PESHAWAR: Peshawar’s historic Naz Cinema, a landmark in the northwestern Pakistani city, will be getting an upgrade in January next year and be converted into the province’s first 3D cineplex, the cinema’s owner said on Saturday.
The then ‘White Rose Cinema’ was established in 1942 by a Sikh entrepreneur. After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, it was bought by a grandfather of its current owner, Jawad Raza Khan. Since then, the theater, with its name changed to ‘Naz Cinema’ has been owned by Khan’s family.
Only a handful of cinemas have survived in the province, after a wave of militancy that lasted more than a decade. A series of back-to-back bombings in February 2014 targeted two cinemas in Peshawar, killing 20 people and wounding over 50 others.
But Khan said he believed the show must go on. Over the years, he refused to shut his cinema down despite insecurity and a sharp decline in cinema-goers. Now, the movie aficionado is giving Naz the ultimate face-lift.
“For years, the idea of converting my cinema into 3D was under consideration. I myself... travel to Islamabad to watch movies in 3D there because Peshawar has no such facility. But it is time-consuming and expensive to travel all the way and return after watching a three-hour-long film,” Khan told Arab News.
A decade ago, he recalled, Peshawar had almost 27 movie theaters. Presently only seven were still open for business in the city of two million people.
But in an effort to revive the flailing movie industry in the city, Khan’s new 3D theater will have seating capacity for 450 people, with 170 seats reserved just for families.
Cinema manager Muhammad Naeem said renovation and repair work had been expedited to launch the facility after an overwhelming response and heightened anticipation from Peshawar’s movie fans.
“This will be a combination of the latest high-tech luxury, an opera theater with digital sound system and 3D screens,” Naeem told Arab News with a hint of pride.
“There will be separate seating boxes for families to enjoy the movies in a tension-free environment,” he said.
In socially conservative Peshawar, segregation in public places like restaurants is common, with a majority of local women observing traditional ‘purdah.’
Noorshad Wazir, a student at the University of Peshawar and a cinema fan, welcomed the idea that people in KP would be able to enjoy a night at the movies without having to travel hours to the capital.
“These days, university students and families hesitate to go to regular cinemas in Peshawar where you don’t have comfortable seating or good food. But the 3D cinema will attract families and bachelors,” he said.
Daily life, office responsibilities and weekend holidays had no real charm, he added, if there was no option of watching a film on the big screen at the end of the day.
Peshawar’s historic Naz Cinema to get a 3D facelift in new year
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Peshawar’s historic Naz Cinema to get a 3D facelift in new year
- When over a decade of militancy swept KP province, Naz was one of the few cinemas that didn’t shut down
- Presently, movie lovers in Peshawar have to travel three hours to Islamabad to watch their favorite films
Ex-PM Khan aide says party will hold Pakistan-wide protests against constitutional amendment
- Khan’s PTI party, legal fraternity say government’s amendment aims to curtail independence of judiciary
- Ali Amin Gandapur says “continuous” and “final” protest will continue till government is not sent packing
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s close aide and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Tuesday said his party was planning to launch a “final” anti-government protest against the ruling coalition’s contentious constitutional amendments related to judicial reforms.
Pakistan’s parliament passed the 26th amendment to the constitution on Sunday night with a two-thirds majority amid protests from the opposition and the country’s legal fraternity, who both allege the government intends to exercise power over key judicial appointments through them. Pakistan’s government denies the allegations, saying that the amendments establish the parliament’s supremacy and will enable speedy justice for the people.
Khan’s party led protests in Punjab and Pakistan’s capital Islamabad against the constitutional amendments earlier this month. The protest triggered clashes with Pakistani police in Islamabad after authorities sealed off the capital’s main arteries with shipping containers, beefed up security and cut off mobile phone services. The clashes caused the death of one police constable and injuries to other cops.
“This time we will make another final plan to protest which will be carried out across Pakistan,” Gandapur told reporters in the northwestern Peshawar city. “People will come forth from all over Pakistan and where they cannot advance [to Islamabad] due to restrictions, they will carry on the protest there, and will be joined by others.”
