Quetta Gladiators, curbing terrorism in Baluchistan

Amongst all the four chief ministers of Pakistan, only Baluchistan' Nawab Sanaullah Zehri was present in the UAE to attend the Pakistan Super League and support his provincial team the Quetta Gladiators. Pakistan is unable to hold sports events at home because of deteriorating law and order situation across the country and international teams and athletes reluctance to travel here, therefore the first edition of the League, constituted on five teams representing four provinces and the capital, was also staged in Emirates.

at convinced Nawab Sanaullah Zehri to attend the event in UAE and extend his politico--cultural support to the Quetta Gladiators is his honest conviction about the importance of sports for peace and development when he expresses "through promotion of sports the menace of use of drugs and terrorism would be frustrated."

Baluchistan is the Pakistan's largest and poorest province which borders Iran and Afghanistan on the west. Due to which it has unfortunately been affected by sectarian strife and Islamist violence, while on the other hand long-run insurgency and militancy had sapped people of life and hope.

                                           

Not only Nawab Sanaullah Zehri graced the inaugural edition of Super League in which Quetta Gladiators, representing the Baluchistan province, was the finalist. He had also announced in the unveiling ceremony of Quetta Gladiators logo at home, to continue to conduct Baluchistan Sports Festival in Quetta in March, 2016.

The festival, held between March 22 and March 29, 2016, was the 3rd annual edition but in 2016 it is marked with historic public attraction and participation. Inspired by the success of Quetta Gladiators in Super League, some 2,700 players came up to participate in 29 various sports disciplines. This affection for sports events in terms of spectators attendance and players participation was missing in Baluchistan and people fear to arrive in stadiums ever since 2011 when on July 29, two killed and thirty persons injured in a dreadful bomb explosion followed by intense firing during the All Pakistan Football Tournament, held in Mastung.

                                  

Though the concluding ceremony of the week-long Baluchistan Sports Festival 2016 was regrettably cancelled in the wake of tragic terror incident of Lahore, yet the sporting event has been marked as a success for peace and development. Not only it brought much-needed positive activity and normalcy in the province but distraction from the troubles of the region compelled armed rebels to surrender their arms before Pakistan Army. Dozens of various militant groups have given up their arms in the last 12 months so far. The militants who surrendered were from groups such as notably Baloch Republican Army (BRA), Baloch National Movement (BNM), and Lashkar-e-Balochistan (Army of Baluchistan).

It is remembered that in the unveiling ceremony of Quetta Gladiators Chief Minister Baluchistan Nawab Sanaullah Zehri had pointed out that "the people of Baluchistan have the spirit of fighting to the core and (therefore) the Quetta Gladiators would hopefully bring the PSL Cup to Baluchistan." On that occasion, presence of the opposition members testifies the unanimous solidarity for Quetta Gladiators and the fact that this cricket team has made the people from all walk of life of the  province united and passionate -- something rarely seen in Pakistan politics.

And, Gladiators also didn't disappoint them. Bismillah Kahn is the only player in the Gladiators side from Quetta and he authenticates  " In Quetta people are overawed with the PSL. I have never been involved in something like this in my career so it’s pretty big for both me and the guys back home.” A Pashtun from Quetta, when he smashed Lahore Qalandars to all parts with 55 from 30 balls in his first PSL match, Quetta was given a legitimate hero of its own. However,  he reveals “There’s a lot of talent in Quetta right now, we need to just pull the talent up". "The perception of Quetta will change thanks to the PSL. A lot of players back home have said ‘man, you’ve opened the door for us’. It means we will all practice even harder than before to be involved in the PSL,” he said.

The impacts of Quetta Gladiators in Baluchistan' overall sporting activities, coupled with ongoing successful "Operation Zarb e Azb" by Pakistan Army, convinced Nawab Sanaullah Zehri to continue with further game events in order to consolidate the law and order conditions in the region. In June 2016, a Day Night Cricket Championship was therefore staged at Nawab Bugti Stadium, Quetta in which he pledged to "provide a peaceful and literate Baluchistan to people." The team of Quetta Gladiators was present in the ceremony to support and involve in sports activities of Baluchistan. The Chief Minister there announced land for cricket academy of Quetta Gladiators and wished “I hope more players from Quetta play for Quetta Gladiators ahead in the upcoming PSLs and this day and night tournament is a great step for forwarding cricket in Quetta.”

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) acknowledged the role of Quetta Gladiators for bringing peace and enthusiasm in the much-affected province of the country, as chairman Shaharyar Khan disclosed that they were considering to invite Afghanistan to play in Quetta, capital of Baluchistan, in the wake of improved law and order situation in the provincial capital. But terror incidents in other provinces forced him to drop the idea last month.

