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Pakistan’s unseeded Asim Khan wins Charlottesville Open squash tournament 

An undated file photo of Pakistan’s squash star Muhammad Asim Khan. (Radio Pakistan)
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Updated 29 September 2024
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Pakistan’s unseeded Asim Khan wins Charlottesville Open squash tournament 

  • Khan beats England’s Nick Wall 3-1: 12-14, 12-10, 11-5 and 11-6 to win championship
  • Pakistani squash star defeated second and fifth seeds to qualify for final against Wall
Updated 29 September 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s squash star Muhammad Asim Khan defeated England’s defending champion Nick Wall to win the Charlottesville Open tournament on Sunday, making it his maiden PSA Tour World events title. 

Khan’s impressive run in the tournament began after he beat Brazil’s Diego Gobbi in the first round of the tournament before upsetting second seed Yahya Elnawasany in the last eight. He then beat fifth seed Cesar Salazar in the semifinals to secure a berth in the final against Wall. 

In the final, Khan downed Wall 3-1: 12-14, 12-10, 11-5 and 11-6 to lift the trophy. 

“I didn’t expect any of this,” Khan said after the match. “I’ve been playing squash for the last few years – four or five years – and I was struggling a lot, not winning any matches in big tournaments like this.”

Khan said he was confident heading into the match after beating the second seed. He praised Wall for being “an experienced player and a very skillful player.”

“I tried to move him to the front court and the back court and I’m happy that I managed to do that,” Khan said. 

Pakistan has always been counted among the world’s top squash-playing nations, introducing legendary players of the sport such as Jahangir Khan, Jansher Khan, Azam Khan, and Qamar Zaman to the world. 

Between themselves, Jansher Khan and Jahangir Khan won the World Squash Open title 14 times for Pakistan during the ‘80s and the ‘90s.

Topics: Muhammad Asim Khan squash

Pakistani government, political parties condemn Israel’s ‘aggression’ against Lebanon, killing of Hezbollah chief

Updated 18 min 39 sec ago
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Pakistani government, political parties condemn Israel’s ‘aggression’ against Lebanon, killing of Hezbollah chief

  • Hassan Nasrallah was killed in Israeli airstrike on Hezbollah’s underground headquarters in Beirut this week 
  • Pakistan urges UN Security Council to “restrain” Israel from adventurism in volatile Middle East
Updated 18 min 39 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office on Sunday strongly condemned Israel’s “aggression” against Lebanon and the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, with the leaders of the country’s various political parties calling for an end to the Jewish state’s military campaigns in the region. 

Israel’s military said it had killed Nasrallah on Friday in an airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh. Hezbollah confirmed its chief had been killed on Saturday, vowing to continue its fight against Israel to defend Lebanon and the people of Gaza. 

The killing triggered condemnation from several countries as fears of a wider war in the Middle East loom large, where Israel’s military campaigns have caused the deaths of over 41,000 Palestinians since Oct. 7 last year. 

“For the last several days, Israeli forces have engaged in unacceptable violation of the sovereignty of Lebanon, relentlessly targeting civilian population centers, and undermining its stability and security,” the foreign office spokesperson said in a statement. 

“We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims of Israeli aggression and the people of Lebanon.”

The spokesperson said Israel’s killing of Hezbollah’s longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah constitutes “a major escalation” in an already volatile region. 

She said Pakistan continues to stand in solidarity with the people of Lebanon, urging the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to “restrain” Israel from its adventurism in the Middle East. 

“For the last several days, Israeli forces have engaged in unacceptable violation of the sovereignty of Lebanon, relentlessly targeting civilian population centers, and undermining its stability and security,” the spokesperson added. 

’ACT OF COWARDLY TERRORISM’

Leaders of various Pakistani political parties condemned Nasrallah’s killing and Israel’s military campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon. 

Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam Pakistan (JUI-F) leader Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman said Nasrallah’s killing will bolster resistance against Israel and expose the “disgraced face of Zionism to the world.”

“We strongly condemn the martyrdom of Nasrallah; the killing of the Hezbollah leader is an act of cowardly terrorism by Israel,” he said in a statement. 

Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Sherry Rehman said Israel was seeking to destroy Lebanon the same way it had destroyed Gaza. 

“The impunity given to Israel is so monstrous that it has left no shred of international order intact,” she told Arab News.

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman paid tribute to Nasrallah and offered his condolences to the people of Lebanon and Palestine. 

“Nasrallah resisted the illegitimate Israeli state throughout his life and sacrificed his life for a great cause,” he said. 

He said the JI would announce a week of solidarity with the people of Palestine and Lebanon from Oct. 7 through nationwide rallies and demonstrations.

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, who is a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, called on world powers to intervene or “risk allowing this conflict to spill beyond the region, posing a grave threat to global peace and security.”

“Israel’s unchecked aggression and the indiscriminate killing of civilians, including women, the elderly, and children, have reached alarming levels, verging on genocide and mass atrocities unprecedented in modern history,” he told Arab News. 

Topics: Lebanon Israel

Peshawar-bound PIA flight from Muscat diverted to Karachi after technical problem

Updated 29 September 2024
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Peshawar-bound PIA flight from Muscat diverted to Karachi after technical problem

  • PK-260 flight landed safely at Karachi airport, says Pakistan International Airlines spokesperson 
  • Planes with technical problems are brought to Karachi as it has repair and engineering facilities
Updated 29 September 2024
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight headed toward the northwestern city of Peshawar from Muscat, Oman, was diverted to Karachi on Sunday after it experienced a technical problem, the airline’s spokesperson said. 

The national flag carrier’s spokesperson said PIA’s PK-260 flight had departed from Muscat and was on its way to Peshawar when it experienced a technical problem, prompting the pilot to divert it to the southern port city of Karachi. 

“Planes are brought to the Karachi base as it has repair and engineering facilities,” the spokesperson explained. 

He said the flight landed safely in Karachi and all measures to ensure air safety were adopted. 

“Passengers were taken care of at the Karachi airport and they are being dispatched [to Peshawar] via the PK-368 flight,” the spokesperson said. 

Pakistan plans to sell more than 51 percent of its stake in the loss-making airline as part of the economic reforms suggested by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which approved a long-awaited 37-month $7 billion bailout deal on Wednesday for the South Asian country. 

Topics: Pakistan International Airlines

Pakistan PM condemns Israel’s attacks in Lebanon, demands ceasefire in Gaza

Updated 29 September 2024
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Pakistan PM condemns Israel’s attacks in Lebanon, demands ceasefire in Gaza

  • Israeli airstrikes killed 32 people across Lebanon on Saturday, including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah 
  • Shehbaz Sharif hails improvement in macroeconomic indicators, says country heading toward progress
Updated 29 September 2024
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned Israel’s recent air strikes in Lebanon, calling on global powers to intervene and put an end to the Jewish state’s war in Gaza that has killed over 41,000 people. 

The Pakistani premier’s condemnation came hours after Israel’s airstrikes in Lebanon killed Hezbollah’s longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah in a Beirut suburb. The bombardment triggered condemnation worldwide and alarmed several countries as fears of a wider war in the Middle East continue to loom. 

Israel’s airstrikes in Lebanon killed 33 people on Saturday, the country’s health ministry said in a statement. 

Sharif told reporters at a press conference in London, where he had arrived after attending the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, that he had presented Pakistan’s stance at the summit on key global issues, including the Palestine crisis. 

“I made a humble effort to carry the voice of the people of Pakistan in front of the world, about the injustice and barbarity in Palestine,” Sharif said.

“Over 40,000 Palestinians have been martyred, thousands of children have been martyred. In the same way, we have also strongly condemned the attacks in Lebanon.”

The Pakistani prime minister said he had demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza at the 79th UNGA session, calling on the “global conscience” to awaken. 

Speaking on the country’s economic situation, Sharif said Pakistan is now moving toward stability and progress, adding that the same has been acknowledged by international institutions. 

The premier expressed his satisfaction over the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) approval of a $7 billion loan for Pakistan this week. 

He said the country’s inflation rate stood at 9.6 percent currently compared to 32 percent in September last year, noting that the rates of daily commodities were showing stability as well. 

