KARACHI: The return of limited-overs international cricket to Pakistan after a 10-year absence following a terrorist attack targeting a foreign team has coincided with a renewed plea from the country’s cricket chief to recommence full, in-bound tours.
Pakistan had a 67-run victory over Sri Lanka on Monday to kick start the important cricket homecoming, which was delayed an extra couple of days because of the weather. It’s the first time since Sri Lanka’s team bus was attacked on the way to a stadium at Lahore in 2009 that a foreign team is conducting a two-week tour of Pakistan.
Major teams have avoided the country since the ambush that killed eight people and injured several star players. This series, initially scheduled to include three one-day internationals and three Twenty20 internationals — went ahead after the Pakistan government assured the Sri Lanka delegation of high-level security normally reserved for heads of state.
It will be the longest period in a decade for any of the top-ranking national cricket teams to have visited Pakistan, which has been “hosting” games abroad mostly in the United Arab Emirates.
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ehsan Mani says he wants more international teams to return to Pakistan instead of playing at neutral venues.
“It’s so important that the game wins over any threats and terrorism,” Mani told a news conference Monday. “The main thing is that the security and safety of the players cannot be compromised, so it was important that the Sri Lankan (cricket) board was comfortable.”
Harin Fernando, Sri Lanka’s minister for telecommunications, foreign employment and sports, says the bilateral series is important to show regional support.
“Cricket has become a universal game and it’s not just about the competitiveness, but it is also about showing solidarity among the neighboring nations,” Fernando said. “Life has to go on. We have to move on, sports should not stop. I believe players of other countries will also come.”
The team buses are heavily surrounded by armed security personnel between the hotels and the playing venues, and the main roads along the route are being blocked from normal traffic.
Security staff also keep a close eye on the spectators coming into the stadium.
“What amazes me is the amount of security that have been given and how they’ve looked after it,” Fernando said. “To see that you will recognize every gate, every aspect, every person who gets into the ground and gets out of the ground is being monitored.”
Mani said officials from Cricket Australia also visited Pakistan recently and met with government and PCB officials. And the PCB chairman said officials from England and Ireland are scheduled to visit Pakistan soon to assess the security situation.
“The message is getting across and that is why this (Sri Lanka) tour was so important for us,” Mani said. “We can all say things are fine, come and have a look, but when cricket is actually taking place in Pakistan there’s no better endorsement than that.”
Several top Sri Lanka players pulled out of the tour, but Fernando said those players who came to Pakistan could boost the confidence of those who missed out.
Pakistan is due to host Sri Lanka for two test matches as part of World Test Championship in December and Fernando was optimistic his country would host the pair of five-day games.
“I thought this tour had to happen if we have to play a test series here, so I think I’m quite positive,” he said.
Mani said Pakistan will have to maintain high security for some time to reassure visiting teams.
“It’s for us as Pakistan to make sure that the standards (of security) that we have given to the Sri Lankan cricket board remain consistent,” he said. “I’m confident that the message going out is a strong and powerful one.”
Mani said he didn’t want to put Sri Lanka Cricket under any pressure for December’s test series, but he hoped that “players who are here will act as ambassadors for Pakistan by going back and giving their version of security.”
Pakistan’s ultimate goal, he said, is to make visiting teams comfortable instead of the focus being on the security around them. And Mani is realistic: “It might take a couple of years.”
Pakistan cricket chief wants teams to return to his country
Pakistan cricket chief wants teams to return to his country
- Mani said officials from Cricket Australia also visited Pakistan recently
- Pakistan is due to host Sri Lanka for two test matches as part of World Test Championship in December
Sindh assembly passes resolution rejecting move to separate Karachi
- Chief Minister Shah cites constitutional safeguards against altering provincial boundaries
- Calls to separate Karachi intensified amid governance concerns after a mall fire last month
ISLAMABAD: The provincial assembly of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Saturday passed a resolution rejecting any move to separate Karachi, declaring its territorial integrity “non-negotiable” amid political calls to carve the city out as a separate administrative unit.
The resolution comes after fresh demands by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and other voices to grant Karachi provincial or federal status following governance challenges highlighted by the deadly Gul Plaza fire earlier this year that killed 80 people.
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest and most densely populated city, is the country’s main commercial hub and contributes a significant share to the national economy.
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah tabled the resolution in the assembly, condemning what he described as “divisive statements” about breaking up Sindh or detaching Karachi.
“The province that played a foundational role in the creation of Pakistan cannot allow the fragmentation of its own historic homeland,” Shah told lawmakers, adding that any attempt to divide Sindh or separate Karachi was contrary to the constitution and democratic norms.
Citing Article 239 of Pakistan’s 1973 Constitution, which requires the consent of not less than two-thirds of a provincial assembly to alter provincial boundaries, Shah said any such move could not proceed without the assembly’s approval.
“If any such move is attempted, it is this Assembly — by a two-thirds majority — that will decide,” he said.
The resolution reaffirmed that Karachi would “forever remain” an integral part of Sindh and directed the provincial government to forward the motion to the president, prime minister and parliamentary leadership for record.
Shah said the resolution was not aimed at anyone but referred to the shifting stance of MQM in the debate while warning that opposing the resolution would amount to supporting the division of Sindh.
The party has been a major political force in Karachi with a significant vote bank in the city and has frequently criticized Shah’s provincial administration over its governance of Pakistan’s largest metropolis.
Taha Ahmed Khan, a senior MQM leader, acknowledged that his party had “presented its demand openly on television channels with clear and logical arguments” to separate Karachi from Sindh.
“It is a purely constitutional debate,” he told Arab News by phone. “We are aware that the Pakistan Peoples Party, which rules the province, holds a two-thirds majority and that a new province cannot be created at this stage. But that does not mean new provinces can never be formed.”
Calls to alter Karachi’s status have periodically surfaced amid longstanding complaints over governance, infrastructure and administrative control in the megacity, though no formal proposal to redraw provincial boundaries has been introduced at the federal level.
