Saudi men’s football team arrive in Pakistan for World Cup qualifier clash

Saudi men’s football team arrive in Pakistan for World Cup qualifier clash
Saudi Arabia’s football team is welcomed upon arrival in Islamabad, Pakistan on June 5, 2024. (Photo courtesy: Pakistan Sports Board)
Short Url
Updated 05 June 2024
Follow

Saudi men’s football team arrive in Pakistan for World Cup qualifier clash

Saudi men’s football team arrive in Pakistan for World Cup qualifier clash
  • Both teams will lock horns for World Cup qualifying round 2 match on June 6
  • This is the first time Saudi Arabia’s football team have arrived in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s football team arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday, the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) confirmed, a day before the two sides meet each other for a round two clash of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. 

Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki received the team at the Islamabad airport. Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) officials, the secretary of Pakistan’s Inter-Provincial Coordination ministry and Rana Mashhood, chairman of the PM’s Youth Program, were also present on the occasion. 

“Saudi Arabian football team reached Islamabad from Riyadh by chartered flight,” the PSB said. “Saudi Arabian football team is visiting Pakistan for the first time.”

The visiting team was shifted from the airport to the hotel where they are staying under tight security, the board said. 

The match between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is scheduled to take place on June 6 at the Jinnah Football Stadium in Islamabad. 

It takes place months after Saudi Arabia thumped Pakistan 4-0 in the first leg of the qualifying matches when the Group G sides faced off at Al Ahsa city in November 2023.
Pakistan suffered another setback in round one of the qualifiers when they lost 6-1 to Tajikistan in Islamabad days after losing to Saudi Arabia. The green shirts will face Tajikistan on June 11 in Dushanbe in what will be their final round 2 away fixture. 
Pakistan are in Group G of the World Cup qualifiers with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Tajikistan. In the second round of the qualifiers, a total of 36 football squads have been split into nine groups with four teams each. The winners and runners-up from each group would go through to the third round.
Pakistan are already eliminated after four consecutive losses and a -19 goal differential. 
Pakistan squad:

Goalkeepers: Yousuf Butt (D), Saqib Hanif and Hassan Ali
Defenders: Abdullah Iqbal (D), Mohammad Fazal (D), Haseeb Khan, Rao Omer Hayat, Mamoon Moosa, Mohammad Saddam, Waqar Ihtisham, Moin Ahmed and Abdul Rehman
Midfielders: Rahis Nabi (D), Otis Khan (D), Ali Uzair, Umair Ali, Toqeer ul Hassan, Alamgir Ghazi and Ali Zafar
Forwards: Imran Kayani (D), McKeal Abdulah, Fareedulah, Adeel Younas and Shayak Dost


Two customs officials, traders’ representative kidnapped in Pakistan’s volatile northwest — official

Two customs officials, traders’ representative kidnapped in Pakistan’s volatile northwest — official
Updated 21 sec ago
Follow

Two customs officials, traders’ representative kidnapped in Pakistan’s volatile northwest — official

Two customs officials, traders’ representative kidnapped in Pakistan’s volatile northwest — official
  • Unidentified men kidnapped Customs Superintendent Nisar Abbasi, Inspector Khushal and Saif-ur-Rehman from South Waziristan district
  • Islamabad blames a surge in militant activities in Pakistan’s northwest on groups operating out of Afghanistan, Kabul denies the allegation

ISLAMABAD: Unidentified men on Thursday kidnapped two Pakistan Customs officials and president of a local chambers of commerce and industry in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, a senior administration official said.
Pakistan has struggled to contain surging militancy in KP since a fragile truce between the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and the state broke down in November 2022.
The TTP and other militant groups have frequently targeted security forces convoys and check-posts, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in recent months.
Unidentified suspects kidnapped Pakistan Customs Superintendent Nisar Abbasi, Inspector Khushal and traders’ representative Saif-ur-Rehman from the South Waziristan district, according to Deputy Commissioner Nasir Khan.
“Customs officers and the [Waziristan] Chambers of Commerce president were kidnapped in Sholam area on their return from Angor Adda,” Khan said.
“The district administration and police have kicked off an investigation.”
While no group immediately claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban.
Recently, Khan said, unidentified suspects also kidnapped Dr. Nauman, who worked with the Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS), from Azam Warsak area of the restive district, which borders Afghanistan.
On Jan. 9, the Pakistani Taliban, who have stepped up their attacks in KP, kidnapped more than a dozen workers of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), which is responsible for nuclear energy projects, from the volatile Lakki Marwat district, according to Lakki Marwat police spokesperson Shahid Marwat.
Eight of the abductees were released shortly after the kidnapping, while the militants released one more and body of another hostage on Jan. 25. The fate of the remaining captives remains unknown.
Islamabad has frequently blamed the surge in militant activities on Afghanistan, accusing it of sheltering and supporting militant groups that launch cross-border attacks.
Afghan officials deny involvement and insist that Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.


