KARACHI: On Monday, two of the youngest teams in cricket met in Southampton in a World Cup game, with Afghanistan playing for pride, while Bangladesh were looking to continue what has been a quietly fantastic campaign.
Coming in with big wins against West Indies and South Africa, and strong showings in defeats to New Zealand and Australia, Bangladesh were confident they could continue their march to the semifinals, but the Afghans, who are already eliminated, weren’t going to be pushovers.
In a press conference at the eve of the game, Afghan captain Gulbadin Naib was told that the Bangladeshi coach Steve Rhodes felt his team were ready to take Afghanistan on. Without missing a beat, Naib switched from Pashto to Urdu and said “Hum to dube hai sanam; tujhe bhi leke dubenge. (We are drowning, darling, but we will take you with us.)”
Indeed, the shared languages, culture and heritage among the South Asian teams are one reason cricket’s fraternity can be seen as a family.
All its major members are related through the experience of colonization, and the politics of those relations reverberate in all encounters and narratives of the sport. Like most South Asian daughters-in-law, Bangladesh had to spend an inordinate amount of time trying to get accepted by the larger family. After receiving Test match status in 1999, they had to go through a long time where their side was derided and/or patronized for not being strong enough to match the others. Statisticians would exclude matches played against them from records, while players were mocked if their best efforts came against Bangladesh. Perhaps most agonizingly, time and again over these past two decades, they would be on the verge of huge, life-changing upsets, only to lose at the last moment.
Those near misses had created a fandom, in a country absolutely mad for cricket, that was viewed as a bit melodramatic and churlish. People who held such views didn’t have to go through the growing pains for their own teams’ journeys and thus could afford to be uncharitable. But Bangladesh kept on keeping on, and since the last World Cup in 2015 have truly transformed as a limited overs side, winning matches against all-comers at home and improving in leaps and bounds in away encounters.
In contrast, Afghanistan’s cricket team had a much more welcoming arrival. The wretched, horrifying history of war in their homeland had made refugees of vast numbers of Afghans, mostly in Pakistan where they picked up their cricket. That connection with Pakistan meant access to first-class matches for the team, provision of international level coaches and facilities, as well as regular chances to compete against good players. In addition, the arrival of T20 franchise leagues meant that their players had become stars in the international stage before their team had achieved much, something Bangladesh never had in their formative years. Once Afghanistan had received international status, they had pulled off bigger results than most sides coming into the sport.
In that context, Naib’s promise to drown the beloved with themselves wasn’t just a false threat — Afghanistan had the potential to take down their South Asian rivals. But here was the thing — Bangladesh had paid the price of being here in blood. They’d gone through the false dawns, the near misses, the agonies and tribulations that come with being a newbie. And forged through those fires, they had emerged with the Prince Who Was Promised — Shakib al Hasan.
Bangladesh cricket’s first superstar, Shakib had long been one of the world’s best all-rounders, and could hold his own both in international cricket as well as in franchise T20 leagues around the world. Known mostly for his bowling, his batting always showed far more promise than actual results. But then, in the buildup to this tournament he insisted that he bat up the order, and since then he is having one of the best World Cups any player has ever had.
Against Afghanistan, he turned in a truly record-breaking performance. After scoring his third fifty to go top of the tournament’s batting charts, he took five wickets to crush Afghanistan’s spirited reply, forcing himself into the top 10 list for the bowlers as well. His presence was a reminder to Afghanistan that despite doing much better than Bangladesh had at this stage of their development, they don’t have a player like Shakib that elevates your team to another level. To be fair, even Bangladesh never had this version of Shakib before. He’s had three centuries in this tournament, and is having an outsized impact on his team’s progress.
His captain, Mashrafe Mortaza acknowledged as much saying that “Shakib’s been fantastic. He’s scoring runs and whenever we need he’s getting us wickets. I think that partnership [Shakib had with Mushfiqur Rehman] wasn’t very big but [it] was important.”
