Flight operations shut at several Indian airports, IPL match moved amid Pakistan standoff
Flight operations shut at several Indian airports, IPL match moved amid Pakistan standoff/node/2599986/pakistan
Flight operations shut at several Indian airports, IPL match moved amid Pakistan standoff
Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel participate in the civil defence security mock drill at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India, May 7, 2025. (REUTERS)
Flight operations shut at several Indian airports, IPL match moved amid Pakistan standoff
Several airports in northern India have been closed after New Delhi launched strikes on neighboring Pakistan on Wednesday
Match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings was due to take place in Dharamsala, where the airport has closed
Updated 08 May 2025
AFP
NEW DELHI: India’s IPL cricket match on Sunday between Mumbai and Punjab has been moved to Gujarat, local media reported on Thursday, while airlines suspended flight operations from more than two dozen airports across northern and western regions of the country amid heightened tensions with Pakistan.
The match between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings was due to take place in Dharamsala, where the airport has closed in the wake of violence between India and neighboring Pakistan.
But Thursday evening’s match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals, which is also set to take place in Dharamsala, will proceed as planned, as will all other games in coming days.
Sunday’s match will now be played in the city of Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat, the state’s cricket association secretary Anil Patel told the Press Trust of India news agency on Thursday.
Several airports in northern India have been closed after New Delhi launched strikes on neighboring Pakistan on Wednesday.
In adviseries to passengers, key domestic airlines said their flights will remain suspended until Saturday from airports including Amritsar in northern Punjab and Srinagar in India-controlled Kashmir, bordering Pakistan.
India’s Civil Aviation Ministry hasn’t officially commented on the closure of airports after tensions flared up with Pakistan. A spokeswoman for the ministry, Beena Yadav, declined to comment on Thursday.
Indigo, the country’s biggest domestic carrier, on Wednesday canceled 165 flights, while Air India and Air India Express had a similar number of cancelations. Air India even diverted two of its international flights enroute from Amritsar, close to Lahore, to New Delhi, because of the sudden closure of the airport.
The strikes on Wednesday came two weeks after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing an attack on tourists in the Indian-administered side of disputed Kashmir, a charge Pakistan denies.
The arch-rivals have since exchanged fire across their contested border in Kashmir. The violence has raised fears of a wider conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday his country did not turn a blind eye to US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities earlier this month, adding that close relations with a country do not justify silence in the face of wrongdoing.
The statement came during a news briefing in the federal capital, where Dar spoke to the media about Pakistan’s recent diplomatic engagements, including his participation in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Istanbul and the Pakistan-United Arab Emirates Joint Ministerial Commission.
Despite a recent revival in bilateral ties with Washington, Pakistan formally condemned the US strikes in a statement, calling them a violation of international law and affirming Iran’s right to self-defense under the UN Charter.
“Just because relations are good with a country doesn’t mean you should consider something wrong to be right,” he told the media.
“As you witnessed, we didn’t hesitate or delay,” he continued. “I spoke with the foreign secretary, gave a task to the spokesperson and we exchanged draft statements. It’s now a part of the historic record: we criticized the attack, and we did it on record.”
Dar’s remarks came in the wake of a 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel that erupted after Israeli strikes targeted Iranian nuclear and military sites, prompting retaliation from Tehran.
The war began while the administration in Tehran was holding nuclear negotiations with the US that later joined the fray, launching its own strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.
While Washington said the attacks had set back Iran’s nuclear program by years, there was international concern over a wider regional war.
Dar said he had been personally involved in formulating the country’s response as Islamabad prepared its official statement.
Pakistan, currently a member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), also raised the issue at the world body in New York.
KARACHI: Pakistan on Friday approved a 10 percent increase in natural gas prices for industrial users and power plants starting next month, in line with reforms mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ensure cost recovery and tariff rationalization, an official statement said.
The decision was taken by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet, chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.
While prices for bulk consumers and gas-fired power plants will rise, household consumers will be shielded from the increase.
“To protect household consumers, gas prices will remain unchanged, with only fixed charges revised,” the Finance Division said in a statement released after the meeting. “However, prices for bulk consumers, industrial units and power plants will be increased by an average of 10 percent.”
The statement said the revised pricing structure, submitted by the Petroleum Division, complies with regulatory obligations under the OGRA Ordinance and meets structural benchmarks under Pakistan’s ongoing loan program with the IMF.
