You are here

  • Home
  • Peshawar end Multan’s PSL 2024 winning streak by snatching win in last-ball thriller

Peshawar end Multan’s PSL 2024 winning streak by snatching win in last-ball thriller

Special Peshawar end Multan’s PSL 2024 winning streak by snatching win in last-ball thriller
Multan Sultans’ Reeza Hendricks is clean bowled during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Twenty20 cricket match between Multan Sultans and Peshawar Zalmi at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan on February 23, 2024. (AFP)
Short Url

https://arab.news/936pa

Updated 23 February 2024
Follow

Peshawar end Multan’s PSL 2024 winning streak by snatching win in last-ball thriller

Peshawar end Multan’s PSL 2024 winning streak by snatching win in last-ball thriller
  • Peshawar Zalmi’s Arif Yaqoob returned figures of 3/43 to keep Multan Sultans from chasing the 180-run target
  • With their maiden PSL 2024 win, Peshawar Zalmi have gone from bottom place on the points table to number five
Updated 23 February 2024
Arab News Pakistan
Follow

ISLAMABAD: Peshawar Zalmi ended Multan Sultans’ winning streak in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) tournament on Friday by clinching a five-run victory in a closely fought contest that was decided on the last ball of the match.
Batting first, Zalmi finished with a respectable total of 179/8 at the end of the first 20 overs. None of Peshawar’s batters were able to score a half-century, with Haseebullah Khan top-scoring with 37 runs from 18 balls while skipper Babar Azam hitting 31 runs off 26 balls. Rovman Powell scored a quickfire 23 from 11 balls while Luke Wood contributed with 17 runs off 12 deliveries.
Sultan bowlers David Willey, Mohammad Ali and Usama Mir took two wickets each while Shahnawaz Dahani and Abbas Afridi only got one.
When they came to bat, the Sultans faced an early setback when skipper Muhammad Rizwan was dismissed for 0 but opening batter Yasir Khan and Reeza Hendricks contributed with 43 and 28 respectively to give the Sultans some support. Dawid Malan smashed a 25-ball 52 runs knock but after his dismissal, the Sultans buckled. Khushdil Shah, Iftikhar Ahmed and Usama Mir failed to hold on to their nerves, scoring only 5, 16, and 12 runs respectively, as Zalmi bowled out Multan for 174 runs on the last ball of the match.
Zalmi’s Arif Yaqoob returned figures of 3/43 while Salman Irshad, Naveen-ul-Haq and Luke Wood finished with figures of 2/39, 2/44 and 2/13 respectively.
“Catches win matches,” the team exclaimed on its social media account after displaying brilliant fielding performance.

With their first victory of the match, Peshawar have gone from the bottom in the PSL points table to number 5 with their latest win.

 

Topics: PSL 2024

Pakistan says ‘deeply shocked’ as Afghan Taliban refugees minister killed in Kabul blast

Pakistan says ‘deeply shocked’ as Afghan Taliban refugees minister killed in Kabul blast
Updated 6 sec ago
Follow

Pakistan says ‘deeply shocked’ as Afghan Taliban refugees minister killed in Kabul blast

Pakistan says ‘deeply shocked’ as Afghan Taliban refugees minister killed in Kabul blast
  • Khalil Haqqani became a minister in the Taliban’s interim government after foreign forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021
  • He was a senior leader of Haqqani network, a militant faction the US State Department blames for major attacks during 20-year war
Updated 6 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said on Wednesday Pakistan was “deeply shocked” as the Afghan Taliban’s acting minister for refugees, Khalil Rahman Haqqani, and six other people were killed in an explosion in the capital Kabul.
Khalil Haqqani became a minister in the Taliban’s interim government after foreign forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021. He was a senior leader of the Haqqani network, a militant faction blamed for major attacks during the 20-year war, according to the US State Department.
“We are deeply shocked at the death of Acting Afghan Minister, Khalil ur Rehman Haqqani and loss of precious lives as a result of a terrorist attack in the Afghan Refugee Ministry in Kabul today,” Dar said on X. 
“We offer our heartfelt condolences. Pakistan unequivocally condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We are in touch with the Interim Afghan Government to ascertain further details.”
It was not immediately clear who was behind the blast.
The Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021 as foreign forces withdrew, vowing to restore security, but attacks have continued in urban areas. In 2022, a blast took place near the interior ministry, led by Haqqani network leader Sirajuddin Haqqani, killing four people. In 2023, Daesh claimed an attack outside the Taliban-run foreign ministry that killed at least five.
The US Treasury classified Khalil Haqqani as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” in 2011 and the State Department offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
With inputs from Reuters

Topics: kabul blast Khalil Haqqani Pakistan Afghan Ties

Gwadar port ‘fully operational,’ official tells Pakistan National Assembly

Gwadar port ‘fully operational,’ official tells Pakistan National Assembly
Updated 11 December 2024
Follow

