The Unpredictables – Part V: 1980s

Pakistan as a country has been through a number of highs and lows since traumatic partition in 1947 and its cricket has followed the similar pattern, showing how this sport is embedded in social, political and cultural facets of the country. Initially dispersed, unrecognised, underfunded and weak, Pakistan’s cricket team grew to become a major force in world cricket. If cricket is known for its glorious uncertainties, Pakistan team is even more renowned for its unpredictability. In this series of blogs we shall dig into social, political, cultural and sporting history of cricket in Pakistan.

Read previous parts here:

Part I – 1940s: Partition and Founding Stones of Cricket in Pakistan (1947 – 1950)

 Part II – 1950s: Pakistan announces itself to cricket world (1951 – 1960) 

Part III – 1960s: The Lost Decade (1961 – 1970)

Part IV – 1970s: Revival of Pakistan cricket (1971 – 1980)

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Part V – 1980s: The Asian Cricket Tigers Take on the World [1981 – 1990]

In a low scoring series against West Indies (WI) Miandad had batted better than most along with Wasim Raja. However he faced acute hostility from senior players, especially his vice-captain Zaheer Abbas. Nevertheless he led Pakistan to tour of Australia in 1981-82.

Revolt against Miandad and start of Imran’s era

Pakistan played 3 tests during the tour and lost series 2-1. However, Pakistan showed great fight in third test in which 6 batsmen made fifties in first innings. Imran bowled fierce spells of bowling and Pakistan won by an innings and 82 runs. Pakistan could manage to win only 4 out of 10 round matches in Benson & Hedges ODI World Series Cup. However, the highlight of the tournament was infamous confrontation between Miandad and Denis Lillee during the first test. Lillee was fined and banned for two ODIs later. Javed remarks were: “We were after all only Pakistan and he felt he could take liberties with us.”

Denis Lillee and Javed Miandad in a fight

Sri Lanka toured Pakistan in 1981 – 82 and almost 10 senior players refused to play under Miandad’s captaincy. Miandad voluntarily stepped down after second test match. Imran was made captain which bitterly disappointed Zaheer Abbas again. Pakistan won 3-Test and 3-ODI match series 2-0 and 2-1 respectively.

It was a time for revolution in world cricket. One Day (ODI) cricket was gaining popularity day by day though Test cricket was still regarded as foremost and serious cricket. For Pakistan it was start of Imran’s era.

Imran Khan takes over

Imran Khan has been described as an authoritarian. It is true that he demanded and got his own team and selection committees all but became redundant. But he got results and no one could have accused him of being anything but fair minded. He believed in winning and was not afraid to lose. He wanted what he considered the best team. He even sacked Majid Khan, his cousin, from the team believing that the majestic batsman was past his prime. He took the Pakistan team to England in 1982, lost the series 2-1, but not without a tremendous fight that saw Pakistan win the test match at Lord’s in which Mohsin Khan scored a double century and Imran himself showed his development as an all-rounder. The lesson had been learnt. Pakistan was not to lose another test series against England, either in England or at home. Imran set about restructuring the Pakistan team. He was not afraid of raw and inexperienced youngsters and throwing them in the deep end. He believed in ‘on the job training’.

Imran Khan took 7 for 52, England v Pakistan, 1st Test, Edgbaston, 1st day, July 29, 1982. (Source: ESPN Cricinfo)

Mohsin Khan’s 200 vs England at Lords in 1982

The balance of power was tilting. Pakistan cricketers were no longer patronised by dominant white cricketing nations rather they came to be feared and resented. Pakistan provided cricket the flavour which Brazil provided to football. Two discoveries under Imran’s period stand out: swing blowing, reverse swing in particular, and emergence of wrist blowing in form of Abdul Qadir, an artist with the ball.

Abdul Qadir, the magician with ball

In 1982-83 Kim Hughes brought the Australians and they were thrashed 3-0 and then came India with Sunil Gavaskar as captain. It was Imran’s first real test and he came off with flying colours. Pakistan decimated India, winning the series three-nil. However, by now Imran was experiencing recurring pain in his left shin.

Cricket World Cup 1983

Three months after tour of India the x-rays revealed a huge crack on the shinbone of Imran. He needed a period of rest and recuperation. But selectors insisted on keeping him in the team and he was to play as batsman only in World Cup 1983.

The teams line up at Lord’s before the 1983 World Cup (Source: ESPN Cricinfo)

Pakistan stumbled through the qualifying round. Near the end of the group matches Pakistan needed to beat New Zealand with a good run rate in order to qualify for semi-final. A masterful century by Zaheer and Imran’s 79 not out brought Pakistan on 261. New Zealand gave a tough competition to Pakistan, With help of good deep fielding Pakistan defeated New Zealand by just 11 runs, edging it out on run rate by only 0.08 runs per over.

The victory took Pakistan to a semi-final against their regular nemesis, WI. Pakistan set a target of 185 only which WI strolled to for loss of just 2 wickets. Imran drew fierce criticism back in Pakistan, especially when India won the World Cup with just putting on 183 runs.

However, this world cup had a moment left till the end which would turn out to be one of the historic ones for Pakistan. It was lunch time the day after India’s victory at Lord’s in 1983 when the President of BCCI, NKP Salve was seething over the rejection of this request for four tickets for his party. Salve speculated what would have happened if the final had been held in India. Nur Khan, the counterpart of BCCP picked up the cue instantly: ‘Why can’t we play the next World Cup in our countries?’ The two men put tireless efforts later on to bring the World Cup to Indo-Pak sub-continent.

NKV Salve

Air Chief Marshal Malik Noor Khan

The darkest hour for Imran and emergence of Wasim Akram

Imran skipped Pakistan’s tour of India in 1983-84 and Zaheer captained the team and did well enough to draw all the tests. Imran was back to take Pakistan to Australia but did not play in the first three test matches, still nursing his stress-fractured shin but he played in the last two test matches as a batsman and came close to scoring a century at Melbourne. The captaincy alternated between Zaheer and Miandad.

