iconic moments of 2019
2019 is officially coming to end with all its bittersweet memories. We are about to enter 2020, the beginning of a goddamn new decade. So let’s commemorate the most iconic moments we have witnessed in 2019.
1. One of the first iconic moments of 2019 was when Imran Khan turned into the personal chauffeur for the crown prince of Abu Dhabi
#CrownPrince
History is made that Imran Khan drove the car by himself for crown prince of UAE.#ImranKhan #PrimeMinisterImrankhan #Livepakistan pic.twitter.com/gWX5hzafUe— Live Magazine (@LiveMagazinepak) January 6, 2019
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed arrived in Pakistan to meet Imran Khan. Our PM hopped into the front seat and drove the prince straight to the PM house.
2. Asia Bibi finally left for Canada after she was acquitted by the Supreme Court in a blasphemy case against her
3. India unleashed a surgical strike on Pakistan and killed…. 15 pine trees
Bodies of the martyred trees .
RIP #PakistanArmy#Balakot pic.twitter.com/KXeoRG9on6
— AA shah (@AAShah444) February 26, 2019
India claimed to have killed 300 terrorists in the attack on Balakot. Whereas, we as a nation suffered the loss of 15 trees and a poor crow.
4. Pakistan served some “fantastic tea” to Wing Commander Abhinandan who was captured during India’s failed “strike”
I wanna put this on record, and I wont change if I go back to my country that I'm very impressed by Pak Army. They are thorough gentlemen and this is what I want to behave my army as. Tea is fantastic and I'm married. Wing Commander #Abhinanden in a new video. #budgam #IAF pic.twitter.com/6B2Y87vB1A
— Siddique Jan (@SdqJaan) February 27, 2019
After his jet was shot down, Abhinandan wasn’t retained as a prisoner. Instead, he was offered a ‘fantastic’ cup of tea and returned to India with dignity. This effort intended to bring peace among the two nuclear-power nations and Abhinandan’s tea became extremely viral.
5. YouTuber Froggy got punched in the face after a phadda between her husband Sham Idrees and Ducky Bhai caused major drama
6. In one of the most iconic moments of 2019, Pakistani women called out patriarchy with a badass Aurat March
Women of all backgrounds, moral values and across a wide spectrum joined together in a now-iconic march that triggered quite a few men.
7. A silly ”Mard March” came in response, with the most offensive posters ever
Some very insecure men have organized a response to #AuratMarch — #MardMarch.
This is so sad and pathetic. pic.twitter.com/FS5YltMXVT
— Sameera Khan (@SameeraKhan) March 11, 2019
8. Mehwish Hayat won Tamgha -e- Imtiaz but people had lots of hatred toward her
9. Imran Khan made it to Time’s 100 most influential people of 2019 list
10. The PTI Government went viral ALL OVER THE WORLD after Shaukat Yousafzai’s press conference became viral
11. Ahad Raza Mir and Sajal Ali announced the news we had been waiting for too long
12. This angry Pakistani fan became a meme for eternity for his expressions at Pakistani team’s terrible performance in the World Cup
This World Cup also cemented Pakistanis as having the best sense of humor even in the worst of times.
Me using phone in front of guests
My dad:#AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/Dopkl4crIF— Messi ❤️ (@sam_eer_10) June 12, 2019
13. India illegally occupied Kashmir and cut down all communication in the region leading Pakistanis to be their only voice of support
The illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir region by the Modi-led Indian Government continues to this day.
We are going #RedForKashmir to bring global attention to the region. As Kashmir goes under communication blackout, it becomes your duty to amplify their voices. #RedForKashmir #StandWithKashmir
Red is the color of our blood. Red is the colour of our history. Red is all of us. pic.twitter.com/YtwN280rjG
— Aayan Saleem (@aayansaleem) August 5, 2019
14. A Pakistani girl called out Priyanka Chopra over her hypocrisy and exposed her for the world to see
Priyanka Chopra tweeted during a time when we were this 👌🏽 close to sending nukes to one another. Instead of advocating for peace she tweeted in support of the Indian army pic.twitter.com/LhbMkOW59v
— Ayesha Malik (@Spishaa) August 11, 2019
Priyanka insensitively tweeted in favor of war when the tensions between the two countries were already escalated. Ayesha Malik criticized her over ”humanitarian” statements. Here stands our queen.
