You are here

  • Home
  • Wasim Akram urges India, Pakistan dialogue for ICC Champions Trophy participation

Wasim Akram urges India, Pakistan dialogue for ICC Champions Trophy participation

Wasim Akram urges India, Pakistan dialogue for ICC Champions Trophy participation
Pakistan and Indian fans wave their national flags during the ICC men's Twenty20 World Cup 2022 cricket match between India and Pakistan at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne on October 23, 2022. (AFP/File)
Short Url

https://arab.news/8yhbb

Updated 01 November 2024
Follow

Wasim Akram urges India, Pakistan dialogue for ICC Champions Trophy participation

Wasim Akram urges India, Pakistan dialogue for ICC Champions Trophy participation
  • Former Pakistan captain hopes Indian team will visit Pakistan and experience its hospitality
  • Pakistan is scheduled to host the ICC Champions Trophy in February and March next year
Updated 01 November 2024
Hasaan Ali Khan
Follow

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan cricket team captain Wasim Akram on Thursday urged the Pakistani and Indian governments to engage in dialogue to ensure the Indian team’s participation in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy tournament, slated to be held in Pakistan next year.
The tournament is scheduled from February to March 2025. The last time Pakistan hosted this cricket event on its home turf was in 1996, when it co-hosted the 50-over World Cup, which Sri Lanka won. However, Pakistan’s role as host has sparked considerable debate this time, as arch-rival India’s participation remains uncertain.
India has not played an international match in Pakistan since 2008 and declined to tour Pakistan last year for the Asia Cup, resulting in a “hybrid” model in which India’s matches were held in Sri Lanka. Pakistan, however, traveled to India to participate in the One Day International (ODI) World Cup last year.
“It does not depend on the Indian government or the Board of Control for Cricket in India as much as the Indian government,” Akram said while speaking about India’s participation in the tournament in an interview with Cricket Pakistan.
“I think, at that level, the Pakistani government and Indian government can have a chat that, look, differences apart, people-to-people contact is very important.”
The left arm reverse swing bowler highlighted how the people of both countries want cricket to take place between India and Pakistan. He hoped that the Indian team visits Pakistan for the tournament and witnesses the hospitality bestowed on them.
Commenting on Pakistan’s forthcoming T20 and ODI series in Australia, Akram advised all young Pakistani cricketers including pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah to focus on cricket and “forget what’s happening behind the scenes.”
“At times it’s difficult and next to impossible,” he added. “You got to have a tunnel vision, look straight and stick to your performance.”
He strictly told Pakistan cricketers to not get involved into “politics and X (Twitter),” emphasizing that the Pakistan team was right on track after defeating England in the Test series.
The Champions Trophy was originally known as the ICC Knockout when it was staged in 1998 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and in 2000 in Nairobi, Kenya. The event was renamed the ICC Champions Trophy in 2002 and was held every two years until 2009, when it was held in South Africa after the scheduled event in 2008 in Pakistan had to be canceled.
Subsequently, the event moved to a four-year cycle and features the top eight teams in the ICC ODI rankings. The first round comprises two groups of four with the top two in each group progressing to the semifinals and the winners contesting the final. The competing teams are: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa.
Pakistan won the last Champions Trophy tournament held in England in 2017, beating arch-rivals India by 180 runs in a one-sided final.

Topics: Pakistan vs India

Religio-political party vows to continue Karachi sit-in protests district despite crackdown

Religio-political party vows to continue Karachi sit-in protests district despite crackdown
Updated 9 sec ago
Follow

Religio-political party vows to continue Karachi sit-in protests district despite crackdown

Religio-political party vows to continue Karachi sit-in protests district despite crackdown
  • Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen party leads Karachi sit-in protests in solidarity with violence-hit northwestern Kurram district 
  • Police and paramilitary Rangers force fire tear gas to disperse protesters from various locations in Pakistan’s Karachi
Updated 9 sec ago
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Pakistani religio-political party Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) on Tuesday announced it would expand its sit-in protests, currently being held in Karachi in solidarity with the violence-hit Kurram district, to other parts of Sindh as law enforcers cracked down on protesters to clear the roads for traffic. 

The MWM has been leading sit-in protests at over 10 locations in Karachi since last week to protest against violence in the northwestern Kurram district. With a population of around 600,000, Kurram has been plagued by tribal and sectarian violence for decades. The region’s volatile security situation often necessitates travel in convoys escorted by security forces. However, a devastating ambush on November 21, in which gunmen killed 52 people, underscored the persistent dangers.

The attack escalated tensions in the district, resulting in violent clashes and road blockades that have severely disrupted access to essential supplies such as food, medicine, and fuel and claimed the lives of at least 136 people since November. A grand jirga— a traditional council of political and tribal elders— has been attempting to mediate between rival factions, but the unrest has spilled beyond Kurram.

“The sit-ins will continue until the issues of Parachinar are resolved,” MWM leader Allama Hasan Zafar Naqvi, referring to Kurram district’s capital city, said in a statement. “I urge people to come out of their homes. We will extend the sit-ins from Karachi to Obaro [near the border with Punjab].”