Yet for Nadeem Umar, the owner of Quetta Gladiators, his team has potential to turn around the destiny of Baluchistan when he points out " we had bought the largest team in terms of area and hearts as well."

 By  M. Wasim

mwasim.370@gmail.com

Quetta Gladiators, curbing terrorism in Baluchistan

Amongst all the four chief ministers of Pakistan, only Baluchistan' Nawab Sanaullah Zehri was present in the UAE to attend the Pakistan Super League and support his provincial team the Quetta Gladiators. Pakistan is unable to hold sports events at home because of deteriorating law and order situation across the country and international teams and athletes reluctance to travel here, therefore the first edition of the League, constituted on five teams representing four provinces and the capital, was also staged in Emirates.

at convinced Nawab Sanaullah Zehri to attend the event in UAE and extend his politico--cultural support to the Quetta Gladiators is his honest conviction about the importance of sports for peace and development when he expresses "through promotion of sports the menace of use of drugs and terrorism would be frustrated."

Baluchistan is the Pakistan's largest and poorest province which borders Iran and Afghanistan on the west. Due to which it has unfortunately been affected by sectarian strife and Islamist violence, while on the other hand long-run insurgency and militancy had sapped people of life and hope.

                                           

Not only Nawab Sanaullah Zehri graced the inaugural edition of Super League in which Quetta Gladiators, representing the Baluchistan province, was the finalist. He had also announced in the unveiling ceremony of Quetta Gladiators logo at home, to continue to conduct Baluchistan Sports Festival in Quetta in March, 2016.

The festival, held between March 22 and March 29, 2016, was the 3rd annual edition but in 2016 it is marked with historic public attraction and participation. Inspired by the success of Quetta Gladiators in Super League, some 2,700 players came up to participate in 29 various sports disciplines. This affection for sports events in terms of spectators attendance and players participation was missing in Baluchistan and people fear to arrive in stadiums ever since 2011 when on July 29, two killed and thirty persons injured in a dreadful bomb explosion followed by intense firing during the All Pakistan Football Tournament, held in Mastung.

                                  

Though the concluding ceremony of the week-long Baluchistan Sports Festival 2016 was regrettably cancelled in the wake of tragic terror incident of Lahore, yet the sporting event has been marked as a success for peace and development. Not only it brought much-needed positive activity and normalcy in the province but distraction from the troubles of the region compelled armed rebels to surrender their arms before Pakistan Army. Dozens of various militant groups have given up their arms in the last 12 months so far. The militants who surrendered were from groups such as notably Baloch Republican Army (BRA), Baloch National Movement (BNM), and Lashkar-e-Balochistan (Army of Baluchistan).

It is remembered that in the unveiling ceremony of Quetta Gladiators Chief Minister Baluchistan Nawab Sanaullah Zehri had pointed out that "the people of Baluchistan have the spirit of fighting to the core and (therefore) the Quetta Gladiators would hopefully bring the PSL Cup to Baluchistan." On that occasion, presence of the opposition members testifies the unanimous solidarity for Quetta Gladiators and the fact that this cricket team has made the people from all walk of life of the  province united and passionate -- something rarely seen in Pakistan politics.

And, Gladiators also didn't disappoint them. Bismillah Kahn is the only player in the Gladiators side from Quetta and he authenticates  " In Quetta people are overawed with the PSL. I have never been involved in something like this in my career so it’s pretty big for both me and the guys back home.” A Pashtun from Quetta, when he smashed Lahore Qalandars to all parts with 55 from 30 balls in his first PSL match, Quetta was given a legitimate hero of its own. However,  he reveals “There’s a lot of talent in Quetta right now, we need to just pull the talent up". "The perception of Quetta will change thanks to the PSL. A lot of players back home have said ‘man, you’ve opened the door for us’. It means we will all practice even harder than before to be involved in the PSL,” he said.

The impacts of Quetta Gladiators in Baluchistan' overall sporting activities, coupled with ongoing successful "Operation Zarb e Azb" by Pakistan Army, convinced Nawab Sanaullah Zehri to continue with further game events in order to consolidate the law and order conditions in the region. In June 2016, a Day Night Cricket Championship was therefore staged at Nawab Bugti Stadium, Quetta in which he pledged to "provide a peaceful and literate Baluchistan to people." The team of Quetta Gladiators was present in the ceremony to support and involve in sports activities of Baluchistan. The Chief Minister there announced land for cricket academy of Quetta Gladiators and wished “I hope more players from Quetta play for Quetta Gladiators ahead in the upcoming PSLs and this day and night tournament is a great step for forwarding cricket in Quetta.”

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) acknowledged the role of Quetta Gladiators for bringing peace and enthusiasm in the much-affected province of the country, as chairman Shaharyar Khan disclosed that they were considering to invite Afghanistan to play in Quetta, capital of Baluchistan, in the wake of improved law and order situation in the provincial capital. But terror incidents in other provinces forced him to drop the idea last month.

