Jashn-e-Azadi Pakistan, Happy Independence Day 14 August 2012: Wallpapers

Jashn-e-Azadi Pakistan, Happy Independence Day 14 August 2012: Wallpapers

Salman Butt released from british prison: lawyers

LONDON: Pakistan's disgraced former Test captain Salman Butt has been released early from a British prison after serving less than a quarter of his sentence for spot fixing, his lawyers said Thursday.

The 27-year-old was jailed for 30 months last November on charges of accepting corrupt payments during the Lord's Test against England in August 2010.

He was freed on Thursday, according to his London legal company, 25 Bedford Row.

Butt's father Zulfiqar said on Wednesday that he expected his son to be home within three or four days.

Butt, teammates Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer, and agent Mazhar Majeed were accused of arranging deliberate no-balls in return for money.

Aamer was released in February after serving half his six-month sentence while Asif, jailed for 12 months, was freed in May.

The three players were banned for at least five years by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which has ordered the Pakistan Cricket Board to rehabilitate the former stars.

The trio has a right to appeal the ICC ban in the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Switzerland. (AFP)

Arrest warrants for Shahabuddin, Musa Gilani

RAWALPINDI: An anti narcotics court has issued non-bailable arrest warrants for the PPP's prime minister candidate, Makhdoom Shahabuddin and Ali Musa Gilani in the Ephedrine case, Geo News reported.

Today, the investigating team of Anti Narcitics Force (ANF) requested the court for warrants. The court issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Ali Musa Gilani, the younger son of former prime minister Syed Yusuf Rqza Gilani and Makhdoom Shahabuddin.

The News in June 20 edition had reported that ANF has collected credible evidences against Shahabuddin and Musa Gilani.

"His arrest is a matter of time. He can be taken into custody anytime," said a well-placed ANF official privy to the investigation into the drug case.

A Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, had already directed the ANF to arrest Shahabuddin, who had approved the ephedrine quota.

An ANF official said the investigators had undeniable evidence of Shahabuddin's involvement in the ephedrine case. "He was the man who being the health minister issued quota to Danas Pharma," said the official, who wished anonymity given the discreet nature of information and the high-profile individuals' involvement.

The ANF last summoned Shahabuddin in May for interrogation and he admitted issuing a quota but pleaded innocence, saying he was unaware of the purpose and persons behind the move.

The apex court has directed the ANF to arrest Shahabuddin for issuing unauthorised drug quota to Danas Pharma with Ali Musa Gilani as the principal beneficiary of such sanction. Hearing the ephedrine case on June 7, the Supreme Court questioned Brig Faheem of the ANF as to why Shahabuddin had not been arrested even after it was established that he had approved the illegal ephedrine quota.

21st Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup 2012 Schedule

The 21st Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament 2012 starts from 24 May 2012 and end on 3 June 2012 according to details given Below.

21st Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament 2012 event Includes Pakistan , Malaysia a recent winner of Gold Medal of Junior Hockey Asia Cup, India( recent winner of Bronze Medal of Junior Hockey Asia Cup, Korea, Argentine, Great Britian and New Zealand.

Before London Olympics 2012, it will be the best tool to analyze the Performance of every Team currently played in this 21st Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament 2012 and wanted to play in London Olympics 2012.

21st Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup 2012 - Schedule

THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2012	24-05-2012 16:05	Pakistan	- : -	Argentina
THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2012	24-05-2012 18:05	New Zealand	- : -	India
THURSDAY, MAY 24, 2012	24-05-2012 20:05	Korea	- : -	Malaysia
FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012	25-05-2012 16:05	New Zealand	- : -	Argentina
FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012	25-05-2012 18:05	Great Britain	- : -	Malaysia
FRIDAY, MAY 25, 2012	25-05-2012 20:05	Korea	- : -	India
SUNDAY, MAY 27, 2012	27-05-2012 16:05	New Zealand	- : -	Pakistan
SUNDAY, MAY 27, 2012	27-05-2012 18:05	Korea	- : -	Argentina
SUNDAY, MAY 27, 2012	27-05-2012 20:05	Great Britain	- : -	India
MONDAY, MAY 28, 2012	28-05-2012 16:05	Korea	- : -	Pakistan
MONDAY, MAY 28, 2012	28-05-2012 18:05	Great Britain	- : -	Argentina
MONDAY, MAY 28, 2012	28-05-2012 20:05	India	- : -	Malaysia
WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 2012	30-05-2012 16:05	Argentina	- : -	India
WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 2012	30-05-2012 18:05	Great Britain	- : -	New Zealand
WEDNESDAY, MAY 30, 2012	30-05-2012 20:05	Pakistan	- : -	Malaysia
THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012	31-05-2012 16:05	Great Britain	- : -	Korea
THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012	31-05-2012 18:05	Pakistan	- : -	India
THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012	31-05-2012 20:05	New Zealand	- : -	Malaysia
SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012	02-06-2012 16:05	Korea	- : -	New Zealand
SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012	02-06-2012 18:05	Great Britain	- : -	Pakistan
SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 2012	02-06-2012 20:05	Argentina	- : -	Malaysia

Harbhajan Singh and Geeta Basra to marry in September

Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh is, at last, going to tie the knot with his girlfriend Geeta Basra in September, says a media report.

