Pakistan Super League (PSL) commissioner Naila Bhatti has resigned from her post due to differences with the cricket board.
According to the sources, PSL Commissioner Naila Bhatti’s resignation has also been accepted. Naila Bhatti was a part of former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi’s team.
Earlier the Director of Medical and Sports Sciences of PCB Dr. Sohail Saleem resigned due to the injury of Pakistani fast bowler Ihsanullah, whose resignation was also accepted by PCB.
Josh Baker, a 20-year-old spin bowler from the English county of Worcestershire has passed away.
Josh Baker played two Second XI matches this season. He made his first-class debut in 2021 and played a total of 47 matches across all formats, taking three wickets in his last match against Somerset.
Pakistani spinner Usama Mir, who plays for Worcestershire, said in a message on social media, “Josh Baker’s death is sad and a blow, he was a good person and a great cricketer.”
Worcestershire County Chief Executive Ashley Giles said: “We are all saddened by the death of Josh Baker.”
Students of Government College University (GCU) held Palestinian flags while protesting against a US Consulate-sponsored concert of the American band Raining Jane in Lahore.
University administration canceled the concert after the students protested by raising the Palestinian flag at the US Consulate concert.
In videos that emerged from the protest, it can be seen that students remained undeterred and raised the popular slogan, ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
demands that the students apologize and give an undertaking on stamp paper within an hour, which has passed, however the students stand firm on their stances. The student cards of the aforementioned students have been confiscated, and they are now being threatened with strict + pic.twitter.com/68jeToUf91
— Progressive Students’ Collective (@PSCollective_) May 2, 2024
GCU Vice Chancellor Dr. Shazia Bashir told Dawn that all the demands of the students were accepted and the event was postponed.
She said no disciplinary action was taken against any of the students.
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan wrote an op-ed for The Telegraph on May 2, blaming the military establishment for oppression, election rigging and trying to upend his political party PTI.
“The military establishment, under the direct guidance of Gen Asim Munir, the chief of army staff, has tried every tactic to decimate my party’s presence from the political environment of Pakistan,” wrote Khan.
The former Prime Minister also said that even though the electoral symbol of a cricket bat was taken from PTI “the people came out and voted overwhelmingly for candidates supported by my party, the Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI).”
Khan emphasized that PTI supporters were “falsely accused” of attacking military installations on May 9 2023 because it was used “as a pretext for a crackdown” on PTI workers.
“Military leadership has been subjected to overt criticism at a level unseen before in our history. The government is a laughing stock,” stated Khan.
He also expressed regret over the “sorry state of judicial affairs” in the country and warned that the country is going on “the same path it trod in 1971, when it lost East Pakistan, now Bangladesh.”
Naming the COAS General Asim Munir publicly, he wrote:
“The military establishment has done all they could against me. All that is left for them is to now murder me. I have stated publicly that if anything happens to me or my wife, Gen Asim Munir will be responsible. But I am not afraid because my faith is strong. I would prefer death over slavery.”
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to send the women cricket team to Kakul military camp for fitness.
The players will be sent to the Pakistan Military Academy Kakul in July.
This will be the first time that Pakistani women cricketers are being sent to Kakul instructors for fitness enhancement. The one-month fitness and skills camp will be attended by 15 women cricketers at a time.
At least 20 people were killed on Friday when a bus plunged into a deep valley in Pakistan’s mountainous northern region, police said.
The driver lost control of the vehicle on a bend near the city of Chilas, in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, around dawn, falling into a rocky ravine where the River Indus flows.
“The local Ulema (Muslim leader) announced the news of the accident from the loudspeaker of the mosque and urged the people to donate blood for the injured,” Azmat Shah, a police official in the city told AFP.
“Rescue operations have been completed. Among the 21 injured, the condition of five is very critical.”
The bus was travelling from the capital Islamabad to Gilgit.
Road accidents with high fatalities are common in Pakistan, where safety measures are lax, driver training is poor and transport infrastructure often decrepit.
Mexico City (AFP) – Dozens of pro-Palestinian students from Mexico’s largest university camped out Thursday in solidarity with similar protests that have swept colleges in the United States.
Mounting flags and chanting “Long live free Palestine,” the protesters set up tents in front of the National Autonomous University of Mexico’s (UNAM) head office in Mexico City.
The students called on the Mexican government to break diplomatic and commercial ties with Israel.
“We are here to support Palestine, the people who are in Palestine, and the student camps in the United States,” said Valentino Pino, a 19-year-old philosophy student.
Jimena Rosas, 21, said she hoped the protest would have a domino effect and spread to other universities in the country.
“Once people see that UNAM is beginning to mobilize, other universities should start as well,” she said.
Dozens of universities in the United States have seen pro-Palestinian demonstrations in recent weeks, leading to clashes with police and counter-protests.
Israeli genocide against Palestinians since October 8 has killed more than 34,500 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the territory’s health ministry.
The official anthem of International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup 2024 has been released.
‘Out of this World’, released on the official ICC Instagram account, sung by Grammy Award winning singer Sean Paul and Soca superstar Kes.
The anthem features several athletes including Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chandrapal, Stephanie Taylor and Usain Bolt.
ICC T20 World Cup will start on June 2 in USA and West Indies.
The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) increased by $25 million on a weekly basis, reaching $8 billion as of April 26, according to data released on Thursday.
Despite this modest increase, the country’s total liquid foreign reserves, including holdings in commercial banks, remained at $13.3 billion, with net foreign reserves held by commercial banks totaling $5.3 billion.
While the central bank did not specify a reason for the uptick, the slight increase comes after a recent dip.
Last week, the central bank’s reserves had declined by $74 million, causing them to fall below the $8 billion mark.
This decline had raised concerns about the stability of Pakistan’s foreign exchange position.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s financial stability received a boost from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which disbursed $1.1 billion in the final tranche of the $3 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) on Tuesday.
This funding follows approval by the IMF’s Executive Board and is expected to be reflected in the SBP’s reserves for the week ending May 3, 2024.
Despite these recent inflows, Pakistan faces ongoing challenges in maintaining a robust foreign exchange reserve.
The country is heavily reliant on external financing, and fluctuations in reserve levels can impact economic stability.
As the central bank works to stabilise its reserves, the broader economy remains sensitive to changes in external funding and currency exchange rates.
Pak Suzuki Motor Company has recently announced a significant reduction in prices for its Swift variants, marking what the company terms a “limited time offer.” The decision comes amidst considerations of prevailing market dynamics.
According to the official announcement released by the company, effective May 1, 2024, the promotional retail sales prices for Suzuki Swift have been revised.
Notably, this adjustment aims to make the Swift models more accessible to consumers.
Under the new pricing scheme, the Swift GL MT is now priced at Rs4,336,000, reflecting a notable decrease of Rs85,000 from its previous rate of Rs4,421,000.
Similarly, the Swift GL CVT is set to be available at Rs4,560,000, marking a substantial decline of Rs159,000 from its former price of Rs4,719,000.
The most significant price reduction is observed in the Swift GLX CVT variant, which has seen a substantial drop from Rs5,429,000 to Rs4,719,000, translating to a decrease of Rs710,000.
Importantly, the revised retail prices include Federal Excise Duty (FED) and Sales Tax, while they exclude Advance Income Tax, as outlined in the official notice.
This move by Pak Suzuki Motor Company underscores its commitment to adapt to market conditions and provide value to customers through competitive pricing strategies.