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Blog
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Throwback: Shy Shahid Afridi?
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Shadab Khan to represent Manchester Originals in The Hundred league
Pakistan’s T20I vice-captain, Shadab Khan, will be seen in action in the upcoming Hundred tournament in England this year.
According to a sports journalist, the star all-rounder has been picked in the Hundred draft by Manchester Originals.
Other big overseas names drafted for the Originals include Kagiso Rabada and Nicholas Pooran.
Other than these, Harry Gurney, Jamie Overton, Tom Lammonby, Steven Finn, Colin Ackermann, Richard Gleeson, and Tom Hartley are the other players picked by the franchise.
The inaugural Hundred tournament is scheduled later this year. It is pertinent to mention here that the 8-team tournament was to take place in 2020, however, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation across the world.
The teams includes Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Birmingham Phoenix, Trent rockets, Welsh Fire, London Spirit, Oval Invincibles and Southern Brave.
The opening match of the tournament will take place on July 22 between the Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals at the Oval in London.
Meanwhile, it is reported that the Pakistani skipper, Babar Azam is among the players in the highest reserve price bracket. While Shaheen Shah Afridi will also be playing in the tournament.
The format of the game is:
- 100 balls per innings
- A change of ends after 10 balls
- Bowlers deliver either five or 10 consecutive balls
- Each bowler can deliver a maximum of 20 balls per game
- Each bowling side gets a strategic time-out of up to two and a half minutes
- A 25-ball powerplay start for each team
- Two fielders are allowed outside the initial 30-yard circle during the powerplay
- Teams will be able to call time-outs, as has been the case in the IPL since 2009
- A simplified scoreboard is also proposed
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Karachi police pop their rollerblades on to catch criminals
Police in Karachi are deploying an armed rollerblading unit to curb theft and harassment on the teeming streets of the port city.
Gliding in a circle with their weapons pointed inwards, and lifting and lowering the guns in unison, the 20-member unit clad in black undergoes rigorous training.
“We felt we needed to come up with an innovative approach to control street crime,” said Farrukh Ali, chief of the unit, explaining that officers on rollerblades could more easily chase thieves on motorcycles through the city of 20 million.
Ali conceded that rollerblading police could not be deployed across many parts of Karachi due to the poor road conditions and uneven footpaths, but said they would be sent to public places with a higher incidence of theft and harassment.
“This is just the beginning,” said Aneela Aslam, a policewoman on the unit. “This rollerblading will really benefit us. With this training, we can reach narrow alleys very quickly where it is usually difficult to go.”
Safety concerns were raised when initial footage of the Karachi unit’s training showed officers carrying heavier weapons, but Ali said the unit would only carry handguns, reducing the risk of bullets richocheting.
The rollerblading police – who follow in the footsteps of similar units in Europe and elsewhere – are expected to begin officially next month, but they were recently spotted outside the venue of the Pakistan Super League cricket tournament.
And they have already begun patrolling Karachi’s bustling beachfront.
“Seeing them here in clean uniforms since the morning gives us a sense of security, as even in daytime, snatchings occur here,” said pedestrian Muhammad Azeem.
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Sarfaraz vs Hafeez memes break the internet
All-rounder Mohammad Hafeez and former Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed have faced each other for the first time since after their Twitter spat, and memers cannot stop flooding social media with hilarious memes.
Lahore Qalandars on Monday chased a 179-run target to beat Sarfaraz’s Quetta Gladiators in the fourth fixture of the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL).
The match, during which Sarfaraz seemed visibly perturbed over his team’s performance, had followed a spat between Hafeez and Sarfaraz after the former congratulated Mohammad Rizwan for his century against South Africa in the T20 series.
Here is what memers had to post…
Taking to Twitter, Hafeez had earlier written, “Congratulations @iMRizwanPak on scoring T20 hundred. U r a Star shining star Wonder how long u need to prove that u r NO1 wicketkeeper/Batsman in Pakistan in all formats of the game.”
Sarfraz, responding to the all-rounder’s Tweet wrote, “Hafeez bhai Sb, whoever has played for Pakistan from Imtiaz Ahmed, Wasim Bari, Tasleem Arif to Saleem Yousuf and from Moin Khan, Rashid Latif to Kamran Akmal and even Rizwan right now has always been number ONE for the country and have been respected accordingly.”
What do you think of Monday’s Lahore-Quetta clash? Let The Current know in the comments…
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To celebrate six successful years of PSL, PCB releases first ever music album
To celebrate six successful years of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL), an album comprising six “Taranay “, was released yesterday.
The album comprises five tracks – composed and performed by youth artists namely Maanu X Rozeo, Lyari Underground, Janoobi Khargosh, Talal Qureshi and Khumariyaan – and the album also includes 2021 edition’s widely popular anthem ‘Groove Mera’.
Here is the complete list of Tracks :
Googly
“Working with team of HBL PSL 6 has been a dream come true! It was a pleasure working on the song and a process that Rozeo and I enjoyed thoroughly. We hope you enjoy listening to our song as much as we enjoyed making it,” said Maanu [Rehman Afshar], while talking about his experience of working on the song.
