AFP Asia

India closed in on a 2-0 series sweep in the second Test despite some spirited West Indies batting led by centuries from John Campbell and Shai Hope on Monday.Needing 121 for victory after bowling out the West Indies for 390, the hosts reached 63-1 at stumps on day four at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium.KL Rahul, on 25, and Sai Sudharsan, on 30, were batting in a stand of 54 at close of an absorbing day’s play.Yashasvi Jaiswal fell early for eight after left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican had the Indian opener caught at long-on while attempting an ambitious heave.Rahul and the left-handed Sudharsan steadied the ship and the pair kept up the scoring with singles and occasional boundaries against a persistent West Indies spin attack.Earlier, Justin Greaves with an unbeaten 50 and Jayden Seales (32) put on 79 runs for the final wicket to frustrate India after the West Indies slipped to 311-9 in the second session.Greaves and the left-handed number 10 defied the bowlers for 133 deliveries with straight-bat shots before Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Seales in the final session for his third wicket.Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav also took three wickets to add to his five-wicket haul in the West Indies’ first innings.Campbell (115) and Hope (103) had steered the West Indies into the lead after the tourists resumed the day on 173-2 while following on.”I think it’s a big positive for us,” Campbell said of their fightback. “Having not gotten the best first innings, we came out second innings and batted over 100 overs, so that’s a big plus for us.”The left-right batting pair of Campbell and Hope put on 177 runs for the third wicket.- Kuldeep strikes -Opener Campbell reached his first Test ton with a six off Ravindra Jadeja before the left-arm spinner trapped him lbw in the morning session.Hope kept up the charge after lunch and reached his first Test hundred in eight years with a boundary off pace bowler Mohammed Siraj.Siraj had his revenge soon after when the batter dragged his delivery onto his stumps.Kuldeep then took over to send back wicketkeeper Tevin Imlach, trapped lbw for two.The left-arm wrist spinner then struck twice in three balls including skipper Roston Chase for 40 before Greaves and Seales put on a defiant partnership.India bowled more than 200 overs on a slow pitch that made life tough for bowlers.The visitors had waged a fightback after being reduced to 35-2 in their second innings on day three, but the batters made sure the game will go the distance to day five.”Good to be bowling long spells and heartening to have taken 20 West Indies wickets,” Indian spinner Washington Sundar told reporters.”We got to be really fit and on top of our game. In Test cricket you honestly expect most of the Test matches to go till the fith day and challenge you in every way possible,”the off-spinner said.India enforced the follow-on after they bowled out the West Indies for 248, a deficit of 270 from the hosts’ first-innings 518-5 declared.The hosts won the first Test, in Ahmedabad, by an innings and 140 runs.

Pakistani police said Monday they launched a clearance operation against a hardline Islamist party after failed negotiations to call off an anti-Israel protest, with five killed in the violence, including one policeman.The Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) began its protests in Lahore on Thursday and planned to march to the US embassy in Islamabad, leading authorities to block roads between the two cities and shut down the internet.After negotiations between TLP and the government collapsed on Sunday, authorities launched a “dispersal operation” in Muridke, a town north of Lahore, where more than 7,000 supporters had reached in their march to the capital.Police said workers of TLP “resorted to stone pelting, spiked batons, and petrol bombs” and opened “indiscriminate fire, resulting in casualties among civilians and law enforcement personnel”.TLP has been behind some of Pakistan’s most violent protests, and frequently calls on the government to expel Western ambassadors.”One police officer and four civilians died,” the police statement said, adding that several rioters had been arrested while 48 law enforcement personnel and eight civilians were injured.The TLP had originally said the protests were organised to voice its opposition to the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, backed by Pakistan, after two years of war in Gaza.It later said the protest was in solidarity with Palestinians.”There were police personnel besieging us. They were firing bullets and tear gas. They kept shooting continuously for three to four hours,” said Abou Sufian, a TLP protester.After the operation, charred cars, including the TLP leader’s main truck, were left in the street.”There were no real negotiations. The government just used the word ‘negotiation’ to give the impression to the general public that they were holding a dialogue,” Allama Irfan, a senior member of TLP told AFP. Shipping containers were being placed as barriers across major roads in the capital in anticipation of the protesters’ arrival.As many as 50 police officers were injured in Friday’s clashes, a senior police official told AFP, while TLP claims that some of its members had been killed could not be verified independently.Israel declared a ceasefire and began pulling back its troops at around noon on Friday, as tens of thousands of Palestinians began walking back towards their devastated homes.The operation came at a time when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reached Egypt to attend the signing ceremony of the Gaza peace plan. “Today’s ceremony marks the closing of a genocidal chapter, one that the international community must ensure is never repeated anywhere again,” Sharif wrote on X. Pakistan has no formal diplomatic relations with Israel.

