Pakistan has sent out a strong statement of intent and defiance, and rightly so, by announcing that the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Twenty20 tournament will be played in Lahore as previously planned.
The decision was taken yesterday in Dubai after the five franchises involved in the event reached an agreement that their teams would make the trip to Lahore for the final scheduled on March 5.
Lahore was announced as the original venue for the final when this year’s PSL was launched, but the recent string of ghastly terrorist attacks in Pakistan, including one in the city which killed more than a dozen people, had led to calls for the title decider to be played elsewhere.
More than a 100 people lost their lives and several dozens more were injured in a matter of a few days, leading to panic in the country which had seen a recent lull in violence following the military’s crackdown on militants in the restive border regions.
The recent wave of attacks has been claimed by groups affiliated to the Taliban and ISIS whose leaders are based in Afghanistan, according to Pakistani sources, and were intended to create panic and instability in the country which is banking on the multi-billion dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to revive its economy.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had intended to prove that the country was safe for international cricket when the PSL final was scheduled for Lahore but the recent attacks had dampened their enthusiasm.
But assurances from the government and security agencies including the nation’s million strong army coupled with a desire not to yield in to the terrorists have infused the country with a fresh dose of much needed confidence that it can pull off the final without any untoward incident.
“It has been heartwarming to see the dedication of all the owners to the cause of taking cricket back home,” PSL chairman, Najam Sethi said yesterday.
“There is a realisation that this final will be the first step in opening the gates to international teams starting to make the journey again. We are all committed to this mission and wish to have a thoroughly entertaining final where it should happen – in Lahore.”
According to reports, the PCB has taken several steps to ensure the safety of the players, including buying four bullet-proof buses.
However, even before the recent attacks, the Federation of International Cricketers’ Association (FICA) had issued a report warning that an “acceptable level of participant security and safety cannot be expected or guaranteed” in Pakistan.
The PCB now faces the difficult task of convincing non-Pakistani players to travel to Lahore for the final. They are being encouraged to make the trip and there are even reports of promises of extra payments to the tune of thousands of dollars.
In a country polarised by political and sectarian conflicts, cricket perhaps is the only activity that brings people together. And although the PSL matches are being played to full houses in the UAE, fans were longing for some action in their own country after international teams stopped touring Pakistan following the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009. The PSL final in Lahore therefore would be a great opportunity for them to turn out in large numbers and support the event despite the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the occasion.
Viewpoint