Maidaan
“It’s heart-warming to see HBL PSL engage artists from all over this diverse country. The band is humbled to have been given a great level of respect and acknowledgement and because of it we’ve put all our energy into our production. Excellent experience through and through being a part of HBL PSL Taranay. Pakistan Zindabad,” stated the band Khumariyaan.
6ixer
Talking about the track ‘6ixer’, Singer Talal said, “It has been a great experience working and contributing to the HBL PSL’s original music album. I’ve always been passionate about cricket and when I got this opportunity, I couldn’t say no. With 6ixer, I just wanted people to feel the energy of the game. Due to the pandemic, many people will not be able to attend in person. But I wanted them to feel connected and give everyone something to dance to.”
Bazi Paltay Gi Yahan
The band Janoobi Khargosh in a collective statement said, “It was a bit of a challenge, creatively, to write a song that would be played for a massive audience in a stadium. Getting this opportunity to compose a song for HBL PSL Taranay allowed us to think in a completely new kind of way. Overall, it turned out to be a rewarding and fun experience, and we learned something new about ourselves: we can do anything we set our minds to.”
Laibo
“We are really proud to present a song for HBL PSL 6 in our own style and language. This is a great opportunity for people to interact with the culture of Lyari and to celebrate its music and its people,” stated the music band Lyari Underground about the track, ‘Laibo’.
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Broadsheet ends up paying £20,000 to Sharifs in London lawsuit
The company hired by Pakistan to trace assets of the Sharif family in London, Broadsheet LLC, has ended up paying £20,000 (Rs4.5 million or Rs45 lacs) to the Sharifs in the lawsuit before the London High Court, Geo News reported.
According to reports, Broadsheet has made the payment for the settlement of the Sharif family’s legal costs after having withdrawn the Avenfield Apartments attachment application for the seizure and sale of four Avenfield Apartments in the Broadsheet vs Pakistan/National Accountability Bureau (NAB) case.
Lawyers acting for the Sharif family have confirmed that the payment has been received in their bank account whereas Broadsheet’s lawyers have also confirmed making the payment.
Sharing the development on Twitter, Maryam said those who had gone to identify corruption, ended up paying Rs4.5 million to save themselves.
“Nawaz Sharif had left it up to Allah,” she tweeted, adding that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and his team will also have to “pay their fines” that will be from their own pockets and not the treasury.
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Countrywide blackout caused by human error, NA body told
The inquiry committee probing last month’s countrywide blackout has held officials of the Guddu Thermal Power Plant responsible for the nationwide power outage.
“The problem occurred due to a human error at the Guddu power station. The error led to the tripping of the entire power system. The fault occurred as some officials did not follow standard operating procedures (SOPs) during the maintenance work,” said Secretary Power Ali Raza Bhutta while briefing the members of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Energy.
“Due to a mistake, the Guddu Thermal Power Plant tripped and there was a complete blackout. At the time of the blackout, the power consumption in the country stood at 10,000 megawatts,” he added.
The entire country plunged into darkness on January 9 after the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) power system got hit by a major breakdown due to the tripping around midnight.
Moreover, Netblocks monitor internet outages had said that internet connectivity in the country collapsed as a result of the blackout.
The power secretary further said that “the officials of Guddu Thermal Power Plant along with those who have not improved the NTDC system are nominated by the inquiry committee for investigation. The committee has proposed to take measures to ensure that the failure of one plant does not trip the entire system in future”.
On January 10, the government had blamed the old transmission system for the breakdown. Energy Minister Omar Ayub Khan had said that “during the past tenures, no attention was paid to the improvement of the transmission system on modern lines. Under the government of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the country saw eight major power breakdowns”.
“When the incumbent government assumed office, no work had been done to upgrade the transmission system. We are now investing in the transmission and distribution system. A $6 billion transmission line has been laid in Matiari,” added the minister at the time.
So far, nine energy projects have been completed under the China Pakistan Energy Corridor (CPEC), contributing 5340 MW of electricity to the main grid, which would meet the vital needs for industry, agriculture, and domestic consumers.
Out of 22 projects, another eight are about to be completed and would pump in an additional 4470 MW of electricity to the national grid. Another five projects are in the planning and implementation phase.
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Cracks within PTI deepen as leader accuses party of selling Senate ticket for Rs35 crores
In yet another development that suggests deepening of cracks within Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ranks, party leader and former Sindh chief minister (CM) Liaqat Jatoi has levelled accusations of selling at least one Senate ticket for Rs350 million (Rs35 crores) to newcomer and wealthy construction contractor Saifullah Abro.
“He joined the party six months ago… on what grounds was he awarded a ticket [for the upper house of the parliament]?” Jatoi was heard as asking media persons during a brief presser on Tuesday.
According to earlier reports, the days leading to the election for the Senate are getting difficult for the ruling party owing to differences between its leaders.
Sindh chapter is facing a severe rift after the party leadership finalised Federal Minister Faisal Vawda and Abro for the Senate from the province, The News reported last week.
