Pakistan to host South Africa in October, Faisalabad to stage first ODIs in 17 years
Pakistan to host South Africa in October, Faisalabad to stage first ODIs in 17 years/node/2614350/pakistan
Pakistan to host South Africa in October, Faisalabad to stage first ODIs in 17 years
Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi (left) celebrates after taking the wicket of South Africa’s Gerald Coetzee (center) during the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup one-day international (ODI) match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on October 27, 2023. (AFP/File)
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will host South Africa for a multi-format tour in October, with the first One Day International to be played in Faisalabad in 17 years, the country’s cricket board said on Saturday.
The tour marks the start of Pakistan’s new cycle in the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27.
South Africa, the reigning Test champions, will open the two-match series at Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium from Oct. 12-16, the venue’s first five-day contest since its renovation earlier this year to stage the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.
The second Test will be held at Rawalpindi from Oct. 20-24. South Africa last toured Pakistan in January 2021, when they lost a two-Test series 2-0.
“We are looking forward to welcome South Africa for the opening series of our ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 campaign,” Pakistan Cricket Board Chief Operating Officer Sumair Ahmed Syed said in a statement.
“Starting the new cycle against the current Test champions will provide quality cricket for our players and fans,” he continued. “The return of ODI cricket to Faisalabad after 17 years is a special moment. Iqbal Stadium holds a proud place in our cricketing history and we are excited to bring international cricket back to this part of the country.”
The PCB said in a statement following the red-ball matches, both sides will contest three Twenty20 internationals (T20Is) from Oct. 28 to Nov. 1, beginning in Rawalpindi before shifting to Lahore.
The tour will conclude with three ODIs from Nov. 4-8 at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium, where Pakistan last played an ODI in April 2008, defeating Bangladesh by seven wickets.
TOUR SCHEDULE
Oct. 12-16: First Test, Qaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Oct. 20-24: Second Test, Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium
ISLAMABAD/KARACHI: The United States will send six flights carrying relief aid for flood-affected people in Pakistan, the military said in a statement after the arrival of the first consignment on Saturday, as three major rivers flowing from India continued to surge at multiple points with forecasters warning of fresh torrential rains until Sept. 9.
Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province has been battered by devastating floods since late last month, owing to torrential monsoon rains and major water releases by upstream India into the Ravi, Sutlej and Chenab rivers, killing 50 people and bringing the seasonal death toll in the province to 231 since June.
Punjab is also home to half of the country’s 240 million people and accounts for much of its wheat and rice production, creating food security concerns as initial estimates suggest 1.3 million acres of agricultural land have been inundated in the province amid the flooding of the three rivers. Nationwide, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said 905 people have been killed in rain and flood-related incidents since the monsoon began on June 26.
Earlier in the day, the US embassy announced in a social media post that an American military aircraft had delivered essential supplies for flood relief at the request of the Pakistani military, adding that its Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker extended condolences to the people of Pakistan, whose lives have been uprooted by the widespread, catastrophic flooding.
The Pakistani security forces along with other government departments have been doing rescue and relief work in most areas of the province.
“In response to the ongoing flood situation, the United States of America through Army Central Command (US ARCENT) has extended humanitarian assistance for the flood-affected population of Pakistan,” the military’s media wing, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement.
“A total of six flights carrying relief consignments are scheduled to arrive in Pakistan, comprising essential items including tents, dewatering pumps and generators,” it added.
The ISPR confirmed the first of the six flights arrived in Pakistan earlier in the day, adding that the relief items were formally handed over to the army.
“The consignments will be moved to Army Flood Relief Camps for onward distribution among the flood-affected people,” it continued.
The NDMA also issued a statement during the day, saying its officials held two consultative sessions with a US Disaster Response Group, indicating the two countries are collaborating on flood relief.
“The discussion ... covered risk financing through contingency funds and insurance for rapid recovery, integrated search and rescue operations using advanced technology and the success of early warning systems, which enabled thousands to self-evacuate during the 2025 floods, reducing casualties,” it said.
“The US is committed to supporting Pakistan’s relief activities ... through logistic support, technical expertise and humanitarian assistance,” the statement added.
RIVERS RISING
Meanwhile, the Flood Forecasting Division reported a continued surge in river flows on Saturday afternoon, with the Chenab carrying 291,558 cusecs at Chiniot and 449,668 cusecs at Trimmu Headworks near Jhang, both classified as high flood.
