PIA under fire over Polish tourist's 'Kiki challenge'
Islamabad, Aug 14: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has come under fire over a promotional video made by the national flag carrier in collaboration with a Polish tourist who is seen doing the 'Kiki challenge' inside an empty aircraft.
On Monday, a video went viral of Polish tourist Ewa Bianka Zubek performed the popular ‘Kiki challenge' with the national flag wrapped on her body, Dawn news reported.
"Eva Zubeck from Poland/England is a Global Citizen travelling around the world, but now her heart is set on Pakistan! She has been exploring Pakistan flying #PIA. She will be celebrating Independence Day in a style never before attempted in the world! Stay tuned for updates," the airlines said in a tweet along with the video.
However, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) later in the day said the woman not only disgraced the flag but also violated the security codes of the national airlines.
"We want to know that who allowed the woman to go into an empty aircraft and dance at the airport," an NAB spokesman told Dawn news.
He said the NAB will officially send a letter to the PIA on Wednesday to seek its management's point of view on the issue.
"We want to ascertain that who had permitted the women to freely move into a highly-secured runway of the airport."
Due to the immediate escalation of the issue, Zubeck had to issue a clarification.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
