HARARE: Fast bowler Hasan Ali registered career best figures of 5-36 to lead Pakistan to a comprehensive innings and 116 run annihilation of Zimbabwe in the first Test in Harare on Saturday.
The 26-year-old finished with 9-89 in the match as Zimbabwe’s batting crumbled for the second time in the match, all out for 134 with an hour remaining on the third day at Harare sports club.
The victory gives Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. The second Test is also in Harare from May 7.
Zimbabwe, who were bowled out for 176 in the first innings, were facing an innings defeat at tea with the total at 118-5.
Hasan had already picked up the first wicket of the innings when he had Kevin Kasuza leg before for 28 to end a promising opening partnership of 48.
After tea he stepped up a gear as he bowled Donald Tiripano for two and Tendai Chisoro, caught in the slips off his second ball for naught, to mark his 50th wicket in Test cricket.
That opened up the tail and Hasan ripped through them too, hitting Blessing Muzarabani’s leg stump as the Zimbabwe pace bowler tried to slog his team out of trouble.
Finally, he bowled Richard Ngarava off a low full toss and with the last man Prince Masvaure unable to bat due to injury, Pakistan players celebrated the victory. Regis Chakabva remained not out on 14.
It was Hasan’s fourth five-wicket haul in 12 Tests, improving on the 5-45 he took against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi in 2018.
Spinner Nauman Ali earlier picked up the wickets of Milton Shumba and Brendan Taylor before tea to finish with 2-27.
Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam praised Hasan and centurion Fawad Alam for Pakistan’s first-ever innings victory over Zimbabwe, 11th in 18 Tests overall.
“Hasan was outstanding in this Test and so was Alam,” said Azam, who was dismissed for a first ball duck. “It was an outstanding finish by Hasan, he has been improving with every match.”
Zimbabwe’s skipper Taylor, standing in for unfit Sean Williams, lamented poor batting.
“Getting bowled out in two sessions on day one let us down and to then field for 130 overs put us behind the eight-ball,” said Taylor. “We need to work on our batting as a group.”
In the morning Pakistan were bowled out for 426 with overnight centurion Alam the last man out for 140.
Trailing by 250 runs in the first innings, Zimbabwe were off to a solid start before Hasan ran riot.
Openers Kasuza and Tarisai Musakanda reached lunch on 36 without loss and took their partnership to 48 before Hasan provided Pakistan with the breakthrough.
Hasan, who took 4-53 in the first innings, trapped Kasuza, who had already been dropped on 15, leg before for 28 while Nauman had Shumba caught behind by Mohammed Rizwan for four.
A well-set Musakanda was run out for 43 while needlessly attempting a third run. He hit five boundaries in a fighting 84-ball knock.
First innings top scorer Roy Kaia lasted just four balls for his duck, falling leg before to Faheem Ashraf.
Stand-in skipper Taylor tried to hit his team out of trouble, smiting two fours and a six in his 29 before holing out to Hasan running back from mid-off.
Earlier, Pakistan were dismissed for 426 after resuming at a healthy 374-6 before Fawad Alam became the last man out for 140.
Alam, who was 108 not out overnight, hit 20 boundaries in his three-minute short of five-hour batting. He tried to hit Muzarabani to the leg side but edged to wicketkeeper Chakabva.
Hasan used the long handle most effectively in his 26-ball 30 which included two sixes and three boundaries.
Muzarabani finished with 4-73 while Tiripano had figures of 3-89.
Hasan leads Pakistan’s rout of Zimbabwe in first Test
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Hasan leads Pakistan’s rout of Zimbabwe in first Test
- The victory gives Pakistan a 1-0 lead in the two-match series
- Batsman Fawad Alam scored 140 before Pakistan were dismissed for 426
One cop killed, five injured in IED blast in southwestern Pakistan
- Anti-Terrorism Force vehicle targeted in Quetta’s Western Bypass area, says police official
- Attack occurs days after separatist militants hijacked train in restive Balochistan province
QUETTA: One cop was killed while five others were injured on Saturday after an improvised explosive device (IED) blast targeted an Anti-Terrorism Force (ATF) vehicle in southwestern Pakistan, a police official said.
The attack took place at the Western Bypass area of Quetta, the provincial capital of Pakistan’s restive southwestern Balochistan province. An ATF patrolling vehicle was targeted with a remote-controlled IED fitted inside a cement block, the station house officer (SHO) of Brewery Road Police Station, Mehmood Kharoti, told Arab News.
The ATF operates under the Balochistan Police and is a specialized unit responsible for countering “terrorism” and organized crime.
“One ATF [cop] Dilbar Khan was killed on the spot and five others were injured in the attack,” Kharoti said.
The police officer said the injured were shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment.
“According to the Bomb Disposal report, two kilograms of explosives were used in the attack,” he added.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion is likely to fall on the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most prominent ethnic Baloch separatist outfit operating in the province.
The blast takes place days after BLA militants stormed the Jaffar Express train on Tuesday in a remote mountain pass in Balochistan after blowing up train tracks. The militants held over 400 passengers hostage in a day-long standoff before the military rescued them.
