Author: newsdesk

  • Pakistan cricket team reach Dhaka for bilateral series

    Pakistan cricket team reach Dhaka for bilateral series

    After their loss in the semi-final, the Pakistan cricket team left for Bangladesh to play a three-match T20I and a two-match Test series. The plane carrying them landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Saturday.

    Read More – ‘No one should point fingers, I back everyone’: Babar Azam talks to team after losing semi-final

    Skipper Babar Azam and veteran cricketer Shoaib Malik will join the team on November 16 after their holidays.

    The members of the Pakistan team headed straight to Hotel Sonargaon upon arrival in Dhaka. Since the beginning of Covid-19, it’s the first time a team is not serving a mandatory quarantine. The members of the visiting team can even move freely if they are Covid-19 negative and jabbed twice.

    All the players of Pakistan’s World Cup squad, barring Mohammad Hafeez, feature in their squad for the T20I series against Bangladesh. Khushdil Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir who travelled with the team as reserve players in the World Cup have been called up. Iftikhar Ahmed, who missed out on a World Cup spot, has also earned a call-up.

    The T20 series will begin on November 19. The next two games will be held on November 20 and 22. All the T20Is will be held at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.

    The first Test will start on 26 November in Chattogram. Then the teams will return to Mirpur to play the second Test starting on 4 December.

    The national team left the Dubai International stadium on Friday night.

    Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shoaib Malik, Usman Qadir.

  • ‘We have seen tons of support’: Hassan Ali’s wife clarifies that her family is not receiving any threats

    ‘We have seen tons of support’: Hassan Ali’s wife clarifies that her family is not receiving any threats

    Hassan Ali’s wife Samiya Arzoo has clarified that the Twitter account with her name, which requested Prime Minister Imran Khan to take action against those issuing threats to her family, is in fact fake. She also added that her family is not facing any threats.

    “So many tweets circulating from this fake account that I, Hassan and my daughter are getting threats from the people of Pakistan, which is absolutely wrong. Instead we have seen tons of support,” she wrote while sharing the screenshot of the fake account.

    “Please don’t believe any such statements and don’t follow any such accounts on Twitter pretending to be me,” she added.

    “I am not on Twitter. Please report the accounts claiming to be me.” The fake twitter account has been suspend now.

    Indian media is on a propaganda spree that the pacer is receiving abuse from social media users in Pakistan after his performance in the semi-final against Australia. In reality, Pakistani social media users came forward to back Hassan Ali.

    Read more- Pak Twitter stands by Hassan Ali

  • ‘If govt does not take their allies on board, we have no option but to make a decision’: Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui

    ‘If govt does not take their allies on board, we have no option but to make a decision’: Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui

    Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, while speaking on Geo News programme, ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, said that his party’s confidence in the government had worn out because the MQM was not seeing the government heading in the right direction.

    Siddiqui said that the MQM could not share the responsibility of bad governance by the ruling party as the former had never been taken into confidence on important national issues.

    “We are not taken into confidence on important legislation and the documents are given to us at the eleventh hour. How can we support such legislation,” said Siddiqui.

    “If the government does not take their allies on board, we have no option but to make a decision,” he said.

    Hinting that the MQM could part ways with the government if it did not mend its ways, Siddiqui said, “We are now nervous about the situation. The government must acknowledge its incompetence. We may have to make a big decision.”

  • ‘People gathered in the public meeting will thrash the Oppostion’: Asad Umar

    Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar in a public meeting on Friday warned the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) if it staged a long march to Islamabad to topple the government, “the people gathered in the public meeting will thrash you,” reports Dawn.

    His comments come after the Opposition is considering bringing a no-confidence motion against Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani or National Assembly(NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser as a tester to confirm the present strength of treasury in parliament.

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Khurram Dastagir said on a Dawn News TV show that the motion would be moved soon. They said if the motion became successful, then a similar motion could be moved against the prime minister.

    Dastagir said: “The motion can be moved within two months against the Senate chairman or the NA Speaker.”

    Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said at a press conference that “the coalition parties have also expressed confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan”.

    The minister said these words after the premier held a third meeting on Friday with the leaders of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in a week amid “shattered” confidence of allies in the government’s working and the Opposition’s threat to topple the government.

  • ‘Not happy’: Shahid Afridi schools Shaheen for bad bowling in semi-final

    ‘Not happy’: Shahid Afridi schools Shaheen for bad bowling in semi-final

    Former Pakistan captain and T20 World Cup winner, Shahid Afridi is upset by the dismal performance of Shaheen Shah Afridi, as the young pacer conceded three back to back sixes off Matthew Wade, who guided Australia to their first T20 World Cup Final on Thursday.

    Read More – ‘No one should point fingers, I back everyone’: Babar Azam talks to team after losing semi-final

    The former all-rounder asserted that even if Hassan Ali dropped an important catch, it doesn’t mean that Afridi should have lost hope.

    “I am not happy with Shaheen in one area. Okay, so Hassan Ali dropped a catch but that does not mean you will bowl badly and get hit for three successive sixes,” Shahid Afridi said on Samaa TV.

    “Shaheen has so much pace and he should have used it sensibly. Even if the catch was dropped. He should have used his head and tried to bowl outside off stump fast Yorkers with his pace. He is not that sort of bowler to be hit like that,” the former Pakistan captain said.

    Shaheen set the World Cup on fire when he got rid of top players like Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul with a new ball in Pakistan’s big match against India. In the semi-final against Australia, he sent back the Australian captain Aaron Finch in the first over.

    Cracking the three balls for sixes, the Australian keeper-batter sealed their spot in the final.

