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Fit-again Afridi to lead defending champions Lahore in Pakistan Super League

Lahore Qalander's bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi is pictured during a warmup match in Lahore, Pakistan, on February 7, 2023. (@iShaheenAfridi/Twitter)
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Updated 12 February 2023
AP 
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Fit-again Afridi to lead defending champions Lahore in Pakistan Super League

  • Afridi led Lahore to its maiden PSL title last year in Pakistan’s premier domestic Twenty20 event 
  • The PSL has once again attracted several foreign Twenty20 specialists in a six-team tournament
Updated 12 February 2023
AP 

ISLAMABAD: Shaheen Shah Afridi will stage a comeback to competitive cricket after three months out with a freak knee injury to lead defending champions Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League, beginning from Monday. 

Afridi led Lahore to its maiden PSL title last year in Pakistan’s premier domestic Twenty20 tournament that has once again attracted several foreign T20 specialists in a six-team event also featuring two-time champions Islamabad United and past winners Multan Sultans, Karachi Kings, Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi. 

Afridi, the lanky left-arm fast bowler, has been Pakistan’s bowling mainstay for the last five years since making his international debut in 2018. But a knee injury during the final of the T20 World Cup against England saw him undergo a long strenuous rehabilitation program before finally getting ready for the PSL. 

“There were times when I wanted to give up,” Afridi said. “I was working on only one muscle and it was not improving. Often during the rehabilitation sessions, I used to say to myself ‘this is enough, I cannot do this anymore.’” 

Afridi used to watch his bowling videos on YouTube to keep himself motivated and ‘push a little more’ but was frustrated to miss international cricket because of injury. 

In Afridi’s absence England whitewashed Pakistan 3-0 in the test series during its historic comeback tour to Pakistan last December, while New Zealand twice came close to beating Pakistan in the drawn two-test series. 

Afridi, who has a tendency of picking up wickets in the batting powerplay, has taken 70 wickets since making his PSL debut during the third edition of the tournament in 2018. He is third behind his countrymen Wahab Riaz (103), who is the only bowler in the PSL history with over 100 wickets, and Hasan Ali (81). 

“PSL is one of the best leagues in the world and the quality of cricket tests you as a bowler,” Afridi said. “I am very excited to be making my comeback here … I am ticking both the bowling workload and fitness requirement boxes.” 

Lahore might rue the absence of hard-hitting England batter Harry Brook, who will be on national duty while star leg-spinner Rashid Khan will also miss the first three games due to his commitment with the Afghanistan national team. 

However, Lahore has drafted in Englishman Sam Billings and West Indian Shai Hoe to bolster its batting line-up which has the experience of Fakhar Zaman upfront. 

The combination of Afridi and Haris Rauf forms the best pace bowling pair in the PSL with the latter having the capability to tie down batters in the latter half of the innings with his pace and impeccable line and length. 

Pakistan all-format skipper Babar Azam, who won the ICC’s ODI cricketer of the year award for the second successive year, had a forgettable last year in the PSL when his team Karachi Kings could win only one of the 10 league games. 

This year Babar will be leading Peshawar Zalmi after he was traded to Karachi while T20 veteran Shoaib Malik and young middle-order batter Haider Ali were traded from Peshawar to Karachi. 

Karachi has the experience of Mohammad Amir in its bowling ranks and has also drafted Australian wicketkeeper Matthew Wade and fast bowler Andrew Tye. Although Englishman James Vince might not be available for the entire tournament, left-handed opener Sharjeel Khan will need to shoulder more of the burden of scoring in the absence of Babar. 

Sri Lanka’s Bhanuka Rajapaksa has bolstered Peshawar’s middle-order with young wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris and West Indian duo of Rovman Powell and Sherfane Rutherford also among their ranks. 

Islamabad, winners of the first two of the three editions of the tournament, is a team which believes in match-ups and relies heavily on data to find a winning edge. Led by Shadab Khan, Islamabad has power-hitters in Paul Stirling and Asif Ali with young Azam Khan also making good progress in the T20 format after hitting a century in the recent Caribbean Premier League. 

Hasan and Faheem Ashraf are its experienced fast bowlers with Shadab tying down the batters with his legbreak bowling in the middle overs. 

Multan got beaten in the final last year and will open the PSL at home against Lahore on Monday. 

South African pair of Rilee Rossouw and David Miller, Shan Masood and skipper Mohammad Rizwan carry enough experience in the batting lineup, but its bowling resources look thin this year with Shahnawaz Dahani and tall leg-spinner Usama Mir likely to carry the bowling burden. 

It has beefed up the team in the replacement draft by drafting in globe-trotter T20 specialist Kieron Pollard of the West Indies. 

Veteran Sarfaraz Ahmed will be leading Quetta Gladiators for the eighth successive season after failing to qualify for the final in the last three editions since it won the tournament in 2019. 

