ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s first hand-drawn animated film “The Glassworker” has been selected to represent the country in the International Feature Film category at the 2024 Academy Awards, the film’s director said on Thursday.
The movie released on July 26 was storyboarded by young Pakistani animator, Usman Riaz, who also directed the movie that comprised 1,477 cuts and 2,500 individual drawings, bringing to life the coming-of-age tale of two people from disparate backgrounds: young Vincent who is an apprentice at his father’s glass workshop, and the talented violinist Alliz, the daughter of a military colonel.
Around them, a war threatens to upend their lives and the relationships between the children and parents are tested. A total of 250 people worked on the film including national and international cast and crew.
“We are proud to announce that The Glassworker has been selected as Pakistan’s submission for the International Feature Film category at the 2024 Oscars,” Riaz said on Thursday in a social media post on Instagram. “This marks the first time a 2D hand-drawn animated film from Pakistan has been chosen for this prestigious honor.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/DAYB5zhJ275/?
On the occasion, the Pakistani Academy Selection Committee said Riaz and his team’s work demonstrated “exceptional” storytelling and artistry while “breaking new ground for animation” in the country which will be remembered in the country’s cinematic history as an achievement.
The film director said the movie represented a decade of “passion and perseverance,” adding that he was humbled by the selection and expressed hope that the story would resonate with audiences throughout the world by showcasing Pakistani talent and creativity.
“Stay tuned for updates as The Glassworker embarks on its journey toward the 2024 Oscars,” he added.
‘The Glassworker’ becomes Pakistan’s first animated film nominated for Oscars
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‘The Glassworker’ becomes Pakistan’s first animated film nominated for Oscars
- Film director Usman Riaz says he is humbled by the selection, hopes the movie to resonate with global audiences
- The Pakistani animated film revolves around a glassblower and a violinist, two people from disparate backgrounds
Electrical short circuit causes blast at police station in northwestern Pakistan, injuring 15
- The blast was initially suspected to be a militant attack, which have been on the rise in Pakistan in recent months
- Separately, 31 people killed and 96 injured in a property dispute that turned into sectarian clashes in Kurram district
PESHAWAR: At least 15 cops were injured on Thursday as a blast caused by an electrical short circuit ripped through a police station in the northwestern Pakistani district of Swabi, police and Rescue 1122 officials said.
The blast was initially suspected to be a militant attack, which have been on the rise in Pakistan in recent months, with many taking place in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan.
Islamabad says fighters mainly associated with the Pakistani Taliban or TTP group frequently launch attacks from hideouts in Afghanistan, targeting police and other security forces. Islamabad has even blamed Kabul’s Afghan Taliban rulers for facilitating anti-Pakistan militants. Kabul denies the charges.
Nearly 80 policemen have been killed in attacks, ambushes and target killings in KP in 2024, according to police data.
“The Swabi police station explosion was not an incident of terrorism,” a spokesperson for local police, Liaqat Khan, told Arab News. “The incident occurred due to an electrical short circuit in the arms warehouse of the police station.”
He added that the building had been “damaged severely,” confirming that 15 policemen were injured.
Bilal Faizi, a spokesperson for the Rescue 1122 service, said at least 15 injured people had been shifted to various hospitals in Swabi, mainly the Bacha Khan Medical Complex.
“The injured include two in critical condition,” Faizi said. “Four room building of the police station has collapsed and a rescue operation is still underway.”
Separately, tribal elders from Kurram, a district in the Kohat Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, held a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club and said fighting between rival tribes had entered a sixth day, with at least 31 people killed and 96 injured.
The clash erupted over a piece of land claimed by both tribes in the Bushehra and Ahmadzai villages of Kurram, which borders Afghanistan. The property dispute soon took a sectarian turn and spread to the whole of Khurram, an area with a history of bloody clashes between Shia and Sunni tribes.
In July, this year, at least 38 persons were killed and more than 150 others injured in a clash that also erupted over a piece of land. In 2007, a sectarian war broke out and lasted until 2011 when the issue was resolved with the intervention of a jirga, or council of tribal elders.
On Thursday, tribal and political elders from Kurram called for an “immediate ceasefire” amid the latest fighting and said the government needed to intervene.
“Several peace jirgas have been held from time to time, but why the peace has not been restored is a question,” a representative from Parachinar, Hassan Raza, told reporters. “We don’t want war in our area but peace in Kurram. The government should immediately intervene and restore peace in the area.”
Deputy Commissioner Kurram Javedullah Mehsud told media the district administration, police and military officials, tribal elders and jirga members were actively engaged in efforts for a ceasefire.
