KARACHI: Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam has said that a lot has changed since they last played the Champions Trophy, but his side’s belief was still the same.
The statement by the former Pakistan skipper came a day ahead of defending champions and hosts Pakistan’s opening match against New Zealand in Karachi.
Babar hit 46 from 52 balls in the 2017 Champions Trophy final against India that helped Pakistan on their way to a 180-run win at The Oval.
However, the right-hander refuses to live in the past and wants to make more memories in front of the adoring Pakistani public in the coming weeks.
“I am very excited. My primary memories of the 2017 final are Fakhar Zaman’s innings [of 114], the spell of Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali’s spell and the winning moment,” Azam was quoted as saying by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
“Playing against India, that excitement and the nervousness was there but when we won, we enjoyed and celebrated. [But] a lot has changed since the Champions Trophy was held in 2017. We have new players coming, we only have three or four players who were part of that winning team. But the belief, confidence and execution is the same.”
Pakistan-New Zealand clash on Wednesday will include two of biggest names in the competition, with Azam set to go head-to-head with Kiwi star Kane Williamson.
Joe Root, Steve Smith and Virat Kohli are part of the respective England, Australia and India squads but Azam stands in a league of his own in ODI cricket, heading into this competition as the world’s top ranked batter in the 50-over format.
“When you have responsibility as a senior player in any team and the team relies on you and has belief in you, then I take it in a positive way,” he said.
“I try to give my best in every match. I try to perform so that Pakistan win and I enjoy my cricket.”
His form will be crucial if Pakistan are to improve on their recent tournament record. They have been knocked out in the group stage at the last two ICC Men’s Cricket World Cups and suffered the same fate at last year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after losing to co-hosts USA.
But Azam said he does not have any “pressure.”
“What has happened in the past is beyond us. We have discussed mistakes we have made and we have worked on them. So we will try not to do what we have done in the past,” he was quoted as saying.
Azam’s home city of Lahore is among the three Pakistani cities hosting matches and he believes local knowledge will help his side thrive.
“When you play at home you get that edge as you know the conditions,” he said. “You have a knowledge of how the pitch will behave, both in the first and second (innings), but still you have to play good cricket because all other teams are among the best.”
Babar Azam says a lot has changed since last Champions Trophy, but Pakistan belief remains same
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Babar Azam says a lot has changed since last Champions Trophy, but Pakistan belief remains same
- Defending champions and hosts Pakistan will face New Zealand in the opening match in Karachi on Wednesday
- Azam heads into the tournament as the world’s top ranked batter and his form will be crucial for Pakistan
Pakistani woman police officer wins Global Investigation Award in Dubai
- ASP Anum Sher Khan was awarded at the World Police Summit 2025 for resolving two high-profile murder investigations in Pakistan’s Punjab
- Another Pakistani officer, Muhammad Isa Khan, was awarded 2nd position in ‘Best Artificial Intelligence Implementation in Policing’ category
DUBAI: A Pakistani woman police officer, Anum Sher Khan, has won the prestigious ‘Excellence in Criminal Investigation’ award at the 2025 World Police Summit Awards in Dubai, the Punjab police said on Friday.
The World Police Summit 2025 featured conferences, strategic sessions and workshops that focused on four main areas, including combating organized crime and promoting community policing, the use of artificial intelligence in policing, capacity-building for junior officers, and enhancing road safety and traffic enforcement.
Themed as “Beyond the Badge: Envision the Next Era of Policing,” this year’s summit explored critical global challenges such as cross-border crime, public-private security collaboration, and AI integration across law enforcement. The four-day event featured 12 core policing tracks delivered across four specialized conferences, covering topics like cybercrime, border security, anti-narcotics efforts, road safety, and human trafficking.
Khan was recognized for resolving two high-profile murder investigations in Pakistan’s Punjab province. In the first case, she supervised investigation into the tragic death of a 12-year-old domestic worker, Ayesha Bibi, while she led the swift arrest of suspects in the murder of a young man in the second case.
“ASP [Assistant Superintendent of Police] Anum Sher Khan won first position in the Excellence in Criminal Investigation Award 2025 category for her outstanding performance in criminal investigation,” the Punjab police said in a post on Facebook.
“Talented police officers like ASP Anum Sher Khan are the pride and valuable asset of Punjab Police,” they quoted Inspector-General Dr. Usman Anwar as saying.
The jury considered police officers from 192 countries for the awards in various categories, and Khan was not the only Pakistani police officer whose exceptional services were recognized at the event.
“DPO [District Police Officer] Kasur Muhammad Isa Khan was awarded second position for his high performance in the ‘Best Artificial Intelligence Implementation in Policing Award’ category,” the Punjab police said.
