The death of Pakistan cricket

All rise and observe a moment of silence for the death of cricket in Pakistan. But Pakistan cricket is alive and well you say, we have a team albeit not as strong as teams of the past and kids still litter the streets with their cricket bats and make shift wickets. Well, with the cancellation of the much looked forward to Champions Trophy in Pakistan cricket is all but dead.

Sure the tournament wasn't cancelled just postponed till next October but haven't we all come to realise that such jargon is code for screw Pakistan and its peoples? The fact of the matter is that most nations i.e. Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand had settled upon not travelling to Pakistan when the tournament was announced and little could be done to change their stance except perhaps the governing body of the game coming down hard on them. As witnessed numerous security teams visited Pakistan and were more than satisfied with the security arrangements and going so far as to saying that the security provided is by far the best they've seen. Yet some how the boards along with their players remained unconvinced. Even the ICC's half-assed effort to convince the boards of those nations to travel along with their safety advice wasn't sufficient but then again did Pakistanis expect any different results from such a useless, money hungry organisation?

The final nail in the Champions Trophy coffin was nailed when the ICC, being the magnanamous organisation it is, announced that no sanctions would be imposed or sought against players/boards/nations/teams that chose not to tour Pakistan due to security concerns even though they themselves had been satisfied of the security arrangements and venues changed to suit their needs. The most common excuse thrown out to justify their acts "Pakistan is on the frontline with the war on terror and under such circumstances nations aligned with the US in its war on terror can ill afford to visit such a nation." Well sad to say it is your government's policies that have put your lives in danger, not Pakistan, its people or its policies. Surprisingly, one of their countrymen, Geoff Lawson, plies his trade as the coach of the Pakistan cricket team and has been living in Lahore for the last few years with out so much as a scratch. How then can their point of view be supported? If any thing a hindu/buddist team visiting Pakistan was treated with love and respect often reserved for heroes and not once did they complain of receiving a death threat or felt their lives were in danger.. infact they roamed around freely and practiced out in the open for all to see.

Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand are nothing short of cowards, they were quick to fight terror and join the US based alliance but piss in their boots if asked to face the reality they have helped create. A reality where bombs go off, kill innocent civilians, to ensure a extremist/terrorist free world for them. No one invited you to start a war on terror you did that off your own initiative and are now too yellow in the back to face the consequences. May be an exception should be made in New Zealand's case they were involved in a bombing after all though no one seems to mention they got caught at the wrong place at the wrong time.. the bomb was never meant to target them.

Perhaps the line I take is too extreme, perhaps they are genuinely concerned about their safety but then how would one go about judging whether one can provide adequate safety during the tournament? Surely a recently concluded tournament on a smaller scale should serve as a good indicator. Pakistan pulled off the Asian Championship without a glitch and managed to sustain the security requirements over the course of the tournament infact the security arrangements seemed to get tighter and tighter as the tournament progressed. Oh yeah not a single Indian supporter was harmed during the tournament.. so much for a nation filled with extremists willing to blow themselves up at the drop of a hat.

An idea I've been flirting with lately involves money.. Australian players were more than happy to loose the Ashes in England after a series of bombs went off their and even more happy to collect hefty pay cheques in India. Could it be that lack of sponsorship opportunities and the ol' mighty dollar is what keeps nations away from touring us? leading to the gradual decline of Pakistan cricket? Mind you the biggest culprit in all this, Australia, hasn't toured Pakistan in 10 years long before any war on terror started and I don't think they plan on doing so any time in the future either. Why? we're a poor nation we can't afford to pay them millions to show up and hit a ball, like they did in India after a series of bombs went off in multiple cities. No one boarded a plane to come home... I wonder why?

As much as these pussy nations are to blame (they want to fight terror but are pissing in their pants if asked to confront it) the blame has to be shared by the ICC and the PCB. The ICC is filled with morons of the highest order who seem to be making money telling people what to do much like an overpaid consultant hired by many multinationals. The ICC yet again has proven to be a toothless organisation full of bark and no bite, they are pathetic. Instead of sticking to its guns and demanding that the tournament go ahead as scheduled they released a statement saying none of the players/teams involved would be penalised if they choose to skip the event due to security concerns. Such an organisation deserves to be disbanded. What was the PCB doing in all this? nothing really, they have no voice and are so low down on the cricket ladder that their presence or lack there of doesn't matter.

Lets take a close look at the PCB - a board set up to promote the game of cricket in Pakistan - the PCB is still working on a interim basis, it was supposed to have had a constitution in place over a year ago I think and the then Chairman of the Board Dr. Nasim Ashraf had promised to do so according to schedule. He much like the man who had hand picked him promised a professional, better organised and some what democratic board however failed to deliver. He said the constitution was ready and just needed to be vetted by the man who had appointed him yet here we are both those men are gone and the board in abyss.

