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No official word from India it will participate in Champions Trophy in Pakistan — PCB

No official word from India it will participate in Champions Trophy in Pakistan — PCB
India’s Virat Kohli is clean bowled by Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi (not pictured) during the Asia Cup 2023 one-day international (ODI) cricket match between India and Pakistan at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on September 2, 2023. (AP/File)
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Updated 08 November 2024
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No official word from India it will participate in Champions Trophy in Pakistan — PCB

No official word from India it will participate in Champions Trophy in Pakistan — PCB
  • Mohsin Naqvi’s statement comes amid Indian media reports their team may not play the tournament
  • PCB chief maintains sports should be free from politics, says Pakistan’s preparations are continuing
Updated 08 November 2024
Falak Mahmood Khan
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi said on Friday there has been no official communication from Indian cricket authorities regarding their national team’s participation in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Champions Trophy scheduled to take place in Pakistan next year, despite recent reports in the Indian media suggesting otherwise.
Political tensions between India and Pakistan mean the two South Asian rivals only face each other at international tournaments. The Indian team last visited Pakistan in 2008 for the 50-over Asia Cup.
India’s refusal to play on Pakistani soil since then forced the PCB to settle for a “hybrid model” during last year’s Asia Cup, in which only four of the 13 matches were held in Pakistan, with the remaining nine played in Sri Lanka.
“For the past two months, there have been reports in Indian media that the Indian team is not coming [to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy],” Naqvi said during a news conference in Lahore.
“As far as what Indian media is reporting, if the Indian media is reporting this, then with that there must also be a letter that the ICC will give us [Pakistan] or the Indian [cricket] board must have announced [this decision] somewhere,” he continued. “So far, no such letter has reached me or the PCB.”
The ICC Champions Trophy, set to take place from February 19 to March 9, 2025, marks Pakistan’s first time hosting this prestigious tournament. The PCB has been preparing extensively, investing in stadium upgrades and infrastructure improvements to meet international standards.
Naqvi emphasized the need to keep sports free from political influence, adding the preparations for the Champions Trophy would continue as planned with hopes for a successful event.
The ICC has previously expressed satisfaction with Pakistan’s preparations, signaling that the tournament remains on track.
The PCB chief said during his media talk he was in contact with the cricket authorities in other countries, saying they were all excited about the upcoming event and wanted to play the tournament in Pakistan.

Topics: Champions Trophy 2025 Pakistan vs India Pakistan India Cricket

43 militants killed in Pakistan’s restive northwest and southwest this week — military

43 militants killed in Pakistan’s restive northwest and southwest this week — military
Updated 41 sec ago
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43 militants killed in Pakistan’s restive northwest and southwest this week — military

43 militants killed in Pakistan’s restive northwest and southwest this week — military
  • Security forces gunned down 18 militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 25 in Balochistan
  • Pakistan has struggled to curb militancy, blaming Afghanistan for the surge in recent years
Updated 41 sec ago
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: Security forces have killed 43 militants in intelligence-based operations (IBOs) this week in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan provinces that border Afghanistan, the Pakistani military’s media wing said on Friday, as the South Asian nation steps up its fight to curb militancy.
On night of December 12-13, security forces conducted an IBO in KP’s Lakki Marwat district and killed six militants. Since 9 December, 18 militants have been killed in the province, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
Security forces, after an intense fire exchange, neutralized 10 militants in two separate IBOs in Musa Khel and Panjgur districts of Balochistan on Dec. 13, leaving 25 militants dead in the region this week.
“These operations will continue till peace in the area is restored and khawrij [militants] are eliminated, as the security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country,” the ISPR said in a statement.
Pakistan has struggled to contain surging militancy in KP since November 2022, when a fragile truce between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or the Pakistani Taliban, and the state broke down. Since then, the TTP has increased attacks against Pakistan’s security forces.
The remote Balochistan province, which is home to the Gwadar Port, built by China as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65 billion investment in President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, has seen an increase in strikes by separatist militants this year.
Pakistan’s military has a huge presence in Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, and has long run intelligence-based operations against insurgent groups, which accuse the central government of exploiting Balochistan’s mineral and gas resources. The Pakistani state denies the allegation and says it is working to uplift the region through development initiatives.
Pakistan has frequently accused neighboring Afghanistan of sheltering and supporting militant groups, urging the Taliban administration in Kabul to prevent its territory from being used by armed factions to launch cross-border attacks. Afghan officials deny involvement, insisting Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.

