Ek Hai Nigar

Last year in June, Major General Nigar Johar made history by becoming the first female officer to be promoted to the rank of lieutenant general in the Pakistan Army, owing to her spectacular performance in different leadership and administrative roles.

Lt. General Nigar is also a recipient of the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Military) and Fatima Jinnah Gold Medal for her meritorious services in the Army Medical Corps.

Recently, ARY Digital released a trailer of the coming drama serial ‘Ek Hai Nigar’, highlighting the achievements of the lieutenant general and featuring the talented Mahira Khan who is playing the lead.
Written by Umera Ahmed and directed by Adnan Sarwar, ‘Ek Hai Nigar’ will be a treat to watch.

Greta Thunberg Features on Scandinavia’s Vogue Cover

Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has been unveiled as the cover star of Vogue Scandinavia’s first issue. Shot by Swedish photography and conservationist duo Alexandrov Klum, the cover shows Thunberg wearing a billowing up-cycled trench coat while sitting with an Icelandic horse called Gandalf in a wood outside Stockholm.

Being a climate activist, Thunberg discusses in her Vogue cover feature how fashion contributes to climate change. She reveals she has not purchased any clothing in three years, and the last thing she bought was purchased second-hand. She warned against the appeal of green washing.

Zain Ashraf Honoured

Pakistan is full of talented people, especially its youth and they have proved time and again their true potential. Zain Ashraf is one example. He recently participated and stood first in the People’s Empowerment Award competition held among 39 member countries and bagged the ‘Champion of Change Award’ from the United Nations.

Zain won the award for helping the needy and deserving people and making them stand on their feet with satisfaction and pride in times of the corona pandemic.

Previously, he had won the International Commonwealth Award as well. Zain’s welfare organization made 1400 families entrepreneurs by giving them interest-free loans. 4200 out-of-school children were sent to school with his tireless efforts. He is also a member of the Prime Minister National Youth Council and is also included in the Forbes Social Entrepreneur Under 30.

AKTASHIF 2.0

Canon Middle East has announced the second season of its Youth Empowerment programme AKTASHIF, which aims to discover and develop the next generation of aspiring creatives based in the Middle East.

This year, participants will have access to four themes - ‘Food and Travel, Fashion and Beauty, Art and Culture and Health and Fitness’, to choose from and have a focused approach while deciding and building their creative future.

Additionally, through Canon’s ‘Mentorship Support’ platform, the creatives will have the opportunity to be guided by industry experts and learn from their professional experiences, gain insights on the current market trends, financial planning and more, as they build their creative careers.

Deepak Perwani in Fashion Atlas

Pakistani fashion designer Deepak Perwani is the only Pakistani designer to be featured in the Atlas of Fashion Designers by Laura Eceiza. The book offers a comprehensive, fluid and diverse approach to the subject of contemporary fashion.

Atlas of Fashion Designers is born out of this proposition and features a compilation of the most important fashion designers and their work in the past five years, selected from a multi-disciplinary perspective that displays the heterogeneous mix of today’s fashion world.

The book comprises designers with a wide array of visions, from classical haute couture to those who experiment with developing fields such as anthropology, new textiles, high technology, architecture, art or recycling. The Atlas features more than 150 designers from all over the world and draws a map of the complex world of fashion at the present time and looks forward to what it may be tomorrow.

Deepak Perwani is a true pioneer when it comes to Pakistan’s fashion industry. In fact, he has been an equally great ambassador in representing Pakistan’s vibrant fashion internationally.

‘Bhai’ Makes it to TIFF

Pakistani short film titled ‘Bhai’ has made it to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) where it will be shown in September. The film has been directed and written by Hamza Bangash. Despite having past experiences and associations with the festival, Hamza is going to experience the festival as a filmmaker for the first time.

The film is about two brothers, who on Pakistan’s Independence Day go out to a fast-food restaurant. The younger brother has autism and while waiting for his older brother to return with the food, he is interrupted by a dancing monkey. The older brother watches his younger brother struggle from inside the restaurant. Does he help his autistic brother or will he ignore his plight? The film is about the choices we make, the bravery we show and about finding happiness in little things.

