Pakistani girl eyes Olympic glory after winning gold at Saudi national games

Pakistani expatriate girl Sarooj Sajid Hussain is plays table tennis at the Saudi Ministry of Health Open Tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 16, 2021. (Photo courtesy: Sajid Hussain)
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Updated 14 November 2022
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Pakistani girl eyes Olympic glory after winning gold at Saudi national games

  • The inaugural games aimed to provide a platform for athletes to excel, demonstrate the Kingdom's ability to host mega events
  • Sarooj Sajid Hussain, who started playing table tennis at the age of 7, represented army at various events in her home country

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani expatriate girl, who won a gold medal in the prestigious Saudi Games this month, on Monday said she now aimed to win medals for Pakistan at the Olympics and other international competitions, hailing the Kingdom for providing the opportunity to expatriates to participate in the national event.




Pakistani expatriate girl Sarooj Sajid Hussain poses with her gold medal at the Saudi Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 7, 2022. (Courtesy: Sajid Hussain) 

The inaugural Saudi Games, held in Riyadh from October 27 till November 7, aimed to provide a platform for athletes to excel to their best potential, inspire youth and demonstrate the Kingdom's ability to host mega events. The games came as part of the Vision 2030 program which, among other things, also places significant emphasis on sports and physical activities to produce a new generation of athletes.  

More than 6,000 athletes, with 2,000 supervisors, from over 200 clubs in the Kingdom competed in 45 sporting events, including five Paralympics events, in the 11-day Saudi national games. Saudi authorities also allowed children of expatriates, who were born in the Kingdom, to participate in the games. 

“It is indeed an amazing feeling to become the first Pakistani to win a gold medal in the Saudi Games,” Sarooj Sajid Hussain, 16, told Arab News, in an interview over the phone from Al-Khobar on Monday. 

“My next aim is to represent Pakistan and win medals for my country in the Olympics and other international competitions.”  




Pakistani expatriate girl Sarooj Sajid Hussain (middle) can be seen on the victory podium after winning gold medal at the Saudi Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 7, 2022. (Courtesy: Sajid Hussain)

Inspired by her elder brother, Hussain, a student of the Pakistan International School in Al-Khobar, started playing table tennis at the age of seven and has previously won three medals in different competitions in the Kingdom.  

The young Pakistani expatriate represents the Al-Nahda Club, where she has been training for the last three years. 

She thanked Saudi authorities for providing an opportunity to her despite being an expatriate: “Saudi Arabia is changing now where not only Saudi women but expatriate women are also getting equal opportunities.”  

Hussain said she started training "very hard" after the announcement by the Saudi government that overseas athletes who were born in the Kingdom could also participate in the games. 

“There were 16 girls from top Saudi clubs in the main round of the tournament and I won a gold medal and one million riyals in cash prize,” she told Arab News. 




CaptionPakistani expatriate girl Sarooj Sajid Hussain (second right) poses with her gold medal with other winners at the Saudi Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 7, 2022. (Courtesy: Sajid Hussain)

About her journey, the young Pakistani girl said her father supported her and bought a table for her to practice the game. 

“Three years ago, I got a chance to play for Al-Nahda Club, where my brother used to play, and then after seeing my potential the club enrolled me and I practiced with their coaches,” she said.  

In Pakistan, Hussain represented the army and won medals in different national events. 

Her father, Sajid Hussain, came to Saudi Arabia from Faisalabad some 24 years ago to teach physics at Mohammad Al-Mana College of Health Sciences in Al-Khobar.  

Sajid said the contributions of women in every field had brought about a "revolution" in the Kingdom. 

“Basically, nations build if women are empowered and now, I can see a visible change in the Kingdom that girls and women are doing splendid jobs in every walk of life,” he told Arab News. 

"I think it’s a revolution." 

Sajid hailed the Saudi government for giving women the opportunity to come forward and play a positive role in the society.  

“Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has taken a very wise step by opening doors to everyone,” he added. 

"He has given confidence to his youth and now it depends on the people how they utilize this opportunity." 

