Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem misses Olympic medal, wins hearts

Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem competes in the men's javelin throw qualification during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on August 4, 2021. (AFP)
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Updated 07 August 2021
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Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem misses Olympic medal, wins hearts

  • Poor boy from small town Mian Channu beat all odds to become first Pakistani ever to qualify for final of any Olympics track and field event
  • On Wednesday, he made it to final with third best throw of the day behind India’s Neeraj Chopra and Germany’s Johannes Vetter 

Rawalpindi/Lahore: Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem finished fifth in men's javelin in Tokyo on Saturday, while all eyes were on the athlete who is the first Pakistani in history to qualify for the final of any track and field event at the Olympics.
Neeraj Chopra won Saturday's event with 87.58 meters. The Czech Republic filled out the podium at Tokyo's Olympic Stadium, Jakub Vadlejch taking silver with 86.67m and Vitezslav Vesely claiming bronze with 85.44m.
Nadeem was fifth with 84.62m, after Germany's Julian Weber with 85.30m.

On Wednesday, Nadeem made it through to the final with the third best throw of the day at 85.16m, behind Chopra (86.65m) and Weber (85.64m). Ahead of the final on Saturday afternoon, he asked the nation for prayers.
“Pray for me,” he said in a video uploaded to Twitter. “Inshallah I will not let down the nation. Destines are changed with prayers.”


On Friday, a day before the final, Nadeem shared a video of his coach also appealing for prayers. 

“Pray for us, he [Nadeem] has qualified with your prayers,” Fayyaz Bukhari, who is accompanying the sportsman. in Tokyo, said. 
Nadeem added in the same video: “I am thankful to the Pakistani public whose prayers were with me.”

 

On Wednesday, when Nadeem qualified for the javelin final, the government of Pakistan’s official Twitter account cheered for him with the words: “Arshad Nadeem you have made us all proud!” 

“Prayers and best wishes for #ArshadNadeem,” information minister Chaudhry Fawad Husain 
wrote on Twitter on Saturday morning.

 

Indeed, when Nadeem went through to the final of the men’s javelin this week, his family, coaches and the public couldn’t help but marvel at how far the boy from a poor family and a small town he had come.
Nadeem was born in Mian Channu, a small city in Khanewal District, one of nine children of daily wage laborer Liaqat Ali. From a young age, he showed great versatility as an athlete, dabbling in whatever sports were on offer at school, from cricket to football to badminton.
By the time he was in the seventh grade, Nadeem had his heart set on being a cricketer. But his father told Arab News in an interview that he realized that he neither had the financial resources nor the connections to support his son in achieving a successful career in cricket. Already, upon the insistence of his elder sons, Ali had been convinced not to send Nadeem to work like his other male children but to help him instead pursue his passion for athletics.
“We are very poor people, I could not afford to send my children to high schools,” Ali said. “After a few classes, I told them to find themselves some work so they could contribute to the family income.”
One of his sons became a driver, another a police constable and one a clerk. But Nadeem was given a chance to pursue his dreams: “On seeing Arshad’s enthusiasm for sports and pressure from his elder brothers to let him make his career in sports, I took him to Khanewal Athletic Federation where, after some basic trials, he was admitted,” his father said.
Soon after, the boy caught the eye of Rasheed Ahmad Saqi during an athletics competition when he was just 12 years old. Saqi had a history of developing sportspeople in the division and became Nadeem’s first coach and mentor.
Saqi told Arab News he could not be prouder of Nadeem’s throw at the Olympics this Wednesday.
“God willing, he can throw up to 90 meters and bring glory for Pakistan,” Saqi said as he prayed for Nadeem to win at the javelin final today, Saturday.
He recalled how he saw a “spark” in 12-year-old Nadeem when he first arrived at the Federation, and “a restlessness to be the best.”
“Therefore, I took him under my supervision as a trainer,” the coach said. “I started taking him to inter-cities athletic competitions where he would leave the stamp of a true sportsman.”
“I decided to train him for javelin throw,” he added, saying Nadeem, at 6 feet 3 inches tall, had the right height and physique for the javelin throw.  
“Arshad’s family was so poor they could not even arrange shoes and sports kits for him, and the Federation had to arrange everything for him,” Saqi said.
The training and support paid off. 
In 2014, after Nadeem secured first place in a Punjab youth festival, Saqi decided “it was high time to induct him in any government department to raise and polish his talent more.”
“My job is to hunt talent, train athletes and introduce them to government sports departments to further their careers as athletes,” he added. “Therefore, I took him to WAPDA, Lahore, where another senior coach, Fayyaz Bukhari, took him under his supervision and trained him to reach the Tokyo Olympics.”
Before Tokyo, in May 2017, Nadeem won a bronze medal with a best throw of 76.33 meters at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku. In April 2018, he set a new personal best of 80.45 meters in the qualification round of the javelin throw event at the Commonwealth Games held on the Gold Coast, Australia. In August 2018, he won a bronze medal at the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, where he set a new personal best and national record of 80.75 meters.
As the only Pakistani athlete at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Nadeem achieved a new personal best and national record of 81.52 meters. In November 2019, Nadeem set a national record when he recorded 83.65 meters throw to win gold for WAPDA at the 33rd National Games in Peshawar. In December 2019, he won a gold medal with an 86.29 meters games record throw at the 13th South Asian Games in Nepal.
Now, all eyes are on the athlete’s performance at the javelin throw final.
On Friday, at Nadeem’s modest family home in Khanewal, his family and neighbors arranged a Qur’an recitation to pray for his success.
“We request the nation to pray for Arshad so that he may win the gold medal and make us all proud,” Nadeem’s elder brother Shahid Azeem said. 
Nadeem’s mother burst into tears while talking to Arab News.
“I always wanted to see my son on TV,” she said. “I always wondered how other people’s kids come on TV. ‘When will my son come on TV and we will see him hoisting Pakistan’s flag,’ I always used to think this.”
“There has never been, nor will there ever be, anything quite so special as the love between a mother and a son,” she added, “and my son has made me so proud.”


