Lahore has reportedly been chosen as the desired venue to host the remaining Pakistan Super League (PSL) sixth edition’s fixtures after five of the six franchise owners urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to shift the tournament there.
According to details, in a virtual meeting chaired by PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani, franchise owners expressed their concerns regarding the postponement of the league after multiple COVID-19 cases emerged among players and officials.
“Five out of the six franchises urged the PCB to shift the remaining matches of the PSL 2021 to Lahore,” a PCB official told a local media publication.
While the Government of Punjab has given the green signal to host the fixtures, a final decision regarding the matter will be taken in the next meeting which is going to be held in the coming days.
Lahore was originally scheduled to host 14 of the 34 matches of the PSL 6 from March 10 onwards, which included the final of the competition.
Meanwhile, in the same meeting, the franchise owners complained about their lack of involvement in the planning of the tournament. They also demanded to be taken into confidence over the bio-secure bubble for the remaining fixtures.
Chairman Mani assured the franchise owners that there will be nothing to complain in future.
PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan, Chief Operating Officer Salman Naseer and Director Commercial Babar Hamid also attended the meeting.
The Board is to complete the sixth edition most likely by June because the national team will be touring England for an ODI and T20I series and from there it will fly to the West Indies. On their return, Pakistan will host England and New Zealand from September, leaving no room for PCB to organise the event at a later stage.
The official said there was also a possibility of PSL resuming later this month in case of postponement of the tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Peshawar Zalmi Head Coach Daren Sammy was spotted playing cricket with locals on the roads of Lahore.
After the abrupt end of the PSL 2021 due to an outbreak of COVID-19, Sammy is also an honorary citizen of Pakistan, opted to stay back in the country and experience it as a tourist. And one of those experiences include playing street cricket.
In a video posted on Peshawar Zalmi’s official account, the former West Indies player can be seen playing tape-ball cricket.
“Peshawar Zalmi Head Coach Daren Sammy stops on his way to play cricket with young cricketers in Lahore,” read the caption.
Sharing pictures, Sammy said: “Played some street tape ball cricket earlier in Lahore. Where’s next?”
Earlier, Afridi hosted a dinner in honour of Sammy and South African cricket great Hashim Amla. Captain of Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Wahab Riaz and Kamran Akmal were also present at the feast.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi made a rare public appearance and visited a Panah Gah (shelter home) in Lahore to inspect the facilities given to the people residing there.
Pictures and videos of her ‘surprise visit’ were shared on PM Khan’s official Instagram account with the caption: “Bushra Begum paying a surprise visit to see if the needy in Panah Gah are being looked after.”
“The staff, the cleanliness and the arrangements were good but she was not happy with the quality of the food. We will now ensure the quality of food is improved,” added the statement.
During the visit, while responding to a reporter about her contribution as the “woman behind Imran Khan’s successes”, Bushra Bibi said: “Behind every successful man, there’s his wife, right? Isn’t that right? Then?”
Prime Minister Imran Khan, during an address in Lahore, took a jibe at the audience, comprising federal and provincial ministers, over their lacklustre, rather sleepy, response to his speech.
Speaking about his government’s project to control the unplanned growth of Lahore, the PM said Central Business District (CBD) project at the Walton Airport site would help create much-needed wealth to pay off foreign loans.
By shifting the Walton Airport from the centre of the city, the prime minister said, some much-needed Rs6,000 billion would be generated.
The PM excepted clapping at his plan to save Rs6,000 billion, but the lawmakers and the cabinet members remained non-responsive to the PM’s potential super-saving plan. This prompted PM Imran to complain that the lawmakers did not even acknowledge such a mega project to generate wealth, asking whether they were up all night.
The venue later continued resounding with applause as the prime minister narrated achievements of his government.
Following the decision of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) to allow 20 percent crowd to attend each matchday of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 6, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday confirmed the ticket prices for 30 of the 34 matches, which will be played from February 20 to March 16. Ticket denominations for the Qualifier, two Eliminators and the final, to be played from March 18-22, will be announced closer to time.
According to a press release, online sale of tickets will start on Wednesday at 10 00 (Pakistan time) and fans can visit www.bookme.pk to purchase match tickets and select their preferred enclosure and choice of seat.
