Mixing politics and cricket

There is a cricket series scheduled between India and Pakistan in December 2015 but due to the tense political relations between the two neighbours nobody is certain whether it will take place or not Pakistan Cricket Board PCB officials mdash Chairman Shaharyar Khan and PCB executive committee chief Najam Sethi mdash were recently invited to Mumbai by BCCI President Shashank Manohar for talks to chart the way forward Shiv Sena members stormed the BCCI headquarters on the day the meeting was scheduled to be held which compelled the BCCI to postpone the talks until after next Sundayrsquos match with South Africa The Pakistani media is now speculating whether the series has been cancelled or notIndia and Pakistan cricket fans pose with their flags outside Adelaide Oval ground in Australia during a 2015 World Cup match on February 15 2015 Cricket lovers on both sides of the border would miss an exciting series due to politics which should be kept away from sports in principle PicGetty ImagesAccording to Mr Najam Sethi if the BCCI had wanted to cancel the series it would have simply made the announcement and not called PCB officials for talks ldquoThe BCCI preferred to dissipate the Sena protest by letting them into their office to meet Mr Manohar and then disperse rather than ask the police to resist the demonstratorsrdquo says Sethi adding that they have not ruled out the series as yetIt would be extremely unfortunate if the bilateral series were to be cancelled Cricket matches between India and Pakistan evoke strong emotions due to the history of these two nations and are thus the mostwatched matches in the cricketing world Cricket lovers on both sides of the border would miss an exciting series due to politics which should be kept away from sports in principle It is hoped that India and Pakistan will play the series with the aim of finding a solution in the interests of cricketThe recent antiPakistan events in Mumbai are quite alarming and disappointing at the same time Singer Ghulam Alirsquos concert was cancelled due to threats former foreign minister Khurshid Kasurirsquos book promoter was attacked the scheduled meeting between PCB and BCCI officials was disrupted ICC umpire Aleem Dar was withdrawn from the ongoing IndiaSouth Africa series after threats and Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar are not going to commentate in the ongoing series Apart from these incidents the rising level of intolerance across Modirsquos India is giving the country a bad name internationally It is also undermining the resilience of Indiarsquos secular democracy which is based on the theme of unity in diversity and pluralismPakistan has its fair share of extremists due to its official policy of appeasing militant organisations We face the consequences of our flawed policies every day Each terror attack reminds us how our ruling elite mdash both military and civilian mdash have failed us India is going down the same path gradually It reminds one of an old poem written by Pakistani poet Fahmida Riaz lsquoTum bilkul hum jaise niklersquo You turned out just like us Here are a few couplets from her poemTum bilkul hum jaisey nikleyAb tak kahan chhupe the bhaiWoh moorkhta woh ghaamarpanJis mein hum ne sadi ganwaiAakhir pahunchi dwaar tumhaareyArre badhai bohot badhaiTranslation via UrduwallahsSo it turned out you were just like usWhere were you hiding all this time buddyThat stupidity that ignorancewe wallowed in for a century mdashlook it arrived at your shores tooMany congratulations to youAs a Pakistani who has always looked up to Indiarsquos secularism it is sad to see it go down this pathThe writer is a Pakistani journalist Reach her at mehmalsgmailcom