Pakistan | Pakistan

Pace bowling great Wasim Akram has urged Pakistan and India’s cricketers to ignore the noise and enjoy the game when they meet in a highly charged Asia Cup T20 match on Sunday. The Group A match in Dubai is the first clash on the cricket field between the countries since a military conflict four months ago took relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours to their lowest point in decades. India resisted calls to boycott the match between the pair, who have not played in any bilateral series since deadly attacks in Mumbai 2008. “Enjoy, it’s a game of cricket,” legendary left-armer Akram told AFP of the match, which potentially could be the first of three high-octane meetings between the countries in the T20 tournament. “Forget about everything other than cricket. One team will win, and one team will lose,” he said. “Just enjoy the moment if you win the game. Pressure will come, enjoy that and show discipline because this is just a game. It’s for both teams and for both sets of fans.” A full house of 25,000 i...

Pakistan beat Oman by 93 runs after electing to bat first in their opening Twenty20 International (T20I) encounter of the men’s Asia Cup 2025 in Dubai on Friday. The Green Shirts will face India next on Sunday — the arch-rivals will clash in a geopolitically-charged contest in Dubai. It will be the first cricket match between the sides since four days of military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May. Player of the match Mohammad Haris top-scored with 66 of 43 deliveries after being sent at his preferred position of one down for a change after a string of failures down the order in the tri-series. Oman restricted the Pakistani batters to 160-7 after the Green Shirts were 85-1 at the halfway mark of the first innings. However, their batting reply fell apart against the quality of the Pakistani bowling attack — getting bowled out for a paltry 67 on a typical Dubai wicket. Speaking after the match, skipper Salman Ali Agha said: “With the bat we still need to work [to improve], but the bowling was ...

A disclaimer to start with: it was just Oman. So, Pakistan fans, don’t get too excited. I hope most of you won’t, since, traditionally, this team keeps finding new ways to disappoint us. With the emotions now set aside, let’s “objectively” look into what Pakistan came up with in their Asia Cup opener at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday. The boys in green, as expected from them, swept aside the Omanis with utter disdain, continuing the pattern of big sides staying unchallenged by the minnows in the tournament. Like the good old days, the Pakistan bowlers starred. It was a display of what turned out to be unplayable spin bowling for Oman on a slow, sluggish, sticky surface — on which Pakistan failed to consistently put bat on ball as well, but more on that later. Spin-stars Pakistan are ripe with spin resources. They may not be the best in the Asia Cup with Afghanistan and India boasting the services of some proven pros, but they showed they are getting there with a top show against Oman. Pakis...

Pakistan has strongly condemned Israel’s attack on Qatar, terming it a blatant violation of international law.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday announced that Pakistan will host the next Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, stating that authorities need to start preparing. This development comes less than a fortnight after the SCO Summit in Tianjin, China, where Pakistan raised the issue of the Indus Waters Treaty and a joint declaration was issued condemning the attacks on the Jaffar Express, Khuzdar and Pahalgam. Addressing a ceremony in Islamabad, the PM made the announcement and stated that authorities had to start preparing for the incoming dignitaries. He did not give a date for the summit. “We have to start preparing now,” the PM said.“ We need to build accommodation and beautify Islamabad. Tajikistan gave us saplings as a gift. Chairman CDA (Capital Development Authority) and his team are working day and night [to plant them].“ Pakistan last hosted the SCO in 2024 for the Council of Heads of Government Summit, where PM Shehbaz called for investing in the region’s collective capacity for conne...

A high-level delegation from Iraq on Friday reaffirmed commitment to enhance bilateral cooperation in the field of border management, according to a press release by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The FIA is a border control agency which plays an important role in preventing illegal immigration and human trafficking. Its crackdown on human smugglers intensified following the capsizing of a boat carrying illegal immigrants near Greece in December last year. During a visit to the FIA Headquarters in Islamabad, the delegation was welcomed by FIA Additional Director General Jan Muhammad and received a “comprehensive” briefing on Pakistan’s border management practices. The head of the Iraqi delegation “reaffirmed Iraq’s commitment to further strengthening cooperation between the border management agencies of both countries,” the press release noted. The briefing included an overview of FIA’s mandate and the work of FIA’s specialised units. “At the Risk Analysis Unit (RAU), the director [of] immigration ex...

The United Kingdom has expressed full solidarity with Pakistan in the wake of the devastation caused by massive floods and the ongoing monsoon season.

The European Union (EU) has appointed veteran diplomat Raimundas Karoblis as its new Ambassador to Pakistan, marking what officials described as a renewed phase in EU-Pakistan relations.

The European Union (EU) has appointed a new ambassador to Pakistan, a statement from the EU said on Friday. Incoming ambassador Raimundas Karoblis presented his credentials to President Asif Ali Zardari on September 10, according to the Foreign Office. He will be replacing the outgoing envoy, Dr Riina Kionka. “With over 30 years of experience in diplomacy, international trade, and security, he (Karoblis) previously served as Ambassador of the European Union to Tajikistan from 2022 to 2025,” the statement read. “Ambassador Karoblis had a distinguished career in Lithuania’s diplomatic service, holding senior positions, including Deputy Minister responsible for EU affairs, foreign trade, and sanctions, as well as Lithuania’s Permanent Representative to the European Union from 2010 to 2015.” Karoblis also served as the minister of national defence from 2016 to 2020, according to the statement. The incoming ambassador holds a law degree from Vilnius University and is fluent in Lithuanian and English, but also spea...

