ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) announced on Saturday the participation of the country’s national women’s futsal squad in the Asian Cup tournament next year, marking it their first competition under the auspices of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Futsal, a dynamic indoor variant of soccer played with a smaller, harder ball, emphasizes skill and control over physical power, and is popular in countries like Brazil, Portugal, and Spain. Recognized by major soccer organizations, including FIFA, the game’s focus on quick passing and space management has contributed to its growing global appeal.
“I am pleased to announce that the PFF has confirmed the participation of the Women’s Futsal team in the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup 2025,” PFF Chairman Haroon Malik said in a statement. “This participation highlights PFF’s commitment to developing women’s futsal in Pakistan and providing our players with opportunities to compete at the international level.”
To prepare for the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup 2025, the PFF has organized five Futsal National Cup (FNC) competitions in major cities across Pakistan.
The qualification round for the tournament will begin at the start at the outset of the next year, with the round of 12 set to take place in May 2025.
Pakistani authorities have been actively seeking to diversify athletic interests and skills beyond the nation’s predominant passion for cricket, promoting sports like futsal to broaden the athletic landscape.
Despite the cultural and social hurdles, these efforts include encouraging more participation among women, who rarely have opportunities to engage in sports and international competitions.
Pakistan Football Federation announces women’s futsal team participation in next year’s Asian Cup
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Pakistan Football Federation announces women’s futsal team participation in next year’s Asian Cup
- Futsal, a dynamic indoor variant of soccer played with a smaller ball, emphasizes skill and control over physical power
- The competition will mark the first time the national women’s futsal squad will compete in any premier competition
Nine militants killed in two operations in northwest Pakistan — army
- Islamabad blames ongoing surge in militant attacks on Pakistani Taliban militants it says are operating from Afghanistan
- Afghan Taliban rulers in Kabul say violence in Pakistan is a domestic issue, it does not allow militants to operate on its territory
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan army’s media wing said on Monday nine militants had been killed in two separate military operations in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, amid a surge of militancy in the region.
Islamabad blames an ongoing rise in militant attacks on its territory on neighboring Afghanistan, saying Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, leaders have taken refuge there and run camps to train insurgents to launch attacks inside Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban rulers in Kabul say rising violence in Pakistan is a domestic issue for Islamabad and it does not allow militants to operate on its soil.
The TTP pledges allegiance to, and gets its name from, the Afghan Taliban, but is not directly a part of the group. Its stated aim is to impose Islamic religious law in Pakistan, as the Taliban have done in Afghanistan.
“An intelligence based operation was conducted in Tira in Khyber District, where seven terrorists … were sent to hell by the Security Forces,” the army’s media wing said. “The killed terrorists were actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area and were wanted by Law Enforcement Agencies. Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the killed terrorists.”
In another operation conducted in Lakki Marwat district, the amry said troops “effectively engaged” and killed two militants.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any terrorist found in the area as the Security Forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country,” the army said.
Pakistani forces were able to effectively dismantle the TTP and kill most of its top leadership in a string of military operations from 2014 onwards in the country’s tribal areas, driving most of the fighters across the border into Afghanistan, where Islamabad says they have regrouped. Kabul denies this.
Last month, the federal government announced it would launch a new counter-terrorism operation, Azm-e-Istehkam, but the campaign has so far been opposed by opposition parties.
Hurricane delays triumphant return as India set to name new coach
- Frontrunner appears to be Gautam Gambhir, former batsman who scored over 10,000 international runs across three formats
- Other man in the running to replace Rahul Dravid is W.V. Raman, ex-Indian cricketer and former coach of national women’s team
India will name their new coach after the World Cup-winning team makes its triumphant return from the Caribbean, but it is unclear when that will be because of a hurricane.
The frontrunner appears to be Gautam Gambhir, 42, a former batsman who scored over 10,000 international runs across three formats. He most recently coached Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL crown.
Indian media reported Monday the other man in the running to replace Rahul Dravid is W.V. Raman, 59, also an ex-Indian cricketer, and former coach of the national women’s team.
Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said the two candidates had been “interviewed and shortlisted” by the board’s Cricket Advisory Committee, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.
“After reaching Mumbai, whatever they have decided, we will go by that,” Shah said.
Shah spoke in Barbados, where he told Indian reporters the team were stranded because flights were delayed by Hurricane Beryl.
“Like you we are also stuck,” he told reporters.
India won a thrilling final by seven runs against South Africa in Barbados on Saturday to clinch their first global tournament since the 2013 Champions Trophy.
The T20 World Cup final was the final match in charge for former skipper Dravid, 51, who was bounced in the air by the team during the celebrations.
Former batsman V.V.S. Laxman will coach the team for their tour of Zimbabwe for five T20 internationals from July 6-14, Shah said.
The new coach will take over for India’s tour of Sri Lanka, made up of three T20s and three ODIs, which begins on July 27.
Pakistani PM on official visit to Tajikistan from tomorrow amid investment push
- Islamabad wants to enhance its role as trade hub connecting landlocked Central Asia with rest of the world
- In April, Pakistan opened its trade gateway to Central Asia with the first potato shipment to Tajikistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be on an official visit to Tajikistan from tomorrow, Tuesday, the foreign office said, as the South Asian country moves to solidify ties with Central Asian republics.
Pakistan is pushing to enhance its role as a pivotal trade and transit hub connecting the landlocked Central Asian states with the rest of the world, leveraging its strategic geographical position.
