PCB chief ‘confident’ India will tour Pakistan for Champions Trophy 2025

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi addresses a press conference on the Champions Cup at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan on August 26, 2024. (@TheRealPCB/X)
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Updated 08 October 2024
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PCB chief ‘confident’ India will tour Pakistan for Champions Trophy 2025

  • Pakistan is set to host ICC Champions Trophy 2025 from February to March next year 
  • India have not sent its cricket team to Pakistan since 2008 due to political tensions

KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has said he is “confident” India will tour Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025 tournament scheduled to be held in February next year, sports website ESPNcricinfo reported. 

Pakistan, who won the last edition of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 by beating arch-rivals India in the final, will defend their title on home soil. The tournament is scheduled to be played from Feb. 19 to Mar. 9 2025 in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi venues of the city. 

India has not sent its national cricket team to Pakistan since 2008 owing to political tensions between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors. Pakistan, however, visited India last year in November 2023 to participate in the 50-over World Cup after India refused to tour Pakistan for Asia Cup 2023. 

India’s refusal prompted Pakistan to agree to a “hybrid” formula for Asia Cup 2023, with some matches being played in Pakistan while others, including the final, were played in Sri Lanka. India has said its government will have the final say in whether the cricket team will tour Pakistan for the Champions Trophy. 

“The Indian team should come. I don’t see them cancel or postpone coming here and we are confident we will host all the teams in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Naqvi as saying. 

To prepare for the megaevent, Pakistan’s cricket authorities started renovating its Karachi and Lahore stadiums in August. 

“The stadiums will also be ready to host the matches on schedule and any remaining work would be completed after the tournament,” Naqvi said. “In a way, you can say that we are going to have a brand new stadium.”

Naqvi, who is also Pakistan’s federal interior minister, was asked if he and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar would meet when the latter arrives in Islamabad next week to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization moot. 

“He is coming but I don’t think the details of his meetings have been set,” the PCB chief said. 


Islamic military coalition, Pakistan to deepen cooperation to combat ‘terrorism’ — Pakistani military

Updated 02 February 2026
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Islamic military coalition, Pakistan to deepen cooperation to combat ‘terrorism’ — Pakistani military

  • Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition is a 43-member alliance that includes Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, UAE and other nations
  • The Pakistani military statement comes after a meeting between IMCTC secretary-general and the chief of Pakistani defense forces in Rawalpindi

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) have reaffirmed their commitment to deepening cooperation, including intelligence sharing and capacity building, to jointly combat “terrorism” and “extremism,” the Pakistani military said on Monday.

The IMCTC is a 43-member military alliance that was formed on Saudi Arabia’s initiative in Dec. 2015 to consolidate Muslim countries’ efforts in countering “terrorism.”

A 17-member IMCTC delegation is visiting Pakistan from Feb. 2-6 to conduct a training at National University of Sciences and Technology on “Re-integration and Rehabilitation of Extremist Elements,” according to the Pakistani military.

On Monday, IMCTC Secretary-General Maj. Gen. Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Moghedi held a meeting with Chief of Pakistani Defense Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir to discuss cooperation among IMCTC member states.

“During the meeting, matters of mutual interest were discussed, with particular emphasis on regional security dynamics and enhanced cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing, said in a statement.

“Both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to combating terrorism and extremism through collaborative strategies, intelligence sharing, and capacity building among member states.”

The IMCTC features Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Afghanistan, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Palestine, UAE, Bangladesh and other nations. In 2017, Pakistan’s former army chief Gen. (retd) Raheel Sharif was appointed as the IMCTC commander-in-chief.

During discussions with Major General Al-Moghedi, Field Marshal Munir appreciated the role of IMCTC in fostering stability and promoting coordinated counterterrorism initiatives across the Islamic world, according to the ISPR.

The IMCTC secretary-general acknowledged Pakistan’s significant contributions and sacrifices in the fight against militancy and lauded the professionalism of Pakistan’s armed forces.

“The meeting underscored the resolve of both sides to further strengthen institutional collaboration for peace, stability, and security in the region,” the ISPR added.

Pakistan enjoys cordial ties with most Muslim countries around the world, particularly Gulf Cooperation Council countries. In Sept. 2025, Pakistan signed a landmark defense pact with Saudi Arabia according to which an act of aggression against one country will be treated as an act of aggression against both.