ISLAMABAD: The fourth T20 Blind Cricket World Cup will kick off today, Saturday, with Pakistan set to face South Africa in the eastern city of Lahore, state-run media reported days after India pulled out of the tournament.
The T20 Blind Cricket World Cup is scheduled to be held in Pakistan from Nov. 23-Dec. 3. As per Radio Pakistan, the tournament will feature blind cricket teams from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa, Nepal and Afghanistan.
“In the Fourth edition of the Blind Cricket T20 World Cup, the opening match will be played between South Africa and Pakistan in Lahore today,” Radio Pakistan said.
India was also scheduled to take part in the tournament but the Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) announced on Wednesday that its blind cricket team was withdrawing from the event, citing its failure to secure clearance from New Delhi to travel to Pakistan.
Political tensions between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan have restricted cultural exchanges and bilateral sports events between the two nations.
Both countries have fought three wars, two of them over the Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.
India withdrew its blind cricket team from the tournament with a little over three months left before the start of the 2025 Champions Trophy, which is also set to be held in Pakistan in February/March next year. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) informed the International Cricket Council (ICC) this month that India will not travel to Pakistan for the tournament.
The ICC informed the PCB of the BCCI’s decision, following which Pakistan demanded an explanation from the cricket governing body. Pakistan has repeatedly insisted it will not agree for the tournament to be shifted to another country and has insisted India travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy.
Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all of India’s games were played in Sri Lanka under a “hybrid” hosting model for the tournament. Several months later, Pakistan traveled to India for the 50-over World Cup.
T20 Blind Cricket World Cup kicks off in Pakistan today sans India’s participation
https://arab.news/wu6hg
T20 Blind Cricket World Cup kicks off in Pakistan today sans India’s participation
- Pakistan’s blind cricket team to take on South Africa in Lahore today
- India failed to secure clearance from government to travel to Pakistan
Court sentences Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan, wife to 17 years in prison in graft case
- The case involves a jewelry set worth over €380,000 gifted to the former first lady when Khan was PM
- The couple were convicted of undervaluing the gift and buying it at a lesser price from state repository
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, to 17 years in prison each in a graft case, dealing another major legal blow to the jailed opposition leader who faces a string of cases.
The reference, popularly called the new Toshakhana case, was filed in July 2024 and involves a jewelry set worth over €380,000 gifted to the former first lady by a foreign dignitary when Khan was prime minister from 2018-2022.
The couple, accused of undervaluing the gift and buying it at a lesser price from the state repository, were indicted in the case in Dec. last year. In October, they denied the charges against them, saying the case was a “politically motivated” attempt to disqualify Khan from politics.
Both Khan and his wife were handed down 10-year rigorous imprisonment under sections 34 (common intention) and 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Pakistan Penal Code, and seven years under Section 5(2) (criminal misconduct by public servants) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
“This court, while passing sentences has considered the old age of Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi, as well as the fact that Bushra Imran Khan is a female,” read a copy of the court verdict.
“It is in consideration of both said factors that a lenient view has been taken in awarding lesser punishment.”
Khan, who has been in jail since August 2023, faces a slew of cases which the former premier says have been politically motivated.
His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has long campaigned against the military and government, accusing the generals of ousting him together with his rivals. Khan’s opponents deny this, while the military says it does not meddle in politics.
On Friday, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) acquitted Khan aide and former foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, but awarded 10-year prison sentences to senior PTI figures, including Dr. Yasmin Rashid, Mian Mehmood-ur-Rashid, Omer Sarfraz Cheema and former senator Ejaz Chaudhry in a case linked to violent riots in May 2023.
