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ISLAMABAD: Navjot Singh Sidhu, a former Indian cricketer who travelled to Pakistan a day prior to attend Prime Minister Imran Khan’s oath-taking ceremony as a guest, rebuffed Indian hardliners’ criticism over his tour by commenting on how much love and respect he received from Pakistanis.

“Pakistanis have given me infinite respect,” Sidhu said Saturday night while addressing media here in the city. “The kind of love and affection that I have got from here, it’s… it’s unbelievable!

“I’m very happy at Pakistanis’ hospitality,” he stated, adding that Khan desired peaceful relations with India, which is why New Delhi should also take a step forward to friendly relations with Islamabad.

The Indian sportsman, who has been talking about peace and love ever since he touched down in Islamabad, has been facing a vicious maligning campaign from his country’s hardliners, who have resorted to staging protests and burning his effigies.

Indian hardliners protest Navjot Sidhu’s arrival in Pakistan

Demonstrations had erupted in multiple Indian cities, including Ludhiana.

When a right-leaning faction of the Indian media went as far as to label him a “traitor”, Kapil Dev, a former captain of the Indian cricket team, stood up in Sidhu’s defence and support, saying he had done nothing wrong by going to Pakistan or embracing COAS Gen Qamar Jawed Bajwa.

In addition, Indian journalists Rajdeep Sardesai and Aziz Hasan Rizvi also voiced their support for Sidhu and his tour of Pakistan, highlighting that an Indian public figure participating as a guest in the oath-taking ceremony of a Pakistani premier was a “positive step”.

“Well done [Navjot Singh Sidhu]: good to see an Indian public figure rise above the hate mongering and attend [Imran Khan’s] swearing in,” Sardesai had written on Twitter, before jokingly adding that “captaining Pakistan way more difficult than leading a cricket team!”

On the other hand, the cricketer told reporters that he was “a positive person” and that “if somebody criticises me, it doesn’t affect me.”

He then went on to repeat a famed phrase: “Duniya ka sabse bara rog, Mere baare mein kya kahenge log,” which roughly translates to “the biggest fear in the world is everyone else’s opinion of you.”

The sportsman underscored the importance of friendly relations between the two nations with an example: “If there’s a fire in your neighbour’s house, you’re bound to feel the heat; in a similar manner, if their house is cool, you’d feel that pleasure as well.

“I think somewhere down the line, you gotta take a path of peace, prosperity, and positivity,” he stressed.

Earlier, on Saturday, as the guests arrived at the President House ahead of Prime Minister Khan’s swearing-in, Sidhu had met Gen Bajwa and they had embraced each other in a friendly manner — something that eagle-eyed media on both sides of the border watched with gripping interest.

Imran possesses ability to change Pakistan’s future, says Sidhu

Later, during his talk with journalists, the cricketer had explained that the Pakistan Army Chief had met him with enthusiasm and told him that he wished for peace.

“[Gen Bajwa] also told me that he was considering opening the gates at Kartarpur on the upcoming birthday of Guru Nanak,” Sidhu had commented, referring to the area in Narowal’s Shakargarh tehsil that is located quite near to the Indo-Pak border.

Noting that he had “brought a message of love from India”, he said he was taking back a 100 times more than what he had initially come to Pakistan with.

“The love I have gotten has opened up infinite possibilities that can actually unify us. … I was quite honoured and respected,” he commented.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday will resume hearing pleas filed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (retd) Safdar seeking suspension of the verdict in the Avenfield properties reference.

A two-member bench of the IHC, comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, has directed National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Deputy Prosecutor General Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi to conclude his arguments in the case today.

Nawaz’s counsel concludes arguments in plea against Avenfield verdict

A day earlier, Nawaz’s counsel, Khawaja Harris, concluded his arguments after the bench rejected the NAB deputy prosecutor general’s request for more time.

Abbasi had sought time to provide paragraph-wise comments in line with the request of Nawaz’s counsel. However, Justice Minallah had remarked, “We cannot adjourn the hearing on these grounds.”

Nawaz, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (retd) Safdar, were convicted by accountability judge Mohammad Bashir in Avenfield reference on July 6.

The Sharifs had challenged their convictions in the IHC, highlighting the legal flaws in the Avenfield case judgment and asking for the accountability court’s verdict to be declared null and void, and the three convicts be released on bail.