Zaheer Abbas

Pakistan achieved its first ever series win against England when England toured Pakistan in 1983-84. India toured in October 1984 which proved to be dull series and was called off mid-way due to assassination of Indira Gandhi. New Zealand (NZ) team followed and Pakistan won the test series 2-0. The series was marred by controversies as NZ consistently complained about questionable decisions of Pakistani Umpires.

Ian Botham wonders how to put all his luggage into the car before departing on England’s tour of Fiji, New Zealand and Pakistan, December 28, 1983

Pakistan had a return trip to New Zealand only weeks later, Javed replaced Zaheer as captain and his first move was to insist inclusion of Wasim Akram in touring party, who was performing well in domestic circuit. The third test produced the first great performance by Wasim, only his 2^nd match, taking 5 wickets in each innings. However, match ended in heartbreak for him. Pakistan was without Qadir in this match who had a row with Zaheer and was sent home. He muttered threats of retirement but some of his great days were still ahead.

Imran remained under treatment in England during this whole period. He feared his career was over as the proposed treatment was a new invention and very expensive.

 The return of Khan and the most famous shot in the history of the cricket

After expensive and lengthy treatment Imran returned to the national team in tournament to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of the Victoria Cricket Association, where he partnered Wasim Akram for the first time. This began the second great blowing partnership of Imran’s career.

Wasim Akram, the greatest left arm bowler of all time

Meanwhile, one-day internationals had become a regular feature of cricket and when cricket came to the desert in Sharjah U. A. E., Pakistan and India met regularly before highly partisan expatriate crowds. Zaheer had retired. Imran Khan was the captain again.

It is said that the game of cricket is never over till the end and it truly has provided some great thrills but not more than Miandad’s last ball six against India that won Pakistan the match and drove the Pakistani fans into euphoria. It was the final of Austral-Asia Cup in 1986 at Sharjah. It is possibly the best remembered six in cricket history and the most rewarding one financially for Miandad.

The most important and exhilarating year of Pakistan’s cricket

Pakistan now faced what would become the most elated year in the nation’s cricket history. Imran was about to embark on a cricketing journey that would make or break his reputation as a player and as a captain.

Mighty WI toured Pakistan in 1986-87. The test series ended in 1-1 draw and Pakistan lost the ODI series 4-1. The stand out moment of this series was when very talented Salim Malik came out to bat with broken arm in 2nd innings of first test match at Faislabad. With plaster on his left arm, Malik batted only with right arm and hung on for a 32 run last wicket partnership with Wasim Akram who made an important half century and allowed Pakistan to win the match.

Cricket’s first decisive step towards putting an end to the age-old accusations that had marred home umpiring came on November 7, 1986, when Indian umpires VK Ramaswamy and Piloo Reporter stood in second Test against WI in Lahore. The move was plotted by Imran, who was sick of the criticism after every series in Pakistan. A few years later ICC realised that that’s the way forward when neutral umpires started officiating the matches.

India did not return the compliment of neutral umpires when Pakistan toured India in 1986-87, lasting 2 months in blistering hot weather. This was a difficult series because of the renewed border tensions between the two countries, leading to occasional crowd troubles, in which Pakistan boundary fielders were hit by stones and fruit. In the 4^th test they took to wearing helmets in the deep to protect themselves.

Pakistan took the ODI series 5-1. India’s one win came fortuitously from Abdul Qadir, who ran himself out when the scores were level off the last ball. In the excitement, he had forgotten the rules. Pakistan would have won if he had kept his wicket intact.

The first four tests conformed to the recent pattern and were high scoring draws. The fifth and deciding test match at Bangalore, in which India chased 221 for a 4^th innings victory, was one of the greatest in history. Worried by vanishing crowds, the authorities left the pitch underprepared to produce some kind of result. As a consequence, Pakistan’s selectors made a crucial last minute decision, with Iqbal Qasim coming in for Abdul Qadir. After many seesaw moments Pakistan eventually set a target of 221 runs to win for India on now a spiteful pitch. They almost got there as Gavaskar gave a masterclass in footwork and timing against the Pakistan spinners. He had reached 96 when Iqbal produced a ball which bounced violently and had him caught at slip. Withstanding a late desperate charge from Roger Binny, Pakistan won a gripping match by 16 runs. It was only Pakistan’s third overseas series win, and on return the team received extravagant public congratulations and welcome with crowd that stretched from airport to the heart of Lahore city.

Iqbal Qasim (Source: ESPN Cricinfo)

The team then went to England and there was noticeable tension between the teams, and the English media were nastier than usual. Arriving at Heathrow the team was humiliatingly held up and made to stand aside, with other passengers looking on, while sniffer dogs went through their luggage. It was obvious that it was not going to be an easy tour.

Pakistan lost the ODI Texaco Trophy narrowly, by 2 matches to 1, inspite of a century and two fifties from Miandad.  The first two tests were drawn mainly because of rain but the sun was shining at Headingly and England won the toss and decided to bat on a wicket that had pace and bounce and a great deal of seam movement. Imran struck immediately and by lunch Pakistan had seized control of the match. It was a control they were not going to let go off. Pakistan bowled out England for 134 and at one stage for 31 for 5. The Pakistani fast bowlers, Imran, Wasim, and Mohsin Kamal were on a rampage, getting three wickets each. Pakistan went on to make 353 with help of Salim Mailik’s 99. It was a commanding lead and Imran was in his element as he ripped through England taking 7 wickets for 40. Pakistan won by an innings and 18 runs. England had been outplayed.

