KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Wasim Khan is excited about the Pakistan Super League’s most-anticipated final between Karachi and Lahore.
Speaking to media in Karachi on Monday, Wasim said Tuesday’s game will be magnificent as arch-rivals, Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars, come face-to-face in the finale.
Wasim said the KK vs LQ match won’t be different than the Manchester United vs Manchester City rivalry. “Everyone in Karachi, Lahore, and the rest of Pakistan will be waiting.”
Wasim said the match will take place without crowds in the stands due to coronavirus.
“It is a historic occasion and I am personally saddened that fans won’t be there for this biggest match but we will try to reintegrate fans to stadiums. This will also be a magnificent occasion in Pakistan,” he concluded.
Lahore Vs Karachi on Tuesday
Lahore Qalandars beat Peshawar Zalmi by five wickets in Eliminator 1 of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 at National Stadium.
The best innings of Mohammad Hafeez’s PSL career were instrumental in a run chase that at one point was on the verge of a meltdown with Lahore 33-3.
Hafeez formed a crucial partnership with Ben Dunk, then Samit Patel, and lastly with David Wiese but most importantly, stayed till the end to ensure that his team got home.
With the victory, the Qalandars stay alive and will face Multan Sultans for a place in the final opposite Karachi Kings.
LAHORE : An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday extended interim bail granted to PML-N leaders Ayaz Sadiq, Salman Rafique and others in a 2018 case pertaining to violent protests.
Judge Ejaz Ahmed Butt extended their bail until November 23. The court directed the investigation officer to submit a complete record of the case on next hearing.
Ayaz Sadiq and other PML-N leaders were booked on charges of resorting to violent protests when former prime minister Nawaz Sharif returned to the country to serve his sentence in July 2018. The first information report was registered under Section 7 of ATA. Mr Sharif along with his daughter Maryam Nawaz was arrested upon arrival at the Lahore airport on July 13, 2018 and shifted to jail to serve sentences in a graft case.
Meanwhile, the anti-terrorism court extended interim bail of PML-N’s Pervez Malik, Shaista Pervez and others until November 23 in a case pertaining to violence outside the NAB Lahore office after arrival of Maryam Nawaz there in August last.
The court directed the investigation officer to make all accused part of a probe into the case.
ISLAMABAD : The number of coronavirus cases continues to rise across the country as 2,128 fresh infections have been reported in the last 24 hours.
According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), with fresh inclusion of the infections in the country the national tally of cases now currently stands at 359,032.The number of active cases has soared to 28,048. 19 more people succumbed to the disease over the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 7,160.
A total of 29,511 tests were conducted across the country during this period. 323,824 people have recovered from the deadly disease while 4,950,561 samples have been tested thus far.
Since the Covid-19 outbreak began, Sindh has reported 155,680 cases, Punjab 110,450, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 42,370, Balochistan 16,407, Islamabad 24,218, Gilgit Baltistan 4,452, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir 5,455.
Global coronavirus cases
Coronavirus is continuing its spread across the globe with 665, 073 new cases emerging in the world, taking the tally to over 53.3 million.
With 9,345 new deaths, the total number of fatalities from the pandemic around the globe has risen to over 1,303,629.
The virus is surging in many regions and countries which had apparent success in suppressing first wave of the outbreaks but are witnessing a rise in infections again.
An all-round performance from David Wiese helped Lahore Qalandars in securing a berth in the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 edition as they thrashed Multan Sultans in the second qualifier by 25 runs at the National Stadium, Karachi on Sunday.
After being put in to bat first, Qalandars posted a mammoth total of 182-6 in their allotted 20 overs.
Star of the show with the bat in hand was Wiese who smashed an unbeaten 48 off 21 balls with the help of five fours and three sixes.
He was well supported by opening batsman Fakhar Zaman who scored 46 off 36 balls.
For Sultans, leg-spinner Shahid Afridi was the pick of the bowlers as he claimed figures of two for 18 in his quota of four overs. In reply, despite having an excellent beginning, Multan never kept the momentum going and were bowled out for 157 in 19.1 overs.
Adam Lyth was the top-scorer for the losing team as he managed to score 50 off just 29 balls.
For the winning team, pacer Haris Rauf and Wiese were the star performers as both of them claimed three wickets each.
Lahore will now face Karachi Kings in the final of the mega-event on Tuesday at the same venue.
That’s it from us today. We you liked our coverage. We will see you again on Tuesday for the final of the PSL 2020.
That was a very comprehensive performance from Lahore Qalandars who are a deserving finalist.
