In a country suffering huge demise because of flooding, long divided by the clashes between diverse ethnicity, religion and sect, plagued by terrorism, cricket should be a boon. However it seems that greed has taken its toll.
Pakistan Cricket has been a top notch, led by likes of ‘Toe Crusher’ Waqar Younis , Wasim Akram, patriotic and talented Miandad, And ‘ Cleanest of all’ Imran khan. But recent allegations on players tell a different story altogether. Three Pakistani cricketers, including the captain, Salman Butt, are alleged to have conspired with gamblers to fix recent games against England’s team, a practice known as ‘spot-fixing’.
Roots of these may lie deeper than that can be seen. Mostly in Indian subcontinent, cricketing boards are governed by politicians, who are rather strangers to the game but not to the administration and crawl their way in, where they are not needed. Could this be one of the reasons, that dirty politics at top is the real culprit, and the players could just be a manifestation of it? Not only this event but the recent IPL-Lalit Modi scam does give an indication.
Corruption; money laundering and damage to cricketing community as a whole , is perhaps the worst that can happen to a country like Pakistan, which is already in so much troubles. And the biggest danger it poses is to image of Pakistan which is already tainted due to all the prevalent, wrong activities and operations.
The cricketing body of Pakistan, led by Asif Ali himself, needs to rethink beyond filling pockets of some lucky few. In the recent years, from match fixing to misbehavior, and from ball tampering to fights within dressing room, Pakistani cricket has been in news for all the wrong reasons. It is responsibility of ruling class to think more than money and handle the situation carefully. Guilty should be punished severely to set an example, however steps for improvement do not end there, instead it is just a starting point. Pakistan already has many problems to handle and politicians should stop adding to the misery. If steps are not taken at right level, at right time and by right people, Pakistan’s long term image is at stake.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Floods of Terror
The enormous floods in Pakistan have left millions shattered and have destroyed many villages and towns alike. They have lasted almost for a month and have left around 8 million people in dire need of help. Indus River is swollen to 40 times its usual capacity and many have been displaced from southern sindh province.
On the backdrop of such event, it has become even more necessary to monitor the so called ‘war against terrorism’ in western Pakistan. Flooding waters may bring with them an opportunity to generate ‘Goodwill’. Problem is, it does not differentiate between the Terrorist outfits and the Social welfare organizations while providing it.
Recently, all the organization like Jamaat-Ud-Dawa (JUD), Jaish-E-Mohammad (JEM), and Lashkar-E-Taiba (LET) have joined in efforts for flood relief. Many others are expected to join the bandwagon. Yes, the flood has affected their operations too. Especially the western province was home to many of the training camps, facilitation mosques etc. Yet it may benefit them tremendously, when it comes to generating goodwill and portraying themselves as for-People organization. These organizations have been actively involved in fund collection for flood relief. Considering their relations in Saudi Arabia, they will be successful in generating huge funds. United Nations are wary of this, but they have been highly unsuccessful in curbing these activities.
This in turn, could push the popularity of such organisations upwards, amongst the common people of Pakistan. Effects will be delayed trials of many who are members of such organizations including those who are convicted of 9/11 attacks , delayed military efforts , lack of public support for activities in Swat Valley, negative feelings for US and other UN members who have been disinterested in flood relief works and many more to come.
Once the flood has subsided it is the one who builds schools, hospitals and social welfare infrastructure will gain the sympathy. It is the first movers’ advantage, what remains to be seen is who will it be?
On the backdrop of such event, it has become even more necessary to monitor the so called ‘war against terrorism’ in western Pakistan. Flooding waters may bring with them an opportunity to generate ‘Goodwill’. Problem is, it does not differentiate between the Terrorist outfits and the Social welfare organizations while providing it.
Recently, all the organization like Jamaat-Ud-Dawa (JUD), Jaish-E-Mohammad (JEM), and Lashkar-E-Taiba (LET) have joined in efforts for flood relief. Many others are expected to join the bandwagon. Yes, the flood has affected their operations too. Especially the western province was home to many of the training camps, facilitation mosques etc. Yet it may benefit them tremendously, when it comes to generating goodwill and portraying themselves as for-People organization. These organizations have been actively involved in fund collection for flood relief. Considering their relations in Saudi Arabia, they will be successful in generating huge funds. United Nations are wary of this, but they have been highly unsuccessful in curbing these activities.
This in turn, could push the popularity of such organisations upwards, amongst the common people of Pakistan. Effects will be delayed trials of many who are members of such organizations including those who are convicted of 9/11 attacks , delayed military efforts , lack of public support for activities in Swat Valley, negative feelings for US and other UN members who have been disinterested in flood relief works and many more to come.
Once the flood has subsided it is the one who builds schools, hospitals and social welfare infrastructure will gain the sympathy. It is the first movers’ advantage, what remains to be seen is who will it be?
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