Gwadar port ‘fully operational,’ official tells Pakistan National Assembly

Gwadar port ‘fully operational,’ official tells Pakistan National Assembly
  • China Overseas Port Holding Company plans to eventually expand port’s capacity to up to 400 million tons of cargo per year
  • Gwadar underutilized for import and export due to distance from marketplaces of the country, security and services availability
Updated 11 December 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Secretary for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Wajiha Qamar, on Wednesday informed the lower house of Pakistan’s parliament that the southwestern deep-sea port at Gwadar was “fully operational” and equipped to handle all kinds of cargo.
Gwadar is on the Arabian Sea in the southwestern province of Balochistan, a mineral-rich region plagued by a decades-long separatist insurgency. China has invested heavily in the province, including by developing Gwadar, which is key to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that also encompasses infrastructure and energy projects and is part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC), which operationally handles Gwadar, plans to eventually expand the port’s capacity to up to 400 million tons of cargo per year. Long term plans for the port require a total of 100 berths to be developed by 2045. For now, Gwadar is underutilized for commercial import and export due to reasons such as distance from the marketplaces of the country, security and services availability.
Earlier this year, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had ordered that 50 percent of all public sector cargo be brought to Pakistan through Gwadar. The instructions subsequently received cabinet approval in September.
“The National Assembly was informed on Wednesday that Gwadar Port is currently fully operational, equipped to handle general cargo, containers, and other operations,” Radio Pakistan reported on Wednesday. 
“Responding to a question during the Question Hour, Parliamentary Secretary Planning Development and Special Initiatives Wajiha Qamar said the Port accommodates vessels of up to 50,000 DWT [deadweight tonnage] and possesses the requisite infrastructure to support bulk cargo and container handling efficiently.”
She added that multiple shipments under the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement had been successfully processed at the port. 
In March this year, Pakistani security forces repulsed a gun and bomb attack by militants on a complex outside the strategic port of Gwadar, which killed all eight militants and two soldiers, officials said. In the same month, a suicide bomber killed five Chinese engineers traveling to a dam site in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Beijing has since publicly voiced concerns about the security of its workers and projects in Pakistan. Militants have also previously attacked Chinese nationals and targeted projects, viewing China as a foreign invader trying to gain control of the region’s resources.
The start of operations at a Chinese-funded airport in Gwadar was also pushed back for a security review this August after a string of deadly attacks by separatist militants in the Balochistan in which over 50 people were killed.

Topics: Gwadar Gwadar Port

Pakistan Navy conducts joint drills with Omani, Spanish forces

Pakistan Navy conducts joint drills with Omani, Spanish forces
Updated 11 December 2024
Follow

Pakistan Navy conducts joint drills with Omani, Spanish forces

Pakistan Navy conducts joint drills with Omani, Spanish forces
  • Pakistan Navy regularly collaborates and holds joint military exercises with allies
  • Aim is to promote regional peace and stability and deter illicit maritime activities
Updated 11 December 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan navy said on Wednesday it had conducted joint naval exercises and drills with the Royal Oman ship ‘Alseeb’ and Spain’s ‘Santa Maria.’

Pakistan Navy regularly collaborates and holds joint military exercises with allies to increase synergy, promote regional peace and stability and deter piracy, drug trafficking and other illicit maritime activities.

“The exercise between Pakistan Navy and Royal Oman Navy was conducted during the Focused Operation ‘Karakoram Resolve’ of Pakistan-led Combined Task Force 150,” the Pakistan navy said in a statement, without specifying the location of the drill. “Pakistan Maritime Security Agency Ship Kashmir also participated in the Focused Operation.”

Bilateral naval exercise “Samar Al-Tayeb” is conducted regularly between the Pakistani and Omani navies.

“PNS Saif also conducted bilateral exercises with Spanish Navy Ship Santa Maria,” the Pakistan side said. “The aim of the exercises was to promote synergy between the navies present in the region.”

Topics: Pakistan Navy Pakistan Oman ties Pakistan Spain ties

Pakistan’s Punjab to develop ‘advanced air quality management system’ with Chinese help

Pakistan’s Punjab to develop ‘advanced air quality management system’ with Chinese help
Updated 11 December 2024
Follow

Pakistan’s Punjab to develop ‘advanced air quality management system’ with Chinese help

Pakistan’s Punjab to develop ‘advanced air quality management system’ with Chinese help
  • Beijing-Punjab Clean Air joint working group set up during chief minister’s ongoing visit to China
  • Nearly two million people in Pakistan fell ill when smog choked Punjab for over two weeks last month
Updated 11 December 2024
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s most populous province of Punjab will develop an advanced air quality management system with the help of China to combat an enduring smog and pollution crisis, a statement from the provincial chief minister’s office said on Wednesday. 

Smog had choked Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province for weeks last month, sickening nearly two million people and shrouding vast swathes of the province in a toxic haze. 

