In overlooked tribal region, Pakistani athlete sets 31st world record 

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Irfan Mehsud performs at a ground in Dera Ismail Khan on April 4, 2019. (Photo courtesy: Lion’s Den Fight Club)
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Irfan Mehsud trains students in a ground in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on April 24, 2019. (Photo courtesy: Lion’s Den Fight Club)
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Irfan Mehsud trains a student in a field in South Waziristan, a newly-merged district with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on April 27, 2019. (Photo courtesy: Lion’s Den Fight Club)
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Updated 22 June 2020
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In overlooked tribal region, Pakistani athlete sets 31st world record 

  • With no facilities and no special diet, the trainer and martial arts athlete trains under the open sky
  • After years of war, the tribal areas’ indigenous social life, which once included vibrant sports competitions, has crumbled 

PESHAWAR: In Pakistan’s resource-starved tribal districts, one of the country’s most high achieving martial arts athletes quietly registered his 31st Guinness World Record earlier this month-- without so much as a facility to train in. 




Irfan Mehsud trains using bricks and tyres at a ground in Dera Ismail Khan on April 4, 2019. (Photo courtesy: Lion’s Den Fight Club)

Irfan Mehsud succeeded in completing 60 push ups in one minute with a leg raised while carrying a 40 lb pack, breaking the previous record held by Ron Cooper of the United States by seven push ups. Massachusetts-based Cooper is also a serial record holder and has been called pound-for-pound the world’s strongest man by the annual world record listing.




 Irfan Mehsud performs in Dera Ismail Khan on April 10, 2019. (Photo courtesy: Lion’s Den Fight Club) 

But in a different world from the East Coast’s Pioneer Valley, the athlete and trainer from Pakistan’s South Waziristan runs a martial arts academy under the open sky, teaching his students Wushu Kung Fu and other techniques after the school he had previously rented as a facility was sold off.

Mehsud has dozens of challenging speed records to his name, largely in the “most in a minute” category, including completing the most side lunges, the most knuckle push-ups completed while carrying a 60 lb pack, most jumping jacks carrying an 80 lb pack and the most push ups on his fingertips while carrying a 60 lb pack.




Irfan Mehsud (left) oversees his students performing in a field in South Waziristan, a newly-merged district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on April 20, 2019. (Photo courtesy: Lion’s Den Fight Club)

But the multiple fitness record holder said in South Waziristan, there were no resources to help him inspire a new generation of athletes and record breakers.

“I continue to achieve records and train my 70 plus students at a time when I have no proper building for training,” he said.




Irfan Mehsud teaches his students during a training session in Dera Ismail Khan on May 10, 2019. (Photo courtesy: Lion’s Den Fight Club)

“I have no special diet to keep myself fit because I can’t afford it-- but daily exercise keeps me competitive,” he added.

In the absence of facilities, Mehsud teaches his students using makeshift training stations made out of old tires and bricks. Training includes running barefoot in the sun for miles, and his students come from all age groups to attend what he calls the Lion’s Den Fight Club.




Irfan Mehsud trains his students in Dera Ismail Khan on May 12, 2019. (Photo courtesy: Lion’s Den Fight Club)

In his mid-30’s, Mehsud, a master’s degree holder in business administration is now completing a degree in sports sciences in Dera Ismail Khan, a border district near South Waziristan where he fled with his family 10 years ago following Pakistan’s army offensive against militants in his scenic, violence-haunted hometown. 

After decades of conflict, the tribal areas’ indigenous social life, which once included traditional dance festivals, poetry contests and vibrant sports competitions on its many level playing fields, has completely crumbled. 




Pakistani martial arts athlete Irfan Mehsud is issued a certificate by the Guinness World Records. (Photo courtesy: Lion’s Den Fight Club) 

Over the years, militants often targeted cricket grounds and sports stadiums and hundreds of government schools were bombed-- which had huge repercussions for organized sport in these districts.

Asfandyar Khattak, director general of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sports Board, told Arab News the provincial government had allocated Rs7.5 billion for the promotion of sports in the newly merged tribal districts with an accelerated implementation program to give leading players a chance to showcase their talents. 

