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South Africa seal place in World Test Championship final with a tense 2-wicket win against Pakistan

South Africa seal place in World Test Championship final with a tense 2-wicket win against Pakistan
South Africa’s Marco Jansen (left) shakes hand with Pakistan’s Babar Azam (second right) after winning the first Test cricket match of the two match series against Pakistan, at Centurion Park in Centurion, South Africa, on December 29, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 29 December 2024
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South Africa seal place in World Test Championship final with a tense 2-wicket win against Pakistan

South Africa seal place in World Test Championship final with a tense 2-wicket win against Pakistan
  • Needing 148 runs to win, South Africa crashed to 99 for eight owing to superb bowling by Mohammad Abbas
  • But Kagiso Rabada went on the attack, hitting 31 not out, before Marco Jansen hit the winning 16 runs
Updated 29 December 2024
AP
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CENTURION: South Africa tailenders Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen hung in against relentless fast bowler Mohammad Abbas for a tense two-wicket win in the first test on Sunday and sealed the Proteas’ place in next year’s World Test Championship final.
Jansen (16 not out) overshadowed Abbas’ brilliant figures of 6-54 with a square driven boundary against the fast bowler as South Africa reached 150-8 just after lunch on Day 4 and escaped with a close win in the two-match series.
Abbas, making a comeback after more than three years in the test wilderness, had knocked back South Africa’s tricky chase of 148 runs in a marathon 13-over spell before lunch on Day 4 as the home team limped to 99-8, losing four wickets for three runs.
However, Rabada changed gears in an unbroken 51-run stand with Jansen and made an unbeaten 31 off 26 balls with five fours to seal a memorable victory and denied Pakistan its first test win in South Africa in almost 18 years.
South Africa had started this WTC cycle with a loss against New Zealand, but since then the Proteas drew 1-1 in India and then went on to beat West Indies, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to stay on top of the table.
India, Australia and Sri Lanka are the other teams still in contention for next June’s WTC final against South Africa at Lord’s.
Captain Temba Bavuma (40) and Aiden Markram (37) had thwarted Abbas for an hour after South Africa resumed at a wobbly 27-3, still needing 121 for victory.
Bavuma’s controversial dismissal punctuated a South Africa collapse in the latter half of first session with Abbas grabbing three off his six balls in a sensational home team collapse.
Bavuma, who made 40, surprisingly didn’t request a television review when replays suggested that Abbas’ ball had brushed the batter’s pocket and didn’t make contact with the inside edge of the bat but the South African skipper walked back to the dressing room.
Abbas bowled an unchanged marathon spell of 13 overs, but had to wait as Markram and Bavuma saw off eight overs from the fast bowlers.
Resuming at 27-3, Bavuma and Markram showed plenty of patience against Abbas’ probing line and length before the fast bowler finally got the breakthrough after the first drinks break.
Abbas was rewarded for his brilliant seam bowling when he beat the outside edge of Markram’s bat and knocked back the off stump.
Bavuma survived a couple of close chances when he successfully overturned an on-field lbw decision against him early in the day and Naseem Shah couldn’t hold onto a sharp catch at fine leg as he overstepped the boundary cushion while grabbing the ball over his head.
South Africa had controlled the game at 96-4 before Bavuma’s dismissal saw Abbas finding the outside edges of David Bedingham (14) and Corbin Bosch’s (0) bat off successive deliveries and in between Kyle Verreynne dragged Naseem Shah’s delivery back onto his stumps.
Abbas found the outside edge of Rabada’s bat in his first over after lunch that fell just short of wicketkeeper Rizwan before both tailenders took the team home.

Topics: Pakistan vs South Africa Pakistan cricket South Africa cricket Kagiso Rabada

‘We just want peace’: Kashmiri nomadic shepherds yearn for stability amid India-Pakistan tensions

‘We just want peace’: Kashmiri nomadic shepherds yearn for stability amid India-Pakistan tensions
Updated 25 sec ago
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‘We just want peace’: Kashmiri nomadic shepherds yearn for stability amid India-Pakistan tensions

‘We just want peace’: Kashmiri nomadic shepherds yearn for stability amid India-Pakistan tensions
  • The lives of these nomads revolve around seasonal migrations, seeking grazing grounds for animals on different altitudes
  • But this season, a far greater uncertainty loomed in front of them in the form of India-Pakistan military incursions
Updated 25 sec ago
Usama Iqbal Khawaja

