Tag: Pakistan

  • After three policemen dead, Sheikh Rasheed finds ‘TLP leader Saad Rizvi more cooperative than others’

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed, while speaking at a press conference about the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan’s (TLP) protests in the country, stated that he found the party’s leader Saad Hussain Rizvi “more cooperative” than others, reports Geo News.

    He said the government has reached an understanding, and negotiations with the banned organisation are going well. In the press conference, he shared an agreement between the government and the TLP which will be presented in the National Assembly (NA) as per the minister.

    He further clarified that the government was not interested in a confrontation with any organisation while mentioning that “no one should damage public property as well.”

    According to the interior minister, he wants to conclude the matter once and for all because something new happens every six months and people face difficulties, reported Dawn.

    According to Rasheed, the government will guard the commitment made to the banned organisation.

    Regarding Rizvi’s release, the minister said, “A lot of other people insist on freeing him right now. Decisions cannot be taken right now. There is a legal process that we will follow. We will talk to the Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan [who is currently in Saudi Arabia] after his return tomorrow.”

    He further said the premier had instructed his principal secretary before leaving for the visit to ask the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to unfreeze the accounts of TLP madrassah and to allow them to open new ones.

    Furthermore, he disclosed that he had requested to not be included in the government’s negotiating committee because as per him [Rasheed] “it is not the work of the interior ministry but the Punjab government”, but the idea was rejected on the insistence of Saad Rizvi and another TLP leader, Ghulam Ghaus Baghdadi.

    Earlier, the federal government announced that the cases against the TLP workers would be withdrawn by Wednesday (Oct 27) and assured them that the authorities would also oversee the charges imposed under the fourth schedule.

    Under the Fourth Schedule, the suspects of terrorism and sectarianism are placed under the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997.

    In a tweet, Rasheed said, “We have released 350 TLP workers up to now.”

    Because of last week’s protest in Lahore, three policemen were martyred in clashes with TLP while the banned organisation had claimed that their 500 workers were injured.

  • Video: Indian ‘Mauka Mauka’ ads you might have missed

    Video: Indian ‘Mauka Mauka’ ads you might have missed

    As Pakistan beat India by 10 wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, cricket fans from all over the world, celebrated the victory of the Green Shirts. Indian ad agencies, who made demeaning advertisements about Pakistan and the Pakistan cricket team were thwarted in attaining their goals.

    These ads will make you laugh after Pakistan’s historic win against India and did not give them the ‘Mauqa’ they were expecting and so sure of.

    In one of the ads, they are trying to show that Pakistan takes help from the Afghan Talibans to fight for Kashmir while the Taliban demand money. Pakistan is shown as a beggar country which only works on loans. They are also trying to show that it is Pakistan’s dream to beat India in World Cup as they always lost every match in the mega event. Take a look:

    In another episode of the same ad series, they have pictured Pakistan as someone who shows off but is surviving on China’s money. They show a Pakistani exporting donkeys to China while India has exported donkeys to Pakistan 75 years ago, who lost five matches from India in the World Cup.

    A YouTuber, Adeel Abbas has also made a compilation of the reactions of Indian fans and media before and after the match.

    Meanwhile, Pakistan crushed India by its comprehensive win of 10 wickets and the highest opening stand in the history of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

    Indian bowlers were unable to take Babar Azam (68 not out) and Mohammad Rizwan’s (79 not out) wicket for their team.

    Shaheen Shah Afridi sent three Indian openers to the pavilion, taking KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s wickets. For his performance, Afridi bagged Player of the match award.

  • Pakistan’s lowest daily Covid-19 death count of 2021

    Pakistan has reported the daily death toll from Covid-19 below 10 for the first time in this year, National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) data showed on Monday.

    According to the latest statistics of NCOC, nine people succumbed to the virus during the past 24 hours across the country and 698 positive cases were reported.

    The positivity rate now stands at 1.65 per cent and for the tenth consecutive day, it is less than 2 per cent.

    The infections are decreasing day by day in Pakistan, with 593 new cases reported on average each day, reports Geo News.

    Last week, active cases in Pakistan dropped below the 25,000 mark after approximately seven months.

    Pakistan has administered at least 100,741,762 doses of Covid vaccines so far.

  • ‘This is for you’: Babar Azam dedicates the win to Pakistani fans

    ‘This is for you’: Babar Azam dedicates the win to Pakistani fans

    Pakistani captain Babar Azam has dedicated the historic win against India to his fans.

    Taking to Twitter, he shared pictures of the winning moments and wrote: “This is for you, Pakistan. History made. All eyes on the next game, In Sha Allah #PakistanZindabad.”

    Babar and Mohammad Rizwan’s 152-run partnership for Pakistan was not just a match-winning stand, but also the biggest opening partnership in the history of the Men’s T20 World Cup and Pakistan’s second-biggest partnership in a T20I for any wicket.

