Tag: Azam Khan

  • Azam Khan withdraws from Lanka Premier League

    Azam Khan withdraws from Lanka Premier League

    Pakistani batsman Azam Khan has withdrawn from the Lankan Premier League (LPL), Geo News reported on Tuesday.

    According to sources, he had not applied for a No Objection Letter (NOC) for the League.

    National cricketers prefer only the major leagues due to Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) two-league policy. Azam will play the Caribbean Premier League and ILT Twenty20.

    The cricketer has not yet sent the application for the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), but he will apply for an NOC for CPL starting this week on August 28.

    Azam was picked by Kandy’s team in the Lankan Premier League.

  • PCB stops Saim Ayub and Azam Khan from playing in CPL

    PCB stops Saim Ayub and Azam Khan from playing in CPL

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has stopped cricketers Azam Khan and Saim Ayub from playing in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

    PCB has strengthened its stance on the No Objection Certificate (NOC) policy following Pakistan’s early exit from the T20 World Cup co-hosted by the US and the West Indies. The policy restricts central and locally contracted players from participating in more than two overseas leagues per year to manage the workload of players and prioritize national duty.

    Earlier, when leg-spinner Usama Mir was told he had exhausted his quota of two leagues, he argued that since he is not currently part of the Pakistan team, he should be allowed to play in England.

    However, he was told that this decision was not for him to make but for the board. The decision, which rests solely with the PCB, underscores the board’s determination to retain control over players’ participation in international leagues.

    PCB officials have informed the cricket boards and franchises conducting T20 leagues about this stand and warned them against including Pakistani players without the NOC issued by the PCB.

  • Azam Khan fined for putting Palestinian flag on bat

    Azam Khan fined for putting Palestinian flag on bat

    Fiery batsmam Azam Khan has been fined 50 per cent of his match fee in the National T20 tournament, being played in Karachi, for putting a sticker of the Palestinian flag on his bat, Faizan Lakhani has reported for Geo.

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sources have said that Azam Khan was fined for using an unapproved logo or political messaging, namely the flag, thus breaching the clothing and equipment regulation that International Cricket Council (ICC) and PCB follow.

    Azam, playing for Karachi Whites against Lahore Blues, had put up 35 on the scoreboard when he was summoned by Mohammad Javed, the match referee. Azam was warned before the match not to display the sticker but he replied that sticker was present on all his bats.

    Under the PCB’s Code of Conduct, players cannot place unapproved stickers on kits or equipment, and players cannot display religious or political message stickers during matches.

    Azam Khan has played with the flag of Palestine on the bat in two matches before this one.

  • Interim CM KP, Azam Khan, passes away

    Interim CM KP, Azam Khan, passes away

    The Caretaker Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azam Khan, has passed away on Saturday morning in a private hospital, Dawn News has confirmed.

    Earlier in the morning, journalist Iftikhar Firdous tweeted that Azam Khan died at 10:25 am after suffering from a stomach infection that led to a heart attack.

    Dawn has said that Khan was admitted to the ICU unit of Rehman Medical Complex after falling ill one day before.

    Azam Khan was a Barrister and had served as minister of interior in the caretaker government led by Nasir-ul-Mulk in 2018. He had also served as a caretaker minister in the provincial govt of 2007-2008. He was appointed the interim CM in January 2023 after Imran Khan dissolved his party’s governments in KP and Punjab.

  • Imran, Qureshi to appear at court on October 4

    Imran, Qureshi to appear at court on October 4

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan and Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi have been summoned by a special court established under the Official Secrets Act on October 4 in the cipher case.

    The development occurred two days after the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) submitted a challan against Imran and Qureshi.

    Special court judge Abul Hasnat Zulqarnain has sent notices to respondents, stating that there are enough witnesses to call the suspects to court.

    Judge Zulqarnain directed the superintendent of Adiala jail to present the PTI chief and vice chairman in court on October 4.

    The FIA, in its charge sheet, stated that the former prime minister and former foreign minister were found guilty in the case and requested the court to sentence them in cipher case.

    According to the sources of Geo, the name of former finance minister Asad Umar is not on FIA’s list. On the other hand, Imran Khan’s principle secretary, Azam Khan, is a “strong witness” in the same case.

  • Azam Khan appears before NAB in £190 million case

    Azam Khan appears before NAB in £190 million case

    Former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s former principal secretary Azam Khan appeared before the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) today (July 21) in Rawalpindi in a case related to a settlement worth £190 million between property tycoon Malik Riaz and Imran Khan, when the latter was in power. NAB had issued a notice to Azam Khan to appear today, Geo News has reported.

    Azam Khan recorded his statement and answered the questions asked by NAB’s joint investigation team (JIT). Azam Khan confirmed that he is an eyewitness to all that transpired and said that everything, including the dubious transaction, took place under the instructions of former PM Imran Khan. Azam revealed that former federal minister Shehzad Akbar also played a role in the £190 million settlement.

