Pakistan legendary fast-bowler Shoaib Akhtar has claimed that batsman Fawad Alam will be included in the Test squad for home series against Sri Lanka.
Shoaib Akhtar broke the news on his YouTube channel on Sunday following Pakistan’s poor performance against Australia in Test series.
The pacer said, “I’m giving you the breaking news here that Fawad Alam will be playing Test series against Sri Lanka”.
Shoaib added: “He used to say that you should work so hard in silence that your success blows your trumpet. He [Fawad] has worked so hard his success is now screaming that ‘okay you do not play me for seven years? It’s fine. Now I will work so hard that I would make it impossible for you to ignore me’.”
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Fawad Alam, who last represented Pakistan cricket team in Test match way back in 2009, has scored 12000 runs at a stunning average of 56.57 in first-class cricket. He has scored 33 centuries as well.
The Test series against Sri Lanka will begin on 11th December in Rawalpindi with the second match scheduled in Karachi from 19-23 December.
The leaders of Britain, Canada, France and the Netherlands have been caught on camera at a Buckingham Palace reception mocking US President Donald Trump’s lengthy media appearances ahead of Wednesday’s Nato summit.
The footage, shot by the British host’s camera pool on Tuesday evening and spotted and subtitled by Canada’s CBC, set the tone for the allies’ summit in Watford, just outside London.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson can be heard asking France’s President Emmanuel Macron: “Is that why you were late?”
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau interjects: “He was late because he takes a 40 minute press conference off the top.”
In the video, Macron appears to tell an anecdote about his encounter with Trump, as Britain’s Princess Anne and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte look on, but the French leader’s back is to the camera and he is inaudible amid the hubbub.
“Oh, yeah, yeah, he announced…” an amused Trudeau declares, adding: “You just watched his team’s jaw drop to the floor.”
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Following the video, Trump responded by reviving his feud with Trudeau, labelling him “two-faced” over his leading role in the exchange.
The prickly president’s honour was apparently satisfied by this, as he was later overheard on a second hot mic boasting: “That was funny when I said that guy was two-faced.”
And in a final irony, Trump cancelled his scheduled press conference at the end of the summit, concluding not unreasonably that he had already said all he had to say during his ad hoc Q&As.
….When today’s meetings are over, I will be heading back to Washington. We won’t be doing a press conference at the close of NATO because we did so many over the past two days. Safe travels to all!
It could have gone very differently, and Nato diplomats admitted that they feared the worst on Wednesday morning when video footage emerged of the leaders laughing about Trump at a Buckingham Palace reception.
Meanwhile, in another press appearance, Trump told reporters, “He’s two-faced.”
“With Trudeau, he’s a nice guy. I find him to be a nice guy, but the truth is, I called him out on the fact that he’s not paying two percent and I guess he’s not very happy about it,” he said.
It is a known fact that Trump loves to dominate an international summit with impromptu, rambling press briefings that leave his fellow world leaders struggling to stick to their agenda.
Good news for all those applying for their US visa.
The United States Embassy in Pakistan has announced the introduction of a new optional visa delivery service.
According to a tweet from the official account of the US Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistanis can avail the facility of having their US visa delivered to them on their doorstep. The service is optional and comes with a delivery charge of Rs 700.
To avail this service, select the “premium delivery” option during the application process and you’re good to go.
Good news! We are now offering OPTIONAL home delivery service for your U.S. #visa! For a cash-on-deliver fee of PKR 700, we will send your passport & visa to any Pakistani address. To utilize this new service, select the “premium delivery” option during the application process. pic.twitter.com/l89HnLvxgT
Mia Khan from Afghanistan’s Paktika province is a hero without a cape. In war-torn Afghanistan, where educating girls is so hard and not very common, Mia Khan takes his three daughters to the Nooraniya school, which is some 12 kilometers away from his home. He travels on his motorcycle daily.
Mia Khan waits for four hours for his daughters’ classes to end and then he takes them home. Mia Khan himself is not educated but he wants his daughter to be a doctor because there is no lady doctor in his village.
The Nooraniya school is run by the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan. The reason Mia Khan selected this school was because of the quality of education they provide.
Some heroes don’t wear caps, just like Mia Khan who takes his daughter on 12km motorcycle ride to school daily, and waits there for 4 hours untill class ends, because even though he’s uneducated, he wants his daughter to become his village’s first lady doctor. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/9APj6WFzxp
This Afghan father is a hero. Mia Khan from Paktika province takes his daughter 12km on his motorcycle to school daily and waits 4 hours till her class ends. Mia is uneducated himself and wants his daughter to be a doctor: via Facebook. pic.twitter.com/HjmYuM3Qyb
Humayun is currently trending as the number one star in Pakistan after his latest drama Meray Paas Tum Ho set new records in Pakistani television history.
Every Pakistani will agree that Pakistan is truly a beautiful country. From the vast coastlines to the high mountains, the picturesque landscapes of the country are unmatched.
The Independent recently wrote that travel experts are recommending Pakistan as a must-visit destination for 2020.
“The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s visit to Pakistan this autumn put the country back into the spotlight. Plus, it’s now easier to get there from London, thanks to new direct British Airways flights to Pakistan’s capital Islamabad,” read The Independent’s article.
“Tour operator Wild Frontiers has been tipping Pakistan as the next big destination for a couple of years – it has seen an increase in customer numbers of 20 percent this year compared to 2018,” it added.
The hashtag #BeautifulPakistan has been trending on Twitter since morning on Wednesday, as people shared a posted pictures of the country on the social media platform. And we have to say, some of the pictures are dreamy.
Former military ruler General (r) Pervez Musharraf has regretted being tried for treason “despite having served Pakistan all his life”.