Organized under the patronage of the UAE government, the World Police Summit is one of the most prominent global platforms for recognizing excellence in policing. The recognition of Pakistani police officers.
Clashes between India and Pakistan upend lives in a Kashmiri village
- Following May 10 truce, residents of Gingal returned to assess the damage
- Those with intact or livable houses sheltered neighbors who had lost theirs
GINGAL: Mohammad Younis Khan was among 40 residents seeking shelter in a cowshed when shelling began in Gingal, a scenic mountain village in north Kashmir on the Indian-administered side of the de facto border with Pakistan. Men, women and children sought refuge in the 3-meter-by-4.2 meter (10-feet-by-14 feet) space, which they felt offered greater safety than their brick and cement homes.
Huddled together, they heard the swoosh and thunder of the projectiles being fired from both sides of the border. When they heard a very loud sound from just outside the shelter, they held their breath and expected the worst. But the projectile had landed on soft earth and detonated a couple of feet below the ground sparing them.
Younis, who could tell the outgoing projectiles from the incoming ones by the sound they made, described the impact outside “as if a lightning bolt had struck the ground.” They all feared that India and Pakistan were at war and they would not survive the night.
“We were so scared that we didn’t dare go out to a water tap just four feet away from the door even when the children were crying of thirst,” Younis told The Associated Press.
Mohammad Shafi and four family members were having dinner in their kitchen when they heard explosions and ran outside. They had just managed to reach the road when they saw a blast damage the kitchen they had been dining in. They ran down a slope and hid among trees.
It was the night of May 8, and the shelling had intensified from the previous evening. Nasreena Begum rushed out, leaving her special-needs son behind as he was too heavy to be carried. She was tormented but was relieved to find him safe at home the following morning.
Most residents left Gingal for the town of Baramulla about 40 kilometers (25 miles) south, where some saw their homes destroyed on TV or social media.
Naseer Ahmad, a Jammu & Kashmir police officer posted in south Kashmir, learned via Facebook that shelling damaged his Paranpillan home, instantly recognizable by the surprisingly intact large walnut tree beside it.
Following the May 10 ceasefire, residents of Gingal returned to assess the damage, finding their homes riddled with shrapnel. Those with intact or livable houses sheltered neighbors who had lost theirs.
About 160 kilometers (100 miles) south, the usually bustling tourist spot of Pahalgam is now quiet, its residents facing a different challenge. It was here when, on April 22, militants killed 26 tourists in the worst assault in years targeting civilians in the restive region.
Pahalgam, usually lively with May holidaymakers, is now deserted. Businesses are shuttered and tourist attractions within a 30-kilometer (18-mile) radius of the assault site are closed to locals and visitors alike.
Back in Gingal, Younis prays for peace.
“Where will we go if the clashes continue? Drones can reach anywhere,” he said. “Those who want war have never experienced it.”
Gunmen kill four paramilitary troops in attack on security post in Pakistan’s southwest
- No group immediately claims responsibility for the assault in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district
- Local official says security forces have surrounded the area and a hunt is on for the assailants
QUETTA: Unidentified gunmen targeted a security check post and killed four members of the Levies paramilitary force in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, officials said on Saturday.
The attack targeted the Samand post located some 20 kilometers from Khuzdar city in wee hours of Saturday, according to Deputy Commissioner Yasir Iqbal Dashti. Four Levies men were killed as a result of an intense exchange of gunfire.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the assault but suspicion is likely to fall on Baloch separatists who have intensified their attacks in the province over the last one year.
“The attackers managed to flee by taking advantage of the dark and the bodies of the slain troops were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital Khuzdar,” Dashti told Arab News.
“Security forces have surrounded the area and a hunt for the attackers is underway.”
Balochistan, Pakistan’s most impoverished province, has been the site of a decades-old insurgency, where separatist militants often target security forces, police, foreigners and ethnic Punjabi commuters and workers, who they see as “outsiders,” by wresting control of highways and remote towns.
In Jan., dozens of fighters of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) separatist group launched a brazen attack on Khuzdar’s Zehri town and seized control of its main market for hours. The militants had set government buildings ablaze and snatched Levies’ vehicles and weapons.
This month, gunmen killed three people, including two barbers from the eastern Punjab province, and set a police vehicle ablaze in Balochistan’s Lasbela district, officials said.
The separatists accuse Islamabad of exploiting the province’s natural resources, such as gold and copper, and accuse foreigners and people from other province of backing the Pakistani state. Successive Pakistani governments have denied the allegations and said they only worked for the uplift of the region and its people.
