Put in to bat by Pakistan, Thailand posted 91 runs in the designated 11 overs following rain delay before Pakistan went deep and left only two balls to spare as they crossed the finish line.

Fatima Sana’s side had also lost seven wickets in the process and it was the captain’s 21 off 13 after opener Shawal Zulfiqar’s 25 off 14 that kept Pakistan in the game, despite the usually talismanic Fatima losing her wicket before finishing the job.

Thailand had got off to a brisk start, scoring 41 runs in the powerplay on the back of a productive 24 off 22 balls from Nannapat Koncharoenkai. Fatima had drawn first blood with the ball, dismissing Natthakan Chantham for six runs.

Koncharoenkai took the attack to Tuba Hassan and Umm-e-Hani, hitting the latter for 14 runs off the eighth over, as she stitched a solid 65-run stand with Phannita Maya.

A dropped catch by wicket-keeper Gul Feroza and lapses in the field aided Thailand as they raced to 72 off 9 overs, when Maya was retired out on a 16-ball-15.

Nauremol Chaiwai smoked Nashra Sandhu for a six and a four before falling to her on the next ball, getting caught by Fatima.

It was the skipper only who finally dismissed Koncharoenkai in the last over of the shortened innings, the batter narrowly missing out on a half-century as she was trapped lbw for a 38-ball-49; Fatima ended with figures of two for 22 in her three-over spell.

Shawal starts strong

Shawal, and fellow opener Gul Feroza, gave Pakistan a strong start to the chase, scoring two boundaries in the first over. She followed it up with a six off Maya’s bowling in the second.

Both Gul and Shawaal were dropped in the third and fourth overs respectively, but the openers kept the scoreboard ticking before Shawal was caught and bowled by Onnicha Kamchomphu, who took a well-judged catch.

The first wicket triggered a collapse which saw Thailand take four wickets in 13 balls.

Ayesha Zafar came out to bat at one-drop, and was dismissed almost immediately, falling in the next over to Suleeporn Laomi, with Thailand pulling back some control as Pakistan finished the fifth over at 39-2.

Kamchomphu picked up her second wicket as Gul was stumped by keeper Koncharoenkai, with Pakistan finding themselves in a serious wobble at 43-3, which turned into 47-4 as the experienced Aliya Riaz went boundary-and-out in the same over.

Thailand conceded just one run in the seventh over, tightening their grip on the match as Pakistan ominously sunk further.

Fatima, batting at number four, then reeled back momentum by hitting Kamchomphu for three fours and a six in the ninth over, joined by a six off the batting of Eyman Fatima.

The captain fell on the first ball of the following over, and was followed by Eyman in the next as Pakistan again found themselves in some bother at 76-7.

A six and a four off Sunida Chaturongrattana’s bowling by Tuba Hassan took the equation to less than run-a-ball for Pakistan, and following her dismissal to the same bowler, Umm-e-Hani and Eman Naseer took Pakistan over the line in the last over.

Both semi-finals will be held on Sept 20 at the same venue. Pakistan will take on the winners of tomorrow’s quarter-final clash between Malaysia and Sri Lanka.

The former first lady was handed a a seven-year sentence in the case in January last year, and is currently imprisoned at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail. In the case, the court found Imran and Bushra guilty of giving undue favours to property tycoon Malik Riaz in retrieving his laundered money from the United Kingdom.

Bushra, along with Imran, had initially moved the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for the suspension of her sentence in July last year. But the high court dismissed their requests in May 2026, observing that their appeals against their convictions had already been fixed for hearing.

Subsequently, the two approached the Supreme Court against the IHC decision, but the SC office returned the petition as being not maintainable, explaining that since the IHC had passed the impugned order while exercising jurisdiction under Section 32 of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999, the remedy lay exclusively before the FCC under Section 32-A of the ordinance.

Bushra then moved the FCC on July 30, with her criminal appeal contending that the appellant, being a woman with a serious medical condition, was entitled to the suspension of her sentence, as similar relief was contemplated under the first proviso to Section 497(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

Her fresh application for the appeal’s early hearing, filed through her counsel Barrister Salman Safdar, also stated that rapidly deteriorating ocular condition threatened her remaining eyesight.

The application contended that the role attributed to the applicant by the prosecution in the corruption case was confined to aiding and abetting and not committing a primary or substantive act constituting the gravamen of the offence.

It said that the applicant was a 54-year-old woman, and that it was a settled practice, consistent with the spirit of the first proviso to Section 497(1), CrPC that female litigants, particularly those in custody, were entertained and heard on a priority basis by the courts.

Bushra argued in the application that she had already suffered “grave and irreversible prejudice” on account of prolonged pendency of her sentence suspension appeal before the IHC, and that during this period, she had contracted a serious ocular ailment and underwent an eye surgery on April 16, 2026.

The application further stated that Bushra continued to face a real risk to her remaining eye, having since undergone further medical examinations/checkups, the details of which were also reflected in the synopsis report submitted by the Adiala jail superintendent to the Supreme Court.

The applicated also cited the report in which it was stated that the Bushra was diagnosed with an eye condition, posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) in her right eye. She subsequently developed a “black curtain” and acute deterioration — a condition that was declared an ocular emergency. Bushra then underwent a surgery at Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, the application said.

