RAWALPINDI: Pakistan and Bangladesh have been fined and docked World Test Championship points over slow over rates during the first Test in Rawalpindi, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said Monday.
Bangladesh achieved their first victory over Pakistan in 14 Tests with a thumping 10-wicket win on Sunday after both teams struggled in hot conditions on a flat Rawalpindi pitch.
“Hosts Pakistan were found to be six overs short and lost six WTC points, while visitors Bangladesh were docked three points after being found three overs short of the acceptable rate,” the ICC said in a release.
Pakistan’s players were also fined 30 percent of their match fee and the Bangladeshis 15 percent, it said.
Pakistan slumped to eighth in the nine-team WTC points table after the defeat, while Bangladesh are seventh.
Bangladesh allrounder Shakib Al Hasan was also fined 10 percent of his match fee and received a demerit point for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct.
“Shakib threw the ball at Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan in the 33rd over of the second innings after the latter had backed away,” the ICC said.
The second and final Test will also be played in Rawalpindi from Friday.
Pakistan and Bangladesh fined for slow over rates in 1st Test
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Pakistan and Bangladesh fined for slow over rates in 1st Test
- Bangladesh achieved their first victory over Pakistan in 14 Tests with a thumping 10-wicket win on Sunday
- Pakistan slumped to eighth in the nine-team WTC points table after the defeat, while Bangladesh are seventh
Pakistan PM arrives in Tajikistan on final leg of five-day regional diplomacy tour
- The tour earlier took him to Türkiye, Iran and Azerbaijan after a military confrontation with India
- In Tajikistan, Sharif will attend a glacier conference, present Pakistan’s stance on climate change
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe on Thursday, the final stop in a five-day regional diplomacy tour that earlier took him to Türkiye, Iran and Azerbaijan, following a recent military confrontation with archrival India.
The tour has seen Sharif engage with regional allies to reaffirm diplomatic ties and economic cooperation, while also garnering support in the wake of heightened tensions with India.
Sharif was received at the Dushanbe airport by Tajik Prime Minister Qohir Rasulzoda.
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has arrived in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, on a two-day visit,” his office said in a statement.
“During the visit, he will hold a bilateral meeting with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon to discuss cooperation in various sectors and thank the Tajik leader for his strong support during the recent India-Pakistan tensions,” it continued.
Earlier in the day, Sharif concluded his visit to Azerbaijan, where he announced that the Azeri leadership had reaffirmed plans to invest $2 billion in Pakistan and deepen collaboration in commerce, defense, education and health.
On Wednesday, Sharif attended a trilateral summit in the Lachin district with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The three leaders pledged to expand cooperation and turn their longstanding fraternal ties into a strategic partnership for regional prosperity.
During his previous stops, Sharif also met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran to discuss trade, energy and regional connectivity. In Türkiye, from where he kicked off his regional tour, the Pakistani prime minister held talks with Erdoğan on defense, infrastructure and intelligence cooperation.
Pakistan has long sought to strengthen ties with landlocked Central Asian nations by offering them access to its Arabian Sea ports, part of its broader push for regional connectivity and economic integration.
The Prime Minister’s Office said in its statement Sharif will also participate in a high-level international conference on glacier preservation in Tajikistan, where he is expected to brief participants on the impact of climate change on Pakistan and reaffirm the country’s commitment to environmental protection.
Two police officers, four Pakistani Taliban killed in rare raid in Azad Kashmir
- While security forces frequently target TTP hideouts in restive northwest and elsewhere, such operations in Kashmir are rare
- Police chief says TTP is acting as a proxy for India, New Delhi has not responded to the accusation
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan: Security forces acting on intelligence raided a militant hideout in Azad Kashmir, triggering a shootout that left two police officers and four Pakistani Taliban fighters dead, police said Thursday.
The rare overnight raid was carried out in the Rawalakot district, according to Abdul Jabbar, the police chief in Kashmir, which is split between Pakistan and India and claimed in full by both countries in its entirety.
