DUBAI: While India and Pakistan’s fierce cricket rivalry has been on display at the Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates, some families in the country have divided loyalties.
The UAE is home to many cricket-loving cross-border couples from India and Pakistan who find it an easier option than living on the subcontinent, where Pakistanis have trouble getting visas for India, and vice versa.
Cross-border ties have been strained ever since the violence and upheaval that accompanied the creation of modern India and Pakistan at the end of British rule in August 1947.
The two have fought three wars since becoming independent, deepening mistrust and suspicion of each other, while thousands of families remain divided by the border.
Relations further soured after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and cross-border unions are now few and far between.
One rare high-profile example is Indian tennis player Sania Mirza and her husband, Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, who have a home in Dubai.
Indian national Kasim Vakkil and his wife Ghazala, from Pakistan, are also part of the UAE’s large South Asian community.
“My marriage would not have been possible if we were not living in UAE,” Kasim told AFP.
“Ghazala is from Lahore and I am from Mumbai but living at this neutral venue made our marriage possible.”
They came together through cricket when Kasim met his future father-in-law at a game between Pakistan and South Africa in the UAE, where Pakistan hosts games owing to the risk of terror attacks on home soil.
“I went to watch a match between Pakistan and South Africa in 2014 where I met Ghazala’s father which became the first step toward our proposal,” said Kasim, a former college-level fast bowler in Mumbai.
“I would not have imagined watching Pakistani cricketers like Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq and Mohammad Amir before my own eyes but it became possible since UAE became a neutral venue for the Pakistan team.”
Ghazala, who works in human resources, said watching India and Pakistan play made her think of home.
India thrashed Pakistan by eight wickets in the group stage and they are set to meet again in the Super Fours on Sunday.
“Now with India and Pakistan playing in UAE for the Asian title it has given us double joy as we get to see players from both the countries which gives us a nostalgic feeling,” said Ghazala.
India is playing in the Emirates for the first time since 2006, sparking huge interest among the country’s large number of Indian expats.
Club-level cricketer Naveed Siraj hails from Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir, while his wife, Nida, is from the Pakistani capital Islamabad.
“My uncle and aunty lived in Kuwait and Nida’s family were their neighbors so they initiated the talk for our marriage,” said Naveed.
“UAE is a neutral venue for all the expats from Pakistan and India so everyone lives here in comfort and enjoys everything including cricket.”
Dubai taxi driver Sunil Manohar, from India’s Karnataka state, married Nunda from Pakistan’s Sindh province after their families met in the UAE.
“UAE is a nice place for cross-border families,” he said. “In the past, a few couples were stuck in Pakistan because they were not getting an Indian visa.”
Over the boundary! The cricket-loving India, Pakistan couples bowled over in UAE
Over the boundary! The cricket-loving India, Pakistan couples bowled over in UAE
Pakistani journalists condemn Israel’s decision to ban Al Jazeera, demand channel’s ‘earliest restoration’
- Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday country was banning “incitement channel” Al Jazeera
- Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists urges press bodies around the world to raise their voices for news channel
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s most prominent association of journalists strongly condemned Israel’s move to ban international news organization Al Jazeera on Sunday, describing it as a “brutal curb on press freedom,” urging journalist bodies around the world to raise their voices for the Qatar-based network.
The statement comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet voted unanimously to close Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel. The decision came weeks after Israel’s parliament passed a law allowing the temporary closure of foreign broadcasters considered to be a threat to its national security as the months-long war in Gaza drags on.
Later on Sunday, Israeli police raided Al Jazeera’s premises in East Jerusalem while satellite and cable providers took the broadcaster off air.
“Workers strongly condemn the Israeli decision of banning telecast of Al Jazeera TV and demand its earliest restoration,” the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) said in a press release. “The PFUJ-Workers terms the decision a brutal curb on press freedom and demand that Israeli govt should give right to every media organization to work freely.”
PFUJ credited Al Jazeera for reporting “independently” on Israel’s war in Gaza, calling on journalist bodies around the world to raise their voices for freedom of media and support the Doha-based news channel.