Pakistani police responsible for killing doctor accused of blasphemy — provincial government
- This marks first time government has accused security forces of extrajudicial killing of a blasphemy suspect
- Provincial home minister says doctor was killed in staged “fake encounter” shortly after he gave himself up to authorities
MULTAN: The provincial government in Pakistan’s Sindh province said on Thursday police had orchestrated the killing of a doctor who was in custody after he was accused of blasphemy, marking the first time the government has accused security forces of what the doctor’s family and rights groups have called an extrajudicial killing by police.
According to the provincial interior minister, Ziaul Hassan, a government probe concluded that Shah Nawaz, a doctor from Sindh province, was killed shortly after he gave himself up to authorities in what was a staged “fake encounter” engineered by security forces.
There was no shootout with armed men as police had claimed, Hassan told reporters at a news conference in the southern port city of Karachi, and added that Nawaz’s family would be able to file murder charges against the police officers who killed him.
Hours after Nawaz was fatally shot and his body handed over to his family, a mob snatched it from Nawaz’s father and burned it.
Hassan’s statement backed up Nawaz’s family’s allegations earlier this week that officers had lied about the circumstances of his death when they said he was killed in a shootout between police and armed men.
Shah Nawaz had given himself up to police last week in the district of Mirpur Khas, following assurances that he would be given a chance to prove his innocence.
Days earlier in the city of Umerkot, a mob claimed he had insulted Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and shared blasphemous content on social media, and demanded his arrest. The mob also burned Nawaz’s clinic.
Accusations of blasphemy — sometimes even just rumors — can spark riots and mob rampages in Pakistan. Although killings of blasphemy suspects by mobs are common, extra-judicial killings by police are rare.
Under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or Islamic religious figures can be sentenced to death — though authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy.
Nawaz’s father thanked the government for backing the family and demanded that his son’s killers face justice under the eye-for-an-eye concept under Sharia, or Islamic law.
“We have only one demand: those police officers who staged the killing of my son ... must also be killed in the same manner,” said Nawaz’s father, Mohammad Saleh.
Saleh told The Associated Press over the phone that he was grateful for all the support that the family was given and to all those who condemned extremist clerics who had enraged the mob with calls for his son to be killed.
“Those who killed my son should be punished quickly so that others learn a lesson and not indulge in extra-judicial killings in the future,” Nawaz’s mother, Rehmat Kunbar, said.
She added that her son can no longer come back to her but that she wanted to save the children of other parents from the hands of “extremists.”
Nawaz’s killing was the second case of an extra-judicial killing by police this month in Pakistan.
A week before, an officer opened fire inside a police station in the southwestern city of Quetta, fatally wounding Syed Khan, a suspect held on accusations of blasphemy.
Khan was arrested after officers rescued him from an enraged mob that claimed he had insulted Islam’s prophet. But he was killed by a police officer, Mohammad Khurram, who was quickly arrested.
However, the tribe and the family of the slain man later said they had pardoned the officer.
Ex-PM Khan’s party calls off Sept. 28 Rawalpindi rally, will hold ‘peaceful protest’ instead
- PTI party has sought permission to organize a rally in Lahore on Oct. 5 from 5-11pm
- PTI is aiming to hold rallies to build public pressure for Khan’s release from prison
ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said on Thursday it was canceling a planned rally in the city of Rawalpindi on Sept. 28 on the instructions of party founder and ex-premier Imran Khan, and would hold a peaceful protest instead on the same day.
Following rallies this month in Islamabad and Lahore, the PTI announced this week it would hold public gatherings in Rawalpindi and Lahore on Sept. 28 and Oct. 5 respectively to build pressure for Khan’s release. The ex-PM has been in jail since August last year on multiple charges including corruption, sedition and terrorism. Khan says the cases against him are politically motivated to keep him and his party away from politics.
“On instructions of founding Chairman PTI, Imran Khan, the Rawalpindi Jalsa on Sept 28th is canceled and there will be a peaceful protest instead,” the PTI party said in a statement on Thursday. “More details will be shared soon.”
The PTI’s last two rallies were not without complications. The Sept. 8 rally in Islamabad was first planned for July and then August but was postponed both times as the party was denied permission to hold it by the district administration which cited security threats and a lack of resources to manage large gatherings.
After the Islamabad rally, a number of PTI legislators were arrested on charges of violating an agreement on the basis of which permission for the rally was given, including abiding by a time limit and supporters sticking to certain routes to reach the designated venue for the rally on Islamabad’s outskirts.
Last Saturday’s gathering in Lahore also came to an abrupt end after authorities cut off electricity supply to the venue after the 3-6pm deadline expired.
Khan’s party says the challenges in holding rallies are part of an over year-long crackdown it has faced since protesters allegedly linked to the party attacked and damaged government and military installations on May 9, 2023, after the former premier’s brief arrest the same day in a land graft case.
Hundreds of PTI followers and leaders were arrested following the riots and many remain behind bars as they await trial. The military, which says Khan and his party were behind the attacks, has also initiated army court trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence.
