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  • Ramiz Raja not happy with Misbah’s selection

    Ramiz Raja not happy with Misbah’s selection

    Former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja is disappointed with the 20 probables selected by head coach-cum-chief selector Misbahul Haq for the upcoming T20 and ODI series against Sri Lanka.

    While speaking in a Youtube video, the famous commentator has criticised Misbah for implementing a safety first approach in his selection.

    He said, “It was disappointing to see no new name or experimentation from Misbah, despite playing against a second-string Sri Lanka side,” adding that Misbah is playing safe as it is his first big assignment and is opting for tried and tested players.

    Ramiz Raja believes that Men in Green needs out of the box thinking with regards to the future.

    “You could have invited around four to five players to this camp, who you think are talented and have what it takes to serve Pakistan in future,” he added. “Instead, those players have been recalled who have been playing for Pakistan for last 10 years and we are aware of their potential and limitations.”

  • India requests Pakistan to let Modi fly through its airspace

    India requests Pakistan to let Modi fly through its airspace

    India has requested Pakistan to let Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s aircraft fly through its airspace to New York for his week-long trip to the United States (US) from September 21 to 27.

    India has formally requested Pakistan to allow use of its air space for PM Modi’s flight, ANI reported.

    On September 22, Modi will address the Indian community as part of the ‘Howdy Modi!’ event in Houston, Texas. The event will be his third major address to the Indian-American community after he became the prime minister in 2014 and the first after his re-election in May.

    The previous two were at the Madison Square Garden in New York in 2014 and the Silicon Valley in 2016.

    Modi will then visit New York from September 23, where he will address the 2019 Climate Action Summit hosted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. He is also expected to meet US President Donald Trump.

    Modi had in August used Pakistani airspace for the first time after February’s botched Balakot strike by the Indian Air Force (IAF).

    The flight carrying Modi, callsign Air India One (AI-1), used Pakistani airspace while en route to France from New Delhi.

    Pakistan closed its airspace in February this year after a standoff with India in the wake of an attack on a police convoy in occupied Kashmir that killed 40 paramilitary police.

    In the aftermath, two Indian fighter jets’ were downed. Pakistan also captured one of the Indian pilots who was later released.

    In June, Modi avoided flying over Pakistan during a trip to Central Asia, even though its airspace was opened as a goodwill gesture.

    Islamabad had fully reopened its airspace to civilian flights a month later.

  • Ashes hero Ben Stokes’ lashes out at UK tabloid

    Ashes hero Ben Stokes’ lashes out at UK tabloid

    England cricketer Ben Stokes has described The Sun’s front-page story about a private family tragedy from his past as “utterly disgusting” and the “lowest form of journalism”.

    The Sun published details of how Stokes’ half-brother and half-sister were shot dead by his mother’s ex-husband more than three decades ago.

    https://twitter.com/TheSun/status/1173712141632856065?s=20

    According to The Sun’s story, Stokes’ mother’s jealous ex Richard Dunn had weekend custody of his children. He shot them both dead at his flat in Christchurch, New Zealand in April 1988. Dunn then drove to his ex’s home and torched the building. She had left to go to work. Alerted to the fire, armed cops raced to his apartment and Dunn retreated inside. Ten minutes later, they heard two shots and found him dead.

    In a statement, Stokes described The Sun’s article as “low and despicable behaviour, disguised as journalism”. He said the article deals with “deeply personal and traumatic events” that affected his New Zealand-based family more than 30 years ago. “My family has worked hard to deal with the private trauma inevitably associated with these events and has taken great care to keep private”.

    https://twitter.com/benstokes38/status/1173893834377441280?s=20

    A spokesperson for The Sun said that the newspaper has the utmost sympathy for Ben and his mother “but it is only right to point out the story was told with the co-operation of a family member who supplied details, provided photographs and posed for pictures”.

    After Stokes’ heartfelt statement, a Twitter campaign to boycott The Sun began with hashtags #DontBuyTheSun and #BoycottTheSun.

    England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Tom Harrison also issued a statement condemning The Sun.