The trial
The trial against the Sharif family commenced on September 14, 2017.

On July 6, after four extensions in the original six-month deadline to conclude all three cases, the court announced its verdict in the Avenfield reference.

Nawaz was sentenced to a total of 11 years in prison and slapped a £8 million fine (Rs1.3 billion) in the corruption reference, while his daughter Maryam was sentenced to eight years with a £2 million fine (Rs335 million). Capt (retd) Safdar was also given a one-year sentence without any fine.

Nawaz and his sons, Hussain and Hassan, are accused in all three references whereas Maryam and Safdar were accused in the Avenfield reference only.

The two brothers, based abroad, have been absconding since the proceedings began last year and were declared proclaimed offenders by the court.

On July 10, the Supreme Court granted another six-week extension for Accountability Court-I Judge Mohammad Bashir to conclude the remaining corruption references against Nawaz and former finance minister Ishaq Dar.

Lahore Qalandars’ player development programme is doing more than just discovering talent; it is bringing people together through the power of cricket
The player development programme by Pakistan Super League franchise Lahore Qalandars has become a multipurpose initiative. It is not only unearthing raw talent but also promoting tourism and bridging the gap between farfetched areas and the country’s main cities.

During the third edition of their player development programme, the management of Lahore Qalandars along with the country’s top stars travelled from Gilgit to Jamrud, spreading the message of national unity with cricket and proving the sport to be a powerful unifying factor in Pakistan.

This was the first time cricketers in Gilgit-Baltistan attended trials at such a large scale. Not only that, they also got the opportunity to see and meet stars like Inzamam, Yasir Shah, Shoaib Akhtar and Aaqib Javed.

“I have seen them on TV before and I’m so excited to see them in person. Thanks to Lahore Qalandars, they have brought these people to our valley,” said an aspiring Qalandar Karim Ali in Gilgit, as he waited to show off his batting skills to Inzamam.

When this correspondent shared Karim’s views with Qalandars chairman Fawad Rana – who is well known for his uncontrollable emotions during PSL –, he said that he is delighted his dream is coming true.

“This [presence of the country’s top stars] will make these youngsters more passionate about the game which will ultimately benefit Pakistan,” Rana said.

The Qalandars’ boss added that the way people were eager to click photos with these players showed how hungry they were for top-level events in the region.

During their stay in Gilgit, Qalandars also visited picturesque spots including Naltar Valley, Attabad Lake and Altit Fort.

“This is a wonderful place. We need to develop tourism,” said Shoaib Akhtar while visiting Naltar Valley with the Qalandars clan.

“I have come here for the first time and I believe that everyone should come and visit Pakistan’s beautiful places such as Naltar,” the speedster said.

Former captain Inzamam agreed with Shoaib and said there is no place as beautiful as Pakistan.

Inzamam in Pir Chinasi, Muzaffarabad

Yasir Shah in Muzaffarabad
“I have been to so many places in the world, I have seen so many countries but Pakistan’s sceneries are the best,” Inzamam remarked during his visit to Attabad Lake in Hunza.

Qalandars CEO Atif Rana said that he took top cricketers to scenic places with an aim to promote tourism.

“It wasn’t only for recreational purposes,” he said. “Alongside cricket, we want to promote a positive image of Pakistan, we want to promote harmony among the people.”

Qalandars picked a bowler, Mohammad Arfan, from Diamir – an area comparatively less privileged. According to Atif Rana, Arfan’s inclusion in the squad shows that Qalandars are for everyone.

“Why should we limit ourselves to one region? We are here to serve Pakistan cricket and when we talk about Pakistan, then it includes each and every corner of the country,” Rana insisted.

Qalandars also went to Kashmir for the second consecutive year. Last year, they had spotted fast bowler Salman Irshad from the region and that encouraged a lot more cricketers to come to the trials and apply to be Qalandars.

“I’m thankful that they have come here again. My life changed after being with Qalandars and when people saw me here, it encouraged more people to become Qalandars,” Salman said.

The effort was also praised by AJK’s prime minister Raja Farooq Haider, who believes that Lahore Qalandars have given a new ray of hope to cricketers from Kashmir who were earlier demoralised because of lack of opportunities at the national level.

“After emergence of Salman Irshad, cricketers here now believe they can also do something at the top level,” Raja Farooq Haider said during a meeting with Qalandars in Muzaffarabad.