Wasim Akram bowls, England v Pakistan, 1st Test, Old Trafford, 3rd day, June 6, 1987 (Source: ESPN Cricinfo)

Pakistan manager Ahsan Haseeb talks to captain Imran Khan, August 5, 1987 (Source: ESPN Cricinfo)

In the final test at The Oval, Pakistan batted for two and a half days, making 708 with Miandad scoring 260 and Salim Malik 102, while Imran helped himself to a blistering 118. It was a mammoth total and England folded up, this time to spin and were bowled out for 240. Qadir, the leg spinner, the magician and the world’s best taking seven for 96. England followed on but helped by some dour batting and a few dropped catches were able to hold out for draw.

This was the first Pakistan team to overcome England in England. Imran was now at his Zenith, indisputably the world’s best all-rounder. Everyone expected him to lead the team to victory in the forthcoming World Cup – the first to be held on home soil.

Cricket World Cup 1987

Before a ball was bowled, the 1987 World Cup was a massive victory for Pakistan. In alliance with India they wrested the competition from English hands and shifted it to the Indian subcontinent. Both countries had to over-come deep seated prejudice about their ability to finance and organise a major international tournament. Nur Khan and Salve worked successfully on their respective governments to release foreign exchange for the World Cup project and invest in infrastructure. Reliance Industries of India put up Rs 70 million which enabled BCCP & BCCI to promise 50% more prize money that their English rivals. Another major objection by England of early twilight in Indian sub-continent was put to rest by reducing ODI to 50 overs a side than 60. The Indo-Pak bid won by 16 votes to 12. The fourth World Cup was more widely watched, more closely fought and more colourful than any of its three predecessors held in England. Significantly, it used neutral umpires.

In Pakistan expectations were immense. Led by Imran, they had their best-ever ODI side to-date. Pakistan played all their group matches at home, gaining five victories out of six. Amid overpowering national expectations, Pakistan took on Australia in the semi-final at Lahore. Australia batted solidly, until Imran’s second spell produced 3 for 17. Steve Waugh took 18 of the last over of the innings bowled by inexperienced left-arm seamer, Saleem Jaffer, which turned out to be difference in the end. Pakistan once again succumbed to the pressure of a semi-final. Chasing 267, Miandad and Imran resurrected the innings after an early collapse, but once the former was out it was a matter of time before the innings folded. Craig McDermott took the maiden 5-wicket haul of the tournament at Lahore to kill a nation’s dream and Pakistan lost the match by 18 runs. Public was utterly disappointed. Immediately after the tournament Sarfraz Nawaz, now a member of parliament, laid charges that match had been thrown to facilitate a betting coup. Players took him to court but action eventually died due to delay of judicial system. It set a pattern for the future, in which Pakistan defeats were assumed to be the result of match-fixing.

Australia, winners of world cup 1987

It was not perfect moment but Imran nevertheless chose to retire from cricket. The death of his mother Shaukat, from cancer in 1985, had had a profound effect on him and there already intimations that his life was to involve more than cricket. As was now customary, Miandad became captain.

The Shakoor Rana incident – the history repeats itself

The Pakistan-India cricket series are always fuelled with passion and drama, However, ironically there is another rivalry in cricket which has produced more drama and controversies both on and off the field i.e. Pakistan vs England. It all started from the abduction of umpire Idrees Baig in 1955-56 and during England’s tour of Pakistan in 1987-88, the history repeated itself.

England stayed behind to tour Pakistan, a tour whose memory will live in infamy. Even before it began, the tour looked like a mistake. It attracted little interest from Pakistani fans, coming so soon after the disappointment of the World Cup. Still smarting from the series lost in England, it was apparent that there was no love lost between the two teams.

Pakistan won the first test match at Lahore amidst mutterings from the English about poor umpiring. but it was during the second test match at Faisalabad that the tension boiled over. In what came to be known as the Shakoor Rana-Mike Gatting slanging match, there was a hot exchange and much finger-wagging between the umpire and the England captain. Play was suspended the next day because of prolonged parleys centred on the demand by umpire Rana for an unconditional apology from Gatting. The visiting media had a field day as they tried to dowse the fire with petrol! The apology was finally given and play was resumed and the tour continued.

http://tune.pk/video/3141413/cricket-fight-mike-gatting-vs-pakistan-umpire-shakoor-rana

England would not play another Test series against Pakistan for five years, and would not visit the country again for thirteen years. The morally troubled England team faced a dismal future in the wake of Shakoor Rana affair. Pakistan, on the other hand, were going from strength to strength, and greatness lay ahead.

Come back of Imran, whingeing Aussies and the tumultuous political arena

Pressure was mounting on Imran to comeback. BCCP formally asked him, he declined. A series was looming against the West Indies and General Zia uttered a personal plea. Eventually Imran was unable to resist. He realised that his campaign for a cancer hospital in Lahore would be better served if he continued in international cricket. Miandad resigned, once again showing extraordinary grace, self-knowledge and understanding.

The home record of WI in the 1980s was awe-inspiring. In 1987-88, Pakistan arrived to play a team that had not lost a series in 15 years, or a Test in ten. A whole generation had grown up not knowing what defeat meant. The Pakistanis were up against habit as much as anything else. Yet they were the most fancied to turn the tide. Imran’s return began dreadfully as the WI whitewashed Pakistan 5-0 in the ODI series.

Team’s morale was low before the first test in Georgetown but Imran produced outstanding spell of bowling of 7 for 80 resulting WI all out for 292. Pakistan were 57-2 when Miandad arrived and faced a barrage of bouncers and bad language, the stimulus he needed to raise his game. He made a gritting century and was supported by Salim Yousuf (62), Shoaib Muhammad (46) and then the record score of 71 extras. Pakistan got lead of 143. In the end Pakistan needed only 30 in second winnings and won the match by 9 wickets. It was the WI’s first home defeat for a decade. The three match series ended in 1-1 draw. Players who took part in that series still relish it memories and consider it one of the best played series.

