Best Places in Pakistan To Visit

Gilgit-Baltistan (Urdu: گلگت - بلتستان, formerly known as the Northern Areas (Urdu: شمالی علاقہ جات, Shumālī Ilāqe Jāt)),^[4] is the northernmost political entity within the Pakistan. It borders Pakistan's Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province to the west, Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor to the north, China to the northeast, Azad Kashmir to the south, and Jammu & Kashmir State of India to the southeast. Gilgit-Baltistan covers an area of 72,971 km² (28,174 mi²) and has an estimated population approaching 1,000,000. Its administrative center is the city of Gilgit (population 216,760).

Naltar lake (Near Gilgit)
RAAMA LAKE(ASTORE)

ASTORE(Northern Areas)

Deosai Plains, Land of the Giants, Pakistan

The Deosai National Park (Urdu: دیوسائی نیشنل پارک) is located in Astore valley and partly in Skardu of Gilgit-Baltistan region. The park is located on the Deosai Plains of the Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe, among the highest plateaus in the world with an average height of 4,114 metres (13,497 ft) above the sea level, covering an area of about 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi). For just over half the year - between November and May - Deosai is snow-bound. In the summer months when the snow clears up, Deosai is accessible from theAstore Valley in the west and Skardu in the north . Deosai is well known for its rich flora and fauna in the spring season when it is covered by a variety of millions of flowers and a wide variety of butterflies.

First-class stalwart Aamer Bashir dies

Aamer Bashir, a first-class stalwart in Pakistan, lost a long-running battle to cancer on Monday morning. He was 38.

Bashir, from Multan, was a prolific middle-order batsman through the 1990s and 2000s, making a name for himself initially with Multan, United Bank Limited and Pakistan Customs.

He was, according to domestic team-mates, a man for a crisis, regularly bailing out sides with faltering top orders. He was as adept at stemming a collapse as launching a counter and his limited overs record - he averaged just under 40 in 50-over games - is testament to his attacking instincts.

He was good enough to be on the fringes of Pakistan selection for a sustained period in the earlier part of the decade; Pakistan's middle-order strength was such, however, that the closest he got was being selected in Pakistan's squad for the one-off ODI against India in Kolkata in November 2005.

But deteriorating health steadily brought him down. He played his last first-class game in February 2009 and continued playing league cricket in England. His best days were, however, gone and he had been fighting cancer on and off by then.

He was a popular team-man and over the years friends such as Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Rashid Latif and Basit Ali - all current or former Pakistan internationals - worked hard to ensure he received proper medical treatment.

South Africa complete comprehensive victory

South Africa 620 for 4 dec (Kallis 201*, Amla 140, de Villiers 129) beat India 136 (Morkel 5-20, Steyn 3-34) and 459 (Tendulkar 111*, Dhoni 90, Gambhir 80, Steyn 4-105) by an innings and 25 runs

PCB inquiry prompts extension of WC squad deadline

Shoaib Malik,Kamran Akmal and Danish Kaneria have been given till the end of December to submit their replies to the PCB's integrity committee's queries, in order to gain clearance to play for Pakistan. The three players have been excluded from the Test and Twenty20 squads for the tour of New Zealand but could still be selected for the 2011 World cup after the ICC extended till January 5 Pakistan's deadline to name their 30 probables.

Pak-China Centre to introduce Chinese traditions in capital

ISLAMABAD, August 24, 2009 (Balochistan Times): The ongoing project of Pak-China Friendship Centre here at Shakarparian will serve as an institution of introducing Chinese traditions to facilitate Pakistani people for understanding Chinese culture deeply. The centre would be completed by the end of December 2010 at an estimated cost of two and a half billion rupees to be jointly used for cultural events, conferences, exhibitions and shows to strengthen friendship and cultural ties between the two countries. As a gift from the people of China to Pakistan, the centre after completion will be handed over to the government of Pakistan for operation, maintenance and management, sources in the Ministry of Culture said. The project signifies a special feature of cultural relations between Pakistan and China as diplomatic relations between two countries are based on mutual trust and cooperation in all walks of life. The place would serve as a state of the art building that includes an auditorium of 800 seats, an exhibition centre, a conference room for 250 people and a multipurpose hall. It will provide a wide range of facilities to promote understanding in other fields of life specially in education and exchange of programmes related to integrated development of the youth. The two countries have developed a unique partnership in political, economic, defence, cultural and other fields and China has made commendable contributions to Pakistans economic development particularly in building infrastructure and setting up of heavy industry, the sources said. Chinese government offered to establish this centre in December 2004 and for this purpose, 12 acres land was provided by government of Pakistan while the project was started in November 2008. The building is being constructed by Shanghai Construction Group under arrangements of the government of China. It will help strengthening people to people relations with exchange of cultural programmes besides exchanging business, sports and tourism. The Shanghai Construction Group (SCG), engaged in building tallest buildings in China, will use its expertise in the completion of this project making it a true representation of Sino-Pak relations. The friendship between Pakistan and China has been attaining greater depth over the last 50 years and the proposed Pak-China Friendship Centre will be a significant milestone in this direction and go a long way in promoting and deepening the cultural ties between the two brotherly countries, the sources added.