“If we do not discharge our duty of raising voice for Al Jazeera the other will use the practice to silent voices in their regions,” the statement concluded.
Al Jazeera criticized Israel’s decision to ban its broadcast in a report, saying that it is one of the few international media outlets to remain in Gaza throughout the war, broadcasting “bloody scenes of air attacks and overcrowded hospitals, and accusing Israel of massacres.”
“The Network vehemently rejects the allegations presented by Israeli authorities suggesting professional media standards have been violated,” Al Jazeera said in a statement. “It reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the values embodied by its Code of Ethics.”
Israel’s move can heighten the Jewish state’s tensions with Qatar, which funds Al Jazeera, especially at a time when the Gulf country is playing a key role in mediating efforts to stop the war in Gaza.
Tim Dawson, the deputy general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, told Al Jazeera Israel’s decision was a “retrograde and ridiculous decision.”
“Closing down media, closing down television stations is a sort of thing that despots do,” he said.
Two-day Pakistan-Saudi Arabia investment conference begins in Islamabad today
- The development comes amid the visit of a high-level Saudi business delegation to Pakistan
- The conference is expected to foster growth and prosperity for the people of both countries
ISLAMABAD: A two-day Pakistan-Saudi Arabia investment conference is set to begin in Islamabad today, Monday, to promote trade and investment between the two countries, Pakistani state media reported.
It comes a day after a 50-member Saudi delegation, led by Assistant Minister of Investment Ibrahim Al-Mubarak, arrived in Pakistan to explore investment opportunities.
The investment conference is expected to foster a new era of growth and prosperity for the people of both countries, the state-run APP news agency reported.
"During the first half of the current financial year, bilateral trade between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia was recorded at $2,482.37 million, with Pakistan’s exports of $262.58 million and Saudi exports of $2.219 billion," the APP report read, citing a Pakistani commerce ministry official.
"Pakistan would welcome and fully facilitate investments and partnerships from Saudi Arabia in IT, minerals, textiles, food security, engineering and energy sectors."
At present, Saudi Arabia's exports include oil, plastics and organic chemicals, while Pakistan exports rice, bovine animal meat, fruit and vegetables, tents and camping goods.
The official noted Pakistan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) had agreed on a Free-Trade Agreement last year and Islamabad was also planning to organize a Single Country Exhibition and Lifestyle Show in the Kingdom.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong ties rooted in shared culture, religion and economic cooperation, and have witnessed a flurry of official visits in recent weeks.
The two countries have lately been working to increase bilateral trade and investment, and the Kingdom recently reaffirmed its commitment to expedite an investment package worth $5 billion for Pakistan.
Pakistan farmers announce nationwide protest from May 10 amid wheat import crisis
- Farmers are demanding the government stop wheat imports that have flooded markets, leading to price slump
- Agriculture contributes about 24 percent of the GDP and accounts for half of the employed labor force in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani farmers on Sunday announced a nationwide protest over the wheat import crisis from May 10, a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif promised to address their grievances.
Farmers in Pakistan’s Punjab province, which produces most of the wheat crop, are demanding the government stop wheat imports that have flooded the market at a time when they expect bumper crop.
They say the import of wheat in the second half of 2023 and the first three months of this year has resulted in excess amounts of the commodity in the country, leading to reduced prices.
On Saturday, PM Sharif took notice of the matter and formed a committee under the Ministry of National Food Security and Research to address farmer grievances, Pakistani state media reported.
“On the 10th [of May], after the Friday prayers, we are initiating protest from Multan and this protest will be expanded to the whole of Pakistan,” Khalid Khokhar, who heads the Kissan Ittehad Pakistan, said at a press conference.
“Thousands of farmers will come, there will be hundreds of tractors, trailers. Animals, cattle and children and women will also be accompanied.”
Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy and constitutes its largest sector. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), agriculture contributes about 24 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounts for half of the employed labor force in the country.