Siyani Sahelian’s Final

The animation series of Siyani Sahelian came to an end with its fourth and final animated film ‘Domestic Violence During COVID-19 Pandemic’.

Following the rise in domestic violence cases against women in Pakistan due to COVID restrictions, this short film attempts to address some of the issues arising from the disturbing trend. While the world is dealing with the severe fallout from the virus, spaces outside the home are no longer as easily accessible for women as before. The main character Asghari, along with her parents, discusses ways in which women and girls can deal with potential situations of abuse that can take place, whilst highlighting the importance of carrying out joint responsibilities at home for the whole family.

Launched in March 2018, Siyani Sahelian aims to tackle gender inequality for disadvantaged out of school adolescent girls (aged 9 to 19) in 480 towns and villages spread across the three districts of south Punjab: Muzaffargarh, Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan.

Barbie Honours

Barbie proudly honoured 6 frontline workers from around the world with one of a kind dolls and Sarah Gilbert, the 59-year-old professor at Oxford University and co-developer of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, is one of the six women Mattel Inc. has recognized as role models in the fight against COVID-19.

The five other honourees are US health care worker Dr Audrey Sue Cruz and emergency room nurse Amy O’Sullivan, a Canadian doctor and advocate against systemic racism in health care Chicka Stacy Oriuwa, Brazilian biomedical researcher Dr Jaqueline Goes de Jesus and Australian doctor and protective gown developer Kirby White.

The one-of-a-kind dolls will not be sold in stores. They were created as custom dolls to celebrate the work of these six inspiring medical experts.

One can buy Barbie’s other collections of doctor, nurse and paramedic dolls at major retailers.

Amna Ilyas Returns to TV

Model turned actor Amna Ilyas returns to television opposite Junaid Khan in the serial ‘Ek Jhoota Lafz Mohabbat’ that will be broadcast on Express TV. It is a tale of sacrifice, duty and family.

According to the teaser, her character portrays strength, vulnerability and the passion to salvage her family. The play written by Mamoona Aziz has been produced by Fahad Mustafa and Dr Ali Kazmi and directed by Syed Zeeshan Ali Zaidi. It also stars Emmad Irfani, Ayza Awan, Shugufta Ijaz, Sajid Hasan and several others.

Ayesha Omar and Yasir Hussain in a Thriller

Ayesha Omar will be playing the lead in a film based on one of Pakistan’s most heinous criminals, Javed Iqbal. The film titled ‘The Untold Story of a Serial Killer: Javed Iqbal’ is written and directed by Abu Aleeha and is being produced under the banner of KK Films by Javed Ahmed.

The film will trace the story of the man who sexually abused and killed more than 100 children in Lahore, between 1998 and 1999. The case was a particularly macabre one as the killer not only tortured and murdered the children but also butchered and dissolved their bodies in acid to get rid of the evidence. He was sentenced to death in the same way. The role of Javed Iqbal will be played by actor Yasir Hussain. Ayesha plays an intrepid and determined police officer running the investigation on the serial killer and tracking down his accomplices.

Cornetto and Careem

Cornetto is Pakistan’s favourite frozen dessert. It became even more popular with its #LoveOnTheGo collaboration with Careem. Spreading the joy of love and ice cream, and getting people to come together, Cornetto and Careem has become a viral sensation.

It all started with an influencer Zain Wain taking to his Twitter account to reveal that he just got rejected by a girl in his Careem ride and it became almost comical when the Careem captain also couldn’t control his laughter at what had occurred. Replying to this, both Cornetto and Careem told Zain this wouldn’t have happened if he had offered Cornetto to her. In fact, he might have gotten free credits too, with a chance to win an iPhone 12.

Soon social media influencers turned the frown upside down with their own success stories and #LoveOnTheGo became viral.

The campaign was a partnership with Zain and many enjoyed the delicious collaboration between Cornetto and Careem.