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How first PSL match after week-long suspension was used for Pakistan Army propaganda
General Asim Munir, Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, was seated next to Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi during Saturday's PSL between Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi. Image credit: Screengrab of video posted on X
The ongoing seasons of the Indian Premier League and Pakistan Super League resumed on Saturday after a week-long hiatus due to the recent armed conflict between India and Pakistan. While the IPL match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders ended in a washout that resulted in the latter getting eliminated from the playoffs race, there were no weather-related interruptions on the other side of the border as Karachi Kings ended up defeating Peshawar Zalmi in the match that was originally scheduled to take place on 8 May.
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Top military officials attend Karachi Kings-Peshawar Zalmi match in Rawalpindi
Saturday's PSL restart, however, witnessed what can be construed as military propaganda, with Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir among those in attendance alongside Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who also happens to be the country's Federal Interior Minister. Also seated at the VIP Box at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday was Director General ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry.
They should keep doing the winning celebration for atleast 3 more months cx man this is crazy😭pic.twitter.com/vtRM7DJtSC — samiya 6-0 (@pinklininginsky) May 17, 2025
General Munir had made headlines for his infamous 'Two-Nation Theory' speech in which he made controversial remarks regarding Hindus and described Kashmir as Pakistan's 'jugular vein', besides commenting on the insurgency in Balochistan. Five days later, 26 people – a majority of them tourists – were killed and several others injured in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that ignited tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations and led to the military showdown.
Lt Gen Chaudhry, meanwhile, had attended several press briefings alongside Air Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmed, the two serving as the spokesperson of the Pakistan Army and Air Force respectively. He is the son of Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, a former nuclear scientist who is also a UN-listed terrorist and was linked to 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden.
The Indian armed forces had responded to the Pahalgam attack by striking multiple terror camps located in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. The Pakistan armed forces retaliated by indiscriminately targeting civilian areas in Poonch and other areas in J&K. Pakistan's escalation led to India targeting multiple air bases, including the Bholari Air Base that is located around 100 kilometres from the metropolis of Karachi.
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The two nations agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday after more than three days of military hostilities, allowing cricket to resume in India as well as in Pakistan. While RCB and KKR collected a point each following a washout that ended the latter's hopes of sneaking into the playoffs, defending champions Karachi Kings defeated Peshawar Zalmi by 23 runs.
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