ISLAMABAD: Cricket enthusiasts are focused on Karachi’s National Bank Stadium, where the Pakistan Super League (PSL) reignites its fiercest rivalry between Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings on Saturday, with both teams experiencing a challenging tournament and languishing at the bottom of the points table.
With their backs against the wall, Karachi must triumph in this battle and their subsequent league match against Peshawar Zalmi on March 11 to keep their playoff dreams alive. Their fate also hinges on the outcomes of Islamabad United and Quetta Gladiators’ remaining matches.
While Karachi navigates this precarious path, Islamabad and Quetta stand on the cusp of playoff qualification, needing just one victory to secure their spots. Multan Sultans and Peshawar Zalmi have already clinched their places, adding to the intense playoff race.
Defending champions Lahore Qalandars have already been ruled out of the next tournament stage after securing only one match in the contest.
Despite their lackluster performance in the ongoing PSL season, the intense rivalry between the two franchises has been compared to the India-Pakistan, and Australia-England cricket rivalry, with many also using the phrase “El-Clasico of cricket” whenever the two teams compete.
Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars face off in PSL battle at bottom of points table
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Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars face off in PSL battle at bottom of points table
- With their backs against the wall, Karachi must win the match to keep their playoff dreams alive
- Defending champions Lahore Qalandars have already been ruled out of the next tournament stage
Pakistan top military commander urges ‘multi-domain preparedness’ amid evolving security threats
- Asim Munir says Pakistan faces layered challenges spanning conventional, cyber, economic and information domains
- His comments come against the backdrop of tensions with India, ongoing militant violence in western border regions
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top military commander Field Marshal Asim Munir on Tuesday stressed the need for “multi-domain preparedness” to counter a broad spectrum of security challenges facing the country, saying they ranged from conventional military threats to cyber, economic and information warfare.
Pakistan’s security environment has remained volatile following a brief but intense conflict with India earlier this year, when the two nuclear-armed neighbors exchanged missile and artillery fire while deploying drones and fighter jets over four days before a ceasefire was brokered by the United States.
Pakistan has also been battling militant violence in its western provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, where authorities say armed groups operate from across the border in Afghanistan and receive backing from India. Both Kabul and New Delhi have rejected claims.
The military has also warned that disinformation constitutes a new form of security threat, prompting tighter regulations that critics say risk suppressing dissent. Munir also pointed to a “complex and evolving” global, regional and internal security landscape while addressing participants in the National Security and War Course at the National Defense University (NDU).
“These challenges span conventional, sub-conventional, intelligence, cyber, information, military, economic and other domains, requiring comprehensive multi-domain preparedness, continuous adaptation and synergy among all elements of national power,” he said, according to a military statement.
“Hostile elements increasingly employ indirect and ambiguous approaches, including the use of proxies to exploit internal fault lines, rather than overt confrontation,” he continued, adding that future leaders must be trained and remain alert to recognize, anticipate and counter these multi-layered challenges.
Munir also lauded the NDU for producing strategic thinkers who he said were capable of translating rigorous training and academic insight into effective policy formulation and operational outcomes.
