Updated at: 0404 PST, Monday, April 25, 2011
LONDON: Former wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider has left London to return to Pakistan, Geo News reported. He would arrive in Islamabad on Monday morning.
The wicketkeeper stunned the cricket world last November when he fled the team hotel in Dubai during series against South Africa. He spent nearly six months in England.
On reaching London where he applied for asylum, Zulqarnain claimed that he fled the team hotel because of threats from unknown person to cooperate in fixing the matches or face dire consequences. He had also announced to quit cricket.
Later, Zulqarnain withdrew his asylum application with the British home office and planned to return home.
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
Zulqarnain Haider returns
ISLAMABAD: Runaway former wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider returned home from Britain on Monday after receiving government assurances about the safety of his family.
Haider, who turned 25 on Saturday, fled the Pakistan team's hotel in Dubai on November 8 for the United Kingdom after saying he had received demands that he fix a one-day match against South Africa under the threat of death.
He arrived by plane in Islamabad on Monday and was escorted by security officials to Interior Minister Rehman Malik's office where he met the minister, who had guaranteed his safety.
"I am happy to return. There were solid reasons behind my going to London and I am sure everyone realised that no one can put his career at stake for nothing," Haider told reporters after the meeting.
With his younger daughter on his lap, Haider added: "I am happy the way I was given full security. I want to spend some time with my family and then meet PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) chairman (Ijaz Butt) which I will share with you."
"Haider will be given full security as promised," Malik said. "He is a citizen of Pakistan so there is no restriction on his movement. He has told us some facts which at this point of time we cannot share with the media."
Wearing a casual shirt and jeans, Haider was earlier whisked away by security officials to avoid a scrum at the airport, where he also met his wife, daughters and brother, witnesses said.
The wicketkeeper was part of the Pakistan team in the series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates when he went missing on the day of the fifth and final one-day match on November 8.
He fled to London and announced his retirement from international cricket. A week later he applied for asylum there.
Last week Haider met Malik and, after receiving promises of safety for himself and his family, agreed to return home. He said he had also decided to withdraw his asylum request.
After his disappearance the PCB terminated his contract and formed a committee to establish the facts surrounding the dramatic departure.
But the three-member committee said there were no clear motives behind his disappearance and also declared him "mentally ill".
After meeting Malik last week, Haider also said he would return to cricket.
"Since I have been given full assurances of safety, I have no reason to continue with my asylum application and after returning home I want to resume my cricket career," he said.
The PCB said Monday that Haider had not yet been in touch with them.
"If he makes a contact, then only we will have to decide whether he will have to appear before the committee. He didn't submit details sought by the fact-fixing committee last year," PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar said.
Haider played one Test, against England at Birmingham last year, as well as four one-day and three Twenty20 internationals in a short career.
On his Facebook page Haider had also promised to name Pakistani players involved in match-fixing, but he never supplied the names.
British media reported that Haider was questioned by the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU), the International Cricket Council (ICC) wing that deals with match-fixing claims, in London last year but that the unit did not find anything substantive to back up his allegations. (AFP)
Haider, who turned 25 on Saturday, fled the Pakistan team's hotel in Dubai on November 8 for the United Kingdom after saying he had received demands that he fix a one-day match against South Africa under the threat of death.
He arrived by plane in Islamabad on Monday and was escorted by security officials to Interior Minister Rehman Malik's office where he met the minister, who had guaranteed his safety.
"I am happy to return. There were solid reasons behind my going to London and I am sure everyone realised that no one can put his career at stake for nothing," Haider told reporters after the meeting.
With his younger daughter on his lap, Haider added: "I am happy the way I was given full security. I want to spend some time with my family and then meet PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) chairman (Ijaz Butt) which I will share with you."
"Haider will be given full security as promised," Malik said. "He is a citizen of Pakistan so there is no restriction on his movement. He has told us some facts which at this point of time we cannot share with the media."
Wearing a casual shirt and jeans, Haider was earlier whisked away by security officials to avoid a scrum at the airport, where he also met his wife, daughters and brother, witnesses said.
The wicketkeeper was part of the Pakistan team in the series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates when he went missing on the day of the fifth and final one-day match on November 8.
He fled to London and announced his retirement from international cricket. A week later he applied for asylum there.
Last week Haider met Malik and, after receiving promises of safety for himself and his family, agreed to return home. He said he had also decided to withdraw his asylum request.
After his disappearance the PCB terminated his contract and formed a committee to establish the facts surrounding the dramatic departure.
