ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s cricket body said on Saturday its team of medical experts was examining a shoulder injury sustained by pacer Naseem Shah during a recent Asia Cup match, as a media report claimed he might miss the upcoming World Cup in India.
Shah was bruised and left the ground during Pakistan’s second 50-over match against India that was played in Colombo last week.
Apart from losing the fast bowler in the field, the green shirts also suffered a massive defeat by 228 runs at the hands of their traditional cricket rivals.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board’s medical team has been monitoring the status of Naseem Shah’s shoulder injury sustained during the Asia Cup 2023,” the PCB said in its official statement. “Medical consultations with the experts are underway to provide the best possible care to him.”
“The PCB medical panel will decide on the fast bowler’s return to cricket based on further assessments,” it added.
According to a report that appeared on ESPN Cricinfo, the Pakistani quick could miss the ODI World Cup since the scans had revealed the injury to his right shoulder was much worse than initially suspected.
“The PCB is understood to be seeking a second opinion, but scans from tests in Dubai appear to show the injury could rule him out for the rest of year,” it said. “Should secondary results back up the initial ones, Naseem could be looking at a long layoff. His participation in the Test series in Australia at the turn of the year is in doubt, and he could also miss the next Pakistan Super League in 2024.”
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said a day earlier Shah was central to his team’s World Cup plans.
“Naseem Shah has missed a couple of [Asia Cup] matches [and] I don’t know about his recovery,” he said. “But in my opinion he will be in the World Cup.”
If Shah is ruled out from the upcoming tournament in India, it would be a major setback to Pakistan.
Pakistan Cricket Board’s concerns grow over Naseem Shah’s injury ahead of World Cup
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Pakistan Cricket Board’s concerns grow over Naseem Shah’s injury ahead of World Cup
- Shah bruised his right shoulder during an Asia Cup match against India in Colombo last week
- His injury is said to be worse than previously suspected and may rule him out of the World Cup
Pakistan cabinet orders 50% of wheat, sugar and fertilizer imports through Gwadar port
- China Overseas Port Holding Company plans to eventually expand port’s capacity to up to 400 million tons of cargo per year
- Gwadar underutilized for import and export due to distance from marketplaces of the country, security and services availability
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s federal cabinet on Thursday approved directives to government agencies to source 50 percent of wheat, sugar and fertilizer imports through the southwestern deep sea port of Gwadar, state-run media reported.
Gwadar is on the Arabian Sea in the southwestern province of Balochistan, a mineral-rich region plagued by a decades-long separatist insurgency. China has invested heavily in the province, including by developing Gwadar, which is key to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that also encompasses infrastructure and energy projects and is part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC), which operationally handles Gwadar, plans to eventually expand the port’s capacity to up to 400 million tons of cargo per year. Long term plans for the port require a total of 100 berths to be developed by 2045. For now, Gwadar is underutilized for commercial import and export due to reasons such as distance from the marketplaces of the country, security and services availability.
Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had ordered that 50 percent of all public sector cargo be brought to Pakistan through Gwadar.
“The federal cabinet approved directives for all government agencies to ensure that 50 percent of their imports, such as wheat, sugar, and fertilizer, are accessed through the Gwadar Port,” Radio Pakistan said on Thursday after a meeting of the cabinet. “The cabinet also directed that the percentage of exports through Gwadar Port should be increased in the future.”
A sub-committee of the cabinet will be established to present a quarterly report on import and export activities at Gwadar, it said.
Beijing has publicly voiced concerns about the security of its workers and projects in recent months, particularly after March this year when a suicide bomber killed five Chinese engineers in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Militants have also previously attacked Chinese nationals and targeted projects, viewing China as a foreign invader trying to gain control of the region’s resources.
The start of operations at a Chinese-funded airport in Gwadar was also pushed back for a security review last month after a string of deadly attacks by separatist militants in the area in which over 50 people were killed.
Pakistan court rejects Imran Khan acquittal plea in £190 million land bribe case
- Khan and his wife are accused of receiving land worth millions of dollars as a bribe from a real estate tycoon
- Khan aides say land donated to a trust for charitable purposes, real estate developer denies wrongdoing
ISLAMABAD: An accountability court on Thursday turned down acquittal pleas by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his wife in a case in which they are accused of receiving land worth millions of dollars as a bribe from a real estate tycoon through the Al-Qadir Trust.