Without sharing any date for the protest, Gandapur said it would be a continuous one.
“This protest will now continue till we do not rid ourselves of this government because it is now taking decisions for its selfish interests and not for 250 million people,” the chief minister said.
PAKISTAN’S COMMITTEE TO NOMINATE TOP JUDGE
Pakistan’s National Assembly speaker on Tuesday formed a 12-member parliamentary committee, in line with the new constitutional amendment, to nominate the next chief justice from a panel of the three most senior judges of the apex court. The committee includes eight members from the treasury benches and four from the opposition, including PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan and Senator Ali Zafar.
In a message to reporters, however, the party said its members will not participate in a meeting of the committee to pick the new chief justice.
The committee has been formed to pick a new chief justice as Pakistan’s incumbent top judge, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, is set to retire on Friday.
Khan’s PTI has accused Justice Isa of being aligned with the government and says the amendment was passed to grant him an extension in office. The government has rejected these allegations.
Under the previous law, Justice Isa would have been automatically replaced by the most senior judge behind him, currently Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, who has consistently issued verdicts deemed favorable to Khan and the PTI.
Sharif’s government has passed the bill, which it says ensures the parliament will not remain a rubber stamp one, in the wake of its tensions with the judiciary that have been on the rise since the February national election.
In July, Pakistan’s top court ruled that the country’s election commission was wrong to have sidelined Khan’s party in the election campaign by forcing its lawmakers to stand as independents due to a technical violation. It also awarded Khan’s party a handful of non-elected reserved parliamentary seats for women and religious minorities, which would give Khan’s party a majority in parliament, angering the government.
Khan, who was ousted from office after a parliamentary vote in April 2022, remains popular among the masses. He has since waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against the country’s powerful military, which is thought to be aligned with the government. Khan has been languishing in prison since August 2023 after being convicted on several charges ranging from corruption to treason that he says are politically motivated.
Pakistan uses fans, heaters to prepare spin-friendly pitch for England Test decider in Rawalpindi
- Captain Shan Masood says he wants to see an ‘uncharacteristic Rawalpindi pitch’ for the Test match
- Pakistan beat England in the second Test through spin, with two bowlers taking all 20 England wickets
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has been preparing a cricket pitch to assist spinners in the final match and Test series decider against England by using “industrial-sized fans, windbreakers and outdoor heaters” to dry out the surface, reported a leading cricket website on Tuesday.
The South Asian nation beat England in the second Test, following Pakistani spinner Sajid Khan’s seven-wicket haul, assisted by spinner Nauman Ali. Both bowlers shared all 20 wickets as England was bowled out for 144 in their final innings.
The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, where the final match will be played, has one of the flattest pitches in the country. Last month, Bangladesh offspinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz took 10 wickets at the same venue in a 2-0 win against Pakistan.
“Pakistan have stepped up attempts to prepare a spinning pitch for their Test series decider against England, using industrial-sized fans, outdoor heaters and windbreakers in a bid to dry out the surface at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium,” ESPNcricinfo said in a report.
It quoted Pakistani Captain Shan Masood as saying he would like to see an “uncharacteristic Rawalpindi pitch” for the decider beginning Thursday.
England Head Coach Brendon McCullum predicted that the pitch would be “the antithesis of a green seamer.”
Commenting on the pitch, the leading wicket-taker of the series, Jack Leach, told the BBC a day earlier that he did not know what to expect as he had not seen anything like this before.
“We’ll go to training and have a look at it. I feel quite clear about what I’m doing, and that doesn’t change depending on the wicket. We’ll see what it is.”
England’s 3-0 whitewash on their last trip to Pakistan in 2022 was the first clean sweep by any visiting team in the country and plunged the hosts into a slump that left them winless in 10 home Tests until the last one in Multan.
Ahmed recalled as England pick spin-heavy team for third test against Pakistan
- England play Pakistan for decider Test in Rawalpindi on Oct. 24
- Pakistan are expected to create similar turning track for third Test
England have included three spinners in their team for their third and final test match against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, with Rehan Ahmed being recalled, the England and Wales cricket board (ECB) said on Tuesday.
