Pakistan up against Jordan in anticipated FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier today/node/2480301/pakistan
Pakistan up against Jordan in anticipated FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier today
Jordan's football players warm-up during a training session at the Jinnah Sports stadium in Islamabad on March 20, 2024, ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qualifying Round match against Pakistan. (AFP)
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Jordan are scheduled to play their FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier match today, Thursday, after the visiting team from the Middle East arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday night to compete with their hosts.
Last October, the Pakistan men’s football team beat Cambodia 1-0 to win their first ever FIFA World Cup qualifier in Islamabad. Pakistan subsequently lost 4-0 to Saudi Arabia in the second round.
The Pakistani players will now lock horns with Jordan at the Jinnah Stadium in Islamabad on Mar. 21 followed by an away fixture in Jordan on Mar. 26.
“After 18 years, the Jordanian football team will play on Pakistani soil,” the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) said in a statement following the team’s arrival in Islamabad. “Their last visit to Pakistan was in 2006.”
Pakistan men’s football team coach Stephen Constantine acknowledged last week that Jordan was one of the best sides in Asia but vowed Pakistan would not “lay down” in front of their opponents.
“We have very little time to prepare for such a big game,” he said. “And unfortunately, we are going to play one of the best teams [Jordan] in Asia on 21st March ... We will fight against Jordan and not lay down.”
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and elected to field first against Australia on Sunday as the South Asian country eyes a much-awaited ODI series victory against the world champions today.
Pakistan lost the three-match series opener on Nov. 4 against Australia in a close contest before coming back strongly on Friday to demolish the hosts in Adelaide by nine wickets.
Australia have rested veteran cricketers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith for Sunday’s third ODI ahead of Australia’s Test series against India beginning later this month.
“Our team for the series decider” unchanged playing XI,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wrote on social media platform Instagram.
Pakistani pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah struck early to deal Australia quick blows, removing the hosts’ opener Jake Fraser-McGurk and Aaron Hardie in the first 10 overs of the match.
Pakistan last won an ODI series against Australia in Australia in 2002. Their win against the Australian cricket team on Friday made it the first time since 2017 that the green shirts had beaten the opposition in an ODI at their backyard. PLAYING XI:
Australia: 1 Matt Short, 2 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 3 Aaron Hardie, 4 Josh Inglis (capt, wk), 5 Cooper Connolly, 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Glenn Maxwell, 8 Sean Abbott, 9 Adam Zampa, 10 Spencer Johnson, 11 Lance Morris
Pakistan: 1 Saim Ayub, 2 Abdullah Shafique, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Rizwan (capt, wk), 5 Kamran Ghulam, 6 Salman Agha, 7 Irfan Khan, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Haris Rauf, 11 Mohammad Hasnain
QUETTA: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi this week resolved to eliminate the fresh surge in “terrorism” in the country after a bomb blast claimed by a separatist outfit in the country’s southwest killed at least 24 people on Saturday.
Officials said at least 24 people were killed and 50 injured on Saturday when a bomb blast struck a railway station in Pakistan’s southwestern city of Quetta.
The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) group, the most prominent of militant groups in Balochistan, took responsibility for the attack, the deadliest since a string of coordinated attacks on Aug. 25-26 in which more than 50 people, civilians and security officials, were killed.
In a statement shared with the media, the BLA said its suicide unit, the Majeed Brigade, had carried out the bombing to target a “Pakistani army unit” returning via train after completing a course at an infantry school. The claim has not yet been confirmed by the Pakistani military.
“We must battle this terrorism together. Apart from the Balochistan government and the federation, the people of Pakistan have to fight against it too,” Naqvi told reporters in Quetta at a news conference with Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti by his side.
“And you will see, god willing as the chief minister said, we will eliminate this wave of terrorism.”
Passengers’ belongings are seen scattered on the platform after an explosion at a railway station in Quetta, in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, on November 9, 2024. (AFP)
The Pakistani minister reiterated that the federal government is standing by the Balochistan government and was providing full support to battle militancy in the country.
Later Pakistan Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir, Naqvi, Bugti and the governor of Balochistan attended funeral prayers for those who were killed in the Quetta Railway Station attack, the military’s media wing said.
Senior provincial ministers and a large number of military and civilian officials also took part in the funeral prayers at the Quetta Garrison before the deceased were laid to rest, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
People mourn the death of their relatives outside a hospital following a bomb blast at a railway station in Quetta, in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, on November 9, 2024. (AFP)
“COAS [chief of army staff] highlighted that terrorism will never be tolerated and reaffirmed the nation’s resolve and commitment toward eradicating the menace,” the ISPR said.
“COAS emphasized that this mission will be pursued with full national resolve and collective determination.”
Munir stressed that the fight against “terrorism” requires the support of all Pakistanis, along with the efforts of the military and civil institutions, to secure a peaceful and prosperous future for the country, the ISPR said. MILITANCY IN BALOCHISTAN
Balochistan is a resource-rich but impoverished province where separatist militants have been fighting a decades-long insurgency to win secession of the region. Insurgents say they are fighting what they see as the unfair exploitation of the province’s mineral and gas wealth by the federation at the center.
