Azam to Khawaja: Five Things We Learned From Australia's Pakistan Tour

Australian cricketers were heading home Wednesday after completing their first tour to Pakistan since 1998. Pat Cummings side won the three-Test series 1-0, lost the one-day internationals 2-1 and rounded off an incident-free trip with victory in the lone Twenty20 international.

AFP Sports highlights five things we learned from the first full tour to Pakistan by a top Test playing nation since the fatal attack on a Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in 2009.

safe to tour 

A full-strength Australia squad were greeted by head of state-style security with hundreds of policemen and military personnel guarding their hotels and routes to the grounds.

The matches passed off without incident in Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore and the players, despite also being under strict Covid protocols, were even able to get out for a round of golf.

Pakistan will be hoping the successful Australian tour has paved the way for England and New Zealand to return after both called off series in Pakistan last year citing unspecified security concerns.

Pitches fail the Test

The Test series was blighted by flat pitches that offered nothing for the bowlers.

The opening match, on a Rawalpindi pitch deemed "below average" by the International Cricket Council, saw just 14 wickets fall as 1,187 runs were eked out in a bore draw.

The second Test pitch in Karachi was also slow and low and saw drama only in the final session of the final day when a late flurry of wickets saw Pakistan hang on for a draw.

Then it took Cummins bold declaration with almost two days play remaining in Lahore to earn Australia a win and the series on another placid pitch.

At least the batsmen-friendly surfaces made for more of a spectacle in the white ball games.

The highlight was Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq both scoring centuries as Pakistan thrillingly completed a record ODI run chase of 349 with an over to spare in Lahore to keep the series alive.

Be prepared

Australia were able to compete when they stepped into the unfamiliar territory of Pakistan because of meticulous research and preparation that even included studying domestic match performances in detail.

The result was an Australia squad able to cover every eventuality.

The tourists had variety in their spin and fast bowling options, and selected experienced batsmen who could adapt to the conditions -- including Pakistan-born Usman Khawaja, one of the tour s big success stories.

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Corona claims no more deaths across the country

Pakistan has reported no deaths in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of positive cases has risen to 1,526,093. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 30,361 on Thursday.

According to the latest figures by the National Institute of Health (NIH) 170 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

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Khalid Maqbool: MQM-P only established working relationship with PPP

Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui on Wednesday said that MQM-P only established working relationship with Pakistan People’s Party.

Addressing his party workers in Karachi, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said that MQM-P did not reach any alliance or agreement with the PPP and added that MQM-P cannot be deceived anymore.

Read more: President Arif Alvi asks ECP to propose dates for general elections

Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government lost majority in the National Assembly when MQM-P ended its alliance with it. He also said that there should be as many provinces as needed in Pakistan.

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PDM: Rejection of no-trust motion is an attack on Parliament

Leaders of the joint opposition parties on Wednesday said that rejection of the no-confidence motion by violating the Constitution is an attack on Parliament.

A meeting of joint opposition parties was held at the residence of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) chairman and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in Islamabad.

Read more: NA speaker writes letter to Imran Khan, Shahbaz for caretaker PM decision

The meeting held a detailed discussion on the political situation in the country arising after the ruling of the National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri.

The meeting was attended by Shahbaz Sharif, Pervaiz Ashraf, Naveed Qamar, Mian Iftikhar, Akhtar Mengal, Shahzain Bugti, Khalid Magsi, Amir Khan, Aslam Bhotani, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ahsan Iqbal, Marriyum Aurangzeb and others.

Addressing the media after the meeting, PDM president Maulana Fazlur Rehman said that according to joint opposition, the rejection of the no-confidence motion by violating the Constitution is an attack on Parliament.

The unconstitutional ruling of the Deputy Speaker is an attack on the foundations of our democratic system and demanded immediate repeal of this unconstitutional measure.

The joint opposition also demanded that those responsible for violating and attacking the constitution should be identified and given exemplary punishment.

The joint opposition said that the Constitution Day of Pakistan will be observed on April 8 across the country while a lawyer convention on protection of Constitution of Pakistan will also be held.

