LAHORE, March 30: Pakistan will be missing their star defender Zesh Rehman at AFC Challenge Cup after English club Norwich City refused to release the player. The event is scheduled to be held in Dhaka and Chittagong from Saturday.

Rehman represented Pakistan first at last December’s SAFF championship in Karachi before visiting Bahrain where he played some practice matches. The Englishman could not join Pakistan for Asia Cup qualifying round matches against Bangladesh, Jordan and UAE after being refused to be released by his club.

His name was, however, included in the 20-member AFC Cup squad which left for Bangladesh on March 28.

Opinion

Editorial

Unfinished business
Updated 03 Jul, 2026

Unfinished business

THE landmark 18th Amendment and seventh NFC Award radically reshaped Pakistan’s fiscal federalism by transferring...
Abuse cycle
03 Jul, 2026

Abuse cycle

LULLED into a sense of false security by its own denial and apathy, Pakistan is a long way from achieving tangible...
Closing the gap
03 Jul, 2026

Closing the gap

THE numbers are encouraging, yet one cannot help but rue the opportunities still being lost. The GSMA’s Mobile...
‘Talks over hostility’
Updated 02 Jul, 2026

‘Talks over hostility’

THE recent appeal endorsed by civil society members from Pakistan and India, urging the prime ministers of both...
Lahore tragedy
02 Jul, 2026

Lahore tragedy

THE death of 14 children in the roof collapse of a private tuition centre in Lahore has plunged the entire country...
Data policy
02 Jul, 2026

Data policy

THE draft ‘Data Governance Policy’, released by the IT ministry recently, is a welcome step towards modernising...