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Does KP have two chief ministers now? Legal experts weigh in

In a day of high political drama at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, PTI’s Sohail Afridi was elected the province’s new chief minister. However, his victory unfolded amid walkouts, protests, and a deepening constitutional crisis over whether the outgoing CM, Ali Amin Gandapur, had even truly vacated his seat. As chants of “Sohail Afridi zindabad ” echoed through the assembly hall, the opposition staged a walkout, declaring the entire process “unconstitutional.” Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, however, pressed ahead and ruled it lawful under Article 130, declaring Afridi’s election valid even as questions swirled over Gandapur’s disputed resignation, returned by Governor Faisal Karim Kundi for having “disparate signatures.” The episode has set off a flurry of debate: can a new chief minister be elected when the previous one still holds office? Lawyers have since weighed in, dissecting whether the assembly’s actions uphold or undermine the constitutional process. An attempt to thwart t...

South Africa’s Muthusamy takes three wickets in an over as Pakistan 378 all out in first Test

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. 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 beca...

SMOKERS’ CORNER: HASHTAG HEROES

Every now and then, social media produces a ‘hero’. He/she suddenly rises, lingers and then either fades away or falls off by the wayside. All this can happen within days, weeks, months or within a few years. The appeal of such ‘heroes’ can be universal or entirely local. But the fact remains, their heroic status is almost always short-lived. People move on to search for another hero. But it is not really about a search as such. It is mostly about construction. According to the University of Richmond (Virginia) Professor Emeritus of Psychology Scott T. Allison, heroism is a concept shaped by social, psychological and historical factors. It is a process that is influenced by our individual biases, and our collective needs and values. So, on most occasions, heroes are constructed by people to broadcast their own ideals, wishes, beliefs and aspirations. A society, or segments of it, take fragments of information available of an event or of a personality and turn them in...

Demko brilliant again, but Canucks’ slow start proves costly: ‘We sat back’

EDMONTON — The Vancouver Canucks need more than their goalie to start on time. Thatcher Demko ’s brilliant performance on Saturday wasn’t enough to save the Canucks, who were outshot 37-15 and lost 3-1 to the Edmonton Oilers. This was a goalie-adjusted blowout. Without Demko, as Canucks winger Brock Boeser noted, the score could have been 5-1 or 6-1. But had the Canucks just managed more in the first two periods, when they were outskated and outplayed and outscored 2-0, the game might have actually finished in their favour. That’s how good Demko was. Two games don’t make a trend — especially when there are 80 remaining. But in their National Hockey League opener on Thursday, the Canucks’ sloppy first half on home ice against the Calgary Flames looked like nerves, opening-night jitters for a team desperate for a strong start after an encouraging pre-season. But they also didn’t surrender many shots or scoring chances and dominated the final period in a 5-1 win. Against the Oiler...

Air pollution is an administrative failure. Can Pakistan see through the haze?

The fear of smog has already started lingering upon us. We are once again bracing ourselves to choke in our own neglect. Are we doomed to suffer every year, through climate change, mismanagement, broken promises, or is it just bad luck? In truth, it seems less a matter of fate and more the outcome of willful ignorance — an ignorance far from blissful, especially given that under Article 9 of Pakistan’s Constitution, the right to life inherently includes the right to a clean and healthy environment. Numbers tell the story This contradiction defines our new normal. For the past several winters, Pakistan has ranked as the third most polluted country in the world . Nowhere is this crisis more visible than in Lahore, the country’s second-largest city, where nearly 14 million residents are forced to breathe poison. It’s the most polluted city in the world and in the last five years, its air has met the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) minimum safety standards on only seven days. The Wo...

Mariners’ 15th-inning win has immediate ramifications for ALCS vs. Blue Jays

The Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners offered up pure baseball theatre on Friday night during Game 5 of the American League Division Series. However, as the action was unfolding, the Toronto Blue Jays chose to refer to a different sport while describing the club’s likely thoughts in a post on its official X account. The GIF, which showed two boxers trading blows while the referee stood back and enjoyed the show, aptly described what was happening. The Tigers and Mariners played for 4 hours, 58 minutes at T-Mobile Park in Seattle before Jorge Polanco’s single to right field off Tommy Kahnle decided the contest, 3-2, and sent the crowd of 47,025 into a frenzy. The 15-inning contest set a record for the longest winner-take-all game in MLB history. “We’ve talked about the fight all year long,” Seattle manager Dan Wilson told reporters afterward. “To go 15 innings tonight, 15 rounds, so to speak, and to come out on top, that sure feels good.” ...