Hussain's mother, Rehana Sajid, who is a chemistry teacher at the Pakistan International School, said it was a difficult task to create a balance between her sports and studies, but they succeeded due to coordinated efforts. 

“It was the hard work of her father who arranged a club and daily drove her there despite a challenging job. I was responsible for her studies which I managed after she came back from practice,” Rehana told Arab News.  

“I am very happy and grateful to the Almighty that with my husband's support, Sarooj could secure this medal.”


Pakistan and Indonesia conclude week-long, joint military exercise to counter militancy

Updated 16 September 2024
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Pakistan and Indonesia conclude week-long, joint military exercise to counter militancy

  • Pakistan routinely holds joint air, ground and sea exercises with friendly nations
  • These military exercises help foster interoperability and joint deployment concepts

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Indonesia have concluded a week-long, joint military exercise, Elang Strike-II, to counter militancy, the Pakistani military said on Monday.
This was the second exercise between the two countries in the counter-terrorism domain, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
It began on September 8 and continued for a week at the National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) in Pabbi town of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.
“The exercise was aimed at mutually beneficial sharing of experience and training methodology between the two armies which have strong brotherly relations,” the ISPR said in a statement.
Senior officials of Pakistan Army and Col. Budi Wirman, defense attaché of Indonesia, attended the closing ceremony.
Pakistan routinely holds joint air, ground and sea exercises with friendly nations. These drills help foster interoperability and joint deployment concepts to counter threats to regional and global peace.
The South Asian country, which has fought back militancy for decades, also hosts cadets from these brotherly nations each year to undergo specialized military training.


Pakistani man to appear in US court on assassination plot charges

Updated 16 September 2024
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Pakistani man to appear in US court on assassination plot charges

  • Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say Asif Merchant, 46, spent time in Iran before traveling to the United States to recruit people for the plot
  • Merchant told a confidential informant he also planned to steal documents from one target and organize protests in the US, prosecutors said

NEW YORK: A Pakistani man with alleged ties to Iran is set to appear in US court on Monday on charges of scheming to assassinate an American politician in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards top commander Qassem Soleimani.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say Asif Merchant, 46, spent time in Iran before traveling to the United States to recruit people for the plot.
Merchant told a confidential informant he also planned to steal documents from one target and organize protests in the United States, prosecutors said.
The defendant named Donald Trump as a potential target but had not conceived the scheme as a plan to assassinate the former president, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Court papers do not name the alleged targets, and no attacks were made. As president, Trump had in 2020 approved the drone strike on Soleimani.
There are no suggestions that Merchant was tied to an apparent assassination attempt on Trump at his Florida golf course on Sunday, or a separate shooting of the Republican presidential candidate at a rally in Pennsylvania in July.
Merchant faces one count of attempting to commit terrorism across national boundaries and one count of murder for hire.
He is expected to enter a plea before US Magistrate Judge Robert Levy in Brooklyn at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT). Merchant was arrested in Texas on July 15.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in August that the “modus operandi” described in Merchant’s court papers ran contrary to Tehran’s policy of “legally prosecuting the murder of General Soleimani.”


Pakistan says global commodities trader Gunvor Group ‘keen’ to invest in petroleum sector

Updated 16 September 2024
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Pakistan says global commodities trader Gunvor Group ‘keen’ to invest in petroleum sector

  • Last month, Gunvor Group signed an agreement to acquire 50 percent shares of Pakistan’s Total Parco oil marketing company
  • PM Shehbaz Sharif informs Gunvor Group chairman of reforms undertaken to increase foreign investment in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Global commodities trader Gunvor Group has expressed its “keen” interest in investing in Pakistan’s petroleum sector, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office said on Monday.
The statement came after Sharif’s meeting with Gunvor Group Chairman Torbjorn Tornqvist and Total Energies Vice President Oceania & Southeast Asia Mehmet Celepoglu
During the meeting, the prime minister highlighted the rapid reforms that were underway to increase investment and business activities in Pakistan, according to PM Sharif’s office.
“Chairman Torbjorn Tornqvist expressed the Gunvor Group’s keen interest in investment in the petroleum sector of Pakistan,” it said in a statement.
The prime minister was informed that the Gunvor Group had signed an agreement in August to acquire 50 percent shares of Total Parco Pakistan Limited, a subsidiary of French oil giant Total Energies.
A joint venture between Total Energies and Pak-Arab Refinery Limited in Pakistan, Total PARCO Pakistan Limited has a retail network of more than 800 service stations and is involved in fuel logistics and lubricants.
“The prime minister directed the relevant authorities to provide all possible facilities to the Gunvor Group,” Sharif’s office said.
Since avoiding a default last year, Islamabad has been making attempts to boost foreign investment and trade to drive economic growth in the South Asian country.
In recent months, Pakistan has reached multiple investment deals with a number of countries, mainly the Gulf states, in infrastructure, energy, maritime, ports and other sectors.