Police and Rangers personnel used tear gas to disperse protesters in Kamran Chowrangi, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Abbas Town and Gulshan-e-Iqbal areas of Karachi on Tuesday morning. Angry demonstrators set tires ablaze and pelted stones at law enforcement personnel in response. 

Numerous protesters had been arrested during the crackdown, Naqvi alleged. However, a police spokesperson declined to confirm the arrests when approached for comment. 

The MWM leader accused the Sindh government of practicing “double standards,” claiming that representatives of the provincial government expressed solidarity with demonstrators while simultaneously ordering law enforcers to clear protest sites forcefully. 

“Last night, Sindh government representatives came to us and the issues [caused by road blockades] were resolved,” Naqvi said. “But this morning, peaceful sit-ins were attacked.”

Karachi police chief on Monday warned demonstrators of action if the protests continued to disrupt public life. The Ahle-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), the MWM’s rival religious group, on Monday, threatened to hold protests at 60 locations in Karachi starting Tuesday if the MWM demonstrations did not end. 

Last week, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab also criticized MWM protesters for paralyzing the city.

“If the purpose of a protest is to inconvenience people, disrupt the city’s operations, block ambulances and fire brigades, or hinder police and administrative vehicles, then such actions are inappropriate,” Wahab said. 

Meanwhile, the warring factions in Kurram are formally expected to reach a peace agreement today, Tuesday, as the grand jirga reconvenes, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government spokesperson said last week. 

Topics: Protests Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen kurram

Militants attack security post in restive northwest Pakistan, killing 2

Militants attack security post in restive northwest Pakistan, killing 2
Updated 31 December 2024
AP
Follow

Militants attack security post in restive northwest Pakistan, killing 2

Militants attack security post in restive northwest Pakistan, killing 2
  • Militants kill police officer and civilian in attack on Dera Ismail Khan district, police say 
  • No group has claimed responsibility for incident but suspicion likely to fall on Pakistani Taliban
Updated 31 December 2024
AP

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Militants armed with assault rifles attacked a security post in restive northwest Pakistan early Tuesday, killing a police officer and a civilian, officials said.

Another officer was also wounded in the attack at the Draban Post in Dera Ismail Khan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local police official Abdullah Khan said, adding that the civilian was an employee of the Customs department.

He also said security forces returned fire and that “a group of insurgents” fled the scene.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion was likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, who often target security forces across the country, especially in the former tribal regions in the troubled northwest bordering Afghanistan.

Security forces have also stepped up intelligence-based operations against the Pakistani Taliban, emboldened since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. The TTP is a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban.

Topics: Pakistan Militancy Dera Ismail Khan

Pakistan to launch five-year National Economic Transformation Plan targeting sustainable growth today

Pakistan to launch five-year National Economic Transformation Plan targeting sustainable growth today
Updated 55 min 44 sec ago
Follow

Pakistan to launch five-year National Economic Transformation Plan targeting sustainable growth today

Pakistan to launch five-year National Economic Transformation Plan targeting sustainable growth today
  • Economic transformation plan to focus on export-led growth so Pakistan escapes boom-bust economic cycle, says finmin
  • Development takes place as Pakistan grapples with economic crisis that has triggered inflation, drained its foreign reserves
Updated 55 min 44 sec ago
Fatimah Amjad

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government is set to launch its five-year homegrown National Economic Plan today, Tuesday, targeting sustainable growth and development in the long-term, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said amid Islamabad’s struggle to ward off its macroeconomic crisis. 

Pakistan’s government has attempted to steer itself out of a prolonged macroeconomic crisis that has weakened the South Asian country’s currency and drained its foreign exchange reserves over the past two years. 

Pakistan’s Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said in July that the National Economic Plan will be based on the 5Es framework (exports, energy, economic growth, education and equality), adding that it would aim to foster stability and lay the foundation for future growth in Pakistan.

In a video message, Aurangzeb said the plan has been aptly titled “Uraan Pakistan” which means “Flying Pakistan,” and aims to take the country’s prevalent macroeconomic stability to sustainable growth. 

“There are three to four key pillars of this [economic plan],” Aurangzeb said. “First of all, our growth will be export-led so that we do not go into the boom-bust cycle that we have been going through for the past few eras. Secondly, the private sector has to lead this country,” he added. 

Pakistan agreed to a 37-month, $7 billion bailout program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this year, promising the lender financial reforms in exchange for it. These reforms include increasing the tax base, regulating the energy sector and handing over loss-making state owned enterprises to the private sector. 

“The structural reforms that we have started, we have to take them through the finishing line,” the minister said. “Whether that is on the taxation side, whether its on the energy side, whether it’s our SOE reforms, whether it’s our privatization agenda.”

Aurangzeb vowed that the plan would put Pakistan on an upward economic trajectory in the next two to three years, saying it would ensure that this will be the last IMF program Islamabad resorts to. 