Topics: militancy in Pakistan

Ex-PM Khan party denies any dialogue with Pakistani government to ease political tensions

Ex-PM Khan party denies any dialogue with Pakistani government to ease political tensions
Updated 19 min 57 sec ago
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Ex-PM Khan party denies any dialogue with Pakistani government to ease political tensions

Ex-PM Khan party denies any dialogue with Pakistani government to ease political tensions
  • Reports of talks between two sides surfaced after Khan’s party members met National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq
  • Ex-PM Khan this month announced his party will launch a civil disobedience campaign against government on Dec. 14
Updated 19 min 57 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has not held any talks with the government to ease political tensions, PTI leader Asad Qaiser said on Friday, denying media reports suggesting a dialogue having taken place between the two sides.
Pakistani media reported this week that the PTI and the government had agreed to ease political tensions in the country after PTI’s Qaiser and Salman Akram Raja met ruling party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) member and National Assembly speaker, Ayaz Sadiq, this week to offer condolences on his sister’s death.
Reports of negotiations surfaced after Khan earlier this month announced the PTI would launch a civil disobedience campaign from Dec. 14, if the government did not meet their demands release of political prisoners and to set up judicial commissions to investigate May 9, 2023 and Nov. 24 protests, in which the government says his supporters partook in violence and caused vandalism.
In a message to supporters on Dec. 5, Khan, who has been in jail since August last year, said he was setting up a five-member negotiations committee to hold talks with the federal government. PM Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to the speaker’s residence for condolences, following Qaiser’s meeting with Sadiq, also fueled speculation that the reported negotiations were discussed between Sadiq and the Pakistani premier.
“It is being reported in media that some dialogue, some talks have been taking place [with the government] and that I have had this kind of discussions with the speaker,” Qaiser said, while speaking in the National Assembly.
“I only went to the speaker’s residence to offer Fatiha, we did not have any dialogue, any talks.”
He said the PTI committee would hold talks with the government only if the latter demonstrated “seriousness.”
“Yes, we have definitely formed a committee and when that committee deemed appropriate and the government demonstrated seriousness, then we will see and we will formally take instructions from our founding chairman and only then things will proceed further,” Qaiser added.
Khan’s party alleges the Sharif-led coalition government came to power after rigging polls with the help of Pakistan’s all-powerful military and has staged several protests this year to demand the release of Khan and to challenge results of the Feb. 8 national election. The government and the military deny the allegations.
Rana Sanaullah, a member of Sharif’s PML-N party, said they always encouraged political dialogue and a month ago, PM Sharif, in an interaction with opposition members in the National Assembly, had offered to hold a political dialogue with them, but Opposition Leader Omar Ayub did not respond to the offer positively.
“Now they have formed a committee but they have not conveyed us this message that ‘we want to talk to you’,” Sanaullah said on a Geo News show Friday morning.
“If they sent this message to the government or the prime minister that ‘we are ready to hold talks with you,’ then it is my assessment that the PML-N will never refuse to hold a political dialogue.”

Topics: Government PTI talks Asad Qaiser Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan

Ex-PM Khan party files petition against PM Sharif, others for ‘firing’ at supporters in Islamabad

Ex-PM Khan party files petition against PM Sharif, others for ‘firing’ at supporters in Islamabad
Updated 13 December 2024
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Ex-PM Khan party files petition against PM Sharif, others for ‘firing’ at supporters in Islamabad

Ex-PM Khan party files petition against PM Sharif, others for ‘firing’ at supporters in Islamabad
  • Khan’s party on Nov. 24 led thousands of supporters to Islamabad, seeking to pressure the government to release the ex-premier from jail
  • The protests resulted in clashes that government says killed four law enforcers, while the party says 12 supporters were killed in crackdown
Updated 13 December 2024
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s party on Friday filed a petition against Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and other officials over “firing” on its supporters during last month’s protest in Islamabad, which the party says killed at least 12 people and injured more than a hundred others.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Nov. 24 led thousands of supporters to Islamabad, seeking to pressure the government to release the ex-premier from jail and order an audit of Feb. 8 national election results. The protests resulted in clashes that Pakistan’s government says killed four law enforcers and injured hundreds of others.
The PTI says at least 12 of its supporters were killed and another 38 sustained injuries due to firing by law enforcers near Islamabad’s Jinnah Avenue on Nov. 26, while 139 of its supporters were still “missing.” Pakistani authorities have denied the deaths, saying security personnel had not been carrying live ammunition during the protest.
“On the 26th November, 2024 when thousands of peaceful demonstrators had assembled on the Jinnah Avenue Islamabad, the lights were switched off and the armed personnel/snippers got on top of all the adjacent buildings,” PTI Chairman Gohar Khan said in a complaint filed in a local court in Islamabad on Friday.
“The law enforcing agency persons equipped with teargas machines started profuse firing adulterating the entire atmosphere with tear gas, smoke and suffocation. Flurry of firing by the snippers followed by indiscriminate straight firing at the crowd resulted in bullet injuries causing instant deaths and the panic stricken people started running who too were sprayed with bullet fires.”
The party has named PM Sharif, Interior Ministry Mohsin Naqvi, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, Information Minister Ataullah Tarar, Islamabad police chief Ali Nasir Rizvi and others as accused persons. It requested the court to accept the complaint, issue non-bailable warrants for the accused persons and punish them as provided by law.
The government has accused Khan’s party of waging a “propaganda” regarding the Islamabad protest, following statements by several PTI members that gave varied accounts of casualties.
The coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed two task forces in the aftermath of the Islamabad protest: one to identify and take legal action against rioters and another to track and bring to justice suspects behind what the government described as a “malicious campaign” to spread “concocted, baseless and inciting” online news, images and video content against the state and security forces.
The PTI has staged several protests this year to demand the release of Khan and to challenge results of the Feb. 8 national election, which it says were manipulated to favor its opponents. The Pakistani government and election authorities deny this.
Last month’s protests were by far the largest to grip the capital since the poll, while Khan, who remains a popular figure in Pakistan despite being in prison and facing several court cases, has also threatened to launch a civil disobedience movement.