Khan, who has been in jail since last August, was ousted from the PM’s office in 2022 in a parliamentary vote of no confidence after what is widely believed to be a falling out with Pakistan’s powerful military, which denies being involved in politics.
Pakistan’s Usman Wazeer knocks out India rival in first round of World Youth Boxing Championship
- Wazeer, 24, remains unbeaten in all 14 professional bouts of career so far
- Boxer is first Pakistani to hold the Asian Boxing Federation Welterweight title
KHAPLU, Gilgit-Baltistan: Pakistani boxer Usman Wazeer on Thursday knocked out his Indian opponent in the first round of the World Youth Boxing Championship, taking home his 14th consecutive win.
Wazeer, 24, who hails from the Astore district of Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, is nicknamed ‘The Asian Boy’ and widely regarded as one of the greatest contemporary Pakistani boxers. He is currently an undefeated welterweight boxer and the first Pakistani to hold the Asian Boxing Federation Welterweight title.
Wazeer made his professional boxing debut against Moroccan Brahim Oubenais (0-1-0) on May 3, 2019, in Dubai, where the former won by a split decision after four rounds, claiming his first professional victory. The Pakistan boxer, who has so far featured in six professional bouts, remains unbeaten.
Thursday’s match against Thilak Selvam — closely watched as Pakistan and India are longtime political and sports rivals — lasted a mere one minute and five seconds.
“Thank God, Usman has won his 14th fight and made the name of Pakistan proud,” Wazeer Tajwar, the boxer’s father, told Arab News over the phone.
“This time the enjoyment level is very high as he defeated the Indian boxer in the first round. We were watching the fight live in our house in Astore. The whole village, including relatives, gathered in our house to watch the fight. We were all dancing to music and celebrating the moment.”
Tajwar said his son was participating in international competitions without the government’s support.
“As a father I always push him to fulfill his dream. I have always supported him and will always support him. But the government should also support him as he is making the name of our country proud.”
Ghulam Muhammad, the minister for tourism and sports in GB, congratulated Wazeer on the win.
“I want to congratulate Usman for winning the fight against the Indian boxer today. And he made the name of Pakistan and Gilgit-Baltistan proud at international level,” Muhammad told Arab News over the phone.
“Usman is a very talented athlete from Pakistan and he left no stone unturned to fight for the country … We, the GB government, will support him.”
Wazeer has previously secured prestigious titles including the World Youth Title, Asian Title, and Middle East Title.
Pakistan warns of dengue outbreak in October in 10 major cities
- Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Larkana, Multan at risk
- Dengue fever is endemic to Pakistan, which experiences year-round transmission with seasonal peaks
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Thursday warned that at least 10 Pakistani cities could face a dengue outbreak in October, advising all stakeholders to take “preemptive measures.”
Dengue is an illness that spreads through vectors, carried by the bite of an infected mosquito. There is currently no cure or vaccine for dengue fever, which in its most severe form can lead to fatalities.
People affected by dengue go through intense flu-like symptoms including high fever, intense headache, muscle and joint pain, and nausea and vomiting, typically persisting for approximately a week.
“Based on the analysis, the environment has become conducive from mid of September 2024 for dengue onset and it is predicted that it may outbreak in October 2024, particularly in ten major cities of Pakistan i.e., Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Larkana and Multan as well as in post monsoon rainfall affected areas of Pakistan,” PMD said in an advisory.
“It is advised to all stakeholders to take preemptive measures for the dengue outbreak in the districts. National Health agencies and Dengue control centers are advised to keep themselves updated on the PMD website.”
The PMD said dengue outbreaks occured in the post-monsoon season, which usually falls between Sept. 20 and Dec. 5 if conditions are favorable.
It said the active period for dengue attacks was two hours after sunrise and two hours before sunset, while breeding stopped once the temperature fell below 16°C.
Dengue fever is endemic to Pakistan, which experiences year-round transmission with seasonal peaks.
An advisory published by Pakistan’s National Institute of Health in 2023 said a total of 52,929 cases and 224 deaths from dengue were reported in the country in 2021, while there were approximately 79,007 confirmed cases of dengue with 149 deaths in 2022, with a surge in cases following unprecedented flooding that began in mid-June 2022.
In 2023, Pakistan reported 3,019 suspected cases and eight deaths from dengue.
The virus has been surging worldwide, aided by climate change.
Dengue cases substantially increased in the Americas this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in May, which indicates the mosquito-borne viral illness remains a high-risk threat to public health.
The UN agency said the number of cases in the Americas exceeded 7 million by the end of April, already surpassing the annual high of 4.6 million in 2023.
In comparison, over 7.6 million dengue cases and about 3,000 deaths were reported globally during the same period.