The development takes place amid Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s increased efforts for greater collaboration in trade, defense, agriculture and other key sectors of the economy with regional allies to attract foreign investment and brighten Pakistan’s economic prospects.

In its move to attract foreign investment in key sectors, Pakistan has enhanced its bilateral trade and investment ties with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Central Asian states and other Gulf countries. 

Pakistan suffered a sovereign default before Islamabad clinched a last-gasp $3 billion bailout program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2023 that helped its economy stay afloat. Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has repeatedly said Islamabad needs to adopt an export-led economy to achieve long-term and sustainable economic growth.

Topics: Pakistan National Economic Plan

Pakistan PM calls for collaborative efforts to stem polio amid alarming surge in cases

Pakistan PM calls for collaborative efforts to stem polio amid alarming surge in cases
Updated 31 December 2024
Follow

Pakistan PM calls for collaborative efforts to stem polio amid alarming surge in cases

Pakistan PM calls for collaborative efforts to stem polio amid alarming surge in cases
  • Pakistan has so far reported 68 poliovirus cases this year, 27 of them from Balochistan
  • Shehbaz Sharif says security of polio volunteers and vaccinators cannot be compromised
Updated 31 December 2024
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for greater collaboration among the country’s health authorities to stem the spread of poliovirus, state-run media reported this week, as Pakistan witnesses an alarming surge in cases of the infection. 

Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five is essential to provide children high immunity against this terrible disease. Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, remains the last polio-endemic country in the world.

Pakistan on Monday reported its 68th poliovirus case of the year when a child contracted the virus from the northwestern Dera Ismail Khan district. Sharif spoke to the national anti-polio team on Monday regarding efforts to curb the spread of the disease. 

“The Prime Minister said unfortunately, the number of polio-affected children is rising in Pakistan, which needs even more collaborative efforts,” the state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Monday. 

Sharif noted that the use of technology in Pakistan’s health sectors, including polio eradication, is being increased to modernize public health care and achieve better results. 

“He added that the security of polio workers cannot be compromised, and all possible measures should be taken in this regard,” Radio Pakistan said. 

Of the 68 cases reported this year, 27 were from Balochistan, 20 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 19 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad, according to Pakistan’s anti-polio program.

A sub-national polio vaccination campaign was conducted across Punjab, Sindh, KP, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad on December 16–22, vaccinating over 42 million children.

Topics: Polio Pakistan

Pakistani bank arranges $300 million loan for government through UAE branch

Pakistani bank arranges $300 million loan for government through UAE branch
Updated 31 December 2024
Follow

Pakistani bank arranges $300 million loan for government through UAE branch

Pakistani bank arranges $300 million loan for government through UAE branch
  • United Bank Limited operates one of largest branch networks in Pakistan
  • Initiative to help shape a stronger, more vibrant Pakistani economy, says UBL 
Updated 31 December 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The United Bank Limited (UBL) this week announced it had facilitated $300 million in foreign financing for Pakistan’s government through its branch in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), saying that the initiative would help shape the country’s economy into a more vibrant one as Islamabad struggles to repay its external debt obligations. 

UBL is a banking company incorporated in Pakistan and one that is engaged in commercial banking and related services. It operates one of the largest branch networks in the country, augmented by its industry-leading digital banking services which have earned it local and international recognition.

“UBL UAE is proud to facilitate $300 million in foreign financing for the Government of Pakistan— a testament to our commitment toward setting new standards in the banking industry,” the bank said in a statement on its social media accounts on Monday. 

“This venture marks another milestone in our journey to shape a stronger, more vibrant economy.”

Pakistan has struggled to meet its external debt repayment obligations, often resulting in its regional allies rolling over loans worth billions of dollars. The cash-strapped nation has been struggling to ward off an economic crisis that has drained its revenue, pushed inflation to record levels, and weakened its currency significantly over the past two years. 

Pakistan secured a fresh 37-month $7 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this year after it narrowly avoided a sovereign default on its payment obligations in 2023. Pakistan’s finance minister, however, has reiterated the country needs to move toward an export-oriented growth model supplemented by long-term financial reforms to ensure its progress is sustainable.

Topics: UAE ubl Pakistan

Latest updates

Saudi banks’ mortgage lending surges to near 3-year high of $2.7bn
Saudi banks’ mortgage lending surges to near 3-year high of $2.7bn
Saudi Arabia’s unemployment rate hits 3.7%: GASTAT
Saudi Arabia’s unemployment rate hits 3.7%: GASTAT
Saudi defense minister meets UAE leader in Abu Dhabi
Saudi defense minister meets UAE leader in Abu Dhabi
Oil Updates — crude rises on expanding Chinese factory activity, but set to end year lower 
Oil Updates — crude rises on expanding Chinese factory activity, but set to end year lower 
French Algerian animator aims to draw on experiences of peers in Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah Art Futures program
French Algerian animator aims to draw on experiences of peers in Saudi Arabia’s Diriyah Art Futures program

Search form

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