Pakistan’s Arslan Ash bags Tekken World Tour 2023 tournament in New Orleans

The picture posted on August 13, 2023 shows player Arslan ‘Ash’ Siddique holding Pakistani flag after winning Evolution Championship Series (EVO) 2023 tournament in Las Vegas, US. (Arslan Ash/Facebook)
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Updated 15 January 2024
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Pakistan’s Arslan Ash bags Tekken World Tour 2023 tournament in New Orleans

  • Arslan Ash beats Jae-hyun “CherryBerryMango” Kim in the final to win the tournament 
  • Ash last year became the first professional gamer to win global Tekken 7 title four times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s celebrated Tekken player Arslan ‘Ash’ Siddique bagged the Tekken World Tour 2023 on Sunday, beating the top players of the fighting game from around the world to add another feather to his cap. 

Considered one of the greatest Tekken players in the world currently, Siddique, 28, became the first professional gamer in August 2023 to win the global Tekken 7 title four times. In October last year, Siddique bagged the ‘Uprising Korea 2023’ Tekken tournament in Seoul. 

The Tekken World Tour is an annual competitive circuit for the popular fighting game. Organized by Bandai Namco Entertainment, the Tekken World Tour features a series of tournaments held around the world, where players compete to earn points based on their performance.

Siddique defeated Jae-hyun “CherryBerryMango” Kim from South Korea in the final to win the tournament.

“The Greatest #TEKKEN7 player of all time. PERIOD,” Bandai Namco wrote on social media platform X. “Congratulations to your #TWT2023 Global Finals CHAMPION @ArslanAsh95.” 

In a subsequent post, Bandai Namco uploaded a video in which Siddique can be seen receiving the trophy amid loud cheers and clapping from the crowd. 

Siddique hails from Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore and has won international Tekken competitions after learning to play as an 8-year-old in gaming arcades in Pakistan.

He was already a known name in the local gaming circuits by his teenage years. Siddique was also part of the Pakistani trio that won the Nations Cup in Riyadh in July 2023, the first country-based Tekken tournament in which Pakistan emerged as winners by remaining unbeaten throughout the cup.


Agha and Hasan star in Pakistan’s win over Bangladesh in first T20

Updated 8 sec ago
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Agha and Hasan star in Pakistan’s win over Bangladesh in first T20

  • Agha struck a career-best 56 to guide Pakistan to 201-7
  • Hasan took 5-30 to dismiss tourists for 164 in 19.2 overs

LAHORE: Skipper Salman Agha hit a career best knock and pacer Hasan Ali grabbed his first five wicket haul as Pakistan beat Bangladesh by 37 runs in the first T20 international in Lahore on Wednesday.

Agha struck a career-best 56 to guide Pakistan to 201-7 before Hasan took 5-30 to dismiss the tourists for 164 in 19.2 overs at Qaddafi Stadium.

The win gives the home team a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Allrounder Shadab Khan, who also struck a quick 48, then dismissed rival skipper Litton Das for a 30-ball 48 to break a fighting 63-run stand for the third wicket that lifted Bangladesh from 37-2.

Litton hit three sixes and a boundary and had steadied the innings with Towhid Hridoy who scored 17, but the later batters could not capitalize on the platform.

Pacer Hasan ended Jaker Ali’s knock of 36 (21 balls with three sixes and a boundary), Tanzim Hasan for one and Shoriful Islam for five to cap a succesful return to international cricket after a year-long injury lay-off.

Hasan said he was happy and satisfied.

“The last eight months were very tough because it was a career-threatening injury, so I am happy to have contributed to the team’s win,” said Hasan, who underwent elbow surgery last year.

“I did hard work during the rehab and it’s a reward for that hard work,” said Hasan.

Bangladesh skipper Litton was unhappy.

“All over the game, we didn’t bowl well, bat well and field well,” said Litton. “We have to come back strongly with two games still to play.”

Earlier, Agha struck a 34-ball 56, with eight fours and a six, while Hasan Nawaz’s 22-ball 44 with four sixes helped Pakistan pass 200 after the hosts won the toss and chose to bat.

The captain, whose previous T20 best of 51 not out came against New Zealand in March, added 48 for the third wicket with Mohammad Haris and 65 for the fourth with Nawaz.

Pakistan were struggling at 5-2 after the loss of openers Saim Ayub, for a duck, and Fakhar Zaman in the first two overs.

Shadab scored a 25-ball 48 to help Pakistan add 58 in the last five overs.

All six Bangladesh bowlers were among the wickets, with left-arm seamer Islam taking 2-32 in three overs.

The remaining two matches are on Friday and Sunday, also in Lahore.


