KARACHI: During a meet and greet with fans and journalists as part of the buildup to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 which starts in England today, the captains of the ten participating teams were asked by an audience member: If you could add one player to your squad from any of the other teams, who would you choose?
“I think for me [it would be] Jos Butler,” Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed said, referring to one of England’s best batters. Intriguingly, Butler is also England’s main wicket keeper, the same role Ahmed performs for his side.
Pakistan has borne the brunt of some of Buttler’s most breathtaking innings of late and Ahmed probably picked the English player because of his batting, rather than his wicket keeping, skills. Even so, the choice inadvertently cast Ahmed in comparison to Butler and highlighted the degree to which many players on the Pakistani side are less talented, less exciting versions of their opponents.
This might seem harsh given that Pakistan won the last major multi-team tournament, the Champions Trophy, held in England two years ago. Since then, however, the team’s record has been subpar and the manner of its play, old-fashioned and one-dimensional, has caused both panic and despair among fans and experts. Most recently, Pakistan ended a five-match One Day International series against England — their final preparation ahead of the World Cup — empty-handed.
“The bowling and fielding has not been up to the mark,” skipper Ahmed said after the final ODI. “It’s not ideal for the World Cup, but I’m confident my batsmen are ready.”
In a forecast piece ahead of the series kick-off, Guardian Sports said about Team Pakistan on Wednesday: “Famously hopeless till it matters, their ludicrously bad fielding during the whitewash by England means only one thing: they’ve got something up their sleeve.”
Indeed, despite the blistering loss against England, there might be some good news for Pakistan: World Cups in any sport are never truly representative of what comes before and after and have a habit of distorting form and rewarding luck.
“Pakistan are Pakistan — they will find a way of making the top four,” former England captain Michael Vaughan told the BBC on Tuesday. Ebony Rainford-Brent, 2009 Women’s World Cup winner with England, has said: “Pakistan are my wildcard — whether they have form or not, they find something in big tournaments.”
Other teams may surprise in other ways. Consider South Africa, whose captain Faff du Plessis answered the same question asked of the Pakistani skipper by naming several players for his hypothetical squad. Unable to pick just one player, Du Plessis’s flustered response under pressure seemed to mirror his team’s fate in earlier World Cups. Since their return to international cricket in 1992 following an apartheid-era ban, South Africa have entered every single tournament as one of the most dominant sides, only to lose when the stakes get high.
Also take the example of England. Currently the number one team in the world, England were last a World Cup favorite when the USSR was a stable world power. The country that founded cricket has never won a World Cup and in the last tournament in 2015, it finished as the laughing stock at the group stage. In the four years since, however, England’s revamp has been Stalinesque in its efficiency: no other team has scored more runs per over in ODI cricket or broken the 500 mark.
In light of this, the answer England captain Eoin Morgan gave when asked which player he would pick for his dream team spoke volumes about how meticulous his team’s effort has been to transform itself and reach the apex of world cricket. Instead of selecting a player, Morgan said he would pick Ricky Ponting, a notable Australian ex-cricketer and current coach — a choice that betrayed the ruthless desire to hunt for any extra advantage by a team leader who understands that his side’s very strength, an aggressive approach with the bat, has made it the most consistent team in the ODI format but can also be a recipe for collapse in the more bowling-friendly conditions often precipitated by the greatest villain in English history: the weather.
But as Indian captain Virat Kohli has said, dealing with “pressure is the most important thing in the World Cup and not necessarily the conditions.” Some of the favorites might start off strong but experience and nous could well trump skill and talent as the tournament progresses.
There are few better examples of this than the experience of Imran Khan in the 1987 and 1992 World Cups. His team entered the former as the only real challenger to a West Indies team now considered the greatest side ever. Khan proved himself one of the world’s best performers and led a talented, successful and heavily favored side that even defeated rivals West Indies, only for a shock loss to Australia in the semifinal at Lahore.
Five years later, Khan, a shadow of his former self, led an inexperienced team into the 1992 World Cup but ended up winning the series — a turnaround, and a narrative, so thrilling and dramatic it swept him to political power and landed him in the prime minister’s chair over two decades later.
This example, more perhaps than any other, shows how much the World Cup is a game of surprises and shocks, where great heroes make their final stands and new champions rise for the first time.
“It is 27 years since Pakistan won the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup for the first time and this year feels like it did back then,” former Pakistani test captain Waqar Younis, who was part of the 1992 squad at the World Cup, told ICC in an interview this week. “No one gave us a chance and we arrived as the underdog. But momentum came and we won the whole thing. That is the beauty of Pakistan cricket.”