However, the prices of wheat have dropped in Pakistan in recent weeks and are much below the government’s support price of Rs3,900 per 40-kilogram bag.
“We do not have any option other than this. The mafia made Rs100 billion, Pakistan’s $1 billion worth of foreign exchange was spent and the farmers incurred around Rs400 billion losses,” Khokhar said.
“They slaughtered 60 million farmers just for the sake of corruption.”
Pakistan’s Dr. Shahzad Baig makes it to TIME’s 100 world leaders in health
- Before arriving in Pakistan, Baig was a technical adviser to Nigeria’s polio eradication effort, which remained successful
- Pakistan, Afghanistan are only two countries in world where polio continues to threaten health and well-being of children
ISLAMABAD: US news magazine TIME has included Dr. Shahzad Baig, the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme’s national coordinator, to its list of 100 most influential people across the world in the field of health in 2024.
The list, titled ‘TIME100 HEALTH,’ this week honored individuals from across the world for their services for fresh discoveries, novel treatments, and global victories over disease.
Baig was recognized for his efforts for the eradication of poliovirus, which mainly affects children under the age of ten years by invading their nervous system, and can cause paralysis or even death.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio continues to threaten the health and well-being of children.
“On the front lines in the effort to stamp it [polio] out is Dr. Shahzad Baig, national coordinator of Pakistan’s polio-eradication program,” TIME wrote on its website.
“In 2019, polio disabled or killed 147 people in Pakistan; since Baig assumed the position, in 2021, case counts have plummeted, with only six children stricken in 2023.”
Before arriving in Pakistan, Baig was a technical adviser to Nigeria’s polio eradication effort, which succeeded spectacularly, according to the US magazine.
In 2020, the African country became the most recent one in the world to be declared polio-free.
“If Baig has his way, Pakistan will be the next,” it added.
Canada has ‘political compulsion’ to blame India for Sikh slaying — New Delhi
- Canadian police on Friday arrested three for the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, saying they were investigating their links to Indian government
- The killing soured Ottawa-New Delhi diplomatic ties after PM Trudeau said there were ‘credible allegations’ linking Indian intelligence to crime
NEW DELHI: Canada’s investigation into alleged Indian involvement in the assassination of a Sikh separatist in Vancouver last year is a “political compulsion,” New Delhi’s foreign minister said after three Indian citizens were arrested over the killing.
Canadian police on Friday arrested the trio for the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, saying they were investigating their links to the Indian government, “if any.”
The killing sent diplomatic relations between Ottawa and New Delhi into a tailspin last autumn after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” linking Indian intelligence to the crime.
India vehemently rejected the allegations as “absurd,” halting the processing of visas for a time and forcing Canada to significantly reduce its diplomatic presence in the country.
“It is their political compulsion in Canada to blame India,” the Press Trust of India news agency quoted external affairs minister S. Jaishankar as saying on Saturday.
Thousands of people were killed in the 1980s during a separatist insurgency aimed at creating a Sikh homeland known as Khalistan, which was put down by security forces.
The movement has largely petered out within India, but in the Sikh diaspora — whose largest community is in Canada, with around 770,000 people — it retains support among a vocal minority.
New Delhi has sought to persuade Ottawa not to grant Sikh separatists visas or political legitimacy, Jaishankar said, since they are “causing problems for them (Canada), for us and also for our relationship.”
He added that Canada does not “share any evidence with us in certain cases, police agencies also do not cooperate with us.”
Nijjar immigrated to Canada in 1997 and acquired citizenship 18 years later. He was wanted by Indian authorities for alleged terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder.
The three arrested Indian nationals, all in their twenties, were charged with first degree murder and conspiracy.
They were accused of being the shooter, driver and lookout in his killing last June.
The Canadian police said they were aware that “others may have played a role” in the murder.
In November, the US Justice Department charged an Indian citizen living in the Czech Republic with plotting a similar assassination attempt on another Sikh separatist leader on American soil.
A Washington Post investigation reported last week that Indian foreign intelligence officials were involved in the plot, a claim rejected by New Delhi.