South Africa recovered from spinner Noman Ali’s double strike to reach 112-2 at tea on the second day of the first Test in Lahore on Monday in reply to Pakistan’s 378 all out.Noman removed skipper Aiden Markram for 20 and Wiaan Mulder for 17 — both caught behind by wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan — in extracting spin from the Gaddafi Stadium pitch after Senuran Muthusamy took a career-best 6-117 in the morning.At the break Ryan Rickelton and Tony de Zorzi were unbeaten on 45 and 23 respectively, with the tourists still trailing by 266 runs in the first innings.Noman has figures of 2-47.It was Noman’s like-for-like left-armer Muthusamy who destroyed Pakistan after they resumed on 313-5, losing their last five wickets for just 16 runs.Salman Agha hit five fours and three sixes in his 93 and was last man out, caught in the deep off spinner Prenelan Subrayen, who took 2-78.Agha added 49 with Rizwan to take their sixth-wicket stand to 163 before Muthusamy ripped out the middle order with three wickets in the 12th over of the day.Rizwan was the first to go, for 75, when he edged a sharply turning ball to wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne after a knock containing two fours and two sixes.Two balls later Noman went without scoring, bowled when he played down the wrong line and then Sajid Khan followed first ball, caught in the slips.It became 378-9 when Muthusamy bowled Shaheen Shah Afridi, on seven, for his sixth wicket.His previous Test best was 4-45 against Bangladesh in Chattogram last year.

South Africa left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy took 6-117 on Monday, including three wickets in four balls, as Pakistan collapsed from 362-5 to 378 all out on day two of the first Test in Lahore.The 31-year-old’s maiden five-wicket Test haul helped the visitors restrict Pakistan, who began the day on 313-5, on a Gaddafi Stadium pitch beginning to take more turn.South Africa’s openers negotiated four overs to reach lunch at 10-0. Aiden Markram was on five and Ryan Rickelton on four.Earlier Salman Agha hit five fours and three sixes in his 93 and was the last man out, caught in the deep off spinner Prenelan Subrayen who took 2-78.Agha added 49 with Mohammad Rizwan to take their sixth-wicket stand to 163 before Muthusamy ripped out the middle order with three wickets in the 12th over of the day.Rizwan, on 75, was the first to go when he edged a sharply turning ball to wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne after a knock containing two fours and two sixes.Two balls later Noman Ali went without scoring, bowled when he played down the wrong line and then Sajid Khan followed first ball, caught in the slips.It became 378-9 when Muthusamy bowled Shaheen Shah Afridi, on seven, for his sixth wicket that improved on his previous Test best of 4-45 against Bangladesh in Chattogram last year.