    Azam and Rizwan’s combined efforts overtook Chris Gayle and Devon Smith’s 145 against South Africa in 2007 as the top opening stand in Men’s T20 World Cups.

    Speaking after the match, Azam explained how he and his partner approached the record run-chase.

    “The plan with Rizwan is always to keep it simple,” he said. “We tried to get deep in the crease and from about the eighth over the dew came in and the ball came on nicely.

    “This is just the start, we have confidence to build on now. It will remain match by match for us.

    “The pressure on us wasn’t that much – we weren’t thinking of the record against India at all. I only wanted to back all our players who’ve been preparing well.”

    Meanwhile, Azam and Rizwan’s 152 is the second biggest partnership for any wicket in Men’s T20 World Cup history, 14 runs shy of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene’s extraordinary 166 against West Indies in 2010.

    The partnership is also the biggest for any wicket in a T20I against India, and consigned India to their first-ever ten-wicket defeat in T20s.

    Shaheen Shah Afridi also bagged three big Indian wickets on a big night. For his performance with the ball, Afridi got Player of the Match award.

    Other team members also took to the social media to express their happiness:

    https://twitter.com/76Shadabkhan/status/1452333304997421057?s=20

    Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is in Saudi Arabia, was also watching the match and later took to Twitter to share the picture and congratulated Pakistan for this historic win.

    Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Qamar Javed Bajwa also congratulated the team for the “outstanding performance and comprehensive win against India.”

    Beating India by 10 wickets, Pakistan is eyeing its next victory in the match against New Zealand on Tuesday.

  • Maryam Nawaz criticises PM Khan for watching the Pak vs Ind T20 match

    Maryam Nawaz criticises PM Khan for watching the Pak vs Ind T20 match

    As the world celebrated the historic victory of the Men in Green, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz did not let go of a chance to criticise Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan for watching the Pakistan and India T20 World Cup match.

    PM Khan shared a picture on Twitter watching the match along with various other government figures and ministers, saying that the “entire nation was proud of the Pakistan team.”

    Maryam Nawaz, tweeting the photo PM Khan tweeted, wrote, “God! People in the country are dying of hunger, inflation, and incompetence, and look at them!”

    PM Khan is currently in Saudi Arabia for a three-day visit. The premier performed Umrah along with his accompanying delegation.

    The prime minister is visiting Saudi Arabia to attend the launch of the Middle East Green Initiative (MGI) Summit being held in Riyadh, at the invitation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.

  • Private university in Karachi announces holiday to celebrate Pakistan’s win

    Private university in Karachi announces holiday to celebrate Pakistan’s win

    After Pakistan’s amazing victory against India in the T20 World Cup, a private university in Karachi announced a holiday to celebrate the win.

    Sir Syed University announced that the university will be closed on 25th October, following a historic victory for Pakistan.

    Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology took to social media to announce the news.

    Pakistan defeated India for the first time in a World Cup match by 10 wickets last night, making history.

  • Pak vs Ind: Are you ready?

    Everyone is sitting in the same room, some very close to the TV as if they can control things by sitting close to the screen. Some outside the lounge to avoid the visuals, responding only to the audio cues. Some trying to change fate by doing tasbeeh. And some holding a chappal permanently pose an imminent danger to either the TV screen or to the people around them. Because if things went south, the chappal will go north. And who even has the mental presence to timely register the oncoming chappal? I mean who even cares whatever the world is coming to when Pakistan is playing against India in a World Cup match?

    This is how this grand event has been witnessed in my family. This is how it has always been. I am sure this is how it is for every cricket-obsessed home in Pakistan and perhaps even across the border. The historical fact that Pakistan continues its tradition of losing to India in grand cricket events gets completely lost on us whenever we have to face India. Even the people who have given up on cricket and believe it is a personality trait to say “I don’t watch cricket anymore” metamorphose overnight and become senior cricket analysts on match day. They are kind of annoying but we, the cricket enthusiasts, let them be part of our world as it is Pakistan playing against India.

    From jingoist expressions to “what a ridiculously talented Indian team is”, the emotions vary among people but the focus remains the same: win against India. Thrash them. Humiliate them. None of these events happen in the World Cup but the sentiments remain the same. Every match against India becomes an opportunity for the Pakistani team to rise from the ashes. I mean, they aren’t even in ashes though but you get what I am saying, right? It is an opportunity for the revival of faith in this country for at least one week. The entire country goes into a trance. You go to a local grocery store, tandoor or even a random corner of the street, all you would hear is, “Fer, tayaari ay?” (Are you ready?). I have been a regular witness of analysis at tandoor shops where they don’t have a TV and solely rely on radio commentary on their phones. You can easily get away with stealing things at shops with TV because the shopkeeper will be lost on the screen. Their positivity is contagious. Their josh and daleri are difficult to find anywhere else. It gives you hope even when Pakistan has to score 70 runs off 2 balls to win the match. It’s insane, I know.