It added that later in-jail examination revealed the development of PVD in her previously unaffected left eye.

The continued delay in the fixation of her sentence suspension appeal directly imperiled Buhsra’s health and eyesight, as was demonstrably evident from the deterioration already suffered on account of the delay before IHC, the application contended.

Considering the period of pendency before the IHC and the FCC, the applicant’s plea against the dismissal of her sentence suspension plea by the IHC had remained undecided for approximately 19 months, the application said.

The present application was confined to the limited question of delay in adjudication of the applicant’s request for suspension of sentence, and did not require the FCC to undertake any detailed examination of the merits of the main appeal, the application pleaded.

Therefore, the application be disposed of through a short, focused hearing, without placing any undue burden on the court’s time, Bushra requested the court.

She further appealed that the FCC may allow the application and fix the appeal for hearing in the week commencing on Sept 21, in the interest of justice.

Velicovich declined to provide details, citing security sensitivities, but said the deal fell within the category of unmanned aerial systems. He also declined to disclose the value of the order, citing confidentiality.

Powerus, which offers aerial and maritime drones for military and industrial use, is due to merge with a publicly traded company backed by two of US President Donald Trump’s sons, called Aureus Greenway Holdings.

Both companies have said they expect the merger to complete in early October.

Trump’s sons, Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, own a stake in Aureus through an investment fund called American Ventures, according to US regulatory filings.

American Ventures is expected to hold a 9.9 per cent beneficial ownership stake in the combined company after the merger, regulatory filings show.

Inter-Services Public Relations on Wednesday said a Powerus delegation led by Velicovich met Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and they discussed defence procurement, production and long-term capacity building. The statement did not mention the MoU.

The military’s media wing did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the agreement outside business hours.

Andrew Fox, Powerus’ founder and chief executive, said that Pakistan’s private defence sector remains “emerging but still not mature”, leaving room for US firms to move faster.

“The goal would be a joint technology relationship, pairing best-in-breed technology from the US with best-in-breed technology from Pakistan,” Velicovich said, adding that Powerus was exploring ways to potentially build technology in Pakistan.

Fox dismissed suggestions that the company’s growth was linked to the involvement of the Trump sons, saying contracts were awarded on merit and that they had “no involvement on the business side” of the company.

Donald Trump Jr was a passive investor with an indirect holding, his spokesperson said.

“Don has no involvement whatsoever in the management or operations of Powerus and plays absolutely no role in the procurement of contracts in the United States or abroad,” the spokesperson said.

“He had no prior knowledge of this deal and had no involvement of any kind in its negotiation, procurement or execution.”

Eric Trump could not immediately be reached.

White House Special Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said, “There are no conflicts of interest.”

The country remains reliant on external financing to bolster foreign exchange reserves and meet debt repayments, ‌making support from China, Gulf states and multilateral lenders key to maintaining economic stability and investor confidence.

Aurangzeb said the entire 30bn yuan swap line from China had been fully drawn, adding that the government had yet to decide how much additional financing it would seek when the facility ​comes up for renewal.

“They were open to it, but there is a process which has to be followed,” said ​Aurangzeb, referring to recent meetings with his Chinese counterpart and the country’s central bank governor.

“We do ⁠plan to make a formal request at the time of the renewal.”

Meanwhile, Aurangzeb said he expected a response within two months ​to Pakistan’s request for a $10bn exchange stabilisation facility from Washington, adding that the government was also in talks with the Export-Import ​Bank of the United States (EXIM) and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

EXIM financing could support aircraft purchases from Boeing by Pakistan International Airlines now that the national carrier is privatised, while DFC could help fund a planned $5bn programme to upgrade the country’s oil refineries.

Asked whether there were any ​concerns about simultaneously seeking additional support from the US and China, Aurangzeb said it was an “and-and” discussion.

“China has been a long-standing strategic partner for us … and we have very good, at the leadership level now, understanding and relationship with the Trump administration,” he said.

“We are very fortunate to have this kind of relationship with both important economic and superpowers.”

The US Treasury, DFC and EXIM did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Asked about elevated crude oil prices following the latest Middle East conflict, which began in February, Aurangzeb said Pakistan had navigated the initial price spike after US and Israeli strikes on Iran relatively well, but cautioned that the outlook had ​become more uncertain.

“If this conflict ​goes into, unfortunately, November or ⁠December, you know, this is something which will be an area of concern for us,” he said, adding prolonged disruption could put at risk the government’s 4pc growth target for the fiscal ​year.

Pakistan had secured sufficient oil stocks to cover its needs through September and was well positioned ​for October, he ⁠said, adding an institutionalised mechanism was now reviewing the situation on a daily basis. Planning for November supplies was already under way.

Nonetheless, Aurangzeb said the government had no plans to seek additional International Monetary Fund (IMF) financing or emergency support from the Washington-based lender.

“As of now, our considered ⁠view is ​that it’s manageable.”

An IMF mission is due next week for the fourth ​review of Pakistan’s $7bn programme and the third review of its Resilience and Sustainability Facility.

“From our perspective, we are in good stead with the quantitative benchmarks, and ​we are largely compliant with the structural benchmarks,” he said.