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/ 19 October 2007
Pakistani police have found the head of a suspected bomber in a suicide attack that killed at least 133 people as former prime minister Benazir Bhutto passed through masses of supporters in Karachi on Friday. Typically, a bomber’s head is blown off by the upward force of the explosives strapped to his body.
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/ 19 October 2007
South African cricket officials will meet to assess player safety before deciding whether to continue their tour of Pakistan after deadly blasts in Karachi, officials said on Friday. Two blasts ripped through a homecoming parade for former premier Benazir Bhutto late on Thursday in attacks that killed at least 130 people and injured more than 400.
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/ 19 October 2007
A suspected suicide bomber killed 133 people on Friday in an attack on former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, as she was driven through Karachi to greet supporters on her return from eight years in exile. Bhutto was unhurt in one of the deadliest attacks in her country’s history.
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/ 18 October 2007
A suspected suicide bomber killed at least 115 people and wounded 100 on Friday in an attack targeting a vehicle carrying former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto through Karachi on her return from eight years in exile. Bhutto was safe and at her home after leaving the truck that had been transporting her.
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/ 18 October 2007
AB de Villiers and Herschelle Gibbs smashed centuries to help South Africa defeat Pakistan by 45 runs in the first day-night international in Lahore on Thursday. De Villiers notched a brisk unbeaten 95-ball 103, while Gibbs scored 102 to propel the tourists to 294-5 in 50 overs before paceman Makhaya Ntini restricted Pakistan to 249 in 46.3 overs.
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/ 18 October 2007
Former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto ended eight years of self-exile on Thursday, returning to Karachi where more than 200Â 000 supporters poured on to the streets to welcome her home. ”I am thankful to God, I am very happy that I’m back in my country and I was dreaming of this day,” said Bhutto.
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/ 18 October 2007
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ended eight years of self-exile on Thursday, making a comeback that could eventually lead to power sharing with President Pervez Musharraf. ”I am thankful to God, I am very happy that I’m back in my country and I was dreaming of this day,” said a sobbing Bhutto.
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/ 17 October 2007
South Africa are confident of carrying their Test form into the five-match one-day series against Pakistan starting at Lahore’s Gadaffi stadium on Thursday. Having won the two-match Test series 1-0, skipper Graeme Smith and his men will be looking forward to maintaining a tradition of impressive one-day performances in Pakistan.
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/ 16 October 2007
Mark Boucher and AB de Villiers hit quick-fire hundreds as South Africa tuned up for the one-day international series with a crushing 176-run win against Pakistan’s Patron’s XI on Tuesday. Boucher scored a 106-ball 103 while de Villiers raced to an unbeaten 113 off 95 balls as the tourists compiled 328-4 in just 45 overs at Bagh-e-Jinnah Stadium.
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/ 15 October 2007
South African ace batsman Jacques Kallis revealed on Monday his team’s most desperate desire — to beat rivals Australia in a Test series. South Africa are riding high after drawing with Pakistan last week to clinch their first Test series on the subcontinent since 2000. They won the first Test by 160 runs in Karachi in the two-match series.
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/ 12 October 2007
South Africa sealed their first Test series on the subcontinent since 2000 on Friday after being held to a draw by Pakistan in the second and final match. Pakistan, set a mammoth 457 to win, finished the final day on 316-4 with Younis Khan scoring a brilliant 130 while Mohammad Yousuf marked his return to the team with a stylish 63.
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/ 12 October 2007
South African all-rounder Vernon Philander and assistant coach Vincent Barnes were racially abused with monkey chants during the second Test against Pakistan on Friday, officials said. Police removed about a dozen spectators, mostly school students, from the stadium during the match in Lahore after complaints from the South African team, officials said.
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/ 11 October 2007
Pakistan put up a spirited display as they fought to save the second Test against South Africa on the fourth day on Thursday. Kamran Akmal (49) and Younis Khan (48) added 93 runs for the unbroken second wicket to take Pakistan to 108-1 at close, raising the home team’s hopes of salvaging the match on the fifth day on a deteriorating pitch.
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/ 11 October 2007
Pakistan’s Shoaib Akhtar has been banned for 13 international matches and fined 000 by the disciplinary committee of the country’s cricket board for four breaches of the code of conduct. The committee also placed the fast bowler on a two-year probation period during which if he is found guilty of violating the code of conduct he could be banned for life.
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/ 11 October 2007
Captain Graeme Smith scored his first century in 17 matches to put South Africa in control of the second Test against Pakistan at lunch on the fourth day on Thursday. Smith made his 12th Test century and Jacques Kallis (69 not out) his 47th fifty to take South Africa to 211 for two at the interval
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/ 10 October 2007
South Africa marched towards setting a stiff target for Pakistan in the second Test on Wednesday. The visitors were 154-2 at stumps on day three — enjoying an overall lead of 305 runs with captain Graeme Smith batting on 75 and in-form Jacques Kallis not out on 37.