It also supports a shift from cross-subsidies to direct, targeted assistance for low-income consumers.
DEFENSE GRANT
The ECC also approved a Rs15.8 billion ($55.3 million) supplementary grant for the Ministry of Defense to cover a shortfall in salaries, allowances and pending dues.
The funding includes disbursements under the prime minister’s compensation package for martyrs of the recent Pakistan-India war fought last month.
In a separate decision, the committee gave in-principle approval to launch a risk coverage scheme for small farmers and underserved regions by August 14.
The program is expected to bring 750,000 new borrowers into the formal credit system and unlock a Rs300 billion ($1.05 billion) agricultural loan portfolio over three years (FY2026-28).
The statement said the total budgetary support for the scheme, covering risk coverage and bank operating costs, is estimated at Rs37.5 billion ($131.25 million), to be disbursed between FY2027 and FY2031.
The government has directed relevant ministries to incorporate additional safeguards before the official rollout.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Naval Chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf on Friday said future wars will be won not just through firepower but by forces that are intellectually and technologically superior, urging a strategic shift in how militaries prepare for evolving threats.
Speaking at the Pakistan Navy War College in Lahore, he pointed to recent Iran-Israel and Pakistan-India conflicts as examples of how warfare has changed.
Traditional dogfights and infantry movements were notably absent from these military standoffs, replaced by precision strikes, electronic and cyber warfare.
The shifting nature of these engagements, he said, underscores the need to rethink legacy doctrines and build forces fit for the future.
“The conventional, one-dimensional study of warfare is now outdated,” Ashraf told graduating officers of the 54th Pakistan Navy Staff Course. “Winning future wars demands not only a re-evaluation of legacy warfighting strategies, but also the development and maintenance of a future-ready workforce that is intellectually astute and technologically proficient.”
Discussing the maritime challenges facing Pakistan, the naval chief said the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) was “fluid and contested.”
He also highlighted that new geopolitical realignments and ongoing power rivalries in the region, saying they were affecting the security environment in the IOR.
Ashraf congratulated the graduates while encouraging them to be more analytical and innovative in their upcoming assignments.
ISLAMABAD: The British Council and the Government of Sindh have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to improve English language teaching in public schools, aiming to train 30,000 teachers and indirectly benefit over two million students, according to a statement issued on Friday.
English is a compulsory subject in Pakistan’s schools and colleges and remains the dominant language in government, academia and the corporate sector. Despite years of formal exposure, however, many students struggle to use the language effectively, raising concerns about the quality and methods of instruction.
The new initiative aims to address these challenges by equipping teachers with inclusive and multilingual approaches that support more effective language acquisition.
“This agreement renews our partnership with and commitment to the people and Government of Sindh,” said James Hampson, Country Director, British Council Pakistan. “Our ambition of supporting 30,000 teachers and 2 million children is a great next step.”
Under the agreement, the British Council will deliver its “English as a Subject for Teachers and Educators” (EaSTE) program to newly inducted primary and early childhood teachers.
The collaboration also includes training 1,000 in-service teachers as mentors and deploying a scalable digital Learning Management System (LMS) to facilitate continuous professional support.
“Our focus is not just on access but on quality,” said Sindh Education Minister Sardar Ali Shah at the occasion. “Through this initiative, we are equipping our teachers with the tools they need to teach English more effectively, in ways that reflect the linguistic and cultural realities of our classrooms.”
The program builds on the British Council’s long-standing work in education in Pakistan and replicates a successful model from Punjab, where EaSTE reached more than 140,000 teachers.
ISLAMABAD: On a hot summer afternoon in Islamabad’s F-9 Park, laughter echoed across the cracked concrete as teenagers cruised over curbs and kick-flipped their boards with casual defiance.
For this small but growing community of skateboarders in the Pakistani capital, the pavement is a playground — and a protest.
Globally, skateboarding has long been associated with youth culture. It is a sport that thrives in urban settings and offers young people a sense of identity, freedom, and creative expression. Since its rise in the United States in the 1960s, it has evolved into a global movement, now part of the Olympic Games and supported by thriving communities from Brazil to Japan.
In this context, Pakistan is fertile ground for the growth of skateboarding — a nation of over 240 million people where nearly 64% of the population is under the age of 30. But the country does not officially recognize skateboarding as a sport. Its official game is field hockey but cricket dominates pitches, TV screens and public discourse. Other sports like football, badminton and volleyball enjoy some government support but skateboarding remains entirely on the fringes.
