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‘Technical issue’ with flight delays Pakistan team’s departure to Tajikistan for FIFA qualifier 

A representational photo of Pakistan's national football team, shared on Pakistan Football Federation's social media on July 14, 2023. (Photo courtesy: @PakistanFootballOfficial/Facebook)
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Updated 10 June 2024
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‘Technical issue’ with flight delays Pakistan team’s departure to Tajikistan for FIFA qualifier 

  • Pakistan already out of race to qualify for third round of qualifying matches
  • South Asian team bottom-placed in Group G of FIFA World Cup qualifiers
Updated 10 June 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan national football team has not been able to depart for Dushanbe to play their final round two away fixture of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers against Tajikistan on June 11, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) said on Monday, citing technical flight issues. 

The South Asian team lost to the Saudi football team 4-0 in the first leg of the qualifying matches when they faced off in Al Ahsa. Last week on June 6, Saudi Arabia beat Pakistan 3-0 at the Jinnah Football Stadium in Islamabad with Firas Tariq Nasser Al-Buraikan dealing Pakistan an early blow in the 26th minute followed by another one 15 minutes later, giving the visitors a 2-0 edge over the hosts.

Later, Pakistan suffered another setback in round one of the qualifiers when they lost 6-1 to Tajikistan in Islamabad days after losing to Saudi Arabia. 

“The Pakistani football team couldn’t depart for Tajikistan,” the PFF said in a statement on Monday. “The Pakistani team was supposed to depart via a chartered flight on Wednesday, but the flight was halted due to technical issues.”

The national football squad had already arrived at the airport lounge but the flight was not able to depart, the statement said. 

Pakistan are bottom-placed in Group G of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers and are already out of the race to qualify for the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifying matches after losing four matches on the trot. 

Apart from Saudi Arabia, the other two teams with Pakistan in Group G are Jordan and Tajikistan. In the second round of the qualifiers, a total of 36 football squads have been split into nine groups with four teams each. The winners and runners-up from each group would go through to the third round.

Pakistan squad:

Goalkeepers: Yousuf Butt (D), Saqib Hanif and Hassan Ali

Defenders: Abdullah Iqbal (D), Mohammad Fazal (D), Haseeb Khan, Rao Omer Hayat, Mamoon Moosa, Mohammad Saddam, 

Waqar Ihtisham, Moin Ahmed and Abdul Rehman

Midfielders: Rahis Nabi (D), Otis Khan (D), Ali Uzair, Umair Ali, Toqeer ul Hassan, Alamgir Ghazi and Ali Zafar

Forwards: Imran Kayani (D), McKeal Abdulah, Fareedulah, Adeel Younas and Shayak Dost

Topics: Pakistan football team

Kazakhstan offers to finance rail link to Pakistan ports via Afghanistan

Updated 4 sec ago
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Kazakhstan offers to finance rail link to Pakistan ports via Afghanistan

  • Kazakh envoy says country ready to fully fund Central Asia-Pakistan rail corridor
  • Project revives Pakistan’s regional connectivity push despite Afghan border disruptions
Updated 4 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Kazakhstan has offered to fully finance a proposed railway linking Central Asia to Pakistan’s ports via Afghanistan, according to a media report, a move that could revive long-stalled regional connectivity plans and deepen Pakistan’s role as a transit hub for landlocked economies.

The proposal would connect Kazakhstan to Pakistan’s ports of Karachi and Gwadar through Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, providing Central Asia with direct access to warm waters and offering Pakistan a long-sought overland trade corridor to the region.

“We are not asking Pakistan for a single penny,” Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Pakistan, Yerzhan Kistafin, said in an interview with Geo News on Tuesday. “This is not aid. It is a mutually beneficial investment.”

Pakistan has for years sought to position itself as a gateway for Central Asian trade, offering its ports to landlocked economies as part of a broader strategy to integrate South and Central Asia.

However, its ambition has faced setbacks, most recently in October last year when border skirmishes with Afghanistan prompted Islamabad to shut key crossings, suspending transit and bilateral trade.

Kistafin said the rail project would treat Afghanistan not as an obstacle but as a transit partner, arguing that trade and connectivity could help stabilize the country.

“Connectivity creates responsibility,” he said. “Trade creates incentives for peace.”

Under the proposed plan, rail cargo would move from Kazakhstan through Turkmenistan to western Afghanistan before entering Pakistan at Chaman and linking with the national rail network.

Geo News reported the Afghan segment, spanning about 687 kilometers, is expected to take roughly three years to build once agreements are finalized, with Kazakhstan financing the project.

Topics: Pakistan Railways Pakistan Kazakhstan ties Pakistan Kazakhstan trade ties

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