Fatima Sana will lead Pakistan in the upcoming ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday announced a 15-member squad for the tournament, as well as a tri-series featuring Ireland and the West Indies.

According to a press release by the PCB, Pakistan will feature in a tri-series in Dublin from May 28 to June 4, where hosts Ireland and the West Indies are the other two participating teams. Pakistan is set to play four matches in the event.

“The tournament will help Pakistan and the other two sides gear up for the 12-team ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to take place from June 12 to July 5,” the cricket board said.

Among the 15 players selected by the Women’s National Selection Committee, Eyman Fatima, Natalia Pervaiz, Rameen Shamim, Saira Jabeen and Tasmia Rubab will feature in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time.

It said 24-year-old Fatima, who will feature in her third ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, would captain the side for the second successive T20 World Cup after having led the team in the previous edition held in the UAE in 2024.

Ahead of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in England and Wales, the Pakistan women’s team will play two warm-up fixtures — against Sri Lanka on June 6 and against Scotland on June 9. Both matches will take place in Derby.

“Pakistan will begin their campaign against India at Edgbaston in Birmingham on June 14, before facing South Africa at the same venue on June 17,” the PCB said, adding that the team will then travel to Southampton to face Bangladesh at the Hampshire Bowl on June 20.

Their fourth fixture will be against Australia at Headingley in Leeds on June 23, while their final group-stage match will be against the Netherlands at the Bristol County Ground in Bristol on June 27.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals, scheduled for June 30 and July 2, respectively. The final will be staged at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London on July 5.

15-member squad:

Fatima Sana (captain), Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Eyman Fatima, Gull Feroza, Iram Javed, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Pervaiz, Rameen Shamim, Sadia Iqbal, Saira Jabeen, Tasmia Rubab and Tuba Hassan.

Non-travelling reserves:

Amber Kainat, Momina Riasat, Sadaf Shamas, Sidra Amin, Syeda Aroob Shah and Umm-e-Hani.

Player support personnel:

Ayesha Ashhar (manager), Wahab Riaz (mentor/head coach), Abdur Rehman (spin bowling coach), Umaid Asif (fast bowling coach), Abdul Majeed (fielding coach), Imran Farhat (batting coach), Muhammad Arslan (media manager for tri-series only), Raza Kitchlew (media manager for World Cup), Waleed Ahmed (analyst), Moeen (strength and conditioning coach), Alveena Awan (team doctor), Tehreem Sumbal (physiotherapist) and Kiran Shahzadi (masseuse).

Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Memon on Saturday said that the provincial government had exempted shops, markets, malls, hotels, restaurants, wedding halls and marquees from fixed closing timings to “facilitate businesses and citizens”.

According to the notification, which he shared on the social media platform X, all shops, markets, shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, food outlets, marriage halls, and marquees have been exempted from the 9pm closing time, which was enforced last month.

“This decision reflects our commitment to economic growth, public convenience, and support for the business community, which remains the backbone of our economy,” Memon said.

KP lifts market timing restrictions

In a notification issued by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary, the provincial government lifted restrictions on closure timings for markets, commercial and business centres with immediate effect.

The notification, available with Dawn, follows a prior public notice regarding temporary electricity conservation and commercial closure measures across the province.

“However, all citizens, commercial establishments, markets, plazas, marriage halls, restaurants, industries and public sector offices are requested to continue observing electricity conservation measures, particularly the avoidance of unnecessary and decorative lighting, prudent use of air-conditioning, and other non-essential electricity consumption in the larger public interest,” it read.

Last month, the Sindh government had notified that all shops, markets, and shopping malls in Karachi and other divisional headquarters of the province will close at 9pm throughout the week, including Saturdays and Sundays, as part of austerity measures amid the Middle East conflict, which has triggered a global oil crisis.

On April 6, the federal government announced that all markets across the country, barring Sindh, would close by 8pm throughout the week as part of energy conservation measures amid a global fuel crisis triggered by the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Saturday’s development also comes a day after the Punjab government has granted partial relief and lifted the restriction on market timings until June 1. The decision was in response to traders’ protests and appeals by the shopping malls association and general public to revise 8pm business closure timings.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday met a delegation from Egypt during which the two sides discussed promoting cooperation in the fields of security, counter-terrorism, combatting narcotics, cybercrime, and safe city initiatives, the interior ministry said.

Both sides agreed to enhance cooperation between the interior ministries of the two countries, it said in a social media post on X.

The delegation from Egypt’s interior ministry was led by Major General Magdy Helal and included Brigadier Essam Abu Al-Khair, Brigadier Engineer Mohamed Rady and Brigadier Dr Mohamed Mounir.

The ministry said it was decided that cooperation would be enhanced between the National Police Academy and Egypt’s police academy for joint training of officers.

