ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Sohail Adnan will face off against Egyptian opponent Moez Tamer Elmoghazy today, Monday, in the final of the British Junior Open Squash Championship in Birmingham after he beat another Egyptian opponent, Amr Moustafa, a day earlier. 

The five-day championship kicked off in Birmingham on Jan. 2 and the final of the tournament is expected to be played today, Jan. 6. The event is being held at the Birmingham University Sport and Fitness, which features an all-glass show court. 

Adnan stormed into the final after beating Moustafa 3-0 in the semifinal on Sunday with a scoreline of 11-7, 11-6 and 11-7. 

“This victory sets the stage for a thrilling final encounter against top-seeded Egyptian player Moez Tamer Elmoghazy in the Under-13 category,” state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Sunday. “Adnan will be aiming to cap off a remarkable tournament with a gold medal.”

Pakistan has always been counted among the world’s top squash-playing nations, introducing legendary players of the sport such as Jahangir Khan, Jansher Khan, Azam Khan, and Qamar Zaman to the world. Between themselves, Jansher Khan and Jahangir Khan won the World Squash Open title 14 times for Pakistan during the ‘80s and the ‘90s.

Last month, Jansher Khan was inducted into the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Hall of Fame. A key part of the Pakistani dominance of the sport throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Jansher Khan won the World Championships eight times – a record in the men’s game – and also added six British Open titles to a glittering trophy haul.

A World No.1 for 97 months throughout his career, Khan’s final professional title count of 99 is the greatest of any player since records began.

Last week, Pakistani squash player Azan Ali Khan clinched the Junior Under-17 Scottish Junior Open Championship 2024 in Edinburgh after beating Switzerland’s Landro Wagle in the final. 

ISLAMABAD: The government in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Sunday warned of a clearance operation in the Kurram district, where a shooting at an aid convoy injured a top administration official on Saturday.

Saturday’s gun attack was carried out by unidentified men near Bagan, a tense locality in the district’s center, as Deputy Commissioner (DC) Javedullah Mehsud and other officials led the aid convoy to Parachinar, leaving the top official and four security men injured.

Kurram, a northwestern district of around 600,000 people in KP, has been rocked by tribal and sectarian clashes since November 21, when armed men attacked a convoy of Shia passengers, killing 52 people.

The attack sparked further violence and blockade of a main road connecting Kurram’s main town of Parachinar with the provincial capital of Peshawar, causing medicine, food and fuel shortages in the area, as casualties surged to 136.

On Sunday, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and other provincial officials held a meeting to discuss the law and order situation in Kurram after the attack on DC Mehsud and the delivery of aid goods to Kurram.

“If those involved in the January 4 attack are not handed over to the government, strict action will be taken at the scene of the incident,” the provincial government said in a statement late Sunday.

“In case of further violation/non-cooperation in handing over the culprits, population of the incident site will be temporarily shifted, if required for the clearance operation.”

Saturday’s gun attack came days after a grand jirga, or council of political and tribal elders formed by the KP provincial government, brokered a peace agreement between the warring Shia and Sunni tribes, following weeks of efforts.

The KP government said it had asked the jirga members, who had signed the peace agreement, to hand over the perpetrators of the January 4 attack and their supporters.

“If law and order is not maintained, miscreants and those who disturb the peace will be dealt with iron hands,” it said.

“Section 144 will be imposed in Kurram district and there will be curfew on the roads during the movement of convoys. Anyone carrying weapons will be considered a terrorist. Head money will be announced for various militants.”

On Wednesday, warring Shia and Sunni tribes had agreed on the demolition of bunkers and the handover of heavy weapons to the authorities within two weeks as part of the peace agreement.

Any party that launches an attack after the signing of the deal will be considered a “terrorist” and action will be taken against it. A fine of Rs10 million ($35,933) will be imposed on those who violate the terms of the deal by using weapons against each other, according to the peace agreement.

Land disputes in the volatile district will be settled on a priority basis with the cooperation of local tribes and the district administration. Opening of banned outfits’ offices will be prohibited in the district, while social media accounts spreading hate will be discouraged via collective efforts backed by the government.

Separately on Sunday, police lodged a case against five people, all of whom were said to be residents of Bagan, for their involvement in the Jan. 4 attack on the aid convoy, which comprised 17 trucks that carried tents, blankets, medical kits, tarpaulins, solar lamps and sleeping bags.

Provincial authorities have previously air-dropped relief goods and airlifted ailing and injured people from Kurram to Peshawar via helicopters.