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  • Pakistan likely to resume trade with India

    The ban on trade with India is likely to be lifted soon after the recent correspondence between Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi.

    PM Modi conveyed well wishes in a message to PM Imran after he tested positive for COVID-19. Later on Pakistan Resolution Day too Modi wrote a letter saying that India desired cordial relations with the people of Pakistan.

    Pakistan suspended trade with India in 2019 but recently imported life-saving drugs.

    The advisor to PM on commerce and investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, while speaking to media said, “Since the recent thawing began, the prime minister is in isolation being COVID positive. I haven’t talked to him as I don’t want to disturb him. I sincerely hope that trade with India will start again. Trade should be separated from politics.”

    Last week, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, while speaking at Islamabad Security Dialogue, also said, “It is time to bury the past and move forward.”

    On August 10, 2019, Pakistan imposed a trade ban on India after the escalation of violations on the Line of Control (LOC). In response, New Delhi withdrew the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status from Pakistan, also after the Pulwama incident.

    However, even before the suspension, the bilateral trade between Pakistan and India had been below $2 billion.

    Now, with improvement on the horizon between the two nuclear neighbours, Dawood also said that a decision on the import of cotton from India through land route is expected soon.

  • Pakistan Cricket Squad set to depart for South Africa Series after testing negative for COVID-19

    Pakistan Cricket Squad set to depart for South Africa Series after testing negative for COVID-19

    All 35 members of the Pakistan squad named for the Africa tour will depart for South Africa on Friday after the players tested negative for coronavirus, announced the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

    “All 35 members of the Africa-bound side, including 22 players and 13 officials, have tested negative and, as such, the side will depart for Johannesburg, South Africa, on a chartered flight on Friday morning,” said the PCB in a statement.

    Earlier, one member of the squad tested positive for coronavirus days before the team was supposed to enter the bio-secure bubble set up for the tour.

    “A total of 35 tests were conducted on the South Africa-bound Pakistan men’s national cricket team on Tuesday, 16 March. All squad members have tested negative, except for one player,” said the PCB in a press release.

    The PCB did not identify the player who tested positive. While the social media reports suggested that it was Hassan Ali.

    Following the negative tests, the team entered the bio-secure bubble last week and trained at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

    In South Africa, Pakistan will play three ODIs from April 2-7, the matches will be counted in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League. After that, the team will play four T20Is against the Proteas from April 10-16.

    After the end of the South Africa tour, the team will then go to Harare, Zimbabwe, where they will play three T20Is and two Tests. The squad will then return to Pakistan on May 12.

    Squads:

    T20I: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Arshad Iqbal, Asif Ali, Danish Aziz, Faheem Ashraf, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sharjeel Khan and Usman Qadir.

    ODI: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Danish Aziz, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Usman Qadir.

    Test: Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imran Butt, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Tabish Khan and Zahid Mahmood.

    Players Support Personnel: Mansoor Rana (Manager), Misbah-ul-Haq (head coach), Abdul Majeed (fielding coach), Cliffe Deacon (physiotherapist), Col (retd) Khalid Mahmood (security manager), Malang Ali (masseur), Raza Kitchlew (Digital and media manager), Dr Riaz Ahmed (team doctor), Shahid Aslam (assistant to head coach), Usman Hashmi (analyst), Waqar Younis (bowling coach), Yasir Malik (strength & conditioning coach) and Younis Khan (batting coach).

    Cricket South Africa also announced their ODI and T20I squads for the series, here are the details:

    Proteas ODI squad:

    Temba Bavuma (Captain), Quinton de Kock (wk), Beuran Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Janneman Malan, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Jon-Jon Smuts, Rassie van der Dussen, Junior Dala, Lutho Sipamla, Wiaan Mulder, Sisanda Magala, Kyle Verreynne, Daryn Dupavillon, Lizaad Williams

    Proteas T20 squad:

    Temba Bavuma (Captain), Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, George Linde, Rassie van der Dussen, Janneman Malan, Sisanda Magala, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi, Lutho Sipamla, Kyle Verreynne (WK), Pite van Biljon, Migael Pretorius, Lizaad Williams, Wihan Lubbe.

