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Iconic Statue Of Pakistan Army 1971 Surrender Vandalised In Bangladesh

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Iconic Statue Of Pakistan Army's 1971 Surrender Vandalised In Bangladesh

The 1971 war not only liberated Bangladesh but also dealt Pakistan a crushing blow.

New Delhi:

A statue meant to commemorate the liberation of Bangladesh has been destroyed by “anti-India vandals”, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said today. Mr Tharoor shared an image of the broken statue which depicted the moment Pakistan surrendered after the 1971 war.

“Sad to see images like this of statues at the 1971 Shaheed Memorial Complex, Mujibnagar, destroyed by anti-India vandals,” the Thiruvananthapuram MP said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).  

“This follows disgraceful attacks on the Indian cultural centre, temples, and Hindu homes in several places, even as reports came in of Muslim civilians protecting other minority homes and places of worship,” he added.

The 1971 war not only liberated Bangladesh but also dealt Pakistan a crushing blow. The statue depicted the signing of the ‘Instrument Of Surrender’ by Pakistan Army Major-General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi to the Indian Army and Bangladesh’s Mukti Bahini. Major-General Niazi surrendered with his 93,000 troops before Lt General Jagjit Singh Aurora, then General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of India’s Eastern Command. This was the largest military surrender since World War II.

A student-led uprising in Bangladesh has led to the resignation of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and several other top officials. At least 450 people were killed in more than a month of deadly protests that led to Hasina’s exit on August 5.

Hasina faces allegations of murder, forced disappearance, money laundering, and corruption, and must face the law, Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, a senior member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party said.

The protests have also been severely harsh on Hindus residing in the country who have been subjected to several attacks against Hindu households, temples, and businesses. Hindus are the largest minority faith in mostly Muslim Bangladesh and are considered a steadfast support base for Hasina’s party, the Awami League.

Members of minority communities in the violence-hit nation have faced more than 205 incidents of attacks across 52 districts since the fall of the government.

Shashi Tharoor urged the new caretaker government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammed Yunus, to take urgent steps to restore law and order.

“The agenda of some of the agitators is quite clear. It is essential that Muhammed Yunus and his interim government take urgent steps to restore law & order in the interests of all Bangladeshis, of every faith. India stands with the people of Bangladesh at this turbulent time, but such anarchic excess can never be condoned,” he said.



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BLACKPINK’s Lisa teams up with Rosalía for new single ‘New Woman’

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BLACKPINK’s Lisa is gearing up for her next solo venture with the upcoming release of “New Woman,” featuring a collaboration with Spanish singer Rosalía. The track is scheduled to drop on August 15th, promising a fusion of Lisa’s signature fierce energy and Rosalía’s unique musical style.

Anticipation for the single has been building since Lisa teased the collaboration on August 6th with a cryptic poster titled “Brand New Día.” The poster hinted at the song’s lyrics and Rosalía’s involvement, sparking excitement among fans. Rosalía further fueled the buzz during a recent Instagram live session by previewing a snippet of what seemed to be Lisa’s verse.
 

This exciting release comes on the heels of Lisa’s successful solo comeback with the hip-hop track “ROCKSTAR,” which has already surpassed 100 million views on its music video and achieved the fastest 100 million streams on Spotify for a K-pop female soloist.

With the first concept photo for “New Woman” now unveiled, fans are eagerly counting down the days until they can experience this highly anticipated musical collaboration.

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Doctors Across India To Go On Indefinite Strike Over Kolkata Murder

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Doctors Across India To Go On Indefinite Strike Over Kolkata Murder

Kolkata Murder: Resident doctors are protesting across India

New Delhi:

Doctors of several hospitals across India have announced an indefinite strike to protest against the gruesome rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital. Doctors in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and several other cities have announced that all elective services would be halted till a probe is completed in the case. The protesters are also demanding adequate security for all medical staff.

The announcement comes days after a postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered at the RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata while on duty.