England won the first test by an innings and 47 runs, before Pakistan levelled the series with a 152-run victory in Multan on a surface that offered plenty of turn — with spin duo Noman Ali and Sajid Khan taking all 20 wickets.
Pakistan are expected to create a similar pitch for the final test match and Ahmed will feature alongside fellow spinners Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach, while fast bowler Gus Atkinson was also brought in.
“We know it’s probably not going to swing and seam and do all sorts in the first session, so we look at the pitch and work out what the best team is going to be,” England batter Harry Brook told the BBC.
Ahmed, 20, played his first test match in 2022 during England’s tour of Pakistan, taking a five-wicket haul on his debut as the visitors completed a 3-0 sweep of the series.
“He’s an outstanding cricketer. It’s not just his bowling, but his batting and fielding. He’s a young lad so he has a lot of time to come,” Brook said.
“He got five-for in the last test here, so hopefully he can do that again.”
England quicks Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts miss out.
England team: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.
World March for Peace and Non-Violence to visit Pakistan from October 26 to 31
- The march was first launched in 2009 and has since become a powerful platform for international peacebuilding
- The marchers will make stops in Karachi and Lahore where civil society members are expected in large numbers
ISLAMABAD: Members of the World March for Peace and Non-Violence will visit Pakistan from October 26 to 31, making stops in Karachi and Lahore, the two biggest cities in the country, according to an official statement issued on Tuesday.
The march, a global initiative promoting peace, nonviolence and disarmament, was first launched in 2009 and has since expanded to become a powerful platform for building international solidarity, with previous marches covering hundreds of cities worldwide.
The current, third edition of the march began from San José in Costa Rica on October 2, 2024, and will conclude at the same place on January 5, 2025, after traveling across five continents.
“The members of the march will visit Pakistan from 26 to 31 October and will visit Karachi and Lahore,” said the statement circulated by the interior ministry. “Members from Pakistan will join the march in Karachi. Civil society and activists for peace are likely to join in large numbers.”
The first world march, organized in 400 cities across the globe in 2009, aimed to promote a culture of peace and disarmament.
The second edition spanned 51 countries and 122 cities, further expanding the movement’s reach. This third edition is expected to have an even larger impact, with Pakistan being a significant stop on its route.
Pakistan has also contributed to conflict prevention and management by joining United Nations peacekeeping missions across the world.
Pakistan to attend multilateral industrial policy forum in Saudi Arabia from Oct. 23-24
- Federal Minister for Industries Rana Tanveer Hussain departs for Riyadh to attend the two-day forum
- Minister will hold meetings with Saudi authorities on the sidelines to discuss investment opportunities
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain has departed for Saudi Arabia to attend the two-day United Nations Multilateral Industrial Policy Forum (MIPF), being held in Riyadh from Oct. 23-24, state-run media reported on Tuesday.
He will engage with international delegates to discuss strategies for enhancing industrial growth and sustainable practices. The MIPF is being organized in collaboration with the Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources.
The forum is expected to focus on advancing effective industrial policy solutions and tools to tackle challenges to sustainable industrialization. It will address the following key themes: artificial intelligence, digitalization and automation in manufacturing, energy transition, and sustainable and resilient supply chains.
“Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain has left for Saudi Arabia to represent Pakistan at the Multilateral Industrial Policy Forum,” Radio Pakistan said on Tuesday.
“The two-day forum is set to begin in Riyadh tomorrow,” it added.
The federal minister will also hold meetings with Saudi authorities on the sidelines of the forum to discuss potential collaborations and investment opportunities between the two nations.
The MIPF 2023 in Vienna, Austria, turned out to be a success, drawing over 500 participants in a hybrid format, facilitating rich discussions on industrial policy and fostering international cooperation among diverse stakeholders.
Pakistan has been seeking to strengthen trade and investment ties, particularly with the kingdom, whose leadership reaffirmed its commitment this year to expedite a $5 billion investment package for the South Asian country.
