There should be no Politics in Cricket: Shahid Afridi

Most celebrities are not accessible to their fans who can only read about them or see them on screen. However, the Jang Group's initiative ‘Breakfast with Jang’ – which is organized on a monthly basis at a different city – bridge the gap and now people can have a chat over breakfast with people from different fields.

On January 6, 2017, Breakfast with Jang featured Pakistan's favourite cricketer Shahid Afridi - fondly known as Lala by his fans - who spoke candidly with fans and press at a local hotel in Karachi. Shahid Afridi and his fans spoke about different topics including how to bring cricket back to Pakistan - the theme of the event was "Cricket in Pakistan - How to bring the spark back?"

Accompanying Shahid Afridi on the panel were Managing Director at Jang Group Sarmad Ali and Editor Jang Conferences Sikander Lodhi. Sarmad Ali said - and very rightly so - that cricket is Shahid Afridi's and the nation's first love and second religion.

Afridi regaled the gathering by his quick and witty comebacks and there were many light moments which revealed the personality of the legendary cricketer. He also openly gave his opinion to many difficult questions and didn't mince his words.

He said cricketers should be part of the cricket board, since only a cricketer who has played the game will know what the players need and what kind of problems they face during their careers. He said that our cricket board only looks at international cricket, without focusing on the domestic system which means we don't have any players at the local level.

And was why players like Afridi have to play their best even today. "I consider myself to be the best T20 player because there is no one else - that is why we need to have a pool of talent from where players can be picked for the game."

"Sycophants are very dangerous for anyone", Afridi said, "We need to rid ourselves of them to improve ourselves."

"We don’t have any cricket academies, not even in Karachi where players can play." Afridi said.

"When I had to practice to play for T20 I had to shift my whole family to Lahore, which has the only academy. Even after 20 years playing cricket I still have to look for a place to practice." Adding there need to be more academies in different cities all over Pakistan.



Replying to a question about teams visiting Pakistan to play cricket, Afridi said, "We need strong representatives to go to the International Cricket Council to convince them that more international teams should come to Pakistan to play. Until we don't have this, Pakistan may not have any team coming here."

Commenting on the recent performance of National Team, Afridi said he wasn't surprised, "Our pitches are such that our team is only capable of performing in Dubai and Sharjah and are not prepared or used to playing in other countries."

He also highlighted the issue of schools not having playgrounds for players to play any game - including cricket - so where were the talented children going to train. He added that parents should support their children in anything they want to do, support their interests and talents - if a child wants to play any sport they should not only be supported but encouraged.

Laughing at a suggestion that he join politics, Afridi said that he was too outspoken to be in politics. He was more interested in using his celebrity status to help the marginalized communities of Pakistan.

"I am working to provide to the marginalized communities; to give them something in their lives. Recently I went to Sindh where I saw a section of the Hindu community living in the worst of conditions. Their women have to walk several miles to just get water." Afridi said. "We talk about the government providing us grounds but this government has been unable to even provide basic things like water to many people how can we expect it to give facilities for cricket. The Sindh government has to pull its weight and provide good governance and fulfil the basic rights of the people."

Commenting about his 'farewell' match, Afridi said, "The love that the people have given me when I announced my retirement is more than any 'farewell'.

Afridi also took a friendly jab at the media, saying our media has a lot of responsibility to the viewer. "Breaking news doesn't always have to be bad; good news can also be breaking."

Source: The News

Karachi city is under risk

While recurrent floods and droughts have wreaked havoc across different provinces of the country over the past few years, global warming temperatures accompanied by rising sea levels pose a particular threat to Karachi — our largest city by the sea. This past year, evidence from various national and international sources, has cautioned that the biggest threat facing Pakistan is not terrorism but climate change instead.

One major impact of unchecked climate change is the potential havoc it can unleash on Karachi. With a population of approximately 17 million people, Karachi is not only our largest city, but also the economic hub for the country. It accounts for over 40 per cent of the nation’s GDP, and contributes around half of the country’s entire tax revenues. Therefore, environmental destruction of it would be a shock that Pakistan may understandably not be able to recover from.