“I will personally look into Mehsud’s case because he has bolstered the image of the country,” Khattak said. 

“Mehsud is a source of pride for us all and we will encourage him to stand tall in the world.”




In this undated photo, copies of Irfan Mehsud’s certificates from Guinness World Records spell out his name. (Photo courtesy: Lion’s Den Fight Club) 

The serial fitness record breaker said qualifying for a Guinness World Record was a long drawn out process of paperwork and meticulous video recordings before the international team could approve his record as legitimate-- but he doesn’t plan on stopping.

Najam Ullah Khan, Secretary General for KP’s Wushu Association-- an autonomous body working under the Pakistan Olympic Association, praised Mehsud as a hardworking and talented player who had broken records while leading his life in virtual displacement. 




Irfan Mehsud runs barefoot during training with his students in South Waziristan on April 26, 2019. (Photo courtesy: Lion’s Den Fight Club)

“It is really surprising that a person from an underdeveloped tribal region is continuously breaking one record after another,” he said. 

“I am stunned to see how Mehsud has emerged on the global arena today,” he said.

Since the merger of the tribal districts with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, for the first time a contingent from these areas attended the National Games held in the northwestern province in November last year.

Muhammad Zeeshan, a student of Mehsud’s and a four time national gold medalist in Wushu Kung Fu, said Mehsud had been training him with no proper building, academy or even a basic sports kit. 




In this April 11, 2020 image, a certificate by the Guinness World Records declares Pakistani martial arts athlete Irfan Mehsud as a world record holder. (Photo courtesy Lion’s Den Fight Club)

“We exercise in an open field,” he said. 

For now, Mehsud said he was training himself and his students to project Pakistan’s image to the world-- which is to him, the biggest part of breaking records.

One day, he continued, he hoped a real martial arts academy would stand in South Waziristan and that competitive sport would once more return to the school grounds of its war-ravaged towns.


Pakistan’s national airline attracts $36 million bid from real estate company

Updated 31 October 2024
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Pakistan’s national airline attracts $36 million bid from real estate company

  • Sole bidder Blue World City refuses to match government’s minimum price for Pakistan International Airlines
  • Pakistan plans to sell over 51 percent of its stake in loss-making PIA as envisaged under an IMF deal this year

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national flag carrier received a Rs10 billion [$36 million] bid from real estate development company Blue World City on Thursday for sixty percent of its stakes during a televised auction, much below the minimum price for the airline set by the government.
Pakistan plans to sell more than 51 percent of its stake in the loss-making Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) as part of economic reforms Islamabad agreed to with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a critical 37-month $7 billion bailout deal approved in September.
Pakistan’s government had pre-qualified six groups in June, but only real estate development company Blue World City met a Tuesday deadline to submit final documents to participate in the auction.
The state-owned Pakistan Television (PTV) broadcast the bidding process live, with Blue World City as the sole bidder. The bid for $36 million was read out in front of government officials and financial advisers. The government had set a minimum price of Rs85 billion [$305 million] for the airline.
“We have considered your match price option,” Blue World City Chairman Saad Nazir said during the event. “We have decided to stand with the price we have already submitted.”
 Nazir refused to match the government’s offer of Rs85 billion, saying that as per the company’s assessment, “this was the best decision.”
“If the government doesn’t privatize [PIA], we wish the government all the best,” he said.
 Pakistan’s privatization commission has allowed some time for potential bidders to see if any would outmatch Blue World City’s bid.
“The government couldn’t get the fair price of the PIA through the auction due to the single bidder,” Haroon Sharif, a former member of the cabinet committee on privatization, told Arab News.
“There was no competition to purchase stakes of the national carrier.”
The government’s initial plan was to finalize the deal to sell PIA on the country’s Independence Day, Aug. 14, but the plan was delayed following requests from bidders waiting for the airline’s latest audited accounts, aircraft lease agreements and clarity on flights to Europe, which are currently banned.
This auction was delayed to September and October but those also did not materialize.
Sharif said the government should have extended the auction’s deadline to involve more bidders in the process.
“Now it looks like the government is privatizing the PIA in desperation,” he noted.
Official data available with Arab News shows there are 88 commercially operated state-owned enterprises in Pakistan, with collective losses of up to Rs730.258 billion ($2.61 billion) in the fiscal year 2022 (FY22).
In its five-year privatization plan ending in 2029, the government has approved 24 state-owned enterprises for sale, including the PIA.
With a fleet of 34 aircraft comprising 17 Airbus A320s, 12 Boeing B777s and 5 ATRs, the PIA loses traffic to Middle Eastern carriers who have a market share of 60 percent, because of an absence of direct flights to destinations.
The carrier has air service pacts with 87 countries, and landing slots at key destinations such as London Heathrow.
The reorganization plan of the business will separate the aviation-related aspects from non-core components, so freeing the operating subsidiary of a large portion of legacy debt.