Qadir was in the thick of the action, with ball, bat … and fists © Getty Images

Perhaps the most ill-timed tour in Pakistan’s cricket history, by Australia in September and October 1988 was also one of the more unfortunate exercises in cricketing diplomacy. For the second consecutive series in Pakistan, the visiting team was virulent in its criticism of the pitch and the standard of the umpiring during the first Test match of a series. As they had against England the previous year, Pakistan won by an innings, with 17 Australian wickets falling to their spin bowlers. The remaining two Tests were then drawn and the series won 1-0.

However, there were other factors contributing to the tour’s failure to excite more than controversy. The death in a plane crash of General Zia ul-Haq, the President of Pakistan, in August had unsettled the country, with fears of rioting and civil war being expressed. Furthermore, the political parties were preparing for the general election in mid-November. Karachi and Hyderabad were in the grip of ethnic violence, which resulted in the cancellation of the two one-day internationals scheduled for those cities on October 14 and 15 respectively, while the first international of the intended three-match series, at Gujranwala on September 30, had to be called off because floods affected a vast area of the Punjab and Sindh. In their place, an ODI was played at Lahore after the Test match there.

Benazir Bhutto’s PPP won the largest no, of seats, 94, in the National Assembly elections in November and became first woman to rule Pakistan, or indeed any Muslim state. In the provincial elections, the Muslim League under Nawaz Sharif and his brother, Shahbaz, took power in Punjab. The inaugurated a long period of political fight between two parties for the next 10 years.

Benzair Bhutto taking oath as Prime Minister after elections of 1988

In 1990, Benazir’s political fortunes waned sharply. She clashed repeatedly with the conservative president Ishaq Khan, who eventually dismissed her and her government in favour of Nawaz Sharif’s Muslims League. Nawaz Sharif succeeded Benazir Bhutto as prime minister in November 1990.

Nawaz Sharif taking oath as Prime Minister after elections of 1990

Pakistan’s cricket administration was unaffected by these changes. In spite of Arif Abbasi’s successful commercial initiatives and the success of 1987 World Cup, Pakistan cricket was not a major source of income or patronage. Both Benazir and later Nazwaz Sharif left in place Zia’s nominee as chairman of the cricket board, General Zahid Ali Akbar Khan.

Another World Cup was knocking on the doors, this time to be held in Australia and New Zealand. However, Pakistan cricket team was in disarray going into the 1992 World Cup.

 

Wisden’s Player of Year during decade of 80s: Javed Miandad (1982), Imran Khan (1983), Salim Malik (1988)

Continued…

 

Next in ‘The Upredictables’ series: 1990s: Triumphs, Fight backs and Controversies 

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Sources:

• Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack
• ‘Wounded Tiger: A History of Cricket in Pakistan’ by Peter Oborne
• ‘The Pakistani Masters’ by Bill Ricquier
• ESPNcricinfo archives (www.espncricinfo.com)
• ‘Cricket Cauldron: The Turbulent Politics of Sport in Pakistan’ by Shaharyar M. Khan and Ali Khan
• Imran Khan’s Autobiography ‘Pakistan: A Personal History’
• ‘All round view’ by Imran Khan
• ‘Controversially Yours’ by Shoaib Akhtar
• Cricket Archive (www.cricketarchive.com)
• PTV Sports (sports.ptv.com.pk)
• Pakistan Cricket Board (www.pcb.com.pk)

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This blog was first published on Pak Tea House: Episode 1, Episode 2

 

The Unpredictables – Part III: 1960s

Pakistan as a country has been through a number of highs and lows since traumatic partition in 1947 and its cricket has followed the similar pattern in direct proportion, showing how this sport is embedded in social, political and cultural facets of the country. Initially dispersed, unrecognised, underfunded and weak, Pakistan’s cricket team grew to become a major force in world cricket. If cricket is known for its glorious uncertainties, Pakistan team is even more notorious for its unpredictability. In this series of blogs we shall dig into social, political, cultural and sporting history of cricket in Pakistan.

Read previous parts here:

 Part I – 1940s: Partition and Founding Stones of Cricket in Pakistan (1947 – 1950)

 Part II – 1950s: Pakistan announces itself to cricket world (1951 – 1960) 

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Part III – 1960s: The Lost Decade (1961 – 1970)

Pakistan cricket was now undergoing a swift decline. Pakistan entered into international cricket with a bang in 1950s. In its very first decade of cricket, it played 29 Test matches of which they won 8, lost 9 and drew 12 – an impressive beginning for the ‘babes of cricket’. Pakistan had a unique record of winning at least one test match in first series against every opponent.

1960s was a complete contrast to 1950s. Pakistan won just 2 Tests out of 30 played, both against New Zealand. 8 were lost whereas 20 were drawn. Pakistan cricket was overcome by a morbid defensiveness. Cricketers only goal was to avoid the defeat.

Pakistan in India 1960-61

Fazal Mahmood took Pakistan to India in 1960-61 and all the tests were drawn. This was one of the dullest Test series in history. The enthusiasm and expectation of the crowds contrasted with the boredom and ill-temper of the play. Wisden 1962 recorded that

‘the chief aim of the contestants appeared to be to uphold national prestige by avoiding defeat rather than to take the risk of trying to enforce a decision. Cricket was a secondary interest.’

Nari Contractor and Fazal Mahmood at toss. (Source:ESPNCricinfo)

Though there were useful contributions from Hanif Mohammad, Saeed Ahmed and Imtiaz Ahmed, the quality of cricket was poor and it was an eminently forgettable series, so much so that Pakistan and India did not play against each other for another 17 years though this had more to do with the fragile political relations between the two countries than with cricket.

Pakistan was now caught in a treacherous transition as many senior players, including great Kardar and Fazal, had retired and the new entrants lacked the experience. Almost 20 years would pass before Pakistan experienced cricketing fulfilment again.

