Sri Lanka's bold offer to Pakistan, a lesson for others
'Pakistan has proved it can provide adequate security, as it did during the Asia Cup Cricket tournament'
By Ghalib Mehmood Bajwa
After a couple of days, the year 2008 will come to an end. It will be the first year in Pakistan's cricketing history after a long time -- almost 40 years in fact, when our national team did not get a single five-day Test match at home or abroad.

Pakistan's new hockey bosses are talking big. They are claiming to be working on long-term projects aimed at reviving the glory days of Pakistan hockey.

But they say actions speak louder than words.

In their initial few weeks in power, the top Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) officials have only acted like kids in a candy shop.

Just recently, a three-member PHF 'delegation' went all the way to Los Angeles to attend an International Hockey Federation (FIH) Congress, spending precious funds that are primarily meant to provide Pakistan hockey a much-needed shot in the arm.

PHF secretary Asif Bajwa was a part of the delegation headed by new federation president Qasim Zia while another former Olympian -- Rana Mujahid -- who is representing the Punjab Hockey Association (PHA) also decided to tag along.

If that was not enough, the trio together with a few more local officials went on another foreign tour -- this time to Kuala Lumpur to attend an Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Congress and a few workshops attended to it.

There shouldn't be anything wrong with such trips. After all, senior national hockey officials have transformed themselves into globe-trotters in the past at PHF's expense.

But there is a slight problem this time.

Take the case of Bajwa for example. He was supposed to attend the one-day AHF Congress on December 20 on behalf of the PHF. But he decided to proceed to KL several days in advance. And the PHF secretary will only return home three days after the Congress is held in the Malaysian capital.

When asked about such a long trip for a one-day event, Bajwa told this correspondent that his visit became lengthy because of the complicated flight schedule. One wonders why the travel agents working for the PHF were unable to find flights for Bajwa from his base in Lahore to Kuala Lumpur considering the fact that several airlines fly from Pakistan to Malaysia quite frequently.

Bajwa has perhaps travelled more than any other sports official of the country since taking over from aging former Olympian Khalid Mahmood as the PHF secretary ahead of this August's Olympic Games in Beijing. He has even traveled with the national team when it went to Germany for a brief four-nation event in Hamburg this fall.

Foreign trips are hardly the only area in which the current PHF top brass is burning the much-needed cash.

Last month, the PHF initially claimed it suffered a massive loss of eight million rupees after the Indian government blocked its junior team's visit of Pakistan at the last minute.

Later, the PHF secretary said that the federation lost around six million rupees. One wonders why the previously cash-starved federation spent so much on the series even before the start of what was a low-profile contest (five Tests) between the junior teams of Pakistan and India.

It's hard to comprehend, how the PHF could waste that kind of money on the preparations of a home series at a time when its running from pillar to post to raise funds to boost Pakistan hockey.

One hopes somebody sitting in the corridors of power is taking notice of the big-spending spree the country's officials have involved themselves in after filling in the PHF bank accounts through special government grants in recent times.

Perhaps, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani -- PHF's chief patron -- should ask the federation some tough questions about the way its spending money meant to be utilized on long-term projects. It's the tax-payers money that the PHF is throwing though in such hard times, it should be very careful in every paisa it spends.

There are several reasons why Bajwa and other PHF officials should practice more austerity and try to stick to their home base rather than spend precious dollars on their foreign trips.

Being at the helm of national hockey affairs, they must be fully aware about the enormity of the task facing them. Pakistan hockey has been down in the dumps for several years now and it would really take a Herculean effort to lift it from the abysmal depths where it currently rests.

The past few PHF regimes, especially the previous one headed by Zafarullah Khan Jamali, failed to do much for our national game. The national senior and junior teams have been under-performing at best while the so-called training academies exist mostly on paper.

One is expecting a lot from Qasim Zia, who replaced Jamali as the new PHF president.