“Everything is not hunky-dory,” he cautioned. “We have to sweat hard and broaden the tax net without burdening those already paying it.”

Topics: PM Shehbaz Sharif Lebanon Hezbollah

Pakistani designer Faraz Manan earns coveted spot on Business of Fashion 500 list 

Updated 29 September 2024
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Pakistani designer Faraz Manan earns coveted spot on Business of Fashion 500 list 

  • Business of Fashion magazine list acknowledges most influential people in global fashion industry
  • Manan has styled Bollywood A-listers such as Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt
Updated 29 September 2024
Kashaf Rehman

ISLAMABAD: Prominent Pakistani designer Faraz Manan was included in the prestigious annual Business of Fashion (BoF) 500 list this week that acknowledges the most influential people in the global fashion industry. 

The BoF 500, compiled by The Business of Fashion magazine, acknowledges the works of a wide range of professionals from across various sectors of the fashion ecosystem such as luxury brands, high street fashion, media, technology and sustainability.

Manan started his career in 2003 as a fashion designer and since then has established himself as one of the country’s leading designers under his eponymous label, Faraz Manan. Several leading Bollywood actresses such as Kareena Kapoor, Deepika Padukone, Sridevi, Alia Bhatt and Kiara Advani have worn his dresses in the past. 

“Honored and delighted to be a part of The BoF 500: people shaping the global fashion industry,” Manan wrote on his Instagram profile on Friday. 

The BoF 500 said in a post on its website that the designer is one of the leading figures in Pakistan’s fashion industry and a “go-to for buyers of couture bridal and formal wear in the wider South Asia region.”

“Manan quickly rose to prominence, distinguishing himself with a signature style that combines intricate embellishments, lavish fabrics and a contemporary sensibility,” the BoF 500 said.

In 2015, he became one of the first South Asian designers to open a boutique in Dubai and by 2024, his business had amassed over a million global followers on its Instagram account.

Admiration for Manan’s work from the Bollywood elite has turned his brand into a cultural bridge between India and Pakistan, the two neighboring countries where cultural exchanges are rare due to political hostilities. 

Topics: Faraz Manan Business of Fashion 500

Gunmen kill 7 laborers from Punjab in southwestern Pakistan 

Updated 29 September 2024
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Gunmen kill 7 laborers from Punjab in southwestern Pakistan 

  • Unidentified gunmen storm residential compound in remote Panjgur district to kill laborers, say police
  • No group has claimed responsibility for attack but separatist outfits have killed Punjab-based laborers in past
Updated 29 September 2024
SAADULLAH AKHTER

QUETTA: Unidentified gunmen stormed a residential compound in southwestern Pakistan late Saturday night and shot dead seven laborers who all hailed from Punjab, police said, in the latest ethnic attack to take place in the country’s restive province. 

Pakistan’s Balochistan province, which shares porous borders with Afghanistan and Iran, has been the scene of a low-lying insurgency for decades. Ethnic Baloch nationalists have long accused the central government and Punjab of monopolizing profits from Balochistan’s natural resources. The state denies these allegations. 

The overnight attack took place in Khudabadan area near the remote Panjgur city, Panjgur District Police Officer Syed Fazil Bukhari told Arab News. He said the laborers were sleeping in their residential compound when the attackers shot them. 

“Seven laborers and residents of Shujabad village in Multan district were killed in the attack and one received severe bullet wounds and was shifted to District Headquarters Hospital,” Bukhari said. 

He added that the gunmen had managed to flee after carrying out the attack. 

“Security forces have launched a search operation in the area to hunt down the attackers involved in the recent killing of laborers from Punjab province,” Bukhari said. 

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the separatist militant outfit Balochistan Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for killing Punjab-based laborers in the past. 

BLA militants claimed responsibility for killing at least 23 residents of Punjab in Balochistan’s Musakhel district last month. The victims were forced out of their vehicles by the militants, who shot them after checking their identity. 

Simultaneous attacks were also launched on the same day that killed over 50 in one of the deadliest attacks in Balochistan in recent years. Militants also destroyed a key railway bridge that connects the southwestern province to other parts of the country. 

Topics: Balochistan laborers Punjabi laborers

Latest updates

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