Blast victims get treatment in a hospital following an explosion at a railway station in Quetta, in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, on November 9, 2024. (AFP)
The Pakistani government and military deny they are exploiting Balochistan and have long maintained that neighbors such as India, Afghanistan and Iran foment trouble in the remote province and support and fund the insurgency there to impede its development potential. Balochistan is home to major China-led investment projects such as a strategic port and a gold and copper mine.
The rise of separatist attacks in Balochistan poses a major challenge for the weak coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which is battling an economic crisis and political instability as well as a rise in militant violence by both religiously motivated and separatist groups across the country.
People mourn the death of their relatives in a hospital following a bomb blast at a railway station in Quetta, in Pakistan’s Balochistan province, on November 9, 2024. (AFP)
Balochistan is also in the grips of civil rights protests by young ethnic Baloch who are calling for an end to what they describe as a pattern of enforced disappearances and other human rights abuses by security forces, who deny the charge.
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Pakistan has inaugurated the Kingdom’s pavilion at a 10-day cultural show in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, which aims to promote national unity, folk heritage, and the culture and traditions of Pakistan’s various provinces and regions.
The annual Lok Mela festival began on November 8 and will continue till November 17, according to the Pakistan National Museum director and focal person of the 2024 fest, Anwaar-ul-Haq.
More than 500 artisans from across Pakistan are showcasing their skills at the festival, while many diplomatic missions, including those of Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Turkiye and Indonesia, are also presenting their cultures and arts at Lok Mela.
“The embassy also inaugurated its pavilion at the fair, which will highlight the special culture of the Kingdom during the fair,” the Saudi embassy said on Twitter.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as a top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.
Saudi Arabia has also often come to Pakistan’s aid in the past, regularly providing it oil on deferred payments and offering direct financial support to help stabilize its economy and shore up forex reserves.
KARACHI: United Arab Emirates (UAE) Consul-General Dr. Bakheet Ateeq Al-Remeithi on Friday released green turtle hatchlings into the Arabian Sea off the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi, in a bid to spread awareness about their preservation
The endangered green turtles come to shore to lay eggs on beaches in Karachi and on uninhabited islands in the neighboring Balochistan province, however, increasing construction, noise and pollution and exhaust fumes in the port city have greatly threatened the species.
The provincial wildlife department of the Sindh province, which Karachi is a part of, on Friday arranged a ceremony to release these endangered hatchlings into the Arabian Sea, which was attended by the UAE consul-general and young school students.
“The departure of green turtle babies into the sea was a sight to behold. Pakistan’s beaches are rich in natural beauty, but some steps are necessary,” he told reporters.
“Visitors coming for recreation here must dispose of plastic shopping bags responsibly instead of throwing them away. These shopping bags are destroying the environment of green turtles.”
Female green turtles visit the coastal areas of Karachi for breeding from mid-August till mid-February every year, according to the Sindh wildlife department.
So far, 450 green turtles, up to one or two days old, have been released into the sea this season.
PESHAWAR: Thousands of supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan on Saturday gathered in the northwestern Pakistani town of Swabi to demand the release of the former premier, amid a campaign by his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party to get him out of prison and oppose recent “controversial” constitutional changes in the country.
Cavalcades of Khan supporters made their way to Swabi from various parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, where Khan’s PTI party rules, and elsewhere in the country.
The PTI has held several rallies in Pakistan in recent months to mount pressure on authorities to get the ex-premier, who has been in jail since August last year on a slew of charges, out of prison.
The rally was attended by several PTI leaders, including KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, Omar Ayub Khan, Asad Qaisar and PTI chairman Gohar Khan.
“Even if our lives are gone, we will take a sigh only when Imran Khan is released,” Gandapur told the attendees in Swabi. “Imran Khan has ordered that he is going to call us in the month of November. We will not return until we get Imran Khan released.”
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party supporters attend a rally in Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on November 9, 2024. (Photo courtesy: X/@PTIOfficial)
PTI Chairman Gohar promised to continue their struggle for the release of Khan.
“We believe in the rule of law and according to the constitution of Pakistan, the change will come from within Pakistan,” he said, denying that his party sought support from the West for Khan’s release.
“Hopefully, the release of Imran Khan will be made possible from here [Swabi], according to the constitution and law of Pakistan.”
Khan, arguably Pakistan’s most popular politician, was ousted from office after a parliamentary no-trust vote in April 2022 and has since waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against the country’s powerful military and the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government, which Khan’s party says rigged the Feb. 8 general election and formed a government with the backing of the army. Both deny the charge.
The PTI has recently held a number of public gatherings, some without permission from authorities, for Khan’s release as well as to oppose controversial legislations and constitutional changes that extended the tenure of military services chiefs and granted lawmakers the authority to nominate the chief justice of Pakistan, who previously used to be automatically appointed according to the principle of seniority.
The opposition and the legal fraternity have also opposed the amendments, arguing that they were aimed at granting more power to the executive in making judicial appointments and curtailing the independence of the judiciary. The government denies this.
Gohar announced at the rally that the PTI and its ally in the National Assembly, the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) party, would file a petition against the controversial amendments in the Supreme Court.
