ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is competing in an international ice hockey tournament being held in Coral Springs, United States, in which the young team this week defeated Brazil after two consecutive losses in its very first appearance in a major contest, Pakistani state media reported on Sunday, citing the US National Hockey League (NHL).
Team Pakistan, a combination of players of Pakistani descent, was hastily put together by Donny Khan, a Pakistani-American and a senior NHL official. The NHL is a highly popular ice hockey league in North America that comprises 32 teams — 25 in the US and 7 in Canada. It has been growing and now teams from all over the world are taking part in it.
Pakistan made its debut this year after Khan worked hard and found 18 players of Pakistani origin from across the US, who are now sporting the national green and white colors and representing Pakistan at the Latin America (LATAM) Cup at the Florida Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs. Umar Khan, a Pakistani-American and a former NHL intern, helped Khan find players through word of mouth and scouring social media.
The tournament features 52 men’s, women’s and youth teams and more than 1,100 players representing 17 countries and territories, including Argentina, Armenia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Greece, Lebanon, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Pakistan is the latest addition to the tournament.
“Three games at City College and now I’m representing my country [Pakistan]. Ever since I got into (ice) hockey, I’ve been dreaming about bringing it back to Pakistan,” the state-run APP news agency quoted Pakistan defenseman Saem Iftikhar as saying.
Iftikhar, a student at City College in New York, won a berth in the national team after playing just five games.
“I look around and I see Pakistani heritage players,” he said. “This is a dream come true. I think it’s the first step in a much larger operation.”
Pakistan went down fighting to Mexico 6-5 on Thursday and lost the opening match to Chile 8-3 on Wednesday. After the initial losses, the Pakistani team rebounded on Friday to record its first victory in the prestigious tournament, defeating Brazil 5-2, according to the APP report.
Khan said Pakistan’s LATAM Cup debut would not be a one-off thing, and he and other players were already talking about returning with another men’s team, and a women’s team.
“We’re actually in conversations right now with the Winter Sports Federation of Pakistan. We have their official blessing. We’re trying to fully establish ourselves as a club and part of the sports federation of Pakistan,” he was quoted as saying.
“The long-term goal is that we inspire people in Pakistan and eventually have a team Pakistan in the Asia Winter Games and one day, God willing, in the Winter Olympics.”
Umar, who helped Khan form the Pakistan team, said his father always taught him to be “passionate about my heritage.”
“Just being able to represent my father’s country, my grandfather, who came from Lahore in the 1940s, and just to represent them and put it in the game that I love, I was ecstatic about it,” he said.
Pakistan debuts in major US ice hockey tournament, defeats Brazil after two losses
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Pakistan debuts in major US ice hockey tournament, defeats Brazil after two losses
- Team Pakistan was hastily put together by Donny Khan, a Pakistani-American and a senior US National Hockey League official
- Khan worked hard and found 18 players of Pakistani origin from across US, who are now sporting national green and white colors
Summit of the Future: Pakistan says plight of Gazans ‘mockery’ of international community
- The statement comes days after Israeli strikes on a Gaza school-turned-shelter killed 18 people, including six UNRWA staff
- Pakistan does not recognize the state of Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said the plight of the Gazans was a “mockery” of the international community and in stark contrast to the idea of global unity and justice days after Israeli forces killed another 18 people in strikes on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza.
The Pakistan prime minister said this while addressing the first virtual session of the Summit of the Future at the United Nations (UN) in New York, where he spoke about the ongoing Israeli military actions in Gaza.
The statement came after an Israeli attack flattened part of the UN-run Al-Jawni school in Nuseirat on Wednesday. UNRWA said six of its staff were killed in two Israeli strikes on the school, drawing global condemnation.
“Today, in times of unprecedented global challenges and escalating conflicts, we are at risk of permanently damaging the notion of we,” PM Sharif said in his virtual address. “A collective we that requires a degree of justice. The plight of the people of Gaza is a mockery of this we.”