    Earlier on Wednesday, Azam Khan had recorded a statement before a magistrate that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief’s “cypher drama” was a pre-planned conspiracy.

  • ‘More gripping than any drama on tv’, Khan promises to expose ‘cypher drama’

    ‘More gripping than any drama on tv’, Khan promises to expose ‘cypher drama’

    Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has announced in a tweet that he will share “uncensored details” about cypher drama controversy on Thursday.
    “In their feverish attempts to implicate me in any case just to get me disqualified and jailed, this current assortment of incompetent crooks have again shot themselves in the foot. They have provided me with an opportunity to do a proper exposé of this whole Cypher drama”, Imran Khan tweeted on Wednesday.
    “Tomorrow I will share the uncensored details of how this conspiracy unfolded to overthrow a govt which had the best economic performance in the last 17 years and bring these money launderers and crooks into power who have run the country to the ground. I assure you it will be more gripping than any drama on tv,” he wrote.

    The remarks come as Khan’s former Principal Secretary, Azam Khan, reportedly made sensational revelations about how the US cypher was used to create a premeditated conspiracy by Imran and his close aides.

    Khan refused to believe that Azam Khan had given the statement, calling him an “honest man” and stating that he will believe the charge only if Azam Khan says it himself.

    On the other hand, the interior minister, Rana Sanaullah said that “The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman [Imran Khan] tarnished the reputation of state institutions through cypher conspiracy. He should be punished for staging the drama.”

  • Khan says won’t believe Azam called US cypher ‘Khan’s conspiracy’ until he hears Azam say it himself

    Khan says won’t believe Azam called US cypher ‘Khan’s conspiracy’ until he hears Azam say it himself

    Azam Khan, the former principal secretary of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, has said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief’s “cypher drama” was a preplanned conspiracy, Geo News has reported.

    Azam Khan has been ‘missing’ since last month, however, he recorded a statement under CrPC 164 before a magistrate on Wednesday, damaging Imran’s claims that he was ousted through a US orchestrated by Donald Lu, a senior officer of the Biden administration.

    PTI’s government was removed via a vote of no confidence last year in April. The then Prime Minister alleged on March 27, 2022, that Washington planned the movement to remove him from office and used the so-called cypher to back his claims. The US has repeated denied his accusations.

    Later, Khan changed his story, accusing former Chief of Army Staff, General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa of conspiring to remove him.

    Azam Khan also confessed that when he provided Imran with the cypher, he was very happy and labelled the language a “US blunder”.

    The ex-prime minister then said, according to Azam, that the cable could be used for “creating a narrative against the establishment and opposition”.

    It is also mentioned in the confession that Imran Khan told his principal secretary that the cypher could be used to divert the public’s attention towards “foreign involvement” in the no-confidence motion.

    Azam Khan states that when he told Imran Khan that the cypher had secret content and could not be disclosed in a public gathering, the former prime minister suggested a strategy.

    He said that Imran called a meeting, which included then-foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and then-foreign secretary Sohail Mahmood, who would tell him the minutes of the meeting as the PTI chief had lost the original copy of the cable.

    Reacting to the sensational disclosure of his once most trusted officer, Imran Khan said on Wednesday that Azam Khan is an honest man and he will not believe any statement until he hears everything from Azam himself.

  • Mai un sab se bohot behtar hoon aur zindagi mein unse aagay hoon: Azam Khan hits back at critics

    Mai un sab se bohot behtar hoon aur zindagi mein unse aagay hoon: Azam Khan hits back at critics

    Azam Khan, Pakistan’s most powerful full hard and key middle-order batsman, has hit back at critics with a heated remark in a recent interview.

    “I believe that I am better than those who criticize me and spread negativity against me. I know I am way ahead in life as compared to them,” the crowd favourite said, lashing out at the critics who compare his fitness with his form.

    The 24-year-old’s comments showcase his confidence and determination to focus on his own growth as a player, rather than getting bogged down by negative criticism.

    “Those who label me as a Pindi-pitched-based batsman should also observe my recent performances. While I respect their opinion, I do not play cricket to prove them wrong. Rather, I play cricket for my own satisfaction, and as long as that satisfaction remains within me, I will continue to play,” said Azam.

    Previously, former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed had expressed concerns over the fitness levels of players representing Pakistan in international cricket.

    “I am not sure what sort of experiment this was. It’s clear to me that no consideration was taken when selecting the squad for this series about what standard of skills and fitness levels are needed to represent Pakistan,” said Javed.

    “If I was a player in that squad, I would have refused to play with this team. First, at least attain some levels of fitness before playing. Hopefully, they will have learned from this,” he concluded.

    Many former cricketers criticize Azam Khan’s fitness. Former Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja once said in a press conference about Sharjeel Khan and Azam Khan that “if they want to play cricket first they should be fit and be like proper athletes.”