Gaza in the spotlight during Pakistani PM’s regional diplomacy tour 

Updated 18 min 52 sec ago
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Gaza in the spotlight during Pakistani PM’s regional diplomacy tour 

  • Sharif is on regional diplomacy tour of Iran, Turkiye, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan 
  • Sharif has consistently spoken up for people of Gaza while visiting each country 

ISLAMABAD: The leaders of Pakistan, Turkiye, and Azerbaijan met on Wednesday at a trilateral summit in Lachin and called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, saying Israel’s war on the besieged enclave was the clearest example of the “crisis of legitimacy” of the international system.

The trilateral summit was addressed by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev.

“In these days of deepening polarization and increasing blockization, we are witnessing the international system gradually drifting into a crisis of legitimacy,” Erdogan said during his speech.

“The clearest example of the crisis of the international system is Israel’s relentless cruelty and expansionist policies in Palestine.”

He said countries like Turkiye and Pakistan would continue defending the rights of the people of Gaza.

“We call on the entire world from here [trilateral summit] to increase pressure on the Israeli administration for establishing a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and for taking uninterrupted emergency humanitarian aid into Gaza,” the Turkish leader added.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (right), Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev (center), and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose for a picture at the Independence Day of Azerbaijan in Lachin on May 28, 2025. (Government of Pakistan)

Earlier, Sharif had also called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and access to “unimpeded humanitarian aid” for its people.

“They also expressed deep concern over the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza, urgently calling for an immediate ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access to the affected Palestinian population,” Sharif’s office said after he met Erdogan.

Israel launched its latest air and ground war in Gaza after a cross-border attack by the Hamas group on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 people by Israeli tallies, with 251 hostages abducted into Gaza. The war has killed more than 53,900 Palestinians since, according to Gaza health authorities, and devastated the coastal strip. 

The entire 2.1 million population of Gaza is facing prolonged food shortages, with nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death, according to the World Health Organization. 

Food security groups say more than 93 percent of children in Gaza, about 930,000, are at risk of famine. Using satellite data, the United Nations estimated in February that 69 percent of the structures in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed.


Islamabad says Kuwait has lifted 19-year visa ban on Pakistanis 

Updated 28 May 2025
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Islamabad says Kuwait has lifted 19-year visa ban on Pakistanis 

  • Kuwait stopped issuing visas to Pakistanis citing difficult security conditions 
  • Pakistan and Kuwait are in the advanced stages of finalizing a new labor MoU

ISLAMABAD: The government of Pakistan confirmed this week Kuwait had lifted a 19-year-long ban on visas for Pakistani citizens and would resume issuing work, family, visit, tourist, and business visas.

Kuwait had stopped issuing visas to citizens of Pakistan, Iran, Syria and Afghanistan, citing difficult security conditions in the countries.

“Kuwait has lifted 19-year visa ban on Pakistani citizens, resuming the issuance of work, family, visit, tourist, and business visas, a major diplomatic achievement and a step toward deeper bilateral cooperation,” the government of Pakistan announced on its official X account. 

“This landmark decision paves the way for enhanced people-to-people contact, workforce opportunities, and stronger economic ties between the two nations.”

In May 2021, Kuwait decided to resume granting visas to Pakistani families and businessmen. It was also decided during the meeting that Kuwait would issue technical visas for Pakistani workers in the medical and oil fields.

Pakistan’s ambassador to Kuwait Dr. Zaffar Iqbal issued a statement on the resumption of visas.

“Community members have already begun receiving approvals, marking a positive step forward,” he said.

Separately, the ambassador said Pakistan and Kuwait were in the advanced stages of finalizing a new labor memorandum of understanding (MoU).

Pakistan established diplomatic relations with Kuwait in October 1963.


At trilateral summit, Pakistan, Turkiye and Azerbaijan pledge to work for ‘strategic partnership’

Updated 28 May 2025
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At trilateral summit, Pakistan, Turkiye and Azerbaijan pledge to work for ‘strategic partnership’

  • Pakistani PM is on regional diplomacy tour to Iran, Turkiye, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan 
  • Turkiye and Azerbaijan openly pledged support for Pakistan during latest India conflict 

ISLAMABAD: The leaders of Pakistan, Turkiye and Azerbaijan met on Wednesday at 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.”

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Azerbaijan on Tuesday on the third stopover of a five-day regional diplomacy tour that also saw him visit Iran and Turkiye. 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.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev had openly pledged support for Pakistan during its latest military confrontation with archrival India earlier this month.

“I am confident that our time-tested relationship would not only be beneficial for the wellbeing of our own people but also contribute to peace and prosperity in the region and beyond,” Sharif said during his address at the summit. 

“This trilateral format is both very timely and of great importance and … gives us the necessary political ownership and the impetus to move forward collectively and in unison in all spheres of our common interest.”

Addressing the summit, the president of Azerbaijan said the three leaders had come together for the “strategic development” of their countries and to work on “shared goals.”

“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, 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.

“STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP”

Speaking at the summit, Erdogan said the three countries had a combined population of approximately 350 million and an economic size of $1.5 trillion. 

