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Test captain Shan Masood says no match-fixers in current Pakistan cricket setup

Test captain Shan Masood says no match-fixers in current Pakistan cricket setup
Pakistan's captain Shan Masood speaks during a press conference at the Gaddafi Cricket Stadium in Lahore on November 29, 2023. (AFP/File)
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Updated 12 August 2024
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Test captain Shan Masood says no match-fixers in current Pakistan cricket setup

Test captain Shan Masood says no match-fixers in current Pakistan cricket setup
  • Many former Pakistani cricketers have been embroiled in match-fixing, spot-fixing controversies in the past 
  • Pakistan will play two Test matches against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi and Karachi from Aug. 21
Updated 12 August 2024
Shahjahan Khurram
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Test captain Shan Masood this week clarified that no member of the current national squad is involved in match-fixing, saying that his players are intent on winning the upcoming series against Bangladesh and other nations. 

Pakistani cricketers in the past have been involved in match-fixing and spot-fixing controversies. The most high-profile fixing incident that rocked Pakistan cricket took place in 2010 when the International Cricket Council (ICC) banned former Pakistan captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif after a tribunal found them guilty of spot-fixing during the Lord’s Test in 2010. 

A Pakistani high court judge in 2000 recommended a life ban on former captain Salim Malik for his involvement in match-fixing. The same judge also fined legendary Pakistani cricketers Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mushtaq Ahmed, Saeed Anwar and recommended to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) not to give Akram and Ahmed positions of responsibility again in a detailed report.

During a press conference on Sunday, a journalist asked Masood if he would give any message to the players after javelin thrower Arshad Nadeem’s historic Olympic triumph. The reporter mentioned that bringing glory to the nation can reward players much more than they can earn through match-fixing and other illicit activities.

“I will never question any player’s intentions,” Masood responded. “You used the word match-fixing. I don’t think there is anything that points toward match-fixing in the current Pakistan setup or the current Pakistan cricketers.”

Pakistan cricket team’s dismal performance came under the spotlight during the T20 World Cup 2024 in June this year, when the green shirts crashed out of the group stage of the tournament after losing to minnows the United States and arch-rivals India. 

“Whatever happened in the World Cup, it happened. It is now in the past,” Masood said. “You always have to move forward.”

The first Test between the two sides will be played on Aug. 21 in Rawalpindi followed by the second in Karachi on Aug. 30. About the upcoming series, Masood said Pakistan has a “very good opportunity” to win the upcoming Test matches. 

“We have to play our own style of cricket that wins Pakistan matches,” Masood said. 

Pakistan squad:

Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Aamir Jamal (subject to fitness), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Bangladesh squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Kumar Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Nahid Rana, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Syed Khaled Ahmed

Topics: Shan Masood Cricket Pakistan Pakistan Test captain Mohammad Amir Mohammad Asif Arab News Pakistan

Pakistan launches ‘massive’ crackdown against smuggling along border with Iran

Pakistan launches ‘massive’ crackdown against smuggling along border with Iran
Updated 19 sec ago
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Pakistan launches ‘massive’ crackdown against smuggling along border with Iran

Pakistan launches ‘massive’ crackdown against smuggling along border with Iran
  • Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association says up to 35 percent diesel sold in Pakistan arrives illegally from Iran 
  • Energy ministry says 4,000 tons a day of smuggled fuel causing monthly revenue loss of Rs10.2 billion 
Updated 19 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday announced it had launched a “massive” crackdown on smuggling along its porous border with Iran, as its illicit economy continues to pose a major economic and security challenge for the country.

Experts say the illicit economy in Pakistan relies on collusion among Pakistan’s law enforcement institutions, political elites, and criminal and militant networks operating in the border regions of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran.

In May last year, an association of petroleum dealers flagged a surge in the smuggling of Iranian fuel to Pakistan, saying that up to 35 percent of diesel sold in the South Asian country had arrived illegally from Iran. The association said in the past, the smuggling of fuel was limited to the Pakistani province of Balochistan, but that it had now spread to the rest of the country.

In April, Pakistan’s energy ministry asked security forces to clamp down on fuel smuggling from Iran, according to an official memo, which said diesel sales had slumped “more than 40 percent” due to smuggled products.

Pakistan mostly meets its demand for fuel from the Middle East, but it is also smuggled in through its western border with Iran.

“The federal government has launched a massive crackdown against smuggling in line with its efforts to further strengthen economy,” state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Wednesday. 

“According to latest statistics, 126.4 metric tons of sugar, 4 metric tons flour, 3252 sticks of cigarettes, and approximately one million liters of Iranian oil were seized by the relevant departments during the first week of this month. The concerned departments are committed to continue their operations to prevent smuggling.”

