ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board on Friday said it was moving remaining matches of the Pakistan Super League to the United Arab Emirates while the Indian Premier League was separately suspended for one week in the wake of the ongoing conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
Tensions between the rivals have escalated since Wednesday when India conducted strikes on multiple locations in Pakistan in response to a deadly attack targeting tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 that New Delhi blames on its neighbor. Islamabad has denied any complicity in the attack.
Pakistan said it had shot down five Indian fighter jets in retaliation to strikes by India and downed 77 drones launched from India. One of the drones was shot down in the city of Rawalpindi, near a cricket stadium where PSL matches were being held.
Officials have confirmed the killing of nearly 50 people on both sides since Wednesday in the worst violence in decades between the neighbors.
“The PCB has always stood by the position that politics and sports need to be kept apart,” PCB Chair Mohsin Naqvi said as he announced that the remaining eight fixtures of this year’s PSL, previously scheduled to be played in Rawalpindi, Multan and Lahore, would now be staged in the UAE.
“I regret that our domestic audience and cricket lovers will not be able to watch these matches in Pakistan’s stadiums,” Naqvi added.
Separately, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said it had decided to suspend the remainder of the ongoing IPL 2025 with immediate effect for one week.
The IPL governing council consulted the franchises and players and “considered it prudent to act in the collective interest of all stakeholders,” secretary Devajit Saikia said in a statement on Friday.
“While cricket remains a national passion, there is nothing greater than the nation and its sovereignty, integrity, and security of our country … The BCCI remains firmly committed to support all efforts that safeguard India and will always align its decisions in the best interest of the nation.”
Friday’s IPL match in Dharamsala was abandoned midway through, with organizers citing a power outage, while Sunday’s game at the same north Indian city was shifted to Ahmedabad because of the border tensions.
With inputs from Reuters
India suspends IPL for a week, Pakistan moves T20 league to UAE amid conflict
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India suspends IPL for a week, Pakistan moves T20 league to UAE amid conflict
- Remaining eight fixtures of PSL, scheduled for Rawalpindi, Multan and Lahore, would now be staged in UAE
- BCCI says it had decided to suspend remainder of the ongoing IPL 2025 with immediate effect for one week
Pakistan, Sri Lanka agree to promote religious tourism, boost cultural cooperation
- The two countries plan to engage reputable tour operators for joint religious and cultural visits
- Pakistan is home to holy sites of multiple faiths and hosts Sikh, Buddhist and Hindu delegations
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Sri Lanka have agreed to expand cultural cooperation by promoting religious tourism, aiming to hold joint cultural exhibitions and heritage programs, according to an official statement on Tuesday.
The development came during a meeting between Pakistan’s National Heritage and Culture Minister Aurangzeb Khan Khichi and Sri Lankan Ambassador Rear Admiral (retd) Fred Seneviratne in Islamabad.
Pakistan offers religious tourism to visitors of multiple faiths including Sikhs, Buddhists and Hindus. It features Islamic shrines, Hindu temples, Sikh gurdwaras, Buddhist heritage sites across the country.
“People-to-people contact through religious tourism will be a great channel for cultural communication,” the statement quoted Khichi as saying.
He added that reputable tour operators from both countries would be engaged to organize special religious and cultural tours.
The statement said both sides agreed to organize joint cultural exhibitions, art displays and heritage programs to provide platforms for artists, craftsmen and cultural institutions from Pakistan and Sri Lanka to showcase their work.
It added that the Sri Lankan envoy was informed about the availability of virtual tours of major Buddhist heritage sites in Pakistan, allowing global audiences to explore the country’s rich cultural legacy.
According to the statement, the Sri Lankan envoy expressed interest in the architectural and cultural artifacts preserved in Pakistani museums, particularly in Taxila and Lahore.
In 2021, a 14-member delegation of Buddhist monks from Sri Lanka, led by Dr. Walpola Piyananda undertook a week-long pilgrimage to holy sites in Pakistan. According to its members, Pakistan was home to one of the most exotic Buddhist civilizations of the past.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka share long-standing ties with cooperation across various sectors.
In December last year, Pakistan provided assistance to Sri Lanka in the form of relief aid and rescue workers following disastrous floods across the tropical island nation.