PM Sharif urges nation to perform rain prayers as toxic smog chokes Pakistani cities

Updated 14 November 2024
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PM Sharif urges nation to perform rain prayers as toxic smog chokes Pakistani cities

  • Shehbaz Sharif urges Islamic scholars to play their role in organizing ‘Istisqa’ prayers across the country
  • Toxic smog has enveloped Pakistan’s cultural capital, Lahore, and 17 other districts of Punjab province

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged the nation to perform prayers for rainfall, calling on Islamic scholars to take the lead in organizing “Istisqa” prayers, his office announced on Thursday, as worsening air quality continues to endanger the health of millions.
The Istisqa prayer is a special Islamic ritual performed to seek rain, primarily during times of drought or severe water shortages. It symbolizes the community’s humility, repentance and reliance on divine mercy for sustenance.
Toxic smog has enveloped Pakistan’s cultural capital, Lahore, and 17 other districts in Punjab since last month. Health officials report that more than 40,000 people have sought treatment for respiratory illnesses, prompting Punjab authorities to close schools until November 17 to safeguard children’s health.
“PM Sharif appeals to the nation to offer Istisqa prayers for rain,” his office announced in a statement. “Scholars should especially play their role in organizing Istisqa prayers.”
The prime minister noted the rainfall would improve the environment apart from aiding in getting rid of diseases.
“Istisqa prayers should be organized in all mosques under the auspices of the federal government and the provinces,” he was quoted as saying. “In the current situation, there is a dire need for rain.”
A day earlier, Pakistan’s Meteorological Department forecast light rains from Nov. 14-16 in most districts of the country’s populous Punjab province.
The UN children’s agency has warned that the health of 11 million children in Punjab is in danger due to air pollution.
South Asia, particularly India and Pakistan, gets shrouded in intense pollution every winter as cold air traps emissions, dust, and smoke from farm fires.
Pollution could cut more than five years from people’s life expectancy in the region, according to a University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute study last year.
 


