Pakistani boy to conduct coin toss for FIFA World Cup match

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Ahmed Raza and his father Shabbir Ahmed in Russia. (Photo courtesy: Lotus Pakistan)
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Ahmed Raza, 15 is the son of football-maker Shabbir Ahmed, whose family has been hand-stitching footballs for the FIFA World Cup for three generations. (Photo courtesy: Lotus Pakistan)
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Ahmed Raza in Russia. (Photo courtesy: Lotus Pakistan)
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Two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is documenting Ahmed Raza’s journey from Sialkot to the FIFA World Cup stadium. (Photo courtesy: Lotus Pakistan)
Updated 22 June 2018
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Pakistani boy to conduct coin toss for FIFA World Cup match

ISLAMABAD: Ahmed Raza, 15, from Sialkot, Punjab, will conduct the coin toss for the FIFA World Cup match between Brazil and Costa Rica on Friday, reported Radio Pakistan.
Raza, an ardent fan of Brazil’s football team and its player Neymar Jr., is the son of football-maker Shabbir Ahmed, whose family has been hand-stitching footballs for the FIFA World Cup for three generations.




Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Ahmed Raza and Shabbir Ahmed with Team SOC Films. (Photo courtesy: Lotus Pakistan)

The Pakistani national football team captain will join Raza on his journey to Moscow for the tournament. 
Two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is documenting Raza’s journey from Sialkot to the FIFA World Cup stadium.


Pakistan’s PIA to resume London flights from Mar. 29 after six-year gap

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Pakistan’s PIA to resume London flights from Mar. 29 after six-year gap

  • Newly privatized airline says will operate four weekly flights from Islamabad to London
  • PIA is already operating three fllights per week to British city Manchester, says airline

ISLAMABAD: The newly privatized Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will operate direct flights to London starting Mar. 29, 2026, after six years, its spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday. 

The PIA resumed its flight operations to the UK in October this year with its inaugural flight to Manchester. The airline is currently operating three weekly flights to the British city. 

Britain lifted restrictions on Pakistani carriers in July, nearly half a decade after grounding them following a 2020 PIA Airbus A320 crash in Karachi that killed 97 people. The disaster was followed by claims of irregularities in pilot licensing, which led to bans in the US, UK and the European Union. 

“Pakistan International Airlines has announced the expansion of its operations in the United Kingdom with the resumption of flights to London,” the airline’s spokesperson said in a statement. 

“Starting Mar. 29, PIA will operate four weekly flights from Islamabad to London.”

The airline said that the London flights will be operated from Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 4, which it said is recognized as one of its most modern terminals. 

“London was PIA’s very first international destination and remains one of its most important and attractive routes,” the spokesperson said. 

Pakistan’s government succeeded in its frequent efforts to privatize the airline this month after a consortium, led by Arif Habib Group, on Dec. 23 secured a 75 percent stake in PIA for Rs135 billion ($482 million) after several rounds of bidding, valuing the airline at Rs180 billion ($643 million).

The sale marked Pakistan’s most aggressive attempt in decades to reform the debt-ridden national airline, which had accumulated more than $2.8 billion in financial losses. The government said it would end decades of state-funded bailouts and help revive the airline.

In an exclusive interview with Arab News this week, the airline’s new owner Arif Habib said he plans to renovate PIA planes, improve maintenance and flight schedule, and bring in new aircraft to revive the carrier.

Habib said he sees the region comprising the UK, the US and Canada as a “lucrative market” for the airline’s business. 

“There we can increase the frequency of the flight,” he said. “We will also try to run flights to Canada from Karachi, Lahore, and I think it’s already in Islamabad.”