So what are we to do to counter this? nothing really Pakistan doesn't matter in the world of cricket. However money does. In this day and age cricket boards live off sponsorship funds and television rights, I say start cancelling/postponing tours to these nations and lets see how well they deal with it. Insist on neutral venues instead of visiting nations that are racist (Australia), lack security (England and South Africa). We can't put our players at risk of racist attacks when in Australia or England and its not as if it would be the first time a player of colour was attacked in Australia or a person of Pakistani origin being assaulted in England.

Excuses are plentiful but the balls are missing...

RIP Pakistan cricket (1947-2008), thank you for all the memories.

The great dictator...

So another eventful week in the history of Pakistan draws to a close and the forces of democracy or theocracy (what ever you prefer) have managed to drive out another dictator. I remember seeing a silent film by Charlie Chaplin called the "Great Dictator" where Mr. Chaplin is mistaken for the fuhrer and I liken Musharraf to that character.

Its baffling to see this nation's loyalty. One day every one you speak to was complaining about this stubborn man who refused to give up office even though his party lost the elections by a landslide and then hailed him as the saviour the moment he resigned. I personally think that makes him a coward not a hero. In his speech he claimed he has the right to answer all charges brought up against him and he would defend himself till the end however in all that some how, some where he dropped a bomb that he had decided to resign. Cue shock and awe.

I have to say I'm shocked! I didn't see this coming nor could I have expected a man of his ego to resign.. he does after all consider himself the saviour of Pakistan as he so eloquently put it while ending his speech "ab tu Pakistan ka Allah hi hafiz".

Well Mr. Musharraf lets see what you accomplished in an uninterrupted rule spanning almost a decade (for this is the people's right) and you for once have no power to order them otherwise. You claimed that during your rule there are no longer displays of arms by security guards in cars/on the streets or in political rallies.. clearly its been a while since you were in Karachi. Oh yeah how would you know the reality of life in Karachi? Traffic was brought to a halt and many innocent people died because ambulances were unable to reach hospitals as they waited for your parade to pass by.

You also seem to mention that you increased foreign reserves and made Pakistan prosperous during you reign. How of that was sustained growth sir? did any of the increased foreign reserves reflect increased exports? in fact during your reign the value of our exports dramatically declined as imports rose and local industries shifted to Dubai and Bangladesh because of your policies or lack there of. Mind you this is not capital that came in from abroad rather is local capital which had its roots in Pakistan and has decided to pack up and leave for a better, more friendlier and safer work environment. Previously it was unimaginable that a local industrialist would decide to cut his losses, pack up and move his entire production to a different nation.. congratulations sir another first for you.

I recently stumbled upon a pro-Mush facebook group and was quite amused that they believed him to be the great saviour this country needed and wanted him to build a constitution and a democratic nation.. let me remind you fools we had a constitution before Mush decided to mutilate it for his own gains and if you know any thing about nation building you will know that democracy is not achieved over night but is a slow and gradual process which is set back 20 years every time another military person decides to take over the country. How do you expect democratic institutions and thoughts to take root in this nation if a general decides to take over after 10 years of democratic rule? Make no mistake, we by no means are a democratic nation and will never move towards democracy as long as we have an armed force willing to take over the reigns and lack of education. The great dictator promoted democracy how? Constitutionally all presidents are elected by the incoming assemblies, not in Musharraf's case. He had the out going assemblies elect him.. why? he knew very well his party wasn't winning the popular vote after squandering away the country's resources, lack of power and the ever rising cost of food and fuel, forcing the country to accept a Prime Minister who essentially was a banker living in NY and is now financing banks in England. Oh yeah he was just appointed.. no need for you to take part in the general elections we'll give you a seat in Attock where you'll win unopposed and we can sell off every last resource this country owns and pocket the cash. Well played sir.

You sir are a traitor. What have you done to promote democracy in this nation? were you able to bring to the forefront any one with the potential of leading this nation in the future? never! for if such a person was to emerge it would undermine you and probably give you sleepless nights as you feared he may take over the chair you had grown to like. Was it the fear of being replaced and forgotten as a man that didn't matter in the history of Pakistan that kept you from bringing to the forefront new leaders instead of making deals and granting amnesty to the people you and your supporters call thieves?

You claim to be a patriot who strived day and night to keep Pakistan together. Well under your rule we saw the Baloch uprising and the Afghan influx. Due to your policies two of our provinces have almost broken away from what we know as Pakistan and a rash of suicide bombers have made their way into the country. Sure there were bomb blasts in Pakistan before you but never with such frequency, nor did the world look down on us as a nation of terrorists. You sir, have made us a nation of terrorists so much so that sporting teams from developed nations refused to tour Pakistan during your rule (the first time ever) on grounds of safety. When you as Chief of the Army staff and later as a stubborn mule of a president could not guarantee safety against such attacks how do expect a newly elected civilian government to turn things around in three months? Did you manage to achieve a peaceful Pakistan during your nine years of absolute rule? In fact you conned the nation into buying up properties in Gwadar (previously wholly owned by the army) and caused real estate values to sky rocket due to the speculation you allowed not to mention prevented a probe in to the stock market where thousands have lost their life savings due to the manipulation of a handful of people. I can not for the life of me reconcile the upward trend in the stock exchange with the lack of investment and the fleeting of capital this country has faced during your time.