    In an attempt to keep my josh under control, I remind myself of Pakistan’s defeat against India in the quarter-final match of the 1996 World Cup. The Bangalore Defeat, I call it. I can still recall the pain of that defeat. I remember locking myself in the bathroom and crying uncontrollably. I felt for the first time that this is it. No more cricket for me. That loss still haunts me whenever the Pakistan vs India discussion begins. I often find myself recalling this truly tragic loss even during conversations that have nothing to do with cricket. For instance, I had amazing seafood in Karachi and I was like, “Glad I had it as Lahore doesn’t offer much taste,” followed by my internal scream, “Haan but we didn’t win against India in 96. Who is gonna fill that void?”. Do you understand the gravity of this loss yet?

    And now that we are set to play our first match against India in the T20 World Cup 2021 edition, that same loss has taken over my life and I am looking forward to the 190th attempt to fill that void by winning against India. The odds are against us, the world is against us, and even we are against ourselves as we keep playing the dinosaurs in our team but nothing could be against our josh for this game. We are gonna give it our best. We will forget what the petrol rate is for 12 hours. We will forget how we love Rohit Sharma or Kohli. We will forget how Shah Rukh Khan is the best thing to come out of India. And of course, we will forget that the notification for DG ISI hasn’t been released. We will remember just one thing. Cricket.

    Hope in Babar Azam, pride in Shaheen Afridi, love for Rizwan, and faith in Haris Rauf to not bowl the death overs. Over to you, Team Pakistan. You might not have done it before but you can do it now!

    As for Kohli, I love Anushka more.

  • Pakistan denies reports of ‘agreement’ with US to use airspace for military operations in Afghanistan

    Pakistan denies reports of ‘agreement’ with US to use airspace for military operations in Afghanistan

    In a statement by Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the spokesperson stated that “no such understanding was in place”. The statement said that Pakistan and the United States (US) have longstanding cooperation on regional security and counter-terrorism and the two sides remain engaged in regular consultations.

    However, a report published in CNN suggested that the US administration has informed that the country is nearing an agreement with Pakistan to use its airspace to conduct military and intelligence operations in Afghanistan.

    The report cites three sources familiar with the details of a classified briefing with members of the American Congress, held on Friday. It states that Pakistan had expressed the desire to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the US government in exchange for assistance with its own counter-terrorism efforts and help in managing the relationship with its neighbour India.

    However, negotiations between both countries are ongoing and nothing has yet been finalised.

    The US military currently uses Pakistan’s airspace as part of ongoing intelligence-gathering efforts, but there is no formal agreement and without it, the US has the risk of Pakistan refusing entry to US military aircraft and drones to Afghanistan.

    One source said that an agreement was discussed when US officials visited Pakistan, but it’s not yet clear what Pakistan wants or how much the US would be willing to give in return.

    Prior to this revelation, in an interview, Prime Minister (PM) of Pakistan Imran Khan said that Pakistan would absolutely not allow the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to use bases on its soil for cross-border counter-terrorism missions after American forces withdraw from Afghanistan.

    Moreover, National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf said that Pakistan has not given a chance to the US to demand airbases after withdrawal from Afghanistan, and categorically said, “Pakistan’s position is that it cannot provide airbases to the US.”

    The US withdrew its troops from Afghanistan on August 31.

  • PM Khan calls back Sheikh Rasheed to deal with security situation in the country

    PM Khan calls back Sheikh Rasheed to deal with security situation in the country

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed returned to Pakistan Saturday morning after he was called back by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan to deal with the ongoing security situation in the country.

    The minister had gone to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to watch the Pakistan-India T20 World Cup match to be held on Sunday. Rasheed had said that PM Khan had approved his request for a two-day holiday to watch the game live in the UAE.

    However, the premier urged the interior minister to return to the country to tackle the law and order situation in Pakistan. The minister arrived in Islamabad via the Airblue flight PA-213 from Sharjah today.

  • Shahid Masood apologises to Najam Sethi for ’35 puncture’ allegations

    Anchorperson Dr Shahid Masood apologised to senior journalist Najam Sethi on his political talk show ‘Live with Dr Shahid Masood’ on Gourmet News Network (GNN) for making baseless allegations a few years ago.

    Masood on his show stated that he would like to apologise to Sethi for making baseless allegations against him. Masood had used the phrase ’35 puncture’ and had alleged that Sethi rigged the 2013 general elections and helped Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) when he was caretaker chief minister Punjab.

    “I got the information through a man whom I didn’t expect would say such a thing. Later, I tried searching for that man but he disappeared and could not be found,” said Shahid Masood.

    Accepting that his accusations were wrong, Masood apologised for his false claims.

    Later during the programme, Masood expressed his desire to have tea at Sethi’s residence when he visits Lahore next.

    He claimed that just like Najam Sethi’s chiriya (sparrow), he too has a kabootar (pigeon).