15. Hamza Ali Abbasi announced his shaadi with his “platonic friend” Naimal Khawar
Yup, its true. P.S Massive respect to Naimal for being ok with a Ganja me on Nikkah 🙂♥️ pic.twitter.com/8z9Uns0xo3
— Hamza Ali Abbasi (@iamhamzaabbasi) August 21, 2019
16. Still, they had the most gorgeous wedding ever, starting the trend for simple celebrity weddings
17. Karachi was ranked as the world’s second-highest consumer of cannabis for the second year in a row
Top cities most consumption of cannabis, per year, (metric tons)
🇺🇸 New York: 77.44
🇵🇰 Karachi: 41.95
🇮🇳 Delhi: 38.26
🇺🇸 Los Angeles: 36.06
🇪🇬 Cairo: 32.59
🇮🇳 Mumbai: 32.38
🇬🇧 London: 31.4
🇺🇸 Chicago: 24.54
🇷🇺 Moscow: 22.87
🇨🇦 Toronto: 22.75(weedindex-2018)
— World Index (@theworldindex) September 9, 2019
18. Imran Khan gave a monumental speech at the UN General Assembly, speaking on behalf of the oppressed Kashmiris
That 50-minute speech gave everyone major goosebumps.
19. Mahira Khan casually hung out with Camila Cabello at Cannes
20. The Pakistan Index ranked Major Adnan Sami as the world’s third-best spy
Major Sami was recently outed as a spy (it’s a joke) and ever since every move of his has made major news.
Most Daring and Dangerous Spies in the World
🇬🇧Melita Norwood
🇺🇸Virginia Hall
🇵🇰Adnan Sami
🇷🇺Sidney Reilly
🇩🇪Klaus Fuchs
🇿🇦Fritz Joburt
🇺🇸Belle Beyond
🇷🇺Oleg Gordievsky
🇷🇺Herold "Kim" Philby
🇬🇧Francis Walsingham(The Pakistan Index)
— The Pakistan Index (@thepakindex) October 6, 2019
21. Usman was epically friendzoned and everyone in Pakistan felt for him
I texted Usman i wanna eat something at this time and he just brought this to me 😭 Y'all need a friend like Usman in your life. pic.twitter.com/u9kLqAFXAw
— Komal Shahid. (@TheKomalShahid) October 11, 2019
22. Kate Middleton and Prince William came to Pakistan and Pakistanis fell in love with Kate
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Pakistan’s National Monument this evening #royalvisitpakistan pic.twitter.com/FII825S6pH
— Chris Jackson (@ChrisJack_Getty) October 15, 2019
23. The Tezgam Express caught fire, killing 65, and the railway minister laughed it off by saying it was the passengers’ own fault
Sheikh Rasheed should be immediately fired from his position as Railways Minister. He has made Pakistan's Railways a death machine. Tezgam incident has taken 65 precious lives. #tezgam #TrainAccident pic.twitter.com/hRkZtlf24t
— Masoud Ur Rehman (@masoud_ur_here) October 31, 2019
24. A Fortuner on motorway went viral for all the ”naughty” reasons
Fortuner or black car k beech mai racing horhi thi. Phr hona kia thaa. Fortuner mai baithy 2 logo ny double speeding shuru krdii! https://t.co/zDeZdT2UBO
— Mr H A P P Y (@khansahab98) October 28, 2019
PK’s concept of dancing cars just got very real. *COUGH COUGH*
25. Singer Rabi Pirzada found herself in a massive scandal after a large number of intimate photos and videos of hers leaked online
After the excessive trolling, the incident prompted her to announce that she is retiring from showbiz.
What girls want in a relationship Vs. What boys want in a relationship.#RabiPirzada pic.twitter.com/WRfZ0jdXD7
— Ahmad. (@NotHerAhmad) November 1, 2019
26. In the most WTF news, Mufti Kifayatullah said that “Wiki” of WikiLeaks is Jemima Khan’s cousin
This all happened while Mufti sahab‘s party, the JUI F, was leading a dharna in the capital, demanding an end to the PTI Government.
مفتی کفایت اللہ: "وکی لیکس والا وِکی کزن ہے جمائمہ کا"
DEAD!! 😂 pic.twitter.com/1IKJ53tG1j
— Azhar (@MashwaniAzhar) November 3, 2019
And Jemima Khan responded:
For those who don’t speak Urdu – apparently I have a first cousin called “Wiki” – who set up Wikileaks- which is a Zionist tool, supporting Imran Khan’s Zionist agenda. This from a so called Islamic scholar/ cleric…. “Wiki’ cousin hai Jemima ka” 🤣🤣🤣 https://t.co/BaWmWyPxFt
— Jemima Goldsmith (@Jemima_Khan) November 6, 2019
27. Despite recent actions by India, Pakistan formally inaugurated the Kartarpur Corridor
Bollywood actor Sunny Deol visited along with the famous friend-of-Pakistan Sidhu Paa jee.