From the age of 10, Amina has been scrubbing, sweeping and cooking in a middle-class home in Pakistan’s megacity of Karachi. Like millions of Pakistani children, she is a household helper, an illegal but common practice that brings grief to families often too poor to seek justice. “Alongside my mother, I cut vegetables, wash dishes, sweep the floor and mop. I hate working for this family,” said the 13-year-old, who leaves her slum neighbourhood in Karachi at 7 am and often returns after dark.”Sometimes we work on Sundays even though it’s supposed to be our only day off, and that’s really unfair.” One in four households in a country of 255 million people employs a child as a domestic worker, mostly girls aged 10 to 14, according to a 2022 report by the International Labour Organization (ILO).Sania, 13, earns $15 a month helping her mother maintain a sprawling luxury home in the city, where she has been explicitly forbidden to speak to her employer’s children or touch their toys. AFP is not publishing the full names of children and parents interviewed to protect their identities.Sania gets half the salary of her mother for the same hours, together earning $46 — far below the minimum wage of 40,000 rupees ($140).”I dreamed of finishing school and becoming a doctor,” said the eldest of five siblings who, according to the law, should be in school until the age of 16.- ‘I know it’s immoral’ – A university professor who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity employs a 10-year-old boy because children are “cheaper and more docile”.”I know it’s immoral and illegal to employ a child, but at least he has a roof and is well fed here,” he said. Hamza was sent by his parents to live with the professor in Karachi — a 450-kilometre (280-mile) journey from his impoverished village, to which he returns only a few times a year.His monthly salary of $35 is paid directly to his father.”In the village, his poor parents would likely have sent him to the fields without even being able to feed him,” the professor said, while also acknowledging that he feels “uneasy” when his own children go to school and Hamza stays behind to clean.There is no unified definition of a child or child labour in Pakistan, although a federal law prohibits children under the age of 14 from working in unsafe and hazardous environments, such as factories.In Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital, employing a child as a domestic maid can lead to a maximum of one year in jail or a fine of up to 50,000 rupees ($177). However, few are prosecuted.Kashif Mirza from the NGO Sparc, one of the leading child rights organisations, described it as a form of “modern slavery widely accepted in Pakistani society that makes them particularly vulnerable”.”Society prefers to hire child domestic labour because they are cheap and more obedient, and employers make the argument that they are also safeguarding them, which is not true and illegal,” he told AFP.- ‘I had no choice’ -Iqra, a 13-year-old child worker, died in February from blows by her wealthy employers in Rawalpindi, Islamabad’s twin city, because chocolate had disappeared from their kitchen. Her father, Sana, who said after her death that he would seek to prosecute the employers, instead told AFP that he forgave them.Under Islamic law, which operates alongside common law in Pakistan, the family of a killed relative can accept financial compensation from the perpetrators in exchange for forgiveness, leaving them free from prosecution.”I had no choice. Where would I have found the money to pay legal fees? I already have more than 600,000 rupees ($2,120) in debt,” he said.”There was also some pressure from the family’s relatives to pardon them, and I eventually agreed,” he said.He told AFP that he had not taken any money from the family, highly unusual under Islamic law.He brought home his other two daughters and two sons after Iqra’s death. “I stopped sending them because I cannot bear the thought of losing another child,” he said.- Burned with an iron -“The penalties are not strict enough,” for both employers and parents, said Mir Tariq Ali Talpur, the social affairs minister for rural and impoverished Sindh. He told AFP that authorities regularly conduct checks and take charge of young children employed illegally, but the courts often return them to their parents after a small fine of around $3.50.”That’s why these incidents keep happening again and again,” he said.A Karachi couple accused of burning a 13-year-old domestic worker named Zainab with an iron was given bail for a fee of around $105 each in September.”I don’t understand how they could be free. Doesn’t anyone see Zainab’s injuries?” said the teen’s mother Asia, pointing to severe burns on her daughter’s arms, legs, back and stomach.Asia, who is pursuing the offenders legally, acknowledges that they are “rich and think they’re untouchable”.”The poor like us have no power,” she said. 