“The visit of the Egyptian delegation will help explore new avenues of bilateral cooperation,” Naqvi was quoted as saying.

He further said that practical steps would be taken to further strengthen the relations between the two countries, while a Pakistani delegation will visit Egypt soon to explore new opportunities for cooperation in the areas of mutual interest.

“Enhanced cooperation between the interior ministries of the two countries will strengthen bilateral relations,” the ministry quoted Naqvi.

State Minister for Interior Tallal Chaudhry, who also attended the meeting, said that vast opportunities for cooperation prevailed between the two countries in the fields of counter-terrorism, combating narcotics, and internal security.

According to the ministry, the Egyptian delegation said that their visits to various institutions, including the Anti-Narcotics Force and the National Police Academy, proved immensely beneficial.

Further, the delegation said the two countries could benefit from each other’s experiences in various fields.

Last month, the two countries conducted two-week long joint exercise, “Pakistan-Egypt Joint Exercise Thunder-II”, focused on counter-terrorism.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday fined Pakistan 40 per cent of their match fee and docked them eight points in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) for maintaining a slow over rate during the first Test against Bangladesh.

In a press release, the ICC said, “Pakistan have been fined 40pc of their match fee and penalised eight points in the ongoing WTC 2025-27 cycle after being ruled eight overs short of the target once time allowances were taken into account”.

With this penalty, Pakistan is now on four points in the WTC standings, placing them eighth, just above the West Indies.

The sanction was imposed by Jeff Crowe of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, it added.

“Under Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which deals with minimum over-rate offences, players are fined 5pc of their match fee for every over their side fails to bowl within the allotted time,” the release said.

“As per Article 16.11.2 of the WTC playing conditions, teams lose one championship point for each over short, resulting in Pakistan being docked eight crucial points in the WTC standings,” it maintained.

The press release said that Pakistan captain Shan Masood had “admitted the offence and accepted the proposed sanction”, eliminating the need for a formal hearing.

The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Richard Kettleborough and Kumar Dharmasena, alongside third umpire Allahuddien Palekar and fourth umpire Gazi Sohel, it said.

In the first match of the two-Test series in Dhaka, Pakistan’s Test team was beaten by Bangladesh by 104 runs, as the hosts took a 1-0 lead.

The second match of the series was scheduled to be played from May 16 to 20 in Sylhet.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Friday that 11 Pakistanis and 20 Iranians, aboard vessels seized by the United States on the high seas, were successfully repatriated.

Last week, Pakistan reached out to Singaporean authorities for their support in facilitating the “welfare and repatriation” of the crew members. Dar noted that the vessels were near Singaporean waters at the time.

“All individuals are in good health and high spirits,” Dar wrote in a post on X, adding that the welfare of Pakistanis abroad, particularly those in distress, remains the government’s highest priority.

“All individuals have reached Bangkok from Singapore and already boarded the flight scheduled to reach Islamabad later tonight,” he added. “Our [Iranian] brothers will then be facilitated to return to their homeland.”

In the post, Dar extended his gratitude to Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Bala, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow for their support in repatriating the 31 seamen.

The Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane off the coast of Iran, has been virtually blocked by Tehran since the United States and Israel started bombing Iran on February 28.

Some vessels attempting to transit the Strait have reported being fired upon, with Iran and the US seizing several other ships. Last month, the US imposed its own blockade on ships from Iranian ports.

US forces boarded and seized the M/V Touska container ship on April 19. The vessel, which was part of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) group — which has been hit with US sanctions — was boarded off the coast of Iran’s Chabahar port in the Gulf of Oman.

On April 29, six of the crew members were freed, while on May 4, the remaining 22 were evacuated to Pakistan, before returning to Iran via a land border crossing. The Touska was also backloaded to Pakistan for repairs before being returned to its owners.

Similarly, on April 23, US forces boarded and seized the M/T Majestic X oil tanker in the Indian Ocean, according to the Department of War.

Karachi Additional Inspector General (AIG) Azad Khan shared details on Friday of the probe into alleged drug queenpin Anmol alias Pinky, saying investigators had come across information suggesting the involvement of foreigners in running the drug network.

Anmol was arrested earlier this week from her apartment in Karachi in a joint raid conducted by police and a civilian intelligence agency in connection with two cases pertaining to the possession of narcotics and an unlicenced weapon.

On Wednesday, a Karachi court granted police a three-day physical remand of her.

The Karachi AIG on Friday shared details at a press conference of the investigation into Anmol thus far, saying the case could turn out to be transnational as investigators had come across information about the involvement of foreigners in drug networks allegedly run by the suspect.

“We have come across information that some foreigners from African countries are involved in this network who are in Lahore. They may be six to eight in number.

