Play for peace

Play for peace

Dr. Jassim Taqui

The UNIC, Islamabad combined with HEC, and Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) to introduce the concept of “play for peace” all over Pakistan.

The UNIC was represented by Mr. Vittorio Cammarota,  HEC by Mr. Farman Ullah Anjum and  POA by its Secretary General Mr. Mohammad Khalid Mahmood. Their mission is to appeal to the Pak media to promote 6^th April  “Play for Peace” throughout the country.

For Cammarota, sports are powerful tool that can induce development. The concept started way back in 1922 through combined cooperation of ILO and IEC organizing training camps for the sportsmen in Kenya, Africa and Cambodia. Sport is supreme. It is not linked to a specific class and can be a strong unifying factor that uplifts the nation

Mr. Anjum agreed. He emphasized that sport can place Pakistan on the world map as a developing nation. He maintained that promoting sport sends a strong message to all that Pakistan has come out of war to promote peace, respect and dialogue.

Mr. Mahmood underlined  the fact that various sport events involving youth would be held in Karachi, Quetta, Islamabad and Lahore involving 35 national sports federations. Pak Army, Air force, Navy, Wapda and other institutions would participate in “ Play for peace”  with Gen. Arif Hassan in charge.

Anjum also disclosed that HEC is planning to establish sports university to groom and promote sports in Pakistan with the active support of pioneer nations in sports.

One would commend the efforts of HEC in reforming the educational system in Pakistan. For the first time, Pakistani degrees are commanding respect throughout the world though much remains to be done to upgrade and improve curricula of both public and private sectors universities.

Similarly, POA is facing a challenging task . Promoting sports is an uphill task especially in difficult circumstances. Additionally, POA lacks funds and across the board encouragement.

However, the journalists attending the press conference were divided. The “official” journalists were full of praise to the government. The second group showed dissent. It was maintained that no improvement in sports would be effective unless transparency is strictly observed.

The corruption is rampant in all institutions. To add insult to the nation, corruption landed in sports in a big way. The perfect example was the humiliating defeat of Pakistani T20 World Cup team. The corruption, nepotism and dictates of a few men in PCB is a glaring example. First, the Captain of Pakistan T20 World Cup team Shahid Afridi gave an interview to the world media stating that he was not fit to be Captain of the selected team.

Then, the Pak Coach and the legendary swing bowler Waqar Younis came openly against PCB’s decision of not giving him a say in the selection of the team. He lambasted the leadership of Shahid Afridi , which left players confused. The very Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was using pressure on PCB through the infamous Najam Sethi to impose out- of- form players on the national  team.

The story is too long and embarrassing that one tends to stop further disclosures to avoid utter shame and disgrace.

Politics, corruption and autocratic rule within democratic system have killed the spirit of the people of Pakistan. Cricket is a unifying factor that brings the entire nation together irrespective of  diverse ethnic  linguistic and political divide. The ruling regime has killed that as well. People are now starting to question the “ faité  accompli” of the democratic system.

In its quest to accumulate wealth through corruption, shady deals, secretive kick bags, and questionable mega projects, the ruling regime has successfully destroyed all national institutions. It made the Mother of All Blunders by turning to corrupt cricket as well.

It is an established fact that cricket requires physical and mental fitness. Most of the selected players lacked both. It is also a fact that cricket is a brainy game requiring a shrewd captain. Afridi’s  self-confession that he was suffering  “Brain Deficiency Syndrome” suggests the ominous conflict of interest of a leader, who was only concerned to use the name of cricket to accumulate wealth. This is equally applies to the rulers who also suffer from Conflict of Interest Syndrome. But wait, this could bring about the “Curse of Cricket.” Majestic Cricket might just give the nation a respite and salvation.