Pakistan rode on a brilliant 93 from Imam-ul-Haq to reach 313-5 after a brief fightback from South Africa on the opening day of the first Test in Lahore on Sunday.Shan Masood hit 76, but Haq missed out on his hundred and Pakistan slumped to 199-5 as four wickets fell quickly.Mohammad Rizwan, 62 not out, and Salman Agha, unbeaten 52 at the close, rebuilt the innings during an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 114 in the final session on a spin-friendly Gaddafi Stadium pitch.Rizwan hit two fours and two sixes in his 12th Test half-century while Agha had two fours and a six in reaching his 10th fifty.Pakistan dominated most of the first two sessions, but then had a mini-collapse from 163-1 to 199-5 as they lost four wickets for 36 runs, the last three without adding a run either side of the tea interval.”We have batted us to a good position,” said Haq, playing his first Test since December 2023. “We must score over 400 to get us in a strong position. Regarding missing a hundred, that’s always disappointing.”Spinner Prenelan Subrayen trapped Masood lbw for 76, including nine fours and a six, to end a 161-run stand with Haq. Left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy then had Haq caught at short-leg by Tony de Zorzi, after a 236-minute knock that included seven fours and a six.Next ball — the last before tea — Muthusamy had Saud Shakeel caught and bowled to bring South Africa back into the game at 199-4.Local hero Babar Azam fell for 23, trapped leg-before by Harmer after the interval to make it 199-5 and leave a good 10,000 holiday crowd disappointed.South Africa could have been in a better position had they not dropped Masood on 61 and Haq on 72 with Subrayen the unlucky bowler on both occasions.  South Africa spinner Simon Harmer hoped they could finish off the Pakistan innings quickly on day two.”We had a good day and now need to take positives from today and keep Pakistan under 400,” he said. “That would be great because this pitch will take more spin as the match progresses,” said Harmer, who had figures of 1-75. With the pitch likely to turn, Masood opted to bat after winning the toss and named specialist spin duo Noman Ali and Sajid Khan in the teamPakistan lost opener Abdullah Shafique leg before to pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada off the third ball of the day.South African captain Aiden Markram turned to his spinners in the sixth over and by lunch had used all three — Subrayen, Harmer and Muthusamy.But there were no further dramas in the opening session as Pakistan reached 107-1 at lunch after Haq had brought up his 10th Test fifty.The two-match series is part of the new World Test Championship two-year cycle. South Africa won the title by beating Australia in June.

The West Indies did not lose a wicket after tea to be 173-2 in their second innings at the end of day three of the second Test on Sunday after following on, but still need 97 runs to make India bat again.India’s Kuldeep Yadav earlier took five wickets at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium as the hosts bowled out the West Indies for 248 in their first innings after lunch, a deficit of 270.Captain Shubman Gill enforced the follow-on and the visitors lost two wickets before tea.But opener John Campbell then reached 87 not out and Shai Hope was unbeaten on 66 as the pair put together an unbroken 138-run stand.”It may be a good thing to be challenged,” said India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate, who defended India’s decision to enforce the follow-on.”Getting probably 130 overs in already, that’s a good test in the legs. We’re going to get sturdier Tests in the future where you do have to field for a day-and-a-half,” he told reporters.The gutsy batting of left-handed Campbell and Hope allowed them to build the highest partnership for the West Indies for any wicket in Tests this year.Campbell became the first West Indian to reach fifty in the two-match series with a four off Kuldeep.He survived a couple of close lbw calls against off-spinner Washington Sundar early in his innings but went on to dominate the bowling.Hope reached his fifty off Ravindra Jadeja and raised his bat to an applauding dressing room.- ‘All about application’ -“This is the first time we have been able to win a session in the two Tests. It’s all about application,” West Indies spinner Khary Pierre told reporters.”The wicket is going to deteriorate more so the more runs we could pile on, it could be a challenge for the Indian batsmen,” he said.Tagenarine Chanderpaul was the first to fall in the second innings, for 10 to a diving Gill catch off Mohammed Siraj, before Sundar bowled Alick Athanaze for seven on the stroke of tea.The West Indies began day three at 140-4 in their first innings in response to India’s 518-5 declared.Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep struck within 30 minutes, bowling Hope for 36.Kuldeep then had Tevin Imlach given out lbw for 21, a review of the decision showing the ball would have hit leg stump.Justin Greaves also fell lbw to Kuldeep for 17 and the West Indies were in deep trouble at 175-8 when Jomel Warrican was bowled by Siraj for one.Pierre and Anderson Phillip, who hit 24 not out, put on a stubborn stand of 46 to steer their team to lunch.Jasprit Bumrah bowled Pierre for 23 straight after the break before Kuldeep finally trapped Jayden Seales lbw for 13 for his fifth five-wicket haul in 15 Tests.Seales was fined 25 percent of his match fee by the International Cricket Council on Sunday for showing unnecessary aggression on Friday’s first day.India won the first Test in Ahmedabad by an innings and 140 runs.