The party’s decision generated criticism from its key leaders from three zones of rural Sindh who wrote a letter to Sindh Governor Imran Ismail to show their anger and demand the party’s high command to take back tickets from Vawda and Abro.
Encouraged by the PTI’s recent decision to withdraw the party ticket awarded to business tycoon Abdul Qadir in Balochistan for the Senate election after opposition from the party’s provincial leadership, the Sindh leaders also initiated a campaign to pressurise the party’s parliamentary committee to review its decision of allocating tickets.
In a letter, the PTI’s office-bearers from three regions said that they were “extremely disappointed with the entire process” of the selection of party’s candidates for the Senate polls from the province.
The leaders who signed the letter included Liaqat Jatoi’s brother Sadaqat Ali Jatoi, Sukkur district President Mubeen Jatoi, Allah Bux Unnar and Raja Khan Jhakrani, former provincial secretary general Mehfooz Usrani, a former candidate from NA-214 Shaheed Benazirabad Gul Muhammad Rind, former provincial minister Agha Taimoor Khan Pathan, Papu Khan Chachar and other office-bearers.
Showing severe concerns over finalising Abro for the Senate on technocrat seat, the PTI leaders asked how the Senate ticket was given to a newcomer in the party.
They alleged that cases against Abro, who has still been working closely with the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leadership and famed as an “ATM”, have been pending in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The PTI leaders from rural Sindh asked to review the allocation of the Senate tickets from Sindh and said that the decision will harm the party in the upcoming local government polls.
However, a senior PTI leader from Sindh was quoted as saying that awarding a ticket to Abro was the party’s strategy to stop its MPAs from selling their votes to the PPP’s candidates as the party was fearful that the ruling party in the province may buy at least 10 out of its 30 members in the provincial assembly.
“Abro is a billionaire construction contractor and he will not only stop the PTI MPAs from selling their votes but can also buy the votes of PPP to win on technocrat seats,” the party leader, who requested anonymity, said.
It is pertinent to note that on Monday, the nomination papers of Abro on technocrat seat were rejected by the election tribunal.
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Punjab Police joins ‘Pawri Horai Hai’ trend
Punjab Police has recreated the ‘Pawri Horai Hai’ meme with their own twist.
As per the details, Punjab Police tweeted a collage and wrote, “Yeh hum hain, Yeh humari gaaryian hain, Aur yeh humara emergency number hai [This is us, these is our cars, and this is our emergency number).”
While the tweet was appreciated by many who lauded Punjab Police for raising awareness with a fun twist, others criticised the cops for not efficiently responding to emergency calls.
Also Read: Indian police join #PawriHoRahiHai trend, ask citizens to report late night parties
The trend started after an influencer, Dananeer Mobeen, shared a video clip partying with her friends in front of a car. In the video, she was heard saying: “Yeh hamari car hai, yeh hum hain, aur yeh hamari pawri ho rai hai” (This is our car, this is us, and this is our party).
Soon after the video went viral, ‘Pawri Ho Rai Hai’ became a major meme trend in Pakistan and also across the border. Many celebrities from Pakistan and India recreated the ‘Pawri Horai Hai’ meme.
The original video has crossed six million views on Instagram and Dananeer’s followers have also reached one million on Instagram.
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VIDEO: Was PTI’s Haleem Sheikh tortured in Karachi jail?
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Haleem Adil Sheikh has accused the Sindh government of trying to harm in jail through its alleged goons in the light of a video released by PTI’s Karachi chapter showing the Sindh opposition leader running for his life.
According to PTI, the MPA was attacked by “goons” in jail and he was running from them to save himself. In a video statement, Sheikh said he had come to Karachi’s Jinnah Hospital allegedly after he was beaten up in jail, adding that PTI workers, including Samir Mir Shaikh, Amjad, Hafeez Chandio and three other people who are in Central Jail are being “tortured”.
Maritime Minister Ali Zaidi also alleged torture on Sheikh. “Sheikh was hospitalised after being attacked by 50 PPP goons inside Central Jail Karachi,” he claimed.
POLICE CONTRADICT SHEIKH:
However, Karachi Central Jail Superintendent Hassan Sahito rejected the claims made by the PTI leader. He said “nobody raised a hand on Haleem Adil Sheikh or slapped him”, adding that some prisoners raised slogans against Sheikh and PM Imran Khan when the PTI leader was being shifted to another ward.
“Haleem Adil Sheikh was being moved to the Mohammad Ali B-class ward […] and was passing through the waiting area when some prisoners raised slogans. He was moved back to the superintendent’s office in 26 seconds,” Sahito said.
Sheikh was later moved to the security ward, he added.
According to the police officer, Sheikh was moved to a hospital because he had submitted an application for treatment. According to Sheikh, he suffered from blood pressure issues and had heart problems and he was regularly treated at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD).
The Sindh government also denied the allegations levelled by the PTI leaders, saying Sheikh was arrested on the orders of the Election Commission of Pakistan.He further said that Sheikh could be seen “happy and healthy” in the hospital which shows that he wasn’t tortured at all. “No torture was done on him in jail,” Wahab stressed.