Jabbar said the killed militants were members of the Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP and are allies of the Afghan Taliban. He alleged the TTP is acting as a proxy for India and said police thwarted an attempt by the insurgents to create a base for future attacks.
There was no immediate response from New Delhi.
While Pakistani security forces frequently target TTP hideouts in the restive northwest and elsewhere, such operations in Kashmir are rare. TTP is a separate group and has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Many TTP leaders and fighters have since found sanctuary in Afghanistan.
Over 36 million children vaccinated as Pakistan anti-polio campaign enters fourth day
- Health officials have confirmed 10 polio cases in Pakistan his year
- Pakistan, Afghanistan are only countries where polio remains endemic
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has vaccinated approximately 36.4 million children as the third nationwide polio vaccination campaign of the year entered its fourth day today, Thursday, the country’s polio program said.
Around 400,000 frontline workers, including 225,000 women vaccinators, are driving the campaign launched on Monday to vaccinate 45 million children under the age of five. The drive will conclude on June 1.
Polio is a paralyzing disease with no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine, along with the completion of the routine immunization schedule for all children, are essential to ensure strong immunity against the disease.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries in the world where polio remains endemic. Pakistan has reported 10 polio cases so far this year, compared to 74 cases in 2024.
“In the first three days, 81 percent of (45 million) children across the country have been vaccinated,” the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) said in a statement.
“85 percent in Punjab, 68 percent in Sindh, 86 percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 74 percent of children in Balochistan have been vaccinated.”
The report said 63 percent of children were administered polio drops in the federal capital, Islamabad, 93 percent in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 91 percent in Gilgit-Baltistan.
In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 polio cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.
Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994, but efforts to eradicate the virus have been repeatedly undermined by vaccine misinformation and resistance from some religious hard-liners who claim that immunization is a foreign plot to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western espionage.
Militant groups have also frequently targeted polio vaccination teams and the security personnel assigned to protect them, often resulting in deadly attacks.
A Pakistani police officer was killed earlier this week when gunmen opened fire on a team of health workers carrying out a polio vaccination drive in the volatile Balochistan province on the second day of a door-to-door campaign.
Pakistan army launches teachers’ awareness program on online ‘anti-state’ propaganda
- 1,950 teachers from various regions of the country participate in Hilal Talks 2025 program run by army’s media wing
- After latest military combat, social media citizens on both sides are vying to control narrative by peddling disinformation
ISLAMABAD: In a first, the Pakistan army’s media wing has launched the Hilal Talks 2025 program to raise awareness among Pakistani teachers about the “tactics and nefarious agendas of anti-state elements” on social media, Radio Pakistan reported on Thursday.
While India and Pakistan announced a ceasefire after coming close to an all-out conflict earlier this month, social media citizens on both sides are vying to control public perceptions by peddling disinformation.
Platforms such as Facebook and X are still awash with misrepresented footage of the attacks that killed at least 70 people and sent thousands fleeing from their shared de facto Line of Control (LoC) border.
“Hilal Talks 2025 program has been launched under the auspices of ISPR,” Radio Pakistan reported, saying 1,950 teachers from various regions of the country were participating in the program run by the army’s media wing.
“It is aimed at raising awareness about the tactics and nefarious agendas of anti-state elements on social media.”
The report said teachers “got the opportunity to understand the structure, role and working mechanism of Pakistan Army more closely.”
Indian and Pakistani media outlets have both amplified misinformation, including false or unverifiable claims of military victories that experts say have exacerbated tensions and contributed to a flood of hate speech.
Disinformation peaked when India launched deadly air strikes on May 7 targeting “terrorist camps” in Pakistan, two weeks after a deadly attack on the Indian-administered side of disputed Kashmir.
New Delhi blames Islamabad for backing the April 22 attack near the tourist town of Pahalgam, which killed 26 people — almost all of them Hindu men. Pakistan denies the claim.
