Abdullah Shafique hits ton as Pakistan’s lead crosses 100 in 2nd Test
Abdullah Shafique hits ton as Pakistan’s lead crosses 100 in 2nd Test/node/2344406/pakistan
Abdullah Shafique hits ton as Pakistan’s lead crosses 100 in 2nd Test
Pakistan's Abdullah Shafique (L) and Babar Azam run between the wickets during the second day of the second and final cricket Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Ground in Colombo on July 25, 2023. (AFP/File)
Abdullah Shafique hits ton as Pakistan’s lead crosses 100 in 2nd Test
Pakistan reached 273-3 at lunch after Tuesday’s downpours restricted play to just 10 overs
The tourists resumed the day on 178-2 in response to Sri Lanka’s first innings total of 166
Updated 26 July 2023
AFP
COLOMBO: Opening batsman Abdullah Shafique struck his fourth Test century Wednesday as Pakistan stretched their lead to 107 on day three of the rain-hit second Test against Sri Lanka.
Pakistan reached 273-3 at lunch after play began on time in Colombo, after Tuesday’s downpours restricted play to just 10 overs.
Shafique, on 137, and Saud Shakeel, on 32, were at the crease in an unbeaten stand of 63 after skipper Babar Azam fell for 39 off left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya.
The tourists resumed the day on 178-2 in response to Sri Lanka’s first innings total of 166.
Shafique started the day on 87 and hit two successive boundaries off fast bowler Asitha Fernando before a single got his hundred, with a standing ovation from the dressing room.
Azam moved from his overnight 28 to 39 before being trapped lbw, with the decision upheld by the third umpire after review.
It was the sixth time Azam had been dismissed in Test cricket by Jayasuriya, who bowled an unchanged spell through the morning for figures of 1-95.
Shafique stood firm with the left-handed Shakeel, who hit his maiden Test double century during Pakistan’s victorious opener in the two-match series.
Death toll in Pakistan shopping plaza fire rises to 67, officials say
Rescue teams still searching for damaged Gul Plaza in Karachi where blaze erupted on Saturday, says police surgeon
Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement
Updated 22 January 2026
AP
KARACHI: The death toll from a devastating fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi jumped to 67 on Thursday after police and a hospital official confirmed that the remains of dozens more people had been found.
Police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said rescue teams were still searching the severely damaged Gul Plaza in the Karachi, where the blaze erupted on Saturday.
Most remains were discovered in fragments, making identification extremely difficult, but the deaths of 67 people have been confirmed, she said. Asad Raza, a senior police official in Karachi, also confirmed the death toll. Authorities previously had confirmed 34 deaths.
Family members of the missing have stayed near the destroyed plaza and hospital, even after providing their DNA for testing. Some have tried to enter the building forcibly, criticizing the rescue efforts as too slow.
“They are not conducting the search properly,” said Khair-un-Nisa, pointing toward the rescuers. She stood outside the building in tears, explaining that a relative who had left to go shopping has been missing since the blaze.
Another woman, Saadia Saeed, said her brother has been trapped inside the building since Saturday night, and she does not know what has happened to him.
“I am ready to go inside the plaza to look for him, but police are not allowing me,” she said.
There was no immediate comment from authorities about accusations they have been too slow.
Many relatives of the missing claim more lives could have been saved if the government had acted more swiftly. Authorities have deployed police around the plaza to prevent relatives from entering the unstable structure, while rescuers continue their careful search.
Investigators say the blaze erupted at a time when most shop owners were either closing for the day or had already left. Since then, the Sindh provincial government has said around 70 people were missing after the flames spread rapidly, fueled by goods such as cosmetics, clothing, and plastic items.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though police have indicated that a short circuit may have triggered the blaze.
Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement, and illegal construction.
In November 2023, a shopping mall fire killed 10 people and injured 22. One of Pakistan’s deadliest industrial disasters occurred in 2012, when a garment factory fire killed at least 260 people.