WICKET: And that’s it. Lahore Qalandars are in the final of PSL 2020.
ISLAMABAD, Nov 15 (DNA): In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the Chairman of Islami Tanzeem-e-Azadi, Abdul Samad Inqilabi has said that the occupation authorities are not handing over the bodies of the martyrs to their families, which is a clear violation of the international law.
Inqilabi in a statement issued in Srinagar said that Indian forces were killing innocent Kashmiris on daily basis and Kashmiri youth were being martyred in fake encounters.
He said that extra-judicial killing of innocent youth was an old practice of the Indian Army and fake encounters of Pathribal and Machal were clear examples of it. They are burying the martyrs under their supervision in remote areas, he deplored.
Abdul Samad Inqilabi said, India is afraid of large number of people attending the funerals of martyrs and, therefore, their bodies are not being handed over to their families. He said that martyrs are a precious asset of Kashmir liberation movement and the people of Kashmiri will never forget their sacrifices. DNA
Big breakthrough for Multan Sultans as Junaid Khan removes settled Tamim Iqbal. Fakhar Zaman, Tamim Iqbal, Sohail Akhtar (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Dunk (wicketkeeper), Samit Patel, David Wiese, Muhammad Faizan, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Dilbar Hussain
Multan Sultans playing XI:
Zeeshan Ashraf (wicketkeeper), Adam Lyth, Shan Masood (captain), Rilee Rossouw, Ravi Bopara, Khushdil Shah, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Ilyas, Imran Tahir, Junaid Khan
News from the centre is Multan Sultans captain Shan Masood has won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Hello and welcome to the live blog for the second eliminator of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020.
After almost 46 days the Republic of Azerbaijan triumphed the war against Armenia which intentionally started cross border heavy shelling and bombardments on various civil population and installations. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia have now signed an agreement on November 10 to end fierce fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The aggressor Armenia’s military preparedness proved insufficient, demotivated and demoralizing that day after day it confronted with retreat and defeat. During this war faith superseded fascism, harmony conquered horrendous crimes and last but not least, nationalism defeated regional and global terrorist franchises of Armenia.
More than 29 years of principal stance, 348 months of restrain, 1508 weeks of political advocacy and 10585 days of peaceful persuasion Azerbaijan succeeded the ultimate goals of solid commitments, and guarantees of de-occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and all other adjacent regions. Fall of strategic area of Shusha proved to be terminal for Armenia which decided to sign a deal with Azerbaijan along with Russia and Turkey as peacekeepers to be deployed on the frontlines to make 4th truce effective and meaningful.
Illegally occupied Armenia has been notorious for genocide activities against peaceful people of Azerbaijan for centuries. The attackers have been disturbing geographic equation and social propositions of illegally occupied areas through holding of fake elections and referendums which ultimately proved inadequate to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh.
During all these painful years, the leadership has been advocating a just solution for Nagorno-Karabakh in accordance with the various resolutions (884 adopted unanimously on 12 November 1993, after reaffirming resolutions 822 (1993), 853 (1993) and 874 (1993), of the United Nation Security Council clearly rejected illegal occupation of Armenia and demanded de-occupation of the same. But unfortunately complex and complicated regional and international power dynamics could not resolve the issue which has been swinging between frozen and fascist pendulum for the last 29 years. Now Azerbaijan ousted Armenia form its regions in which after the singing of deal, houses are being burnt and public installations are under fire.
It was a war between tanks and think-tanks during which human capital and national narratives outrooted Armeniapropaganda. It was a fierce tussle between two armies in which well-prepared armed forces of Azerbaijan became winner.
Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev termed the deal historic” and glorious victory whichconstitutes Armenia’s capitulation to puts an end to the years-long occupation he further added. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan described it as unspeakably painful and has now in deep dooms and glooms because of general masses outrage.
Russian president Putin said both Azerbaijan and Armenia will remain in the positions they control. There will be complete cessation of all hostilities in occupied region. Armenia will vacate large parts of occupied Karabakh. Armenia will vacate areas of Aghdam, Kalbajar and Lachin districts in near future which reconfirmed superior leadership qualities of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev who tirelessly pursued a peaceful resolution of the lingering conflict at various regional as well as international platforms for so many years.
Armenia as a defeating country will also guarantee transport from mainland Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan exclave (Nakhichevan-Azerbaijan transportation will be unblocked, the link will be controlled by Russia). Russian peacekeepers will monitor front line (Russian peacekeepers will be in Lachin corridor for 5 years). Turkish peacekeepers will also join Russian to monitor frontline. Internally displaced persons and refugees will returnto Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions under the control of the UN Refugee Agency. Last but not least, prisoners and bodies will be swapped.
