Rizwan, Amir star as Pakistan beat Canada in crucial T20 World Cup clash 

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Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan, center, and Canada's captain Saad Bin Zafar greet each other at the end of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup cricket match between Pakistan and Canada at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in Westbury, New York, Tuesday, June 11, 2024. (AP)
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Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi, right, celebrates the dismissal of Canada's Pargat Singh, left, during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup cricket match between Pakistan and Canada at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in Westbury, New York, Tuesday, June 11, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 11 June 2024
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Rizwan, Amir star as Pakistan beat Canada in crucial T20 World Cup clash 

  • Amir returns figures of 2/13 from four overs while Rizwan scores unbeaten fifty
  • Pakistan next meet Ireland on Sunday in another must-win T20 World Cup clash 

ISLAMABAD: A half-century by Muhammad Rizwan and two vital wickets from Mohammad Amir helped Pakistan beat Canada by seven wickets on Tuesday in New York, helping the green shirts register their first victory of the T20 World Cup 2024. 

The victory came days after Pakistan lost to arch-rivals India on Sunday, compounding their cricket T20 World Cup misery. The loss meant Pakistan needed to win Tuesday’s clash and their next one against Ireland too. 

The green shirts won the toss and elected to bowl first. Canada fared poorly with the bat, managing to score only 106/7 at the end of their 20 overs. Canadian opener Aaron Johnson top-scored with 52 from 44 balls, hitting four sixes and an equal number of fours. 

Pakistani pacers Amir and Haris Rauf returned figures of 2/13 and 2/26 respectively. Fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah finished with figures of 1/21 and 1/24 while all-rounder Imad Wasim ran out Nicholas Kirton. 

“As a bowler you have to adopt the conditions, what the conditions are demanding,” Amir, who was awarded the Player of the Match award, said at the end of the match. 

“My role is very clear, what I’m going to do with the new ball and at the death. That’s why I’m getting that success.”

The fast bowler said this was “a very important win” for Pakistan.

Left-handed opening batter Saim Ayub’s poor performance with the bat continued against Canada. The batter scored 6 runs from 12 balls at a strike rate of 50 before he was dismissed by Dilon Heyliger, who returned figures of 2/18. 

Rizwan remained unbeaten with a run-a-ball 52 while skipper Babar Azam pitched in with a valuable 33 runs from 33 balls. 

Fakhar Zaman was dismissed after he scored only four runs from six balls while Usman Khan remained unbeaten on two runs. 

Pakistan will next meet Ireland in a must-win clash on June 16 in Florida. To stay alive in the tournament, the green shirts need the United States to lose their remaining two matches against India and Ireland. 

If the US wins even one more point, Pakistan’s journey in the World Cup will come to an abrupt end in the first stage. Even one match affected by rain would spell the end for Pakistan, as the US require only one point to move to the second round. 


India to play Champions Trophy on neutral ground, not Pakistan

Updated 21 sec ago
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India to play Champions Trophy on neutral ground, not Pakistan

  • In return, Pakistan will also play upcoming ICC tournaments hosted by India in other countries, yet to be decided
  • The agreement will extend to ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 hosted by India, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026

KARACHI: India will play next year’s Champions Trophy matches on neutral ground after refusing to visit tournament host and arch-rival Pakistan, the International Cricket Council said Thursday following weeks of wrangling.
In return, Pakistan will also play upcoming ICC tournaments hosted by India in other countries, yet to be decided.
“India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC Events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC Board confirmed,” said a statement released by the body.
“This will apply to the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (hosted by Pakistan).”
The agreement will extend to the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 hosted by India, and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 hosted by India and Sri Lanka, the statement added.
The announcement ended a month-long stand-off over the Champions Trophy, after India told the ICC it will not send its team to Pakistan because of security fears and political tension.
Pakistan did, however, play in India during the 2023 ICC World Cup hosted there.
 