MUZAFFARABAD: Muhammad Jahangir, 35, continuously walked for around four hours to finally find a green patch of land along the banks of Jhelum River, just outside the town of Garhi Dupatta in Azad Kashmir, where his goats could graze, and descended from the road to survey the riverside himself.
While the grass and tree leaves there were barely enough to feed his herd of around 250 goats and a few sheep, Jahangir let out a series of sharp, familiar whistles along with others in his group and the trained animals began moving down the slope to nibble at the patchy grass.
Jahangir hails from the Kashmiri Bakarwal community that comprises nomadic, pastoral people, who are known for raising sheep and goats, in both Pakistan and India-governed parts Kashmir, particularly in the Pir Panjal and Himalayan mountain ranges.
The lives of these Bakarwals revolve around seasonal migrations with their herds, seeking grazing grounds on different altitudes depending on the time of year, but this May a far greater uncertainty loomed ahead in the form of India-Pakistan military incursions.
“We’re coming from Kharian and our destination is Deosai,” Jahangir told Arab News, standing beside his flock a surprise truce between the two countries brokered by the United States (US).
“The situation ahead is said to be tense due to firing. Some of our Bakarwal groups are stuck near Panjkot Mali. We’ll decide whether to move ahead or not depending on the conditions.”
Jahangir and three of his fellows were en route to Deosai, a high-altitude plateau in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region that is known for its lush-green meadows.
But they were forced to stop because of artillery, drone and missile strikes along the nearby Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border dividing Kashmir between Pakistan and India. Jahangir feared that if the situation continued to remain the same, they might not reach the highlands in time.
“We’ve heard that some people have lost their livestock, though we didn’t see it ourselves. Some families have already turned back from Neelum [valley in Azad Kashmir] and returned,” Jahangir said.
This particular group of nomads set out from Kharian over a week ago, traveling on the Grand Trunk Road and arriving in Muzaffarabad via Murree a resort town on the border of Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province. The four men managed the herd on foot, while their families had already moved ahead on horseback to set up makeshift camps along the way.
Devoid of modern gadgets like smartphones and GPS, these nomads rely on inherited knowledge to assess the direction of the wind, position of stars, and bends of rivers to navigate the challenging terrain, though some of them carry basic feature phones that often have no signals in the mountainous regions.
Once a celebrated lifestyle built on freedom and communion with nature, the nomadic way of living is now increasingly threatened by changing climate patterns, shrinking grazing grounds, and a lack of hospitality from settled communities along their traditional routes.
“People are so cruel [now], they don’t even let us stay near their lands,” said Farooq Ahmed, another nomad.
“If we find a little government land near the river, we rest our animals there, otherwise the locals stop us from going uphill. They say the grass and trees are theirs.”
For generations, these nomads’ migration to Deosai has been about survival — escaping the blistering summer heat of the lowlands and reaching the cool, high pastures where food is abundant and livestock can thrive.
But weeks of tensions between India and Pakistan over an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, which killed 26 tourists on April 22, turned into a military conflict last week, leaving more than 60 people dead on both sides in four days of cross-border strikes and threatening the centuries-old nomadic way of life in the region.
Although the US-brokered ceasefire between India and Pakistan remains intact, sporadic violations have been reported by locals in Azad Kashmir.
For Ahmed, this truce offers little assurance.
“We just want peace,” he said. “It has become a problem for everyone, every human being is suffering now.”

Topics: Nomads Bakarwal Nomad Azad Jammu and Kashmir

Pakistan vows to preserve Indus Waters Treaty amid ceasefire with India

Pakistan vows to preserve Indus Waters Treaty amid ceasefire with India
Updated 11 May 2025
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Pakistan vows to preserve Indus Waters Treaty amid ceasefire with India