The country is facing an acute balance of payment crisis and undertaking several measures, including raising fuel prices, to get clearance for a $7 billion International Monetary Fund bailout signed in July. 

The energy ministry said last year according to the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), around 4,000 tons per day of fuel smuggled into Pakistan was causing a total revenue loss of around 10.2 billion rupees a month.

Pakistan’s government has also ordered a clampdown on smuggling of flour, wheat, sugar and fertilizer to Afghanistan.

Topics: Pakistan Iran Ties Drugs crackdown Iran Pakistan

Parts of Pakistan rattled by 5.7 magnitude quake, no immediate reports of damage

Parts of Pakistan rattled by 5.7 magnitude quake, no immediate reports of damage
Updated 48 min 49 sec ago
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Parts of Pakistan rattled by 5.7 magnitude quake, no immediate reports of damage

Parts of Pakistan rattled by 5.7 magnitude quake, no immediate reports of damage
  • Tremors felt in capital, northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and eastern Punjab provinces
  • 7.6 magnitude quake northeast of Islamabad killed at least 73,000 people in 2005
Updated 48 min 49 sec ago
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: A 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck parts of Pakistan on Wednesday, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said in a statement, with no immediate reports of damage.

The epicenter of the earthquake was Dera Ghazi Khan in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and the depth was 10 kilometers. 

“PDMA received preliminary reports about the earthquake from all districts of Punjab [province],” it said in a statement. “Earthquake tremors felt in other areas of Punjab including [provincial capital] Lahore.”

The quake also shook buildings in the capital, Islamabad. Local media reports said tremors were felt in the cities of Lahore, Islamabad, Mianwali, Faisalabad, Toba Tek Singh, Sargodha, Peshawar, Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat, Swat, North Waziristan, Hangu, Mardan and Malakand, among others. 

The PDM did not report any damage, nor did authorities in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

“Administration across Punjab is busy checking buildings,” PDM said, adding that district emergency centers were on high alert. “Machinery and staff have been put on alert to deal with the aftershocks of the earthquake.”

A 7.6 magnitude quake northeast of Islamabad killed at least 73,000 people in 2005. The quake also rocked Indian-administered Kashmir, killing 1,244 there. 

In 2013, twin earthquakes, measuring 7.7 and 6.8 magnitude, rattled Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, killing at least 825 people.

Topics: Pakistan earthquake Islamabad Arab News Pakistan

Police sit-in against ‘army presence’ in Pakistani northwestern district enters third day

Police sit-in against ‘army presence’ in Pakistani northwestern district enters third day
Updated 11 September 2024
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Police sit-in against ‘army presence’ in Pakistani northwestern district enters third day

Police sit-in against ‘army presence’ in Pakistani northwestern district enters third day
  • Lakki Marwat police demand “army should withdraw from district and police should be given back their full powers”
  • At least 75 policemen have been killed in ambushes and target killings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this year, as per police data
Updated 11 September 2024
REHMAT MEHSUD

Dera Ismail Khan: A sit-in by police in the northwestern Pakistani district of Lakki Marwat entered a third day, police said on Wednesday, as protesters demanded the military withdraw from the region and hand over “full powers” to civilian law enforcers.

The Pakistan army has a heavy presence in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, where it has been battling militants from the Al-Qaeda, Pakistani Taliban and other groups for nearly two decades. 

There have been protests in several districts of KP since July, when Pakistan’s cabinet announced that a new military operation would be launched amid a surge in terror attacks across the country. People in the northwestern region have rejected plans for an armed operation and demand that civilian agencies like the provincial police and the counter-terrorism department be better equipped. 

“Lakki Marwat police sit-in protest against Pakistani army continues for the third day in intense heat at Taja Chowk,” district police said in a statement to media, saying the Peshawar-Karachi Indus Highway had been completely closed for all types of vehicular traffic for 72 hours. 

“Police only have one demand and a one point agenda that the army should withdraw from the district and police should be given back their full powers.”

The sit-in by policemen, who have been joined by representatives of civil society and political parties as well as tribal elders and members of the public, comes days after unidentified gunmen attacked a police van in Lakki Marwat, killing an officer. Two brothers of a serving police man in Lakki Marwat were also gunned down last week. Similar protests were also held in KP’s Bannu district in July. 

Pakistan has seen a rise in militant attacks in recent weeks, with many of them taking place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where groups like the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, have stepped up attacks, daily targeting security forces convoys and check posts, and carrying out targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials.

At least 75 policemen have been killed in ambushes and target killings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2024, according to police data. 

