Islamabad United, Multan Sultans battle it out for PSL 9 title

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Updated 18 March 2024
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Islamabad United, Multan Sultans battle it out for PSL 9 title

  • Multan, who qualified for the final after beating Peshawar Zalmi in the qualifier, will be playing their fourth consecutive final
  • On the other hand, this will be Islamabad United’s first final of the tournament since 2018, when they last won the PSL title

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad United and table-toppers Multan Sultans will lock horns today, on Monday, at the National Stadium in Karachi for the grand Orion trophy of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9th edition.

The toss for the PSL 9 final will be held at 830pm Pakistan time and the first ball of the match is expected to be bowled at 9pm.

Multan, who qualified for the final after beating Peshawar Zalmi in the qualifier, will be playing their fourth consecutive final. They were crowned champions in the 2021 edition and finished as runners-up in the subsequent two editions, wherein Lahore Qalandars clinched two back-to-back titles.

After finishing third on the table, Islamabad defeated Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi in the two eliminators to secure the coveted berth in the final. This will be Islamabad’s first final since 2018, when they last won the PSL title.

Multan skipper Mohammad Rizwan said he was proud of the way his side played in the tournament, maintaining a “bold and fearless approach.”

“We have a solid team that has all the bases covered. Our locals, foreigners and emerging players have shone and produced some extraordinary performances. What further helps us is the fact that our team has gelled really well in the last four weeks,” Rizwan said in a statement.

“We need to stick to our process. I am sure if our execution is perfect, the people of Multan and south Punjab will get a favorable result, God willing!“

Shadab Khan, who captains Islamabad, hailed his team for “standing tall in crucial situations” and getting through to the final after a long hiatus of five years.

“This is what we intended while assembling the squad and all the players have responded very well throughout the group stage as well as the playoffs. Islamabad winning the trophy for the third time will be a great achievement and I’m looking forward to whatever challenge Multan Sultans will pose,” he said.

“Hopefully, our batters and bowlers will step up in a spirited manner as they have done throughout the season and will make us champions.”

In the lead-up to the playoffs, Multan Sultans secured 14 points after winning seven out of their 10 games. Islamabad finished with five wins, whereas their home game against Lahore Qalandars was washed out. As a result, Islamabad had 11 points, equaling with the fourth-placed Quetta.

Multan’s Rizwan and Usman Khan are the second and third highest run-getters of the tournament thus far, only behind Peshawar Zalmi’s Babar Azam who ended PSL 9 with 569 runs in 11 innings, including five half-centuries and one century.

Rizwan has accumulated 382 runs, with four half-centuries. Usman, having appeared in only six games, has made 373 runs on the back of two centuries and a half-century.

Colin Munro, with 309 runs from nine games with three fifties, is the highest run-getter for Islamabad United. Islamabad’s skipper Shadab Khan has also starred with the bat and ball alike this season. In 11 games, he has produced 301 runs, including three half-centuries, and taken 11 wickets.

Usama Mir, leader of Multan’s spin attack, is the current leading wicket-taker of the tournament, holding the Inverex Fazal Mahmood Cap. He has 23 scalps in 11 games, including one six-wicket haul. His current tally of 23 is the best by any spinner in one edition of PSL and is only two wickets behind Hasan Ali’s record of 25 wickets, the most by any bowler in one edition, which has not been bested since 2019.

Multan’s right-arm pacer Mohammad Ali, playing his maiden PSL tournament, has 18 wickets in 11 games, the most by any pacer in the tournament thus far.

Naseem Shah, who made his move to Islamabad United ahead of PSL 9, has the most wickets for his team thus far. Assuming his role as Islamabad’s pace spearhead, the right-arm seamer has grabbed 15 wickets in 10 games.


US secretary of state Rubio urges Islamabad and New Delhi to step back

Updated 9 sec ago
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US secretary of state Rubio urges Islamabad and New Delhi to step back

  • Marco Rubio holds separate phone calls with Pakistani PM and Indian external affairs minister 
  • Urges Pakistan and India to improve communications, engage in “direct dialogue” to de-escalate 

ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday held separate telephone calls with Pakistan’s premier and the external affairs minister of India and urged the two nations to engage in “direct dialogue” to de-escalate their ongoing conflict, the state department said. 