Besides witnessing changing precipitation levels, and record high heatwaves in recent years, the looming threat to Karachi is the rising sea levels due to global warming. Karachi is located next to the Indus River Delta, where the Indus flows into the Arabian Sea. This delta is now almost at the same level as the Arabian Sea, which is causing seawater intrusion and creating havoc to the complex ecosystem of mangroves in the region. Mangrove forest cover has decreased from 400,000 hectares around the time of independence to 70,000 hectares due to not only rising sea levels, but also due to land grabbing and ill-planned development schemes. Development of the Port Qasim Power Project along the coastline of the Arabian Sea, is one such example.

Changes in the Indus delta’s ecosystem, caused both by man-made developments and climate change, have already displaced millions of Pakistanis who once lived in this region. Mangrove deforestation is particularly alarming since it plays a vital role in preventing erosion and buffering against natural calamities like cyclones and tsunamis.

While Karachi did experience a devastating tsunami back in the mid-1940s, a similar natural disaster would now be much more devastating. The UN recently conducted simulations based on a hypothetical 9.0 magnitude quake in the Indian Ocean, where the Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet off the coast of Pakistan. This simulation event in turn triggered a catastrophic tsunami that could reach Karachi within one and a half hours, and be powerful enough to destroy the entire city. No early warning system could effectively evacuate the massive city, if such a natural calamity were to suddenly strike.

Moreover, the threat of rising sea levels exacerbated by climate change continues to loom over the city. Some parts of Karachi’s Malir are apparently going under water. With the current rate of climate change and the accompanying sea level rise, Karachi has an estimated 35 to 45 years before it completely submerges into the Arabian Sea, according to recent research by our National Institute of Oceanography.

Despite a range of pressing problems plaguing the country, Pakistan thus has little choice but to patronise its response to climate change in order to mitigate major environmental threats, such as that facing Karachi. Yet, compared to the annual defence budget, our government allocates a meagre proportion of funds to combat climate change, despite the potential seriousness of the threat, and the demonstrated damage already wreaked on our country due to climate-related disasters. Besides greater financial and political resolve to tackle climate change, Pakistan also needs greater assistance from specialised international agencies to help design and effectively implement comprehensive mitigation programmes, to avert unprecedented levels of hardship and catastrophe, which would be unleased, if a city like Karachi were to be lost to the sea in the coming decades.

Source: The Express Tribune

MQM London announces massive rally in Karachi

The pro-Altaf Hussain group of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM-London) has announced plans to hold a rally and public gathering in Karachi on January 21 under the banner of the Pakistan Qaumi Movement (PQM) in a bid to re-enter the political arena amid a virtual ban on its activities.

The announcement was made at a press conference in Islamabad on Tuesday by the PQM leaders. The MQM-London leader Nadeem Nusrat also took part in the news conference through video-link.

Surprisingly, the PQM is registered with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) in the name of a Karachi-based lawyer Syed Iqbal Kazmi, who has a history of moving petitions in courts and campaigning against the MQM chief Altaf Hussain and other leaders of the party.

On one of his petitions on May 12, 2007 carnage in Karachi, the Sindh High Court (SHC) last month sought comments from the federal and provincial authorities on forming a larger bench to hear afresh the case against the MQM leadership – including Altaf Hussian, Karachi’s former Nazim Mustafa Kamal and incumbent Mayor Waseem Akhtar.

According to the MQM-London convener Nadeem Nusrat, Altaf Hussain and leaders of the PQM will address a public gathering outside the Mazar-e-Quaid on January 21. Before this, a rally will be taken out from Aisha Manzil to the venue.

It seems that the MQM-London is ready to give a reply to its disgruntled and former comrades – divided into the MQM-Pakistan under Farooq Sattar and Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) led by Mustafa Kamal – over their claim to have overtaken the bastions of the unified MQM.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Kamzi said he talked to Altaf Hussain and other MQM-London leadership recently and they assured him that they were not against the sovereignty of Pakistan.

“The PQM has its doors open to everyone regardless of their ethnicity, religion or caste. Whosoever is not against the country and not involved in any kind of terrorism or corruption can join us,” he said.

To a question that he has been accusing the MQM, its chief and other leaders of being involved in the May 12 killings, Baldia factory fire blaze and other criminal activities, Kazmi said he did not withdraw his previous stance but was letting them use his platform to explain their position.

“I have been assured by Altaf Hussain that he wanted to return to the country and face charges levelled against him in the courts,” he claimed, adding that the MQM-London leadership also pledged to him that they were not involved in any criminal activity.

Source: The Express Tribune