The charitable trust was set up by Bushra Khan, Khan’s third wife, and Khan in 2018 when still in office. Pakistani authorities have accused Khan and his wife of receiving the land, worth up to 7 billion rupees ($25 million), from a property developer charged in Britain with money laundering.
Authorities accused Khan of getting the land in exchange for a favor to the property developer by using 190 million pounds repatriated by Britain in the money laundering probe to pay fines levied by a court against the developer. Khan’s aides have previously said that the land was donated to the trust for charitable purposes. The real estate developer has also denied any wrongdoing.
On Thursday, an accountability court turned down a plea by Khan and Bushra to be acquitted in the case. The plea was filed following a Supreme Court verdict last week restoring amendments to the country’s anti-graft laws approved in 2022 that Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said had put the land bribe case outside the jurisdiction of the National Accountability Bureau, which had filed and is currently investigating it.
“After hearing the arguments of the parties concerned, the court rejected Imran Khan’s acquittal petition and fixed the cross-examination of the last witness for tomorrow,” Pakistan’s Samaa News reported. Other Pakistani media also widely reported on the ruling.
The National Accountability (Amendment) Act, 2022 limited the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) jurisdiction to cases involving corruption of over Rs500 million, reduced the term of the chairman of the bureau and prosecutor general to three years and transferred all pending inquiries, investigations and trials to other authorities. The amendments were passed by the then coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during his first term as PM from 2022-2023.
Imran Khan, who had at the time recently been ousted as prime minister through a vote of no-confidence in parliament, petitioned the top court against the amendments, claiming they were passed to benefit the influential, including top politicians, and would legitimize corruption in the country.
In September last year, the Supreme Court, led by then Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, declared changes to the National Accountability Ordinance unlawful and ordered the restoration of corruption cases against public office holders that were withdrawn after amendments in the law came into effect.
The federal government led by PM Sharif and other parties filed intra-court appeals against the judgment, which were accepted by a five-member Supreme Court bench led by the current chief justice, Qazi Faez Isa.
Last Friday, the Supreme Court announced that it was restoring all the changes to the accountability law.
Khan, who has been in jail since August last year in a slew of cases, had also become a beneficiary of the restored amendments, his party said at the time, arguing that he could now move the courts for acquittal in at least two major corruption cases, namely the land bribe case and an investigation involving the illegal sale of state gifts while he was PM.
“Detailed verdict is awaited but in the light of short order, it’s safe to say new Toshakhana [state gifts] case against Imran Khan can no longer continue as it exceeds Rs500 million cap, making it ineffective, as per the new amendments,” Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party said in a statement to media after Friday’s SC judgment. “It will also impact the £190 million case.”
Pakistan finance minister says all matters relating to bailout program ‘settled amicably’ with IMF
- The statement came after the IMF said its executive board will meet on September 25 to discuss new loan to Pakistan
- PM Shehbaz Sharif said “friendly countries” had played a major role in helping Pakistan meet the IMF requirements
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Thursday that matters relating to Pakistan’s fresh $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program will be finalized this month, hours after the lender said its executive board will meet on September 25 to discuss the bailout.
The IMF statement allayed fears of a prolonged delay in much-needed funds for Pakistan. The South Asian nation struck a staff level agreement with the global lender in June, but board approval for the 37-month program has been pending since then.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said earlier on Thursday that “friendly countries” had played a major role in helping meet requirements placed before Islamabad by the IMF, which included arranging additional external financing and rolling over debt.
Islamabad has for years relied on China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for financial assistance to meet external financing requirements and avoid sovereign default, which it came close to last summer.
“All matters with the IMF have been settled amicably,” Finance Minister Aurangzeb said in a statement. “These matters will be finalized in the meeting of the IMF board this month.”
Pakistan’s last $3 billion IMF program helped avert a sovereign default last year, amid a decline in foreign exchange reserves to critical levels, currency devaluation and record inflation.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s sovereign dollar bonds rallied, with the 2031 maturity trading 1 cent higher to bid at 79.93 cents on the dollar, according to Tradeweb data.
Pakistan has been struggling with boom-and-bust cycles for decades, leading to 22 IMF bailouts since 1958. The latest economic crisis has been the most prolonged and has seen the highest-ever levels of inflation, pushing the country to the brink of a sovereign default last summer before an IMF bailout.
The conditions of the fresh IMF bailout have become tougher such as higher taxes on farm incomes and electricity prices. The bailout is aimed at cementing stability and inclusive growth in the crisis-plagued South Asian country.