“I would like to particularly emphasize that we stand behind each and every step toward transforming our relations into a strategic partnership,” he said. 

“Our foreign ministers will carry out the required work to institutionalize our trilateral cooperation, and they will prepare a strong framework that reflects the common vision of our countries, particularly in the fields that shape our common agenda such as trade, investments, transportation, energy, defense, industry, and the fight against terrorism.”

He said Turkiye, Azerbaijan and Pakistan would institutionalize their cooperation by holding regular trilateral summits and ministerial meetings.

“We will deepen our cooperation in the field of defense and maintain our common commitment to fight against terrorism and against transnational threats,” the Turkish president said. 

“We will aim to take joint steps in the fields of trade facilitation, investment promotion and digital transformation. In the field of transportation, which constitutes a quite strategic dimension of our cooperation, we will jointly contribute to projects such as the development of roads, the Middle Corridor and the North South Transport Corridor.”

The Middle Corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, is a major trade route connecting China to Europe. It passes through several countries, including Türkiye, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan, offering an alternative to the Northern Corridor and the Suez Canal. Türkiye plays a significant role in the Middle Corridor, particularly at the European end, and has invested in infrastructure to improve its connectivity to Central Asia and Europe.

The International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a 7,200-kilometer multi-modal transportation network that connects India, Iran, Azerbaijan, and Russia, with routes also extending to Central Asia and Europe. It utilizes ship, rail, and road routes to facilitate the movement of freight between these countries.


At least 22 wounded in drone strike in northwestern Pakistani district — officials

Updated 28 May 2025
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At least 22 wounded in drone strike in northwestern Pakistani district — officials

  • Suspected drone strike killed four children in North Waziristan earlier in May, prompting province-wide protests
  • In latest incident, unidentified quadcopter detonated explosive device in Azam Warsak town in South Waziristan

PESHAWAR: At least 22 people, including children, were wounded in a suspected quadcopter attack near a volleyball ground in Pakistan’s northwestern South Waziristan district, police said on Wednesday, adding that it was unclear who was behind the assault. 

Earlier this month, a suspected drone strike killed four children and wounded five others in North Waziristan district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, prompting thousands of residents to stage a protest by placing the children’s bodies on a main road to demand justice. It wasn’t immediately clear who was behind the May 5 attack in the town of Mir Ali, which has been a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in the past. 

In the latest incident, Lower South Waziristan police spokesperson Habib Islam told Arab News an unidentified quadcopter drone detonated an explosive device on Tuesday evening in the town of Azam Warsak.

The blast occurred just before sunset as residents, including children, were playing a volleyball game nearby, leaving approximately two dozen civilians wounded.

“The origin and operators of the drone remain undetermined at this stage,” Islam said. 

“A comprehensive joint investigation involving security forces and civilian authorities is currently underway to establish the chain of command behind this attack. We will pursue all evidentiary leads to conclusively identify and bring the perpetrators to justice.”

Dr. Jan Muhammad Shinwari, the Medical Superintendent at Wana’s District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) in South Waziristan, said 22 injured had been admitted to the facility.

“Most of the injured have now been discharged after being provided medical treatment,” Shinwari told Arab News. “Two of the children were referred to the adjacent Dera Ismail Khan hospital who were now said to be in stable condition.”

Zubair Wazir, a Member of the National Assembly (MNA) from the South Waziristan district, called the drone strike “a tragic development.”

“It was brutal, inhumane and senseless,” he told Arab News, condemning the killing of civilians on Pakistani soil.

“We hold the government responsible for the deaths of innocent people attacked while playing volleyball. This time, we will launch a forceful protest to prevent such incidents from recurring.”

Wazir said he had held a series of meetings with top security and civil officials, who assured him a thorough investigation would be conducted and those responsible held accountable.

Local elder Saleh Jan called the attack a “flagrant human rights violation.”

“This attack has poured fuel on the fire of local anger. We are trapped in a nightmare, helpless, with no clear path to stop these atrocities,” he said. “Who will answer for our safety? Who will shield us from the next strike?”

There have been civilian casualties in military strikes in some parts of the country in recent years. In March, 11 people, including women and children, were killed when a drone attack targeted a house in the northwestern city of Mardan.

A statement by the provincial government at the time had only said that there was “collateral damage” in an operation that was conducted to target militants in a remote village. Residents in March also rallied until the government agreed to compensate the victims’ families.

Officials say militants have also been using quadcopters to target troops, but it was still unclear who was responsible for the drone attacks in Mir Ali and Azam Warsak.

The latest civilian casualties came amid ongoing military operations against the Pakistani Taliban, which have a strong presence in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, are a separate insurgent group from the Afghan Taliban, and they often target troops in the region.

Several districts in KP, especially North and South Waziristan, were long a base for the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups. The TTP have stepped up attacks in the region in recent months.

With inputs from AP