Qasim, a hero of Pakistan's 1984 Olympic triumph, seemed to be the perfect man to run Pakistan hockey. He is a former Olympian, who is experienced but not old and being an influential PPP leader has all the right connections. He has already succeeded where Jamali failed by quickly mustering up the much-needed funds soon after coming in power.

But Qasim should realise that it's not the money that he generates for Pakistan hockey that is going to count. It's the money well-spent that will make the difference.

Otherwise even if the PHF raises millions of rupees and makes big promises, nothing will change for Pakistan hockey.

It would be unfair to blame Qasim and company for the mess that is presently hurting our hockey. They're still new and need some more time to prove their worth. But so far, the initial signs are not good. The officials seem to be more interested in making hay while the sun shines. And the way they are going, the sun is unlikely to shine on Pakistan hockey much longer.

It's very important that the PHF top brass finds a goal that is achievable and then works its way towards scoring it. Nobody is saying that the PHF's job would be easy. It will take a lot of time, money and energy together with loads of hard work to rejuvenate Pakistan hockey. The last thing PHF needs is opportunists, who are just there to have a good time.

The writer is Sports Editor 'The News' Karachi

In spite of having won the non-first-class Patron's Trophy Grade-II Cricket Championship title in their debut season, the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) team have not moved even an inch forward. Believing that they would be promoted to the 'Grade-I' first-class level by virtue of their quite splendid triumph in 2007-08, they appear doomed to go through yet another season of Grade-II cricket, and then hoping to get elevated to the first-class circuit from the forthcoming season onwards.

Have the PQA side been unfairly treated? Are they being unnecessarily victimised? Should they have been promoted to first-class cricket anyway? Some press reports would certainly have you believe so. Letters have been written to newspaper editors in this regard, emails have been sent to several stakeholders, journalists, cricket administrators and officials alike. The question is: Is the Port Qasim cricket authorities' stance justified?

Last Tuesday, I was forwarded a mail that had originally been sent a day earlier to a Letters to the Editor column. This was from a gentleman named Dawar Naqvi who resides in Torrance, California, USA. It said:

"The Heaven of Pakistan cricket board goes by favour. If it went by merit, PCB officials would stay out and their dog would go in.

"Recently Pakistan Cricket Board announced to resume departmental cricket. This decision was praised by many people. But on the other hand, the PCB is not allowing last year's champions of the PCB Patron's Trophy Grade-II cricket tournament to take part in the PCB Patron's Trophy Grade-I championship.

"According to the laws of PCB, Grade-II champions should be allowed to play Grade-I cricket. This is a totally unfair decision by the PCB and makes a lot of people stunned and angry.

"Last year, the Port Qasim team took part in the Grade-II cricket tournament for the first time and they won the championship.

"The Port Qasim team consists of players like Khalid Latif, Abdul Rauf, Mohammad Talha, Asim Kamal, Shadab Kabir, Azam Hussain, Kamran Younis, Mohammad Salman and Shahzaib Hasan. Ex-Pakistan cricket captain Rashid Latif is coach of the Port Qasim cricket team.

"I humbly request the Patron of Pakistan Cricket Board Mr Asif Zardari to reconsider the decision of PCB. And ask PCB to change their decision and allow last year's Patron's Trophy Grade-II champion Port Qasim to take part in the Patron's Trophy Grade-I cricket tournament.

"Unfortunately there's always merit to having a debate over the PCB's decisions."

Let's discuss this letter in some detail. Having started with a rather less than tasteful mention of PCB officials and their dogs, it laments the fact that the Cricket Board is not allowing Port Qasim to be promoted to the first-class level. Then, it also announces that the PCB had recently said they were 'resuming' departmental cricket.

Both assumptions are incorrect. When the PCB's domestic cricket committee had decided to put all the leading departmental and regional association sides in the same Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Championship last season, the Patron's Trophy Grade-I Championship was excluded from the calendar. Moreover, departmental cricket never went away anywhere. The Grade-II Patron's Trophy event included as many as 22 departmental teams, even though it was not adjudged first-class.