“There’s not even one dedicated skate shop in Pakistan,” said Ali Hamza, a 21-year-old engineering student who founded Skate Pakistan, a grassroots movement using Instagram to grow and connect the local skate scene. “It’s still seen by many as a toy.”
This photo, posted on December 20, 2024, shows a skateboarder riding his board in Lahore. (Photo courtesy: Instagram/@hamzahh9)
Hamza’s Instagram page, started in 2021 “just to see if anyone else was skating,” soon connected him to others across Islamabad and beyond. Today, Skate Pakistan meetups attract 12–15 regulars, with larger competitions drawing dozens. Most participants are teenagers with limited access to professional training or gear, and the initiative is driven entirely by volunteers and enthusiasts, growing into a fledgling community of teens and young adults passionate about the sport and eager to see it taken seriously.
Hamza’s own introduction to skateboarding came through Hollywood films as a child. At the time, he assumed the aerial tricks were camera tricks.
“Honestly, I used to think it was fake,” he said, laughing. “Like, how can a board that’s not even attached to your feet fly up like that?”
Curious, he bought a cheap board from a local sports shop in 2019. With no coaches or skateparks in Islamabad, Hamza turned to YouTube tutorials and online courses to learn the basics.
“My first day on the board, my father was holding one arm and my brother held the other. I was just praying I wouldn’t fall,” he said.
This photo, posted on December 20, 2024, shows skateboarders spray painting a board ahead of a competition in Lahore. (Photo courtesy: Instagram/@hamzahh9)
Fall he did and repeatedly. But with each tumble, he said, the fear wore off.
“The more I fell, the more this fear lessened.”
While Pakistan has a few modest skateparks — including one in Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan, and another set up with German NGO support in Karachi in 2020 — most skateboarders still ride on sidewalks, underpasses, or abandoned lots.
Security guards at parks often ask them to leave. Potholes, rough terrain, and broken pavement pose daily hazards.
But the lack of infrastructure and support hasn’t stopped the community from growing.
“I mean, it’s fun, it’s something physical, you’re out with your friends, so why not?” said Hasaan Khan, 16, a regular at the sessions held in Islamabad’s F-9 park.
“Skateboarding builds up your endurance, since you keep falling over and over again,” added Rija Mughal, also 16. “It’s pretty good for your physical health too.”
BUILDING A MOVEMENT
For many, skateboarding took off during COVID-19, when lockdowns closed schools and sports grounds.
“I found an old skateboard at home during COVID, had nothing else to do, so I started riding around,” said Ahmed Ali Rana, who was 13 at the time. “It just clicked.”
This photo, posted on December 20, 2024, shows a skateboarder riding his board in Lahore. (Photo courtesy: Instagram/@hamzahh9)
Rana said he was nervous at his first Skate Pakistan competition but was surprised by how welcoming everyone was.
“That’s the best part. It’s not just about the sport, it’s about the friends and the community.”
Zayan Nadir, another teen skater, said skating gave him a mental escape:
“It helps people get away from their problems. But to build a bigger community in Pakistan, you need more skate shops, more skate parks, and more freedom for skaters.”
Currently, there’s no national or provincial skateboarding federation, and the Pakistan Sports Board does not include the sport in its list of recognized disciplines. In contrast, neighboring India has had multiple international skateboarding events and boasts over two dozen skateparks, including some that cater to underprivileged youth.
The inclusion of skateboarding in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games also helped raise its profile globally, particularly among younger audiences. Yet, in Pakistan, there is little official recognition, funding, or visibility.
This photo, posted on December 20, 2024, shows a skateboarder riding his board in Lahore. (Photo courtesy: Instagram/@hamzahh9)
Hamza said public perception also remained a big hurdle.
“There’s still this idea that a skateboard is a toy, not a sport,” he said. “That’s what we are trying to change through social media.”
At a recent meetup, teenagers practiced ollies and kick turns on a concrete ramp while others filmed slow-motion footage for Instagram reels. There were no referees, no medals — just scratched boards, scraped knees, and smiles.
Hamza said the goal now was to push for formal recognition and better infrastructure so more young people across Pakistan could skate without obstacles — literal or social.
“We just want people to see that this is serious,” he said. “It deserves space, support and respect.”