The squad also decided to visit Pir Chinasi in Muzaffarabad.

“I have come here for the first time and now I have realised why Kashmir is called a heaven on earth,” Pakistan’s spin wizard Yasir Shah commented.

While the trials in Gilgit, Muzaffarabad and Mirpur provided an opportunity to youngsters to tell the world about their talent, on the sidelines they also stressed the need of having top-level cricket in these areas.

As soon as photos from Muzaffarabad and Gilgit went viral on social media, people started asking why these grounds haven’t been transformed into top cricket centres.

“Look at the surroundings of these grounds, mountains on all sides, this gives you such a picturesque view. PCB must come here and organise some events,” said Qalandars director of cricket operations Aaqib Javed.

“If top cricketers come and play here in front of locals, it will motivate the local talent. Broadcasting of the tournament will also help us tell the world about beautiful cricket venues we have in Pakistan,” said the former Pakistan bowler, who is also Qalandars’ head coach.

After Gilgit and Kashmir, Qalandars also visited Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the tribal area of Jamrud.

Lahore Qalandars finalised 16-member team from KP
The trials in Jamrud – an area which was once badly affected by militancy and violence – were held on the occasion of Independence Day.

The scenes at Jamrud Stadium showed how hungry the people of the area were to see live cricket action.

“This is probably the first time people are coming to witness trials,” observed an excited Fawad Rana.

“It’s heartwarming to see people in Jamrud cheering for a team from Lahore. This is success for our mission of national integration.”

The responses to Qalandars’ player development programme confirm that cricket can unite people of Pakistan. While Qalandars have used the sport to connect people, they are also using it to promote tourism. The message is clear: by promoting sports, we can also improve the economy, tourism and most importantly, national unity.

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will take up on Wednesday petitions of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz for suspension of the accountability court’s verdict against them in the Avenfield properties reference.

Nawaz’s counsel Khawaja Harris is expected to conclude his arguments during the hearing.

The counsel for Captain (retd) Safdar, Amjad Pervez, has also been directed to conclude his arguments today.

On August 8, a two-member bench of the IHC, comprising Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, ordered Capt (retd) Safdar’s lawyer to make accountability court party to his petition.

Pervez had argued that a plea to suspend punishment can be accepted if the prison sentence is less than five years. Justice Farooq noted this was the reason that Capt (retd) Safdar’s petition had been separated from his wife Maryam and father-in-law Nawaz Sharif’s pleas.

IHC orders Safdar’s lawyer to make accountability court party to petition

Safdar’s lawyer had contended that while the court had ordered the sentences of all three convicted in the case to begin simultaneously, this was not the case for his client who had remained in the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) custody for a day.

Pervez further said that the accountability court’s ruling in the Avenfield case was based on a forged signature on a trust deed. “The expert witness had admitted that the Calibri font was available in 2005,” he said. To this, Justice Farooq remarked that it would be better if the case’s merits were not discussed.

The IHC bench ordered the petitioner to make the accountability court a party to the case as the plea was against the latter’s ruling.

The Sharif family had petitioned against their convictions in the Avenfield reference. Nawaz had also filed a plea to transfer the Al-Azizia and Flagship Investment corruption references from the court of Judge Mohammad Bashir to another accountability court.

Later, IHC had clubbed the two references. During yesterday’s proceedings, the court had accepted Nawaz’s plea. The hearing of Maryam and Nawaz’s petition against conviction in the Avenfield case was adjourned till August 13.

The trial
The trial against the Sharif family commenced on September 14, 2017.

On July 6, after four extensions in the original six-month deadline to conclude all three cases, the court announced its verdict in the Avenfield reference.

Nawaz was sentenced to a total of 11 years in prison and slapped a £8 million fine (Rs1.3 billion) in the corruption reference, while his daughter Maryam was sentenced to eight years with a £2 million fine (Rs335 million). Capt (retd) Safdar was also given a one-year sentence without any fine.

Nawaz and his sons, Hussain and Hassan, are accused in all three references whereas Maryam and Safdar were accused in the Avenfield reference only.

The two brothers, based abroad, have been absconding since the proceedings began last year and were declared proclaimed offenders by the court.