Israel launched a war on Gaza on Oct. 7 after Hamas fighters stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israeli military campaign has since demolished swathes of the besieged enclave, killed more than 40,500 people, displaced nearly all of its 2.3 million people multiple times, and given rise to deadly hunger and disease.
Pakistan does not recognize the state of Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, the South Asian country has repeatedly raised the issue at the UN and demanded international powers and multilateral bodies stop Israeli military actions. Pakistan has also dispatched several aid consignments for the Palestinians.
Speaking further, Sharif warned the prevailing global issues could undermine the sense of unity between countries, saying the world was facing significant problems that were straining international relations and cooperation.
“This we becomes marred amidst rising debt burdens for the poor, increasing poverty, growing inequality, intolerance, terrorism, violence, illegal foreign occupation and a skewed approach to climate adaptation,” he added.
He called for significant reforms in the international financial framework to achieve sustainable developmental goals for economically weak nations. This required enhanced concessional financing, increased official development assistance, and greater lending from multilateral development banks, he added.
Police call off anti-militancy protest, say army will decrease presence in northwestern Pakistani district
- Army has heavy presence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where it has been battling militant groups for nearly two decades
- Army has not yet commented on the agreement, at least 78 policemen have been killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this year
DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Police in the Lakki Marwat district of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province said they were calling off a days-long protest against a spike in militant attacks and targeted killings of police officers after the army agreed to leave check posts in villages and city centers of the restive area.
Pakistan’s army has a heavy presence across KP, where it has been battling militants from the Al-Qaeda, Pakistani Taliban and other groups for nearly two decades. The province, which borders Afghanistan, has witnessed a number of attacks on police, security forces and anti-polio vaccination teams as well as kidnappings of officials in recent months.
There have been protests in several districts of KP since July, when Pakistan’s cabinet announced that a new military operation would be launched amid a surge in terror attacks across the country. People in KP have rejected plans for an armed operation and demand that civilian agencies like the provincial police and the counter-terrorism department be better equipped.
In Lakki Marwat, police launched a sit-in on Monday and blocked the Peshawar-Karachi Indus Highway for all types of vehicular traffic. The sit-in continued for almost four days and ended late Thursday after the police said they had reached an agreement with the district administration, following the intervention of elders from the native Marwat tribe.
“Pak Army will leave Lakki Marwat within six days. Police must be empowered and given armored vehicles and other resources,” the district police spokesman said in a statement, detailing conditions of the agreement.
“External interference in police must be eliminated, injured policemen should be taken care of, and no disciplinary action should be taken against the police personnel and civilians who participated in the sit-in.”
The statement said police would relaunch their sit-in if the agreement was not implemented.
Lakki Marwat Police Spokesman Shahid Marwat told Arab News the army would not “totally withdraw” from the district but will leave check posts in villages and city centers.
The army and the provincial government have not yet commented on the military’s plans to exit Lakki Marwat.
The protest, which was joined by representatives of civil society and political parties as well as tribal elders and members of the public, came days after unidentified gunmen attacked a police van in Lakki Marwat, killing an officer, while two brothers of a serving policeman were also killed in a separate attack in the district last week.
Hours after the sit-in was called off, a police constable, Hikmat Ullah, was gunned down at a shop in the Samandar village of Lakki Marwat, according to police. The death brought the number of police killings in KP to 78 this year, police data showed.
The volatile Lakki Marwat district is located on the edge of Pakistan’s restive tribal regions that border Afghanistan, from where Islamabad says militants mainly associated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan frequently launch attacks, targeting police and security forces.
Islamabad has even blamed Kabul’s Afghan Taliban rulers for facilitating anti-Pakistan militants. Kabul denies the charges.
ADB grants $320 million to improve roads in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Lack of resilient infrastructure has escalated the impact of disasters like floods on people and livelihoods
- Flooding events since 2010 have substantially damaged roads, hampering connectivity and spiking transport costs
ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday approved a $320 million loan to help rehabilitate roads in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and enhance “safe and all-weather connectivity” in rural areas.