The volatile Lakki Marwat district is located on the edge of Pakistan’s restive tribal regions that border Afghanistan, from where Islamabad says militants mainly associated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan frequently launch attacks, targeting police and other security forces. Islamabad has even blamed Kabul’s Afghan Taliban rulers of facilitating anti-Pakistan militants. Kabul denies the charges.

Topics: Pakistan police LAKKI MARWAT Arab News Pakistan

Pakistan appoints Amna Baloch as new foreign secretary, second woman to hold top post

Pakistan appoints Amna Baloch as new foreign secretary, second woman to hold top post
Updated 11 September 2024
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Pakistan appoints Amna Baloch as new foreign secretary, second woman to hold top post

Pakistan appoints Amna Baloch as new foreign secretary, second woman to hold top post
  • Baloch was last serving as Pakistan’s ambassador to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg
  • Before Baloch, the last and only woman to serve as foreign secretary was Tehmina Janjua from 2017-2019
Updated 11 September 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has appointed Ambassador Amna Baloch as its 33rd foreign secretary, the foreign office said on Wednesday, making her only the second woman in the country’s history to hold the top slot in the Foreign Service. 

Baloch takes over from Ambassador Syrus Sajjad Qazi who has concluded a 34-year career with the foreign service and is retiring. The last and only woman to serve as foreign secretary was Tehmina Janjua from 2017 to 2019.

“A veteran diplomat, Ambassador Baloch has held several important assignments both in Islamabad and in Pakistan’s Missions abroad,” the foreign office said as it announced the new foreign secretary’s appointment.

“She served as Pakistan’s Consul General to Chengdu, China (2014-2017); High Commissioner to Malaysia (2019-2023); Ambassador to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg (2023-2024).”

Baloch has a master’s degree in history and joined the Pakistan Foreign Service in 1991. She has served on various important assignments at the headquarters and missions abroad during her career including Minister Counsellor at Colombo, Sri Lanka, Joint Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office and Additional Secretary at the Foreign Minister’s office.

Baloch is married and has two daughters.

Topics: Amna Baloch Pakistan Pakistan foreign office

US embassy urges citizens to reconsider travel to Pakistan amid militancy surge

US embassy urges citizens to reconsider travel to Pakistan amid militancy surge
Updated 11 September 2024
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US embassy urges citizens to reconsider travel to Pakistan amid militancy surge

US embassy urges citizens to reconsider travel to Pakistan amid militancy surge
  • In new travel advisory, US warns citizens not to travel to Azad Kashmir, KP and Balochistan provinces
  • Says militants can launch attacks with “little or no warning,” advises citizens against attending protests
Updated 11 September 2024
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: The US embassy in Islamabad this week warned citizens to reconsider traveling to Pakistan “due to terrorism” and “increased risks” of violence in some parts of the country as the South Asian nation faces a surge in militant activity.

Pakistan has seen a number of high-profile attacks in recent months, including when separatist militants killed over 50 people in the country’s largest province of Balochistan in a string of coordinated attacks on army and paramilitary camps, police stations, railway lines and highways last month. Elsewhere in the country, particularly the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, religiously motivated groups like the Pakistani Taliban have also stepped up attacks, daily targeting security forces convoys and check posts, and carrying out targeted killings and kidnappings of security and government officials.

“Reconsider travel to Pakistan due to terrorism,” the US Embassy said in a new travel advisory issued on Tuesday. “Some areas have increased risk. Do not travel to Balochistan province and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, including the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), due to terrorism [and] the immediate vicinity of the India-Pakistan border and the Line of Control due to terrorism and the potential for armed conflict.”

Highlighting risks, the embassy said militants could launch attacks with “little or no warning,” targeting transportation hubs, markets, shopping malls, military installations, airports, universities, tourist attractions, schools, hospitals, places of worship, and government facilities. 

It advised its citizens against going to protests, saying Pakistani law prohibited protests without an official permit and US citizens could be detained for participation or for posting “critical” social media content against the Pakistan government and military.

“Pakistan’s security environment remains fluid, sometimes changing with little or no notice,” the advisory said. “There are greater security resources and infrastructure in the major cities, particularly Islamabad, and security forces in these areas may be more readily able to respond to an emergency compared to other areas of the country.”

If US citizens did decide to travel to Pakistan, the embassy advised them, among other measures, to monitor local media for breaking events, remain aware of surroundings, particularly around public markets, restaurants, police installations, places of worship, government and military institutions and other locations, avoid demonstrations or other large gatherings, have evacuation plans that did not rely on US government assistance and keep travel documents up to date and easily accessible.

Topics: Pakistan US Ties US Embassy Militancy

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