Pakistan issues visas to 84 Indian Hindu pilgrims to visit Katas Raj temples

Updated 5 min 8 sec ago
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Pakistan issues visas to 84 Indian Hindu pilgrims to visit Katas Raj temples

  • 900-year-old Katas Raj temples are one of the holiest sites in South Asia for Hindus
  • In 2021, Pakistan opened the Kartarpur corridor as a visa-free crossing for Indian Sikhs

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi has issued visas to 84 Indian Hindu pilgrims to visit the Shri Katas Raj temples in the Chakwal district of the eastern Punjab province from Dec. 19 till Dec. 25, Pakistani state media reported this week.
The 900-year-old Katas Raj temples, one of the holiest sites in South Asia for Hindus, form a complex of several temples connected by walkways that surround a pond named Katas that Hindu sacred texts say was created from the teardrops of Shiva as he wandered the Earth inconsolable after the death of his wife Sati.
The complex is located in the village of Katas some 110 km (70 miles) south of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
“The issuance of pilgrimage visas is in line with the policy of Government of Pakistan to facilitate visits to religious shrines and promoting interfaith harmony,” the APP news agency reported, citing a statement from the Pakistani high commission.
Under the 1974 Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines, each year thousands of Sikh and Hindu pilgrims from India visit Pakistan to attend religious festivals and events.
Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires Saad Ahmad Warraich wished the pilgrims “a spiritually rewarding yatra and a fulfilling journey,” according to the APP report.
In 2021, Pakistan opened the Kartarpur corridor as a visa-free crossing allowing Indian Sikhs to visit the temple just 4km (2.5 miles) inside Pakistan where Sikhism’s founder Guru Nanak died in 1539. Many Sikhs see Pakistan as where their religion began as Nanak was born in 1469 in a small village near the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore.
The Kartarpur corridor marked a rare thaw in relations between the two nuclear-armed foes and neighbors.


Pakistan, Bangladesh leaders agree to expand bilateral ties on sidelines of D-8 summit in Cairo

Updated 38 min 4 sec ago
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Pakistan, Bangladesh leaders agree to expand bilateral ties on sidelines of D-8 summit in Cairo

  • Pakistan, Bangladesh have sought to improve bilateral ties since former PM Hasina’s ouster as a result of a mass movement
  • PM Shehbaz Sharif thanked Bangladesh for the recent steps taken for facilitation of trade and travel between the two nations

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Muhammad Yunus, head of the Bangladeshi interim government, on Thursday agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation in all areas of mutual interest, Sharif’s office said, following a meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the 11th Summit of the Developing Eight (D-8) countries in Cairo.
The meeting took place in a cordial environment, truly reflecting the existing goodwill and fraternal ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh, according to PM Sharif’s office.
The Pakistan premier expressed Pakistan’s keen desire to enhance bilateral cooperation, particularly in the areas of trade, people-to-people contacts and cultural exchanges.
“The two leaders expressed satisfaction over recent positive developments in bilateral relations and noted with satisfaction the increasing frequency of high-level contacts,” Sharif’s office said in a statement.
Established together as one independent nation in 1947, Bangladesh won liberation from then-West Pakistan in 1971. Relations between the two countries continued to deteriorate during former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s administration, which prosecuted several members of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party for war crimes relating to the 1971 conflict.
However, relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh have improved since Hasina was ousted in a bloody student-led protest in August. Islamabad’s ties with Dhaka have also improved as Bangladesh’s relations with India, where Hasina has sought refuge, have deteriorated.
During the meeting, Sharif’s office said the premier emphasized on the need to make joint efforts to explore new avenues of economic cooperation and to take advantage of their potential in sectors such as chemicals, cement clinkers, surgical goods, leather goods and information technology.
“The prime minister expressed his gratitude to Bangladesh for the recent steps taken for facilitation of trade and travel between Pakistan and Bangladesh,” Sharif’s office said.
“This includes waiving off the condition of 100 percent physical inspection of the consignments from Pakistan and abolishment of special security desk at the Dhaka airport earlier established to scrutinize Pakistani passengers. Prime Minister also thanked Bangladesh for doing away with additional clearance requirement for Pakistani visa applicants.”
The two leaders acknowledged importance of people-to-people contacts and cultural exchanges, including enhanced exchange of artists, sportspersons, academics, and students, according to the statement. Both sides agreed to forge greater cooperation at various multilateral fora, including D-8.
Sharif arrived in Cairo on Wednesday to lead the Pakistan delegation at the D-8 summit on December 18-19. Founded in 1997 in Istanbul, D-8 is an organization for development co-operation among Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Türkiye. The 11th summit of the bloc is themed as “Investing in Youth and Supporting SMEs: Shaping Tomorrow’s Economy.”
He will address the summit today, Thursday, and highlight the importance of investing in youth and small medium enterprises (SMEs) for building a strong and inclusive economy, creating jobs, advancing innovation, and promoting local entrepreneurship, according to his office.
The prime minister will also attend a special session of D-8 on the humanitarian crisis and reconstruction challenges in Gaza and Lebanon to deliberate on the situation resulting from Israeli military actions in the Middle East.
Also on Thursday, Sharif held a meeting with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and congratulated him on assuming the office. The two figures exchanged views on a wide range of issues of mutual interest, including bilateral ties covering political, trade and economic matters as well as cooperation at the multilateral fora, according to Sharif’s office.
“Both the leaders reaffirmed their unwavering support for the Palestinian cause and called for a ceasefire in Gaza urging for a comprehensive approach for resolution of the Palestinian question, with the establishment of a sovereign and independent State of Palestine,” it added.