Pakistan cricket in crises

Kardar’s team had reflected the hope, confidence and exuberance of Jinnah’s newly created Pakistan which had faded by now. Ayub Khan’s dictatorship imposed a pattern of conformism on Pakistan society that found its way onto the cricket field and did not lift until the emergence of ZA Butto and his Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) at the start of the 1970s.

In 1950s, the key to Pakistan victories was the fast bowling, as would be the case in future after 1970s. Pakistan’s best blowers in 1960s were spinners – Mushtaq Muhammad, Pervez Sajjad and Intikhab Alam. Moreover, due to financial crises many talented and ambitious players moved out of Pakistan for livelihood. Among them the prominent were Mushtaq and Khalid Ibadullah.

Pervez Sajjad

Mushtaq Mohammad

Khalid Ibadullah

Intikhab Alam

A further problem was lack of government support for the game. Today cricket is recognised as the national game, but it was not the case in Pakistan’s early decades. Games like Hockey and Lawn Tennis received huge grants from government whereas cricket received nothing or very less comparatively.

Pakistan found it very hard to obtain international opposition during 1960s. On average the team would play just 3 tests a year, and in both 1963 and 1966 there were no Tests at all. Fazal was written off by the selectors after the tour of India. Pakistan reverted to the situation of the late 1940s, when it was starved of international cricket and therefore dependent on wandering sides, or series against non-Test playing countries such as Ceylon or Kenya.

Pakistan’s 1962 tour of England 

For Pakistan’s tour of England in 1962, a relatively unknown Javed Burki was appointed captain. He had played for Oxford and toured India with Pakistan in 1960-61. Although Burki’s appointment proved disastrous, AR Cornelius’s choice looked sensible at that time.

Brigadier ‘Gussy’ Haider towering over the 1962 Pakistan touring team. Those standing from left to right: Javed Akhtar, Munir Malik, Imtiaz Ahmad, Captian Javed Burki, the Baggage Master, Brigadier Haider, Fazal Mahmood, Alimuddin, Mushtaq Mohammad and Nasim ul Ghani. Crouching down at the front, from left to right: Wallis Mathias, Afaq Hussain, Asif Ahmed and Intikhab Alam (Source: ‘Wounded Tiger’ by Peter Oborne

It turned out to be a catastrophic tour and Pakistan was beaten, the only positive feature being centuries by Nasim-ul-Ghani and Burki in the Lord’s test match, which Pakistan, in any event, lost. Midway through the tour Fazal was flown to reinforce the bowling but alas he was well past it. The Oval hero of 1954 had become The Oval zero. It did no justice to this legendary bowler who perhaps should have remained retired.

After the 1962 fiasco in England, Pakistan would not be allowed by Lord’s to undertake a full five-test tour of England for about a quarter of a century. Shuja-ud-Din called it ‘the lowest and most depressing point in the history of Pakistan cricket.’

Finally some success

Hanif Mohammad was made captain of Pakistan for a short tour of Australia in 1964-65 and in the only test match played, he came within a whisker of making 100 in each innings – 103 and 93 – a performance that was warmly lauded by Sir Donald Bradman and there can be no higher praise. Pakistan team included 6 debutants and 2 of them, Asif Iqbal and Majid Khan, opened the bowling. The match ended in a draw and many viewed that Pakistan was invariably too defensive to create a real winning chance.

Asif Iqbal

 

Majid Khan

Almost immediately after the drawn game in Karachi, Hanif led Pakistan team on a 4 Test tour of Australasia – 3 matches against New Zealand and 1 against Australia. Majid Khan did not tour because, so the Australians insisted, he threw the ball.

Pakistan was insulted again by being given only one Test on their visit to Australia in 1964-65, although Australia had no other international commitments. Pakistan drew the match, thanks to two fine displays by Hanif of 104 and 93 in each innings.

The action then moved to New Zealand for a three test match series between two of the weakest cricketing nations of the world at that time. On the one hand, neither side was good enough to score many runs; On the other hand, neither side was good enough to bowl the other out. All the three tests ended in draw.

Two months later New Zealand returned to Pakistan, playing no preliminary matches and going straight into a Test at Rawalpindi. Pakistan finally tasted success by winning the match by an innings and 64 runs. Majid, after resolving his action, was back in the team but Pakistan’s match winner was the slow left-arm bowler Pervez Sajjad, who destroyed New Zealand in their 2^nd innings with figures of 12-8-5-4 as New Zealand collapsed from 57-2 to 59-9. Pakistan ultimately won the series 2-0, Hanif continuing in his excellent form, making 203 in the Lahore test match. But new players were pressing their claims, chief among them Asif Iqbal and Majid Khan.

Cricket in backdrop of war

Pakistan had no chance to build on victories against New Zealand as shortly after the series war broke out with India. The War of 1965 was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. Between the culmination of war on September 23, 1965 and the end of the decade, Pakistan would play only 9 Test matches, 6 against England. More than 3 years would pass until Pakistan hosted another home Test, 7 years before they next played Australia, 10 years before they next played West Indies, and 13 years before their next Test against India.

An image from 1965 War between Pakistan and India.

Pakistan’s cricket was from this point overshadowed by political chaos. President Ayub Khan became more autocratic – continuing to rule through emergency legislation, sacking ZA Bhutto as foreign minister in 1966 and ordering arrest of Sheikh Mujib on charges of conspiring with India. The political crises and war had led to the total secession of East Pakistan from cricket.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto

 

Sheikh Mujib

Cricket returns

Almost two years passed since the end of the war before Pakistan was presented with another chance to impress in the Test arena. By now they were the forgotten team of international cricket.

