technological solutions for developmental challenges”, the press statement read.

    It was organized in collaboration and partnership with the Asia Foundation while US Department of State hosted the Grand Finale of the Built By Her Hackathon.

    After hearing pitches from 20 final teams, a panel of six expert judges picked out 2 winners. The panel consisted of;

    Khursheed Kotwal (CEO, Asmaan International)

    Sadaf Mahmood (CEO and Founder, Xiphios Innovations)

    Maryam Mohiuddin (Co-Founder, Social Innovation Lab)

    Cameron Thomas-Shah (Cultural Attaché, US Consulate General Karachi)

    Farid Alam (Director Programs, The Asia Foundation)

    Faizan Laghari (Chief Rnnr, Rnnr)

    Team Barricade and Team Elletech took home a shared prize of Rs. 1.65 million in seed money (equivalent to USD 5000 for each team).

    Team Barricade created an attendance management system that aimed to encourage maximum participation within classrooms while Elletech pitched their product the ElleApp, a one-stop-shop for training and facilitation of female entrepreneurs.

    READ: IT minister makes 1st ever 5G experimental video call

    Program Manager, National Incubation Center Karachi, Syed Azfar Hussain, during his welcome address lauded all the participants, mentors and judges for coming together as a collective to create a platform for young women to utilize their talent.

    The Hackathon was created to empower young women in creating change within their communities and invigorate interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and STEM fields. Over 200 teams made up of more than 700 participants from 28 cities across Pakistan had applied to be a part of the competition.

    Sofia Shakil, Country Representative at The Asia Foundation reiterated the importance of encouraging women to participate in STEM fields and the country’s ever-growing startup ecosystem to help unlock Pakistan’s economic potential.

    The top 20 teams won technology support while the top 2 will be mentored extensively in the coming weeks to scale their idea.