Pakistan security forces killed 33 insurgents, rescued 354 hostages and brought the siege to a close on Wednesday, according to army spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry. A final count showed 23 soldiers, three railway employees and five passengers had died in the attack.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s biggest in terms of landmass, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency, with separatist groups accusing the government of exploiting the province’s natural resources while leaving its people in poverty.
Government officials deny the allegation and say they are developing the province through multibillion-dollar projects, including those backed by China.
Ramadan on patrol: Pakistani policeman balances duty with devotion in Islamabad
- Constable Malik Muhammad Ikram says iftar hour is particularly ‘unpredictable’ as they are often caught up in patrolling, chasing suspects or responding to emergencies
- The 47-year-old, who always wanted to contribute to the society’s betterment, says iftar and suhoor are secondary and duty comes first, for which the government pays them
ISLAMABAD: As the daylight fades and residents sit together to break their fast amid a call for Maghreb prayer in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, the call for duty rings louder for Constable Malik Muhammad Ikram than the call to iftar, compelling him to break his fast with a date and water.
The 47-year-old, who has been serving in the Islamabad police for 18 years and is currently part of their Dolphin patrolling squad, says he is proud of efficiently discharging his duty, which takes on a different meaning in Ramadan that not only tests his endurance but also his devotion to faith.
Ikram’s duty schedule remains the same in Ramadan as any other day of the year, with an eight-hour shift varying between 7am-3pm, 3pm-11pm or 11pm-7am. But the fatigue feels different while fasting, he says.
“Indeed, performing our duties during Ramadan feels different,” he told Arab News while on duty in Islamabad’s G-6 sector within the remits of the Aabpara police station.
“Nonetheless, it is our responsibility and our profession. We can choose to work with a positive attitude or do it out of obligation, so we try to do it happily.”
The capital city police department doesn’t provide any formal iftar or sehri meals but offers whatever it can to on-duty staff, according to Ikram. The policemen manage to have quick sehri meals before heading out for duty on most days, and if not, they swing by a government mess or food stalls at the nearby G6 market to munch something quickly.
Ikram, who leads a team of three other cops, says the iftar hour is particularly “unpredictable” as they often break their fast with dates, water and fruit while being caught up in patrolling, chasing suspects or responding to emergency calls.
“If we’re on duty during iftar, we have to manage on our own,” he said. “If there’s a station nearby, we go there but there are times, when the Azaan is being called and we’re going for some task.”
Ikram recalls how he received an emergency call from the police control room about an accident near Zero Point just when he was about to break his fast this month and had to rush to the site to respond to the situation.
“If we are having iftar and we get a call regarding an emergency case or an accident, we have to leave everything and respond to the call,” he explained. “We also need to report our response time to the control room, letting them know how long it took us to respond after receiving the call.”
He said he was able to save a young man’s life following that call from the police control room.
“I felt really happy from the bottom of my heart,” he said, reminiscing the moments like this that remind him why he had joined the police force. “The life of the man was saved due to timely treatment.”
For a policeman, being patient is part of the job, particularly in Ramadan, as fatigue and hunger could flare up tempers that hampers their duty, according to the 47-year-old.
“We have to tolerate our anger because it’s the public,” he said. “Our profession and nature of duties are such that anger cannot work here and we have to be patient.”
Recalling another incident, he said they were stationed near a traffic signal in the G6 sector when his team signaled two youths riding a bike to stop, but they sped up and were eventually stopped after a long chase.
“We verified and found out that their bike was stolen. That’s why they tried to flee,” he said, highlighting that his team calmly handled the situation even though it could have turned tense.
Ikram says he is often assigned to the Red Zone, a high-security area housing key government buildings, embassies and key institutions, where the shift runs up to 16 hours even during Ramadan, but he accepts it as part of his calling.
The 47-year-old, whose other family members have also served in police, says he always wanted to contribute to the society’s betterment, which was the reason he joined the force.
“If there is an emergency during Ramadan, duty comes first,” he said. “I took up this profession because firstly, it’s all about Rizq (livelihood) — Allah had written our Rizq in this profession. Secondly, it was my personal choice to join the Islamabad police.”
Looking back at his years of service, Ikram says he finds fulfillment in small yet powerful moments.
“Iftar and suhoor are secondary. Duty is our responsibility, and the government pays us for it. So, duty always comes first,” he said as he picked up his radio and moved on with the routine patrol while fasting with an unwavering faith.
New Zealand romp to nine-wicket win in first Pakistan T20
- Pakistan began New Zealand tour in poor fashion, managing only 91 runs after batting first
- New Zealand opener Tim Seifert got Kiwis off to a flying start, scoring fiery 44 off 29 balls
Christchurch, New Zealand: Pakistan slumped to a nine-wicket loss in the first Twenty20 against New Zealand in Christchurch on Sunday after failing to defend a meagre score of 91.
The tourists began the five-match series in disastrous fashion, reduced to 11-4 at the end of the fifth over after towering paceman Kyle Jamieson ran amok with the new ball.