But the three-member committee said there were no clear motives behind his disappearance and also declared him "mentally ill".
After meeting Malik last week, Haider also said he would return to cricket.
"Since I have been given full assurances of safety, I have no reason to continue with my asylum application and after returning home I want to resume my cricket career," he said.
The PCB said Monday that Haider had not yet been in touch with them.
"If he makes a contact, then only we will have to decide whether he will have to appear before the committee. He didn't submit details sought by the fact-fixing committee last year," PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar said.
Haider played one Test, against England at Birmingham last year, as well as four one-day and three Twenty20 internationals in a short career.
On his Facebook page Haider had also promised to name Pakistani players involved in match-fixing, but he never supplied the names.
British media reported that Haider was questioned by the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU), the International Cricket Council (ICC) wing that deals with match-fixing claims, in London last year but that the unit did not find anything substantive to back up his allegations. (AFP)
Pakistan win toss, put Windies into bat in 2nd ODI
GROS ISLET, Saint Lucia: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi won the toss and elected to field against West Indies in the second One-day International on Monday at Beausejour Cricket Ground here.
Pakistan are unchanged, but West Indies have brought leg-spinner Anthony Martin in for his international debut to replace fast bowler Andre Russell.
Pakistan lead the five-match series 1-0, after winning the first ODI by eight wickets last Saturday at the same ground.
The third and fourth ODIs will be played this coming Thursday and next Monday at Kensington Oval in Barbados, with the final match of the series three days later at the Guyana National Stadium.
Pakistan have won their last six ODIs against West Indies spread over the last four years, with the hosts previous victory a 54-run triumph in the opening match of the 2007 World Cup staged in the Caribbean at Sabina Park in Jamaica.
Teams:
West Indies: Darren Sammy (captain), Devon Smith, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Kirk Edwards, Dwayne Bravo, Carlton Baugh Jr (wk), Anthony Martin, Kemar Roach, Devendra Bishoo
Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Salman (wk), Hammad Azam, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan
Umpires: Asoka De Silva (SL), Norman Malcolm (WI), TV umpire: Peter Nero (WI)
Reserve umpire: Gregory Brathwaite (WI)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZ)
Pakistan are unchanged, but West Indies have brought leg-spinner Anthony Martin in for his international debut to replace fast bowler Andre Russell.
Pakistan lead the five-match series 1-0, after winning the first ODI by eight wickets last Saturday at the same ground.
The third and fourth ODIs will be played this coming Thursday and next Monday at Kensington Oval in Barbados, with the final match of the series three days later at the Guyana National Stadium.
Pakistan have won their last six ODIs against West Indies spread over the last four years, with the hosts previous victory a 54-run triumph in the opening match of the 2007 World Cup staged in the Caribbean at Sabina Park in Jamaica.
Teams:
West Indies: Darren Sammy (captain), Devon Smith, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Kirk Edwards, Dwayne Bravo, Carlton Baugh Jr (wk), Anthony Martin, Kemar Roach, Devendra Bishoo
Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Salman (wk), Hammad Azam, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan
Umpires: Asoka De Silva (SL), Norman Malcolm (WI), TV umpire: Peter Nero (WI)
Reserve umpire: Gregory Brathwaite (WI)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZ)
Pakistan bowl out Windies for 220 runs
GROS ISLET, Saint Lucia: Pakistan spinners Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Hafeez and skipper Shahid Afridi restricted West Indies to a modest 220 all out in the second one-day international on Monday.
The three exploited another docile Beausejour Cricket Ground pitch after Pakistan, who won the first game on Saturday by eight wickets, chose to field.
Ajmal, Hafeez and skipper Afridi shared six wickets for 102 runs in 30 overs between them, and only West Indies opener Lendl Simmons looked close to getting on top of them, leading the way with 51 from 48 balls, which included four fours and two sixes.
Hafeez made the first breakthrough when he trapped left-handed opener Devon Smith lbw for 16 in the sixth over, and Ajmal struck with his first delivery when Darren Bravo was caught at slip for 12 to leave West Indies 58 for two in the 12th over.
From there the pressure mounted on the West Indies batsmen once Afridi employed an all-out spin attack and wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals.
Marlon Samuels made 29 and Kemar Roach, batting at nine, scored 24, but no other West Indies batsman passed 20.
Pakistan fielded an unchanged 11 but West Indies brought leg-spinner Anthony Martin in for his international debut to replace fast bowler Andre Russell.