The PCB had made it very clear even before the Patron's Grade-II event got underway that no promotions would be made to the first-class circuit from the competition. Mainly because there was no Grade-I tournament to be elevated to. It had been decided that the departmental-regional Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will be persisted with the next season also and relegations initiated from there onwards.

Initially, it was thought that the three bottom teams from each group in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy would be demoted to the non-first-class circuit. This would have left a total of 16 teams in the national competition. Later, the PCB retracted. They felt that only Hyderabad and Quetta, the two regions that hit rock bottom in either group, would get relegated.

This season even this decision has been taken back and both Hyderabad and Quetta continue to feature in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Championship, all the 22 contestants being retained.

Ironically, neither Hyderabad nor Quetta can be banished anywhere because there's no Grade-II circuit to go to. There is, of course, the non-first-class Inter-Region Level-II tournament that's played every season, including 11 teams representing the country's regional cricket associations. Hyderabad and Quetta too already have their own sides featured, although they are the two regions' second-string teams only.

There was, however, never any promise made regarding the winners of the Patron's Trophy Grade-II title qualifying for the Grade-I circuit, at least not in the 2007-08 season. Surely, the Port Qasim people as well as all the other departmental teams would have been aware of this fact. So, it is not advisable to protest about their not being promoted.

The mail in question says: "According to the laws of PCB, Grade-II champions should be allowed to play Grade-I cricket. This is a totally unfair decision by the PCB (of not allowing Port Qasim to move forward) and makes a lot of people stunned and angry."

There is no such 'law' that governs the PCB's domestic rules. It is just a convenience, when a promotion/relegation system is put into place, and it is entirly up to the PCB whether they want this procedure to be followed every season or not.

The Patron's Trophy Grade-I Championship was done away last season, so Port Qasim -- and their opponents in the Grade-II final, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) -- could both or just the champions could have been promoted only to the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy competition. But that was never the intention of the PCB in the first place. They had also made an announcement in this regard that the Patron's Grade-II winners would not be elevated, for the time being at least.

So, what is the hue and cry about it now? The PCB's new Director General Javed Miandad had recently talked about giving domestic cricket a 'departmental' colouration, allowing more business houses to join national cricket with their teams both at the senior and younger age-group levels. Basically, this is an attempt to make domestic cricket attractive for the budding cricketers of the country, help them make their vocation economically viable and to play their beloved sport without any tensions prevailing in their personal lives.

Miandad's endeavour entails bringing in more departments into national cricket. This also means that from the next season (2009-10) the Patron's Trophy Championship will be played in both grades once again. Grade-I will include only the top nine departmentals sides -- the ones currently part of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Championship -- plus one qualifying as champions of the Grade-II event.

The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Championship is going to, as reports suggest, be given a total makeover next season. It has been decided in principle to give provincial and city associations representation in the national competition. There will only be eight teams participating.

All the nine departmental sides from the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will go to the Patron's Trophy Grade-I Championship, which wil be adjudged first-class and will include the Grade-II champions also. The Patron's Grade-II event will include all the other departments, playing a non-first-class tournament, and hoping to send at least its champions to the Grade-I competition.

There will be two teams from the Punjab province in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Championship, called North Punjab and South Punjab. There will be a team dubbed as Interior Sindh and there will be the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Balochistan and Federal Area (taking players from Islamabad and Rawalpindi) sides in addition.

One team each from Karachi and Lahore will join the six 'provincial' teams in order to keep the city representation intact, as in any case these two areas constitute the original nurseries of Pakistan cricket.

The Port Qasim had certainly done very well last season, and in their maiden appearance on the domestic circuit too. They won four of their five group matches, with one producing no decision due to bad weather and, then in the final played at Iqbal Stadium Faisalabad in May earlier this year, defeated State Bank by an emphatic 98 runs margin.

Although the Port Qasim skipper, the former left-handed Test opening batsman Shadab Kabir batted splendidly to score 673 runs in the tournament, he was dismissed sixth-ball for a duck in the final. He recovered to make a useful 42 in the second innings, but it was teammate Asim Kamal, the Pakistan reject, who enabled the team set up a big win.