It hopes that fourth truce/ceasefire deal will create the necessary conditions for a long-term and comprehensive solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis on a fair basis in line with the interests of all the stakeholders.
Recent clashes in the Nagorno-Karabakh started on 27 September. The Azerbaijani army decided to respond to several Armenian provocations and consequently started its offensive peace enforcement operation. The aggressor Armenian escalated the situation and shelled on civilian population (Tovuz) and settlements during April 2020.
Azerbaijan-Turkey series of joint military exercise further enhanced Azerbaijan operational and tactical preparedness which proved lethal for Armenia in this war. The various UVAs and its extensive and systematic operationalization and channelization has changed war theater in which struggling Armenia had no match and ultimately confronted with huge losses. In this context, Israeli-made kamikaze drones IAI Harop, and Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 UCAVs further strengthened the Azerbaijan air force capabilities. Azerbaijan military/war drones initially softened Armenian targets and paved an easy landing of ground troops into the battlefield. It also preserved its armed forces and created a huge loss to Armenian forces.
On the contrary, Armenia followed human shield policy to match with Azerbaijan’s superior drone war. Armenia adopted an anti-human strategy consisting of spreading hostilities beyond the occupied region Nagorno-Karabakh to other Azerbaijani territories. While the Azerbaijani Army is successfully de-occupying major parts of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian forces wasted its time and resources by using Soviet-made short and mid-range missiles to hit Azerbaijani towns such as Ganja, Tartar and Barda.
It was deliberate and the main aim was to inflict massive civilian losses and raise the political and economic cost for Baku. According to Azerbaijan figures 4-5 big cities, one major settlement, one strategic mountain and 300 villages have been liberated from Armenian forces since September 27, 2020.
Fascist Armenia did not even care about strategic energy facilities, such as Mingachevir HPP and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and bombarded both. It demonstrated the Armenian frustration and ill designs to undermine the energy security and infrastructure of the entire region. Moreover, the targeting of civil population of Azerbaijan and infrastructure was planned to try and draw Baku into attacking Armenia directly. Such a reaction would boost Yerevan’s propaganda and would offer Armenia a legitimate case to call the CSTO to send its troops to Armenia.
Azerbaijan restrained from it and responded Armenia in the battlefield. Not a single civilian Armenian killed during 6 weeks long war. Not a single schools, home, hospital or educational center was put under fire from Azerbaijan which showed its international commitment having superior human values.
Historically, the Karabakh conflict instigated from communal unrest in 1988-1990 and small scale civil war involving militias and irregular units in 1991 to an all-out war between two newly established states in 1992-1994. Loss of several territories left a deep wound in Azerbaijan’s common consciousness. Afterwards, Baku dealt with a massive humanitarian disaster as hundreds of thousands of displaced persons moved from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts to Azerbaijan.
With better leadership qualities having strategic vision, President Ilham Aliyev cemented relations with Turkey and both the states developed a strategic partnership. It also developed trilateral strategic dialogue with Pakistan which supported it’s just moral and political rights on all international forums. Pakistan sharpened its military skills through joint drills and training sessions which ultimately boosted martial strategies.
Azerbaijan president Aliyev also maintained a good relationship with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. He did not try to upset the Kremlin and understood Moscow’s red lines in the region. In the Karabakh conflict, Aliyev tried the diplomatic route for a long time and was open to compromise.
On the other hand, Armenia’s Prime Minister, Pashinyan displeasured the Kremlin by attempting to insert pro-Western elements within Armenia’s bureaucracy and security services. His administration also opened criminal cases against Russian companies. Moreover, Pashinyan multiplied the provocations and declared his inclination to annex the occupied territories, thereby dashing hopes for a negotiated settlement and paving the way for military escalation.
Turkey helped Azerbaijan modernise its army. The Turkish army trained the Azerbaijani army, supplied Baku with some of the latest equipment in terms of electronic warfare and armed drones, and helped design an efficient strategy that neutralised Armenia’s arsenal of armoured, mechanised, and motorised formations. Resultantly, Azerbaijan’s armed forces had the upper hand over the battlespace. Armenia targeted Azerbaijan’s population centres with ballistic missiles to provoke retaliation, However, Baku remained focused on the Karabakh operations, thus neutralising any possible Russian direct intervention.
It is indeed a great geopolitical victory for Azerbaijan which further enhanced Turkish footprints in the region starting from Qatar in 2017, Libya in 2019 and Azerbaijan in 2020 all opted for Ankara as an ally. France openly supported aggressive policies of the Armenian government and did nothing to bring Armenia back to the negotiating table. Azerbaijan’s victory is an additional failure for Macron, who once more engaged in petty politicking at the expense of international peace.