On July 10, the Supreme Court granted another six-week extension for Accountability Court-I Judge Mohammad Bashir to conclude the remaining corruption references against Nawaz and former finance minister Ishaq Dar.

The Sharifs had challenged their convictions in the IHC, highlighting the legal flaws in the Avenfield case judgment and asking for the accountability court’s verdict to be declared null and void, and the three convicts be released on bail.

KARACHI: Owing to the flawed strategy and criminal negligence of the national airline administration, an aircraft of Pakistan has been stranded at an African airport for the last 55 hours due to a technical fault, which is causing loss of millions per hour to the national exchequer.

The PIA spokesperson said that the plane was used as a chartered flight, therefore, the department which had chartered the plane would correct its fault and hoped that the plane would be able to take off in a day or two.

According to the details received, PIA plane Boeing 777, with registration no APBHW, had to take nearly 400 pilgrims to Jeddah on August 6 but from Jeddah, the same flight had to take the Askari Aviation’s armed personnel, including high officials to Sialkot.

When this flight PK761 with pilgrims onboard was about to take off from Karachi, the seats had not been booked for the chartered flight from Jeddah to Burundi but after prolonged discussion, the flight took off from Karachi after a delay of four hours.

After this, on August 9, this ferry flight (empty flight) as PK-8001 landed in the African city Burundi’s Bujumbura Airport, from where it had to take off with the armed forces personnel deployed there for Sialkot. The plane’s captain was Basharat.

When all the personnel boarded the plane at the mentioned airport, the plane’s APU failed. APU is an alternative engine and supplies electricity to the plane standing on the ground and works till taxiing. Because that airport is small, similar equipment (starter van) was not available there. If the APU like this has to be sent from Pakistan, it can be sent via a larger plane or C-130. Until now, more than 50 hours have passed and the per hour charges of hotel, parking and other facilities have caused loss of millions to the PIA.

When the APU did not work, all the personnel were offloaded from the plane and were made to stay there in a five star hotel, Club du lac, Tanganyika, on PIA’s expenses.

It is important to mention here that the above-mentioned plane’s APU was already dysfunctional and the entry of which had been made in the log book several times.

Despite this major fault, the PIA administration and Engineering Department gave permission for this ferry flight and then for taking the chartered flight to a small airport. Now PIA’s flight schedule is being adversely affected and it is also not known when this fault will be corrected because the administration is totally confused.

PIA Spokesperson Mashood Tajwar said that the Askari Aviation was dealing with the above-mentioned flight. Earlier, a video concerning PIA went viral this week, which showed a newborn baby’s health deteriorated in an aircraft in Paris when the passengers were onboard the plane.

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has thrown an open challenge towards West Indies batsman Chris Gayle to six-hitting prowess.

Earlier this week, the veteran West Indies batsman had equalled Afridi’s record of 476 sixes in all formats during his 73-run knock in the third match against Bangladesh.

Taking to social media, Afridi congratulated the big-hitting batsman in his record.

“No worries at all in the Universe Boss taking over my record! Richly deserved, hope to play a single wicket match with you one day, let’s see who hits more sixes and there should be no rules for getting OUT!” he posted in a reply to cricket journalist Saj Sadiq’s tweet.

Earlier Gayle had been quoted as saying, “To be able to tie with Afridi with 476 sixes is great. I think I’ll keep it at that and hit no more sixes. I think we’re both big six-hitters, entertainers and it’s fantastic to be joint first with Shahid Afridi. So boom-boom, don’t worry, your record is safe, okay.”

Afridi has hit 351 sixes in ODIs, 73 sixes in T20Is and 52 in Tests while Gayle has slammed 275 sixes in ODIs, 103 sixes in T20Is and 98 in the longest format of the game.

Birmingham, United Kingdom: England beat India by 31 runs the first Test at Edgbaston on Saturday to take a 1-0 lead in a five-match series.

India, set 194 for victory, were dismissed for 162 before lunch on the fourth morning.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes, who could miss next week´s second Test at Lord´s because of a court trial on a charge of affray starting Monday, took two wickets in an over including the prize scalp of India captain Virat Kohli for 51.

Star batsman Kohli had made 149 — his maiden Test century in England — during India´s first innings at Edgbaston.

Stokes ended the match when he had Hardik Pandya (31) caught at first slip for an innings return of four for 40 in 14.2 overs.

England´s 1,000th Test was a personal triumph for Sam Curran.