In good news for dark horse Pakistan, cricket World Cup is a game of surprises
In good news for dark horse Pakistan, cricket World Cup is a game of surprises
- World Cups are never truly representative of what comes before and after and have a habit of distorting form and rewarding luck
- Commentators call Pakistan a ‘wildcard’: “they will find a way of making the top four”
PM Sharif discusses trade, investment and regional ties with ECO leaders on summit sidelines
- The Pakistani prime minister meets the presidents of Türkiye, Iran, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan
- Sharif reaffirms his administration’s resolve to further strengthen relations with these countries
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday held a series of meetings with the presidents of Türkiye, Iran, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan on the sidelines of the 17th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit in Khankendi, Azerbaijan, reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to regional peace, connectivity and enhanced bilateral trade and investment.
The two-day summit, held from July 3-4, focused on promoting economic cooperation, sustainable development and regional integration among ECO member states.
Sharif led Pakistan’s delegation, using the opportunity to deepen bilateral and multilateral ties with key regional partners.
In his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the two leaders reviewed the full spectrum of bilateral relations and vowed to accelerate progress in critical areas.
“The two leaders reiterated their resolve to bring about meaningful progress in relations... [emphasizing] the importance of deepening cooperation in trade, defense, energy, connectivity and investment,” a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.
To advance this agenda, both sides agreed to exchange high-level delegations to finalize understandings reached between the sides.
Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s “unwavering commitment” to working closely with Türkiye to promote peace, stability and sustainable development in the region.
In another key engagement, the Pakistani prime minister met Iranian President Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian, with both leaders reviewing the implementation of previous agreements to strengthen bilateral ties.
Sharif praised Iran’s leadership during the recent conflict with Israel and welcomed Tehran’s decision to agree to a ceasefire.
“The Prime Minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering solidarity with the people and Government of Iran and Pakistan’s strong commitment to continue working closely with Iran for peace in the region through dialogue and diplomacy,” said another PMO statement.
In turn, President Pezeshkian thanked Pakistan for its diplomatic support during the crisis and acknowledged its role in efforts to de-escalate tensions.
The prime minister also held talks with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, in what was their third bilateral meeting this year. The two leaders agreed to further strengthen their economic partnership, especially by accelerating Azerbaijan’s investments in Pakistan.
“The two leaders agreed to enhance their cooperation in the fields of trade and investment while expressing satisfaction over the progress made regarding the investment prospects,” the PMO said.
Sharif invited President Aliyev to visit Pakistan, noting that recent exchanges had significantly strengthened bilateral ties.
The Azerbaijan leader had previously announced a $2 billion investment package for Pakistan during a visit to Islamabad in 2024, and the two countries have also deepened defense cooperation, including Islamabad’s sale of JF-17 fighter jets to Baku.
In his meeting with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Sharif focused on regional integration, energy cooperation and the Trans-Afghan Railway Project, which is seen as vital for unlocking trade corridors between Central and South Asia.
“The two leaders agreed on visits of their senior ministers to Tashkent and Islamabad to finalize necessary agreements,” the PMO said, adding that the two sides viewed their cultural and historical ties as a strong foundation for broader collaboration.
Eight killed in Karachi building collapse, exposing city’s crisis of unsafe housing
- The five-story building in Lyari had been declared dangerous in 2012, but residents remained
- Sindh Building Control Authority says over 580 buildings in Karachi are unfit for habitation
KARACHI: A five-story residential building collapsed in Karachi’s densely populated Lyari neighborhood on Friday, killing at least eight people and trapping many others, in yet another tragedy underscoring the city’s crisis of unsafe, aging structures.
Rescue workers, aided by local residents, scrambled to pull people from the debris of the Fotan Mansion building, recovering both bodies and injured survivors. The collapse took place around 10:30 a.m., jolting the community.
“I suddenly woke up … it felt like there were tremors, like an earthquake,” said Salman Ahmed, who was sleeping in a nearby building at the time of the incident and later rescued two children.
“At the moment the building collapsed, nothing was visible,” he recalled. “There was so much dust and smoke that no one could understand what had happened. “We could hear voices coming from underneath [the rubble].”
It was not immediately clear how many families lived in the building, but residents estimated that around 40 people were inside when it collapsed. Many of the occupants were members of the low-income Hindu minority community.
As of Friday evening, a large rescue operation was still underway, with cranes clearing debris and rescuers working against time to reach those still trapped beneath the rubble.
“They handed me a three-month-old baby girl, she was alive,” said Maya Sham, a relative of a family living in the building. “Right now, two of their sons and three daughters-in-law are still trapped. But we can still hear voices from inside.”
The collapse devastated families like that of Megbhai, a member of the Hindu community, which largely resided in the building.
Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab confirmed that six people had died and eight were rescued alive. He said the building had long been on the city’s “danger list.”