The body of the 32-year-old woman was found in the seminar hall of the government-run hospital in the West Bengal capital on Thursday night. The initial autopsy report stated that the victim was bleeding from her eyes, mouth and private parts. There were also injuries on her left leg, neck, right hand, ring finger and lips.

City Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal visited the medical establishment on Sunday for the second time in three days and held a meeting with representatives of agitating junior doctors.

He claimed the probe is “transparent” and urged people not to spread rumours.

Police have arrested one person in the case, a civic volunteer who is not associated with the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, but used to frequent the place.

The man, Sanjoy Roy, had returned to his place and went to sleep before washing his clothes the next morning to destroy evidence, a police officer probing the case claimed.

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Build inclusivity

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Build inclusivity

At a convention in Islamabad, the army chief called on scholars and clerics to promote tolerance and unity rather than extremism and discrimination. Our society faces growing challenges from discrimination, intolerance, and extremism, requiring a collective response.

Currently, those who promote anarchy have a significant presence in the country. The state needs to provide space and protection for alternative viewpoints in the country, allowing for diverse perspectives and promoting a more inclusive society.

Anwar Sayab Khan

Bannu

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Drake under fire for endorsing streamer accused of using minors for revenge porn

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Drake’s recent career resurgence, marked by the release of “100 Gigs” and a teased collaborative album with PARTYNEXTDOOR, has been abruptly halted by a fresh wave of controversy. 

The rapper’s association with a streamer accused of exploiting minors for revenge porn has thrust him back into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

The streamer, known as Snoh, has been the subject of serious allegations detailing a pattern of coercing young women into exposing themselves on camera, only to subsequently distribute the footage without consent. 

While these claims remain unsubstantiated, the fact that Drake has publicly endorsed Snoh and even appeared on her stream has raised significant concerns.

A resurfaced clip showing Drake interacting with an 18-year-old on Snoh’s stream has added fuel to the fire. While innocent on its own, the footage takes on a more sinister context given the allegations against the streamer. The clip was shared by Twitter user sum_offfff, who also compiled evidence supporting the claims against Snoh.

The latest development comes on the heels of Drake’s contentious feud with Kendrick Lamar, during which the latter leveled accusations of predatory behavior against the rapper. 

Although Drake vehemently denied these claims on “The Heart Part 6,” the current situation is likely to reignite the controversy.

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“Delete Picture”: Ex Pakistan Star Slams PM Shehbaz Sharif For ‘Insulting’ Arshad Nadeem

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Pakistan has found a new hero in Arshad Nadeem. The athlete’s gold medal at the Paris Olympic Games 2024 earned the nation an unprecedented high, becoming the only Olympian in the nation’s history to bag the gold medal in an individual sport. After returning home, Nadeem had the chance to meet Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who presented him with a cash reward of PKR 1 million (approximately INR 3 lakh). Seeing Arshad get such a low amount from the Pakistan PM as a reward for his heroics in the Paris Games, the country’s former cricketer Danish Kaneria lashed out on social media.

“Bravo Arshad. History made! Pakistan’s first Olympic men’s javelin champion, Arshad Nadeem @ArshadOlympian1 brings home a historic #gold medal at #Paris2024 ! You’ve made the whole nation proud young man,” the Pakistan PM had posted on X.

Kaneria feels such a low cash reward is an ‘insult’ to both Arshad and Pakistan.

“Mr. Prime Minister, at least offer a graceful congratulations. Delete the picture of the million rupees you gave-it does nothing for his real needs. This amount is so small he can’t even afford air tickets. It’s an insult to both Arshad and the nation, considering his ongoing struggles,” Kaneria wrote on X, reacting to the post.

Having brought glory to Pakistan, Arshad is bound to remain in the spotlight for some time. Hoping to make the most of the situation, the athlete has asked the Pakistan government to provide his village with better roads, cooking gas connection,s and other basic facilities.

“My village needs roads. If the government provides cooking gas, it would be great for me and my village. I also have a dream that Mian Channu city gets a university so that our sisters won’t have to travel to Multan, which is 1.5 to 2 hours away, to study. If the government makes a university here it would be a great news for my village and the neighbouring ones,” Arshad told reporters in Pakistan.