Shakib himself noted: “I did work really hard before the WC [so] I was well prepared. The best I could ever be prepared. It’s paying off. Definitely want it to carry on. Our next two games against India and Pakistan are big games.” Indeed victories in these two matches would take Bangladesh to their best ever finish in a World Cup with a semifinal spot.
As for Afghanistan, their journey seems set to evolve after this tournament. Their cricket board has made a host of controversial moves which are meant to take the team to the next level, and which have left a lot of the old guard that led the team’s initial years out in the cold. The search is very much still on for how to move forward, but this World Cup might not provide any answers. As Naib said at the end of the match, “I think we missed something this tournament … We’re missing something.”
That something might well be a superstar like Shakib.
Bangladesh march to victory over Afghanistan in battle of cricket’s youngest members
Bangladesh march to victory over Afghanistan in battle of cricket’s youngest members
- Bangladesh beat Afghanistan by 62 runs in Cricket World Cup match to register their third win in the tournament on Monday
- Bangladesh posted 262 for seven wickets after wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim top-scored with 83
Seven cops abducted by armed gunmen in northwest Pakistan released — police
- Policemen were abducted by dozens of armed gunmen from Bannu district on Monday, police said
- Over 82 policemen have been killed in attacks, ambushes, targeted killings in northwest this year
PESHAWAR: Seven policemen abducted from a check post on Monday in northwest Pakistan have been recovered through the efforts of local tribal elders and a massive search operation by police in the unforgiving mountainous terrain, officials said on Tuesday.
Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province has seen a rise in militant attacks in recent months, which Islamabad says are mostly carried out by Afghan nationals and their facilitators and by Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups who cross over into Pakistan using safe haven in Afghanistan. The Taliban government in Kabul denies the charges, saying Pakistan’s security challenges are a domestic issue.
Over 82 policemen have been killed in attacks, ambushes and targeted killings in KP this year, according to official data.
Speaking to Arab News on Tuesday, Ziauddin Ahmed, the District Police Officer (DPO) for Bannu district where the abduction happened, said all seven abductees had been released and were in police custody.
“Police carried out a search operation to locate the abducted officials but their release was secured following hectic efforts by local elders,” Ahmed said, without giving more details of the rescue operation.
No group has as yet claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.
Noorzad Khan, a police officer in Bannu, said dozens of well-armed militants on Monday forced their way inside the Rocha check post in the jurisdiction of Utmanzi police station, a region on the edge with the restive North Waziristan tribal district, long a haven for Taliban and other militants.
The gunmen were able to get away with all the weapons and equipment at the checkpoint.
“The attackers besieged the check post and then held the policemen hostage at gunpoint,” Khan said, confirming the return of the seven officers.
The TTP is separate from the Afghan Taliban movement, but pledges loyalty to the Islamist group that now rules Afghanistan after US-led international forces withdrew in 2021.
Islamabad says TTP uses Afghanistan as a base and that the ruling Taliban administration has provided safe havens to the group close to the border. The Taliban deny this.
IDEAS 2024: Haider tank in spotlight on first day of Pakistani mega defense expo
- IDEAS has been held biennially since 2000 and has since grown into a key event for the Pakistani defense sector
- Second day of the exhibition, Wednesday, will see launch of new medium-altitude long-endurance Shahpar III drone
KARACHI: The third-generation Haider tank was in the spotlight on Tuesday as Pakistan’s premier defense exhibition, IDEAS, kicked off in Karachi, hosting 550 exhibitors, including 340 international defense companies, as well as 350 civilian and military officials from 55 countries.
IDEAS has been held biennially since 2000 and has since grown into a key event for the Pakistani defense sector.
This year’s exhibition, running from Nov. 19-22 at the Karachi Expo Center, is showcasing a wide range of modern and traditional defense equipment, weapons systems and vehicles.