The third and fourth ODIs will be played this coming Thursday and next Monday at Kensington Oval in Barbados, with the final match of the series three days later at the Guyana National Stadium.
Pakistan have won their last six ODIs against West Indies spread over the last four years, with the hosts most recent victory a 54-run triumph in the opening match of the 2007 World Cup staged in the Caribbean at Sabina Park in Jamaica.
The three exploited another docile Beausejour Cricket Ground pitch after Pakistan, who won the first game on Saturday by eight wickets, chose to field.
Ajmal, Hafeez and skipper Afridi shared six wickets for 102 runs in 30 overs between them, and only West Indies opener Lendl Simmons looked close to getting on top of them, leading the way with 51 from 48 balls, which included four fours and two sixes.
Hafeez made the first breakthrough when he trapped left-handed opener Devon Smith lbw for 16 in the sixth over, and Ajmal struck with his first delivery when Darren Bravo was caught at slip for 12 to leave West Indies 58 for two in the 12th over.
From there the pressure mounted on the West Indies batsmen once Afridi employed an all-out spin attack and wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals.
Marlon Samuels made 29 and Kemar Roach, batting at nine, scored 24, but no other West Indies batsman passed 20.
Pakistan fielded an unchanged 11 but West Indies brought leg-spinner Anthony Martin in for his international debut to replace fast bowler Andre Russell.
The third and fourth ODIs will be played this coming Thursday and next Monday at Kensington Oval in Barbados, with the final match of the series three days later at the Guyana National Stadium.
Pakistan have won their last six ODIs against West Indies spread over the last four years, with the hosts most recent victory a 54-run triumph in the opening match of the 2007 World Cup staged in the Caribbean at Sabina Park in Jamaica.
Sindh, Balochistan CNG stations shut down for 36 hours
KARACHI: All Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations in Sindh and Balochistan closed down their operations for 36 hours from midnight of Friday till noon on Sunday.
On late Friday, long queues of vehicles were witnessed at CNG stations.
According to Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) spokesman, this was mutually agreed in a meeting of the SSGC's top management and the elected representatives of several CNG associations at SSGC Head Office on Thursday, presided by SSGC's Deputy Managing Director Azim Iqbal Siddiqui.
The decision was taken in the larger interest of maintaining uninterrupted gas supply across the company's franchise areas in Sindh and Balochistan.
There was a need for this decision keeping in view of Bhit Gas Field Annual Turn-Around (ATA), which has been in effect since April 12.
It was also agreed between the SSGC and the representatives of CNG associations that the company's monitoring teams will be strictly checking all the stations during this 36-hour agreed shut-down.
The CNG stations found operating during the agreed shut down period of 36 hours will have their gas supply disconnected and will not be restored for 24 hours beyond the closure period and until the filing of a 'non objection certificate' (NOC) from the respective CNG association.
On late Friday, long queues of vehicles were witnessed at CNG stations.
According to Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) spokesman, this was mutually agreed in a meeting of the SSGC's top management and the elected representatives of several CNG associations at SSGC Head Office on Thursday, presided by SSGC's Deputy Managing Director Azim Iqbal Siddiqui.
The decision was taken in the larger interest of maintaining uninterrupted gas supply across the company's franchise areas in Sindh and Balochistan.
There was a need for this decision keeping in view of Bhit Gas Field Annual Turn-Around (ATA), which has been in effect since April 12.
It was also agreed between the SSGC and the representatives of CNG associations that the company's monitoring teams will be strictly checking all the stations during this 36-hour agreed shut-down.
The CNG stations found operating during the agreed shut down period of 36 hours will have their gas supply disconnected and will not be restored for 24 hours beyond the closure period and until the filing of a 'non objection certificate' (NOC) from the respective CNG association.
Islamic banks’ assets grow over 30pc in a year
Updated at: 2009 PST, Saturday, April 23, 2011
KARACHI: The asset base of Islamic banking industry expanded by 30 percent to Rs477 billion in 2010 from Rs366 billion in 2009, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a report on Tuesday.
Their non-performing finances (NPF) increased by 38.2 percent to Rs13.8 billion from Rs10 billion in 2009, the report added.
The central bank said that during the last quarter of 2010, Islamic banks’ assets grew by 12.5 percent to Rs477 billion from Rs424 billion in the quarter ended September 2010.
The NPF increased marginally during the quarter to Rs13.8 billion from Rs13.5 billion at the beginning of the quarter.
Recovery increased to Rs1.25 billion from last year’s figure of Rs0.8 billion.