    South Africa tour schedule:

    April 2 – 1st ODI; SuperSport Park, Pretoria

    April 4 – 2nd ODI; Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

    April 7 – 3rd ODI; SuperSport Park, Pretoria

    April 10 – 1st T20I; Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

    April 12 – 2nd T20I; Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg

    April 14 – 3rd T20I; SuperSport Park, Pretoria

    April 16 – 4th T20I; SuperSport Park, Pretoria

  • New pro-IMF State Bank law would leave country bankrupt, lead to Pakistan’s collapse: prominent economist

    Renowned economist Dr Kaiser Bengali has warned that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Ordinance, which is likely to be introduced soon, is anti-national and could lead to no accountability of central bank officials besides ultimately resulting “in the collapse of the country”.

    Speaking to a private media outlet, he said that the law would leave the federal government and subsequently the state paralysed.

    “There would be no money to pay salaries because the top priority would be paying back loans for which new loans will be sought,” Dr Bengali said.

    To a query by host Asma Shirazi, he said the law had no parallel in the modern world, however, a similar one dating back to the Ottoman Era played a key role in the downfall of the House of Osman.

    “They didn’t have any money to fight wars or deal with the rebellion after handing control of all the money to the central bank.”

    “This would dissolve Pakistan because there won’t even be enough money to pay the police,” Dr Bengali maintained, adding that it was a bleak picture.

    “The opposition alliance should put its other demands on hold and work towards stopping this legislation,” he concluded. The same was stated by him in a tweet as well.

    Earlier, Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal also claimed the government was enacting such a law which would hand over the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) control to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international financial institutions.

    Addressing a press conference, he said that with the new legislation, the SBP would not be accountable to the parliament, the prime minister or any institution of the country and it would only be answerable to the international institutions.

    He said National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) or any other institution would not be able to ask the SBP governor and other officials for any corruption.

    “If the prime minister of Pakistan can appear before NAB, then why can’t the SBP governor?” Ahsan said adding it was only to mortgage Pakistan’s economy with the international institutions.

  • Pakistan replaced by India, Iran as top trade partners of Afghanistan

    Pakistan replaced by India, Iran as top trade partners of Afghanistan

    Pakistan and Afghanistan are no longer leading trade partners. Strong Border restrictions on both sides and declining bilateral relations are the main reasons.

    Pakistan and Afghanistan used to have $2.5 billion worth of trade that has now declined to $1 billion, replacing Islamabad with New Delhi and Tehran as the biggest trade partners.

    In this regard, Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber (PAJC) former senior vice president Ziaul Haq Sarhadi said that the Torkham border crossing was open for 24 hours a day since 2019 to promote Pak-Afghanistan bilateral trade, but no significant progress was made.

    More than 832,000 containers of Afghan transit trade worth $33 billion used to pass through the Torkham border. However, a 30 per cent reduction in transit trade had been observed as it shifted to Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

    For years, Afghan traders are demanding that the process of clearing the Karachi port should be expedited. “The volume of trade annual shipments from Karachi to Afghanistan can be increased to 75,000 containers while the volume of bilateral trade can rise to Rs5 billion if their request is accepted,” Sarhadi said.

    Afghanistan also wants to access India through the Wagah border, but Pakistan cannot facilitate Afghanistan due to its official policy stance and strained relations between Islamabad and New Delhi.

    On the other hand, Pakistan wants free trade with the Central Asian Republics (CARs) through Afghanistan, but no agreement has been reached so far.

  • VIDEO: Turkish military band plays ‘Diriliş: Ertuğrul’s’ theme song at Pakistan Day celebrations

    VIDEO: Turkish military band plays ‘Diriliş: Ertuğrul’s’ theme song at Pakistan Day celebrations

    The Pakistan Day celebrations at Parade Avenue in Islamabad were a grand affair. The event which takes place on March 23 every year to mark Pakistan Resolution Day was rescheduled to March 25 due to bad weather conditions.

    While everything was taking place as per the norm, what caught everyone’s attention was the Turkish band’s performance of Diriliş: Ertuğrul’s theme song. As per Radio Pakistan, the Turkish military band also presented different tunes including Dil Dil Pakistan during the parade.