In 1967, Pakistan toured England with Hanif as captain. It was a summer of mixed fortunes. At Lord‘s, Hanif Mohammad played an innings that was out of character for him. Associated with stodginess and the ability to drop anchor and shore up the innings, Hanif made 187 not out, an innings that sparkled, that lit up Lord’s and amazed, pleasantly, his devoted fans. He batted as if he had something to prove. Considered vulnerable against genuine fast bowling, he was particularly severe on John Snow, laying to rest the myth that quick bowlers could intimidate him.

Hanif Mohammad introduces Khalid Ibadullah to the Queen at Lord’s, 1967. (Source: ‘Wounded Tiger’ by Peter Oborne)

Family conference: Mushtaq, Hanif and a youthful Sadiq Mohammad pictured during the Pakistan tour of England, 1967. (Source: ‘The Pakistani Masters’ by Bill Ricquier)

 That particular test match was drawn but had Pakistan gambled on taking their chances, they could have won it. They chose safety. They lost the other test matches, but at The Oval, Asif Iqbal who was mainly a bowler who could bat, played an innings of such astonishing ferocity that the jury of those who picked the man of the match had to change their candidate. Asif Iqbal made 146 and with Inthikab Alam, who made 51, put on 90 for the ninth wicket, a record. The fact that the series had been lost was forgotten in the euphoria of this innings. It was a pedigreed innings that established him as a front rank batsman.

Asif Iqbal batting during the first test against England in 1967. (Source: ‘The Pakistani Masters’ by Bill Ricquier)

Political turmoil and further cricket isolation

By the late 1960s, Pakistan was in the grip of two simultaneous revolutions. In the West, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto launched his PPP with an ambitious manifesto to take advantage of the growing revulsion against Ayub Khan’s faltering dictatorship. 1000 miles away in the East Pakistan, Sheikh Mujib’s Awami League (AL) dominated the political scene and was raining its demands. It drew up the Six-Point Programme, which demanded almost total economic, fiscal, legislative and military separation. Serious clashes broke out between protestors and the police and army.

It was amid of this environment national instability, great danger and looming tragedy that the 1969 MCC tour took place. Pakistan was facing the greatest crises of its short history and its survival was uncertain. For the majority of English players, the tour would provide the most terrifying days of their lives.

When Mike Smith brought the England team in 1968-69, Hanif Mohammad had been given the sack and Saeed Ahmed was appointed captain. All the three matches were drawn. The Test matches rather served as rallying points for the agitators. The tour programme was changed when MCC arrived. It was further changed to restore Dacca to the fixture list after days of political manoeuvring.

Rioting broke out on the first day of the Test in Lahore, and the match was never free from disorder. In Dacca, law and order had broken down completely. The police and military had been withdrawn, and left wing students claimed to be in control. The Second Test was understandably disturbed by rowdiness. Finally the trouble reached breaking point, even for the politicians and diplomats who were so long-suffering at the expense of others, during the Karachi Test. The match was abandoned before the first innings had been completed and the tour abruptly ended an outcome which had long appeared inevitable.

The main action was now off the pitch. An old and ill man, Ayub, who had ruled Pakistan for longer than anyone before or since, urged his commander-in-chief, Yahya Khan, to assume power and impose martial law.

New Zealand tour of Pakistan and First General Elections in Pakistan

Two domestic tournaments were used to be played during the period, Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and Ayub Trophy. 7 teams – including all 4 from East Pakistan refused to play in Ayub trophy. The find of these two tournaments was youthful, as yet uncapped, Zaheer Abbas who was leading batsman in both competitions.

Zaheer Abbas

New Zealand toured Pakistan in 1969-70. Pakistan had another captain, Inthikab Alam. It was in this series that the youngest of the brothers Sadiq Mohammad made his debut while his brother, the legendary Hanif retired or more probably was made to retire. It was an unworthy end to a great career but unlike army generals who just fade away, Pakistani sportsmen are simply discarded when their use-by date expires. Pakistan lost the three match series 1-0.

General elections were held for the first time in the history of Pakistan on December 7, 1970, although the polls in East Pakistan, originally scheduled for October, were delayed by disastrous floods and rescheduled for later in December and January 1971. The results of the election saw the AL win a majority of seats, 167 out of 169 seats in East Pakistan. In the West Pakistan, ZA Bhutto’s PPP surprised everyone by winning 85 seats. However, the President of Pakistan, Yahya Khan never handed power to AL, which triggered mass uprising in East Pakistan. The cricket was suffering amid this political chaos.

The Pakistan Television (PTV) election cell during general elections of 1970.

Wisden’s Player of Year during decade of 60s: Mushtaq Mohammad (1963), Hanif Muhammad (1968), Majid Khan (1970)

 

 

Continued…

Next in ‘The Unpredictables’ series: Part IV – 1970s: Revival of Pakistan cricket 

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Sources:

• Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack
• ‘Wounded Tiger: A History of Cricket in Pakistan’ by Peter Oborne
• ‘The Pakistani Masters’ by Bill Ricquier
• ESPNcricinfo archives (www.espncricinfo.com)
• ‘Cricket Cauldron: The Turbulent Politics of Sport in Pakistan’ by Shaharyar M. Khan and Ali Khan
• Imran Khan’s Autobiography ‘Pakistan: A Personal History’
• ‘All round view’ by Imran Khan
• ‘Controversially Yours’ by Shoaib Akhtar
• Cricket Archive (www.cricketarchive.com)
• PTV Sports (sports.ptv.com.pk)
• Pakistan Cricket Board (www.pcb.com.pk)

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This blog was first published on Pak Tea House.

The Unpredictables – Part I: 1940s

The eternal drama of Pakistan cricket never ceases to fascinate the fans of Cricket game. Why would it? There are only few teams in world cricket, rather world sports, as unpredictable and mercurial as Pakistan. They will be a laughing stock one day with their amateur performance and next day exhibit flamboyant performance with ability to beat best in the world. If not for Pakistani cricket team, cricket would have been the most boring sport of the world.