After the first round of Indian air strikes, the Pakistani military shared footage that had previously circulated in reports about a 2023 Israeli air strike in Gaza. The clip quickly appeared on television and social media but was later retracted by numerous media outlets, including AFP.
AI-generated imagery has also muddied the waters, including a video that purportedly shows a Pakistan Army general saying the country lost two of its aircraft. AFP fact-checkers found the clip was altered from a 2024 press conference.
Both India and Pakistan have taken advantage of the information vacuum to raise alarm bells and promote their own claims and counter-claims.
Pakistan appears to have lifted a more than one-year-old ban on X the same day of the Indian strikes.
Pakistan’s National Cyber Emergency Response Team (NCERT) on May 8 issued an alert about “increased cyberattacks and misinformation via emails, social media, QR codes, and messaging apps.”
Both Pakistan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Karachi Port Trust later said their X accounts had been hacked.
A post from the latter account said the port — one of South Asia’s busiest — was attacked by the Indian military. The page was later restored and the port authority said no attack had taken place.
India, meanwhile, has executed a sweeping crackdown targeting the social media accounts of Pakistani politicians, celebrities and media organizations.
The government ordered X to block more than 8,000 accounts and banned more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading “provocative” content, including news outlets.
Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check, a government-run website, has also refuted more than 60 claims about the ongoing crisis, many having to do with supposed Pakistani military victories.
The avalanche of disinformation online has also been accompanied by a spike in hate speech offline.
With inputs from AFP
PM says Azerbaijan has reaffirmed commitment to invest $2 billion in Pakistan
- Sharif made the remarks as he left the city of Lachin in Azerbaijan and flew onwards to Tajikistan
- Tajikistan is the last stop in a five-day regional diplomacy tour that also took Sharif to Turkiye and Iran
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday Azerbaijan had reaffirmed its commitment to invest $2 billion in Pakistan and would increase cooperation in spheres such as commerce, defense, education and health.
Sharif made the remarks as he left the city of Lachin in Azerbaijan on Wednesday evening and flew onwards to Tajikistan, the last stop in a five-day regional diplomacy tour that also took him to Turkiye and Iran.
“We have discussed joint cooperation in the fields of trade, commerce, investments,” Sharif said after meeting President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan.
“He again reiterated his commitment to invest $2 billion in Pakistan and … have more coordination in commerce, defense production, education and health and many other areas.”
On Wednesday, Sharif, Aliyev and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan had met for a trilateral summit in Lachin and pledged to work together for the goal of economic development and regional prosperity and to turn their brotherhood into a “strategic partnership.”
Turkiye is a longtime ally of Pakistan, while Baku and Islamabad have moved closer in recent years with a flurry of visits and bilateral agreements.
Erdogan and Aliyev had also openly pledged support for Pakistan and expressed solidarity during its latest military confrontation with archrival India earlier this month.
“Political, valid economic, energy, mutual investment, transportation, defense, agriculture, information, technology, and other spheres are the ones where there are ample opportunities to advance cooperation through joint projects,” Aliyev said as he addressed Wednesday’s summit, adding that Azerbaijan had invested over $20 billion in the Turkish economy and was prepared to invest $2 billion into Pakistan’s.
He also said Azerbaijan envisaged closer cooperation with Pakistan’s defense industry.
“We do believe there is great potential and it’s of great importance. Joint military exercises and projects in the defense industry amplify the potential of our armed forces or defense cooperation ensures peace and stability across a vast geography,” Aliyev said.
There have been widespread reports in recent weeks that Azerbaijan may have dramatically increased its procurement from Pakistan of JF-17 “Thunder” light multirole fighter aircraft from an initial 16 units to a staggering 40, in a deal reportedly valued at $4.2 billion.
The aircraft in question are said to be the latest and most advanced iteration of the JF-17 family— Block III— a 4.5-generation fighter co-developed by Pakistan and China and hailed as one of the most cost-effective combat aircraft in the current global market.