Further downstream, Panjnad in southern Punjab was flowing at 384,124 cusecs, also rated high.
On the Ravi, flows reached 159,690 cusecs at Balloki Headworks south of Lahore and 97,242 cusecs at Sidhnai in Khanewal, both flagged as very high flood. At Shahdara, near the provincial capital Lahore, 103,160 cusecs were recorded, a high flood level.
The Sutlej remained the most critical, swollen by upstream releases from India. At Ganda Singh Wala near Kasur, 303,828 cusecs were passing through, classified as exceptionally high flood. Downstream levels included 137,232 cusecs at Sulemanki, rated high, and 103,465 cusecs at Islam Headworks, classified as medium flood.
Addressing a news conference, Director General of the Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said the surge at Panjnad was expected to peak at around 600,000 cusecs, adding that the flood wave of up to 800,000 cusecs was then projected to move downstream with additional water from the Indus River before reaching the Guddu Barrage in Kashmore district.
The flood water is expected to reach Sindh between Sept. 7 and 8, raising the risk of inundation in low-lying areas.
According to a situation report released Friday by the Sindh administration’s flood monitoring cell, 1,651 villages are likely to be affected and more than 1.6 million people are at risk, with 121,769 already displaced. The province has set up 528 relief camps and 155 medical camps, where over 33,000 patients have been treated. More than 360,000 livestock have also been evacuated.
Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon said evacuations were underway in low-lying areas a day earlier, while Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah instructed officials this week to take proactive steps to protect people and livestock, saying no life should be lost in the floods this year.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities said on Saturday they have vaccinated more than 19 million children in an ongoing anti-polio drive, part of a nationwide campaign to eradicate the crippling disease.
Polio is an incurable, highly infectious virus that can cause lifelong paralysis and can only be prevented through repeated oral vaccination and routine immunization. Pakistan recorded 74 cases in 2024, a sharp rise from six in 2023 and just one in 2021, highlighting the challenge of eradication.
Overall, the country has made major gains since the 1990s, when annual cases exceeded 20,000, reducing the toll to eight by 2018.
“All segments of society must play their national role in eliminating polio,” the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) said in a statement. “Welcome polio teams and ensure that every child under five is given drops in every campaign to protect them from the disease.”
The statement added more than 19.2 million children have so far received polio drops in the campaign that began Sept. 1 across 99 districts.
The breakdown included around 4 million in Punjab, nearly 8.4 million in Sindh, 3.96 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 2.16 million in Balochistan.
In Islamabad, more than 442,000 children were vaccinated, while figures stood at 112,000 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 164,000 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Efforts to eliminate the disease have been hampered by parental refusals, widespread misinformation and repeated attacks on polio workers by militant groups. In remote and volatile areas, vaccination teams often operate under police protection, though security personnel themselves have also been targeted during these campaigns.
The NEOC said the campaign has also been complicated by seasonal floods, which have forced authorities to postpone the drive in nine districts of Punjab.
It added that the vaccination push in Bajaur and Upper Dir located in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province will begin on Sept. 15.
KARACHI: Pakistani authorities have arrested 60 people attempting to cross illegally by sea into Iran, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said on Saturday, as the country intensifies its crackdown on human smuggling networks.
The official FIA statement did not specify why those detained were heading to Iran, though many Pakistanis, particularly manual laborers, seek employment opportunities there.
The government restricted overland travel to neighboring Iran earlier this year amid security concerns in the country’s volatile southwestern Balochistan province.
“Illegal attempts to travel to Iran by sea were thwarted, with 60 suspects arrested,” the FIA said in a statement, calling the development the result of a “major operation.”
The detained individuals mostly hailed from the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, though nine of them were from Gujranwala in the eastern Punjab province.
“The suspects were arrested in Jiwani,” the statement continued, referring to a small coastal town in Balochistan’s Gwadar district, located near the Pakistan-Iran border on the Arabian Sea.
“Four cases have been registered against them, and investigations have been initiated following their arrest,” it added.
The development comes amid a broader government push against human smuggling, which led to a series of deadly boat tragedies over the past two years.
These included shipwrecks off Greece in mid-2023, a December 2024 disaster near Greece’s coast, a January 2025 sinking off Morocco and two separate capsizings off Libya in early and mid-2025.
