Daily Times

The victory over the West Indies was that much sweeter by the outpouring of affection for the Pakistani team, by the pro-Pakistan Bangladeshi crowd, with the predominance of the Pakistani flags and shirts, almost a sea of green-shirted sympathisers. Took us on a nostalgic trip to when we were an unnatural twin country separated by thousands of miles of a hostile India. Finally broken by a successful plot shepherded by a combined Indian/UK-inspired team.

It was beautiful to see a stadium full of youngsters who had not been born at the time of our separation, one that was full of hatred with charges of rape and of war crimes against the East Pakistani population, which were declared as war crimes. Regardless of the charges and counter-charges, the country suffered an orgy of bloodletting with a huge number of murders of men, women and children killed without cause. This was the darkest period in our history and we were sure that the memory and pain would live with us forever. Bhutto shared much of the blame, for he could have given the power to Sheikh Mujib, the elected majority leader of the combined National Assembly, but he was the first to give the call for separation saying: “Udhar tum, idhar hum” (you are there, we are here). Raising the first instance of a minority province seceding from the majority, Bhutto has much to answer for. Committing treason against his Pakistani leadership and the government of the time, Bhutto also saw to it that the Hamoodur Rahman Commission Report never saw the light of day, primarily because it showed clearly where the blame lay. It is all the more surprising and gratifying that the public display of affection shows that all is forgiven. It was a truly memorable and heartwarming experience to see thousands of Bangladeshi youngsters rooting for the Pakistan cricket team.

The match itself was a sad display of an erstwhile formidable West Indian team put to the sword by a young energetic Pakistan, but the irresponsible batting display by Chris Gayle was truly unfortunate. So the exit of the West Indies from the Cup was well deserved. Now the competition is into the semi-finals with Pakistan and India through safely to face each other, in what promises to be an epic battle between the two bitter foes.

The hype being generated for this game is formidable, and shows how badly Ijaz Butt has let the Pakistani people down in his mishandling of the threat to the Sri Lankan team. Subsequent to the shooting, Butt abused the match referee calling him a liar 15 days before he was due to send his match report to the ICC. Obviously not the smartest of moves to make to the match referee. The resultant ban on Pakistan is with us still, depriving thousands of cricketing fans of witnessing a cricket match in the Lahore Stadium. This then is the high point of Butt’s achievements whilst Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman. However, his other famous security lapse was the entrapment of our three most outstanding Test cricketers, who are also facing criminal charges in the British courts. These three would have been invaluable additions to our squad and they could have made all the difference. Apart from destroying the careers of the most promising young talent in recent memory, this is another thanks to the cronyism policy of the PPP by which the PPP promotes cronies out of political loyalty not counting the merit. It has also taken care of our best chances yet at the World Cup. The Pakistani cricket team has achieved its present semi-final position in spite of the PCB, and not because of the PCB – a sad reflection on Ijaz Butt. To see the thousands of disappointed fans, and the millions of dollars that would have been spent here – not to mention the glitz and the glamour of playing host to thousands from across the border and expats from the UK, and the Gulf.

Alas these are some of the penalties that go along with democracy without merit.

The writer is a freelance columnist