One year after announcing their engagement, Arrow star Emily Bett Rickards and her fiancé, Riley Howlett, tied the knot in a lovely outdoor ceremony, making her an officially married lady.

The 34-year-old actress and Riley exchanged vows in front of close friends and family, a representative for the actress confirmed to People. Fans were soon treated to a glimpse of the couple’s special day when pictures from the intimate celebration began appearing online.

Emily Bett Rickards looked stunning in a flowing sage-green gown, while Riley stood out in a pale pink suit paired with a Stetson hat. Guests shared poignant moments from the celebration on social media, capturing the couple’s easygoing style in the gorgeous outdoor setting.

TV screenwriter Carina Adly MacKenzie shared a number of photos from the wedding with the humorous caption, “The summer I watched @rihowlett marry the absolute love of myyyy life.” Jarett Wieselman, a social media executive at Netflix, also posted group photos, writing that friends had gathered “to laugh, cry, and celebrate the love between two of the most wonderful beings.”

Fans were thrilled when Emily originally announced her engagement in January 2026, revealing that she had proposed during a trip to Tofino in March 2025. In an emotional Instagram post, Emily detailed how she had spent months organizing the surprise before finally popping the question to Riley, with their cherished dog, Oph, by her side.

“My favourite moment of 2025 was the afternoon in March when Oph and I asked Riley to marry us,” she penned, sharing that both she and Riley burst into tears while their dog humorously “sneezed”.

Emily Bett Rickards is best known for portraying the beloved hacker Felicity Smoak in Arrow. She has since reprised the role across the Arrowverse in The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow. While her most recent role was in the wrestling drama Queen of the Ring, the focus right now is entirely on her real-life happy ending.

Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) Chairman Bilal bin Saqib has asked Jamia Darul Uloom to draw a distinction between speculative cryptocurrencies and asset-backed digital tokens, its chief said on Wednesday.

The crypto czar told Reuters he had asked for the clarification after the seminary ruled last month that crypto-based purchases were not permissible under Islamic law.

The religious decree, or fatwa, has cast doubt on the government’s rapid embrace of cryptocurrency in Pakistan, which has long ranked among the world’s largest crypto markets by retail activity.

Mufti Taqi Usmani and six others had declared purchasing goods with cryptocurrency “impermissible” in a fatwa (religious decree) issued on June 10. It described cryptocurrency as “merely the recording of fictitious numbers in an account”.

Saqib said the regulator is in discussions with the seminary to assess digital assets by category, not as a single class.

“The central question the fatwa raises is whether a digital asset constitutes recognised wealth under Shariah. That is precisely the right question, and it is why these instruments must be examined individually,” he said.

A blockchain-recorded sukuk, or Islamic bond, represents ownership of a real, income-generating asset, he said, while gold-backed tokens or fully reserved stablecoins carry an enforceable claim on something tangible and redeemable.

Blockchain itself is “a record-keeping and verification technology, not a financial asset,” the PVARA chairman added.

Purely speculative tokens with no underlying asset are a separate matter, and “the scholars’ concerns there must be taken seriously,” he said.

“We will continue working closely with our scholars as Pakistan develops its licensing framework and advances work on stablecoins and real-world asset tokenisation,” he said.

“Pakistan has the opportunity to lead the world in Shariah-compliant digital finance, and that leadership must be built with our scholars.”

The edict, as it stands, could become “a hurdle to broader, bank-led crypto adoption beyond Pakistan’s urban trading community,” said Waqas Ghani, head of research at brokerage and investment banking firm JS Global Capital.

So far, however, crypto trading volumes have appeared unaffected, he said.

Last week, Saqib said he held a “constructive discussion” with Mufti Usmani on the Shariah status of digital assets.

The crypto czar said he shared with Mufti Usmani that “blockchain, digital assets, stablecoins, and tokenised real-world assets represent a broad spectrum of technologies and use cases”.

PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on Wednesday that the situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) since last month was “very concerning”, and the longer it persisted, the more harm would be caused to the Kashmir cause and Pakistan’s reputation.

Bilawal expressed these views while addressing his party’s office bearers and ticket holders in AJK, where he arrived on Tuesday for an unscheduled visit ahead of July 27 elections in the region.

AJK has been seized by protests and deadly clashes between law enforcers and protesters from the recently proscribed Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC) ahead of the polls.

The matter at the centre of the tensions is JAAC’s demand for the abolition of 12 seats in the region’s Legislative Assembly that are reserved for refugees from Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir who settled in mainland Pakistan after 1947.

Addressing his party’s workers against this backdrop, Bilawal said, “If someone uses inappropriate language against Kashmiris, we will be heartbroken.”

He added, “And if someone speaks up against our army, we can’t tolerate that as well.”

He emphasised that Pakistan’s armed forces, which had defeated India during Marka-i-Haq last year, were their “red line”.

