KARACHI: The weekend began on a good note for all of us in Karachi when award-winning and critically acclaimed singer and actor Ali Zafar took to the stage and belted out some of his most memorable and humongous hits. It was during the annual beauty pageant called Miss Veet Pakistan, where four of the most recognised actors of the Pakistani industry sat down to declare the winner for the coveted platform. These stars included Aamina Sheikh, Adnan Siddiqui, Hareem Farooq and Mahira Khan. They announced Hira Khan as the winner of the pageant where she was marked on intelligence, wittiness, fitness, charm, endurance, enthusiasm, looks and ambition. Ali Zafar sang hits like ‘Jhoom’ and ‘Rockstar’ and twice recited a poem he had especially written for the event Hira Khan was selected from a group of contestants who were given various feats to accomplish and prove themselves and so after 12 weeks of intensely competitive series of challenges, three out of 12 contestants made it to the grand finale. Amongst the finalists were Nimra Khan, Nafia Sehr and Hira Khan. The event was hosted by renowned TV and film actor Azfar Hussain. Ali Zafar sang hits like “Jhoom” and “Rockstar” and twice recited a poem he had especially written for the event. Zafar’s enthralling performance left the audience stunned and longing for more. Like I mentioned, earlier, he recited a moving poem and performed to “Julie” as well. The highlight was when he called Mahira on stage and together they spoke about the need to empower women, the need to celebrate her achievements and not denigrate her. Together they were film magic and set the stage alight. All the contestants paid homage and tribute to the workingwomen of Pakistan belonging from various fields — the ones who had truly done the country proud and had made their mark in their respective professions Cricket star Wasim Akram, the forces behind the Miss Veet 2018 event, namely Sultana Siddiqui and Fareshte Aslam, actors Ahsan Khan, Adnan Malik, Ainy Jaffri, Cybil Chowdhry, Amna Ilyas, Areeba Habib, comedian Raheem Pardesy and eminent members of the media were also present on the occasion to lend their support to the prestigious platform. One of the highlights of the event was also when the contestants were handed out various titles according to the impression that they cast on the judges. These titles included Miss Charm and Miss Intelligence, etc. Supermodel-turned-actress Amna Ilyas, leading couturier Shamaeel Ansari and acclaimed actress Mahira Khan got on stage to present the titles to the models. However, there was one particular moment that truly was the highlight of the grand event. It was when all the contestants combined, paid homage and tribute to the working women of Pakistan belonging from various fields – the ones who had truly done the country proud and had made their mark in their respective professions. Published in Daily Times, January 20th 2018.