Injured Pakistani pacer Naseem Shah starts ‘final stage’ of rehabilitation— PCB 

Pakistan's Naseem Shah attends a practice session at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on September 1, 2023, on the eve of their Asia Cup cricket match against India. (AFP/File)
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Updated 07 December 2023
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Injured Pakistani pacer Naseem Shah starts ‘final stage’ of rehabilitation— PCB 

  • Naseem Shah was ruled out of the Men’s 50-over cricket World Cup after suffering injury in September
  • Shah’s rehabilitation continues at cricket academy in Lahore under the care of an expert medical staff

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani fast bowler Naseem Shah, who has been missing from action for months due to a shoulder injury, has started the “final stage” of his rehabilitation program, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Wednesday. 

Shah, a potent fast bowler with lethal outswingers and blistering pace in his armory, is considered one of the most dangerous pacers in modern cricket. The 19-year-old Pakistani pacer suffered a shoulder injury during the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka in September, after which he underwent surgery in the United Kingdom. 

Shah’s absence from the national team was a major setback for Pakistan in the 50-over World Cup in India. In his absence, his new ball partner Shaheen Shah Afridi and fellow pacers Haris Rauf and Hassan Ali conceded expensive runs during the showpiece tournament. 

“Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah started the final stage of his rehabilitation today at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore,” the PCB said. 

The PCB said Shah remained in the UK for two months after his surgery for rehabilitation and initial training, adding that the cricket board covered his medical costs. 

“He received continuous care from a team of expert medical staff,” it said. 

The board said Shah’s rehabilitation is being continued at the NCA under the care of a strength and conditioning coach, a physiotherapist and a doctor. 

“Currently, he is doing light gym exercises and partial bowling practice and will start batting tomorrow [Thursday],” the board said. 

Shah made his international debut for Pakistan against Australia in Brisbane in November 2019. Over the years, he has cemented his place in Pakistan’s playing XI in all three formats of the game, and impressed fans and critics alike. 

He has taken an impressive 51 Test wickets from 17 matches at an average of 33.82. In 14 ODIs, he has managed to take 32 wickets at an average of 16.96 and has 15 wickets from 19 T20Is at an average of 34.66. 


Pakistan says decision to roll back digital tax on foreign retailers to boost e-commerce sector

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Pakistan says decision to roll back digital tax on foreign retailers to boost e-commerce sector

  • Government introduced a five percent levy on foreign digital platforms in the federal budget
  • Local retailers link the tax reversal to US trade deal, say the decision favors global tech giants

KARACHI: A senior Pakistani finance official said on Friday the government had decided to roll back a recently imposed digital tax on foreign retailers in an effort to promote e-commerce in the country.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the government’s tax collection body, reversed this week a set of measures introduced in the federal budget that were aimed at regulating cross-border online purchases and affected international firms like China’s Temu, Shein and AliExpress.

These included a five percent fixed tax on digital platforms and a sharp reduction in the duty-free threshold for imported parcels, slashing it from Rs5,000 ($18) to Rs500 ($1.8).

“The government plans to continue expanding the e-commerce sector by keeping the market open to international players,” Finance Adviser Khurram Schehzad told Arab News.

The move has sparked backlash from local retailers, who argue that the policy puts them at a disadvantage.

“The removal of the five percent levy on foreign goods is likely to negatively affect domestic sellers, including small businesses and established retailers,” Asfandyar Farrukh, Chairman of the Chainstore Association of Pakistan (CAP), said.

According to CAP, foreign platforms, primarily those belonging to China, are sending as many as 30,000 parcels daily to Pakistani consumers, up from just 1,000 two years ago. Internal courier company data shared by CAP shows this as a nearly 2,900 percent surge in parcel volumes.

Farrukh also questioned the timing and motivation behind the policy reversal, linking it to Pakistan’s recent trade negotiations with the United States.

