Top cleric among six killed in suspected suicide blast in Pakistan’s northwest

KARACHI: Champions Trophy fever in Pakistan has plummeted after the hosts crashed out of the first major cricket event in the country in three decades without winning a game.
“It feels like attending a wedding where you don’t know the bride or groom,” said Kashan Khan, a medical student who watched Pakistan get beaten by New Zealand by 60 runs in the opening match in Karachi last week.
The defending champions then lost to great rivals India by six wickets to seal their fate, before their dead-rubber last group game against Bangladesh on Thursday was washed out.
“Pakistan’s poor performance has drained my enthusiasm. I don’t care about watching other teams now,” added Khan.
Pakistan’s failure to advance beyond the group phase or even win a game was a huge letdown in a country that has been gradually returning to hosting international teams after years of militancy saw it marked as a no-go zone.
Security in cities has vastly improved in recent years, including in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi, where the matches are being held.
But disheartened fans have begun abandoning the tournament.
Outside Rawalpindi Stadium ticket-holders were seen trying to sell their unwanted seats ahead of Pakistan’s match against Bangladesh, but there were no takers.
“I had three tickets but no one wanted to buy them,” said Farooq Ali.
“I even tried giving them away for free, but my friends weren’t interested.”
For many, the final on March 9 holds little appeal, particularly given its location is still undecided.
Arch-rivals India, with which Pakistan has fought several wars, refused to visit its neighbor and are playing all their matches in Dubai.
In painful contrast to Pakistan’s woes, India are into the semifinals and if they reach the title decider, the final will be moved from Lahore to Dubai.
“If Pakistan isn’t playing in it, why should we care?” asked Amna Mashadi, who watched the tournament on television.
Pakistan’s latest flop dealt a severe blow not just to supporters, but also to the financial ecosystem surrounding the eight-nation event.
With Pakistan out, TV viewership has nose-dived, advertising revenues have shrunk and sponsors are demanding reductions in their campaign costs.
Pakistan’s stated-owned PTV and Ten Sports bought the joint broadcast shares of the 15 matches, each paying 1.2 billion rupees ($4.25 million).
Sources with knowledge of the broadcast deal told AFP that the two broadcasters have already lost close to 180 million rupees in two rained off matches in Rawalpindi.
Broadcasters are bracing for losses as they search for takers for the usually prime advertising spots in the semifinals and final.
“Sports advertising is always a gamble,” said a senior employee at a Pakistani company, one of the tournament’s top advertisers.
“Sponsorship deals cover the whole tournament, so pulling out isn’t an option.
“But when the national team exits early, consumers go away and the sale of the product suffers.”
Shopkeeper Mohammad Rizwan — he coincidentally has the same name as the Pakistan captain — had anticipated selling 60,000 cricket shirts of the home team.
Instead he only sold about a third of that.
“The demand for Pakistan shirts was overwhelming and in the week leading up to the event, I doubled my order,” Rizwan told AFP.
“But as soon as the team started losing, the demand plummeted. Now, I have huge unsold stock in my warehouse.
“It’s a massive loss.”
Renowned television and film actor Adnan Siddiqui fears that Pakistan’s underwhelming performance might push young fans away from the sport altogether.
“I grew up watching cricket late at night or early in the morning,” Siddiqui told AFP.
“But after these defeats, my son has lost interest completely. The real loss here is of the next generation of players and fans.”
Siddiqui flew to watch the India-Pakistan match in Dubai on Sunday and returned heartbroken.
“We used to beat India frequently but now they are well ahead of us in terms of skill and bravery. Our team looked scared.”
Despite the gloom some remain hopeful.
“This is a low point but the sun will rise again,” said Khalil Khan, a club-level cricket coach in Karachi.
“Cricket is the only sport that puts Pakistan on the global map and I’m sure our team will bring joy again in the future.”

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank said on Friday economic stabilization was “taking hold” in Pakistan, making this an opportune moment for the group to sign an agreement for a ten-year plan to focus $20 billion in development lending in the cash-strapped country.

The new plan, known as the Country Partnership Framework, was announced by the World Bank last month and will focus the global institution’s pledge of $20 billion in areas including clean energy and climate resilience in the ten years from 2026.

The country has teetered on the brink of economic crisis for several years and economists and international financial institutions have called for major economic reforms. Pakistan is currently under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund bailout program, which requires the country to boost government revenues and shore up external sources of financing, much of which comes from loans from China and Gulf nations.

“This is an important moment for the partnership between the World Bank Group and Pakistan as we engage on this journey at a particular moment for Pakistan where stabilization is taking hold and there are new ambitions and new plans for development on the long term that are very aligned with the prioritizes of the World Bank Group in the country,” WB Country Director for Pakistan, Najy Benhassine, said in a video message on X.

“This is a groundbreaking joint commitment with the government of Pakistan both at the federal and provincial level to commit to focus on six of the most acute development challenges that the country is facing.”

The World Bank’s lending for Pakistan will start in 2026 and focus on six outcomes: improving education quality, tackling child stunting, boosting climate resilience, enhancing energy efficiency, fostering inclusive development and increasing private investment.

The finance ministry’s monthly outlook report said this week Pakistan’s consumer inflation was expected to remain stable in February and maintain a downward trajectory compared to the previous year. Inflation has eased since last year with CPI coming in at 2.4 percent in January compared to 24 percent in the same period last year. Authorities have credited the downward trend to economic stabilization under the IMF program secured last summer.

An IMF mission is due to arrive in Islamabad next week for the first review of the global lender’s facility.

“The primary surplus is expected to improve further in the coming months,” the finance ministry said, pointing to one of the benchmarks identified by the IMF.

The report also said that foreign remittances, a crucial lifeline for Pakistan’s economy, were expected to rise.

“Workers’ remittances recorded robust inflows of $20.8 billion during July-Jan FY2025, marking a 31.7 percent increase over $15.8 billion last year,” the ministry said.