“This building was declared dangerous, and a couple of notices were issued to the occupants to vacate because of its structure,” Wahab told Arab News at the site. “But unfortunately, people chose to risk their lives, and they did not vacate.”
Pakistan’s largest city — home to over 20 million people — faces a chronic housing shortage. Many low-income residents live in dilapidated buildings that have escaped regular maintenance. Authorities have declared nearly 588 buildings dangerous in Karachi, most in the congested Old City area.
According to the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), Fotan Mansion had been declared unsafe as far back as 2012.
“This building was declared dangerous by the SBCA in 2012 and had been served multiple notices over the years,” SBCA spokesperson Shakeel Dogar told Arab News. “Before the recent rains, public announcements were also made in the area, but unfortunately, no one was willing to vacate,” he said, adding that it was the responsibility of the district administration to enforce the SBCA’s evacuation directives.
Mayor Wahab said rescue efforts remained the top priority, with accountability and investigation to follow.
“Our administration, our machinery is here on the ground,” he said. “Once we’re done with the rescue aspect, we will focus on who was responsible for this negligence or omission.”
RECURRING TRAGEDY
Friday’s incident is the latest in a string of deadly building collapses in Karachi.
In February 2020, a five-story building collapsed in Rizvia Society, killing at least 27 people. The following month, another residential structure came down in Gulbahar, claiming 16 lives.
In June 2021, a three-story building in Malir collapsed, killing four. And just last year, in August, a building collapse in Qur’angi led to at least three deaths.
Most of these structures had either been declared unsafe or were built without proper approval.
Experts say that despite repeated disasters, there has been little progress in enforcing building codes or relocating residents from hazardous structures.
“The incident of the building collapse in Lyari is deeply tragic,” said Muhammad Hassan Bakhshi, chairman of the Association of Builders and Developers of Pakistan (ABAD). “It is alarming that despite having a list of dangerous buildings, the SBCA did not take action to get them evacuated.”
He urged the Sindh government to reassess buildings citywide and equip rescue teams with modern tools and technology.
With hundreds of buildings still listed as unsafe, authorities now face mounting pressure to prevent future disasters.
“The way out is that we must follow what the law says,” said Mayor Wahab when asked if anyone would be held accountable. “If citizens don’t listen to us, the political leadership and the administration have to play their part to convince those people.”
“Nobody wants to leave their house... but we must learn from our mistakes and ensure no such untoward incident takes place in the future,” he said.
China helped Pakistan with ‘live inputs’ in conflict with India, Indian Army deputy chief says
- India earlier noted no visible Chinese support for Pakistan during the four-day standoff
- Pakistani officials have also denied claims of receiving active assistance from Beijing
NEW DELHI: China gave Islamabad “live inputs” on key Indian positions during Pakistan’s deadly conflict with its neighbor in May, the deputy chief of India’s army said on Friday, calling for urgent upgrades to the country’s air defense systems.
The nuclear-armed rivals used missiles, drones and artillery fire during the four-day fighting — their worst in decades — triggered by an April attack on Hindu tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad, before agreeing to a ceasefire.
Pakistan has denied involvement in the April attack.
India fought two adversaries during the conflict, with Pakistan being the “front face” while China provided “all possible support,” Lt. Gen. Rahul Singh said at a defense industry event in New Delhi.
“When the DGMO (director general of military operations) level talks were going on, Pakistan ... said that we know that your such and such important vector is primed and it is ready for action ... he was getting live inputs from China,” he said.
Singh did not elaborate on how India knew about the live inputs from China.
The Chinese foreign and defense ministries, and Pakistan army’s public relations wing did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
India’s relationship with China was strained after a 2020 border clash that sparked a four-year military standoff, but tensions began to ease after the countries reached a pact to step back in October.
India had earlier said that although Pakistan is closely allied with China, there was no sign of any actual help from Beijing during the conflict.
Regarding the possibility of China providing satellite imagery or other real-time intelligence, India’s chief of defense staff had said such imagery was commercially available and could have been procured from China or elsewhere.
Pakistani officials have previously dismissed allegations of receiving active support from China in the conflict, but have not commented specifically on whether Beijing gave any satellite and radar help during the fighting.
Beijing, which welcomed the ceasefire in May, has helped Pakistan’s struggling economy with investments and financial support since 2013.
The Chinese foreign minister also vowed support to Pakistan in safeguarding its national sovereignty and territorial integrity when he met his Pakistani counterpart days after the ceasefire.
Singh said that Turkiye also provided key support to Pakistan during the fighting, equipping it with Bayraktar and “numerous other” drones, and “trained individuals.”
Ankara has strong ties with Islamabad, and had expressed solidarity with it during the clash, prompting Indians to boycott everything from Turkish coffee to holidays in the country.
