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‘Where the journey began’: Arshad comes a full circle at National Games

It would perhaps be sacreligious, but not amiss, to call Arshad Nadeem Pakistan’s sporting messiah. He was the saviour the country had pinned all their Olympic aspirations on when he flew to Paris last year, ultimately creating history for a nation facing a medal drought at the most spectacular sporting show on Earth. No sooner had the Olympic champion emerged in the PNS Karsaz ground that he was greeted by the dusty Karachi winter heat and pockets of fans swarming him for selfies every two metres. He obliged, as he always has to his fans. Read: Man of the people. Athletes abandoned their warmup to snap a photo with him, cramming into a single frame lest they miss the historic opportunity. Young women squealed in delight and adjusted their hair before posing for the camera, while older technical officials — the vanguard of Pakistan athletics well before Arshad was born — took his hand in both of theirs as they blessed with him a long life and more prosperity for the nation. One boy ...
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Nine-year-old Kainat defies heat and logic with National Games 10,000m bronze

On a scorching day of fainting veterans and rifle-shot starts, a girl named Kainat Khalil from Sindh rewrote the meaning of endurance at the 35th National Games. Athletics at the Games began not with a traditional pistol’s pop, but with the sharp, unexpected report of a rifle cutting through the cool Monday morning at the NPT&SC. It was an omen. This would be a day of raw, unvarnished struggle, where the starting command itself felt like a call to battle. The dust from the inaugural men’s 5,000m had barely settled before the December sun perched mercilessly over the open field. It transformed the arena into a kiln, making the very air an opponent. In the women’s 10,000 metres, the drama was medical: Athletes wilted, fainted and were stretchered away — vanquished not by rivals, but by the searing haze. Wapda’s Maria Bibi, who would emerge the quickest in 44 minutes and 21 seconds ahead of Navy’s Mumtaz (47:10.11), later stated the obvious with exhausted clarity. “The heat felt...
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National Games: System overpowers spirit in basketball

Just four days before the National Games basketball event was set to tip-off, the Pakistan Basketball Federation (PBBF) was told the venue was gone. With teams arriving and no court to play on, the event itself was in jeopardy. “We arranged everything in almost two days,” PBBF secretary Yaqoob Qadri told Dawn , revealing a significant off-court challenge. “There were some people who don’t want the event to happen.” Yet, on Sunday, the roar of a packed crowd for the Army-Sindh clash at the North Nazimabad Gymkhana in Karachi was the definitive answer. Against a backdrop of administrative hurdles, the players delivered a classic on the hardwood: a tale of Army’s clinical system slowly dismantling Sindh’s passionate home stand, culminating in a 97-62 victory. The roar in the arena was for Sindh. Every steal, every basket by the home team sent waves of noise crashing onto the court. But standing across from that passion was the cold, tall geometry of the Pakistan Army team. What unfolde...
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Pakistan, US to intensify cooperation on security, immigration

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United States agreed to intensify cooperation on immigration and security during a meeting here on Saturday between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and acting US Ambassador Natalie Baker. The acting US ambassador, who called on the interior minister, offered her country’s full technical assistance for counter-narcotics operations and efforts to curb illegal immigration. The meeting also focused on strengthening collaboration in intelligence sharing. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Naqvi said that Pakistan had a clear and firm policy regarding illegal immigration. He added said the identification of drug trafficking cases at airports remained a top priority. “State-of-the-art scanning machines are being installed at all major airports across the country.” The minister reaffirmed that the country was strictly implementing a zero-tolerance policy against narcotics. “Even today, drugs originating from Afghanistan are reaching dozens of countries and destroyin...
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US sets 2027 deadline for Europe-led Nato defence, officials say

The United States wants Europe to take over the majority of Nato’s conventional defence capabilities, from intelligence to missiles, by 2027, Pentagon officials told diplomats in Washington this week, a tight deadline that struck some European officials as unrealistic. The message, recounted by five sources familiar with the discussion, including a US official, was conveyed at a meeting in Washington this week of Pentagon staff overseeing Nato policy and several European delegations. The shifting of this burden from the US to European members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation would dramatically change how the US, a founding member of the post-war alliance, works with its most important military partners. In the meeting, Pentagon officials indicated that Washington was not yet satisfied with the strides Europe has made to boost its defence capabilities since Russia’s expanded invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The US officials told their counterparts that if Europe does not meet t...
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Govt offers talks after PTI demands access to its leader

• Rana Sanaullah says party still not ready to come to the table • Alarm raised over alleged breach of privacy by FBR ISLAMABAD: After a fiery speech in the Senate by a PTI-backed lawmaker, deploring the absence of rule of law and an unannounced ban on meetings with incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan, the ruling party once again held out an olive branch to the PTI, reassuring it that all issues could be resolved through dialogue. Speaking in the upper house of parliament on Friday, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Poli­tical and Public Affairs Rana Sana­ullah said the PTI had always rejected the path of negotiations, even though all issues could be reso­lved through dialogue rather than deadlock. He said the government was ready to hold a dialogue with the opposition to take the country forward, but the PTI leadership remained unwilling. The remarks came after PTI Senator Mashal Yousafzai chided two ministers over the claim that VVIP facilities were available to Imran ...
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Mexico to kick off 2026 World Cup against South Africa

The 2026 World Cup will kick off on June 11 with joint-hosts Mexico playing South Africa at the Azteca Stadium — venue of the 1970 and 1986 finals — followed by South Korea against a playoff winner after the draw was made on Friday. South Africa are appearing for the first time since 2010, when they drew with Mexico in the opening match but failed to reach the knockout stage. Fellow hosts the United States and Canada will join the party the next day, against Paraguay and a playoff winner — possibly Italy — respectively in Los Angeles and Toronto. Defending champions Argentina were grouped with Algeria, Austria and Jordan, while five-times winners Brazil will play Morocco — semi-finalists in 2022 — Haiti and Scotland. The Scots are appearing in the finals for the first time since 1998, when they lost to Brazil in the opening game. France’s first game will be against Senegal in a repeat of one of the biggest tournament upsets, when the Africans stunned the then-holders in their firs...
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