Revival of international cricket in Pakistan

Pakistan’s attempts to completely revive international cricket at home met with success on Monday when Pakistani and Sri Lankan cricketers entered National Stadium Karachi for the second one-day international (ODI) match, whereas the first match was washed away due to torrential rains in Karachi. It means that there is peace in Pakistan, as the terrorist infrastructure, their network and most sleeping cells have been destroyed by the Law Enforcing Agencies. Army has been organizing sports events in Waziristan and elsewhere, and major credit goes to the army for boosting confidence of the people. In December 2018, the Pakistan Army had organized a two-week long youth sports gala in Balochistan’s Khuzdar District, to prove that all parts of Pakistan are safe for the sportsmen and the people at large. Visit of Sri Lankan cricket team has reaffirmed that there is peace in Pakistan.
Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board Ahsan Mani said: “Sri Lanka has a special place in our heart, they had suffered here and we must not forget that. And for them to come is a great act of courage, for them to come forward and support Pakistan Cricket and I want to acknowledge this”. The 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team had occurred on 3 March 2009, when a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers was fired upon by 12 gunmen near Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The cricketers were on their way to play the third day of the second Test against the Pakistani cricket team. Six members of the Sri Lanka national cricket team were wounded; and Six Pakistani policemen and two civilians were killed. Sri Lanka itself had faced death and destruction because of terrorism by Tamil Tigers, therefore it could appreciate Pakistan’s position.
The attack on Sri Lankan cricket team was believed to have been carried out by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, as in August 2016 three of the terrorists involved in the attack were killed during a police raid in Lahore. In October, the attack’s mastermind was killed in eastern Afghanistan during a military operation, while hiding there. Whereas in the past the terrorism stalked the land, India used every opportunity to tarnish Pakistan’s image and was hell bent on proving Pakistan as a state that promote terrorism. Even when Pakistan itself became a victim of terrorism vis-a-vis terror attack on Sri-Lankan team on 3rd March, Indian leadership disregarded the norms of state relations, and instead of commiserating with Pakistan, it accused Pakistan of espousing terrorism as a state. The then Indian foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee had said that flames of terrorism from Pakistan were leaping across the borders and unless checked could engulf the world.
Whereas India has been accusing Pakistan of every terror attack in India, Pakistan had not accused anybody of 3/3 attack. However, it is a matter of record that India had persuaded other countries including Sri Lanka not to send cricket team to Pakistan. Anyhow, Pakistan’s cricket Board under Ahsan Mani made hectic efforts to revive international cricket in Pakistan. Talking to media during the break in the match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Ahsan Mani said: “Perception of the country while sitting outside is very different from what it is when you actually visit the country. So it is important for us to persuade people to come to Pakistan and see how things are here.” The good news is that chairperson Australian Cricket Board is coming to Pakistan in near future; and it is hoped that after the successful tour of Sri Lankan cricket team, other countries’ teams would like to play matches in Pakistan.