Rawalpindi: The novel coronavirus has hit sports around the world, with teams playing to empty bleachers and international players warning that the prolonged absence of fans could damage games.
But in Pakistan, the virus outbreak and the new normal of empty stadiums occurred just as international cricket had started to make a much-longed for return last year following a deadly militant attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in 2009 that killed six policemen and two civilians. Since then, top teams had refused to travel to the country due to safety concerns.
Indeed, cricket-starved fans in Pakistan would ordinarily turn out in droves to cheer on their team, but the limited-overs series with Zimbabwe last October was a subdued affair, with games taking place behind closed-doors in a ‘bio-bubble’ designed to keep players separated from the public.
This January, South Africa returned to Pakistan for the first time since the attack on the Sri Lanka team, playing to empty stadiums in Karachi.
But perhaps the worst blow was when the wildly popular Pakistan Super League (PSL) was postponed due to coronavirus fears last March. The franchise Twenty20 league’s matches had previously always been held abroad due to security fears and last year was the first time the entire series was held on home soil.
“I feel like something is missing in the equation, not being able to go physically and root for one’s own team, especially when international cricket is happening after ages,” Mahnoor Shafiq, who regularly tweets about cricket, told Arab News.
“In one word: pain,” Arhum Latif, whose Twitter feed is a source for live commentary on cricket, said when asked how she felt about not being able to watch matches in stadiums.
“My favorite players of that time, Mohammad Yousaf and Younis Khan, are now the coaches of our team, while Mark Boucher who was considered the most destructive player of South Africa, is now the coach of their [South African] team,” said Muhammad Zain. “The love for the game has increased but the pain of missing the matches between my favorite players will never go away. It’s exactly what I want but not the way I wished for.”
But journalist Ahmer Naqvi said while coronavirus restrictions were disappointing, “they’re possibly not as disappointing as the experience of the past decade has been.”
“Obviously, we would have wished to attend the matches,” the culture and cricket writer said. “But the very fact that teams are now comfortable visiting Pakistan, purely from a cricket fan perspective, is a big step forward.”
Coronavirus robs Pakistanis of chance to savor emotional return of international cricket
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Coronavirus robs Pakistanis of chance to savor emotional return of international cricket
- The new normal of empty stadiums occurred just as international cricket made a return to Pakistan following a militant attack on Sri Lanka team bus in 2009
- Since then, top teams had refused to travel to the country due to safety concerns but Zimbabwe and South Africa have both visited in the last few months
Pakistan’s capital police look to military expertise to build elite SWAT force
- A SWAT force is an elite, specially trained police unit that is deployed in high-risk and complex security situations
- Islamabad police have requested attachment of two army majors, 16 SSG commandos for training of personnel
ISLAMABAD: Islamabad police have sought the assistance of Pakistan Army to help establish a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit, an official said on Friday, as the capital police department undertakes multifaceted duties.
The development comes amid a surge in militancy in Pakistan and follows a suicide blast that killed 12 people and injured 36 others outside a district court’s complex in Islamabad’s G-11 sector in Nov. last year, prompting heightened security measures by authorities.
A SWAT force is an elite, specially trained police unit that is deployed in high-risk and complex situations that regular police are not equipped to handle. Various countries train their SWAT personnel in close-quarters combat, tactical movement and breaching, explosives handling and crisis response.
In a letter written to the Islamabad chief commissioner, Inspector General Ali Nasir Rizvi noted the capital police were performing multifaceted duties, including maintenance of law and order, crime prevention as well as security and route assignments, requesting the attachment of army personnel.
“We are establishing a SWAT [unit] and we have asked for officers from them to impart training and the National Police Academy has requested too,” he said.
The Islamabad police have inducted 200 personnel in the SWAT force that is likely to operate under the command and supervision of a senior superintendent of police, according to local media reports.
The capital police department seeks services of two army majors and 16 commandos from the military’s elite Special Services Group (SSG), according to the letter seen by Arab News. Of the 16 commandos, 10 are to be deputed at the National Police Academy.
Late last year, the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration also introduced an electronic tagging system as part of a broader effort to enhance surveillance, regulate traffic and improve record-keeping in a city that hosts the country’s main government institutions, foreign missions and diplomatic enclaves.
Under the system, vehicles are fitted with electronic tags that can be read automatically by scanners installed at checkpoints across the capital, allowing authorities to identify unregistered vehicles without manual inspections.