Pakistan signs four-year pact with Global Green Growth Initiative to boost climate resilience

Updated 14 November 2024
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Pakistan signs four-year pact with Global Green Growth Initiative to boost climate resilience

  • The agreement will help Pakistan’s transition to a green economy, address water scarcity and deforestation
  • Pakistan has ranked as the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change, with its cities engulfed in smog

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has signed a four-year country program framework agreement with an international green economy organization to advance its sustainable development goals by enhancing climate resilience through green growth initiatives, according to an official statement released on Thursday.
The agreement was signed by Pakistan’s Climate Change Ministry Secretary, Aisha Humera Moriani, and the Global Green Growth Initiative’s (GGGI) Deputy Director-General, Helena McLeod, during a formal ceremony at the United Nations-led Global Climate Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Pakistan ranks as the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index. In 2022, catastrophic floods claimed over 1,700 lives, affected more than 33 million people, and caused economic losses exceeding $30 billion.
While international donors pledged over $9 billion last January to help Pakistan recover from the devastating floods, officials report that little of the pledged amount has been disbursed so far.
“The Ministry of Climate Change & Environmental Coordination and GGGI has signed a four-year Country Programme Framework agreement to advance Pakistan’s sustainable development goals through targeted climate action and green growth interventions,” said the official statement.
On the occasion, McLeod said her organization aimed to facilitate Pakistan’s transition to a green economy through collaboration with national stakeholders to address water scarcity, deforestation and energy challenges “compounded by climate change effects.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Coordinator on Climate Change Romina Khurshid Alam thanked the GGGI for engaging with Pakistan to “mobilize green finance, support climate action frameworks and promote investment” to achieve climate resilience.
Pakistan also regularly faces other climate change-induced effects such as droughts, cyclones, torrential rainstorms and heatwaves.
Currently, record-high air pollution levels have triggered hundreds of hospitalizations, school closures and stay-at-home orders in the eastern city of Lahore and other cities in the populous Punjab province, which has been enveloped in thick, toxic smog since last month.
A mix of low-grade fuel emissions from factories and vehicles, exacerbated by agricultural stubble burning, blanket Lahore and its surroundings each winter, trapped by cooler temperatures and slow-moving winds.
The city of 14 million people stuffed with factories on the border with India regularly ranks among the world’s most polluted cities, but it has hit record levels this month, as has New Delhi.
 


Army officer, soldier killed in southwest Pakistan clash that leaves three militants dead

Updated 14 November 2024
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Army officer, soldier killed in southwest Pakistan clash that leaves three militants dead

  • Incident in Balochistan occurred after security forces reacted to militant presence in Harnai district
  • A Pakistan army major and a havildar lost their lives when an improvised explosive device blew up

QUETTA: An army officer and a soldier lost their lives in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Thursday, according to a statement from the military’s media wing, during an encounter that also left three militants dead.
Balochistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has been the site of a low-level insurgency by separatist militants for over two decades. In August, ethnic nationalist militants carried out several coordinated attacks on civilian and military targets in the province, killing more than 50 people on August 25-26.
Most of the assaults were claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), the leading separatist group operating in the province, which is home to key China-led infrastructure projects, including a port and a gold-copper mine.
“On 14 Nov 2024, on reported presence of terrorists, planning to target innocent civilians in Harnai District, security forces under Major Muhammad Haseeb were immediately mobilized to sanitize the area,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) informed.
“Own troops effectively engaged the terrorists’ location and resultantly three terrorists were sent to hell,” it continued. “However, during the operation, an improvised explosive device exploded on the leading vehicle of security forces, resultantly, Major Muhammad Haseeb (age: 28 years, resident of District Multan), a brave officer, who was leading his troops from the front, along with Havildar Noor Ahmed (age: 38 years, resident of District Barkhan), having fought gallantly, made the ultimate sacrifice and embraced Shahadat [martyrdom].”
The incident comes just four days after a deadly suicide bombing at the Quetta railway station killed dozens of people, including army soldiers, and wounded several others.
A day earlier, security forces killed eight militants and injured six others during an intelligence-based operation in Pakistan’s restive northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.
KP has been predominantly targeted by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, who have carried out attacks on security forces’ convoys and check posts, as well as killing and kidnapping officials and civilians in recent months.
The TTP leadership is reportedly based in neighboring Afghanistan, straining ties between Kabul and Islamabad, as Pakistani officials accuse the Afghan Taliban of “facilitating” cross-border militant attacks.
Afghanistan denies the allegations and has urged Pakistan to address its security challenges internally.
 