The left-handed Asim scored 75 and 100 in the match, former Pakistan wicket-keeper and captain Rashid Latif, who actually was the Port Qasim coach but made a rare appearance for them hitting a well-played 70, pace bowlers Abdul Rauf and Mohammad Talha and, in the end, left-arm spinner Azam Hussain with a haul of six wickets for 78 runs were the players who starred in the Port Qasim victory.

Of course, it is unfortunate for Port Qasim that they didn't get elevated to the first-class level. But they and all other participants of the Patron's Grade-II event had been conveyed that decision in no uncertain terms even before the contest started. Any team emerging as champion would still have felt the same way as Port Qasim does.

There are 13 regional teams in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Championship of 2008-09 that starts from December 27, both Karachi and Lahore allowed two strings each as usual. However, whereas there are 11 of these sides in Group B, the nine departmental teams in Group A also have the Karachi Whites and Lahore Shalimar playing alongside them.

In a manner of speaking, this is the new PCB regime's first step towards giving national first-class cricket a predominantly 'departmental' identity with the main competition being set aside exclusively for 'provincial' associations from the seasons from here onwards.

For the current season, at least, the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Championship will in fact be played in the two groups virtually as a departmental and regional competition separately. Most probably, one of the two teams in the final will be a departmental side and the other definitely a regional association team.

Even if the final may turn out to be a mismatch eventually, it would at least be played between the two best sides from either group.

The 11 teams in Group A comprise National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Habib Bank Limited (HBL), Pakistan Customs, Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), Karachi Whites, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) and Lahore Shalimar.

Group B includes all regional association teams, also 11 in number: Karachi Blues, Quetta, Hyderabad, Multan, Lahore Ravi, Faisalabad, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Abbottabad and Sialkot.

In all, a total of 111 matches will be played in the national cricket championship, 55 in either group including the final. The tournament will last a total of 11 weeks with the five-day final to be played at a venue not yet decided, from March 3 to 7 next year.

Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) are the defending champions of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Championship title. They made their maiden appearance in the tournament in the 2007-08 season and went on to win the double crown.

After getting the better of Habib Bank in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final here at the National Stadium, by virtue of the first innings lead, in January early this year, some three months later they defeated the same opposition, at the same venue, by seven wickets to also win the ABN AMRO One-day Cup final.

Of course, Port Qasim will begin their quest for promotion once again this season when the Patron's Trophy Grade-II tournament comes about. It might be a trifle difficult for them this time round, but if they continue to employ and play some of the best players from the previous season, there's no reason why they shouldn't qualify again and win the final too.

The PCB would, of course, put into operation their new plans from the next season. For the moment, the domestic cricket authorities have not announced the promotion/relegation procedure for the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Championship. The intention in fact is to revamp the entire domestic structure within the year 2009.

Those who utilise techniques in attacks against liberal states are not constrained by liberal ideas about justice in the present situation -- it is somewhat a state of war. Terrorism shouldn't have any place in civility; it is a part from brutality and brutal behaviour has to be condemned regardless of the ethnicity, geo-political division or anywhere in the world. George W Bush, the President of United States had to receive a farewell with a pair of shoes hurled at him in Iraq; it would have resulted due to anger and hatred but surely it wasn't within the scope of civility.

Recent attacks in Mumbai were again symbolic of many terrorists' intent on attacking liberalism itself because they presumably view it as a rival comprehensive doctrine. One wonders then, whether liberalism should be constrained by its own principles in responding to such attacks.

These seemingly weren't tied to any particular comprehensive doctrine and yet reasonable for adherents of a plurality of such comprehensive doctrines, the idea could be tied to a specific philosophy that is potentially incompatible with prudent civility.

Current liberalism has no need for a supreme emergency exemption or, rather, it avoids this realist expedient by postulating an optimistic philosophy of history. The political liberalism, however, is a hybrid that is both realistic and utopian. The realist component of political liberalism thus might allow us to support strong action against terrorists. We must; everything has suffered and Pakistan is in the middle of it.

