KARACHI: There was an eerie silence at both the KMC and KPT Stadiums. Even if there were no crowds allowed during the National Women’s Football Championship due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there were still shouts of joy, cries of anguish and cheers from the sidelines. But on Sunday, despite all four quarter-finals scheduled — two each at both venues, there …

KARACHI: Shabbir Iqbal has hit the ceiling in his career. That doesn’t in any way imply, though, that the ceiling is very low. After coasting to yet another title in his gloried career at the Rashid D. Habib Memorial Professional Golf Tournament at the Karachi Golf Club here on Sunday, there was a moment of reflection for Pakistan’s top golfer. …

PUNE: India seamers Shardul Thakur and Bhuvneshwar Kumar snared seven wickets between them to help the hosts beat England by seven runs in a thrilling third and final One-day International on Sunday and win the series 2-1. England’s chase of 330 appeared all but over when they were reduced to 257-8 in the 40th over but all-rounder Sam Curran and …

KARACHI: Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) on Sunday finally announced schedule of Pakistan’s tour of the African nation which features three Twenty20 Internationals and a two-match Test series against the hosts with all fixtures to be played at the Harare Sports Club. The Babar Azam-led Pakistan side will also become the first country to play on the Zimbabwean soil in the post-Covid-19 …

There is no way for Pakistan to insulate from consequences if famine strikes Afghanistan, a neighbouring country with which it shares a long porous border. Currently, Pakistan itself is struggling with a fragile economic recovery and Covid-induced alarmingly high poverty and unemployment rates. The relevant authorities, at both tiers of the government, acknowledge the need to collectively assess the critical …

ISLAMABAD: An audit of the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) for the year 2019-2020 has revealed that 9,756 employees are working in the organisation’s 42 regions against the sanctioned or authorised strength of 7,662. The auditors recommen­ded an independent inquiry into the matter to fix responsibility. According to the audit report, 2,094 extra emplo­yees are an extra burden on the already …

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson touches on the scary moment the blood vessels in his lungs gave out and caused internal bleeding. The action hero got candid in an Instagram upload, right alongside a picture of that moment. The caption alongside the post detailed the entire incident at length and read, “Not the most elegant or sexy #throwbackthursday back when I …

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to soften terms of housing loan so that people can get maximum benefit of the government’s flagship Naya Pakistan Housing Programme (NPHP) to build their houses. “I instruct Governor State Bank Reza Baqir and President National Bank Arif Usmani… that banks …

The rupee picked up where it left off on Friday, gaining an additional 42 paisa against the US dollar on Monday as the greenback was quoted at below the pre-pandemic level of 154.24 (March 6, 2020). The dollar was being quoted at 154.15/154.20 (11:30 PST) compared to Friday’s closing value of Rs154.58. The US dollar had lost 42 paisa against the …