Pakistani security forces kill eight militants in restive northwest

Updated 14 November 2024
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Pakistani security forces kill eight militants in restive northwest

  • Army says six militants also injured during operation in Miran Shah area of North Waziristan
  • South Asian nation blames surge in militancy on TTP fighters operating out of Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed eight militants while six others sustained injuries during an intelligence-based operation in Pakistan’s restive northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military’s media wing said on Wednesday.
According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the operation was conducted in the Miran Shah area of North Waziristan district.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan, has witnessed several attacks by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants who have targeted security forces’ convoys and check posts, besides killing and kidnapping officials and civilians in recent months.
“Security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in general area Miran Shah, North Waziristan District on the reported presence of khwarij [militants],” the ISPR said.
“During the conduct of the operation, own troops effectively engaged khwarij’s location, as a result of which, eight khwarij were sent to hell, while six khwarij got injured.”
A “sanitization operation” was also conducted in the area to eliminate any other militants, it added.
Earlier this month on Nov. 10, Pakistani security forces killed four militants in two separate encounters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Prior to that, four Pakistani soldiers and five militants lost their lives in a gunbattle in South Waziristan’s Karama area.
The TTP leadership is said to be based in neighboring Afghanistan, affecting the ties between Kabul and Islamabad since the Pakistani officials have accused the Afghan Taliban of “facilitating” cross-border militant attacks.
Afghanistan denies the allegation and has urged Pakistan to resolve its security challenges internally.
 


Maxwell’s power-hitting and Australia pace flatten Pakistan in a rain-shortened T20

Updated 14 November 2024
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Maxwell’s power-hitting and Australia pace flatten Pakistan in a rain-shortened T20

  • Match started after a three-hour delay and was shortened to seven over per side
  • Pakistan made 64-9 in response to Australia’s 93-4, losing five wicket in first 15 balls

BRISBANE: Glenn Maxwell’s robust 43 off 19 balls helped Australia thump Pakistan by 29 runs in a rain-shortened first Twenty20 on Thursday.
After a nearly three-hour delay due to lightning and rain, the match was shortened to seven overs per side.
Maxwell powered Australia to 93-4 and Pakistan reached only 64-9 after slumping to 16-5 inside the first 15 balls.
Nathan Ellis (3-9) and Xavier Bartlett (3-13) ran through the top order before No. 8 batter Abbas Afridi’s unbeaten 20.
“Certainly had a lot of fun out there,” Maxwell said. “We thought we had enough on the board … the bowlers did a great job. There was a few of us who had packed our bags expecting the game to be called off, so it was a mad rush to get ready.”

Pakistan’s Haris Rauf and Usman Khan (left), celebrate the dismissal of Australia’s Matt Short during the T20 cricket international between Pakistan and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, on November 14, 2024. (AP)

Maxwell followed scores of 0, 16, 0 in the preceding one-day international series won by Pakistan 2-1 by smacking three sixes and five boundaries. He played some extravagant lap shots to third man against the pace of Haris Rauf (1-21) and Naseem Shah (1-37).
Maxwell fell in the penultimate over when he hooked Abbas Afridi (2-9) to backward square leg but Marcus Stoinis provided a final flourish with an unbeaten 21 off seven balls. Stoinis smashed 20 runs in Shah’s last over with two fours and six.
None of the top six Pakistan batters reached double figures.
Sahibzada Farhan hit Spencer Johnson for two successive boundaries off the first two balls he faced before mistiming a pull shot off the fourth ball and holing out at midwicket.
Mohammad Rizwan, in his first match as the Pakistan skipper, fell to the first ball when he top-edged Bartlett to point. Usman Khan was caught at third man in the same over.
Ellis struck twice in his first over when Babar Azam was caught in the deep and Jake Fraser-McGurk snapped his third catch as Irfan Khan also offered a tame catch at deep midwicket.
Pakistan was 24-6 in the fourth over when Salman Ali Agha scored only 4 in his debut T20, guiding a sharp, short Bartlett delivery to Australia first-time captain Josh Inglis on the run.

Pakistan’s Abbas Afridi bats during the T20 cricket international between Pakistan and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, on November 14, 2024. (AP)

Leg-spinner Adam Zampa clean-bowled Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah off successive balls in the last over to complete the rout.
“It was difficult to keep things normal in a seven-over game,” Rizwan said. “Got to give credit to Maxy, his style worked really well.”

Australia’s Adam Zampa, right, celebrates with teammates after defeating Pakistan during the T20 cricket international between Pakistan and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, on November 14, 2024. (AP)

The second T20 is in Sydney on Saturday, and the last in Hobart on Monday.