Pakistan and Israel engaged in a heated debate at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Thursday, with Islamabad condemning Tel Aviv’s recent attack in Qatar targeting Hamas leaders as “illegal, unprovoked, and a threat to regional stability”. The sharp exchange took place at an emergency UNSC meeting convened under the agenda item ‘Situation in the Middle East’. The session had been requested by Algeria, Pakistan, and Somalia and was supported by France and the United Kingdom. Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, opened his address at the UNSC with a strong condemnation of Israel’s strike, calling it a “brazen and illegal assault” and a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty. “The brazen and illegal assault is not an isolated incident, rather it is part of a broader and consistent pattern of aggression and violation of international law by Israel that undermines regional peace and stability.” Ahmad further highlighted that the “Israeli strikes targeted a residentia...

DOHA/ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday assured the Qatari leadership of Pakistan’s full solidarity and support in the face of unjustified provocation by Israel.

Pakistan has been removed from the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (Wada) watchlist, a spokesperson of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) said on Friday. The country was placed on Wada’s watchlist in September 2024 over outstanding non-conformities to the agency’s updated anti-doping code. According to the spokesperson, WADA confirmed that the compliance procedure against Pakistan’s Anti-Doping Organisation (Adop) was closed after all pending corrective actions were completed. “A follow-up confirmation from Wada in September reiterated that Pakistan was no longer under enhanced monitoring, ending speculation over possible sanctions,” the statement said. PSB Deputy Director General (DG) Shahid Islam was informed of the decision by Wada via email, the PSB spokesperson told Dawn.com. The statement also said that corrective measures were put under PSB DG Yasir Pirzada’s leadership, including policy alignment and procedural reforms, ensuring that Pakistan met the stringent global standards in time. “This is not just a bur...

ISLAMABAD - Ambassador of Pakistan to France Mumtaz Zahra Baloch visited the International Village of Gastronomy Paris at the invitation of its President and Founder Anne-Laure Descombin.

Pakistan on Friday called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to move beyond verbal condemnation and hold Israel accountable for what it termed “illegal and unprovoked aggression” against Qatar.

Pakistan’s first-ever all-woman mountaineering expedition has summited Gilgit-Baltistan’s 5,400-metre Bari La peak, it emerged on Thursday. The 10-member expedition comprised Bibi Afzon and Zeeba Batool from GB, Bismah Hasan and Iqra Jillani from Punjab, Madeeha Syed from Sindh, Mona Khan from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Marya Bangash from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Shahreen Khan and Amina Shabbir from Islamabad and Laraib Batool from Balochistan. According to a statement issued today by Alpine Club of Pakistan Vice President Karrar Haidri, history was “written in the high mountains of Pakistan”. He said the first-ever all-woman expedition, organised and sponsored by the Alpine Club, successfully summited Bari La Peak on Wednesday. “With equal representation from all four provinces, GB and AJK, these courageous women came together not just to climb, but to break barriers and prove that Pakistan’s daughters can rise to any peak,” Haidri said. He added that before embarking on their journey, the expedition received traini...

Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Mike Hesson dismissed concerns about the national squad’s batting performance on Thursday ahead of the upcoming Asia Clup clash with India. The arch-rivals will clash in a geopolitically-charged men’s Asia Cup contest in Dubai on Sunday. It will be the first cricket match between the sides since four days of military conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May. While reigning T20 world champions India are the firm favourites to retain their title, Pakistan are on a high, having convincingly beaten Afghanistan in the final of a tri-series, also involving hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Sunday. Pakistan play against Oman tomorrow. Questioned during a pre-match press conference in Dubai about the team’s batting performance and judgement, Hesson said he was “not quite sure” where the concerns were arising from, saying the team had played against the “best wrist spin attack” in the world and won by over 70 runs against Afghanistan in the tri-series final. “It’s very m...

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday assured the Qatari leadership of Pakistan’s full solidarity and support in the face of unjustified provocation by Israel.

Pakistan has formally assumed the chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), the Foreign Office announced on Thursday.

In the hot summer sun of southern Punjab, the roof of Lucky Cement’s factory glints with solar panels soaking up rays. Below, inside a quiet control room, sit rows of lithium-ion batteries made by Chinese company CATL. While the plant usually draws from the national grid when possible, these batteries can power it during the blackouts that have become an almost daily problem. Across Pakistan’s busy industrial zones – from Faisalabad’s textile mills to food processing units in Sindh – an increasing number of businesses are turning to solar panels paired with batteries. They, along with wealthier households, are trying to cope with soaring electricity prices and frequent load shedding, where power is shut off to parts of the grid to ease the strain on power stations. Helping drive this change is an unexpected factor: China producing more batteries than it can use. But rather than continuing to rely on Chinese battery and solar products, Pakistan needs policies that promote their manufacture domestically, that m...

ISLAMABAD: As part of efforts to deepen ties, enhance economic diplomacy and boost tourism cooperation, Uzbekistan Airways is increasing the number of regular flights between the two countries. The Uzbek embassy in Islamabad said on Wednesday that Uzbekistan and Pakistan continued to strengthen their friendly relations and expand cooperation across multiple sectors. In this process, transport and logistics, particularly air connectivity, played a crucial role. Starting October 28, the frequency of flights on ‘Tashkent-Islamabad-Tashkent’ route will be doubled, from once a week to two flights per week. Currently, Uzbekistan Airways operated flights twice a week — on Wednesdays and Fridays — on the ‘Tashkent-Lahore-Tashkent’ route, and once a week (on Saturdays) on the ‘Tashkent-Islamabad-Tashkent’ route. Due to consistently high demand, with flights running at full passenger capacity and tickets selling out several days in advance, the airline had decided to expand its flight schedule. The Embassy of Uzbekista...