    To reaffirm the strong bond between Pakistan and Turkey, a Turkish fighter jet also presented a whole range of dazzling maneuvers.

    The Turkish band was holding three flags, white red and green.The white flag represented peace, red represented Ottoman Empire and the green represented Islam.

    Meanwhile, President Arif Alvi, who was the chief guest at the occasion, said: “Pakistan is laced with capabilities to defend its territorial integrity and sovereignty, categorically stating that any misadventure will receive a befitting response.

    The President added that Pakistan is a strong nuclear power and “apart from making progress in the socio-economic sectors, the country has achieved self-reliance in defence”. He also expressed satisfaction that Pakistan is also exporting its defence products.

    The floats of Ministry of Science and Technology and the front-line healthcare workers against Covid-19 were also part of the parade.

    Performers from Pakistan also participated in the parade. Ali Hamza from Noori the band and Young stunners were also performing.

    It is pertinent to mention here that the Prime Minister Imran Khan was unable to attend the parade because he had tested positive for coronavirus last week.

  • Is a Pakistan-India T20I series on the cards?

    Is a Pakistan-India T20I series on the cards?

    Reports are rife on social and electronic media that a T20I bilateral cricket series is on the cards between Pakistan and India.

    According to a report published in Jang, “India and Pakistan might soon get involved in bilateral cricket series again with a possibility of the six-day window for a three-match T20I series later in the year.”

    While a PCB official initially denied the speculations and said that there are no talks between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the (Board of Control for Cricket in India) BCCI, he hinted that there is a possibility of a series later in the year.

    On the other hand, PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani on Tuesday said that no one has contacted the board while denying that the Pakistan board is in talks with the Indian board.

    PCB sources have said that if the series goes ahead then it will be the Indian team that will visit Pakistan as Pakistan had toured India the last time.

    The last bilateral series between India and Pakistan was held in 2012-13. Ever since bilateral cricket relations between the two nuclear countries was suspended, the two countries have competed in only ICC events and Asia Cup.

    In case a series comes to fruition, a window of six days for three matches could be identified despite this being a busy calendar year for cricket.

    Meanwhile, nothing is confirmed as yet and everything is hearsay and based on reports.

  • Chrissy Teigen deletes Twitter account after 10 years

    Chrissy Teigen has deleted her popular Twitter account, saying the site no longer plays a positive role in her life.

    “For over 10 years you guys have been my world,” Teigen wrote to her 13.7 million followers Wednesday night. “But it’s time to say goodbye. This no longer serves me as positively as it serves me negatively, and I think that’s the right time to call something.”

    Teigen’s account was popular for its mix of jokes about her husband John Legend and their children, their playful banter on the site, funny observations about assorted topics and fierce retorts for those she disagreed with or who criticised her.

    That reputation is at odds with who she really is, the model and cookbook author wrote.

    “My life goal is to make people happy,” she wrote. “The pain I feel when I don’t is too much for me. I’ve always been portrayed as the strong clap back girl but I’m just not.”

    Last year, Teigen shared the heartbreak of a miscarriage on the site, posting an anguished picture of her in the hospital. Another image showed her and Legend grieving over a bundle cradled in her arms.

    While her candour about the loss of their son won praise, some criticised her for putting such painful moments on social media.

    She wrote Wednesday that she’s experienced so many attacks from low-follower accounts that she’s “deeply bruised.”

    In one of her final posts, she told her followers to “never forget that your words matter.”

    Teigen’s Instagram account, with more than 34 million followers, remains active as does Legend’s Twitter account, with 14 million followers.

  • Boris Johnson warns UK could place France on ‘red list’

    Britain could soon place France on a travel “red list” and tighten border controls due to the risk of a new coronavirus variant, Prime Minister (PM) Boris Johnson said on Wednesday.

    France is expanding lockdown due to the rising number of cases after the third wave hit the country.

    The South African and Brazilian variants of the virus prevalent in France are potentially more transmissible, which has caused particular concern.

    United Kingdom’s (UK) Senior Members of Parliament (MPs) asked why France was not on the British’s travel “red list”, to which Johnson said that it was “something we will have to look” at while warning it “would cause disruption, particularly to cross-Channel trade”.