“This tank is locally produced in Pakistan at the Heavy Industry Taxila in collaboration with our local and international technology partners,” Anza Aqeel, Assistant Director Heavy Industry Taxila, told Arab News, explaining that Haider had auto-tracking, a remote-control weapon system and a 470-kilometer cruising range.
“It has the capability of firing in both the day and night. It can fire up to eight rounds per minute due to its autoloading capability.”
Aqeel said the Haider tank was of export quality, with production currently underway.
“This tank has an auto tracker installed and both the gunner and commander can fire using the auto tracker,” he added.
The second day of the exhibition, Wednesday, will see the launch of the Shahpar-III drone, the third generation of the GIDS Shahpar unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built by Global Industrial Defense Solutions of Pakistan and used by the Pakistani military.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said Pakistan’s volume of defense exports was not yet aligned with its potential.
“Though Pakistan is now exporting some high-tech products to more than 60 countries, the volume of exports is not at par with its actual potential,” Asif said.
“A crucial factor, however, has been the limited involvement of the private sector in defense production and activity.”
“In order to achieve this objective, I will stress upon the integration of public and private defense industry to achieve maximum results,” Asif added. “New ideas, entrepreneurship and management skills mastered by the private sector need to be co-opted with the public sector defense industry.”
This year’s event also features a “Startups Pavilion” designed to offer international exposure to young Pakistani entrepreneurs and give them an opportunity to showcase new projects and technologies.
Pakistani police arrest man accused of insulting Qur’an, save him from being lynched by mob
- Khan said man allegedly made derogatory remarks about Qur’an during heated argument with brother
- Demonstrators threw stones at police station, threatened to burn it if the man was not handed over to them
PESHAWAR: Police arrested a man accused of insulting Islam’s holy book, the Qur’an, in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday after being alerted that a mob wanted to lynch him, police said.
The man, identified as Humayun Ullah, was arrested in Khazana, an area on the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police officer Nasir Khan said.
He said the man was arrested as a mob was trying to grab him in a street.
Video posted on social media showed hundreds of people blocking a road near a police station and demanding the man be handed over to them. Gunshots were also heard near the police station, where the man was being held for questioning.
Khan said the man allegedly made derogatory remarks about the Qur’an during a heated argument with his brother at the family’s home. He said some of the demonstrators threw stones at the police station and threatened to burn it and harm officers if the man was not handed over to them.
Under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or Islamic religious figures can be sentenced to death — though authorities have yet to carry out a death sentences for blasphemy.
The arrest Tuesday came two months after the government said police had orchestrated the killing of a doctor who was in custody after being accused of blasphemy in southern Sindh province. The doctor had voluntarily surrendered following assurances from officers that he would be given a chance to prove his innocence.
In November 2021, a mob burned a police station and four police posts in northwestern Charsadda district after officers refused to hand over a mentally unstable man accused of desecrating the Qur’an.
Supreme Court dismisses petition challenging extension in tenure of army chief
- Pakistan earlier this month passed bills to extend the tenures of heads of the armed forces to five years from three
- Rights advocates say measures by PM Sharif’s coalition could be aimed at shoring up support from powerful military figures
ISLAMABAD: The Constitutional Bench of the Pakistan Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition challenging the extension of the tenure of Army Chief Gen. Asim Munir, state news agency APP said.
Pakistan’s parliament earlier this month passed bills to extend the terms of the heads of the armed forces to five years from three, a move that has been opposed by rights activists as well as the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of jailed ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The PTI believes extending the term of commanders including the army chief would deal another blow to the embattled Khan and his party, which blames the military for his downfall. The army denies involvement.
“The petition was dismissed after the petitioner Mahmood Akhtar Naqvi failed to appear before the court and defend his argument in spite of repeated notices,” APP said. “Also, the new legislation fixing the tenure of all three service chiefs paved the way for the dismissal of the petition.”