Annual rainfall and temperature patterns have significantly increased in parts of the province, and the lack of resilient infrastructure has escalated the impact of disasters on people and livelihoods. Flooding events since 2010 have substantially damaged the road network, hampering connectivity and escalating transportation costs.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Roads Development Project will upgrade around 900 kilometers of rural roads in the province that are susceptible to floods and are in poor condition. These cover key routes that link remote communities to education, health care, and markets. The project includes measures to incorporate climate-resilient design, road safety enhancement, and sustainable maintenance practices.
“This vital infrastructure project will reduce travel time, lower transportation costs, and increase access to economic opportunities for millions of residents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov said in a statement.
“By providing better access to markets and services, we are empowering local communities and driving inclusive economic growth in one of Pakistan’s most underserved regions.”
The project will offer technical and financial support to assist the provincial government in preparing “long-term targeted interventions” that will enhance the climate resilience and sustainability of the province’s road network.
“ADB will help the government conduct a comprehensive study on flood susceptibility, with a focus on landslide vulnerability across the province, to identify priority roads,” ADB Senior Transport Specialist Seunghyun Kim said.
“We will support the government in preparing concessional contracts for the operation and maintenance of two tourism roads, which will contribute to the sustainability of the road network.”
Roads dominate Pakistan’s transport system, with almost 96 percent of freight traffic and 92 percent of passenger traffic passing through the road networks. Provincial roads, like those in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, connect district centers with the national highway network and are vital in facilitating trade as well as providing access to health, education, and other public services.
Pakistan was a founding member of the ADB. Since 1966, the bank has committed over $52 billion in public and private sector loans, grants, and other forms of financing “to promote inclusive economic growth” in Pakistan and improve the country’s infrastructure, energy and food security, transport networks, and social services.
Gunmen kill three border guards in attack in southeastern Iran near Pakistan frontier
- IRNA state news agency reported that militant group Jaish Al-Adl claimed responsibility for the attack
- At least 22 policemen were killed in April in two separate clashes in Sistan and Baluchistan province
TEHRAN: Gunmen killed three border guards and wounded one other person Thursday in restive southeastern Iran, state-run media reported.
IRNA news agency reported that gunmen in a car opened fire on a border regiment vehicle in Mirjaveh county in southeast Sistan and Baluchistan province, near the Pakistani border, killing two soldiers and an officer. A civilian was wounded.
IRNA said the militant group Jaish Al-Adl, which allegedly seeks greater rights for the ethnic Baloch minority, claimed responsibility for the attack.
In April, in two separate clashes in the province, at least 22 Iranian policemen died.
The province, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been the site of occasional deadly clashes involving militant groups, armed drug smugglers, and Iranian security forces. In December, militants killed nearly a dozen police officers in an attack on a police station in the province.
Sistan and Baluchistan province is one of the least developed parts of Iran.
Pakistan clinch big 5-1 hockey win against China in Asian Champions Trophy
- With this win, Pakistan have moved up to second spot on points table
- Pakistan will now play their last pool match against India on Saturday
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan continued to remain unbeaten as they registered a well-earned 5-1 win against hosts China at the ongoing Hero Asian Champions Trophy at the Moqi Hockey Training Base in Hulunbuir, China, on Thursday, the International Hockey Federation said.
With this win, Pakistan have moved up to the second spot in the points table. With another day’s play remaining in the league stage, Pakistan continue to stay in contention for a spot in the semifinal. India continues to lead the points table with Pakistan placed second and Korea third while Malaysia have managed to squeeze past China after Thursday’s loss.
On the Pakistan side, goals were scored by Rehman Abdul, Ahmad Nadeem and Hannan Shahid while Jiesheng Gao scored the lone goal for China.
“It is a collective team effort, we are learning by each match,” Shahid, who was named the ‘hero’ of the match, said in a statement after the win.
“We were conceding too many cards in the start of the tournament but today we conceded only one card. Hero of the team award is a result of my team’s effort, they created chances for me to score and I am happy how we have progressed in the tournament.”
Pakistan will now play their last pool match against India tomorrow, Saturday. The match will begin at 12:45 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time.
