ISLAMABAD: With Saudi Arabia’s national flag draped around his shoulders, Shah Murad arrived in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad to achieve his “lifelong dream”: watch Saudi Arabia’s national football team in action.
Murad, a 33-year-old tea boy at a private bank in Pakistan’s financial hub Karachi, resides in the city’s teeming Lyari neighborhood. The slum has long been considered one of the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods due to frequent gang-related killings and rampant street crimes there.
It’s also known as “Mini-Brazil” and Pakistan’s football capital for producing immense talent for the sport. While its residents support different teams, a majority of them cheer for top football-playing nations like Germany, Brazil and Argentina.
Pakistan will face Saudi Arabia today at the Jinnah Football Stadium in Islamabad. The two sides will lock horns for round 2 of the FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. Pakistan lost the first round against Saudi Arabia in Al Ahsa in November 2023 when the Green Falcons vanquished Pakistan 4-0.
What makes Murad’s 890-mile journey from Karachi to Islamabad remarkable is the recent tragedy that befell him days before he decided to travel to Islamabad, a city he had never traveled to before. The superfan, a father of one, had been planning to travel to Islamabad for the match for the last six months. A few days earlier, his wife delivered a premature baby, their second child, who was put on a ventilator due to health complications.
“But before I could commence on my journey to fulfill my dream, I lost my son,” Murad told Arab News. “It hasn’t [even] been a week.”
Murad had abandoned his plan to leave Karachi but his family told him to pursue his dream of watching the Saudi football team live in action.
“My family encouraged me and said that it has been my lifelong dream,” Murad said. “You should go fulfill it.”
And his family’s encouragement was enough to motivate Murad to buy a Rs12,400 [$44.52] return bus ticket.
“I had been saving this money for a long time,” he explained.
In November 2022, when Saudi Arabia upset Argentina in the FIFA World Cup 2022, Arab News spoke to Murad who said Saudi star Yasser Al-Qahtan was his favorite footballer.
When asked if he had any other wishes, Murad said he wanted to meet Saudi Arabia’s men’s football team now that he was in Islamabad.
However, he does feel slightly conflicted about who to support, now that his favorite team will be facing his country on the field.
“I want the Saudi team to win because it is my favorite football team,” Murad said. “But Pakistan is my country, so I am a bit confused.
“Whoever wins in the end, I hope it will be a victory for sports.”
Pakistani superfan travels 890 miles to catch Saudi football team live in Islamabad
Pakistani superfan travels 890 miles to catch Saudi football team live in Islamabad
- Shah Murad, a 33-year-old resident of Pakistan’s Karachi, considers Saudi Arabia his “favorite” football team
- Days before Murad departed for Islamabad, his premature baby passed away due to health complications
Pakistan’s JF-17 fighter jet draws ‘strong interest’ at Riyadh defense exhibition
- Jets showcased as Pakistan seeks to expand defense exports
- Interest in JF-17 has heightened after May 2025 conflict with India
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s JF-17 Thunder fighter jet has drawn “strong interest” at the World Defense Exhibition in Riyadh, Pakistan’s state broadcaster said on Sunday, as Islamabad promotes the aircraft to international buyers at one of the region’s largest defense industry events.
The exhibition brings together defense officials, manufacturers and military delegations from dozens of countries, offering a platform for arms exporters to showcase equipment and pursue new contracts amid heightened global and regional security concerns.
Saudi Arabia has sought to position Riyadh as a regional hub for defense and aerospace exhibitions, using such events to foster partnerships and attract international manufacturers as part of broader diversification efforts.
Last year Islamabad signed a mutual defense pact with Riyadh and is reportedly discussing another defense agreement involving Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, although details have not been made public.
“At the World Defense Exhibition in Riyadh, the Pakistan Air Force’s JF-17 Thunder has attracted strong interest from visitors and defense experts, standing out among fighter jets displayed by the US, Saudi Arabia and other countries,” state broadcaster Pakistan Television reported.
Islamabad is attending the exhibition in the backdrop of talks with at least 13 countries, six to eight of which are in an advanced stage, for deals involving JF-17 jets made jointly with China as well as training aircraft, drones, and weapons systems, according to recent media reports.
Interest in the JF-17 jets has been bolstered by its operational visibility following the Pakistan-India military confrontation in May 2025, which Pakistani officials and defense analysts have cited as reinforcing the aircraft’s combat credibility.
Islamabad has increasingly positioned the JF-17 as a cost-effective multirole combat aircraft for countries seeking alternatives to high-end Western fighter jets. The aircraft is already in service with several foreign air forces and remains central to Islamabad’s defense export strategy.
Countries engaged in talks include Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Morocco, Ethiopia, and Nigeria as well as the government in eastern Libya led by Khalifa Haftar. Discussions on JF-17s and other weapons with Bangladesh and Iraq have been publicly acknowledged by Pakistan’s military, although more details have not been made public.
Almost all the potential buyers are Muslim-majority nations, like Pakistan. Many are from the predominantly Muslim Middle East, where Pakistan has historically been a security provider.
Separately, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif met his Saudi counterpart, Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, at the sidelines of the event.
Asif congratulated the Saudi leadership and the defense minister on the “successful and splendid” organization of the World Defense Show, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
“He described this global defense event as an important milestone in promoting defense cooperation in the region,” Radio Pakistan said.