“Similarly, around 20 Lahore-based women are also involved in this network,” he said.

“We have come to know that the main shipment [of drugs] used to come from there. They used to make their products there,” he said, adding that the products were then sent to Karachi.

He added that Anmol used to employ riders, nine of whom had been identified. “Eight of them are from Punjab and used to come here, carry out their work and leave. Only one of the nine riders was from Karachi,” he said.

“When her riders began getting caught, she changed her modus operandi. Instead of sending her own riders, she started using local riders through various services,” he added.

The AIG said Sindh authorities were in touch with the Punjab police and the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and the National Cybercrime Investigation Agency (NCCIA), he added. Moreover, “we are also contacting the Financial Monitoring Unit”.

The senior police official elaborated that 20 cases against Anmol had surfaced in Sindh, of which 17 were old cases and 3 were registered recently. “One of those cases is registered with the ANF.”

Moreover, three cases against her were registered in Lahore, he said, adding that further details regarding the status of those cases had been sought.

The AIG said Anmol had been shown as arrested in nine cases, and acquitted in six of the earlier cases registered against her. “She has been declared a proclaimed offender in three cases and an absconder in an ANF case,” he added.

Separately, nine cases registered previously were linked to her network, he said, adding that “her riders are nominated in those cases, but her name was not mentioned in the cases when they were registered”.

AIG Khan further said Anmol had been involved in drug peddling since 2014, but she began selling drugs in Karachi in 2018. “She used to do it online and when she came on [the authorities’] radar here, she moved to Lahore,” he added.

The official said a forensic analysis of Anmol’s phone had been conducted and that they had over 800 contacts. “We are trying to determine the location of those contacts. We have received the location of 639 contacts, of which only 132 are in Karachi,” he further stated.

He said this showed that Anmol’s network was not limited to Karachi and its “tentacles are spread beyond” this city.

The AIG said around 300 of Anmol’s contacts had been identified by investigators as being fully involved in drug-related activity. He added that the next task was to categorise those contacts as “victims”, who had been addicted to drugs; “accused”, who sold drugs; and “harbourers”, who had facilitated the network through their influence, adding that whoever they may be — including police personnel — would be taken into custody.

Sharing details of financial transactions related to Anmol traced so far, the AIG said “a 500-page statement of a year-and-a-half-old account had been obtained. According to it, transactions worth more than Rs30 million had been recorded in that account”.

“The biggest transaction has been made by an account under the name of an individual named Anna from Lahore — the amount is around nine million or more,” he said.

The official further told reporters that a raid at Anmol’s “old residence was conducted at night, from where cocaine was recovered. We have registered a separate case regarding that”.

He further said that four names had been forwarded to the relevant authorities to be placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) in connection with the case.

When asked whether any parliamentarian or their spouses were among the individuals whose names had been forwarded to be added to the ECL, the AIG said: “That is not the case. These are people who are involved in this [matter].”

During the briefing, he also said that Anmol had been nominated in a murder case as well. “Her contact was found with a drug addict who has died. We treat it as a murder,” he detailed.

He also mentioned that the Sindh inspector general of police had constituted a ’“larger team” for investigating the matter. “I am heading that team, which also comprises Deputy Inspector General (Crime) Amir Farooqi, the DIG (special branch) and DIG of the Counter-Terrorism Department,” he said.

“We want a broad-based investigation into this at a senior level,” he said.

The official also denied reports that Anmol was arrested in Lahore. “She was arrested here. Processes involving intelligence are complex, people are lured in — I will not go into details, but police and intelligence agencies have put in hard work for the arrest,” he explained.

He also said that he had spoken to the Punjab IG and that Sindh and Punjab police would continue to share information regarding the case. “We have already formed a team and they, too, will probably constitute a team,” he added.

A statement issued by police after the press conference stated that Anmol was arrested on the night of May 12 in a joint operation by police and intelligence agencies.

She was found in possession of 1,540 grammes of cocaine, 6,970 grammes of others drugs and chemicals and a 9mm pistol along with ammunition, the statement said.

It added that Anmol had “confessed during investigation that she began drug peddling in 2014-15 with her husband, Rana Nasir”. She was further quoted as saying that she used to “deal with Rana’s clients and supply drugs”.

According to police, she began selling drugs online in 2018.

“She had established an organised network in different cities. She used to supply drugs from one city to the other via local buses and received orders for drugs on Whatsapp.

“Once the [client’s] location was shared, she used to supply drugs in boxes of food items through riders,” the statement said.

It further stated that total 835 contacts numbers were found in her mobile’s contact list, and 300 among them were of her “active customers”. Moreover, “15 of her big clients and 38 regular customers have also been identified,” it said.