In his latest video message from American Hospital Dubai, Musharraf, who is facing a high treason case back in Pakistan for implementing emergency rule and suspending the constitution in 2007, said that he was “very ill”.
“I keep coming and going to the hospital,” he said, adding that his version of the story “wasn’t being heard”.
“Even my lawyer Salman Safdar is not being heard by the court,” he said, adding that he had fought wars for Pakistan and served his country for 10 years.
Musharraf also said that he was ready to record his statement with the commission, provided they came to Dubai.
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Former president Pervez Musharraf released a video statement from his hospital bed in Dubai. He says he safeguarded Pakistan for 10 years and has fought wars for it and has called the treason case against him baseless pic.twitter.com/zAlV2Gh4RS
“As for me, the commission can come here, I can give them a statement. They can come and hear me, see my condition and then decide for themselves. When they return, they can give their statement and my lawyer will be heard in the court too and I hope it is then that I will get justice,” he said.
The former army chief, who has been residing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a while now, felt under the weather Sunday night and was admitted to the hospital. He was set to undergo various tests in this regard.
Musharraf’s close aide and the ex-chairperson of the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML), Dr Muhammad Amjad, said the ex-president was rapidly becoming weaker due to an unknown disease, which is why he was unable to return to Pakistan to face the treason case.
A couple of days ago,Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry had called Musharraf the nation’s benefactor, saying he had “rid the country of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif in 1999”.
“When Musharraf was in power, a lot of people used to stand queuing up to light his cigar,” he had added.
Legendary Pakistani fast-bowler Wasim Akram has revealed the name of the batsman which he had the most difficulty bowling to, but admitted that the choice was not an easy one.
While responding to a question during a panel discussion on Fox Sports, “I’ve played against Viv Richards, Desmond Haynes, Gordon Greenidge, Allan Border, Mark Taylor, Mark Waugh [and] Steve Waugh. All these guys Brian Lara [and] Sachin Tendulkar, but if I have to pick one guy it has to be Martin Crowe.”
Wasim said that the former New Zealand cricketer managed to score runs against him and Waqar [Younis] in their 1993-94 series.
“In three Test matches, Waqar got 30 wickets and I played two Test matches and got 16 wickets and it was reverse-swinging after 10 overs. We were quick. I mean, we were at the peak of our careers. 23 or 24 years old, both of us were. He [Crowe] got two hundreds”, Akram said.
The former fast-bowler said that Crowe’s technique was different, which made him difficult to dismiss, adding that “He was always on the front foot and he always played [for] the in-swing. When its reverse-swinging you always play [for the] in-swing. The out-swing automatically goes away. Me and Waqar used to get frustrated because he was on the front foot and then we used to bowl short and that’s what he wanted us to do.”
Wasim said that Crowe left a mark on him and he was a difficult batsman to get out because nobody at that time even knew what reverse swing was, let alone how to negotiate it.
He added, “When I and Waqar used to bowl reverse swing it was considered ball-tempering and later when everybody learnt the technique they named it reverese swing”.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (PM) for Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awaz has claimed that the mafia behind the petitioner who submitted the application against Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa’s extension is interlinked with the opposition parties.
While talking during a talk show on a private news outlet, Firdous said that “PM Imran Khan has all the intelligence report, containing the information and facts about the mafia who wanted to get Gen Bajwa removed from COAS’s position and was involved in this issue”.
PM’s aide while talking about the Army Act ammendent issue said that “Opposition parties are trying to use this opportunity as a bargaining chip and is trying to pressurize the government with their statements against this legislation [due to be passed in parliament].
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She also said that the mafia’s involvement in this matter can also be gussed by the fact that “when Supreme Court suspended COAS’s extension notification, the stock market suffered a severe blow”.
The Supreme Court November 26 had suspended the notification confirming the extension of Gen Bajwa for another three years, saying that the “prime minister has does not have the power to extend the tenure of the army chief”.
Later after hearing the case for two days the court announced its short order allowing Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa to remain the Chief of Army Staff for another six months, during which the parliament will legislate on the extension/reappointment of an army chief.
Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan has said that Chief Minister (CM) Usman works silently without setting up any camp offices and consequently reducing the provincial government’s expenses by 60 per cent, therefore, “he should be praised like Sher Shah Suri”.
Suri was the founder of the Suri Empire in the northern Indian subcontinent, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Information Minister Chohan asserted that the former government caused a loss of $21 billion to the national exchequer and more than 2,000 officials were appointed for the security of then CM Shehbaz Sharif’s relatives.
“He [Shehbaz] had established eight camp offices but neither of them were in Lahore,” the minister said and added that Buzdar could not be compared to opposition leaders as the former had not laundered money.
The provincial minister said that people like Tallal Chaudhry, Daniyal Aziz and Javed Latif had earlier “taken over the system”, while Buzdar’s government has recovered loans worth over Rs10 billion in one year, allocated 35 per cent budget for southern parts of Punjab and built shelter homes for the poor.
“The CM has allocated a huge portion of funds for the development of South Punjab in the provincial budget for the first time in the history of the province.”
Chohan said that policies pertaining to district industry and special education were approved during Buzdar’s tenure and construction of nine universities and nine hospitals had now been started.
“Previously, every person raised slogans against neglecting South Punjab. Now, six out of nine hospitals in the province are being constructed there. CM Buzdar can be titled as Waseem Akram-Plus, if we thoroughly review his performance within over a year.”
He said Punjab had collected 104 per cent tax revenue that increased the province’s income up to Rs75 billion and in the first year, policies for tourism, agriculture, labour, industries, water and forests had been approved in Punjab.
The provincial minister continued that 36 bills were approved by the Punjab government for the first time in the history of the province.
“So-called political leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had only grabbed government lands during their tenures,” the provincial government’s mouthpiece maintained.