Turning his attention to the present situation in AJK, he said it was surely “very concerning”.

“The longer it persists, the more harm will be caused to the Kashmir cause and Pakistan’s reputation and position,” he added.

At this point, he also highlighted the global situation, saying “big changes are taking place and conspiracies are under way globally”. And in this situation, the role of Pakistan and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir was “significant”, he said.

He continued, “Pakistan’s role, our field marshal’s role is before you in this situation; Pakistan is playing its role as Israel conspires against Iran; Pakistan has responded to India’s attacks; […] Pakistan and its armed forces are responding to terrorists sent by India via Afghanistan to carry out attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan; entire Pakistan is ready to respond to Modi as he weaponises water.”

He recalled that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Israel shortly before the US and Israel launched the ongoing war on Iran. Mentioning this, he stressed the need to realise that some powers were looking for opportunities to work against Pakistan, which was leading the efforts to foil their conspiracy of plunging the world into a war.

“All of us should think; Politicians in Pakistan and Kashmir, political workers, the common man and the people who are protesting should realise that we should choose our words carefully in these circumstances.

“We should do politics, but in a manner so that an adversary of Pakistan does not get to take advantage of our internal situation,” he said.

Then, again mentioning the situation in AJK, he said, “We all want that all issues be resolved politically and peacefully. We are making efforts for this.”

He added that the government’s stance in the matter was justified in a way, as “no one can blackmail the state, and the state is not ready to surrender”. On the other hand, various demands had been put forward, he added without going into further details.

He then shared his and his party’s perspective on the matter.

“The continuing loss of lives in AJK, including the deaths reported yesterday, is a national tragedy,” he said, expressing his “deepest condolences” to every bereaved family.

At least two law enforcers were martyred while seven activists of the proscribed JAAC lost their lives in separate clashes on Tuesday.

Bilawal said while addressing PPP members: “Every Kashmiri life is precious; the death of a peaceful citizen cannot be treated as an acceptable consequence of the political disagreement, just as the life of every police and security official must also be protected.”

He emphasised that people of AJK had an “unquestionable right” to raise their political, economic, and constitutional grievances but “peacefully”.

“Peaceful protesters must not engage in violence or hate speech, and the peaceful citizens must also not be indiscriminately branded as terrorists, anti-Pakistan or agents of any foreign power merely for demanding their rights,” he said.

The PPP chairman stressed that any specific allegation of violence, whether against a protester or a member of law enforcement, must be investigated “individually, impartially, and according to the law”.

“The present confrontation cannot be resolved through force or inflammatory accusations, nor can the commitments made in writing be allowed to disappear into competing claims about what has or has not been implemented,” he added.

Without naming anyone, he continued: “Their competing accounts regarding recent events, the conduct of different parties, the implementation of previous agreements, the cases that have been registered, and the notification proscribing the protesting organisation — these matters should not be decided through accusations, collective blame or further confrontation.”

“The PPP, therefore, proposes the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission, constituted with the agreement of all parties concerned.”

“The commission should be given a sufficiently broad mandate to examine the present situation, establish the relevant facts, consider the grievances and position of all sides, review the outstanding political, legal, and administrative questions, and recommend a just and lasting way forward,” he added.

Bilawal reminded that he had already opposed the “questions or questioning” of the Kashmiri identity of the people of Rawalakot on the floor of the National Assembly.

“Let me reiterate: no one sitting in Islamabad has the right to determine who is or who is not a Kashmiri,” the PPP chairman said.

He stated that the “dignity and identity” of the people belonging to AJK were not “conditional upon their agreement with any government”.

“I appeal to the protesters to ensure that their activity is peaceful and to cooperate in creating a space required for immediate and meaningful political negotiations,” Bilawal said.

He emphasised that this appeal was not “a request for surrender or silence,” but it was an appeal “to save lives while pursuing a just political settlement”.

“Pakistan’s relationship with the people of Kashmir must be founded upon consent, dignity, democratic rights, and mutual respect,” he said.

“At this grave moment, our first responsibility is to prevent further bloodshed and to restore trust through verifiable actions,” the PPP chairman proposed.

“I appeal to the protesters to suspend their activities, sit-ins and long marches once the agreement has been reached on the formation of such a commission,” he added.

Correspondingly, he stated that the authorities and the government should “refrain from further measures pending the outcome of such a truth and reconciliation commission”.

He said that if the proposal was acceptable to the government of Pakistan, the government of Azad Kashmir and the protesters, and if all parties were willing to accept it, the PPP was ready to play its part in helping resolve the current crisis in the best interests of the people of AJK.

Bilawal said that he had also spoken with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who had assured him that he would discuss the proposal with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Sharing his thoughts on the upcoming elections in AJK, Bilawal admitted that it was “difficult” to contest the polls given the prevailing situation; however, he stressed that the PPP would never step back from the elections.