ISLAMABAD: Islamabad United beat Karachi Kings by just one run and handed the latter their seventh consecutive defeat in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Monday.
The seventh edition of Pakistan’s Twenty20 cricket league kicked off on January 27 and will run till February 27. Six franchises, each representing a Pakistani city, are featuring in the tournament.
Karachi won the toss and sent in Islamabad to bat first in the game. Islamabad scored 191 runs at a loss of seven wickets in 20 overs.
Shadab Khan hit 34 off 26 deliveries, Asif Ali scored 28 off 11 balls and Faheem Ashraf hit an unbeaten 29 runs off 10 deliveries.
Imad Wasim took two wickets for 30 runs, while Jordan Thompson and Mir Hamza dismissed one each.
In response, Karachi could only make it to 190 runs in 20 overs. Imad Wasim and Qasim Akram’s half-centuries could also not help the side achieve the required target.
Waqas Maqsood returned with 3/34 figures. Asif Ali dismissed two for 27 runs, while Zeeshan Zameer took one wicket.
This was the seventh consecutive defeat for Karachi in the ongoing PSL seventh edition.
Islamabad rank third on the points table, having won four of their seven matches.
Islamabad defeat Karachi by one run in PSL clash
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Islamabad defeat Karachi by one run in PSL clash
- This was the seventh consecutive defeat of Karachi Kings in the tournament
- Imad Wasim, Qasim Akram’s half-centuries could also not help the side achieve target
Pakistan’s Mahnoor Omer named among TIME’s ‘Women of the Year’ for 2026
- Omer moved a Pakistani court against the so-called ‘period tax’ in Sept. 2025 which has since sparked a national debate
- Taxes on sanitary pads in Pakistan can add up to 40 percent to retail price, UNICEF says only around 12 percent women use such products
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani women’s rights activist Mahnoor Omer, who fought against taxes on menstrual products, has been named among the TIME magazine’s ‘Women of the Year’ for 2026.
Omer’s efforts have been recognized alongside 16 activists, artists, athletes and businesswomen in the TIME’s Women of the Year 2026 list, including Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Chloe Zhao.
Dissatisfied with the efforts to educate Pakistani girls about sexual violence, Omer founded the Noor Foundation at the age of 14 and held her own workshops with village girls about everything from climate change to menstruation, according to the TIME magazine.
Two years later, a conversation with a domestic worker about the price of pads made her realize that not everyone could afford these essentials. She moved a court against the so-called “period tax” in Sept. 2025 and the case has sparked a national debate on the subject, considered a taboo by many in Pakistan, since its first hearing late last year.
“A decade and one law degree after her interest in activism was sparked, Omer, now 25, is putting her passion and expertise to work in the name of gender equity,” TIME wrote about Omer on its website.
Taxes imposed on sanitary products in Pakistan can add up to 40 percent to the retail price. UNICEF estimates just 12 percent of women in the country use commercially produced pads or tampons. The alternative, using cloth, risks health impacts including rashes and infections, and can make it impossible for girls to attend school while menstruating.
Omer’s suit, which awaits the government response, has sparked a national discussion. She says she spoke about menstruation to her father and male cousins, who thanked her for standing up for their daughters.
The 25-year-old, who is currently enrolled in a master’s degree in gender, peace, and security at the London School of Economics, sees this case as just the first of many.
“I’m not free until every woman is free,” she was quoted as saying by TIME. “I want to leave no stones unturned in terms of what I can do with the next few decades, as a lawyer for the women in my country and gender minorities in general.”