In recent weeks, there has been a flurry of visits, investment talks and economic activity between Pakistan and Central Asian states and last week, Sharif chaired a special meeting attended by senior government ministers on how to enhance relations with the region, particularly in the areas of economy and investment.
“At the invitation of President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will undertake an official visit to Dushanbe, Tajikistan from 2-3 July 2024,” the foreign office said.
“In Dushanbe, the Prime Minister will meet President Emomali Rahmon, Chairman of Majlisi Namoyandagon of Majlisi Oli Mahmadtoir Zoir Zokirzoda and Prime Minister Qohir Rasulzoda.”
The foreign office said the two sides would engage in “wide-ranging discussions on areas of mutual interest” to deepen cooperation, especially in the areas of regional connectivity, trade, people-to-people contacts and energy.
“The two sides will also sign agreements and MoUs in diverse areas of cooperation,” the foreign office added.
On Monday, Sharif also received the ambassador of Kazakhstan to Pakistan, Yerzhan Kistafin.
“The Prime Minister conveyed his greetings to the President of Kazakhstan, H.E. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and expressed his desire to strengthen the excellent bilateral relations between Pakistan and Kazakhstan,” the PM office said. “He said he was looking forward to his meeting with President Tokayev during his upcoming visit to Astana for the SCO Council of Heads of State meeting on 3-4 July, 2024.”
During the meeting, Sharif emphasized the “need to enhance trade and investment, while also focusing on regional connectivity and security.”
In May, Pakistan’s investment minister reaffirmed the country’s resolve to cooperate with Central Asian states as Islamabad pushes forward an ambitious agenda to bolster trade activities as it grapples with a macroeconomic crisis.
“Pakistan has reaffirmed the resolve to cooperate with Central Asian countries to boost economic and trade activities in the region,” the state-run Radio Pakistan reported, quoting Pakistan’s Investment Minister Abdul Aleem Khan.
“He said Pakistan’s Port Qasim and Gwadar port are available for Central Asia’s trade routes.”
In April, Pakistan opened its trade gateway to Central Asia with the first potato shipment to Tajikistan.
Woman, two children killed in land mine blast in Pakistan’s remote southwest
- It was unclear who had laid down the land mine and when in a province where Baloch rebels frequently attack security officials
- Balochistan has seen a decades-long insurgency against what separatists call the unfair exploitation of resources
QUETTA: A woman and her two children were killed in a land mine blast in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province on Monday, paramilitary officials said.
Balochistan has seen a decades-long insurgency against what separatists call the unfair exploitation of resources in the mineral-rich region. Most of the separatist groups operate independently, but some recent reports in local media have pointed to increasing cooperation between them and with the Pakistani Taliban, also known as the TTP.
Pakistani security forces have been the main focus of sepratists and other militants in the province, but in recent years they have also targeted Chinese interests, given Beijing’s increasing economic footprint in the region.
“Family members of Mohammad Ali were coming back to their home on Monday morning when they stepped on a land mine outside their residence, killing a woman and two children aged five and two years old,” Levies sepoy Abdul Rasheed told Arab News, saying the incident took place in Gabeen village in Kech district of Balochistan.
It was unclear who had laid down the land mine and when in a province where Baloch rebels frequently attack security officials, gas pipelines, electricity infrastructure and transport links.
“Government of Balochistan along with law enforcement agencies are taking concrete measures to wipe out terrorists and their facilitators,” Home Minister Mir Zia Langove said, “Human rights organizations working in Pakistan should raise their voice against the murders of women and children.”
Low-cost airline flydubai starts flights to Islamabad, Lahore
- Flydubai started Pakistan operations in 2010 with launch of flights to Karachi
- Carrier also serves Pakistani cities of Faisalabad, Multan, Quetta and Sialkot
KARACHI: Dubai-based low-cost airline flydubai has started flights to Islamabad and Lahore, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority said on Monday, with the first flights in both cities greeted with water cannon salutes.
Flydubai first started operating in Pakistan in 2010 with the launch of flights to the southern port city of Karachi. The carrier also serves the cities of Faisalabad, Multan, Quetta and Sialkot.
“Flydubai has also started flights to Islamabad,” CAA said in a statement. “Inaugural flight FZ 353 arrived in Islamabad from Dubai at 1:55am.”
A small dinner ceremony was organized on the occasion, CAA said, and the inaugural flight carrying 153 passengers was given a water cannon salute by the Rescue and Fire Fighting Service.
The flight returned to Dubai at 220pm on Monday with 162 passengers on board.
Separately, the CAA said flydubai’s Flight FZ 359 arrived in Lahore at 429am.
“A cake cutting ceremony was organized on this occasion and gifts were presented to the passengers,” CAA said. “Flydubai’s inaugural flight to Lahore was presented with a water cannon salute.”
In a press release last month when flydubai announced it would start flights to Lahore and Islamabad, Hamad Obaidalla, chief commercial officer of the airline, said Pakistan had long been an important market for the carrier:
“Since 2010 when we first started operations to the market, we have seen sustained demand for travel and with the start of our daily services to Islamabad and Lahore, we look forward to offering passengers more opportunities to explore Dubai, the GCC region and beyond on the flydubai network.”
As per the airline, the return business class fares from DXB to ISB start from AED 5,500 ($1497) and economy class fares from AED 1,300 ($353). Return business class fares from ISB to DXB start from Rs400,000 ($1436) and economy class fares from Rs120,000 ($430).