However, the realist exemption to the principles of justice can only be invoked from within a philosophical interpretation of progress in history. Such a philosophy of history is thus a metaphysical supplement to the ideals of political liberalism, one that threatens to disrupt the possibility of overlapping consensus. I will conclude by arguing that currently terrorism does not constitute a supreme emergency.

Political philosophy is an ambiguous enterprise. It is concerned with questions of principles about justice and morality. But this concern is connected with the changing nature of historical actuality. The connection between theory and practice in political philosophy is often made by way of a philosophy of history. Our thinking about political philosophy, for example, occurs within an eschatological view of history in which our concrete actions are crises to be judged in terms of the end of time. The political philosophies of Machiavelli and Hobbes, the two most famous proponents of political realism, can be understood in terms of a cynical view of history as the repetition of self-interested action on the part of individuals.

If indeed everything does happen for a reason then the recent bloodbath in Mumbai was a strapping reminder of the frantic need for some good old-fashioned, tough, candid leadership trying taking peace-keeping measures. Pakistan needs to have a chance to feel included in the global society. We are passing through our severest test. If we deviate from the philosophical and political upheavals, and revert to cricket, the disaster in Mumbai was also a horror-stricken reminder of cricket's vulnerability.

While cricket is way down the list on the level of importance, there's a parallel need for strong leadership so that the game's integrity can finally match its financial cuff. This is going to take a combined endeavour from the players and officials of all major cricket nations.

The one big difference between the world situation and that of cricket is the lack of any leader with intelligence and charisma looming on the horizon in the game to first take it to neutrality and then make it a peaceful domain.

Now that India and England have plotted to disregard the terrorisation and play the planned two-Test series, it will provide a fantastic example of what can happen when there is a will to cooperate. However, this show of solidarity needs to be followed up with strong leadership. The game's future must be a planned, well-thought-out affair rather than an imitation of a runaway train with no one at the levers. Why Pakistan is mostly targeted.

Australia didn't tour Pakistan on the pretext of worsening law and order situation but they are willing to comply with India. England wouldn't have given a second thought had the carnage taken place in Karachi and they were touring; but they promptly agreed to travel back to India despite Mumbai exploding into pieces.

The cancellation, following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, of the remaining two games in England's one-day series, the Champions League, and the rest of the ICL, was a wake-up call for a game that has become way too dependent on and subservient to India. Considering the haste with which the rest of the cricket world knelt greedily at India's wealthy vault without question, there was never going to be a happy ending.

We are living in an uncertain world. Just when cricket fans across the country were soaked in the euphoria that Team India's performance triggered, terrorists attacked Mumbai, the economic capital of India and left the whole nation shell-shocked. A thumping series win over Australia looked so small and so frivolous!

Australia, West Indies cancelled their tours to Pakistan on security grounds. Ours is not 'as turbulent a nation' but that does not justify the cause of cricket. The sub-continent psyche is much different from the psyche of the English or the Australians. We are living with terrorism everyday just because there is no way you can escape it.

Another situation that can be tricky for the BCCI is India's upcoming tour to Pakistan. The BCCI backed Pakistan's claim of hosting Australia but failed to cajole them. Now that reportedly some Indian seniors are not willing to tour the strife-torn country in January 2009, the Indian cricket board will have to be intelligent in its dealing with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Had England cancelled the Test series, it would have been a big blow for India and now the series has gone ahead as per the schedule adding to the pressure that's building on to visit Pakistan.

Cricket in Pakistan, once a great nursery for young talent, has been devastated by the upheaval in the country. The last Australian side to tour there did so as far back as 1998, and while the Australian board says it is determined to send a team to Pakistan, it is equally adamant it won't happen until their security experts deem it safe. That is about as convincing as a jockey on the merry-go-round saying, 'I'd soon pass the nag in front of me if only my mount would get a move on'.