Pakistan as a country has been through a number of highs and lows since traumatic partition in 1947 and its cricket has followed the similar pattern in direct proportion, showing how this sport is embedded in social, political and cultural facets of the country. Initially dispersed, unrecognised, underfunded and weak, Pakistan’s cricket team grew to become a major force in world cricket. In this series of blogs we shall dig into social, political, cultural and sporting history of cricket in Pakistan.

Part I – 1940s: Partition and Foundation Stones of Cricket in Pakistan (1947 – 1950)

The trauma of partition

August 14, 1947 – newly created boundaries of Pakistan and India emerged on the map of the world as a result of partition of the Indian sub-continent. An ambitious young fast bowler, Fazal Mahmood, was not going to let political and social chaos, prevalent at that time, to get in the way of his dreams. He left Lahore and made over a 1000 kilometres journey through Punjab and Sindh to reach Bombay, when millions of Muslim migrants were making the journey in an opposite way i.e. from India to Pakistan. From Bombay, Fazal went to Poona to report at All-India training-camp organised for selecting a squad for the upcoming tour of Australia. The camp was abandoned after few days due to non-stop monsoon rains and chaotic political situation. Fazal had to make a risk journey back to Lahore and very nearly met a bloody end on the train back from Poona to Bombay. Hindu fanatics would have lynched him but for the intervention of his travelling companion, the Indian cricket legend CK Nayudu, who defended Fazal against attackers with his cricket bat.

Fazal Mahmood
(Source: ESPNCricinfo)

The story of Fazal portrays what inhabitants of two nations went through. Fazal was back in Lahore on September 13, 1947. After immense family pressures and with extreme reluctance, Fazal cabled Lala Amarnath, Indian team’s captain and cricket legend, saying that he would not be able to join the tour. This decision turned out to be one of the most important decisions of his life and one of the greatest blessings for Pakistan cricket. Few years later, Fazal would become the instigator, torchbearer and legend of fast bowling in Pakistan cricket.

The beginnings – Setting up cricket administration body

The official national sport of Pakistan is Hockey but practically it’s the game of cricket. However, this was not the case at the time of partition. Pakistan inherited very little by way of industry and infrastructure when it separated from the rest India. The biggest challenge for the government was to construct the new country’s economic, industrial, social and sports infrastructure.

Development of any sport is directly related to environment in which it evolves – Pakistan cricket has not been different in this respect. The game of cricket was virtually unknown throughout much of rural areas of Pakistan. Even in the urban centres of Lahore and Karachi, cricket was played mainly by upper–middle classes. The game structure was weak with just two turf wickets in the whole country, at Lahore and Karachi. Most of the players who were to represent Pakistan early years came from Lahore – products of Government and Islamia colleges and clubs such as Crescent and Mamdot. Some of them had played in the Ranji trophy, the premier domestic tournament of pre–partition India. The future of Pakistan cricket was looming in dark as it could have become a mere satellite of India. However, Pakistan hung on as a result of sheer hard work and determination.

For quite some time Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) held Pakistan to ransom. Either it could have first class and Test cricket as part of India – or not have first-class cricket at all. Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) indicated to BCCI that it would prefer India to remain, for cricketing purposes, a single country. For Pakistan, to go it alone meant a giant leap in the dark but it was determined to do so.

The idea of a cricket board was first floated in the summer of 1947 and after preliminary work over course of a year; Board of Control of Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP) was formally founded on May 1, 1948 at a meeting in the pavilion of Lahore Gymkhana Cricket Ground.

The first president of the BCCP was Khan Iftikhar Hussain Nawab of Mamdot. It had three vice-presidents: Justice AR Cornelius, Lt Col. Baker and Mr Britto. KR collector was made the secretary of the Board. Hussain provided the much needed social and political strength. Cornelius, a brilliant man who would later become Chief Justice of Pakistan, provided the intellect to organise the daily affairs. He followed cricket on craze basis. Collector’s home at 72 Garden Road, Karachi was the first official address of BCCP. Diversity of the background of these cricket administrators can be judged by the fact that Cornelius and Britto were Christians; Collector was a Parsi and Col. Baker was an Anglican – reflecting the Jinnah’s vision for a liberal Pakistan.

Justice AR Cornelius

A key decision that was made at first meeting was to ask Governor-general Jinnah to become patron of BCCP. It might have been a necessity at that time but it certainly paid a heavy price in future. Since inception, the post has been used to accommodate political cronies by the governments in power.

Preliminary structure of first-class cricket

The situations was so grim in early years that throughout the 1947–48 season only one first-class game was played, a traditional fixture between Punjab University and Governor of West Punjab’s XI, at magnificent Lawrence Gardens (now called Bagh-e-Jinnah).The match was hosted by Sir Fancis Mudie, governor of West Punjab, who was one of a handful officials and military officers who had been personally requested by Jinnah to stay behind after independence. All most all of the great cricketers of the time, including Fazal Mahmood, Jahangir Khan, Nazar Muhammad and Mian Mohammad Saeed, played in the match which ended in draw.

Nazar Muhammad (Source: ESPNCricinfo)

Lahore GymKhana Cricket Ground, Bagh-e-Jinnah Lahore

There were just 5 domestic first-class fixtures in the 5 years after independence whereas India hosted 88 Ranji Trophy fixtures during this period. Cricket in Pakistan was limited to one-day club games and certain school and inter-university fixtures. Although it played an essential role in maintaining a cricket culture, it was not enough. BCCP needed to take immediate steps to set up first-class structure. In the absence of serious domestic cricket, the only way to do this was to attract international teams to Pakistan.

Beginning of international games for Pakistan

The efforts of BCCP finally paid off. West Indies (WI) was the first international team, which toured Pakistan and for Pakistani cricketers it was a portentous occasion. WI had taken a break from their 5 test tour of India to play at Pakistan and considered it just a relaxing break. Infact, Lala Amarnath told WI captian John Goddard, ‘It is just a schoolboys’ team’. This remark got back to the Pakistan players, who were enraged.

