ISLAMABAD: At least 16 people, including three women and two children, were killed in a fresh sectarian clash in Pakistan’s northwest, officials said.
Sunni and Shiite Muslim tribes have been engaged in intermittent fighting for several months in the Kurram district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Kurram, formerly a semi-autonomous area, has a history of bloody confrontations between tribes belonging to the Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam that have claimed hundreds of lives over the years.
A convoy of Sunnis was traveling under the protection of paramilitary soldiers on Saturday when they came under attack, a senior Kurram administration official told AFP on the condition of anonymity.
“As a result, 14 people, including 3 women and 2 children, were killed, and six others were wounded,” he said.
Frontier police responded and killed two of the attackers, who were identified as Shiites, he said.
The official said the latest attack had “sectarian motives” that “have plagued the region for the past two decades.”
“Every conflict tends to take on a sectarian dimension,” he said.
Other recent clashes in July and September killed dozens of people and ended only after a jirga, or tribal council, called a ceasefire.
Officials are attempting to broker a fresh truce.
Tribal and family feuds are common in Pakistan.
However, they can be particularly protracted and violent in remote areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where communities abide by traditional tribal honor codes.
The Shiite community in Pakistan, a predominantly Sunni Muslim country, has long suffered discrimination and violence.
16 killed in latest northwest Pakistan sectarian clash
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16 killed in latest northwest Pakistan sectarian clash
- Sunni and Shiite Muslim tribes have been engaged in intermittent fighting for several months in the Kurram district
- A convoy of Sunnis was traveling under the protection of paramilitary soldiers on Saturday when they came under attack
Former captain Babar Azam dropped from Pakistan squad for second England Test
- Babar has not scored a fifty in his last 18 Test innings and managed just 30 and five in the first Test which England won
- The PCB said it had rested Babar, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi so that they could come back afresh
ISLAMABAD: Former captain Babar Azam among four top players has been dropped from Pakistan’s squad for the second Test match against England, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Sunday.
The development comes amid a shake-up in the Pakistan Test team after their innings and 47-run defeat in the first Test against England.
The PCB said it had rested Babar, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi so that they could come back afresh.
“Selecting the squad for the upcoming Tests against England has been a challenging task for the selectors. They had to carefully consider current player form, the urgency to bounce back in the series and Pakistan’s demanding 2024-25 international schedule,” the board said in a statement.
“Babar Azam is the best batsman of his generation and the PCB wants a mentally refreshed Babar to represent the Pakistan side in future.”
Babar has not scored a fifty in his last 18 Test innings and managed just 30 and five in the first Test which England won on Friday after piling up 823-7 declared.
The statement came after Pakistan announced a 16-player squad with three uncapped players named for the second Test which begins in Multan on Tuesday.
Spinner Abrar Ahmed has been left out after being taken ill. Abrar was hospitalized after a high fever which forced him to miss the fourth and fifth day of the first Test.
The uncapped Kamran Ghulam, 29, should get the nod to replace Azam at number four in the batting line-up. Two other potential debutants were called up in the shape of wicketkeeper-batsman Haseebullah and left-arm spinner Mehran Mumtaz.
Fast bowler Mohammad Ali and off-spinner Sajid Khan were also included.
Since making his Test debut against the West Indies in Dubai in 2016, Babar has missed only five Tests, two in his first series, one against England at Leeds in 2018 and two in New Zealand in 2020.
The axe fell on Azam, Shaheen and Naseem two days after the PCB reconstituted their selection panel bringing in former pace bowler Aaqib Javed and Azhar Ali along with the incumbent Asad Shafiq.
In a rare move the PCB also included former elite panel umpire Aleem Dar.
After Pakistan’s defeat, skipper Shan Masood and head coach Jason Gillespie backed Babar, saying he just needed time to regain his form.
Babar was once the International Cricket Council’s top-ranked batsman in all three formats, and is still number one in the one-day international rankings.
Since the start of 2023 his form has nosedived. He averages under 21 in his last nine Tests, scoring just 126 in six innings in Australia and 64 in the two home Tests against Bangladesh last month.
Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel, Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Hurraira, Mohammad Rizwan, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Agha, Zahid Mehmood.
With additional input from AFP.
Pakistan police detain at least 20 people amid protests over blasphemy case in Karachi
- The Sindh provincial administration imposed a ban on rallies after announcements of protests by rights group, religious party
- The Sindh Rawadari Committee rights group demanded arrest of police officers deemed guilty of killing a blasphemy suspect
KARACHI: Pakistani police on Sunday detained at least 20 people from two opposing groups as they attempted to hold demonstrations in the southern city of Karachi over a blasphemy case amid a ban on public gatherings, police and rights activists said.
The Sindh Rawadari Committee, a human rights group based in the Sindh province that Karachi is the capital of, had planned a demonstration demanding the arrest of police officers implicated in the killing of Dr. Shahnawaz Kumbar, who was shot dead on Sept. 19 in an alleged encounter after being accused of spreading blasphemous content online.