Afghanistan and Pakistan said on Sunday they killed dozens of each other’s troops during a night of heavy border clashes between the two countries.Afghanistan’s Taliban forces launched attacks on Pakistani troops along their shared border late on Saturday, in what it called “retaliation for air strikes carried out by the Pakistani army on Kabul” on Thursday. Islamabad has not directly claimed responsibility for the strikes, but has repeatedly stated the right to defend itself against surging militancy that it says is planned from Afghan soil. The two sides have repeatedly clashed in border regions since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021, but airspace violations deep into Afghan territory would mark a significant escalation. Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government spokesman, said on Sunday that 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed and around 30 wounded in the clashes, while nine Taliban forces were killed. The Pakistani military, meanwhile, said 23 of its soldiers and more than 200 Taliban and affiliated troops were killed. AFP was unable to independently verify the casualty figures. Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said on Sunday the “situation is under control”.”Our operation last night achieved its objectives. And then our friends like Qatar and Saudi Arabia appealed that war must stop now, and the war is ceased right now,” he said during a visit to India.An Afghan military unit described Thursday’s blasts in the capital as “air strikes”, but Mujahid instead said the incident was an “airspace violation”, adding that no damage had been found.- ‘Strong’ response -Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday he “strongly condemns provocations” by Afghanistan.”There will be no compromise on Pakistan’s defence, and every provocation will be met with a strong and effective response,” Sharif said in a statement, accusing Taliban authorities in Afghanistan of allowing their land to be used by “terrorist elements”.The Afghan military said on Saturday night that Taliban forces were engaged “in heavy clashes against Pakistani security forces in various areas”.Several border security officials told AFP that no further clashes had been reported at major crossings on Sunday morning.Key border crossings between the countries were closed on Sunday, officials said.Extra troops have been sent to the major border crossing at Torkham, which sits on the frontier between Kabul and Islamabad.Pakistani officials at Torkham, who requested anonymity, told AFP there had been no casualties on their side of the border crossing and that no further clashes had been reported in the area on Sunday morning. The violence came while India hosted Afghanistan’s foreign minister for the first time since the Taliban returned to power. Wahid Faqiri, an Afghan international relations expert, said those warming relations have “angered Pakistan and pushed Islamabad towards aggression”.- Resurgent violence -Militancy increased in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since the withdrawal of US-led troops from neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021 and the return of the Taliban government. The vast majority of attacks are claimed by the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), whose campaign against Pakistan security forces has intensified this year — set to be the deadliest in more than a decade.Violence in the border region has “plunged relations between the neighbours to an all-time low”, said Maleeha Lodhi, a former senior Pakistani diplomat. “But there will have to be a return to diplomacy to find a resolution to the confrontation,” she told AFP.The TTP is a separate but closely linked group to the Afghan Taliban, which Islamabad says operates from Afghan soil with impunity.  A UN report this year said the TTP “receive substantial logistical and operational support from the de facto authorities”, referring to the Taliban government in Kabul.More than 500 people, including 311 troops and 73 policemen, have been killed in attacks between January and September 15, a Pakistan military spokesman said on Friday.Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told parliament on Thursday that several efforts to convince the Afghan Taliban to stop backing the TTP had failed.”Enough is enough,” he said. “The Pakistani government and army’s patience has run out.”