Pakistan says IMF cut its inflation forecast for the country for this year to 9.5%

Updated 31 October 2024
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Pakistan says IMF cut its inflation forecast for the country for this year to 9.5%

  • No need for government to introduce mini-year budget, says finance minister
  • Aurangzeb says IMF revised down import projections for Pakistan for current fiscal year

ISLAMABAD: The International Monetary Fund has lowered its inflation forecast for Pakistan for the current year by 3.2% points to 9.5%, the country’s finance minister said on Thursday.

The IMF’s revised projection bring it closer to Pakistan’s own projections, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said.

He said there was no need to introduce a mid-year budget, responding to local media reports saying the government needed to revise its budget to stay on track with an ongoing $7 billion, 37-month program with the IMF.

Aurangzeb said the IMF also revised down its import projections for Pakistan in the current fiscal year, which ends in June 2025.

Pakistan has been struggling with boom-and-bust economic cycles for decades, leading to 22 IMF bailouts since 1958. Currently the country is the IMF’s fifth-largest debtor, owing the Fund $6.28 billion as of July 11, according to the lender’s data.

The latest economic crisis has been the most prolonged and has seen Pakistan facing its highest-ever inflation rate, pushing the country to the brink of a sovereign default last year before an IMF bailout. Inflation has since eased.


Pakistan flag carrier PIA attracts $36 million bid from real estate company

Updated 31 October 2024
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Pakistan flag carrier PIA attracts $36 million bid from real estate company

  • Pakistan is looking to offload 51-100 percent stake in debt-ridden airline to raise funds to reform state-owned assets
  • Pakistan pre-qualified six groups but only Blue World City company met deadline to submit documents for auction

KARACHI: Pakistan’s state-owned airline PIA has received a 10 billion rupee ($35.99 million) bid from real-estate development company Blue World City, the Privatization Ministry said on Thursday without disclosing the size of the stake.
The cash-strapped country is looking to offload a 51-100 percent stake in debt-ridden Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to raise funds and reform bleeding state-owned enterprises as envisaged under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
The government had pre-qualified six groups in June, but only one — real estate development company Blue World City — met a Tuesday deadline to submit final documents to participate in the process.
Officials from three groups that chose not to bid told Reuters on condition of anonymity that there were concerns about the government’s ability to stand by agreements made for the flag carrier in the long term.
One executive voiced concern about policy continuity once a new government came in. The government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has relied on a coalition of disparate political parties.
The disposal of PIA is a step former governments have steered away from as it has been highly unpopular given the number of layoffs that would likely result from it.
Underpinning these concerns over policy continuity and honoring contracts was the government’s termination of power purchase contracts with five private companies earlier this month, as well as the process of re-negotiating other sovereign guaranteed pacts.
Changes in Pakistan’s decade-old agreements with private Independent Power Producer (IPP) projects, largely financed by foreign lenders, to address chronic power shortages, “raises the risk of investing as well as doing business in Pakistan, even in the presence of sovereign contracts as well as guarantees,” said Sakib Sherani, an economist who heads private firm Macro Economic Insights.
Other concerns raised by potential bidders included inconsistent government communication, unattractive terms and taxes on the sector, in addition to PIA’s legacy issues and reputation.
 ($1 = 277.8500 Pakistani rupees)