Yet for Nadeem Umar, the owner of Quetta Gladiators, his team has potential to turn around the destiny of Baluchistan when he points out " we had bought the largest team in terms of area and hearts as well."

 By  M. Wasim

mwasim.370@gmail.com

Bangladesh, the next Cricketing Pariah

“Pakistan is not a safe place for an international sports event. No other international teams are travelling to Pakistan. Why should Bangladesh go? These words were used in petition filed in Bangladesh high court that ultimately led Bangladesh Cricket team to call off a scheduled tour to Pakistan for a limited overs bilateral series in April 2012. Then Bangladesh Cricket Board didn't even think that they could also face similar situation at home when foreign cricket teams would refused to travel their country citing security concerns.

In October 2015, Cricket Australia had scrapped a scheduled tour of their team to Bangladesh after attacks on westerners besides their under-19 team also did not play at a World Cup in the country a few months later for security fears. And, now the recent terrorist attack by ISIS in Dhaka at the midnight of 1st July 2016 that left 20 dead in a popular westerners cafe is compelling the England cricket team to cancel a Test series in Bangladesh, scheduled in October 2016. 

The England and Wales Cricket Board has issued a statement that it will "take appropriate steps" and called the tour off if security for the team is not guaranteed or the British government warns them it is not safe to travel.

Reacting to this development Director of Bangladesh Cricket Board Sheikh Sohail states “It’s very disappointing. What happened is a very bad news for the entire nation. Never before did we witness something like this in our country. It’s a shocker for not only cricket, but every sector of the country. I don’t know what will happen in our cricket. This is a sensitive issue, and if something like this continues to happen, we will become abandoned by other cricket-playing nations."

                                    

Pakistan has not hosted international cricket since the Sri Lanka team were attacked by terrorists in 2006 and, if Bangladesh goes the same way, it will shrink an already small cricketing world further.

All of the world sports bodies need to realize that terrorism is a global phenomenon as it is not limited to one or two states. Neither terror politics is limited to political or social platforms only. As a matter of fact, sports and other cultural events like music concerts and festivals, offer terrorists much bigger platforms to flex their muscles and earn maximum notoriety.  

Over the English team security concerns, the president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, Nazmul Hassan now has similar views “There is no safe country in the current world. Terrorism is happening everywhere. You never know, in the next three months, England could also face a similar kind of situation. No one can be certain about it. What we can do is to increase the security level. If that’s done, there is no reason to call off the series."

   

By  M. Wasim

mwasim.370@gmail.com

Sports honours EDHI

On June 8, 2014 ten suicide militants armed with automatic weapons, a rocket launcher, suicide vests, and grenades, attack Jinnah International Airport Karachi. The Rangers and Army personnel responds through a sweeping operations at airport, and after six hours operation the Airport has been cleared. 36 people have been killed, including all 10 attackers, and 18 others are wounded.

That is the time when Edhi management with its ambulances and social workers, reaches at the tragic scene of Airport, where the Edhi workers after providing free services—like cleaning of bodies, exclusive bathing, as well as shrouding to 12 coffins, and are shifted to their native places, whereas 10 unknown coffins shifted to the Edhi morgue, at Sohrab Goth Karachi, and 30 injured were immediately shifted to Jinnah Hospital Karachi for speedy treatment. In this operation, 30 ambulances, 60 rescue workers of Edhi, participate to assist the security forces and government functionaries, as well as the affected people at the Karachi airport. 

This is not the only occasion when Edhi Foundation comes to counter the menace of terrorism with its rescue and rehab services. The Foundation -- led by Abdul Sattar Edhi since 1957 --- has always timely responded in needs. Its minivan ambulances are a common sight across Pakistan, particularly in the aftermath of all-too-frequent terrorist bombings. Specially after 9/11 when the pace of tragic and terror-related incidents picked acceleration, defying all odds it has been a source of great relief for a nation, ruined and still haunted by militancy and terrorism. 

With this contextual background when Pakistan national cricket team will start their Test campaign against England at Lords on July 14, 2014, it will be a great honour that they wear EDHI logo on their kit. This also will be the first time in Pakistan cricket team’s history that players from any sport discipline would wear logos of a charitable organisation on their official kit. 

The name of (Abdul Sattar) Edhi, who is facing serious illness these days, is synonymous to peace and mankind and having logo of Edhi on national cricket team kits, is just a salute to great Edhi from Pakistan sports circle.  