Pakistan reports sixth case of mpox virus in Islamabad

Updated 16 September 2024
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Pakistan reports sixth case of mpox virus in Islamabad

  • Patient admitted to the isolation ward of Islamabad’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences
  • Mpox is mild but people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of complication

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani health authorities on Monday confirmed a sixth case of mpox virus in the federal capital of Islamabad, saying the patient was admitted to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital.

The Border Health Staff (BHS) detected mpox symptoms in a 44-year-old man during screening at the Islamabad International Airport, according to the federal health minister.

Since confirming its first mpox case last month, Pakistan has implemented stringent screening protocols at all airports and border crossings for the screening of travelers.

“The sixth case of mpox has been reported in Pakistan,” a health ministry spokesperson said in a statement. “The travel history of the 44-year-old man is from Gulf countries.”

Patients who contract mpox get flu-like symptoms and pus-filled lesions. Mpox is usually mild but can kill. Children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are at higher risk of complications from the infection.

On Sept. 8, health authorities declared Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province mpox-free after all four patients previously infected with the virus recovered.

Dr. Mukhtar Bharath, the prime minister’s coordinator for health, said the health ministry was working closely with provincial authorities to monitor new cases and around 630,000 passengers had so far been screened at airports.

“Effective measures are being taken to protect people from mpox,” Dr. Bharath said.

The World Health Organization has declared a global health emergency over the spread of a new mutated strain of mpox named clade I, which first emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has since spread to several countries, leading to increased monitoring and preventive measures worldwide.


Sindh minister orders security for polio worker who says she was raped on duty

Updated 16 September 2024
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Sindh minister orders security for polio worker who says she was raped on duty

  • The polio worker testified before a local court on Friday that she was raped while she was on duty
  • But the woman later retracted her statement amid threats by her husband for being an ‘adulteress’

KARACHI: Provincial Health Minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho on Monday took notice of alleged rape of a polio worker in the Jacobabad district of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province and instructed police to provide her round-the-clock security.
The incident occurred in Allah Baksh Jakhrani village of Jacobabad. The polio worker testified before a local court on Friday that she was raped while on duty, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported. A day later, the polio worker retracted her statement and said she was robbed, reportedly amid threats by her husband for being a ‘Kari,’ an adulteress, who deserves death. 
The Sindh health minister has instructed police to provide security around the polio worker’s current residence and requested Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah to provide the woman with monetary compensation to help her take care of her children.
“Our female polio workers are the backbone of the polio program and protecting them has always been the utmost priority of the program,” Dr. Pechuho said. “I am taking every necessary action to ensure that she gets the justice she deserves.”
On Sept. 9, Pakistan launched a week-long, nationwide polio campaign amid a spike in militant attacks. The potentially fatal, paralyzing disease mostly strikes children under the age of five and typically spreads through contaminated water.
Two days later, a roadside bomb hit a vehicle carrying officers assigned to protect health workers conducting polio immunization in the northwestern South Waziristan district, in the same province, wounding six officers and three civilians. The militant Daesh group later claimed responsibility for the attack.
Anti-polio campaigns in Pakistan are regularly marred by violence. Militants target vaccination teams and police assigned to protect them, claiming that the campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.
Since January, Pakistan has reported 17 new cases of polio, jeopardizing decades of efforts to eliminate polio in the country. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in which the spread of polio has never been stopped.