Pakistan’s Noman Ali, Saud Shakeel move into top 10 Test rankings after England heroics

Updated 31 October 2024
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Pakistan’s Noman Ali, Saud Shakeel move into top 10 Test rankings after England heroics

  • Saud Shakeel moves to seventh spot in Test batters ranking while Noman Ali secures ninth spot in bowlers ranking
  • Shakeel scored match-winning 134 against England in Rawalpindi Test in which Ali took nine wickets to script Pakistan win

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani cricketers Saud Shakeel and Noman Ali moved into the top 10 Test batter and bowlers’ rankings for the first time in their careers, the International Cricket Council (ICC) reported this week, based on their heroic performances against England this month. 
Pakistani spinner Noman Ali and Sajid Khan spun Pakistan to a series victory against England this month, taking 39 wickets in two Test matches against the visiting side. 
In Rawalpindi, Ali took nine wickets to spin Pakistan to victory over England in the series decider while Shakeel bagged the Player of the Match award for his stellar knock of 134 that helped Pakistan pile on an impressive lead. 
“Left-handers Saud Shakeel of Pakistan and Rachin Ravindra of New Zealand have moved into the top 10 for the first time in their careers,” the ICC wrote on its website on Wednesday. 
“Shakeel has advanced 20 slots to reach seventh position after his knock of 134 won him the Player of the Match award.”
Ali also made “huge progress” in the ICC bowlers’ rankings, as per the ICC. 
“Noman is in the top 10 for the first time, moving up eight slots to ninth position after finishing with nine wickets in Rawalpindi as Pakistan won by nine wickets to clinch the WTC series 2-1,” the ICC said. 
Pakistan’s series victory over England came after the South Asian side suffered a humiliating 2-0 loss to Bangladesh at home. This marked the first time Pakistan won a Test series at home after defeating South Africa in 2021 nearly four years ago.


Pakistan Navy rescues 23 stranded Iranian fishermen from Gulf of Aden

Updated 31 October 2024
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Pakistan Navy rescues 23 stranded Iranian fishermen from Gulf of Aden

  • Iranian vessel issued distress call after its engine broke down, crew member was injured, says Pakistan Navy
  • Pakistan Navy says administered first aid to the injured crew member and repaired Iranian vessel’s engine

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Navy rescued 23 Iranian fishermen on Thursday from a sailing vessel that reported problems in its engine and injury to a crew member in the Gulf of Aden, the navy said in a press release. 
Pakistan Navy Ship PNS Zulfiquar deployed on the Regional Maritime Security Patrol responded to a distress call made by Iranian fishing dhow, Al Muhammadi, which was stranded over 1,200 nautical miles from its home port, the navy said. 
“PNS Zulfiquar promptly responded to a distress call of Fishing Dhow Al Muhammadi,” the Pakistan Navy said. “Upon communication with the Pakistan Navy ship, fishing dhow reported a seriously injured crew member as well defective engine and requested for necessary assistance.” 

This combination of handout photograph, taken and released by Pakistan Navy on October 31, 2024, shows Iranian fishing Dhow “Al Muhammadi” with 23 fishermen onboard which was rescued by Pakistan Navy Ship Zulfiqar during Regional Maritime Security Patrol in Gulf of Aden, according to the navy. (Photo courtesy: Pakistan Navy)

The Pakistani ship dispatched medical and technical teams to provide first aid to the fisherman who had injured his hand while repairing the boat’s engine. Two more sick crew members were provided medical assistance, the navy said. 
The Iranian vessel’s engine was also repaired by the Pakistani team. 
“In line with the national objective of ensuring peace and stability in the region, Pakistan Navy regularly deploys its assets on Regional Maritime Security Patrol,” it added. “During deployment, Pakistan Navy ships also provide assistance to ships operating at sea.”
The timely and successful rescue operation was an expression of the Pakistan Navy’s determination to ensure the safety of human life at sea, the Pakistan Navy said. 
Pakistan has requested Iranian vessels and their crew members in the past. In March, the Pakistan Navy rescued eight Iranian fishermen after their boat caught fire in the open sea.