  • Ali Tareen says ‘pepper spray for girls a better idea than abaya’

    Ali Tareen says ‘pepper spray for girls a better idea than abaya’

    Multan Sultans owner Ali Khan Tareen has said that giving pepper spray to schoolgirls to avoid harassment is a better idea than asking them to wear an abaya.

    The son of senior Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Khan Tareen in a Twitter post wrote, “I still think pepper spray is a good idea if local policy-makers feel those girls need protection”.

    In another tweet, he criticised and questioned the logic behind the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government’s decision to make abaya compulsory in all-girl schools.

    “This is directed to girl schools. In all-girl schools what ‘unethical incidents’ are they worried about? If the male staff is so untrustworthy then I suggest the students be instructed to bring pepper spray instead of chadars.”

    In an official circular on Monday, KP Education Department had directed heads of government schools to ensure that girl students were wearing abaya or gown to “cover up in order to protect themselves from any unethical incident”.

    The government had withdrawn the notification after severe backlash on both social and mainstream media.

  • VIDEO: Putin quotes Quran to urge Muslim countries for peace

    VIDEO: Putin quotes Quran to urge Muslim countries for peace

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for an end to the conflict in Yemen by quoting from the Holy Quran to urge Muslim countries for peace.

    According to RT, the Russian president was speaking in Turkish capital Ankara alongside President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani when he quoted a verse from Surah al-Imran.

    “And remember the favour of Allah upon you — when you were enemies and He brought your hearts together and you became, by His favour, brothers,” he quoted.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    The Russian president’s references to the Holy Quran were noted with approval by both Erdogan and Rouhani, the report said.

    Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Yemen’s civil war and millions face the threat of starvation.

    The war in Yemen is an ongoing conflict that began in 2015 between two factions: the Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi-led Yemeni government and the Houthi armed movement, along with their supporters and allies.

  • Naya Pakistan: Police register blasphemy case against 50 rioters for attacking temple

    Naya Pakistan: Police register blasphemy case against 50 rioters for attacking temple

    Police have registered a blasphemy case against 50 rioters for vandalising a Hindu temple following blasphemy allegations against a local teacher in the Ghotki district of Sindh, journalist Mubashir Zaidi has claimed.

    “Police registers balsphemy case against 50 rioters who vandalized Hindu temple in Ghotki,” he tweeted Monday.

    Heavy contingents of police and rangers were deployed in the district Sunday after violent protests over alleged blasphemy by a school principal belonging to the Hindu community. A temple, school and businesses owned by Hindus in the city were ransacked by the rioters.

    The case against the individuals, who attacked the temple, was registered under sections 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class),  147 (rioting) and 149 (connivance) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

    Dawn quoted Sukkur Additional Inspector General (AIG) Jamil Ahmed as saying that Section 295 was included because the protesters had vandalised a Hindu temple.

    “The Sindh government and its ministers seem serious to bring the culprits to book,” a rights activist from the Hindu community told a private media outlet on the condition of anonymity.

    However, the activist said that the people still felt insecure and wanted an end to injustice on the basis of faith.

    Another case was lodged against 150 people — 27 named and 123 unidentified persons — for blocking roads. A third FIR [First Information Report] pertaining to rioting and theft was filed against 23 people, including 11 unidentified persons, over reports that protesters had stolen goods from multiple shops in Shahi Bazar.

    RIOTS OVER ‘BLASPHEMY’:

    Law and order of Ghotki and surrounding areas deteriorated on Sunday as people in large numbers took to the streets to protest against an alleged incident of blasphemy.

    The protests began on Saturday after an FIR was filed against the principal of Sindh Public School on the complaint of Abdul Aziz Rajput, a student’s father who claimed that the former had committed blasphemy.

    The FIR was lodged under Article 295(c) — that pertains to “derogatory remarks in respect of the Holy Prophet (PBUH)” — of the PPC.

    Residents of the area demanded that the police arrest the principal, issued a call for a shutter-down strike, and took to the streets in protest. Videos of stick-wielding protesters were shared on social media on Sunday, in which they were seen vandalising a Hindu temple and damaging the school where the alleged incident took place.