India hit Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, called Azad Kashmir, with missiles on Wednesday and Pakistan said it shot down five Indian aircraft in retaliation in their worst clash in over two decades. Pakistan said 31 civilians were killed in the Indian strikes while New Delhi says it targeted “terror camps.”

On Thursday, Pakistan said it had shot down 29 drones launched by India while New Delhi said it had “neutralized” Islamabad’s attempts to target military targets with drones and missiles.

“He expressed US support for direct dialogue between India and Pakistan and encouraged continued efforts to improve communications,” the state department said in two separate statements after Rubio spoke to Pakistani Premier Shehbaz Sharif and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. 

“The Secretary emphasized the need for immediate de-escalation.”

India is an important US partner for Washington, which aims to counter China’s rising influence, while Pakistan remains an ally, despite its diminished importance after the US withdrawal from neighboring Afghanistan in 2021.

Both India and Pakistan claim Muslim-majority Kashmir in full, with each controlling only part and having fought wars in the past over the region.

The latest standoff was triggered by an April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan, which has denied the claims and called for a neutral investigation.


Pakistan’s Chinese-made jet brought down two Indian fighter aircraft — US officials 

Updated 12 min 37 sec ago
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Pakistan’s Chinese-made jet brought down two Indian fighter aircraft — US officials 

  • Performance of leading Chinese fighter jet against Western rival is being closely watched in Washington 
  • Episode may offer insights into how Beijing might fare in any showdown over Taiwan or the wider Indo-Pacific

ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON: A top Chinese-made Pakistani fighter plane shot down at least two Indian military aircraft on Wednesday, two US officials told Reuters, marking a major milestone for Beijing’s advanced fighter jet.
The performance of a leading Chinese fighter jet against a Western rival is being closely watched in Washington for insights into how Beijing might fare in any showdown over Taiwan or the wider Indo-Pacific.
One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was high confidence that Pakistan had used the Chinese-made J-10 aircraft to launch air-to-air missiles against Indian fighter jets — bringing down at least two.
Another official said at least one Indian jet that was shot down was a French-made Rafale fighter aircraft.
Both officials said Pakistan’s F-16 aircraft, made by Lockheed Martin, were not used in the shootdown.
Delhi has not acknowledged the loss of any of its planes and instead said it carried out successful strikes against what it said was “terrorist” infrastructure inside Pakistan.
World powers from the US to Russia and China have called for calm in one of the world’s most dangerous, and most populated, nuclear flashpoint regions.
In France, Rafale manufacturer Dassault Aviation and the MBDA consortium, which makes the Meteor air-to-air missile, could not immediately be reached for comment on a public holiday.
While Reuters reported on Wednesday that three Indian planes went down, citing local government officials in India, this marks the first Western confirmation that Pakistan’s Chinese-made jets were used in the shootdowns.
Pakistan’s Defense minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, told Reuters on Thursday that the J-10 was used to shoot down three French-made Rafale planes, which were newly acquired by India. 
Pakistan says it downed five Indian planes in air-to-air combat. 


Indian villagers near Pakistan border call for ceasefire as shelling kills at least 13

Updated 18 min 2 sec ago
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Indian villagers near Pakistan border call for ceasefire as shelling kills at least 13

  • The shelling damaged several religious sites, including a temple, a Sikh shrine and a mosque
  • Statement released by India said dead include three women, five children killed in “Pakistani firing”

Poonch, Indian-administered Kashmir: Indian villagers called for a ceasefire on Thursday after at least 13 civilians were killed by what authorities said was Pakistani shelling in Poonch, along the India-Pakistan border, in Jammu and Kashmir.

The shelling damaged several religious sites, including a temple, a Sikh shrine, and a mosque.

“We appeal to the government that there should be a ceasefire as soon as possible. There should be peace and harmony,” said a villager Malkeet Singh.

A statement released by the Indian government on Thursday said 16 lives, including three women and five children, were lost “due to Pakistani firing.”

Pakistan said at least 31 of its civilians were killed and about 50 wounded in Wednesday’s strikes and in cross-border shelling across the frontier in Kashmir.

The nuclear-armed neighbors’ tit-for-tat measures began after gunmen opened fire in the Baisaran Valley, a popular tourist attraction in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam area, on the afternoon of April 22, killing 26 people and wounding several others before fleeing into the surrounding pine forests.