Simultaneously, the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) religious party announced its own rally from the Teen Talwar roundabout in the city to the Karachi Press Club. In response to the announcements by both sides, the district authorities on Saturday imposed Section 144 and prohibited gatherings of more than five people in the southern port city for five days.
On Sunday, police sealed off streets leading to the Karachi Press Club with shipping containers and deployed hundreds of personnel across the city, particularly in the Red Zone, which houses important government buildings.
“We have found about 20 to 25 person who were flouting the law, trying to stage agitation in a sensitive area,” said Asad Raza, deputy inspector general of police in Karachi’s South district, adding that protesters from both sides had been taken into protective custody.
“We have deployed a considerable force in the area around the Karachi Press Club and have restricted entry to the adjoining streets.”
But hundreds of rights activists defied the ban to reach the Karachi Press Club, where they were baton-charged by the police.
“The police resorted to worst torture and arrested dozens of activists,” said Qazi Khizar, vice president of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s (HRCP) Sindh chapter.
Following the announcement of protests, Raza said, the district administration had advised all parties to avoid and prevent any breakdown of law, considering the sensitivity of the situation.
A notification issued from the Karachi commissioner’s office said on Saturday that public gatherings had been banned for five days due to potential security risks stemming from protest calls by different factions for the same day, Sunday.
Asad Iqbal Butt, chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), voiced his support for the Sindh Rawadari Committee’s protest march, criticizing authorities for “succumbing to pressure from religious groups” by restricting it.
“We simply demand that those who have taken the law into their own hands be arrested and brought to justice,” he said.
Dr. Kumbar was killed in a controversial shootout in the Mirpurkhas district of Sindh after his arrest in Karachi. An official inquiry later found the encounter was staged, resulting in the suspension of several police officials, including DIG Javed Jiskani and SSPs Asad Choudhary and Asif Raza Baloch.
Bowlers’ graveyards: Pakistan’s placid pitches under fresh fire
- England piled up 823-7 last week in Multan on wicket described as a “road” by ex-cricketer Michael Vaughan
- Pakistani pitches have become more docile in past 2 years, each Test wicket now costing an average of 42.13 runs
MULTAN: Australia pace legend Dennis Lillee denounced a pitch in Pakistan as a “graveyard for bowlers” in 1980, but more than 40 years later little has changed.
Lillee vented his anger after toiling for 21 wicketless overs in Faisalabad in a turgid draw.
All 11 Australian players, even wicketkeeper Rod Marsh, had a turn bowling in Pakistan’s second innings of 382-2 in reply to Australia’s 617 all out as the game petered out into near farce.
Last week, on a wicket described as “a road” by former captain Michael Vaughan, England rewrote the record books as they piled up 823-7 declared in reply to Pakistan’s 556 in the first Test in Multan.
The total was the fourth highest single innings in Test history.
Harry Brook plundered 317 at almost a run a ball and Joe Root became England’s highest Test run scorer during his career-best 262.
Their stand of 454 for the fourth wicket was an England record, the fourth highest in history and the most by any pair playing overseas.
Despite the lifeless pitch, England’s bowlers pulled off an innings and 47 run victory after Pakistan crumbled to 220 all out in their second innings.
It gave Pakistan an unwanted record — the first team to score 500 or more and lose a Test by an innings.
England batting great Kevin Pietersen said on X that the lack of help for bowlers in Multan, where the second Test begins on Tuesday, was “helping destroy Test cricket.”
It is a “perennial problem,” former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram told AFP. “For years it has been the same old story. Very rarely we used to get green and lively pitches in the 1990s and had to bowl long spell for wickets.”
Rashid Latif, a former Pakistan captain who has studied pitch preparation, said there was no need for the pitches to be curated so overwhelmingly in the batsmen’s favor.
“We can prepare good pitches but our mindset is negative,” Latif told AFP.
“There was good grass on the Multan pitch but it was shaved off, I don’t know on whose wishes.”
Former spinner and ex-selector Tauseef Ahmed, a member of Pakistan team who played in the infamous 1980 Faisalabad Test, said: “Our batters want a flat pitch to score runs.
“Even in domestic matches we have such pitches so that players score big and get prominence.”
The last two years has seen Pakistan pitches get even more docile. Each Test wicket there now costs an average of 42.13 runs, the highest anywhere in the world.
Pitch preparation is a science, with experts saying the ideal soil mix is around 60 percent clay with less sand, such as that found in Australia.
It produces firm and bouncy tracks which begin to take more spin over five days, providing a balance between ball and bat.
One local groundsman said pitches were a big problem in Pakistan.
“There are multiple factors from weather to interference from the team management who want it to suit them,” said the curator, who did not want to be named.
“That makes the process complex. A good pitch needs sun to bake it but in some weather we do not get that,” he said.
“A Test pitch needed to be cared for six months or a year but our pitches are over-used so they become flat.”
Latif said serious work was needed to lift the standard of pitches.
“There should be a research department under a good geologist to ascertain how a good pitch can be prepared,” said Latif.