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E-Office project still a pipe dream

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This representational image shows a person using a laptop. — Unsplash/File
This representational image shows a person using a laptop. — Unsplash/File

ISLAMABAD: The much-hyped E-Office project for the placement of paperless functioning and decision-making among 40 federal ministries has not seen the light at the end of the tunnel during the last two decades.

Now the Prime Minister’s Office has highlighted major flaws in the latest endeavours for implementing E-Office undertaken by the National Information Technology Board (NITB).

Official documents and background interviews by The News revealed on Sunday that the PM Office took a serious notice of the unwarranted delay in implementing the E-Office and found that some major flaws existed.

The premier was told that the scrutiny of the project revealed that the software’s User Interface was designed with multiple features, but the UI should have been developed with only two to three options. Excessive options led to confusion. One of the reasons that after so many years, ministries and government officers are reluctant to give up paper is due to the confusing UI of the E-Office.

The E-Office was aimed at transforming from a paper-based to a paperless transition, but the system mirrors paper-based processes, negating digitalisation’s benefits. A user-centric approach has not been applied in the E-Office system as there is no element of feedback from users.

A search function is essential for any E-Office system. The existing system cannot provide modern search capabilities, requiring users to open each file to search its contents. There is non-compliance with the Electronic Transaction Ordinance (ETO) 2002. The E-Office does not adhere to ETO 2002 standards. Approved documents must undergo e-signing and e-sealing (digital certification) for tamper-proofing and legal compliance. This is a serious concern and must be addressed immediately, as it compromises a major feature and makes the government non-compliant with local and international standards. It also exposes the system to approval fraud and misuse of official documents and signatures, which are placed with copy-paste methods.

The system’s reliance on a licenced Oracle platform poses licencing costs and expertise challenges. Additionally, hosting the system on a data center with various bottlenecks impacts performance. Several other major flaws were identified by industry experts.

Upon further investigation, it was found that the E-Office system suffers from a variety of issues, starting with a poorly designed and overly complex user interface that falls short of industry standards. A fundamental requirement for any professional system is that it should be simple and effective, yet E-Office fails to meet this criterion. The international standard for technology adoption is around 80 to 85 percent, with users starting to use the system. However, E-Office failed to attract more than 50 percent of users, who also complain about poor processes, poor functionality and poor UI.

The prime minister was displeased with the slow progress and quality of the E-Office development. In response, he directed the Ministry of IT to either rectify the issues immediately or shut down the system altogether.

Following this directive, the ministry hired industry experts to conduct a system review and work with the main vendors to fix the system’s problems.

Although these experts reportedly completed many of the pending tasks, the project hit another roadblock due to a change at the secretary level. As a result, the project has once again fallen victim to negligence and incompetence. The main vendors and subcontractors, including project staff, complain of poor or no response from the CEO of NITB, who does not make decisions nor fulfill his written or verbal commitments with the vendors and project staff.

In a large ministry-wide meeting chaired by the secretary of MoITT, where the E-Office vendor was also invited to address the slow and poor performance of the E-Office solution, the vendor blamed the CEO of NITB entirely for not replying, not paying, or not taking any interest in the project. Upon this complaint, the CEO of NITB’s dashboard was examined, where over 100 cases were pending since January 2024. That was the reason none of the projects under the CEO of NITB could be completed. Sources say the secretary of IT warned the CEO of NITB to clear his pending work and start making decisions, or the ministry will be forced to take action.

When this scribe contacted the CEO of NITB, Babar Majeed Bhatti, and sought his comments, he said that he was hired in NITB almost two years back and they developed and placed E-Office-related software among all 40 ministries at the federal level. He said that there was an element of adoptability for which they organised around 30,000 training programmes but conceded that there was resistance to implementing the system fully. He said that there were some standalone ministries, such as the Foreign Office or the Ministry of Information Technology, where the majority of work was done through the E-government system. He said that digital signatures would be developed at a later stage, probably after six months, but other priorities would be implemented first.