President Erdogan gifts Turkish Togg electric car to Pakistani PM

President Erdogan gifts Turkish Togg electric car to Pakistani PM
Updated 35 min 26 sec ago
Follow

President Erdogan gifts Turkish Togg electric car to Pakistani PM

President Erdogan gifts Turkish Togg electric car to Pakistani PM
  • Turkish president gifts Sharif T10X model SUV of Togg, Turkiye’s first homegrown electric vehicle
  • Recep Tayyip Erdogan also gifted Indonesian counterpart, Malaysian premier Togg cars this week

ISLAMABAD: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gifted a model of the Turkish homegrown electric vehicle Togg to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during his two-day visit to Islamabad this week. 

Erdogan gifted Sharif the T10X model Togg SUV, with a video clip showing both leaders examining the SUV’s black exterior. Sharif can be seen in the video, sitting behind the wheel with Erdogan beside him in the passenger seat as the Pakistani premier drove it. 

Later, First Lady Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari drove Erdogan and her father, President Asif Ali Zardari, in a Togg SUV as media persons watched. 

“I thank my dear brother President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and my respected sister Madam Emine Erdogan, for honoring us with their gracious presence and for bringing along a high-powered delegation from Turkiye,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X on Thursday after the Turkish president departed. 

Pakistan was Erdogan’s third stop in his three-nation Asia tour this week. In his first two stops in Malaysia and Indonesia, Erdogan gifted a similar model of the electric vehicle to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto. 

Pakistan and Türkiye signed 24 agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) on Thursday as Erdogan arrived in the country to discuss how to boost trade and economic ties between the two nations. 

Erdogan said he had also held extensive discussions with the Pakistani prime minister on bilateral, regional and global issues.


Pakistan’s Punjab bans washing cars at home in bid to conserve water

Pakistan’s Punjab bans washing cars at home in bid to conserve water
Updated 13 February 2025
Follow

Pakistan’s Punjab bans washing cars at home in bid to conserve water

Pakistan’s Punjab bans washing cars at home in bid to conserve water
  • Pakistan high court last Friday issued directives to ban washing cars at homes in Punjab
  • Punjab Environment Agency says will impose fine of Rs10,000 [$35.57] on violators 

ISLAMABAD: The government in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province on Thursday banned washing cars at home, saying that it would impose a fine of Rs10,000 [$35.75] on violators as it seeks to implement a high court’s earlier directive to conserve water. 

The Environmental Protection Agency Punjab issued the directives in compliance with an order by the Lahore High Court (LHC) last Friday banning the washing of cars at home and directed authorities to consider imposing a fine of $35.57 on violators. 

The high court also directed that filling stations without water treatment plants should be sealed with an initial warning, followed by a fine of Rs100,000 [$357.50]. 

The directives came after the court heard several petitions related to ineffective measures by officials against smog, local media reports said. 

“Ban on the use of water for washing of cars and use of hose pipes in the houses,” a notification from the EPA said. “Anyone found in violation of these directions will be imposed a fine of Rs.10,000.”

The provincial agency also banned oil washing of vehicles, and ordered immediate closure of all illegal/unapproved car wash and service stations in the province in compliance with the court’s orders. 

“Mandatory installation of carwash wastewater recycling system and U-Channels at all Car wash Stations by 28th February, 2025,” the notification said.

“In case the petrol pumps are found to be lacking in their obligations in this regard, fine of Rs. 100,000/- shall be imposed on the defaulting petrol pumps, in addition to sealing of car wash area.”

The notification cited an earlier warning by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) in which it had highlighted that Punjab had experienced 42 percent below normal rainfall from Sept. 1, 2024, to Jan. 15, 2025. 

The PMD had said that Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab were the most affected provinces where rainfall deficits of 52 percent, 45 percent, and 42 percent, respectively, have been recorded.