Sarfaraz is expected to bat higher in the order and has got a red-hot Iftikhar Ahmed also in the ranks. Iftikhar hit six sixes in an over against Peshawar Zalmi’s Riaz during an exhibition PSL match last week in Quetta and also made his mark in this season’s Bangladesh Premier League. 

Karachi and Multan will host the first leg of the tournament before Rawalpindi and Lahore stage the second leg. Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore will host the playoffs and the final on March 19. 

Topics: Pakistan Super League PSL 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi PSL 2023

Islamabad denies as India says military stations attacked by drones and missiles

Updated 19 min 3 sec ago
AFP
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Islamabad denies as India says military stations attacked by drones and missiles

  • Sirens sounded and red flashes and projectiles erupted in the night sky above Jammu for about 2-1/2 hours
  • Islamabad says accusations “entirely unfounded, politically motivated, part of reckless propaganda campaign“
Updated 19 min 3 sec ago
AFP

JAMMU/ ISLAMABAD: Blasts rang out across the Indian city of Jammu late on Thursday during what the government said was a Pakistani drone and missile attack on military stations around the Kashmir region on the second day of clashes between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
Sirens sounded and red flashes and projectiles erupted in the night sky above Jammu for about 2-1/2 hours, a Reuters journalist said, in what appeared to be an escalation in the countries’ worst confrontation in more than two decades.
Two days of fighting have killed nearly four dozen people.
“Military stations at Jammu, Pathankot & Udhampur were targeted by Pakistani-origin drones and missiles along the international border in J&K today,” India’s Ministry of Defense said on X, citing places in and near the federal territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
“The threats were swiftly neutralized .... No casualties or material losses were reported.”
Indian TV channels also showed flares and flashes in the sky above Jaisalmer city in Rajasthan state, which shares a border with the southern Pakistani province of Sindh.
In a statement, Islamabad denied attacking Pathankot in India’s Punjab state, Srinagar in the Kashmir Valley and Jaisalmer and said the accusations were “entirely unfounded, politically motivated, and part of a reckless propaganda campaign aimed at maligning Pakistan.”
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the country would respond to any escalation “with full resolve and determination to safeguard Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Electricity in Jammu was slowly being restored after a blackout during the attack, a Reuters journalist said.
Eight missiles, fired from Pakistan at the Jammu region towns of Satwari, Samba, Ranbir Singh Pura and Arnia, were intercepted by air defense units, added an Indian military source who asked not to be named.
They were part of a wider attack, the source added.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif earlier said further retaliation was “increasingly certain” after both countries accused each other of launching drone attacks.
World powers from the US to Russia and China have called for calm in one of the world’s most dangerous and populated nuclear flashpoint regions. The US Consulate General in Pakistan’s Lahore ordered staff to shelter in place.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for de-escalation in separate calls with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday, the State Department said.
The relationship between India and Pakistan has been fraught with tension since they gained independence from colonial Britain in 1947. The countries have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir, and clashed many times.
The neighbors, which both claim Kashmir in full and rule over parts of it, separately acquired nuclear weapons in the 1990s.

DRONES, MISSILES, AIR DEFENCES

In the latest confrontations, India said it hit nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites in Pakistan on Wednesday in retaliation for what it says was a deadly Islamabad-backed attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22.
Pakistan says it was not involved and denied that any of the sites hit by India were militant bases. It said it shot down five Indian aircraft on Wednesday.
Pakistan’s military said earlier on Thursday it shot down 29 drones from India at multiple locations including the two largest cities of Karachi and Lahore and the garrison city of Rawalpindi, home to the army’s headquarters.
The Indian defense ministry said Pakistan attempted to engage a number of military targets in northern and western India from Wednesday night into Thursday morning and they were “neutralized” by Indian air defense systems.
In response, Indian forces targeted air defense radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan on Thursday, the ministry said.
Before trading ended, both countries saw their stocks, bonds and currencies decline, and Pakistan’s benchmark share index closed down 5.9 percent.
Local media reported panic buying in some cities in the Indian state of Punjab, which shares a border with Pakistan, as people hoarded essentials.

Topics: Pakistan India Ties

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

Updated 08 May 2025
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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 
Updated 08 May 2025
Arab News Pakistan

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.

Topics: Pakistan India standoff

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

Updated 08 May 2025
Reuters
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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
Updated 08 May 2025
Reuters

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. 

Topics: India Pakistan stand off Rafale fighter aircraft

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

Updated 08 May 2025
Reuters
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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”
Updated 08 May 2025
Reuters

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.

Topics: Pakistan India Ties Pakistan

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

Updated 10 min 56 sec ago
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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
Updated 10 min 56 sec ago
SAIMA SHABBIR

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.”

Topics: Pakistan India standoff

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