Although Pakistan’s federal government has pledged to respond to India’s strikes, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told The New York Times on Wednesday Pakistan was ready to de-escalate.

Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said New Delhi did not intend to escalate the situation. 

“However, if there are military attacks on us, there should be no doubt that it will be met with a very, very firm response,” he said at India-Iran Joint Commission Meeting.

“Our livestock and belongings are all gone. Nothing is left. This shelling must stop, and there should be peace. For God’s sake, give us peace. We want peace for everyone,” said a resident of Uri on the Indian side of the border.


Silent streets, shuttered shops: Fear grips Kotli after India strikes in Azad Kashmir

Updated 08 May 2025
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Silent streets, shuttered shops: Fear grips Kotli after India strikes in Azad Kashmir

  • District official says missile strike on house and mosque killed two siblings and injured two others
  • Residents deny India’s claim of targeting ‘terrorist infrastructure,’ say civilians were the target

KOTLI, Azad Kashmir: A convoy of journalists escorted by the Pakistani military and officials traveled through the scenic but tense roads of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) this week, arriving in the afternoon in Kotli, where an Indian strike on a mosque on Wednesday early morning had killed two people.
The usually bustling city stood silent, its shops shuttered, roads empty and anxious residents watching from a distance.
Amid the most intense military flare-up between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan in decades, New Delhi said it had struck nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites in Pakistan and AJK early Wednesday. AJK is the part of the disputed Kashmir valley administered by Pakistan while Jammu and Kashmir is a region administered by India.
India described Wednesday’s strikes as retaliation for an April 22 attack in its part of Kashmir that killed 26 tourists. Delhi attributed that attack to Pakistan, a claim Islamabad has repeatedly denied.
Pakistani authorities said six locations were hit across the country during Indian strikes, resulting in 31 deaths and 57 injuries. The Pakistan army spokesperson said the military responded by downing five Indian aircraft.
“It [the attack] happened after 12:30 a.m. on [Wednesday], when people were asleep and were jolted awake by the sound of the blasts,” Dawood Ahmed, a local resident, told Arab News near the mosque in Kotli that was hit by Indian strikes. 
“It happened so suddenly, and people were so terrified that they rushed out of their homes with their children ... We thought a major attack had occurred and that Kotli had been surrounded.”
Ahmed said the Nakial sector on the Line of Control (LoC), the restive de facto border separating the Pakistani and Indian sides of Kashmir, was about 22 kilometers from the area.
“So, we are not used to regular firing or skirmishes,” he added. “This was something entirely new for us.”
Asked about the Indian claim that it had targeted a militant facility, Ahmed said the building was just a mosque. No one lived there and it was occupied only when the imam came to lead prayers.
Arab News could not independently verify this. 

“PLACE OF WORSHIP”

Nasir Rafiq, the area’s deputy commissioner, said a house located next to the mosque was also hit by the Indian strikes. 
“Two people, a 19-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy, both siblings, were killed in the attack, and two others were injured including a woman and her son,” he told Arab News, standing in front of the destroyed house and mosque.
He said the siblings, both students, had come from the nearby Nakial town. The elder sister was attending university and the younger brother was in school.
As the media delegation remained at the site, more residents gathered, listening closely to the conversations between journalists and locals.
Dr. Mazhar Iqbal Tahir, head of a local hospital, said the blast was so massive that staff couldn’t immediately understand what had happened.
“We immediately imposed emergency [at the hospital] and called all doctors and health care professionals,” he told Arab News.
Tahir said the hospital treated the injured, but both siblings had died before they were brought in.
Umar Farooq, a local university professor, said Kotli was one of the most populated cities in AJK and far from the LoC, questioning how India could have bombed such a place.
“There is no military target here, there is no paramilitary target here, and this is the question that I am raising,” he told Arab News.
“Just take a look around,” he said, gesturing toward the mosque. “This is a place of worship. India is the signatory of the Geneva Conventions and other international humanitarian agreements. Still they have done this to us.”