Pakistani jets pounded militant hideouts near a troubled tribal town for the third day on Tuesday as officials said about 250 people had died in some of the heaviest clashes since 2001. The fighting has forced thousands to flee from Mir Ali, a town that President Pervez Musharraf has previously pinpointed as a den of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network.
Thousands of families began fleeing a town in a Pakistani tribal region after three days of fierce clashes between pro-Taliban militants and security forces that killed nearly 200 people. Around 150 militants and 45 soldiers were killed in fighting around Mir Ali, a town known as an al-Qaeda haunt.
Pakistan struggled to 140 for four in reply to South Africa’s 357 all out at the close on day two of the second Test at the Gadaffi stadium on Tuesday. Inzamam-ul-Haq (37) appearing in his 120th and final Test, was unbeaten on 10 alongside Misbah-ul-Haq (10) after Pakistan lost four wickets in the final session.
Ashwell Prince and Jacques Kallis hit fighting half centuries for South Africa on Monday against a disciplined Pakistan bowling attack on the first day of the second Test. South Africa prodded to 259-6 with Mark Boucher not out on 9 and Andre Nel yet to score as stumps were drawn for the day seven overs before scheduled close due to bad light.
About 50 Pakistani troops are missing in a tribal area bordering Afghanistan after fierce battles with Islamic militants that have already claimed 80 lives, the army said on Monday. The soldiers have been out of radio contact since early on Monday in rugged North Waziristan, where the United States says Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network is regrouping.
Pakistani soldiers backed by helicopter gunships killed 20 pro-Taliban militants in an attack on Sunday in the North Waziristan region on the Afghan border, a military spokesperson said. The army attack came hours after staunch United States ally President Pervez Musharraf swept the most votes in a presidential election.
Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf swept the most votes in a presidential election on Saturday but he has to wait for the Supreme Court to confirm the legality of his bid before he can be declared winner. Doubts over whether the election result will stand have fuelled uncertainty.
Pakistani lawmakers began voting on Saturday in a presidential election that Pervez Musharraf is set to win despite a court ruling that delays the declaration of a result and could yet deny him victory. Musharraf, who seized control of the world’s only nuclear-armed Islamic nation in a 1999 coup, is assured of the votes he needs for another five year-term.
For a man who burst on to the international cricket scene by playing some eye-catching knocks in Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup win, it is unfortunate that Inzamam-ul-Haq should be associated with the team’s dismal performance in this year’s event.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court kept the fate of President Pervez Musharraf’s re-election bid in its hands by deciding a vote could go ahead on Saturday, but a winner cannot be declared until it rules if he was eligible to stand. United States ally General Musharraf is sure to win the vote in Parliament and the country’s four provincial assemblies.
Fast bowler Dale Steyn took five wickets to lead South Africa to a thumping 160-run win over Pakistan just before tea on the final day of the first Test at the National Stadium in Karachi on Friday. Pakistan were bowled out for 263 chasing an improbable victory target of 424 runs, with captain Shoaib Malik the last man out after an obdurate 30 runs from 99 balls.
Pakistan’s Younis Khan and Faisal Iqbal shared a big stand to hold up South Africa’s push for victory in the first Test after Jacques Kallis hit his second century of the match on the fourth day on Thursday. Younis (93 not out) and Faisal (44) put on 114 for the third wicket after Pakistan lost their openers quickly.
Jacques Kallis held the fort for South Africa after Pakistan’s spinners skittled two wickets for one run on the fourth day of the first Test on Thursday. Kallis, who scored a brilliant 155 in South Africa’s first innings total of 450, was unbeaten on 57 as the tourists reached 171-5 at lunch at the National Stadium.
South African selectors have named Vernon Philander to replace the injured Morne Morkel in their squad touring Pakistan. Fast bowler Morkel fractured his left foot during training before the first Test and has been advised to rest for at least six to eight weeks.
South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher on Wednesday said he was honoured to break Ian Healy’s Test record for dismissals behind the stumps with 396 victims. The 30-year-old stumped Pakistani batsman Umar Gul for 12 on the third day of the first Test against Pakistan at the National Stadium in Karachi to reach the milestone.
South African spinner Paul Harris took a career-best 5-73 against Pakistan as the visitors extended their lead on the third day of the first Test in Karachi on Wednesday. The 28-year-old left-armer took full advantage of a spin-friendly pitch to help dismiss the home team for 291.