A weekend of hope... By Masood
23 October, 2012
For most Pakistanis, the past weekend proved to be quite different from the otherwise depressing weekends Pakistanis have gotten used to. The Supreme Court (SC) has finally endorsed what us Pakistanis have known for a long time — that the 1990 general elections were rigged in favour of a nexus of political-religious parties. Such a remarkable judgment opens the door for culprits and beneficiaries to be punished. The other good news came from a UK-based hospital where Malala Yousafzai has managed to stand up for the first time since the Taliban shot her at point-blank range on October 9, 2012. Such wonderful news was followed by another ray of hope for this cricket-loving nation: Pakistan is hosting its first high profile international cricket event since 2009 when militants attacked a bus transporting Sri Lankan players in Lahore. Since then, Pakistan has been trying to convince the world that it is a safe place to host cricket matches but has met with little success until now. In this general sense of hopelessness among cricket fans, who believed that international cricket would never revive itself in Pakistan, has come the news that an International World XI will play two T-20 exhibition matches against a Pakistan All Stars team in Karachi. We welcome the Sindh government's efforts to make this happen, to let Pakistanis watch international players in action on home ground. The Sindh government has deployed troops and police to provide foolproof security to the players and at the stadium. We hope this will be a turning point for Pakistani cricket, aiding us in soon seeing real action in our grounds — the sound of sixers and not guns. MASOOD KHAN
Jubail, Saudi Arabia
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