Water-stressed Pakistan has a population of 241.49 million people with a growth rate of 2.55 percent. Linked to that, per capita water availability has been on a downward trend for decades. 
In 1947, when Pakistan was created, the figure stood at about 5,000 cubic meters per person, according to the World Bank. Today it is 1,000 cubic meters. 
It will decline further with the population expected to double in the next 50 years, climate change experts say, pointing out that Pakistan needs intervention on a range of water-related issues: from the impact of climate change to hydropower, from transboundary water-sharing to irrigated and rain-fed agriculture, and from drinking water to sanitation.


Army says 13 militants killed in counterterrorism operations in northwestern Pakistan

Army says 13 militants killed in counterterrorism operations in northwestern Pakistan
Updated 13 February 2025
Follow

Army says 13 militants killed in counterterrorism operations in northwestern Pakistan

Army says 13 militants killed in counterterrorism operations in northwestern Pakistan
  • Pakistan Army says militants killed in operations in Dera Ismail Khan, North Waziristan, Khyber and Lakki Marwat districts
  • Pakistan has seen a surge in militancy in KP since a fragile truce between TTP and the state broke down in November 2022

ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed 13 militants in five separate counterterrorism operations in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province this week, Pakistan army’s media wing said on Thursday, vowing to eliminate militancy from the country. 

Security forces conducted five different operations between Feb. 12-13, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement, with the first one taking place in Dera Ismail Khan district in which five militants were killed. 

In North Waziristan district, another five militants were killed in two separate gunbattles while two other militants were killed in Lakki Marwat district. In the last operation, one militant was killed in the Khyber district. 

“Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed khwarij, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces as well as killing of innocent civilians,” the ISPR said, referring to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants. 

The army said it was launching sanitization operations to eliminate other militants found in the area.

“Security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country,” the ISPR said. 

Pakistan has seen a surge in militancy in KP since a fragile truce between TTP and the state broke down in November 2022. The militants have stepped up attacks against police and security forces in recent months, with the military reporting deaths of 383 soldiers and 925 militants in various clashes in the country in 2024.

The Pakistani Taliban have frequently targeted security forces and police convoys and check-posts, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in the region.

Islamabad has frequently blamed the surge in militancy on Afghanistan, accusing it of sheltering and supporting militant groups that launch cross-border attacks. 

Afghan officials deny involvement and insist that Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.


Pakistan army chief denies receiving much-publicized letters from ex-PM Imran Khan 

Pakistan army chief denies receiving much-publicized letters from ex-PM Imran Khan 
Updated 13 February 2025
Follow

Pakistan army chief denies receiving much-publicized letters from ex-PM Imran Khan 

Pakistan army chief denies receiving much-publicized letters from ex-PM Imran Khan 
  • Khan says he wrote two open letters to army chief this month on alleged rigging, rights abuses in Pakistan
  • General Asim Munir says would dispatch any letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif if he did receive it

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir has denied receiving any letters from jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, state-run media reported on Thursday, saying he would dispatch it to PM Shehbaz Sharif if he did receive it. 

Khan, who has been in jail since August 2023 on a slew of charges he says are politically motivated, said this month he had written two open letters to Munir this month highlighting the alleged shrinking space for democracy in the country due to rights abuses and “rigging” in last year’s election. 

The former prime minister was ousted from power in April 2022 via a parliamentary vote after falling out with Pakistan’s powerful army generals. Khan blames the military for colluding with his political rivals to orchestrate his ouster, a charge the military denies and reiterates that it does not interfere in political matters. 

Munir was speaking to reporters informally at a luncheon hosted for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Islamabad on Thursday when he spoke about Khan’s letters. 

“The Army Chief said he has not received any letter from anyone,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. “However, if it is received, he would dispatch it to the Prime Minister.”

In Khan’s first letter to Munir this month, he called for a reevaluation of current political policies, alleging that his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party was being targeted by the state.

Tensions between the PTI and the army have remained at fever-pitch especially after Khan’s brief arrest on May 9, 2023, in a land graft case that sparked countrywide protests. 

Angry supporters carrying the PTI’s flags attacked and ransacked military installations in an unprecedented backlash against the army. 

The military has called the day of the protests a “Black Day” and vowed to punish those involved. Since then, at least 5,000 of Khan’s supporters have been arrested, and dozens of his top party leaders have defected after they faced increasing pressure from the military establishment to do so, according to his supporters. The army denies the allegations. 

Thousands of Khan supporters marched toward Islamabad in November 2024 to demand his release from prison. The government says four troops were killed in the ensuing clashes by Khan supporters, a charge the PTI denies and says its loyalists were instead shot and killed.