Its victory has also opened the door for greater regional connectivity, socio-economic integration and food and energy cooperation. In this context, the opening of a land corridor connecting Turkey to Azerbaijan could enable more economic and cultural exchanges with other Turkic countries, namely Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. All in all, this is a big victory for Azerbaijan. It will certainly be written in golden letters in the history of the country.
Human blood is a sacred commodity which has its own unbending and uncompromised chemistry unleashed with action-reaction theories and geopolitical bitter realities. Series of genocide of Armenia against peaceful people of Azerbaijan could not tamp spirits of self-determination, freedom, liberty and of course nationalism which remained in the hearts and souls like an unexploded volcanoes. Resultantly, Azerbaijan’s bravery out placed Armenian belligerence and superior human traits out classed traitors and finally martyrdom overridden Armenian maliciousness.
Re-occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh has now become reality in which Armenians are on flee which once again shows that fascism does not have any place in the world. Co-existence and concept of shared prosperity is the way forward. It is indeed a wake-up call for all the supporters of ethnic cleansing that humanity may be the only bench-mark for regional cooperation and horrendous crimes and conspiracies are always short-lived.
Fifteen Asia-Pacific countries on Sunday signed the world’s biggest free trade deal, seen as a huge coup for China in extending its influence.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) includes 10 Southeast Asian economies along with China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia, with members accounting for around 30 per cent of global gross domestic product.
First proposed in 2012, the deal was finally sealed at the end of a Southeast Asian summit as leaders push to get their pandemic-hit economies back on track.
“Under the current global circumstances, the fact the RCEP has been signed after eight years of negotiations brings a ray of light and hope amid the clouds,” said Chinese Premier Li Keqiang after the virtual signing.
“It clearly shows that multilateralism is the right way, and represents the right direction of the global economy and humanity’s progress.”
The agreement to lower tariffs and open up the services trade within the bloc does not include the United States and is viewed as a Chinese-led alternative to a now-defunct Washington trade initiative.
The RCEP “solidifies China’s broader regional geopolitical ambitions around the Belt and Road initiative”, said Alexander Capri, a trade expert at the National University of Singapore Business School, referring to Beijing’s signature investment project that envisions Chinese infrastructure and influence spanning the globe.
“It’s sort of a complementary element.”
But many of the signatories are battling severe coronavirus outbreaks and they are also hoping the RCEP will help mitigate the crippling economic cost of the pandemic.
Indonesia recently tumbled into its first recession for two decades while the Philippine economy shrunk by 11.5pc on-year in the latest quarter.
“Covid has reminded the region of why trade matters and governments are more eager than ever to have positive economic growth,” said Deborah Elms, executive director of the Asian Trade Centre, a Singapore-based consultancy.
India absent
India pulled out of the agreement last year over concerns about cheap Chinese goods entering the country and was a notable absentee during Sunday’s virtual signing.
Signatories to the agreement said they hoped New Delhi would rejoin in the future, acknowledging its “strategic importance” to the deal which already covers more than two billion people.
The pact should help shrink costs and make life easier for companies by letting them export products anywhere within the bloc without meeting separate requirements for each country.
The agreement touches on intellectual property, but environmental protection and labour rights are not part of the pact.
The deal is also seen as a way for China to draft the rules of trade in the region, after years of US retreat under President Donald Trump which have seen Washington pull out of a trade pact of its own, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Though US multinationals will be able to benefit from RCEP through subsidiaries within member countries, analysts said the deal may cause President-elect Joe Biden to rethink Washington’s engagement in the region.
This could see the US eye the potential benefits of joining the TPP’s successor deal, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), said Rajiv Biswas, APAC chief economist at IHS Markit.
“However, this is not expected to be an immediate priority issue […] given the considerable negative response to the TPP negotiations from many segments of the US electorate due to concerns about US job losses to Asian countries,” he added.
ISLAMABAD, NOV 15 (DNA) – The government and people of Pakistan have expressed their deepest condolences and sympathies to the Government and people of Romania as well as to the families of the victims of fire at Covid-19 intensive care unit in Piatra Neamt, the Foreign Office spokesperson said in a tweet on Sunday.
He further posted “We wish the injured quickest recovery”.
According to Romanian officials quoted by press, a fire spread through the intensive care ward designated for COVID-19 patients in Piatra Neamt had killed at least 10 people and critically injured seven others.=DNA