“The government’s decision to withdraw the digital proceeds levy appears to have been heavily influenced by the US trade deal,” he said, pointing out that American tech giants such as Google and Meta were also affected by the tax and are now exempt.

“The five percent levy should have been maintained on foreign goods, even if removed for services, where it arguably didn’t apply.”

Still, Farrukh acknowledged parallel budgetary measures, such as the reduction in the duty-free threshold and stricter customs enforcement, may temper some of the impact.

“Authorities are now more vigilant in ensuring that foreign e-commerce goods aren’t under-invoiced to evade taxes at import,” he added.

Economist Shankar Talreja echoed some of these concerns.

“This tax withdrawal encourages the use of imported products at the cost of domestic manufacturing,” he said. “It promotes a trading culture rather than production.”

Talreja, who heads research at Karachi-based Topline Securities, added the domestic industry is losing competitiveness as local products are taxed through sales and income levies, while foreign goods bypass the same regulatory burden.

He agreed with the CAP chairman about the circumstances of the tax withdrawal.

“The government, according to reports, reversed the tax under pressure from trade talks with the US,” he said.

Pakistan’s retail sector includes about five million shops generating an estimated Rs20 trillion ($71 billion) annually, but only 10 percent of this comes from the tax-compliant formal sector that CAP represents.

Temu did not respond to Arab News’s request for comment. Shein and AliExpress could not immediately be reached.


Pakistan PM orders damage review in GB, AJK as monsoon deaths reach 299

Updated 01 August 2025
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Pakistan PM orders damage review in GB, AJK as monsoon deaths reach 299

  • Torrential downpours in both regions triggered landslides, left hundreds of tourists stranded
  • Authorities warned of glacial lake outburst floods as water levels surged in glacier-fed areas

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed authorities to carry out immediate assessments of the loss of life and property caused by recent monsoon rains in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) regions that have been hit hard by flash floods and landslides.

Sharif issued the instructions while chairing a meeting amid rising concerns over the severity of the monsoon season that started in the country on June 26.

While casualties in GB and AJK have so far been reported to be comparatively lower than in Punjab or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, torrential downpours triggered devastating landslides and stranded hundreds of tourists.

Authorities also issued glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) warnings as water levels rose rapidly in glacier-fed catchments.

“The federal government stands shoulder to shoulder with the people, administration and governments of AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan,” the prime minister was quoted as saying by his office said in a statement.

“All relevant federal agencies should coordinate with local authorities to estimate the damages incurred in the affected areas,” he added.

Sharif said he will also visit Gilgit-Baltistan soon and roll out a relief package.

Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has reported 299 fatalities in its latest situation report on August 1, with maximum casualties in Punjab (162) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (69).

The NDMA data show 10 fatalities in GB and two in AJK, though several tourists were said to be missing in these area since the beginning of the monsoon season.


Pakistan’s annual inflation accelerates to 4.1% in July

Updated 01 August 2025
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Pakistan’s annual inflation accelerates to 4.1% in July

  • The central bank left the key interest rate unchanged at 11% this week
  • The SBP said the policy rate would keep inflation between 5%-7% range

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s consumer inflation accelerated to 4.1% year-on-year in July, up from 3.2% in June, driven by rising prices for food items, fuels and medicines, the statistics bureau said on Friday.

July’s consumer price inflation month-on-month was 2.9%, the bureau said.

The higher inflation reading follows the State Bank of Pakistan’s assessment of a deteriorating inflation outlook, leading it to leave the key interest rate unchanged at 11%.

The bank’s monetary policy committee said on Wednesday that energy prices, particularly for gas, had risen more than expected, and it considered the real policy rate should be adequately positive to keep inflation in the 5%-7% target range.

Pakistan is pushing through a series of economic reforms under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund program, including a contractionary government budget passed in June that slashes spending to curb the fiscal deficit.