Another bomb dropped during your last speech was that your vision for Pakistan was one of prosperity and education. How are we to witness an educated Pakistan with just 2% of the GDP going towards education. You wanted to see a Pakistan littered with schools and colleges.. how many schools and colleges did you open during your rule? in fact the newspapers were littered with reports of ghost schools and colleges during your rule. Come to think of it Sheikh Rasheed has opened more schools and colleges in his locality than you did in the whole of Pakistan.

Another one of your achievements and perhaps a cause of your downfall was the free media that you introduced. Unfortunately one can not keep every one happy and despite your initiative to introduce private television channels and free the media they were not too kind to you. So much so that you were forced to gag them and take them all off air making one wonder how much you valued the expression of free speech and now you complain that Nawaz has bought the media. Well sir, you never were a diplomat or a politician so perhaps over looked the law of the land. Cash rules everything around me. What you tried to do with force and barking down orders Nawaz did with his cheque book. Essentially the cheque book proved to be stronger than your bark.

Lets not forget, you never tried to endear yourself to the nation and always appeared before them to berate them or tell them how naive they were in trying to oppose you. You sir, appeared always to either order the nation or talk down to them and why wouldn't you? it wasn't as if a popular majority had brought you in to office you had forced your way into the highest office of the land and were unwilling to relinquish it.

You sir are a failure, you did nothing of consequence. You did not lay down any foundation of democracy nor were you able to find or encourage new leaders to replace the current crop all you did in your rule was find a way to facilitate their return and ensure they had nothing left to loot. You are no different from the crop of politicians past and present in fact you through an uninterrupted reign of almost a decade have ensured Pakistan impending doom.. I agree with your sentiment; "ab tu Pakistan ka Allah hi hafiz" - you haven't left us in any shape to move forward just a lot of wounds to heal.

A fleeting mind..

I was told recently that my blog should represent myself.. a simple conclusion one can draw by glancing at it would be quite a lazy man he is, blogs are supposed to be frequent and interesting. With that aside I do believe my blogs represent me; bad spellings and all (at least I don't use bad grammar).

I enjoy writing my blog though its not frequent or regular - in fact depends more on my mood and whims - I do think it represent the essence of me. Its confusing, disjointed and perhaps even filled with jibber jabber but I generally love voicing my opinion without having some one interrupt me.

Recently my better half found my blog (she recently got a facebook account (and yes there are people out there who didn't use facebook)), we're not married yet but getting there, though she claims to love it chastised me over the spelling of 'angel' which I incidentally spelled as angle. The only surprising thing for me is that that is the only word in the whole blog I misspelled. Quite an accomplishment for me to write all that and make just one spelling mistake, just to give you an example a six year old probably has better spellings than me. Then again we do live in an age of technology. Technology is a modern day marvel which eases our life by making it more burdensome. I remember sitting in school in a "computer studies" class, the teacher walked in and said these fantastic machines would make our lives so easy, they are capable of storing so much data, we will never need to keep paper record, etc. etc. So some 15 odd years from that class I find myself glued to a computer screen 24/7, printing enormous amounts of documents on a daily basis (thank God for technology else I'd be forced to write all this by hand) and wonder why they ever said computers will reduce paper work. It hasn't, its piled it on and made my life all the worse.

In the good old days, before technology (BT if you're one for acronyms), people had wonderful scripts, the wrote beautifully and were proud of the work they produced. After technology, work is rushed, there's always a deadline to meet and no matter how many times I may print a document there's always an error or two I can go back and correct. This just didn't happen during my dad's days, his time was simpler - the pinnacle of technology was the typewriter, he sat at a table and typed away with carbon paper inserted between sheets if he needed more than one copy. He invested himself into what he wrote, he made sure what he typed made sense, had proper grammar and spelling for there was no way for him to erase a letter with the stroke of a key. If he ever did make a mistake, which was rare, he'd lift up the ribbon, find the mistake, use an ink eraser and re-type, often he had to throw the whole document away because the eraser would cause the paper to tear.

Now after technology I have none of those worries, except that my Windows is acting up or my hard disk crashed, or my heat sink stopped working which causes my laptop to crash.. I should really get a back up of my hard disk I don't want to loose all the data I've slaved over for hours due to a virus or my hard disk malfunctioning. WOW thank the Lord for them computers else what would we do with all our time??

Oh yeah I almost forgot about a great feature called spell check; like the name implies it corrects your spelling *phew* why bother learning now I have a computer!