Pakistan’s Affan Salman, World Youth Scrabble champion, hopes for government support
- 16-year-old studied words for six hours a day, practiced with siblings to prepare for the tournament
- With Salman’s win, Pakistan has become the only country ever to win the world youth title five times
KARACHI: Pakistan’s Affan Salman, who brought home the World Youth Scrabble Championship (WYSC) 2024 trophy this month, said he hoped his win would motivate more kids to take the word game seriously and participate in global competitions, calling on the government to support the Pakistan Scrabble Association and provide funds for training and international travel.
The WYSC is organized by the World English-language Scrabble Players Association (WESPA) annually. The championship was first held in 2006, with the inaugural event taking place in Australia.
Salman,16, participated in the 19th edition of the WYSC held in Sri Lanka from September 6-8. This is the fifth time Pakistani players have claimed the championship title, which is a record.
“It was an unreal feeling and initially I couldn’t believe that I became the champion. But when everyone started congratulating me, I realized I have won,” Salman told Arab News in an interview this week.
Salman played 23 games out of 24 and was crowned the champion in the 19th round.
“In this tournament, I made a highest point-scoring word of 158 points and that word was almagest,” he said, spelling out the word for an influential treatise on astronomy written by the Greek astronomer and geographer Ptolemy in the second century AD.
Pakistan won two trophies, one for the championship title and the other for being the top-ranked team, with four of its players in the top ten. India’s Madhav Gopal Kamath, who stood fourth in the tournament, was one of the toughest opponents, Salman said.
“There were two tough opponents, the number one player of India, Madhav Gopal Kamath, and the number one player of Sri Lanka, Adheesha Dissanayake,” the Pakistani player said.
“I played with Adheesha three times [out of which] he beat me one time. He beat me at a very crucial time in the tournament, in the 23rd round and I could see the championship going away.”
“NO GOVERNMENT SUPPORT”
Born and raised in Karachi, Salman has three brothers and is currently in the 10th grade, with a special interest in Computer Sciences. His elder brother Ali Salman won the world youth scrabble title in 2022 while his younger brother was also competing with him in this year’s edition.
“My father introduced us to scrabble,” Salman said. “He told me to play it in my spare time. I didn’t know we would start playing on a professional level and start winning as well.”
He said his elder brother was his inspiration.
“He taught me everything when we got into the depth of this game. Throughout the tournament, he motivated me a lot.”
To prepare for competitions, Salman studied words six hours a day and also played practice games with his brothers.
“There are word lists as well as a specific software through which we study words. It schedules words every day. Until we learn those words, the software doesn’t spare us,” the champion explained.
In the future, Salman says he wants to pursue computer engineering at the college level. He also hopes to participate and win big at the World Scrabble Championship (WSC), played to determine the world champion in competitive English-language Scrabble.
But for that he said government support was key.
“The government should collaborate with the Pakistan Scrabble Association … they should provide funds. If they cannot provide funds, they can at least sponsor our trips, that would make it much easier for us” Salman said.
“More kids will get motivated and feel that there is scope in scrabble.”
Construction begins of Afghan section of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India pipeline
- The Afghanistan section was to have been completed in 2018, but construction was repeatedly postponed because of security concerns
- The ceremony to weld the first joint of the pipeline section was observed by Afghan prime minister and the Turkmenistan president
ASHGABAT: Top officials of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan on Wednesday witnessed the start of construction of the Afghanistan section of the pipeline that will supply Afghanistan, Pakistan and India with natural gas from Turkmenistan’s vast reserves.
The Afghanistan section was to have been completed in 2018, but construction was repeatedly postponed because of security concerns. Only the Turkmenistan section has been finished.
The Wednesday ceremony to weld the first joint of the 100-kilometer (62-mile) pipeline section from Turkmenistan to the Afghan city of Herat was observed by Afghan Prime Minister Hassan Akhund, Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdymukhamediv and his father and predecessor Gurbanguly.
The pipeline will eventually supply 33 billion cubic meters of gas a year.
Turkmenistan has the world’s fourth-largest gas reserves, which are the keystone of its economy. After losing its gas trade with Russia, Turkmenistan sought to diversify its customers and currently exports mainly to China.
Gurbanguly Bersymukhamedov, who holds the title of National Leader of the Turkmen People, said that the pipeline project and ancillary projects will add 12,000 jobs in Afghanistan and more than 1 billion US dollars per year in revenue, according to the government newspaper Neutral Turkmenistan.