Six different bank accounts were traced through her mobile phone, the statement said, adding that money paid in exchange for drugs used to be sent to those accounts.

The statement also mentioned two men named Zeeshan and Sohail.

Police identified them as the owners of “Fayyaz Communication”, without sharing any further details of the entity.

“They used to oversee the financial matters. On Anmol’s instructions, Fayyaz Communication transferred Rs30m to her six accounts from four private accounts in a year,” the police statement said.

Investigation in final phase: Sindh home minister

Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, speaking at the Sindh Assembly, said that the investigation in the case was in its final stages and the names of all those involved would be disclosed.

He made it clear that, with the permission of the speaker and the assembly members, all details would be presented before the House to remove any ambiguity and ensure transparency.

Lanjar added that the arrest was carried out with the assistance of a federal intelligence agency and a Sindh Police officer, further stating that Anmol was involved in multiple criminal cases and has an existing criminal record.

He further stated that certain police officers attempted to mishandle the case, but noted that action against such elements was ongoing and arrests would be an option if further negligence or misconduct is proven.

Lanjar added that discussing matters under investigation before the inquiry is completed was not appropriate, as the government did not want to defame an innocent person without evidence.

He urged the members of the assembly to act responsibly and exercise patience until the inquiry is completed.

Lanjar further said that strict action is being taken against the responsible officers and transparent investigations are being ensured to bring all facts to light.

He added that once the inquiry is completed, he himself will present the complete details before the assembly.

PPP MNA and spokesperson Shazia Marri said on Friday that one instance of interaction between two people who had worked closely for several years “cannot be viewed in isolation”, after a video clip of PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari curtness with her went viral on social.

The incident took place at a press conference after the PPP’s parliamentary party meeting at the Parliament House in Islamabad on Thursday.

During the press briefing, a journalist asked Bilawal for his views on ministers in the federal government suggesting that education, health and other subjects, particularly the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) be given back to the Centre under a proposed 28th constitutional amendment.

Several subjects, including education and health, were devolved to the provinces under the 18th Constitutional Amendment in 2010.

Bilawal began his reply by stating that he was not aware which federal minister the journalist was referring to.

At that point, Marri, who was also present at the press conference, corrected him, stating that it was not a federal minister but Minister of State for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Kesoo Mal Kheal Das.

Das was reported to have said last week, while speaking to reporters, that the government was considering devolving BISP to provinces.

After Marri’s mention of him, Bilawal responded by saying, “I am not asking you.”

At that, Marri began apologising, but Bilawal interjected and said, “Thank you.”

As a video clip of the interaction went viral on social media, Marri seemingly addressed the matter in a post on X.

“One interaction that made its way on social media, between people who have worked closely together for many years, cannot be viewed in isolation. PPP has always prioritised the collective good of the people and nothing should take away from our joint mission of public service,” she said.

Her post was in response to another, which pointed out that the entire coverage of the presser had diverted to that “one instance”.

Meanwhile, digital rights expert and activist Usama Khilji said, “For a hardworking, senior and one of the few directly elected women politicians in the parliament to be spoken to with such condescending misogyny publicly is not a good message from the party that gave the Muslim world its first woman prime minister.”

He also called on Bilawal to apologise.

Imtiaz Gul, the executive director of Islamabad-based think tank Centre for Research and Security Studies, said, “Quite an embarrassing moment for a senior leader like Marri and an extremely poor reflection on Bilawal, who showed the wadera arrogance by giving her a shut up call.”

Security forces killed nine terrorists as they repulsed an attack on an army camp in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district, official sources said on Friday.

Four security personnel were also martyred during the engagement, they added.

The sources said terrorists from Fitna-al-Khawarij — the state-designated term for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — attacked the camp with explosives on Thursday night and tried to end the camp from one of the gates while firing.

But, security forces responded timely and effectively, as a result of which they remained unsuccessful in their nefarious designs, the sources added.

They said that according to initial reports, nine terrorists had been killed and four soldiers were martyred during the engagement.

The terrorists were unable to enter the camp despite using explosives and resorting to intense firing, they said, adding that a search and clearance operation was under way at the camp.

Meanwhile, injured security personnel had been taken to Peshawar for medical treatment, they said.

The TTP claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement.

The attack has taken place just three days after a blast in KP’s Lakki Marwat claimed the lives of nine people, including two traffic policemen. Over 30 people were also injured in the attack.

Prior to that, 15 police personnel were martyred after a suicide attack on the Fateh Khel police post in KP’s Bannu district on May 9.

KP has seen a rise in terrorist attacks in the past year. According to the Annual Security Report 2025 from the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), KP recorded a significant surge in violence last year as “fatalities rose from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 in 2025”.