Lammy says UK, US working to ensure India-Pakistan ceasefire holds
- Last week’s hostilities raised alarm among world powers about a full-blown war in South Asia
- David Lammy arrived in Islamabad on first official visit days after the US brokered the truce
ISLAMABAD: Britain is working with the United States (US) to ensure a ceasefire between India and Pakistan endures and that “confidence-building measures” and dialogue take place between the nuclear-armed neighbors, Foreign Minister David Lammy said on Saturday.
The nuclear-armed South Asian arch rivals agreed on May 10 to a ceasefire, brokered by the US, in their worst fighting in nearly three decades, which followed a deadly attack on tourists that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad. Pakistan denies involvement.
Last week’s hostilities between Pakistan and India raised alarm among world powers about a full-blown war in South Asia. Britain was among several countries that called for restraint, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying the UK was “urgently engaging” with both sides.
“We will continue to work with the United States to ensure that we get an enduring ceasefire, to ensure that dialogue is happening and to work through with Pakistan and India how we can get to confidence and confidence-building measures between the two sides,” Lammy told Reuters in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad at the end of a two-day visit.
Asked about India’s suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, potentially squeezing Pakistan’s water supply, Lammy said: “We would urge all sides to meet their treaty obligations.”
India announced suspending the 1960 World Bank-brokered treaty, which ensures water for 80 percent of Pakistani farms, a day after the April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 tourists.
Pakistan has said Britain and other countries, in addition to the United States, played a major role in de-escalating the fighting. Diplomats and analysts say the ceasefire remains fragile.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed his desire for peace in South Asia despite a recent military standoff with India, Sharif’s office said on Saturday, following his meeting with Foreign Secretary Lammy.
“The UK Foreign Secretary congratulated the Prime Minister on the ceasefire understanding and said the UK would continue to play a constructive role for promotion of peace and stability in the region,” Sharif’s office said.
Fighting erupted last week when India launched strikes on what it said were “terrorist camps” in Pakistan following a deadly April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people. New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing the militants behind the assault, an allegation Pakistan denies.
Four days of drone, missile and artillery exchanges followed, killing around 70 people, including dozens of civilians, on both sides of the border. The conflict raised fears of a broader war before a ceasefire was announced by US President Donald Trump.
This was Lammy’s first official visit to Pakistan, which came just days after one of the most serious military confrontations between Pakistan and India in decades.
The visit underscored the “robust and multifaceted partnership” between the two nations and their commitment to regional and international peace, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.
With input from Reuters
Elephants undergoing medical treatment in Karachi show signs of recovery — wildlife expert
- Safari Park elephants Madhubala and Malika were diagnosed with tuberculosis earlier this month
- Authorities brought in a Sri Lankan wildlife health specialist to oversee the elephants’ treatment
KARACHI: Medical experts treating two elephants diagnosed with tuberculosis at Karachi’s Safari Park said on Friday the animals were responding well to treatment and remained under constant observation as part of a long-term recovery plan.
The update was shared at a news briefing by Dr. Budhika Bhandara, a wildlife health specialist from Sri Lanka, who was on a 17-day visit in Karachi to supervise the treatment of elephants Madhubala and Malika.
The two elephants were diagnosed with TB earlier this month, prompting the park to launch an intensive treatment program under international protocols.
“We are treating them very well,” Dr. Bhandara told reporters. “The elephants are showing clinical signs, but they are not weak. We have started with a two-month initial phase of daily doses, followed by a continuation phase as per the standard operating procedures.”
Under the treatment plan, the elephants will receive continuous medication and monitoring for ten months after the initial phase.
The animals are being kept under round-the-clock supervision, and park officials have restricted access to the enclosure for one year to minimize stress and prevent any risk of disease transmission.
Dr. Bhandara, who has previously treated 15 elephants for TB, expressed optimism that Madhubala and Malika would recover.
He noted that both elephants are closely monitored and undergo health evaluations every two months, with full medical screenings scheduled every six months. Their most recent dose was administered 13 days ago.
Visitors to the Safari Park are currently only allowed to view the elephants from designated buses or a safe distance, as part of efforts to ensure a stress-free environment during their recovery.
The cautious approach follows years of concern raised by international animal welfare organizations over the treatment of elephants in Karachi.
In 2021, the global group Four Paws assessed the city’s African elephants and called for urgent medical care, improved nutrition and enriched environments to support their wellbeing.
The issue gained further attention after the deaths of two elephants — Noor Jehan in 2023 at the Karachi Zoo and Sonia in late 2024 — both of which highlighted systemic gaps in animal care.
Since then, local authorities have taken steps to improve conditions, including the formation of a technical committee and increased collaboration with foreign veterinary experts.