    The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also shared a video of protesters breaking the infrastructure of the school and expressed concern over the situation.

    “Alarming reports of accusations of blasphemy in Ghotki and the outbreak of mob violence,” it said in a tweet.

  • PM Imran all set for another modest US trip

    PM Imran all set for another modest US trip

    After his austere United States (US) trip from earlier this year, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan is all set for another one of the same kind as merely $162,000 (Rs25 million) from taxpayers’ money will be spent, The Express Tribune reported.

    The premier will reach Washington on September 21, where he will not only hold meetings with US President Donald Trump among other top government officials, but also address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) session.

    It is also believed that PM Imran will once again take a commercial flight instead of opting to charter a plane in a bid to save money as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government continues to attempt to reduce the burden on the national exchequer.

    Previously, the premier’s visit to the US had cost the treasury around $67,180 (Rs11 million). Around Rs1.35 million were spent on accommodation for PM’s 27-member delegation, while the PM chose to stay at Pakistan Embassy instead of some lavish hotel.

    According to the details of the expenditures, an amount of Rs92,120 were incurred on transport, Rs142,000 on gifts, Rs6,075,800 on airfare, miscellaneous expenditures stood at Rs1,287,460, tips at Rs706,001 and meals at Rs1,389,077.

  • Buzdar’s metro plan backfires, number of commuters falls by 20,000

    Buzdar’s metro plan backfires, number of commuters falls by 20,000

    Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar-led provincial government’s Metro Bus fare policy has backfired as both Lahore and Rawalpindi-Islamabad metro buses have faced a drastic decrease in the number of passengers.

    According to The News, after the Punjab Metro Bus Authority increased the bus fare from Rs20 to Rs30, the number of commuters on Lahore Metro Bus has decreased by up to 20,000 per day while around 10,000 to 20,000 passengers have stopped commuting via the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metro Bus.

    “We were expecting an annual increase of Rs800 million in the revenue of Punjab Mass Transit Authority (PMTA) by increasing the fare. However, it is quite surprising that the number of passengers has decreased up to 20,000 in Lahore and 10,000 to 20,000 in Rawalpindi-Islamabad on a daily basis,” reports quoted an official as saying.

    It is very strange for us to know that passengers are so sensitive about the fare, the official said further. “The PMTA management is preparing the report on this unexpected outcome which will be presented to the authorities concerned in a week or two.”

  • PCB announces probables for Pak-Sri Lanka series

    PCB announces probables for Pak-Sri Lanka series

    Head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq has named 20 probables for the training camp, which will commence at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore from Wednesday.

    In a press release, PCB has announced that the camp is being set-up to prepare the side for the upcoming ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka, which will be held from 27 September to 9 October.

    Sarfaraz Ahmed has been retained as captain for the series, while Babar Azam has been named as vice-captain.

    The appointments were confirmed by PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani, following the recommendations made by Misbah-ul-Haq and the PCB Cricket Committee.

    Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik have not been named in the probables as they have been granted NOC until 12 October to participate in the Caribbean Premier League.

    Following are the names of the Probables:

    Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain), Babar Azam (vice-captain), Abid Ali, Ahmed Shehzad, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Umar Akmal, Usman Shinwari and Wahab Riaz.

  • Supreme Court orders Modi govt to restore normalcy in Kashmir

    Supreme Court orders Modi govt to restore normalcy in Kashmir

    The Supreme Court of India (SCI) on Monday ordered the Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi-led government to restore normalcy in occupied Kashmir “as soon as possible while keeping in mind national safety and security.”

    “Schools, hospitals, public transport should function properly,” said the ruling of a three-member bench of India’s apex court.

    According to Dunya News, the ruling came as the SCI took up multiple pleas against the Indian premier’s August 5 decision of revoking the special autonomy of Indian-occupied Kashmir (IoK).

    The court has ordered the government to submit a report mentioning the actual situation in the region that has been lockdown for 43 days with communication blackout.

    During the hearing of petitions, Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi remarked that if “requirement arises”, he would himself visit Jammu and Kashmir and expressed concerns over reports of inaccessibility of Kashmiris to the high court.