Fans can also call the Bookme helpline (03137786888) to book their tickets for which CNIC number and phone number is mandatory. When the match ticket has been confirmed, the customer will be sent a token number on the registered phone so that the customer can make the payment at the closest Jazzcash/Easypaisa shop. Upon payment, the customer will receive an e-ticket code along with a Quick Response (QR) Code, which the customer can use to print the ticket or show the SMS at the entry gate on match day.
To encourage families to attend the marquee event, the PCB has reserved certain enclosures of the National Stadium Karachi and Gaddafi Stadium Lahore for families.
At the National Stadium, enclosures reserved for the families include Hanif Mohammad (VIP Enclosure), Wasim Akram (Premium Enclosure), Zaheer Abbas, Iqbal Qasim and Nasimul Ghani Enclosures (First-Class Enclosures), and Intikhab Alam Enclosure (General) while family enclosures at the Gaddafi Stadium include: Fazal Mahmood (VIP Enclosure), Saeed Anwar (Premier Enclosure), Abdul Qadir (First-Class Enclosure) and Nazar, Quaid, Zaheer Abbas and Majid Khan (General Enclosure).
For Saturday’s tournament opener between Karachi Kings and Quetta Gladiators, which will begin at 7 pm, cost of VIP stands (Hanif Mohammad and Javed Miandad Enclosures) have been fixed at Rs 5,000, while the price of the First-Class stands (Zaheer Abbas, Asif Iqbal, Waqar Hasan, Majid Khan, Iqbal Qasim and Nasimul Ghani Enclosures) have been kept at Rs 4,000. Similarly, price of Premium stands (Quaid, Wasim Akram and Imran Khan Enclosure) has been set at Rs 3,000, while the General stand tickets (Wasim Bari, Mohammad Brothers and Intikhab Alam Enclosure) have been fixed at Rs 2,000.
For Sunday’s double-header between Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi, and Islamabad United and Multan Sultans, which will start at 2 pm and 7 pm, respectively, cost of VIP stands (Hanif Mohammad and Javed Miandad Enclosures) have been fixed at Rs 4,000, while the price of the First-Class stands (Zaheer Abbas, Asif Iqbal, Waqar Hasan, Majid Khan, Iqbal Qasim and Nasimul Ghani Enclosures) have been kept at Rs 3,000. Similarly, price of Premium stands (Quaid, Wasim Akram and Imran Khan Enclosure) has been set at Rs 2,000, while the General stand tickets (Wasim Bari, Mohammad Brothers and Intikhab Alam Enclosure) have been fixed at Rs 1,000.
For matches to take place from Monday-Wednesday, cost of VIP stands (Hanif Mohammad and Javed Miandad Enclosures) have been fixed at Rs 3,000, while the price of the First-Class stands (Zaheer Abbas, Asif Iqbal, Waqar Hasan, Majid Khan, Iqbal Qasim and Nasimul Ghani Enclosures) have been kept at PKR2,000. Similarly, price of Premium stands (Quaid, Wasim Akram and Imran Khan Enclosure) have been set at Rs 1,000, while the General stand tickets (Wasim Bari, Mohammad Brothers and Intikhab Alam Enclosure) have been fixed at Rs 500.
For the first match in Lahore on March 10 involving Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings, ticket prizes for the VIP stands (Imran Khan and Fazal Mahmood Enclosures) have been set for 3,000, followed by Rs 2,000 for the First-Class Stands (Abdul Qadir and Sarfraz Nawaz Enclosures), Rs 1,000 for Premium stands (A.H. Kardar, Rajas, Javed Miandad and Saeed Anwar Enclosures) and Rs 500 for General stands (Inzamam ul Haq, Nazars, Quaid, Imtiaz Ahmed, Zaheer Abbas, Hanif Mohammad, Majid Khan, Saeed Ahmed Enclosures).
Meanwhile, overseas players have started arriving in Karachi, where the first half of the tournament will take place. Karachi will host 20 matches from February 20 to March 7 while Lahore will host the remaining 14 matches from March 10 to 22.
A strong earthquake of reportedly 6.4 magnitude on the Richter scale jolted different parts of the country on Friday night.
The tremors were felt in the federal capital and cities across Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), including Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Mardan, North Waziristan, Swat, Multan, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Lahore and adjoining areas.
No losses of property or lives have so far been reported.
However, panic spread amid the tremors as people were seen evacuating their houses and other buildings, reciting the Kalma.
The epicenter of the quake is being reported as Tajikistan.