Opener Imam-ul-Haq was dismissed for 93 just before tea as Pakistan reached 199-4 on the opening day of the first Test in Lahore on Sunday.Left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy removed Haq, caught at short-leg by Tony de Zorzi, after a 236-minute knock that included seven fours and a six.Next ball — the last before tea —  Muthusamy had Saud Shakeel caught and bowled to bring South Africa back into the game.At the break, Babar Azam was unbeaten on 23, having overturned a caught behind dismissal against Muthusamy on one, as Pakistan added 92 runs in the session.Earlier spinner Prenelan Subrayen trapped Shan Masood lbw for 76, including nine fours and a six, to end a 161-run stand with Haq. South Africa could have been in a better position had they not dropped Masood on 61 and Haq on 72 with Subrayen the unlucky bowler on both occasions.  With the Gaddafi Stadium pitch likely to turn, Masood opted to bat after winning the toss and named specialist spin duo Noman Ali and Sajid Khan in the teamPakistan lost opener Abdullah Shafique leg before to pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada off the third ball of the day.South African captain Aiden Markram turned to his spinners in the sixth over and by lunch had used all three — Subrayen, Harmer and Muthusamy.But there were no further dramas in the opening session as Pakistan reached 107-1 at lunch after Haq had brought up his 10th Test fifty.The two-match series is part of the new World Test Championship two-year cycle. South Africa won the title by beating Australia in June.

Afghanistan’s government on Sunday said dozens of Pakistani troops and nine Afghan soldiers were killed in a night of heavy border clashes between the two countries.Afghanistan’s Taliban forces launched attacks on Pakistani soldiers along their shared border late Saturday, in what it called “retaliation for air strikes carried out by the Pakistani army on Kabul” on Thursday night.Islamabad has not directly claimed the strikes, but has repeatedly stated the right to defend itself against surging militancy that it says is planned from Afghan soil.Since the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021, the two sides have repeatedly clashed in border regions, but airspace violations deep into Afghan territory would mark a significant escalation. Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government spokesman, on Sunday told a press conference that 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed and around 30 wounded in clashes, while nine Taliban forces were killed. Pakistan has not given any official death toll and AFP was unable to independently verify the casualty figures. Mujahid told reporters that “we stopped the retaliation at midnight” as a result of mediation by Riyadh and Doha, and accused Pakistani troops of attacking Afghan forces early Sunday.Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar have urged both sides to “exercise restraint”.A military unit described Thursday’s blasts in the Afghan capital as “air strikes”, but Mujahid instead said the incident was an “airspace violation”, adding that no damage had been found. – ‘Strong’ response -Following the overnight clashes, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he “strongly condemns provocations” by Afghanistan.”There will be no compromise on Pakistan’s defence, and every provocation will be met with a strong and effective response,” Sharif said in a Sunday statement, accusing Taliban authorities in Afghanistan of allowing their land to be used by “terrorist elements”.The Afghan military said on Saturday night that Taliban forces were engaged “in heavy clashes against Pakistani security forces in various areas”.Key border crossings between the countries were closed on Sunday, officials said.Extra troops have been sent to the major border crossing at Torkham, which sits on the frontier between Kabul and Islamabad.Pakistani officials at Torkham, who requested anonymity, told AFP there had been no casualties on their side of the border crossing and that no further clashes had been reported in the area on Sunday morning. Several border security officials told AFP that no further clashes had been reported at major crossings on Sunday morning.- Resurgent violence -Militancy increased in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since the withdrawal of US-led troops from neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021 and the return of the Taliban government. The vast majority of attacks are claimed by the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), whose campaign against Pakistan security forces has intensified this year — set to be the deadliest in more than a decade.The TTP is a separate but closely linked group to the Afghan Taliban, which Islamabad says operates from Afghan soil with impunity. A UN report this year said the TTP “receive substantial logistical and operational support from the de facto authorities”, referring to the Taliban government in Kabul.More than 500 people, including 311 troops and 73 policemen, have been killed in attacks between January and September 15, a Pakistan military spokesman said on Friday.Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told parliament on Thursday that several efforts to convince the Afghan Taliban to stop backing the TTP had failed.”Enough is enough,” he said. “The Pakistani government and army’s patience has run out.”