Pakistan vows to preserve Indus Waters Treaty amid ceasefire with India
  • India suspended the treaty, which ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farms, a day after an April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir killed 26 tourists
  • Tensions between the two neighbors over the attack, Islamabad denies any complicity in, escalated and both launched air and ground strikes against the other this week
Updated 11 May 2025
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is committed to upholding a ceasefire with India but it will take “all appropriate steps” to preserve the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), the Pakistani Foreign Office said on Sunday, saying the treaty is critical for Pakistan’s water security and economy.
Pakistan and India engaged in a military conflict and attacked the other with fighter aircraft, missiles, drones and artillery fire, following weeks of tensions between the two over an attack in the disputed Kashmir region that India blamed on Pakistan, Islamabad denies it.
The incursions that targeted several cities for four days killed nearly 60 people on both sides as major world powers scrambled for a ceasefire between the nuclear-armed arch-foes. On Saturday, US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire that has largely held, except for some violations in Kashmir.
However, tensions remain high since Saturday’s announcement by Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri that the 1960 World Bank-brokered treaty would remain in abeyance, signaling deeper diplomatic rifts despite the temporary cessation of hostilities between the two neighbors.
“We are committed on ceasefire but the IWT is of critical importance for Pakistan’s water security and economy,” Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan told Arab News.
“Naturally, we will take all appropriate steps to preserve its sanctity and smooth implementation.”
India suspended the treaty, which ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farms, a day after the April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists. Islamabad has called for a credible, international probe into the attack and described the Indian move to suspend the treaty as “act of war.”
The IWT grants Pakistan rights to the western rivers — Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab — for irrigation, drinking, and non-consumptive uses like hydropower, while India controls the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej — for unrestricted use but must not significantly alter their flow. India can use the western rivers for limited purposes such as power generation and irrigation, without storing or diverting large volumes, according to the agreement.
“The fact is that there have been fundamental changes in the circumstances in which the Indus Waters Treaty was concluded,” Indian Foreign Secretary Misri was quoted as saying by NDTV on Thursday.
He said there is now a need to “reassess the obligations under that treaty.”
Khan, the Pakistani Foreign Office spokesperson, said India is in no position to unilaterally hold the treaty in abeyance in the absence of any relevant legal provisions in the agreement.
“Water is a vital national interest of Pakistan, a lifeline for its 240 million people and its availability will be safeguarded at all costs,” he said, reiterating Islamabad’s position that any attempt to stop or divert the flow of its water would be “responded with full force across the complete spectrum of national power.”
Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs Amir Muqam said any attempt to stop Pakistan’s share of water could lead to dangerous escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
“Stopping or reducing our share is absolutely not acceptable and can lead to further and dangerous escalation,” he told Arab News. “The revival of the Indus Waters Treaty in its current form remains a top priority on the agenda in any negotiations between the two countries.”
Muqam further stated that India must revive the IWT in its original form to maintain long-term peace in the region.
“There can be no compromise on it as it is a matter of life and death for us and there is no question of it that they [Indians] stop our water and we will remain silent,” the minister added.
Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations, having fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, a region split between them, since gaining independence from the former British colonial rule in 1947.

Topics: Indus Water Treaty Pakistan India clash Pakistan India ceasefire

Peshawar Zalmi pledge Rs50 million for Pakistani pilots for ‘heroic response’ to India strikes

Peshawar Zalmi pledge Rs50 million for Pakistani pilots for ‘heroic response’ to India strikes
Updated 11 May 2025
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Peshawar Zalmi pledge Rs50 million for Pakistani pilots for ‘heroic response’ to India strikes

Peshawar Zalmi pledge Rs50 million for Pakistani pilots for ‘heroic response’ to India strikes
  • The announcement comes as Pakistanis mark a ‘Day of Gratitude’ to recognize the nation’s reply to India’s fighter jet, missile, drone and artillery strikes
  • A ceasefire, brokered by the US, appeared to hold between the two arch-rivals on Sunday after four days of fighting killed nearly 60 people on both sides
Updated 11 May 2025
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Peshawar Zalmi have pledged Rs50 million ($177,809) for Pakistani pilots for their “heroic response” to India’s missile and drone strikes on Pakistan this week, the franchise said on Sunday, in a gesture of national solidarity.
The announcement came as Pakistanis marked a “Day of Gratitude,” announced by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, on Sunday to recognize the nation’s “befitting response” to India’s fighter jet, missile, drone and artillery strikes.
Hours after India’s missile strikes on multiple Pakistani cities on Wednesday, Pakistan said it had downed five Indian fighter jets, a claim partly corroborated by Indian government sources who confirmed at least three.
Javed Afridi, the Peshawar Zalmi chairman, said the recent events posed a serious threat to national security and public safety, but the “swift, precise and heroic response” of Pakistan’s air defenders averted any major damage.
“Their unwavering courage, dedication, and sacrifice are the heartbeat of our national pride. Today, we honor them not just with words, but through meaningful action,” Afridi was quoted as saying by his franchise.
“This contribution is more than a gesture — it is a powerful symbol of national solidarity and deep respect for the heroes who shield our skies with unshakable resolve.”
The statement came as a ceasefire, brokered by the United States (US), appeared to hold between the two nuclear-armed arch-rivals on Sunday. Four days of fighting between the two nations killed nearly 60 people and sent thousands fleeing, in the worst violence since India and Pakistan’s last open conflict in 1999.
The cross-border incursions forced both countries to postpone their respective Twenty-20 cricket leagues to ensure safety of local and international players as well as the spectators.
Cricket authorities of both countries have been in discussions to announce rescheduled dates and venues for the matches that had yet to be played.