On Wednesday, Lahore, the capital of Punjab, was listed as the world’s sixth most polluted city by Swiss air monitor IQAir, and its PM2.5 concentration, which comprises air particles that damage lungs, was 20.5 times the World Health Organization annual guideline value. The province had closed down schools and offices for days last month, banned outdoor activities and shortened timings for restaurants, shops and markets in a bid to control smog.

“Agreement reached to develop an advanced air quality management system in Punjab with China’s collaboration,” the ruling PML-N party in Punjab said in an X post after Sharif met Chinese environment authorities. “Decision to establish the ‘Beijing-Punjab Clean Air Joint Working Group’ has been made.”

The officials also discussed wildlife conservation and plantation projects, with Sharif saying Punjab would leverage China’s expertise and experience in implementing an e-transport system in the province.

China has taken significant steps to combat its worsening air quality, declaring a “war on pollution” in 2015. Key measures include reducing coal consumption, increasing renewable energy capacity, and improving air quality monitoring systems. 

However, researchers said last month China’s emissions of carbon dioxide were on course to rise slightly this year, despite rapid progress on renewables and electric vehicles, putting a key 2025 climate target further out of reach.

China wants to cut the amount of CO2 it produces per unit of economic growth by 18 percent over the 2021-2025 period, but it fell further behind this year as a result of rising energy demand, said the Helsinki-based Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) in its annual assessment.

Topics: Pakistan China Ties Lahore Smog chief minister maryam nawaz sharif

Pakistan announces joint body on transit trade with Tajikistan amid Central Asia investment push

Pakistan announces joint body on transit trade with Tajikistan amid Central Asia investment push
Updated 11 December 2024
Follow

Pakistan announces joint body on transit trade with Tajikistan amid Central Asia investment push

Pakistan announces joint body on transit trade with Tajikistan amid Central Asia investment push
  • Pakistan wants to consolidate its role as a pivotal trade and transit hub for landlocked Central Asian republics
  • Tajikistan is Pakistan’s closest neighbor in Central Asia with narrow strip through Wakhan corridor separating them
Updated 11 December 2024
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: Power Minister Sardar Awais Leghari on Wednesday announced that Islamabad and Dushanbe had agreed to set up a joint coordination committee to address transit trade challenges, as Pakistan pushes to consolidate its role as a pivotal trade and transit hub connecting the landlocked Central Asian states with the rest of the world. 

In recent weeks, there has been a flurry of visits, investment talks and economic activity between officials from Pakistan and the Central Asian nations. Tajikistan is Pakistan’s closest neighbor in Central Asia with a narrow strip of 14km through the Wakhan corridor separating the two countries. 

On Wednesday, speaking at the seventh session of the Pakistan-Tajikistan Joint Commission in Islamabad along with Tajikistan Energy Minister Juma Daler Shofaqir, Leghari said both nations needed to explore “new avenues of cooperation” in commercial and economic fields.

“I’m pleased to note that both sides have agreed to create a joint coordination committee on transit trade under the Tajikistan-Pakistan trade transit agreement, which will play a pivotal role in addressing operational challenges and ensuring the smooth implementation of transit trade provisions,” Leghari said. 

He hoped deliberations of the joint commission would aid in preparing “concrete” recommendations to advance further growth in the fields of trade, energy, agriculture and education as well as the industrial sector.

Leghari also called for a “plan of action” to raise the current volume of trade through more trade activities and the removal of barriers. According to data published by Tajik Customs, during 2023 (Jan-Dec), the volume of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Tajikistan stood at $52.73 million, an increase of 62.3 percent in comparison with the previous year.

“I want to emphasize the significance of extending our regional connectivity and welcome Tajikistan to avail all trade corridors from Dushanbe to Gwadar and Karachi under the Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation program and other multi-model transnational trade corridors,” Leghari added.

He said proximity between Pakistan and Tajikistan through the Wakhan corridor presented an “excellent opportunity” to establish direct connectivity.

Leghari also spoke about the significance of the $1.2 billion Central Asia-South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000) project, that aims to bring 1,300 megawatts of surplus electricity from Central Asia to high-demand electricity markets in South Asia. This project involves the construction of a 1,227km-long cross-border transmission line that will connect Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan 

“I sincerely hope that the remaining work can be expedited to fully realize the potential of this vital energy cooperation ensuring mutual benefits in the power sector,” the Pakistani minister said.

Topics: Pakistan Tajikistan Ties

Latest updates

Lebanon says Israeli strike kills one in south
Lebanon says Israeli strike kills one in south
Tomb of Assad’s father set on fire in Syria hometown
Rebel fighters stand with the flag of the revolution on the burnt gravesite of Syria's late president Hafez Assad at his mausole
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 12,149
Closing Bell: Saudi main index closes in red at 12,149
Father and stepmother convicted of Sara Sharif’s brutal murder after UK trial
Father and stepmother convicted of Sara Sharif’s brutal murder after UK trial
OPEC slashes global oil demand growth forecast
OPEC slashes global oil demand growth forecast

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2024 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.