He also wanted to see Australian Kookaburra balls used in Pakistan ditched for those with a more prominent seam to help bowlers.
“We need to have Grays, Duke or SG balls for our type of clay, which are hand-stitched,” said Latif.
Two years ago, Pakistan and Australia scored 1,187 runs with just 14 wickets taken in a soporific draw in Rawalpindi.
The then Pakistan cricket chief Ramiz Raja blasted the playing surface: “We live in the dark ages of pitches in Pakistan. This is not a good advert for Test cricket.”
With the second Test starting in Multan Tuesday and the third in Rawalpindi next week, it seems unlikely the bowlers will get any respite soon.
Celebrated art curator champions vision of climate action, public engagement at Lahore Biennale
- John Tain’s career has spanned several countries where he digitally archived art before arriving in Pakistan
- He shunned ‘museums and elite spaces’ and used public places for art installations to attract wider audience
LAHORE: A widely acclaimed art curator has transformed the third edition of the Lahore Biennale into an artistic engagement with ecology and the environment, selecting historic public spaces across Lahore for art installations to attract a wider audience and spark conversations about sustainable living.
Originally from Hong Kong, John Tain’s career has spanned several countries, including the United States, Taiwan, and India, where he digitally archived art before taking over curatorial duties in Pakistan.
The Lahore Biennale Foundation has been working since 2014 to preserve the city’s rich legacy of arts and culture, a heritage that stretches back thousands of years. This year’s theme, “Of Mountains and Seas,” reflects the pressing concern of how the Global South is disproportionately affected by the climate crisis.
Pakistan itself has witnessed a series of catastrophic floods, heatwaves and droughts that have claimed countless lives, caused massive financial damage and raised concerns about food security.
This is despite the fact that the country contributes less than one percent of global carbon emissions, yet remains one of the most severely affected by the impacts of climate change.
“[This year’s event] looks at the themes of ecologies and sustainable futures, but not from the perspective of the problems that we’re all facing, but really from thinking about what are the possible solutions,” Tain said while speaking to Arab News on Friday.
“Specifically, what are the solutions that we can find in a place like Lahore, Pakistan, and thinking about what resources are available locally and in the indigenous culture,” he added.
The event, which kicked off on October 5, will culminate in a Climate Congress next month, featuring international scholars, academics and artists, coinciding with the notorious smog season in the city.
Tain maintained that Lahore was the ideal location to carry out the biennale since it had been significantly impacted by the worsening climate.
“Working with 61 artists who come from over 30 countries, it’s really not about importing answers and knowledge from elsewhere,” he said. “It’s really about looking together for resources and what we can do together to find solutions for sustainability.”
Pointing to the paintings lining the walls of the Shalimar Garden, built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1641, he highlighted works on melting glaciers and fossil fuels by artists like Hamra Abbas and Niamat Nigar.
“Lahore Biennale as a project is not located in art museums or elite spaces,” he said. “We’re really in the city. So, here we are at Shalimar Gardens, where families are playing football and taking strolls.”
Tain mentioned that art installations had also been placed at other public locations, such as the Orange Line metro system, which people use daily.
“So, it’s really meant to bring art to the people, rather than make people come to the art,” he added.
Asked about the Climate Congress at the end of the biennale, he said a lot of research on the environment had been done by experts and researchers, though it had not been properly communicated to the general public.
“The biennale is trying to think about how art and exhibitions can be vehicles for communicating these kinds of messages,” he continued, suggesting that the Climate Congress would be a continuation of the same effort.
While it has only been a week since the biennale installations were opened to the public, Tain said he was happy with the response.
“I think there was a good attendance on both of the opening days [of the inauguration],” he said, encouraging people to attend the event, which is open until November 8.
Pakistan Army bags gold in Exercise Cambrian Patrol 2024 competition
- Around 128 teams from 42 countries took part in the exercise this year, says Pakistan Army
- Patrols had to cover 60 kilometers in 48 hours across inhospitable terrain completing tasks
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s army has bagged the gold medal in Exercise Cambrian Patrol 2024 organized by the British Army, the army’s media wing said on Sunday, in which 128 teams from 42 countries around the world participated.
The Exercise Cambrian Patrol has been running for over 60 years and is the British Army’s principal All Arms Patrol Exercise. It is open to all three Services (regular and reserve) while international participants are encouraged to take part. This year the exercise was held from Oct. 4-13.
The scenario-based exercise is not a competition although patrol performance is assessed throughout based on Battlecraft Syllabus (BCS) and Individual Training Requirement (ITR), in addition to robustness and leadership, the exercise says on its official website.
“This year, 128 teams from 42 countries participated in the Exercise and out of all these teams, Pakistan Army’s team showed exceptional performance in the exercise and has been awarded with the gold medal,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
The military’s media wing said that patrols from around the world had to move tactically across inhospitable terrain to cover a distance of 60 kilometers within 48 hours, completing specialist tasks in a “contested environment.”
“It is indeed a proud moment for the whole nation and the Pakistan Army, which is known for its professionalism and highest standards of training,” the ISPR said.