Topics: Pakistan Airforce Peshawar Zalmi

Pope Leo XIV welcomes India-Pakistan ceasefire in first Sunday message 

Pope Leo XIV welcomes India-Pakistan ceasefire in first Sunday message 
Updated 11 May 2025
Reuters
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Pope Leo XIV welcomes India-Pakistan ceasefire in first Sunday message 

Pope Leo XIV welcomes India-Pakistan ceasefire in first Sunday message 
  • New pope calls for lasting, “authentic” peace in Ukraine and a ceasefire in Gaza
  • Pakistan struck Indian military bases with missiles on Saturday, widening fears of war
Updated 11 May 2025
Reuters

VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV appealed to the world’s major powers for “no more war” in his first Sunday message to crowds in St. Peter’s Square since his election as pontiff.

The new pope, elected on May 8, called for an “authentic and lasting peace” in Ukraine and a ceasefire in Gaza and release of all Israeli hostages.

Leo also welcomed the recent ceasefire between India and Pakistan, and said he was praying to God to grant the world the “miracle of peace.”

“No more war!” the pope said, repeating a frequent call of the late Pope Francis and noting the recent 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, which killed some 60 million people.

Leo said today’s world was living through “the dramatic scenario of a Third World War being fought piecemeal,” again repeating a phrase coined by Francis.

The new pope said he carries in his heart the “suffering of the beloved people of Ukraine.” He appealed for negotiations to reach an “authentic, just and lasting peace.”

He also said he was “profoundly saddened” by the war in Gaza, calling for an immediate ceasefire, humanitarian aid and release of the remaining hostages held by the militant group Hamas.

Leo said he was glad to hear of the recent India-Pakistan ceasefire and hoped negotiations would lead to a lasting accord between the nuclear armed neighbors.

He added: “But there are so many other conflicts in the world!“

Topics: Pope Leo XIV Pakistan India Ties

Azad Kashmir says India’s cross-border shelling killed 31 in last four days

Azad Kashmir says India’s cross-border shelling killed 31 in last four days
Updated 11 May 2025
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Azad Kashmir says India’s cross-border shelling killed 31 in last four days

Azad Kashmir says India’s cross-border shelling killed 31 in last four days
  • Eleven people were killed in district Kotli while six each were killed in districts Bhimber and Poonch
  • India and Pakistan agreed to an uneasy ceasefire brokered by the United States on Saturday evening
Updated 11 May 2025
Usama Iqbal Khawaja

ISLAMABAD: At least 31 people were killed and 123 injured in the last four days due to cross-border firing by Indian forces, Pakistan-administered Kashmir’s disaster management authority said on Sunday. 

Indian and Pakistani troops have exchanged heavy fire along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border dividing the disputed Himalayan Kashmir territory between India and Pakistan, since tensions escalated last month. 

Tensions surged between the nuclear-armed neighbors this week when India fired missiles at what it said were “terrorist” camps in Pakistan, killing several people. New Delhi blamed Islamabad for an Apr. 22 attack at a tourist resort in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26, charges that Islamabad denied. Pakistan said Indian strikes on Wednesday killed several civilians, vowing retaliation. 

Pakistan’s military launched retaliatory strikes against India on Saturday morning in response to what it said were drone and missile strikes on Pakistani air bases during the wee hours of Friday. Both countries have since then agreed to a ceasefire brokered by the United States and encouraged by other countries. 

“Thirty-one people were killed in Azad Kashmir’s ten districts during the last four days during the India-Pakistan war,” Azad Kashmir’s State Disaster Management Authority said in a situation report. 

Giving a breakdown of the figures, the report said 11 people were killed in Kotli district while six each died in districts Bhimber and Poonch. Three people were killed in Muzaffarabad district while two were killed in Neelum. 

The report said 287 houses and 21 shops were damaged due to shelling in the past four days while 22 cattle were killed. 

Within hours of the ceasefire announcement on Saturday, India accused Islamabad of violating it by targeting Srinagar city in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Pakistan’s Information Minister Ata Tarar denied the allegation, saying people in his country were celebrating the end of the conflict and the government remained committed to the agreement.

The foreign office of Pakistan also maintained the country remained committed to the “faithful implementation” of the ceasefire.

Topics: Kashmir Pakistan India Ties

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