ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has approved tax exemptions for the International Cricket Council (ICC) in connection with the ongoing 2025 Champions Trophy tournament, the government announced on Thursday.
The South Asian nation is hosting the tournament, a major ICC event in Pakistan in nearly three decades, from Feb. 18 to March 9, with India’s matches scheduled to be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Cricket teams had abandoned Pakistan after an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team outside Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Mar. 3, 2009, forcing the cricket-mad South Asian nation into wilderness for several years.
On Thursday, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb presided over the ECC meeting to discuss key economic matters, including tax exemptions for the ICC, in line with international best practices.
“Under the standardized hosting rights agreement between ICC and Pakistan, no taxes or deductions will be applied to ICC revenues, its subsidiaries, associates, officials and non-resident delegates,” the Press Information Department (PID) of the Pakistani information ministry said.
“The tax exemption is not expected to result in a revenue loss as it was a prerequisite for securing the tournament’s hosting rights.”
The PID clarified that Pakistani nationals as well as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would be taxed on tournament earnings.
Pakistan entered the eight-team ICC tournament as the defending champions, having beaten India in the final of the 2017 edition. The participating teams have been divided into two groups with hosts Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and New Zealand pooled in Group A, while Group B comprises Afghanistan, Australia, England and South Africa.
Pakistan suffered a 60-run defeat to New Zealand in their opening match of the tournament in Karachi. The team will be looking to make a comeback in their next match against arch-rivals India in Dubai on Feb. 23.
Pakistan approves tax exemptions for ICC in Champions Trophy tournament
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Pakistan approves tax exemptions for ICC in Champions Trophy tournament
- Government says the exemption for the ICC is not expected to result in revenue loss
- Pakistan’s cricket board, residents will be taxed on earnings during the tournament
Security forces kill four militants in Pakistan’s volatile southwest, military says
- Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency
- The Balochistan government has recently established a threat assessment center to strengthen early warning, prevent ‘terrorism’ incidents
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces gunned down four militants in an intelligence-based operation in the southwestern Balochistan province, the military said on Tuesday.
The operation was conducted in Balochistan’s Kalat district on reports about the presence of militants, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
The “Indian-sponsored militants” were killed in an exchange of fire during the operation, while weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the deceased, who remained actively involved in numerous militant activities.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored terrorist found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement.
There was no immediate response from New Delhi to the statement.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by land area bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long been the site of a low-level insurgency involving Baloch separatist groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF).
Pakistan accuses India of supporting these separatist militant groups and describes them as “Fitna Al-Hindustan.” New Delhi denies the allegation.
The government in Balochistan has also established a state-of-the-art threat assessment center to strengthen early warning and prevention against “terrorism” incidents, a senior official said this week.
“Information that was once scattered is now shared and acted upon in time, allowing the state to move from reacting after incidents to preventing them before they occur,” Balochistan Additional Chief Secretary Hamza Shafqaat wrote on X.
The development follows a steep rise in militancy-related deaths in Pakistan in 2025. According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) last month, combat-related deaths in 2025 rose 73 percent to 3,387.
These included 2,115 militants, 664 security forces personnel, 580 civilians and 28 members of pro-government peace committees, the think tank said.