‘Big lie,’ says Pakistan on New Delhi’s accusations it tried to strike inside India

Updated 08 May 2025
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‘Big lie,’ says Pakistan on New Delhi’s accusations it tried to strike inside India

  • India says “neutralized” Islamabad’s attempts to strike military targets with drones, missiles on Thursday
  • Pakistan army said it had downed 29 Israeli-manufactured Harop drones launched from India overnight

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday described New Delhi’s accusations that Pakistan had tried to carry out strikes inside India overnight as a “big lie,” after India said it had “neutralized” Islamabad’s attempts to target military targets with drones and missiles.

Fighting has escalated between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors since Wednesday when India struck multiple locations in Pakistan in response to a deadly April 22 attack targeting tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blames on its neighbor.

Pakistan, which denies any link to the Kashmir violence, said it had shot down five Indian fighter jets in retaliation. Thursday brought more violence as Pakistan said it had downed 29 Israeli-manufactured Harop drones launched from India overnight and New Delhi said Islamabad had launched an air attack using “drones and missiles” before it retaliated to destroy an air defense system in Lahore.

“Today, a politically based and motivated story was issued that last night Pakistan attacked different Indian military installations and military areas. It’s a big lie. It’s a very big lie,” Dar, who is also the country’s foreign minister, told reporters.

He said India had “concocted” the story to justify attempting to carry out waves of drone attacks inside Pakistan.

“What they did today [sending drones], from Islamabad to South Pakistan till Karachi, in at least two dozen places, is shameful, regretful and condemnable,” Dar added.

The foreign minister’s press conference followed a statement by India’s defense ministry that said Pakistan on Thursday morning “attempted to engage a number of military targets ... using drones and missiles,” which were “neutralized” by air defense systems.

New Delhi said areas targeted included sites in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, and India’s Punjab state, including the key cities of Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, as well as Bhuj in Gujarat state.

“The debris of these attacks is now being recovered from a number of locations,” it added.

The defense ministry said in retaliation, its military had “targeted air defense radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan,” saying the “response has been in the same domain, with the same intensity, as Pakistan.”

It added that it had been “reliably learnt that an air defense system at Lahore has been neutralized.”

People gather in front of the shattered glasses of a restaurant outside the Rawalpindi cricket stadium after an alleged drone was shot down in Rawalpindi on May 8, 2025. (AFP)

Dar, and military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, have both rejected the claim.

“29 drones so far have been neutralized,” Chaudhry said at the press conference alongside Dar.

“Only one managed to partially engage its target for which it came. Some equipment was damaged and four soldiers were injured.”

He said three civilians had been killed and four injured during the exchange.

The conflict between India and Pakistan has been confined in recent decades mostly to the disputed mountainous region of Kashmir. But the air strikes on Wednesday morning, which also hit the towns of Bahawalpur and Muridke in the heart of the country, and the drone incursions into some of the country’s largest cities on Thursday, were seen in Islamabad as a major escalation.

One drone was shot down over the garrison city of Rawalpindi, home to the Pakistan army’s heavily fortified headquarters.

One drone hit a military target near Lahore, the capital and largest city of the province of Punjab, and the second-largest city in Pakistan after Karachi.

Other places where drones were neutralized were Gujranwala, Chakwal, Attock, Bahawalpur, Miano, Chor and near Karachi, which the country’s largest city and commercial capital.

India has also accused Pakistan of having “increased the intensity of its unprovoked firing across the Line of Control using mortars and heavy caliber artillery” across the de facto border that divides Kashmir between the two nations.

India said the number of people who had been killed by Pakistani firing since the escalation of violence on Wednesday had risen to 16, including three women and five children.

Speaking in parliament, Pakistani Information Ministers said Pakistan had killed 40-50 Indian soldiers and destroyed a brigade headquarters along the Line of Control. The claims could not be independently verified and India has not commented on it.

Workers place candles and flowers prior to a candle light vigil for children, who were killed in the Indian missile strikes, in Islamabad, Pakistan on May 8, 2025. (AP)

India and Pakistan have fought three wars in the past, two of them over Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part.

Since April 22, they have intensified firing and shelling across the Line of Control.

For decades India has accused Pakistan of supporting militants in attacks on Indian interests, especially in Indian-administered Kashmir. Pakistan denies such support and in turn accuses India of backing separatist and other insurgents in Pakistan, which New Delhi denies.

With inputs from AFP and Reuters