Investment and financing rose 96 percent and 18 percent, respectively, on quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis. “The unprecedented surge in investments is attributable to issuance of long-awaited Ijarah Sukuk of Rs89 billion during the quarter,” the report said.
“The handy growth of 18 percent in financing could be attributed to seasonal uptake in credit.”
Cotton harvesting commences during the October-December quarter that gives significant rise to credit demand by textile sector. Share of financing by Islamic banks to the textile sector increased from 18 percent to 22 percent during the quarter, said the report.
Investments and financing increased to Rs158 billion and Rs180 billion, respectively, in 2010 from Rs72 billion and Rs153 billion in December 2009.
The central bank said that despite rapid growth in their assets and deposits, Islamic banks’ profitability remained considerably lower than the industry average.
The Return on Assets and Return on Equities at 0.6 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively, for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, was significantly lower than the industry average of one percent and 9.8 percent, respectively.
This is evident from the operating expense to gross income ratio for IBIs which is at 73 percent as compared to 53 percent for the industry.
The conversion of conventional branches into Islamic banking branches has picked up pace. In the last seven months, 15 conventional banking branches have been converted into Islamic banking branches, the SBP said.
KARACHI: The asset base of Islamic banking industry expanded by 30 percent to Rs477 billion in 2010 from Rs366 billion in 2009, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in a report on Tuesday.
Their non-performing finances (NPF) increased by 38.2 percent to Rs13.8 billion from Rs10 billion in 2009, the report added.
The central bank said that during the last quarter of 2010, Islamic banks’ assets grew by 12.5 percent to Rs477 billion from Rs424 billion in the quarter ended September 2010.
The NPF increased marginally during the quarter to Rs13.8 billion from Rs13.5 billion at the beginning of the quarter.
Recovery increased to Rs1.25 billion from last year’s figure of Rs0.8 billion.
Investment and financing rose 96 percent and 18 percent, respectively, on quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis. “The unprecedented surge in investments is attributable to issuance of long-awaited Ijarah Sukuk of Rs89 billion during the quarter,” the report said.
“The handy growth of 18 percent in financing could be attributed to seasonal uptake in credit.”
Cotton harvesting commences during the October-December quarter that gives significant rise to credit demand by textile sector. Share of financing by Islamic banks to the textile sector increased from 18 percent to 22 percent during the quarter, said the report.
Investments and financing increased to Rs158 billion and Rs180 billion, respectively, in 2010 from Rs72 billion and Rs153 billion in December 2009.
The central bank said that despite rapid growth in their assets and deposits, Islamic banks’ profitability remained considerably lower than the industry average.
The Return on Assets and Return on Equities at 0.6 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively, for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, was significantly lower than the industry average of one percent and 9.8 percent, respectively.
This is evident from the operating expense to gross income ratio for IBIs which is at 73 percent as compared to 53 percent for the industry.
The conversion of conventional branches into Islamic banking branches has picked up pace. In the last seven months, 15 conventional banking branches have been converted into Islamic banking branches, the SBP said.
India to export petro-products to Pakistan
Updated at: 0900 PST, Monday, April 25, 2011
MUMBAI: India has agreed to export fuels to Pakistan to help the neighbouring country meet its shortfall and provide a new market for large refineries of Reliance Industries and Essar Oil, the Economic Times reported on Monday.
"Pakistan is too keen to import refined petroleum products from across the border to save cost," the newspaper quoted an Indian government official with direct knowledge of the matter as saying.
"The Indian side will firm up the proposal in an internal meeting on Monday before the bilateral meeting," the unnamed source told the paper.
Pakistan has about 12-million-tonnes refining capacity, which meets only half of its annual requirements. India exports about 25 percent of its 185-million-tonne refining capacity, the Economic Times said.
Reuters could not immediately reach the officials at Reliance Industries and Essar Oil for a comment.
MUMBAI: India has agreed to export fuels to Pakistan to help the neighbouring country meet its shortfall and provide a new market for large refineries of Reliance Industries and Essar Oil, the Economic Times reported on Monday.
"Pakistan is too keen to import refined petroleum products from across the border to save cost," the newspaper quoted an Indian government official with direct knowledge of the matter as saying.
"The Indian side will firm up the proposal in an internal meeting on Monday before the bilateral meeting," the unnamed source told the paper.
Pakistan has about 12-million-tonnes refining capacity, which meets only half of its annual requirements. India exports about 25 percent of its 185-million-tonne refining capacity, the Economic Times said.
Reuters could not immediately reach the officials at Reliance Industries and Essar Oil for a comment.
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