The two are ‘gearing up for a grand wedding affair’ in September, the report says. The ceremonies for the wedding will begin in Geeta Basra’s hometown, Yorkshire and conclude in Harbhajan’s village in Punjab.

Geeta, in a recent interview, had denied any marriage plans in the near future. Geeta is debuting in the Bollywood film The Train with Sanjay Dutt and Vivek Oberoi.

Geeta and Harbhajan broke up after going through a rocky patch several years ago. But now the couple is set to tie the knot.

Bayern Munchen vs Chelsea, Watch Live Final UEFA Champions League 2012

Bayern Munchen vs Chelsea, Watch Live Final UEFA Champions League 2012

Bayern Munchen vs Chelsea

Date/Time:	May 19, 2012 2:45pm (US/Eastern)
Competition:	UEFA Champions League
Live/Repeat:	Live
Venue:	Allianz-Arena (München)

BAYERN MUNCHEN Neuer Lahm, Boateng, Badstuber, Alaba Gustavo, Kroos Robben, Muller, Ribery Gomez

CHELSEA Cech Bosingwa, Cahill, David Luiz, Cole Mikel, Essien Kalou, Lampard, Mata Drogba

Boxer Aamir Khan hurt as title fight is cancelled

LONDON: Pakistani born British boxer Amir Khan has spoken of his hurt and disappointment following the cancellation of his world light-welterweight title rematch against Lamont Peterson calling latter 'cheat' as American boxer failed drugs test.

It emerged this week that Peterson, who controversially beat Khan in December to capture the Bolton fighter's WBA and IBF titles, had tested positive for a banned steroid.

Talking to Sky Sports News, Khan said "First of all, I'm disappointed because I trained very hard for this fight. It was only 10 days away from the fight where my dad came knocking on my bedroom door and said to me 'look, Lamont Peterson's failed his drug test and the fight's no longer going to happen'."

He continued: "It was a big shock for me. My head was all over the place, I really, really wanted to win my titles back and have the fight. But the truth's come out now and it just proves that Lamont Peterson was a cheat really."

Asked about how he can get his belts back, Khan said: "The Nevada Commission have taken the licence off Lamont Peterson and they don't want him to fight in the next fight, so I think whoever I fight next they'll put the titles on the line or we still go through the process and we might get the titles back and the fight that we had last time will be a no-contest."

Khan, who revealed he would meet Golden Boy to discuss a potential fight in June or July, added: "I wanted this fight even when I heard he failed his drugs test. (Monitoring Desk)

Mohammad Hafeez appinted T20 Captain

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board has appointed Mohammad Hafeez as the captain for the Twenty 20 (T20) format of the game during the tour of Sri Lanka.

Speaking to the media, PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf announced that the Pakistani all rounder would be leading the team in the shortest format of the game, however Misbah ul Haq would remain captain for the One day International and Test formats. Hafeez would serve as the vice captain in these formats.

Ashraf said that Misbah was consulted in all decisions made by the board.

“We are proud of you and will always be proud of you,” Ashraf said in praise of Misbah.

Speaking to the media Hafeez thanked the board and Misbah for giving him the opportunity to lead the T20 team.

“I will try my best to enhance the moral and image of the team.” Hafeez also praised former captains he had played under and said he would implement what he had learnt from them.

“His leadership qualities, calmness and honesty are exemplarily” Hafeez said while describing Misbah.

T20 Team: Khalid Latif, Ahmed Shahzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Umer Akmal, Shakil Ansar, Shahid Afridi, Yasir Arfat, Sohail Tanveer, Saeed Ajmal, Raza Hasan, Umer Gul, Haris Sohaib, Mohammad Sami, Hamad Azam, Nasir Jamshed.

ODI: Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umer Akmal, Sarfaza Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Umer Gul, Rahat Ali, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Mohammad Sami, Asad Shafiq, Ijaz Cheema, Azhar Ali, Imran Farhat.

Test: Mohammad Hafeez, Taufiq Umer, Azhar Ali, Misbah ul Haq, Younis Khan, Asad Shafique, Adnan Akmal, Umer Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Mohammad Sami, Faisal Iqbal, Junaid Khan, Afaq Rahim, Mohammad Dogar, Aizaz Cheema.