They were eventually dismissed for their lowest score in a T20 on New Zealand soil and the home side had few problems in responding with 92-1 off just 10.1 overs.
Jamieson claimed three of the first four wickets to finish with 3-8 off four overs.
New ball partner Jacob Duffy returned later in the innings to sweep up the tail and, like Jamieson, claimed career-best T20 figures of 4-14 off 3.4 overs.
Pakistan never recovered from their top-order collapse after being sent in on a Hagley Oval pitch offering early life, with only three players reaching double figures.
Newly-installed captain Salman Agha scored 18 and put on 46 for the fifth wicket with top-scorer Khushdil Shah, who struck three sixes in his 32 off 30 balls.
Jahandad Khan scored 17 at a run-a-ball before the innings ended with eight balls still to be bowled.
Pakistan’s previous lowest T20 score in New Zealand was 101 all out in a 95-run loss in Wellington in 2016.
Opener Tim Seifert got New Zealand off to a flying start, with 44 off 29 balls, striking seven fours and one six.
Finn Allen on 29 and Tim Robinson on 18 completed the chase off the first ball of the 11th over.
The second match is in Dunedin on Tuesday.
Pakistan keeps fuel prices unchanged, plans power tariff cuts for public relief
- Shehbaz Sharif says a comprehensive strategy is being finalized to reduce electricity charges
- Fuel prices and electricity tariffs are sensitive issues after high inflation rates recorded in 2023
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Saturday the government will maintain current petroleum product prices for the another fortnight and utilize the resulting fiscal space to implement a reduction in electricity tariffs, aiming to provide relief to consumers.
Fuel prices in Pakistan are adjusted fortnightly, reflecting global energy market fluctuations and the rupee-dollar exchange rate, to pass on the net effect to consumers.
Since fuel is a key input for thermal power generation, keeping petroleum prices unchanged can create fiscal space for the government to lower electricity tariffs and making it more affordable for consumers.
“We have decided to maintain petroleum prices at their previous levels and transfer the entire financial advantage to the public through reduced electricity tariffs,” the prime minister said in a statement released by his office.
“This measure, among many others, will lead to a meaningful decrease in electricity rates.”
Sharif also said that a comprehensive and effective strategy was being finalized to reduce electricity charges, with details to be announced in the coming weeks.
“Since assuming office, we pledged to prioritize public relief,” he said. “This relief will not only lower electricity prices but also have an overall impact on inflation, leading to a further decline.”
Both fuel prices and electricity tariffs are sensitive issues in Pakistan, which experienced an inflation rate hitting about 38 percent in 2023.
Subsequent stringent monetary policies have significantly reduced inflation, with the latest figures indicating a drop to 1.5 percent in February, marking a nine-year low.
Pakistan Railways awaits security clearance to repair track damaged in deadly Balochistan attack
- BLA separatists targeted a passenger train earlier this week, taking more than 200 hostages
- The militants killed 31 people in the attack, derailing the train and damaging 398 feet of track
QUETTA: A delegation of Pakistan Railways officials visited the site of a militant attack on a passenger train in the southwestern mountainous Bolan region on Saturday, saying repair work on the damaged track would begin after security clearance to restore train service from Balochistan.
Dozens of separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militants attacked the Quetta-Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express with bomb, gun and rocket attacks on Tuesday afternoon, killing 31 people and taking more than 200 passengers captive.
The hostage crisis lasted for 36 hours before security forces executed a rescue operation, killing 33 militants and securing the release of the passengers.
Speaking to the media, Rasheed Imtiaz Siddiqui, deputy chief engineer of Pakistan Railways, said four carriages of the Jaffar Express had derailed in the attack and 398 feet of track was damaged.
“Our teams are ready at Sibi, Mushkaf, Paneer and Aab-e-Gum railway stations,” he told reporters at the Bolan site where the train was hijacked.
“This is a highly sensitive area, and our teams will have to work from dawn to dusk since there can be security issues in the dark requiring formal clearance [from Pakistani forces],” he added.
Siddiqui said it would take at least eight to nine hours to clear the derailed carriages and repair the track.
Armed separatist groups often target trains and passenger coaches in southwestern Balochistan province, which has witnessed a low-level insurgency for decades against the Pakistani state.
The separatists accuse the government of stripping the province’s natural resources and leaving its people mired in poverty. However, government officials deny the allegation, saying they are working to uplift the province through development projects, including multibillion-dollar schemes funded by Beijing.
Last August, the BLA destroyed a historic bridge built by the British Army in the 18th century in the hilly area of Kolpur, suspending train service for nearly a month.
Pakistan's Frontier Corps stand guard at the siege site after armed militants ambushed a train in the remote mountainous area, at Pehro Kunri in Balochistan province on March 15, 2025. (AFP)
Brig. Umar Altaf, Commandant Sibi Scouts, told the media that the area was clear.
“The terrorists were confident they could prolong the standoff and propagate that the area was under their control,” he said, pointing out that they could not withstand the rescue operation.
“We have recovered eight magnetic improvised explosive devices from the area,” he continued. “They [the militants] were ready to blast the train, but we neutralized them.”
