LONDON: Every World Cup failure for Pakistan sparks a wave of reviews and sackings and the promise of a fresh approach — until the team wins again and all is forgotten.
The script is expected to be similar after Sarfaraz Ahmed’s team failed to make the semifinals in England and Wales despite a late charge.
Pakistan won four straight matches to finish level on 11 points with New Zealand, but they bowed out of the tournament due to an inferior net run-rate.
There have once again been calls for an overhaul of the system, changes in the team set-up and style of play, but 1992 World Cup winner Wasim Akram said there was no need to panic.
“Pakistan woke up late in the World Cup and when they gained momentum they won four straight games,” the former captain told AFP.
“It is not a bad finish and I don’t think we need to panic.
“There is no quick fix and the people running cricket need time and must keep the example of how England lifted their one-day cricket. I am ready to contribute toward that.”
England’s humiliating first-round exit in 2015 sparked a radical rethink and the host nation started this World Cup as the number one side in the world.
Another World Cup winner, Ramiz Raja, believes Pakistan have the ability to produce “magical” cricket and says their exit is a loss to the tournament.
But he said every defeat was an opportunity to assess things and that ruthless decisions were required.
“I think every defeat gives an opportunity for introspection, so Pakistan need to do four or five things if they want to be a force in world cricket,” he said.
“Pakistan have to correct their system, which can provide them with regular talent and then define and refine that talent.
“Look at Australia — they were losing against every team a year ago but since their system is strong they stood up. We need to take ruthless decisions in a review.”
The positions of head coach Mickey Arthur and captain Sarfaraz — both of whom had contracts until the World Cup — will be looked at as part of the assessment.
Luckily for Pakistan, they have a crop of talented youngsters who can form the nucleus of the team for years to come.
“At 24, we’re the youngest team by a long way in this competition, and that is something that we can be proud of, and I think that augurs well for the future of Pakistan cricket,” said Arthur, who wants to continue in the role of coach.
“We’ve showcased a lot of our young talent, and I think the likes of Shaheen Afridi, Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Shadab Khan, the list goes on and on. And look, there’s going to be a review now, and we’ll see how that goes.
“Unfortunately it has always been this way for Pakistan — we don’t seem to be able to find that collective consistency. But my message, again, is ‘let’s stay positive’.”
Pakistan has hosted little international cricket since Sri Lanka’s team bus was attacked in 2009 in Lahore.
The situation has forced Pakistan to play at neutral venues in the United Arab Emirates, meaning the game is not so visible to the younger generation who need to be inspired to play the game.
The nation’s cricket board is striving to bring back international cricket to Pakistan in the hope that will provide a further catalyst for a revival in the team’s fortunes.
Pakistan seek solutions to lift World Cup gloom
Pakistan seek solutions to lift World Cup gloom
- Renewed calls for overhaul of system, changes in team set-up and style of play after Pakistan fail to qualify for semis
- 1992 World Cup winner Wasim Akram says there was no need to panic
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.