In just his second match at this level, the 20-year-old Surrey left-arm swing bowler took a Test-best four for 74 in India´s first innings 274.

And he followed that up with a dashing 63, his maiden Test fifty, to give England a target worth defending after they had collapsed to 87 for seven in their second innings.

Brief scores

England 1st Innings 287 (J Root 80, J Bairstow 70; R Ashwin 4-62, M Shami 3-64)

India 1st Innings 274 (V Kohli 149; S Curran 4-74)

England 2nd Innings 180 (S Curran 63; I Sharma 5-51, R Ashwin 3-59)

India 2nd Innings 162 (V Kohli 51; B Stokes 4-40)

Result: England won by 31 runs

Series: England lead five-match series 1-0

BIRMINGHAM: Captain Virat Kohli stroked an unbeaten 43 as he steered India to 110 for five at the end of the third day on Friday, leaving the visitors needing another 84 runs to win the first test against England.

With 35 wickets having tumbled inside three days, England will be hoping they can grab the five remaining Indian wickets quickly on day four so that they can mark their 1000th test with a victory.

“We need five more wickets, and we just have to give everything that we have in the morning as we are looking at another 25-30 overs maximum in this game,” fast bowler James Anderson said at a press conference.

In a dramatic game that has swung with every session, England’s bowlers made the most of the new ball in slightly overcast conditions by reducing the visitors to 78-5 in a fierce spell of swing bowling after the tea break.

With the exception of Kohli, none of the Indian top order batsmen looked at ease against the bowlers, with Stuart Broad the pick of the attack with two wickets.

The arrival of wicket keeper Dinesh Karthik after the fall of Ravichandran Ashwin calmed some nerves in the Indian camp, with the duo putting on an unbeaten 32 runs partnership for the sixth wicket.

Historic win
Earlier, all rounder Sam Curran followed up his first innings haul of four wickets by scoring a solid half century to guide England to 180 all out in their second innings.

Playing with confidence in only his second test appearance, the 20-year-old struck two valuable partnerships, first with Adil Rashid for 48 runs, which was the biggest of the English innings, and then 41 with fast bowler Stuart Broad for the ninth wicket.

England´s James Anderson celebrates the wicket of India´s Ravi Ashwin. Photo: Action Images via Reuters
For the visitors, Sharma spearheaded the attack grabbing five wickets for 51 runs followed by Ashwin who grabbed three wickets in the morning session.

The Indian bowlers ripped out the heart of the English batting line-up by reducing the hosts to 87-7 before Curran came to the rescue by scoring 63 off 65 deliveries, including nine boundaries and two sixes. He was last man out to leave India to chase down a 194-run victory target at Edgbaston.

India will be hoping Kohli, who scored a brilliant 149 on Thursday, can produce another heroic performance as they will need to pull off their highest fourth innings chase in England if they want to take a 1-0 lead in the five match series.

BIRMINGHAM: Joe Root´s run out by opposing captain Virat Kohli sparked an England collapse against India on the opening day of the first Test at Edgbaston on Wednesday and may have set the tone for the series after the tourists´ skipper gave him a colourful and controversial send-off.

At stumps, England were 285 for nine in what is their 1,000th Test.

However, the action may yet be overshadowed by suggestions Kohli swore at Root and mocked the home skipper´s ´mic drop´ celebration in a one-day clash between the two sides last month.

England had been well-placed at 216 for three, with Root seemingly on course to score a first Test century since his 136 against the West Indies during last year´s day/night clash at Edgbaston.

But his 11th Test fifty without a hundred since that innings ended in frustrating fashion after a run out involving Yorkshire team-mate Jonny Bairstow.

Wicket-keeper Bairstow played the ball to midwicket for a single and then set off for what always looked a tight second, with Root comfortably run out by Kohli´s agile direct hit on the turn to end a 156-ball innings including nine fours.

It was also the finish of a fourth-wicket stand worth 104.

However, Kohli rubbed salt into the wound by blowing kisses in the direction of Root and putting his finger to his lips.

He also did the ´mic drop´ gesture in imitation of Root´s celebration of his one-day series-clinching hundred against India at the batsman´s Headingley home ground and the words Kohli appeared to utter in the batsman´s direction could attract the attention of match referee Jeff Crowe, the former New Zealand captain.