The office of the army chief is considered to be the most powerful in the country, with the military having ruled Pakistan for almost half of its 75-year history. Even when not directly in power, the army is considered to be the invisible guiding hand in politics and holds considerable sway in internal security, foreign policy, and economic affairs, among other domains.
The coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has defended the passage of the new bills that extend the tenures of the army, navy and air force chiefs, saying the move would check against services chiefs granting themselves extensions and “formalize” the duration of their service. The government says the bills are aimed at building continuity and avoiding the political turmoil that usually surrounds the appointment of the army chief every three years.
Rights activists and democracy advocates say the measures by the Sharif-led coalition, which is opposed to Khan and took power after an election in February, could be aimed at shoring up support from powerful military figures.
Under the new law, Gen.l Munir, who took office in November 2022 with a timeline to retire in 2025, will serve until 2027 irrespective of a retirement age of 64 for a general.
Khan, who has been in jail since August last year, has been at odds with generals he blames for his 2022 ousting, after he fell out with then-army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa. The military denies it interferes in politics.
Khan’s party-backed candidates won the most seats in February’s election but fell short of a majority, clearing the way for his opponents led by Sharif to form a government.
Khan’s supporters have since been agitating in parliament and on the streets, alleging that the election was rigged to keep them out of power, which the election commission denies. The PTI says the ruling alliance does not enjoy legitimacy, an accusation the government rejects.
The passage of the new bills on extension in service tenure follows controversial amendments made to the constitution last month, granting lawmakers the authority to nominate the chief justice of Pakistan, who previously used to be automatically appointed according to the principle of seniority.
The amendments allowed the government to bypass the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, and appoint Justice Yahya Afridi as the country’s top judge.
The opposition and the legal fraternity have opposed the amendments, arguing that they are aimed at granting more power to the executive in making judicial appointments and curtailing the independence of the judiciary. The government denies this.
All schools to reopen in Pakistan’s Punjab province as air quality improves
- Lahore’s air quality index fell to 158 on Tuesday, which IQAir categorizes as unhealthy, after crossing 2,000 last week
- Record air pollution has triggered mass hospitalizations, school closures and lockdown orders in Punjab province
ISLAMABAD: Air quality improved in Pakistan’s Punjab province on Tuesday, prompting authorities in the worst-affected Lahore and Multan cities to reopen schools from Wednesday after over ten days of being closed due to record-high pollution levels.
Lahore’s air quality index (AQI) fell to 158 late on Tuesday, which Swedish group IQAir categorizes as unhealthy, after crossing 2,000 in some locations last week.
On Monday, the Punjab government had said schools would reopen across Punjab province, except for in the Lahore and Multan divisions.
“The ambient air quality has improved in Punjab, due to rain in upper parts of Punjab, change in wind direction and speed,” a notification said.
“Therefore, all the educational institutions in the whole province, including Lahore and Multan Division, shall be opened w.e.f. 20-11-2024 (Wednesday).”
The notification said school opening timings could not be before 845am, as smog is thickest in the early morning hours, and all students and staff had to wear face masks.
“There shall be a complete ban on outdoor sports and outdoor co-curricular activities till further orders,” the notification added. “All educational institutions shall introduce class wise school closing timing to avoid traffic congestions.”
Record-high air pollution levels have triggered hundreds of hospitalizations, junior and high school closures and stay-at-home orders in several districts of Punjab, including the provincial capital of Lahore, which has been enveloped in a thick, toxic smog since last month.
Schools and government offices were closed earlier this month in many districts of Punjab, with the closures affecting the education of more than 20 million students, according to associations representing private and government schools.
Authorities in 18 districts of Punjab also closed all public parks, zoos and museums, historical places, and playgrounds for ten days last week.
A court in Lahore ordered the government to shut all markets after 8pm, while authorities have already banned barbecuing food without filters and ordered wedding halls to close by 10pm.
Last week, the UN children’s agency said the health of 11 million children in Punjab province was in danger because of air pollution.