Topics: PTI protest Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif

Punjab invites China’s Jinko Solar to set up manufacturing plant in Pakistan

Punjab invites China’s Jinko Solar to set up manufacturing plant in Pakistan
Updated 13 December 2024
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Punjab invites China’s Jinko Solar to set up manufacturing plant in Pakistan

Punjab invites China’s Jinko Solar to set up manufacturing plant in Pakistan
  • Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif meets Chinese solar company officials in Shanghai during factory visit
  • Experts say Pakistan has ideal climatic conditions for solar power generation with over nine hours of daily sunlight
Updated 13 December 2024
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has invited China’s Jinko Solar Company to set up a manufacturing plant in Pakistan’s most populous province, according to televised comments by the provincial chief executive released on Friday.

Pakistan’s energy sector has long struggled with financial strain due to circular debt, power theft and transmission losses, leading to blackouts and high electricity costs. 

Experts say Pakistan has ideal climatic conditions for solar power generation, with over nine hours of daily sunlight in most parts of the country. According to the World Bank, utilizing just 0.071 percent of the country’s area for solar power generation would meet Pakistan’s entire electricity demand.

Currently, only 5.4 percent of Pakistan’s installed power generation capacity of 39,772 megawatts comes from renewables like wind, solar and biomass, while fossil fuels still make up 63 percent of the fuel mix, followed by hydropower at 25 percent, according to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority.

“I think it’s high time that you set up a manufacturing unit in Pakistan,” CM Sharif said in televised comments during a factory visit to Jinko Solar Company in Shanghai.

“Pakistan has abundant solar resources. It’s a country that has sun all the time.”

She said Pakistan, with a population of around 240 million people, was a huge market where the demand for solar power was increasing, with the potential to make it Jinko Solar’s fourth biggest market.

“The cost of the energy power in Pakistan’s electricity is coming down and there is no dearth of workforce in Pakistan which should not be a problem,” Sharif added. “Then we have the infrastructure that is required to set up a factory, we’ve got tax-free zones where we have all the facilities available.”

Sharif said the Punjab government was incentivizing the use of solar power and launching two projects where free solar panels would be given out to users of 200 or fewer units.

“We are also providing long-term loans with easy instalments without interest for a huge, huge population that consumes electricity between 200 to 500 units,” she said. “And this is an upcoming project, we haven’t yet started it but we’re working on it, it’s been finalized and we will be launching it in a week.”

According to a World Economic Forum report last month, Pakistan was now the sixth-largest solar market in the world.

Topics: Jinko Maryam Nawaz Sharif Punjab Pakistan China Ties

Pakistan reports four new polio cases, raising 2024 tally to 63

Pakistan reports four new polio cases, raising 2024 tally to 63
Updated 13 December 2024
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Pakistan reports four new polio cases, raising 2024 tally to 63

Pakistan reports four new polio cases, raising 2024 tally to 63
  • New cases detected in DI Khan, Tank, Jacobabad and Sukkur
  • Pakistan, Afghanistan are last polio-endemic countries globally
Updated 13 December 2024
REHMAT MEHSUD

PESHAWAR: Pakistan’s polio eradication program said on Friday four new cases of the crippling virus had been detected in the country, bringing the nationwide tally for 2024 to 63.

Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, remains the last polio-endemic country in the world. 

The next national polio vaccination campaign is planned from Dec 16-22 to reach more than 44 million children under five in 143 districts. Pakistan’s chief health officer said last month an estimated 500,000 children had missed polio drops during a recent countrywide inoculation drive due to vaccine refusals.

“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of four wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan, bringing the number of total cases in the country this year to 63,” the polio program said.

The lab said one polio case each in female children had been detected in DI Khan, Tank and Jacobabad, and one male child had contracted the virus in Sukkur.

This is the ninth polio case from DI Khan, third from Tank, third from Jacobabad, and the first from Sukkur this year.

The polio program said 26 cases had been confirmed this year in Balochistan province, 18 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 17 in Sindh, and one each in Punjab and the federal capital, Islamabad.

Poliovirus, which can cause crippling paralysis particularly in young children, is incurable and remains a threat to human health as long as it has not been eradicated. Immunization campaigns have succeeded in most countries and have come close in Pakistan, but persistent problems remain.

In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021. 

Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies. Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccine teams. 

In July 2019, a vaccination drive in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was thwarted after mass panic was created by rumors that children were fainting or vomiting after being immunized.

Public health studies in Pakistan have shown that maternal illiteracy and low parental knowledge about vaccines, together with poverty and rural residency, are also factors that commonly influence whether parents vaccinate their children against polio.

Topics: Polio Pakistan

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