Shoaib Malik ties knot with Pakistan actor Sana Javed
Karachi/New Delhi, Jan 20: Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik announced on Saturday that he has married a second time to the country's popular actor Sana Javed in Karachi, finally ending the speculations around his separation with Indian tennis star Sania Mirza.
The cricketer released his wedding photograph on social media platform X with his new wife, with the words "And We created you in pairs".
There have been strong rumours since 2022 about differences between 41-year-old Shoaib and Sania leading to a split, and they have rarely been seen together in the last couple of years.
Just a few days back Malik unfollowed the Indian star on Instagram.
Their five-year-old son Izaan lives with Sania.
A family source told PTI that Sania had initiated the divorce proceedings.
"It was a 'khula'. I do not wish to comment beyond this," said the source. Khula refers to the right of a Muslim woman to unilaterally divorce her husband.
Shoaib and Sania had got married in the Indian player's hometown Hyderabad in April 2010 and they used to live in Dubai.
The social media posts by the 37-year-old Sania also indicated that she was under stress.
About a week ago she posted on Instagram, "When something disturbs the peace of your heart, let it go," along with a picture of herself, standing before a mirror with eyes closed.
Two days back also she posted a story on instagram, indicating the turmoil within.
"Marriage is hard, Divorce is hard. Choose your hard. Obesity is hard. Being fit is hard, Choose your hard. being in debt is hard. Being financially disciplined is hard. Choose your hard.
"Communication is hard. No communicating is hard. Life will never be easy. I will always be hard. But we can choose our hard. Pick wisely."
The 30-year-old Sana Javed who has starred in a number of hit drama serial and also acted in Pakistani films had married singer Umair Jaiswal in 2020 at a simple ceremony amid the coronavirus pandemic.
But, two months earlier, reports about their divorce emerged.
Sania, one of India's greatest tennis players had announced her retirement last year.
In a career spanning 20 years, where she won 43 WTA doubles titles and one singles trophy, Sania was seen as a trailblazer for women in sport.
View this post on Instagram
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