It's easy to see why the Pakistan board is bemused when members of a team fall back on 'the advice of security people' on the one hand but then make a personal decision to play in the IPL despite the fact that bombs regularly explode in Indian cities.

Pakistan cricket has suffered because of meekness of those advocating its cause in the world forums and also largely due to double standards of the ICC and other major countries. One must admit that in our country terrorism had reached every place, even popping up in the most secure environments and in India such acts have been in isolated places but the Mumbai incident was of a magnitude that should have shook the world.

Truth is that the huge market and financial enormity of Indian cricket belittles Pakistan. Second, we havenít been one too shrewd to tackle the situations intelligently. Time has come that the PCB has to take it to the core. There is still a lot to be resolved. From 1960 until 1970 hardly any full team toured Pakistan still we managed to survive because the world wasn't moving at a breakneck speed.

This time around its not only about the paradigm shift but also of complete harassment. Pakistan needs to be compensated. Why should we be playing at a neutral venue? Why the ICC doesn't take a rational view helping Pakistan to get compensation like getting slots to play away series fitted in the FTP.

There is the breakable future of Pakistan cricket to consider. Wracked by political confusion, endangered by violence and terror campaigns, and lacking India's riches, Pakistan cricket has become a pariah, spurned by players and administrators alike. A region that once provided more talented young natural players than most, Pakistan is now in danger of becoming a cricketing backwater. For a while now, Pakistan cricket has felt it is being discriminated against when it comes to issues of safety, and it is easy to see why they may feel that money speaks all languages but ours.

It's going to require a good deal of empathy, especially in India's case, and audacity, to welcome Pakistan back into the fold, but every effort must be made because cricket doesn't have enough good teams to be able to cast aside one of its major nations.

Doubts have become a reality as India has finally called off the Pakistan tour after the Indian government refused to allow their cricket team to travel to Pakistan due to the political situation.

The India cricket team were scheduled to play three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 match during their tour of Pakistan from January 4 to February 28.

India toured Pakistan in 2004. Since then Pakistan have toured India twice (2005 and 2007) and India visited Pakistan again in 2006.

"England should come back to India for the Test series otherwise it will be a victory for terrorism." This was the view of the BCCI officials as the England cricket team flew back home after the Mumbai terror attack last month.

While some of English players were unwilling to return for the Test series, their media and former cricketers strongly believed that they should play in India and not allow the terrorists to succeed in spreading fear, even though reports suggested that the terrorists were seeking mainly British and Americans. The former players emphasised upon continuing the cricket team tour. Finally the England team returned to India after getting security clearance from English security experts.

On the other hand, when the time came to beat terrorism again, the Indian government surrendered and the Indian cricket team's tour to Pakistan was cancelled.

The PCB indicated that if Indian board was cautious to send its team, Pakistan was ready to play anywhere either at a neutral venue or even on Indian soil. Even the PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt toured India during the first Test between India and England to convince the BCCI officials with an offer to shift the series to a neutral venue but the BCCI didn't show any interest to keep cricket and politics separate.

Indian former players like Kapil Dev, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ajit Wadekar, Aunshuman Gaekwad, Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly also supported the government's decision for not sending their cricket team to Pakistan.

In 1999 when Pakistan was touring India after around 12 years, Hindu militants opposed the Pakistan tour to India and dug the first Test venue Feroz shah Kotla stadium pitch to keep away the Pakistan team from playing in India.

In 1991 too, Shiv Sena's men damage the Wankhede Stadium (Bombay) pitch just two days before Pakistan's ODI series in India. Both times India insisted upon Pakistan to continue their tour and on both occasions when militants directly threatened the Pakistan cricket team they not only continued their tour but did not even ask to change the venues.

In 1998 on the tour of South African Pakistani players -- Saqlain Mushtaq and Mohammad Akram -- were mugged near their hotel in Sandton. Saqlain and Akram were crossing the road outside the hotel to eat at a local Indian restaurant, when a car drew up. Two men jumped out and demanded money. As a result of this incident Saqlain needed a neck brace, while Akram was left nursing a severe gash on his bowling hand.