Babar said he proposed major changes as he placed 25 officials of bureaucracy in the surplus pool of the Establishment Division. There is a need to revamp the NITB or close down this entity, he concluded.

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Principal of Kolkata medical college, where trainee doctor was raped and murdered, resigns amid student protests

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'Can't Take Humiliation': Principal Quits After Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder

Massive protests have broken out after the rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata

Kolkata:

The principal of RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata resigned today amid massive protests over the rape and murder of a 31-year doctor on campus late on Thursday. Dr Sandip Ghosh told the media that he “cannot take the humiliation” on social media and that “political statements are being made in his name”.

Dr Ghosh, who has been accused of victim blaming after the horrifying incident, has denied that he made any such remark. “Students are being provoked to ensure my removal. I want the accused to be punished. I am being defamed. I have not made such remarks,” he told the media this morning. “The girl who died was like my daughter. I am also a parent. As a parent, I am resigning,” he said.

The senior doctor told the media that he is an orthopaedic surgeon and can earn his livelihood. “Everyone thought Sandip Ghosh cannot resign. I am honest. After I took over, I cracked down on corruption. I have worked for the development of the hospital and in the interest of the patients,” he said.

Earlier, BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari had targeted Dr Ghosh and demanded his suspension. “His misleading statements and carefree attitude in the aftermath of this tragic incident expose his indifference towards the victim,” Mr Adhikari said in a post on X.

“There is a fair chance that people close to him may have been involved and the Police are working hastily to wrap up the investigation so that they don’t get caught. His influence in the power circle is considerable,” the Leader of the Opposition added.

The 31-year-old doctor was found dead on Friday morning in the seminar hall of the state-run hospital. Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer who frequented the hospital, has been arrested in connection with the crime. The incident has sparked nationwide protests by doctors.

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Shehbaz Sharif highlights youth empowerment on International Youth Day

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ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif affirmed the government’s commitment to creating a supportive environment for the youth and providing them with ample opportunities. In his message on International Youth Day, observed on August 12, he emphasised the importance of recognising the potential of young people and raising awareness about their critical role in shaping the future.

He highlighted the significance of this year’s theme, “From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development,” noting that it underscores the vital role of youth at the intersection of technology and opportunity. This convergence, he said, empowers young people to transform their aspirations into reality, leading to a sustainable and equitable future.

Sharif pointed out that over 60% of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 30, making the country a youthful nation increasingly connected to the global digital landscape. He emphasised that by leveraging technology for education, entrepreneurship, and social activism, young people can become catalysts for positive change in their communities.

The Prime Minister also referenced the Youth Loan and Agricultural Scheme introduced in 2013, which has yielded significant results. He reported that approximately 186 billion rupees have been disbursed to over 280,000 young entrepreneurs, creating numerous job opportunities across the country. He noted that the Youth Business Loan Scheme was restructured to include Agricultural Loans, with microfinance institutions engaged to provide interest-free loans.

Looking forward, Sharif announced plans to expand this initiative by allocating an additional Rs100 billion during the 2024-25 financial year, aiming to empower around 300,000 young entrepreneurs nationwide.

He further explained that the government’s comprehensive Youth Programme adopts a holistic approach, equipping young individuals with essential skills through a Skill Development Programme, providing advanced technology through the Youth Laptop Scheme, and offering financial support via Youth Loan Schemes. This integrated support system is designed to ensure that youth have the necessary resources to succeed and prosper.

Sharif concluded by stating that today’s youth are the leaders of tomorrow and are pivotal in shaping a brighter future for Pakistan. He emphasised that empowering youth through meaningful opportunities will not only foster individual growth but also contribute to the country’s broader social and economic development.

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True change

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True change

The latest fiasco in Bangladesh is an old story for the people of the subcontinent. Though one wishes for a different ending to this liberation movement, if the past is any guide, the liberators in this part of the world are seldom motivated by ideology.

They are mostly just jumping on a bandwagon and trying to capitalize on the shifting winds. One can only pray and hope that the subcontinent gets motivated and sincere liberators who are guided by an ideology and live and die by it.

Amjad Hussain

Attock

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