FO spokesperson says 12,000 #SikhYatrees visited #Kartarpur on opening day on last Saturday & under agreement, 5000 Sikh Yatrees can visit Kartarpur daily, pay their respects and return the same day https://t.co/Al3ttDxlgL #KartarpurCorridor pic.twitter.com/pwUKkRL2Y6
— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) November 14, 2019
It allowed the Indian Sikh pilgrims to visit the religious site in Pakistan without even needing a visa.
28. Hamza Ali Abbasi announced that he is quitting the entertainment industry
Welll…. This is what i wanted to say… for now! 😁https://t.co/q7vap8eArs
— Hamza Ali Abbasi (@iamhamzaabbasi) November 14, 2019
29. Students mobilized the crowd for a brief but very iconic moment
sarfaroshi kī tamanna ab hamare dil mein hai
dekhna hai zor kitnā baazu-e-qatil mein hai #Lahore #faizfestival2019 pic.twitter.com/zGdL8uU11W— Shiraz Hassan (@ShirazHassan) November 17, 2019
The crowd clapped and applauded the students’ narration to the beat of the drum.
30 TikTok star Hareem Shah became a little too notorious for her antics, connections and videos
31. Tomatoes became so expensive that a bride wore them as jewelry on her big day
32. Altaf Hussain made some weird AF statements on Indian TV
After he was indicted in the UK, where he has been living in self-imposed exile, after running away from Pakistan, Altaf tried to ask Modi for refuge.
#AltafOnRepublic | MQM Founder Altaf Hussain sings 'saare jahan se accha, Hindustan hamara'. Tune in to watch and share your views using the hashtag –https://t.co/RZHKU3wOei pic.twitter.com/gcxQpcHRg5
— Republic (@republic) November 19, 2019
After Altaf Bhai pleaded Modi for asylum in India, Arnab Goswami invited him on his talk show. The rest is history. Also, he flirted with Indian anchor live on another talk show.
33. After days and days of debates and controversy, Nawaz Sharif finally left for London, on the grounds of his deteriorating health
Reached London safely, thanks to the excellent Siri paye on the flight. Love you Immy K! #Pakistan #NawazSharif. Also, please stop referring to Shabaz as #Godfather, he gets pissy. pic.twitter.com/A0M7KrMX9R
— Nawaz Sharif (@NawazSharif_PML) November 20, 2019
34. Pakistan was ranked as the number one holiday destination in the world for 2020
Top 20 best holiday destination in 2020
1.🇵🇰PAK
2.🇬🇧GBR
3.🇰🇬KGZ
4.🇦🇲ARM
5.🇧🇷BRA
6.🇦🇺AUS
7.🇮🇪IRL
8.🇵🇭PHL
9.🇫🇷FRA
10.🇮🇹SICILY
11.🇨🇲SEN
12.🇺🇸USA
13.🇱🇧LBN
14.🇨🇳CHN
15.🇩🇰DNK
16.🇻🇬VGB
17.🇲🇦MAR
18.🇵🇦PAN
19.🇭🇷HRV
20.🇯🇵JPN(CN Traveller)
— World Index (@theworldindex) December 22, 2019
35. Lawyers in Lahore attacked a hospital and endangered innocent patients
#Lawyers have vandalised Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) #Lahore, destroyed the property and attacked media and patients.#وکلا_گردی_بندکرو #GraciasNintenderos #CAB_नहीं_चलेगा #DisneyAdaptPercyJackson pic.twitter.com/fqIHwRIagY
— News and Views (@NewsAurViews) December 11, 2019
36. The drama Mere Paas Tum Ho introduced everyone to the now-iconic “2 takkay ki aurat” jokes
The drama has become a cultural phenomenon after such iconic moments but the writer’s misogynistic ideals are problematic AF.
Har Sakhat Londay Ka
Har Ashiq Ka
Har BreakUp walay Ka
Whatsapp STATUSThis Scene ❤#MerePaasTumHo pic.twitter.com/wti3x5WkFZ
— Tal(HA-HA)feez (@TALHAFEEZ) November 2, 2019
37. Former military dictator General Pervez Musharraf got sentenced to death
And then the judges went a little too far in their judgment.
38. Malala shone brightly on the cover of Teen Vogue Magazine
2019 was definitely a year of progress but also drama. What was the most iconic moment of this year according to you? Sound off in the comments below.
43 Of The Most Viral Moments That Happened In Pakistan In 2018
Cover image via @UrduSpot via Twitter / @Rabipirzada via Twitter