    Read More – Hayden lauds ‘warrior’ Rizwan, who was in hospital the night before Pak-Aus match

    Australia will be facing New Zealand in Final of the T20 World Cup 2021 on Sunday at Dubai International Stadium.

  • ‘That’s the spirit’: President Alvi praises Mohammad Rizwan for his performance despite bad health

    ‘That’s the spirit’: President Alvi praises Mohammad Rizwan for his performance despite bad health

    President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi has praised Mohammad Rizwan for his outclass performance in the semi-final against Australia despite the fact that he was was not well and admitted in hospital for two days before the match.

    Taking to Twitter, President Alvi wrote: “That’s the spirit. This is symbolic of the emerging ‘Brand Pakistan’. And my friends it is the new Pakistan.”

    Rizwan scored a half-century against Australia in the second semi-final of the T20 World Cup, beating captain Babar Azam. He became the player who scored a thousand runs in the calendar year.

    He also broke the record of England’s Jos Buttler, who had just set it for the most runs by a keeper in a Men’s T20 World Cup. Buttler broke Craig Kieswetter’s record from 2010 in this year’s edition, had scored 269 runs to his name before England crashed out Thursday night in the semi-final.

  • NCOC approves Chinese vaccine for children aged 12 and older

    The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) announced on Thursday that its committee of health experts has approved two Chinese vaccines to be administered to children aged 12 years and older from November 15.

    The Chinese vaccines approved by the committee are Sinopharm and Sinovac.

    “Chinese vaccines Sinopharm and Sinovac have been approved by NCOC Health Expert Committee for administration to children above 12 years of age from 15 November onwards,” NCOC tweeted.

    “Now, these vaccines will also be available in addition to already approved Pfizer for children above 12 yrs,” tweeted NCOC.

    Earlier, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar, who also heads NCOC, said more than 50 per cent of students between the ages of 12 and 18 have received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine across the country.

  • Jokhio murder case: Alleged suspect MNA gets pre-arrest bail from court

    Jokhio murder case: Alleged suspect MNA gets pre-arrest bail from court

    A senior police officer confirmed that Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Member of National Assembly (MNA) Jam Karim Jokhio has obtained bail before arrest, reports Dawn.

    Karim was nominated along with his brother Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Jam Awais Jokhio in the murder case of Nazimuddin Jokhio who was found tortured to death at Awais’ farmhouse earlier this month.

    Currently, Awais is under police custody.

    The officer, who wished not to be named, told Dawn that the police was trying to frame Jam Karim’s role in the alleged kidnapping and murder case of Nazim.

    However, in the preliminary investigation, it was revealed that Nazim was tortured to death for recording MPA Jam Awais’ hunting expedition of a highly rare bird species along with his Arab guests.

    The victim’s family has also accused the MPA and his henchmen for torturing Nazim to death.

  • Artificial rain planned in Lahore after November 19

    Artificial rain planned in Lahore after November 19

    An experiment of artificial rain to combat the smog will be carried out for the first time in the country’s history, under supervision of Punjab University’s (PU) Centre for Integrated Mountain Research, Express Tribune has reported.

    Professor Munawer Sabir who is heading the team has said that the experiment will be carried out in the Khanspur mountainous area. According to reports, the preparation to demonstrate the technology will happen in an area of one square kilometre.

    The team plans to test artificial rain in Lahore after November 19, to counter the smog in the city.

    Read more- Lahore tops the worst air quality list, again

    Lahore on Wednesday topped the list of the most polluted cities in the world with the worst air quality levels. The United States Environmental Protection Agency regards air quality as satisfactory if the AQI is under 50.

  • ‘No one should point fingers, I back everyone’: Babar Azam talks to team after losing semi-final

    ‘No one should point fingers, I back everyone’: Babar Azam talks to team after losing semi-final

    Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam has given a pep-talk to the team in the dressing-room after they lost the semi-final to Australia in Dubai on Thursday. The young captain stressed it’s important to not point fingers at each other and that the entire team failed to play up to its potential in the heartbreaking loss on Thursday.

    Read More – Hayden lauds ‘warrior’ Rizwan, who was in hospital the night before Pak-Aus match

    Talking about unity in the team, Babar said: “Everybody is sad, everybody is feeling the pain. We need to figure out where we went wrong and where we have to improve. No one will tell us this, we all know this. But we have to learn from this.”

    “We have created a unit at the World Cup and this shouldn’t break. There should be no finger-pointing. We should not go into saying ‘he did this, he did this and all that’. We, as a team, did not play well. No one should point fingers at any other person.”

    “We lost, it’s okay but we have to learn from this. We will. In the times to come, we shouldn’t make the same mistakes,” added the captain.

    “I am telling you again, we shouldn’t let the unit break. We have worked hard to create this. One loss shouldn’t force anyone to leave this unit. As a captain, I am backing everyone. We have created a very good atmosphere in the dressing room, one that feels like family. Everyone has put in the effort. Every match, every player has taken up responsibility,” said Babar.

    “We will put in the effort, that is in our hands but the result is not. I know everyone is sad. But this will last for a short while. We will start thinking about where we went wrong and where we should have improved. Don’t get bogged down. Try lifting each other. Learn, there is a bit of sadness but we have to overcome that,” Babar concluded.

    Pakistan posted 176 runs for the loss of 4 wickets on the board in their quota of 20 overs, thanks to fifties from Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman. However, defending a total in Dubai proved difficult yet again as Pakistan paid the price for some ordinary effort with the ball and on the field.

    Australia will face New Zealand in the final of the T20 World Cup in Dubai on Sunday