Pakistani opposition alliance says government trying to ‘eliminate’ rivals, calls for joint strategy

Updated 01 August 2025
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Pakistani opposition alliance says government trying to ‘eliminate’ rivals, calls for joint strategy

  • A two-day multiparty conference condemns convictions of opposition leaders in cases of May 9 rioting
  • Minister Ata Tarar says May 9 trials were fair, accuses the opposition of lacking facts and arguments

ISLAMABAD: A coalition of prominent Pakistani opposition leaders on Friday called for a unified political strategy to address what they described as a systematic effort to eliminate dissent, condemning recent convictions related to the May 9, 2023, riots and rejecting the legitimacy of the 2024 general elections.

The two-day multiparty conference was convened by the Tehreek-e-Tahafuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP) — or Movement for the Protection of Pakistan’s Constitution — a newly formed alliance of politicians, lawyers and civil society leaders advocating for constitutional supremacy and civilian rule.

Established earlier this year, TTAP is chaired by veteran Pashtun leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai and held its gathering in Islamabad at the residence of former senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, who said the capital administration had attempted to block the event by sealing off its original venue.

“There is a clear attempt to eliminate the opposition in this country,” Khokhar said toward the end of the gathering, adding: “All parties at the conference unanimously agreed that a comprehensive and joint strategy is urgently needed to steer the country out of this crisis.”

The conference condemned the convictions handed down to the leaders and supporters of the country’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party over their alleged role in the May 9 unrest.

The protests, triggered by Khan’s brief detention by paramilitary rangers on corruption charges, turned violent, with attacks on military installations across the country. An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan convicted the leaders of the opposition in the National Assembly and Senate on charges of being involved in the unrest, though the PTI has frequently described such cases and convictions as politically motivated.

The government, however, said all those who were sentenced were given fair trials within the legal and constitutional framework.

“Fair trials were conducted in the May 9 cases in accordance with the law,” Information Minister Ata Tarar asserted in a televised statement following the opposition alliance’s news conference. “The proceedings lasted two full years, during which the prosecution presented its arguments and evidence.”

The multiparty conference participants also denounced the imprisonment of Khan and his wife, Bushra Imran, and demanded their immediate release.

The declaration agreed at the gathering also accused the government of “fascism and political victimization” and rejected the outcome of the 2024 elections as fraudulent.

It also called for repealing the 26th Amendment, which curtailed judicial autonomy by expanding parliamentary oversight of appointments, saying it had undermined judicial independence in Pakistan, and expressed solidarity with six

Islamabad High Court judges who had spoken out against institutional interference.

Tarar, however, dismissed the opposition’s assertions, saying the participants of the conference “had neither arguments nor facts.”

“Whenever a foreign visit to Pakistan is about to begin, especially by a foreign head of state, such actions are taken to sabotage it and damage the country’s economy,” he added, noting that the conference came just ahead of the Iranian president’s visit to Pakistan on Saturday.


US limits official visits to Karachi hotels after threat report

Updated 01 August 2025
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US limits official visits to Karachi hotels after threat report

  • Security alert urges caution at venues popular with Western citizens, tourists in Karachi
  • State Department’s current travel advisory urges citizens to reconsider visiting Pakistan

KARACHI: The United States has temporarily limited visits by government personnel to high-end hotels in Karachi, Pakistan, after receiving a report of a threat, the State Department said on Friday.

“The US Consulate General Karachi received a report of a threat directed at high-end hotels in Karachi,” the department said in a security alert.

“The US Consulate General in Karachi has temporarily limited visits by official US government personnel to these hotels.”

The State Department said it sometimes declares areas in foreign countries such as tourist attractions, hotels, markets, shopping malls and restaurants off-limits to official US government personnel in response to such threats.

The security alert urges people to avoid the areas and crowds, keep a low profile and to stay alert in places frequented by tourists and citizens of Western countries.

The State Department currently has a travel advisory in place for Pakistan that advises US citizens to reconsider traveling there due to the risk of terrorism and the potential for armed conflict.