Rashid Latif, the then Pakistan captain in that series was in doubt about continuing the tour, as it was a major issue. But Dr Ali Bacher, then Managing Director UCBSA, offered his regrets about the incident and gave the tourists assurance that security for the players would be stepped up. For the sake of cricket and good relations the Pakistan cricket team agreed to continue the tour.

So, after a direct attack on their players, if Pakistan could continue their tour, India didn't have any excuse to pull out of the tour due to security reasons.

But when the time come to Pakistan's end all major teams refused to play here. Although on Pakistan soil never have any players been directly affected by any mishap like the Pakistani players faced in South Africa.

Australia continueds their tour in 2005 when the 7/7 series of bomb blasts rocked London. In that incident 52 persons were killed and around 700 wounded. But the touring Australian team never thought about cancelling its tour due to security reasons.

"Pakistan has gone without Test cricket for more than a year now and we are desperate to have international cricket at home. Pakistan, once rated as one of the best cricket playing nations in all types of cricket, are now struggling to get enough international matches these days, specially home series. Making an issue of the law and order situation in the region, big teams have avoided to visit Pakistan especially Australia.

After the 9/11 and 2001 attack, every major team avoided to visit Pakistan even PCB had agreed to provide top-level security; the visiting teams aren't ready to come to Pakistan.

The Mumbai incident became a key reason for teams to refuse to play in Pakistan, otherwise some of the senior Indian players were also hesitant in travelling to Pakistan due to security reasons.

Pakistan has not hosted a major international tournament since the Asia Cup in June this year. The Champions Trophy, which was originally also scheduled in Pakistan in September this year, was also postponed after most teams refused to play in Pakistan.

The cancellation of the tour increases PCB financial liability by $25-30 million. But thanks to Arjuna Ranatunga, chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket Board, he has offered on his to send his team to Pakistan in case of an Indian pull out.

Sri Lanka's bold offer to Pakistan, a lesson for others

After a couple of days, the year 2008 will come to an end. It will be the first year in Pakistan's cricketing history after a long time -- almost 40 years in fact, when our national team did not get a single five-day Test match at home or abroad.

It was expected that Pakistan's Test drought will prolong in the first month of the new year, following India's cold response regarding Pakistan tour next month but fortunately an offer from Sri Lanka changed the entire scenario.

In this testing time, Sri Lanka offered much wanted support to Pakistan when they expressed their intention to play Test series in Pakistan. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Chairman Arjuna Ranatunga's encouraging comments regarding the security situation in Pakistan were no less than a great boost for poignant Pakistan.

In his recent statement, Ranatunga expressed his complete satisfaction over security situation in Pakistan saying "Pakistan has proved it can provide adequate security, as it did during the Asia Cup Cricket tournament". "We will not hesitate sending our team to Pakistan if we are invited," he said.

Sri Lanka's positive approach shows that other leading teams including India are making bogus excuses regarding the security problem in Pakistan.

It is to be noted here that Sri Lankan cricket stars, who are keen to play in Pakistan, are as great and valued as the Australians and others are. If Sri Lanka greats Muttiah Muraltharan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene etc can play cricket in Pakistan, why not Australian, English, South African, Indian and New Zealanders etc?

Ranatunga's stance regarding Pakistan is not only a great encouragement for Pakistan but also a strong message for the rest of the cricketing world that Pakistan is safe to play cricket.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), keeping in view the current strained relations between India and Pakistan and reluctant approach from BCCI, should respect and accept Sri Lankan offer without wasting further time. PCB must keep in notice that Sri Lankans are friendlier than Indians, willing and status wise at par with any other leading team.

It is pertinent to mention here that Sri Lanka face a drought of sorts following the upcoming tour of Bangladesh. After the two Tests and a tri-series, involving Zimbabwe as the third team, their next assignment will be World Twenty20 in June.

These days, a full-strength England cricket team is busy in playing 2-Test series in India amid extra-tight security arrangements.