On the Iranian side, authorities have also ramped up action against undocumented people, fueled in part by security concerns tied to its military conflict with Israel.
Tehran has cited espionage risks and militant infiltration, particularly in the restive Sistan-Baluchistan province.
India’s Modi says US ties ‘very positive’ after strains with Trump over Pakistan ceasefire
Modi’s statement comes after Donald Trump called relationship with New Delhi ‘special’
Tensions still persist over US tariffs on Indian goods and New Delhi’s Russian oil imports
Updated 06 September 2025
AFP
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Saturday New Delhi and Washington still shared “very positive” ties, after US President Donald Trump reaffirmed their personal friendship and downplayed his earlier remarks about “losing India” to China.
The exchange comes amid strains after Washington imposed tariffs of up to 50 percent on Indian imports, accusing New Dehli of fueling Moscow’s deadly attacks on Ukraine by purchasing Russian oil.
But Trump and Modi, both right-wing populists, have shared a strong bond since the US president’s first term.
“Deeply appreciate and fully reciprocate President Trump’s sentiments and positive assessment of our ties,” Modi wrote on X, adding that India and the United States shared a “very positive and forward-looking comprehensive and global strategic partnership.”
Earlier, Trump told reporters that he “will always be friends with Modi.”
“India and the United States have a special relationship. There is nothing to worry about,” Trump said, downplaying his earlier remarks about “losing India” to China.
Last week, Modi visited China to attend a gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, his first visit to the country in seven years signalling a thaw between the two Asian powers.
Trump has appeared irritated at New Delhi as he seeks credit for what he said was Nobel Prize-worthy diplomacy for brokering peace between Pakistan and India following the worst conflict in decades between the nuclear-armed neighbors in May.
India, which adamantly rejects any third-party mediation on Kashmir, has since given the cold shoulder to Trump.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday vowed to strengthen its military might along with its information and communication systems while citing threats of disinformation and psychological warfare as the nation commemorated the 60th Defense and Martyrs’ Day.
The anniversary is marked annually on Sept. 6 to honor the military and civilians who resisted Indian forces during the 1965 war.
This year’s commemorations come against the backdrop of another brief but intense war with India in May, which lasted four days before a US-brokered ceasefire was announced by President Donald Trump. Unlike the conflict six decades ago, the standoff this year saw both countries deploy highly sophisticated weaponry under the shadow of nuclear deterrence.
Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership marked the occasion by reiterating their pledge to strengthen the country’s sovereignty and protect its territorial integrity.
“As Supreme Commander, I reaffirm my resolve to continuously upgrade and modernize Pakistan’s defense capabilities,” President Asif Ali Zardari said in a statement.
“In this era, where hybrid and fifth-generation warfare deploys disinformation, propaganda, and psychological operations as weapons, it is essential not only to strengthen our military power but also to fortify our information and communication systems,” he added.
A Uqaab Force commando and Air Force personnel stands guard outside the mausoleum of Pakistan’s founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Karachi on September 6, 2025. (AFP)
“The pillars of the state and the people, especially our youth, must remain vigilant and united to confront these modern threats with wisdom, resilience and solidarity.”
Zardari also invoked the sacrifices of 1965 and praised the armed forces’ performance in this year’s war against India, saying their professionalism across land, air and sea proved Pakistan’s defense was unassailable.
He reiterated support for Kashmir and Palestine, describing both as unfinished struggles for justice and self-determination.
In a separate statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif applauded the military’s performance on Sept. 1965.
“Sixty years ago, our brave armed forces, with the full support of the people, repelled aggression and proved that Pakistan is a courageous nation capable of protecting its sovereignty and integrity,” he said.
Air Force cadets march at the mausoleum of Pakistan’s founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Karachi on September 6, 2025. (AFP)
The military leadership, in a joint statement, described the Defense and Martyrs’ Day as an example of the “unflinching resolve and unshakeable spirit” of the nation.”Pakistan Armed Forces remain ever vigilant and prepared to defend the country against all kinds of threats,” the statement said. “Any attempt to disrupt our hard-earned peace will be met with a befitting and decisive response.”
It added the armed forces were not only committed to national defense but also to supporting citizens during calamities, noting they were actively assisting flood victims this year.
