ISLAMABAD: Lahore Qalandars overcame archrivals Karachi Kings to win their first match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2022 by six wickets at Karachi’s National Stadium on Sunday.
The high-voltage match between the two PSL giants — favorites among fans due to wild competition between Pakistan’s cultural heart Lahore and the economic backbone Karachi — was watched by hundreds of spectators live.
Kings handed Qalandars an impressive 171-run target after batting first. Qalandars were fraught early on as opening batter Abdullah Shafique and Kamran Ghulam fell for 8 and 6 runs, respectively.
However, left-handed opener Fakhar Zaman saw his team through the difficult phase of the match, scoring a blistering 106 runs off 60 balls. During his innings, Zaman hit 12 fours and four sixes before he was dismissed by Umaid Asif.
Mohammad Hafeez and Samit Patel made valuable contributions by scoring 24 and 26 runs, respectively. Patel saw Qalandars to victory with a boundary.
Umaid Asif took two wickets for Qalandars, while Mohammad Nabi and Imad Wasim dismissed one each.
The recent defeat is a setback for Karachi Kings, who are yet to secure a win in the tournament. The side sits at the bottom of the points table and is the only one in the tournament without a win so far.
Earlier in the Karachi Kings innings, opening batters Sharjeel Khan and skipper Babar Azam gave their side a flying start, making good use of the powerplay to build a 50-run partnership.
Khan scored a quickfire 60 off 39 balls, hitting three sixes and eight fours before he was clean bowled by Mohammad Hafeez.
Babar never looked comfortable at the crease and was bowled once again by Afghan spinner Rashid Khan, who had gotten the better of the Pakistani captain during the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 last year too.
Mohammad Nabi, Aamer Yamin, Lewis Gregory, Sahibzada Farhan and Imad Wasim all failed to score big as Lahore pacer Haris Rauf skittled Kings by taking three quick wickets. Rauf finished with figures of 3/33 from his four overs.
Fakhar Zaman ton powers Lahore Qalandars to victory over Karachi Kings
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Fakhar Zaman ton powers Lahore Qalandars to victory over Karachi Kings
- Lahore defeated Karachi by six wickets in a high-voltage PSL clash
- Karachi sit at the bottom of the points table with no win so far
Pakistan arrests suspect arriving from Cambodia amid crackdown on human smuggling
- Suspect worked at an “online fraud company” in Cambodia, later started smuggling people from Pakistan, says FIA
- Pakistan has intensified crackdown against human smugglers after hundreds of migrants drowned near Pylos in 2023
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sunday said it had arrested a key suspect involved in smuggling humans who had arrived from Cambodia, alleging he was also part of an international fraud network.
The suspect, identified as Zainullah, was arrested by FIA officials when he arrived in the southern port city of Karachi from Cambodia.
Zainullah had traveled from Pakistan to Cambodia in September 2024, a press release issued by the agency said.
“He worked at an online fraud company in Cambodia and later became involved as an agent in recruiting individuals from Pakistan,” the FIA said.
The FIA said it recovered images of multiple individuals’ passports, payment receipts and bank transaction records after extracting data from Zainullah’s phone.
It said the suspect received money through personal bank accounts and a cryptocurrency account.
“The suspect has been handed over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle, Karachi, for further legal proceedings,” the FIA said.
“Further investigation is underway.”
Pakistan intensified action against illegal migration in 2023 after hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank off the Greek town of Pylos, one of the deadliest boat disasters in the Mediterranean.
Authorities say they continue to target networks sending citizens abroad through dangerous routes, following heightened scrutiny at airports and a series of arrests involving forged documents.
Pakistan’s interior ministry said this week illegal migration to Europe has declined by 47 percent this year after its nationwide crackdown, saying that more than 1,700 human smugglers have been arrested in 2025.