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Saudi Arabia launches Ramadan Aid Projects in Islamabad

Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs inaugurated programs of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud to offer Iftar and distributed the dates and Noble Quran in Islamabad on Tuesday.

This inauguration happened in the presence of Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf Bin Said Al-Malki, acting religious attache Miteb Bin Mohammed Al-Jadiei and several Pakistani officials and embassy personnel.

Read more: ECP says general elections not possible in three months: report

The three programs aim at distributing 1,750 comprehensive Ramadan food baskets to 14,000 needy individuals, 12 tons of fancy dates and 24,000 copies of the Holy Qur’an and its interpretations in Urdu and Sindhi languages, among others, where the gifts will be distributed in cooperation with official Islamic associations.

Al-Malki said that these programs, held following directives by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman in Ramadan in several countries, including Pakistan, have received the appreciation of Pakistani people.

For his part, Al-Jadiei stressed that the baskets will be distributed to the neediest categories in coordination with official associations in Pakistan, noting that the religious attache will distribute the Ramadan baskets according to the health protocols in a way that realizes the program and its general goals.

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SC resumes hearing of suo-moto notice case today

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on April 6 (Wednesday) will resume the hearing on suo moto notice over political situation of the country arising after Deputy Speaker rejected no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

A five-member larger bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Umer Atta Bandial will resume the hearing of the case in federal capital.

During the hearing on Tuesday, PPP counsel Senator Raza Rabbani said that this is a civilian coup. A stance was created through an alleged cable which is based on malafide intent, the Senator said, adding that the no-confidence motion against the prime minister was tabled on March 28 but the NA session was adjourned.

He maintained that NA Deputy Speaker Suri gave the ruling without putting the documents before the parliament on Sunday. He argued that Rule 28 says the deputy speaker cannot give a ruling even if he has the authority.

"Deputy Speaker’s ruling is illegal and no-trust motion cannot be rejected without voting on it," Rabbani said. He further stated that the deputy speaker’s ruling doesn’t have constitutional security under Article 69.

Rabbani concluded saying that they want that the arguments completed and the court issues a brief order today.

After Rabbani, PML-N’s counsel Makhdoom Ali Khan presented his arguments.

As per the rules, the counsel pointed out, a debate on the no-trust move was supposed to be conducted on March 31. "But a debate was not held," he said, adding that voting was also not conducted on April 3.

He noted that according to the no-confidence motion, the prime minister had lost the confidence of the majority of the National Assembly. "Shehbaz Sharif had submitted the motion as per the rules of business," he said, adding that the NA session was adjourned till April 3 without conducting any proceedings, he said.

Here, the CJP asked how the session was adjourned and inquired if anyone had shown up from the speaker’s side. The court then summoned the record of the speaker and of the NA session held on April 3.

The PML-N’s counsel also said that the deputy speaker did not give the opposition a chance to speak during the session held on April 3 and gave the floor to the former information minister.

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Starlink loses its frequency authorizations in France

Starlink, the satellite internet service of tech billionaire Elon Musk, has lost its frequencies in France after a legal battle waged by environmental groups.

In a ruling published Tuesday, the State Council, France’s supreme court for administrative justice, quashed a February 2021 decision by the Arcep telecoms regulators granting Starlink two bands of frequencies to link the satellites with French clients.

The court criticised Arcep for not having consulted the public before greenlighting the project even though it was likely to have an important impact on the high-speed internet market as well affect users.

"The State Council sent a signal to those who confuse speed with haste," Stephen Kerckhove, head of Act for the Environment, one of the two groups behind the legal action.

Starlink could not be immediately reached for comment on the ruling.

Kerckhove said he hoped Arcep would not now just go through the motions of holding a public consultation but "truly carry out an economic and environmental evaluation" of Starlink.

Starlink offers high-speed internet service to customers in areas that are poorly or not served by fixed-line or mobile telecoms operators via a constellation of satellites in low earth orbit.

Kerckhove said the 12,000 Starlink satellites are a nuisance for those who like to gaze upon the stars.

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