By  M. Wasim

mwasim.370@gmail.com

Anti-Hooligan Measures can ensure safety & security of EURO 216

David Bond writes for BBC in 2013, "High-profile outbreaks of violence involving fans are much rarer today than they were 20 or 30 years ago. Football has moved on thanks to banning orders and better, more sophisticated policing".  However, hooliganism as a moronic pursuit, whereby rival fans use patriotic or tribal allegiance as an excuse for criminal thuggery, has reared its head at the European Championships in France.

The 1-1 drawn between England and Russia,  was marred by heavy violence before and after the game, with both sets of fans clashing in Marseille. Four England fans were seriously injured, two who had been listed as being in critical condition were said to be “stable” on Sunday. Overall more than 30 people were hurt in the clashes and three policemen were slightly injured.

That hooliganism and hostile behaviour of the English and Russian fans has led the UEFA to warning the two teams of expulsion from EURO 2016 if violence involving their fans continues through the tournament, UEFA.

Football hooliganism refers to unruly, violent, and destructive behaviour by overzealous supporters of football teams, including brawling, vandalism and intimidation.

Security experts in France said they relied too heavily on a massive police presence and the use of tear gas, and should have had more “spotters” mingling with crowds to call in officers to stop trouble spreading. They also  need to implement basic Anti Hooligan Measures (AHM) to ensure safety and security of the continental event.

• banning items that could be used as weapons or missiles in stadia, and searching suspected hooligans
• banning identified hooligans from stadia, either formally via judicial orders, or informally by denying them admittance on the day
• moving to all-seated stadia, which reduces the risk of disorderly crowd movement
• segregating opposing fans, and fencing enclosures to keep fans away from each other and off the pitch
• banning opposing fans from matches and/or ordering specific matches to be played behind closed doors
• compiling registers of known hooligans
• restricting the ability of known hooligans to travel overseas.

By  M. Wasim

mwasim.370@gmail.com

The new "Bag Policy", to ensure stadium security

Game events are supposed to be ideal platform for terrorists to show off globally their notoriety in order to infuse maximum terror and insecurity among the people. Therefore stadiums' security and safety of spectators and sports fan are considered today as important as of players and sports celebrities.  

Back to back attacks in sports stadiums since the last decade compel security management of grounds and sports field to use modern technology along with policing and armed personals in their safety system.Like CCTV with pan and tilt facilities, control room to monitor spectators, emergency lighting system in case of power failure and electronic loudspeaker system to address public in case of emergency. 

However, in the ongoing Copa America Centenario, being held in the USA an important, yet  a bit orthodox, measure has been introduced for the safety of stadiums and spectators. The authorities of the mega football event order a “clear bag policy” at the gates of its all 10 American stadia, and is recommending that fans don’t bring any bags at all.

The press release states

"Bags that are not in compliance must be returned to the patron’s vehicle or checked at a designated bag check area located outside the stadium perimeter (if available).

The style and size of bags that will be allowed is described below:

• Bags that are clear plastic, vinyl or PVC and do not exceed 12″ x 6″ x 12.”
• One-gallon clear plastic freezer bag (Ziploc bag or similar).
• Small clutch bags, approximately the size of a hand, with or without a handle or strap, may be carried into the stadium along with one of the clear bag options."

By M. Wasim

mwasim.370@gmail.com

Great Muhammad Ali, as Peacekeeper

In a world plagued by terror and insecurity, with the demise of great Muhammad Ali the world lost such a legend who was an inspiration and a ray of hope for many around the world. Sports and game activities are widely regarded as anti-terror solution to do away with negativity, normalise tensions and calm down violent situations. And, Muhammad Ali performed his role numerous times to make the world safe and secured from violence.

Before the start of Cold War, when Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein had taken many hostages including 15 Americans during  Kuwait invasion in 1990, Ali flew to Baghdad, Iraq to negotiate for the release of the Americans and  met Saddam Hussein, which in a result brought freedom for all 15 Americans.

In July 21014 when the leaders of Iran had taken Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian hostage, Ali urged the Iranians to free Rezaian in a statement he released to the National Press Club in which he wrote: “I am sorry that I cannot be physically present to lend my support in person but I pray my words will provide relief to the efforts to secure the release of Jason Rezaian......“Insha'Allah. It is my great hope that the government and judiciary of Iran will end the prolonged detention of journalist Jason Rezaian and provide him with access to all his legal options".

For Vietnam war, Ali refused induction into the military service and said there was nothing stopping him from continuing to box. His anti-war stance cost him his U.S. passport and very nearly his career. Two weeks after the news conference, he was banned from boxing and sentenced to prison. The WBA and the WBC stripped him of their titles, and the states refused to license him. 

President Barack Obama, whose presidency itself is evidence of Ali's legacy, admits that "His fight outside the ring would cost him his title and his public standing. ..But Ali stood his ground. And his victory helped us get used to the America we recognize today."

By M. Wasim

mwasim.370@gmail.com