Pakistan get wild card for Champions Trophy

NEW DELHI: South Korea and Pakistan were on Friday handed wildcard entries for hockey’s Champions Trophy in India next year that will feature eight teams instead of six.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) said the two Asian nations will join world champions Australia, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and hosts India in the annual tournament.
South Korea are ranked sixth in the world, while Pakistan were rewarded for winning the Asian Games gold medal in Guangzhou, China last month, which earned them a direct entry to the 2012 London Olympics.
The dates and host city for the tournament will be announced later, the world governing body said in a statement. The Champions Trophy has been a six-nation event since its inception in 1978 but the FIH decided to add two more teams from next year.
The women’s Champions Trophy will also feature eight teams with China and New Zealand joining Argentina, Germany, England, Australia, South Korea and host nation Netherlands, the FIH said.

Harris takes six to level Ashes series

Australia wasted no time in levelling the Ashes series with a crushing 267-run victory at the WACA as Ryan Harris tore out the remaining resistance with a Test-best 6 for 47 to humble England. He finished off the visitors in a hurry as they were blown away in 10 overs on the fourth morning to set up a potentially thrilling conclusion to this series over the Christmas and New Year period.

Harris collected the rewards that eluded him in Adelaide as he finished with nine in the match, while Mitchell Johnson claimed the other wicket to fall as he, too, picked up nine. Johnson's revival in this match reflects Australia's upward curve, leaving England with much to ponder before the MCG Test starts on Boxing Day.

This was Australia's first Test victory in six matches since beating Pakistan at Lord's. It gave Ricky Ponting, who didn't take the field due to a broken little finger, the perfect 36th birthday present and will ease the pressure on him for the time being although he faces a race to be fit for Melbourne.

Sachin Tendulkar became the first player in Test history to score 50 centuries.

Sachin Tendulkar strode into the middle to take guard in the second innings on the back of a 137-run opening stand between Virender Sehwag (63) and Gautam Gambhir (80). But the two had departed in the space of 33 runs, asking Sachin and Rahul Dravid to take India to stumps on day three without anymore damage, which the veterans successfully achieved.

Injured Sohail Tanvir out of New Zealand tour

Sohail Tanvir has been ruled out of the New Zealand tour that starts later this month due to a knee injury. His place in the Twenty20 squad will be taken by 24-year-old top-order batsman Asad Shafiq, while no replacement has yet been named for the Tests.

Danish Kaneria is confident of returning to the national side

Danish Kaneria said he is confident of returning to the national side. Kaneria was speaking after a meeting on Wednesday with the board's integrity committee, which he described as "fruitful and positive."

"I am providing the board with whatever details they have asked for," Kaneria said. "Now it is just a case of waiting for their decision. I am cooperating in every way. Obviously I am keen to have this stigma off my name and play for Pakistan again."

He told that PCB had asked him to submit details of his bank accounts and other assets and he had already provided them with some at Wednesday's meeting.

PCB bars players from using Facebook and Twitter

The PCB has stopped its contracted players from using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter during series in the aftermath of the Zulqarnain Haider controversy. The Pakistan wicketkeeper fled the UAE, where his team was involved in a series against South Africa, to seek asylum in the UK last month and, though largely untraceable, kept the public informed of his news through updates on his Facebook page.

"The measure is for the players' safety. They are prone to danger if the wrong person gets access to their information, whereabouts and so on," team manager Intikhab Alam was quoted as saying by Pakistan's Express Tribune. "Therefore, the PCB has finalised the policy and banned the use of all social networking websites during ongoing series, while also advising them to keep their activity minimum when they are not playing."

The PCB said the measure had been incorporated in its revised code of conduct for players. "There is a clause in their contracts which states clearly that they can't use these social network sites or discuss cricket issues while under contract. It is for their own good, so that they don't get entangled into controversies."

The board also threatened legal action against those putting up fake accounts of players on social networking websites. "There are many accounts that are not operated by the players," the PCB's legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi said. "Fake ones operated by other people are a hazard. These people are liable to face charges of cyber crime and fraud. So my advice to them is to be careful, otherwise they can be prosecuted."

Concern over the use of such websites by players has not been confined to the PCB. Kevin Pietersen's outburst on Twitter over his exclusion from the limited-overs side in August resulted in the ECB introducing specific regulations for micro-blogging. And Allrounder Dimitri Mascarenhas was banned by the ECB for two weeks following his foul-mouthed messages against national selector Geoff Miller.

Source : Cricinfo