Pakistan PM vows to deepen cooperation with IAEA for peaceful nuclear use

KARACHI: The Pakistan Navy and Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) on Saturday concluded a bilateral maritime exercise with a live weapons firing display in the North Arabian Sea, demonstrating combat readiness, according to a statement from Pakistan’s Naval Headquarters in Islamabad.
The Naseem Al Bahr-XV followed the larger multinational Aman exercise, which brought together navies from several countries to promote regional maritime cooperation.
However, unlike Aman, which focuses on soft power, multinational coordination and humanitarian operations, Naseem Al Bahr is a biennial exercise designed to enhance operational preparedness and joint warfare capabilities between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
This year’s edition involved four naval vessels — Pakistan’s PNS Zulfiquar and Saudi Arabia’s HMS Jazan, HMS Al Yarmook and HMS Hail.
“Exercise NASEEM AL BAHR-XV featured advanced maritime operations, and the participating assets of both navies executed a diverse range of complex scenarios, including joint maneuvers, Anti-Surface Warfare, Anti-Submarine Warfare and integrated Maritime Security Operations,” the official statement said.
“The exercise provided an opportunity to strengthen bilateral cooperation, enhance interoperability and demonstrate a shared commitment to ensuring maritime security,” it added.
The exercise concluded with a live weapons firing demonstration, with the participating ships successfully launching a variety of surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles.
The statement said all the ships engaged their designated targets with precision, reflecting their combat preparedness and war-fighting capability.
Senior officials, including the commander Royal Saudi Naval Forces and Pakistan’s chief of naval staff, attended the event.
 

LONDON: England’s prospects for the Champions Trophy received a boost on Saturday when opening batsman Ben Duckett was passed fit for the one-day international tournament.
Duckett suffered a problem in his left groin during England’s crushing 142-run loss to India in the third ODI in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
His injury placed a question mark over the 30-year-old’s availability for the Champions Trophy, which starts in Pakistan next week and features the eight top-ranked ODI teams qualified from the 2023 50-over World Cup.
But the dashing left-hander has now been given the all clear following a scan, with an England and Wales Cricket Board statement saying: “Scans on a left groin injury have confirmed that England Men’s batter Ben Duckett is fit and available for the ICC Champions Trophy.
“Duckett sustained the injury while fielding during the first innings of England’s third ODI defeat to India in Ahmedabad last Wednesday.”
England are set to arrive in Pakistan on Tuesday before they begin their Champions Trophy campaign against oldest rivals Australia in Lahore on Saturday, with all-rounder Jacob Bethell ruled out because of a hamstring injury and replaced by Tom Banton.
Since winning the 2019 World Cup and 2022 T20 World Cup, England have struggled in white-ball cricket with Wednesday’s thumping defeat condemning them to a 3-0 series loss against India in what was Test coach Brendon McCullum’s first ODI campaign since he also took charge of the limited-overs side.