    Placing the country on a red list means barring travellers from entering the UK unless they are British or Irish nationals or have residence rights.

    Johnson acknowledged that “we have to look at the situation at the Channel”.

    “We can’t rule out tougher measures, and we will put them in if necessary,” he said.

    Many lorry drivers were entering the UK and, when MPs raised their concerns, Johnson said that the government has to mitigate the balance of risks. It will cause “serious disruption” to the flow of goods such as food and medicine.

    England’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Chris Whitty and his deputy Jonathan Van-Tam have also reportedly put pressure on Johnson to bring in stricter border controls.

    France is expanding its lockdown due to the rising number of cases after the third wave hit the country.

    When senior members of the Parliament (MPs) asked why France was not on the UK travel “red list”, Johson said that this is “something we will have to look at” while warning it “would cause disruption, particularly to cross-Channel trade.”

    Placing the country on a red list means barring travellers from entering the United Kingdom (UK) unless they are British or Irish nationals or have residence rights.

    Johnson acknowledged that “we have to look at the situation at the Channel. We can’t rule out tougher measures, and we will put them in if necessary,” he said.

    Many lorry drivers were entering the UK and when the MPs raised their concerns, Johson said that the government have to mitigate the balance of risks. It will cause “serious disruption” to the flow of goods such as food and medicine.

    England’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Chris Whitty and his deputy Jonathan Van-Tam have reportedly put pressure on Johnson to bring in stricter border controls.

  • Pakistani who attacked French magazine’s office says PM Imran, Khadim Rizvi influenced him

    Pakistani who attacked French magazine’s office says PM Imran, Khadim Rizvi influenced him

    The Pakistani man who attacked the former offices of French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo, last September was radicalised by videos of preachers in his home country and anti-France demonstrations at the time, AFP reported, citing a local newspaper.

    According to Le Parisien, police investigation has revealed the 26-year-old had spent the days leading up to his knife attack watching extremist preachers on YouTube and TikTok denouncing France and Charlie Hebdo.

    “I couldn’t eat. I was crying watching the videos,” Zaheer Hassan Mahmood told investigators.

    Weeks before, the magazine had republished sketches of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), which were considered blasphemous by Muslims, to mark the start of a trial of men linked to a 2015 attack on its offices.

    Mahmood said he did not realise the magazine had moved offices after the 2015 attack and presumed the two people he slashed with a meat cleaver were employees of the publication, the report said.

    Both victims, who worked for a TV production company with no links to Charlie Hebdo, sustained serious injuries.

    Mahmood, from the village of Kothli Qazi in Punjab province, had entered France with false papers showing him as an unaccompanied minor, enabling him to claim asylum.

    Islamist groups organised demonstrations in Pakistan in September against Charlie Hebdo and French President Emmanuel Macron, who defended freedom of expression and blasphemy, which is legal in France.

    Mahmood watched videos by Khadim Hussain Rizvi, the late founder of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) party, and other radical preachers.

    He was also influenced by Prime Minister Imran Khan, who accused Macron of “attacking Islam”, the newspaper said.

    Blasphemy is a criminal act in Pakistan, where laws allow death penalty for anyone deemed to have insulted Islam or Islamic personalities.

    Mahmood said he initially intended to damage the office building, rather than attack people, and has offered to apologise to his victims.

    Investigators have found a video he sent to a friend the day before his attack which called for the decapitation of blasphemers, and he received a call from Greece the same day which appeared to refer to a pre-meditated assault.

    He has been charged with “attempted murder with relation to a terrorist enterprise”.

  • Police file case against four-month-old boy

    Police file case against four-month-old boy

    Police in Chiniot have registered a case against a four-month-old boy for violating the sound system act.

    According to reports, a few religious scholars had delivered their speeches at an event in Chiniot on loudspeakers.

    After the event, the police had registered a case against dozens of people, including a four-month-old boy named Hasnain Shehzada, under Section 188 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

    The police refused to remove the child’s name from the FIR when they were told about the child’s age.

    On Wednesday, his father submitted the papers in the court for interim bail.