Pakistan stock market sheds over 2,000 points on profit-taking, foreign outflow concerns

Updated 19 December 2024
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Pakistan stock market sheds over 2,000 points on profit-taking, foreign outflow concerns

  • KSE-100 index drops 2,671 points, or 2.41 percent, to a low of 108,398.42 during intraday trading
  • Analysts say market downturn driven by blue-chip stocks, unstable rupee and weak global oil prices

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday declined by more than 2,000 points, stock analysts said, citing profit-taking and concerns over foreign outflows as main reasons behind the slump.

The benchmark KSE-100 index dropped 2,671.87 points, or 2.41 percent, to 108,398.42 points during intraday trading on Thursday, compared to Wednesday’s close 111,070.29 points.

Ahsan Mehanti, chief executive officer of Arif Habib Commodities, said the downturn was driven by profit-taking by investors, an unstable rupee and weak global oil prices.

“Stocks bearish on concerns over foreign outflows and outlook for cautious SBP [State Bank of Pakistan] policy easing on susceptible multiple risks,” he told Arab News.

“Consolidation in the blue-chip scrips, rupee instability and weak global crude oil prices played a catalyst role in bearish activity.”

On Dec. 16, Pakistan’s central bank cut its key interest rate by 200 basis points to 13 percent, marking the fifth straight reduction since June.

Blue-chip stocks in the PSX include large, stable companies like Oil & Gas Development Company (OGDC), Hub Power, Engro, Nestlé and Lucky Cement. These companies are known for strong performance, financial stability, and industry leadership, making them popular for long-term investments.

Raza Jafri, head of equities at Intermarket Securities, said value buyers would be tempted to reenter on dips, with valuations still in active territory and no changes to the economy’s positive outlook.

“Pakistan equities have experienced profit-taking this week, after this year’s robust 80 percent + CYTD [calendar year to date] rally,” he told Arab News.

“Similar profit-taking also occurred in mid-December last year, around 10 percent, after a rapid rally.”


Pakistan’s Jacobabad reports fourth polio case, takes nationwide tally to 64 this year

Updated 19 December 2024
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Pakistan’s Jacobabad reports fourth polio case, takes nationwide tally to 64 this year

  • The development comes amid a countrywide drive to vaccinate 44 million children
  • Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two polio-endemic countries in the world

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s southern city of Jacobabad has reported its fourth polio case this year, the country’s polio program said on Wednesday, amid an intense resurgence of the virus in the South Asian country.

Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five is essential to provide children high immunity against this terrible disease.

Pakistan is responding to an intense resurgence of wild poliovirus type 1, with 64 cases reported this year, according to the polio program. Of these, 26 are from Balochistan, 18 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 18 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

“It is crucial for parents to ensure vaccination for all their children under the age of five to keep them protected,” the polio program said in a statement.

Pakistan on Monday launched the latest nationwide anti-polio drive to vaccinate 44 million children in 143 districts. The drive will continue till Dec. 22. The South Asian country’s polio eradication efforts have faced several challenges in recent years, including militant attacks and misinformation spread by militants and conservative clerics.

Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, remains the last polio-endemic country in the world. In the early 1990s, the country reported around 20,000 cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.