ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, has granted three-month extension to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee, led by Zaka Ashraf, the PCB said on Saturday.
The development comes days after PM Kakar told a local news channel that the top PCB official’s future would be determined after the ongoing World Cup in India.
Ashraf’s four-month tenure was scheduled to end today, on November 5.
“Caretaker Prime Minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the patron of Pakistan Cricket Board Mr.Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has granted a three-month extension to the PCB Management Committee,” the PCB said in a statement.
“Mr Zaka Ashraf currently heads the 10-member Management Committee.”
Previously, the PCB also denied media reports regarding an extension being given to its management committee.
The board and its top officials recently came under intense criticism due to Pakistan’s poor show at the World Cup, wherein the team lost four back-to-back matches that reduced its chances of getting into semifinals.
However, opener Fakhar Zaman on Saturday cracked a blistering century to save Pakistan from World Cup elimination in a rain-affected, dramatic 21-run victory over New Zealand in Bengaluru.
Pakistan now have eight points from as many games with their last match against England in Kolkata on November 11. They not only need to win that but also hope New Zealand lose to Sri Lanka on November 9 in Bengaluru or the match is hit by rain.
Pakistan PM grants three-month extension to Zaka Ashraf-led PCB management committee
https://arab.news/9vq4n
Pakistan PM grants three-month extension to Zaka Ashraf-led PCB management committee
- Ashraf’s four-month tenure as head of PCB management committee was to end Sunday
- Both PM Kakar and the PCB previously ruled out any extension in the committee’s tenure
Pakistan says it seized 32 square kilometers inside Afghanistan as border clashes escalate
- Security official describes ‘limited tactical action’ in Gudwana after Afghan assaults
- Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering militants as UN, China and Russia urge restraint
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has seized a 32-square-kilometer area inside Afghanistan following overnight fighting, a security official said on Saturday, as cross-border clashes between the two countries escalated sharply.
A Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said troops carried out a “limited tactical action” in the Gudwana area opposite the Zhob sector along the frontier, capturing Afghan territory after responding to attacks on Pakistani positions.
“On the night of Feb. 26/27, posts opposite the Zhob sector launched anticipated physical attacks on multiple Pakistani positions,” the official said, referring to fighters linked to Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, whom Islamabad identifies as Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA).
“In response to aggressive unprovoked fire and physical attacks, Pakistan security forces launched a limited tactical action on the night of Feb. 27/28 in the general area of Gudwana with a view to capture TTA Tahir Post,” he continued, adding that 32 square kilometers of Afghan territory were seized.
The official said special combat teams crossed the border after preparatory bombardment, supported by intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets providing “real-time battlefield awareness.”
He said 24 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and 37 wounded, with no Pakistani casualties reported.
The claims could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate confirmation from Taliban authorities in Kabul of any territorial loss in the Gudwana area.
The latest clashes erupted after Pakistani airstrikes targeted what Islamabad described as militant hideouts inside Afghanistan over the weekend, triggering retaliatory fire along the frontier and sharply escalating long-running tensions. Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering Pakistani Taliban militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan, an allegation that Afghanistan denies.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday evening that 352 Afghan Taliban fighters had been killed and more than 535 wounded since the latest phase of hostilities began.
Tarar said Pakistani strikes had destroyed 130 check posts, 171 tanks and armored vehicles and targeted 41 locations across Afghanistan by air. Those figures could not be independently verified.
The United Nations, as well as China and Russia, have called for restraint.
The United States said Pakistan has the right to defend itself against cross-border militancy.
