Skip to main content

Imran says Pakistan cricket suffering from war


KARACHI (AFP) — Cricket legend Imran Khan warned Wednesday that Pakistan's national game was being damaged by the government's involvement in the US-led "war on terror".

Khan, who was responding to the International Cricket Council's (ICC) decision on Sunday to relocate the elite eight-nation Trophy from Pakistan to an undecided venue, said association with conflict was hugely damaging.

"From economy to daily life to cricket, everything is hurt in Pakistan only because of our unnecessary involvement in war. Teams are refusing to come to Pakistan because of that war," Khan told AFP.

Former US President George Bush launched his so-called war on terror soon after the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.

Pakistan joined up, providing logistical support to US forces who led an invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan and deploying its troops to fight Taliban and Al-Qaeda extremists hunkered down in the northwest of the country.

More than 1,500 people have been killed in militant attacks across Pakistan in the past 19 months and more than 1,500 troops have been killed at the hands of extremists since 2002.

Khan, who went into politics after retiring from cricket and heads his Tehrik-e-Insaaf (Movement for Justice) party, said tour cancellations have left Pakistan cricket poorer.

"Cricket is suffering financially," said Khan. "The sooner Pakistan pulls out of the war on terror the better and it will quickly recover from all sorts of problems," he said.

Australia and the West Indies forced Pakistan to play in the neutral venues of Sri Lanka and United Arab Emirates in 2002.

In the years that followed, New Zealand, Australia again and India all refused to tour Pakistan or cut short tours over security fears.

Khan accused the cricket world and the ICC of double standards when it came to Pakistan.

"Of course there are double standards when it comes to Pakistan. England only toured India because of their financial clout, while Pakistan is left isolated," said Khan.

England returned to India to play two Tests last December after abandoning the last two one-days in a seven-match series following the Mumbai attacks.

With thanks to AFP
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gf-NqPr46_r4xbCn3EKkTgTJqhIw
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving comments. You are making this discussion richer and more beneficial to everyone. Do not hold back.

Popular posts from this blog

Siege - A Poem By Ahmad Faraz Against The Dictatorship Of Zia Ul Haq

Related Posts: 1.  Did Muhammad Ali Jinnah Want Pakistan To Be A Theocracy Or A Secular State? 2. The Relationship Between Khadim & Makhdoom In Pakistan 3. Battle for God; Battleground Pakistan - a time has finally come to call a spade a spade 4. Pakistan - Facing Contradictory Strategic Choices In An Uncertain Region 5. Pakistan, Islamic Terror & General Zia-Ul-Haq 6. Why Pakistan Army Must Allow The Democracy To Flourish In Pakistan & Why Pakistanis Must Give Democracy A Chance? 7. A new social contract in Pakistan between the Pakistani Federation and its components 8. Birth of Bangladesh / Secession of East Pakistan & The Sins of Our Fathers 9. Pakistan Army Must Not Intervene In The Current Crisis - Who To Blame For the Present Crisis in Pakistan ? 10. Balochistan - Troubles Of A Demographic Nature
Post a Comment
Read more

India: The Terrorists Within

A day after major Indian cities were placed on high alert following blasts in the IT city of Bangalore, as many as 17 blasts ripped through Ahmedabad, capital of the affluent western Indian state of Gujarat . Some 30 people were killed, some at hospitals where bombs were timed to go off when the injured from other blasts were being brought in. (Later, in Surat, a center for the world's diamond industry, a bomb was defused near a hospital and two cars packed with explosives were found in in the city's outskirts.) Investigators pointed fingers at the usual Islamist suspects: Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Bangladesh- based Harkat-ul Jihadi Islami (HUJI) and the indigenous Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). But even as the police searched for clues, the Ahmedabad attacks were owned up by a group calling itself the " Indian Mujahideen. " Several TV news stations received an email five minutes before the first blasts in Ahmedabad. The message repo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pakistan Army Must Not Intervene In The Current Crisis - Who To Blame For the Present Crisis in Pakistan ?

By Sikander Hayat Another day of agony and despair as Pakistanis live through a period of uncertainty but still I believe that army must not intervene in this crisis. These are the kind of circumstances when army need to show their resolve of not meddling in the political sphere of the country. No doubt that there will be people in the corridors of power and beyond who will be urging the army to step in and ‘save’ the country but let me tell you that country will only be saved if army stays away and let the politicians decide the future of the country, even if it means that there will be clashes on the streets of Islamabad. With free media in place, people are watching with open eyes the parts being played by each and every individual in this current saga. They know who is right and who is wrong and they will eventually decide who stays in power when the next general election comes. Who said that democracy was and orderly and pretty business ; it is anything but. Democracy ...
108 comments
Read more