KARACHI: The Ministry of Religious Affairs on Friday announced the commencement of month-long special flight operations for Hajj pilgrims in Pakistan from May 9 to June 9. All flights scheduled for the first 15 days would land at the Madina airport, while most flights will land at the Jeddah airport from May 24 to June 9, the ministry’s spokesperson said. …

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) — the top ally of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) at the Centre — is all set to get two more key “constitutional positions” in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) under the “power-sharing deal” as they nominated two loyalists, Sardar Saleem Haider Khan and Faisal Karim Kundi, for the governor’s slots in both provinces, …

CHITTAGONG: Zim­b­a­bwe missing next month’s Twenty20 World Cup would haunt the team for years, captain Sikandar Raza said Thursday on the eve of their white-ball series in Bangladesh. Minnows Namibia and Uganda beat out Zimbabwe in the African leg of the qualifiers last year to join the world’s top teams at the tournament, jointly hosted by the United States and …

MELBOURNE: The honour of captaining Australia sits lightly on Mitchell Marsh’s shoulders as he prepares to lead the team in search of an unprecedented treble of major global titles at the T20 World Cup in June. Marsh was confirmed as captain with the squad’s naming on Wednesday, continuing a remarkable comeback for the laconic all-rounder since his recall during last …

MUMBAI: India are not losing sleep over all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s form or batting stalwart Virat Kohli’s strike rate heading into the T20 World Cup in June, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said on Thursday. Pandya, when fit and in form, is India’s preferred seam-bowling all-rounder and has also been retained as vice-captain of the Rohit Sharma-led squad for the T20 showpiece …

KARACHI: Pakistan finally registered their first victory of the ongoing West Indies tour of the country, when they beat the visitors by eight wickets in the fourth of the five-match women’s Twenty20 International series here at the National Bank Stadium on Thursday. After being subjected to a 3-0 ODI series whitewash, Pakistan lost the first three T20s to give the …

LAHORE: Dr Sohail Saleem, the head of Pakistan Cricket Board’s medical department, resigned on Thursday after a medical committee formed by the PCB revealed negligence and significant loopholes in the treatment of the elbow injury of Pakistan fast bowler Ihsanullah. “Dr Sohail Saleem, Director of Medical and Sports Sciences, has tendered his resignation, which has been accepted by the PCB [chairman Mohsin …

ISLAMABAD: Hinting at calling the 13th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) of the CPEC to meet on May 22-23, the government is expected to increase by over a quarter the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the next fiscal year, notwithstanding struggling development spending this year amid IMF-backed fiscal consolidation and stabilisation outlook. Informed sources told Dawn that the Ministry of Planning and …

ISLAMABAD: The exports of merchandise rose year-on-year by 10.02 per cent in April after a slowdown in growth in the previous month, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. Export proceeds incre­ased by double-digits since December before slowing in March. However, the exports shrank 9pc month-on-month. In absolute terms, exports reached $2.35 billion in April …

GENEVA: A revival of industrial policies is under way around the world, the United Nations said on Thursday, with countries going for technological innovation to diversify their economies. The UN’s World Intellectual Property Organisation said greater productivity levels could be reached through specialising in existing strengths. “In economies of all sizes, we are seeing a resurgence in industrial policymaking,” said …