Turkiye’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Pakistan’s PM condemns Israeli military assaults on Iran, Gaza
- Says regional stability threatened by ‘forces of chaos’ pursuing geopolitical agendas
- Sharif was speaking at 10-member ECO bloc‘s 17th summit being held in Azerbaijan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday condemned Israel’s recent strikes on Iran and denounced the ongoing war in Gaza as a “man-made catastrophe,” using his address at the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit to call out what he described as growing regional instability driven by foreign aggression.
Sharif was speaking in the Azerbaijani city of Khankendi, where heads of state from the 10-member ECO bloc convened for the group’s 17th summit. The ECO, founded in 1985 by Iran, Turkiye, and Pakistan, includes members from Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. The 2025 summit is focusing on boosting intra-regional trade, connectivity, climate funding and sustainable development.
“My dear brothers and sisters, forces of instability and chaos continue to destabilize our region for their own geopolitical agendas,” Sharif said in his address.
“The unlawful, unjustified and uncalled for Israeli attack on Iran, a brotherly country and fellow ECO member state, [is] the most recent manifestation of this dangerous trend … Pakistan strongly condemns this act of Israeli aggression.”
Some 935 people were killed in Iran during the 12-day air war with Israel, based on the latest forensic data, a spokesperson for the Iranian judiciary said on Monday, according to state media. Among the dead were 38 children and 132 women.
Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.
Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. A tenuous ceasefire is holding.
Sharif also directed global attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“Unfortunately the world has been witnessing an unprecedented man-made catastrophe in Gaza, a region that has descended into an abyss of perpetual suffering,” he said. “It is as if humanity no longer exists while famine looms large, humanitarian workers including UN personnel are being attacked by Israel with impunity to deliberately cut off the only lifeline of the helpless and starving people of Gaza.”
He reiterated Pakistan’s support for oppressed populations across the Muslim world, including Palestinians and Kashmiris.
“Pakistan stands firmly against those who perpetrate barbaric acts against innocent people anywhere in the world, whether in Gaza or Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir or Iran,” he said.
The latest war in Gaza began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took 251 hostages back to Gaza in a surprise attack that led to Israel’s single deadliest day.
Israel’s subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, displaced almost the whole 2.3 million population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis. More than 80 percent of the territory is now an Israeli-militarized zone or under displacement orders, according to the UN.
Pakistan PM urges ECO states to build carbon market, green corridors amid climate crisis
- PM Sharif says climate-induced disasters pose an existential challenge for many ECO countries
- He calls trade and investment key to achieving common goals, boosting regional connectivity
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday called for the establishment of low-emission corridors and a regional carbon market to mobilize climate finance across member states of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), warning that climate change was threatening food security and livelihoods of millions in the region.
Addressing the 17th ECO Summit in Khankendi, Azerbaijan, the Pakistani prime minister highlighted the devastating impacts of climate change and urged regional cooperation to mitigate these risks.
The summit focused on trade, sustainable development and enhanced regional connectivity.
“Like the rest of the world, ECO member states are facing far-reaching impacts of climate change, from melting glaciers, desertification, extreme heat waves, devastating floods and declining agricultural productivity,” Sharif said in his speech. “These challenges threaten the food security and livelihoods of millions of our people. Pakistan remains among the top 10 countries that are most vulnerable to climate change.”
“Pakistan proposes the development of low-emission corridors, an ECO-wide carbon market platform and regional disaster resilience systems,” he continued. “A dedicated framework to mobilize climate finance along with regional clean energy corridors and eco-tourism initiatives can further drive inclusive, sustainable growth, creating green jobs, especially for youth and women and supporting livelihoods in vulnerable regions.”
The prime minister cited the catastrophic 2022 floods in Pakistan as a grim example of climate vulnerability, recalling that over 33 million people were affected, with widespread damage to lives, livelihoods and infrastructure.
He also referenced recent flash floods during the current monsoon season that have claimed over 60 lives, noting that climate-induced disasters now pose an existential challenge for many ECO countries.
TRADE, TOURISM, CONNECTIVITY
The prime minister also urged ECO member states to expedite the implementation of the ECO Trade Agreement, originally envisioned as a cornerstone of regional integration under the ECO Vision 2025.
“Promotion of trade and investment holds the key to securing our common goals for strengthening regional connectivity,” he said, citing the need to activate transport corridors, ensure energy security and foster intra-regional tourism and economic growth.
While the agreement was reached during the 13th ECO Summit in Islamabad in 2017, it is yet to be operationalized.
Sharif called for renewed efforts to build on the region’s shared heritage and historic Silk Road synergies.
“As members of the ECO family, sharing strong commonalities of history and geography, of faith and culture, we have a firm basis for lasting cooperative relationships,” he added. “Let us … channel our collective energies toward a future that guarantees our people’s life of peace, progress and prosperity.”