It is pertinent to mention here that the 2-Test series is being played just a couple of days after the Mumbai attacks that left around 200 people dead and 300 injured. The circumstances, in which the series is being played, have enhanced the importance of these two 5-day matches to a great extent.

It may be remembered here that England's seven-match ODI series last month was cut short following the Mumbai attacks. The tourists returned home after the last two games were cancelled with the hosts leading 5-0.

England cricket team earned world-wide respect and appreciation following their return to India for 2-Test series. Cricket's world governing body ICC remained at forefront in praising English cricketers and consoling with Indians.

ICC's Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat was especially flown to Chennai to express solidarity with the two teams. ICC President David Morgan was also preparing (till the filing of this piece) to travel to Mohali to show solidarity with the teams during second Test match.

Though the recent Mumbai attacks were heinous crime but during this process the alleged questionable role of ICC and other leading teams barring Sri Lanka was also exposed. All leading teams of the world, with the full backing of ICC, are eager to go to India but strangely reluctant to play at Pakistan grounds.

One can see clear difference in attitude of Australia, England and other leading cricketing nations except Sri Lanka when it comes to play in Pakistan.

On the other hand, Pakistan is grappling with even severe cricketing crisis but neither team ready to tour Pakistan nor the ICC did any real effort to convince foreign teams to tour Pakistan barring a few traditional statements.

In one of recent statements, ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said that ICC can encourage India to tour Pakistan next year, but cannot force any country for this purpose. "If Indian government did not allow its team to travel to Pakistan, then we can't do anything except to respect that decision," he said.

After the Chennai Test, Lorgat issued a strange statement. At this occasion, every one especially the Asian bloc was expecting of him to urge other nations to extend the same support to Pakistan they are lending to India.

Being head of ICC, he should have been expressed something in favour of Pakistan but surprisingly he preferred to talk about irrelevant topics like slow over rates and verbal abuse instead of discussing Pakistan, who badly deserves India-like backing and support from ICC and other countries.

At this occasion Lorgat's words were: "It's great that the game is in the news for all the right reasons and I want that to carry on". "That is why I have written to all of the ICC match referees and umpires urging them to be assertive and proactive in dealing with slow over-rates and verbal abuse."

After the Test match, Lorgat delivered a lengthy briefing but he did not bother to talk about Pakistan's painful cricketing drought.

While England team have already shown their 'love' with India by playing two-Test series with full-strength side, other leading cricketing teams -- Australia and South Africa are also offering full support to India. England and Australia, two founders of the game, are extending every kind of help to India in its testing time.

Before England ODI series, Australia completed their four-Test tour of India in spite a series of bombings in New Delhi that killed at least 20 people and wounded about 100 others. The Australia squad started their tour with warm-up matches at Jaipur and Hyderabad. Both these cities have also been the targets of bombings during the past 14 months.

In response to Australia's decision to tour India, Pakistan had accused Cricket Australia of double standards over its decision to proceed with its tour to India despite a series of bomb blasts in New Delhi.

Remember, Australia didn't accept Pakistan's assurances regarding top level security but agreed to play in India which is great injustice with Pakistan.

In their plea, Australia offered so-called excuse that in Pakistan the terrorists are targeting westerners which is totally wrong. It is open to all international media that almost all suicide attackers in Pakistan attacked mosques, police stations or army headquarters instead of foreigners.

However, in the recent Mumbai attacks, it was widely reported that the Britons, Americans, Israeli and other foreigners were the target of terrorists. This analysis shows that the Australians were making bogus excuses.

Australian cricket team, who last toured Pakistan in 1997-98 under Mark Taylor, also refused to make a scheduled tour of Pakistan earlier this year on security grounds. They have postponed their visit until March 2009, when they will play five ODIs before returning for a three-Test series in 2010.

In such a situation ICC must use its office fairly to convince the reluctant teams to tour an 'ignored' country like Pakistan. ICC should devise such rules and regulations that can bind its member countries to follow Future Tours Programme (FTP) strictly.