Pakistan PM asks officials to intensify crackdown on human traffickers, smugglers

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has served a legal notice to South African all-rounder Corbin Bosch for “breaching” his contract for the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL) Twenty20 tournament, the PCB said on Sunday.
The 30-year-old Bosch was picked by Peshawar Zalmi in the Diamond category during player draft for the 10th edition of PSL in Lahore on Jan. 13, according to the PCB.
The legal notice was served through his agent, and the player has been asked to justify his actions of withdrawing from his professional and contractual commitments.
“The PCB management has also outlined the repercussions of his departure from the league and expects his response within the stipulated time frame,” the board said.
“The PCB will not make any further comments on the matter.”
PSL, which officially began in February 2016, features city-based franchise teams and has become a major event in Pakistan’s cricket calendar, symbolizing the country’s love for the sport. The league brings together both local and international talent, and has grown substantially in value and popularity since its inception.
Pakistan will host the 10th edition of PSL from April 11, with defending champions Islamabad United taking on two times champions Lahore Qalandars at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in the opening match.
The six-team tournament will see 34 matches between April 11 and May 18. Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium will host 13 matches, including two eliminators and the final, according to the PCB.
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will host 11 matches, including the first qualifier on May 13. National Bank Stadium in Karachi and Multan Cricket Stadium will host five PSL matches each.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal expressed concern over the rising number of poliovirus cases being reported from Sindh, the health ministry said on Sunday, directing authorities to submit a detailed report on the number of families refusing to get their children vaccinated. 

Pakistan has so far reported six polio cases in the first three months of 2025. Four out of the six cases have been reported from Sindh, as per official data. 

Kamal paid a visit to the provincial Emergency Operation Center (EOC) in Karachi, Sindh’s capital, on Sunday where he sought a detailed report from authorities about parents refusing polio vaccinations for their children. 

“The health minister has expressed concern over four polio cases [reported] from Sindh,” the health ministry said in a statement. 

“Forty-three thousand patients in Sindh refused vaccination out of which about 42,000 are from Karachi,” Kamal was quoted as saying. 

The minister was given a detailed briefing on the ongoing polio vaccination campaigns and the challenges faced by authorities. 

Kamal said eliminating polio from Pakistan was a national priority, directing authorities to utilize all resources to eradicate the disease. 

Polio is a paralyzing disease with no cure, and multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine, along with the completion of the routine vaccination schedule for children under five, are essential to providing immunity against the virus.

The South Asian country last year reported 74 polio cases. Pakistan has planned three major polio campaigns in the first half of 2025, with the next rounds scheduled for April and May. 

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries in the world where polio remains endemic.

Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies.

Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccine teams.