David Richardson set to be new ICC chief executive

David Richardson is set to succeed Haroon Lorgat as the new chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

Former Test wicketkeeper David Richardson is set to succeed fellow South African Haroon Lorgat as the new chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the global governing body announced Thursday.

Richardson s name will go forward for approval by the ICC annual conference at its meeting in Kuala Lumpur in June 28 after being chosen by the ICC board.

He was one of four candidates, believed to have included England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive David Collier, who were interviewed for the post in Mumbai last weekend.

If confirmed, Richardson s appointment would be ground-breaking for two reasons: he would be the first former international cricketer to hold the post of ICC chief executive since its creation in 1993 and the first to be already working for world cricket s governing body.

Johannesburg-born Richardson, 52, a qualified lawyer, has been the ICC s general manager for cricket for the last 10 years having previously represented South Africa in 42 Tests and 122 one-day internationals.

"It is a great honour to be nominated to be chief executive of the ICC," Richardson said in a statement issued from its Dubai headquarters. "I am delighted with this opportunity and thank the ICC board for their approval.

"It has been a privilege to serve as ICC general manager-cricket, and that work will continue until such time as the ICC annual conference ratifies my nomination. I am looking forward to working closely with all the membership and stakeholders in the game.

"It is an honour to be following a fellow South African, Haroon Lorgat, in this role. I have learnt a lot under his leadership and thank him for his support in the last four years."

ICC vice-president Alan Isaac, who led the search for Lorgat s successor, said Richardson would provide "continuity".

"David Richardson was an outstanding candidate who not only had important knowledge of the ICC administration, its staff and its operations but also has unquestioned cricketing knowledge having represented his country so admirably," Isaac said.

"His appointment will provide continuity and a smooth transition after Haroon Lorgat steps down after ICC annual conference in Kuala Lumpur at the end of June," the New Zealander added.

"I would like to put on record my appreciation for Haroon and what he and the ICC staff have achieved in the last four years."

Richardson is now in line to become the fourth ICC chief executive, with Lorgat having followed the Australian duo of David Richards (1993-2001) and Malcolm Speed (2001-2008).

Protest against power outages across Punjab Continues

Residents in various area of Punjab took to the streets to protest against massive power outages.

People staged protest rallies on Thursday against unscheduled electricity loadshedding in different areas of Punjab including Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Mianwali, Sargodha, Khushab, Bhakarm, Multan, Vihari, DG khan and Bahawalpur.

The protesters chanted slogans against the government and Wapda authorities for observing 18-22 hours of loadshedding.
A large number of industrial workers in Faisalabad also joined the protest. The protesters blocked traffic by burning tyres on the roads.

They said the power shutdown in different areas had made it impossible for them to earn their livelihoods. They added that their lives had been ruined due to unscheduled outages while students were unable to prepare for their examinations.

A complete shutter-down strike was being observed in Vihari and rallies were taken out against power outages.

They expressed anguish and resentment over extended load shedding hours and increase in power tariff in the name of fuel adjustments charge.

The protestors have also vowed not to pay their electricity bills until government resolves the issue.

United Kingdom urges Pakistan to resume NATO supply

US ensures provision of 1b dollars of CSF after supply resumption.

According to Dunya News, Britain has pressurized Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to resume the NATO supply. Meanwhile, the US government has stated that if Pakistan opens the NATO supply route it will issue one billion dollars from the Coalition Support Fund.

It is worth mentioning here that the US suspended 1.2 billion dollars of the Coalition Support Fund for Pakistan two years ago.

When federal Minister for Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh visited US to discuss fund’s issue, the American authorities told him that the US was ready to issue the funds if Pakistan resumes NATO supply, even with the increased charges.

The finance minister is reported to have briefed the civil and military leadership about the situation after his return to Pakistan.

Hafeez Shaikh was also in favour of opening the supply route. He said Pakistan should respond to the US offer positively because he was facing difficulties in the preparation of upcoming budget.

Pakistani star singer Ali Zafar invited to Cannes Film Festival

Trendy Pakistani star singer Ali Zafar becoming Bollywood favourite

Pakistani singer-actor Ali Zafar is surely making giant strides in Bollywood with each passing day. Recently, the actor was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for Upcoming Talent and now we hear that Ali has been invited to attend the prestigious Cannes Film Festival scheduled to be held later this month.

Ali, who made a successful debut with Tere Bin Laden, has since been seen in films like Mere Brother Ki Dulhan and London Paris New York. The actor s popularity in India has grown by leaps and bounds and no wonder then that the authorities of Cannes Film Festival considered it worthwhile to invite Ali to the French Riviera.

Ali is currently working out his schedule to make it to the Cannes Film Festival.