An earthquake originated on 12-02-2021 at 22:02 PST Magnitude : 6.4 Depth: 80 Km Lat: 38.12 N Long: 73.31 E Epicenter : Tajikistan PMD, Islamabad#Earthquake#EarthquakeUpdates#EarthquakePH
Ali Xeeshan’s latest collection ‘Numaish,’ which debuted at the Hum Bridal Couture Week 2021 last week, has created a bit of a storm on social media. The collection, aimed to highlight the burdening culture of dowry in our society, was designed in collaboration with UN Women Pakistan.
While the campaign was well-intended, the designer received backlash on social media, with people criticising Xeeshan for the cost of his outfits and referring to Ali’s campaign as an act of hypocrisy.
Responding to the criticism, Xeeshan said: “When I was developing it [the campaign], I was only looking into girls’ struggle but later I realised that dowry pressurises the parents more.”
“I remember last year a client’s wedding was called off because one of the demands from groom side was to have a gold-plated shaving kit,” shared Xeeshan.
He continued: “Many people say that you make expensive outfits, then why are you talking about this? These two are very different things – that [designing outfits] is my business and no one is compelled [to buy them].”
“If you can afford my clothes please be my guests and if you can’t then don’t put yourself under the pressure,” added Xeeshan.
The designer concluded by saying, “Agar meray say koi poochay keh mere kapray khareeday ya beti ko education de, toh beti ko education day dein. Mein kapray baich loon ga.”
Despite efforts made over the span of more than a year, Punjab’s anti-corruption department has failed to retrieve Quaide Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s property from land grabbers in Lahore, it has been claimed.
According to Lahore-based journalist Rehan Tariq, the 29-kanal land owned by the founder of Pakistan in the provincial capital’s Gulberg area has been occupied while shopping malls and plazas have been constructed on lands linked to his sister and “Mother of the Nation”, Fatima Jinnah, as well as the country’s first prime minister (PM) Liaquat Ali Khan.
The journalist went on to claim that the anti-corruption department launched a probe into the matter in December 2019 and it also sought record from the Lahore Development Authority (LDA) besides other public offices.
“Officials also acquired Jinnah’s will regarding the land and prepared a source report,” Tariq said, adding that Jinnah’s property consisted of Arazi Khasra No 2181, 2129, 2200, 2180, 21825, 2184.
Now shopping malls and plazas have been built on the land dedicated to a trust, he claimed.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has declared Lahore the ‘City of Literature’ making it the first city in the country to have received this title.
In a ceremony held at the Alhamra Art Center’s Burney Garden, government officials including Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan and UNESCO director spoke about the importance of Lahore as a center of learning and warmth. According to a report in Dawn News, Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar was also supposed to attend the event but could not make it due to prior commitments.
Speaking at the event, UNESCO Director Patricia Mcphillips said: “[Lahore] has a rich vibrant culture and is now in the network of cities recognised by Unesco for its literary status.”
On the other hand, Dr Awan, speaking at the event, said that it was a historic day for the people of Lahore as the city would now be globally known as the ‘City of Literature’. Dr Firdous said that “Lahore is the city of flowers, monuments, writers and Sufi saints”, adding that the government would take special measures to celebrate Lahore’s status by organising literary activities round the year.
“We have to revive Lahore’s culture related to literary sittings and poetic symposiums,” remarked Dr Firdous.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was also signed between the Lahore Arts Council and UNESCO at the occasion.
Earlier in November 2019, UNESCO included Lahore in its list of cities that have been designated asUnesco Creative Cities. A total of 66 cities were selected for 2019’s list.
A man in Lahore sued a local dress designer for not delivering his sister’s bridal dress on time. He demanded Rs1 million in damages from the tailor, claiming that the family had to buy another dress for the ceremony at the last minute and suffered mental trauma because of it.
As perreports, the court has set the case for hearing and has summoned the defendant on March 6 to submit his version on the matter.
In his complaint, the man accused the tailor of not delivering his sister’s bridal dress on time due to which the family’s stress doubled with awaiting wedding and then they had to buy a ready-made bridal dress following severe mental stress.
Earlier in a similar incident in Karachi, a man approached a consumer court seeking action against a shop owner who allegedly sold his wife a pair of poor quality shoes.
The claimant stated that his wife bought a pair of shoes from a shop at Tariq Road worth Rs1,600. One piece of the pair broke into two pieces in a few days. The man also added that the shoes were his wife’s favourite ones.