West Indian captain John Goddard and Pakistani captain Mian Muhammad Saeed

The tour started with a drawn game against Sindh Province in Karachi. Next stop was Rawalpindi where WI payed against General Sir Douglas Gracey’s eleven, then the commander-in-chief. Pakistan’s cricketers were disgracefully dismissed for 96 in their first innings, and lost the match by 9 wickets.

Now came the major event of the tour, Pakistan vs WI at Bagh-e-Jinnah, Lahore. Pakistan was captained by Mian Muhammad Saeed. Mian Saeed, the first captain of Pakistan, had a career that extended from 1930 to 1954. He played for various Indian teams, including Southern Punjab in the Ranji Trophy, in the 1930s and 1940s, and for Punjab cricket teams in Pakistan in the 1940s and 1950s.

The opening pair, Imtiaz Ahmed and Nazar Muhammad put on 148 for the first wicket, but thereafter the team bundled out to a disappointing 241. The opening bowler, Munawwar Ali Khan, regarded as fastest bowler in Pakistan, got his team off to a scintillating start by dismissing George Carew, opening batsman, and skipper John Goddard on first two deliveries of the first over. He broke the stump in to two when he dismissed Goddard who was very annoyed at being misled by Indians. WI, however, then recovered to a total of 308 in first innings.

Imtiaz Ahmad (Source: ESPNCricinfo)

 

Munawwar Ali Khan

In second innings, Imtiaz and Saeed gave a thrashing to WI bowlers by scoring centuries and putting on a stand of 205 for the second wicket. Eventually the game ended out as a draw. However, by giving tough competition to WI, Pakistan cricketers had made a perfect start in their pursuit of Imperial Cricket Conference’s (ICC) recognition as a Test-playing country.

In the following April, Pakistan team toured Ceylon (name changed to Sri Lanka in 1972) for a two match series. Pakistan beat them by an innings in the first ‘unofficial Test’ and by ten wickets in second.

Pakistan was gradually acquiring a settled look with Nazar Mohammad and Imtiaz Ahmad forming a strong opening pair, Mian Saeed and Alimuddin providing solidity to middle order and Khan Mohammad along with Fazal Mahmood forming a deadly bowling partnership.

Khan Muhammad

In November 1949 Commonwealth XI visited Pakistan which majorly composed of players whose careers were nearing an end. It was a humiliating result for Pakistan as its batting failed twice in the match played at Bagh-e-Jinnah. At the end of the game furious crowd threw stones and verbal abuse at Pakistani players. People called for game to be abandoned. Cricket in Pakistan was breathing its last.

Emergence of AH Kardar

Mian Saeed had set the ground work for Pakistan cricket. He deserved to be forgiven for the fiasco at the Bagh-e-Jinnah against the CommonWealth XI and probably would have been but for the fact the Abdul Hafeez Kardar had returned to Pakistan after an absence of almost 5 years.

Brought under controversial circumstances, Cornelius and Kardar then formed a formidable partnership to achieve an uphill task facing Pakistan – to achieve the status of Test-playing country. Kardar, emerging from Oxford, was marked out as a future leader of Pakistan. It has been widely believed by most of Kardar’s fellow cricketers that he was set upon dislodging Mian Saeed, and undermined his standing by refusing to play under his captaincy.

The Oxford University side against MCC in 1948.
(Back row) Nigel Bloy, William Davidson, Jika Travers, Christopher Winn, Basil Robinson. (Middle row) Abdul Kardar, Philip Whitcombe, Tony Pawson, Anthony Mallett, William Keighley. (Sitting) Clive van Ryneveld, Hubert Webb.
© MCC

Kardar had played test cricket having toured England with the Indian team in 1946 and having played both for Oxford and Warwickshire. Kardar took great pride in dressing like an English gentleman, but as he became more confident, “he acquired a post-colonial sensibility.” The English way of running the game no longer appealed. This conversion had consequences for Pakistani cricket, which began to focus inwardly. It learnt to run before it could walk – playing Test cricket before there was a domestic structure in place.

The immediate challenge which faced Kardar after taking over was the task of leading country against MCC, the name under which England team used to tour overseas, which was to tour Pakistan in November 1951.

 

 Key Players of 40s: Nazar Muhammad, Khan Muhammad and Mian Muhammad Saeed

 

Continued…

 Next in ‘The Unpredictables’: Part II – 1950s: Pakistan announces itself to Cricket World (1951 – 60)

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Sources:

• Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack
• ‘Wounded Tiger: A History of Cricket in Pakistan’ by Peter Oborne
• ‘The Pakistani Masters’ by Bill Ricquier
• ESPNcricinfo archives (www.espncricinfo.com)
• ‘Cricket Cauldron: The Turbulent Politics of Sport in Pakistan’ by Shaharyar M. Khan and Ali Khan
• Imran Khan’s Autobiography ‘Pakistan: A Personal History’
• ‘All round view’ by Imran Khan
• ‘Controversially Yours’ by Shoaib Akhtar
• Cricket Archive (www.cricketarchive.com)
• PTV Sports (sports.ptv.com.pk)
• Pakistan Cricket Board (www.pcb.com.pk)

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This blog was first published on Pak tea House.

Is this Jinnah’s Pakistan?

As the Independence Day, August 14, comes nearer national flags can be seen — hoisted on the government and private buildings, houses, markets, cars, trucks and motorcycles.

Every Pakistani is aware what the flag of our country, adopted during a meeting of Constituent Assembly on August 14, 1947, symbolises. The white and dark green fields represent minorities and Muslims respectively. The crescent on the flag represents progress whereas the five-rayed star represents light and knowledge. What is depressing to see is that sixty seven years on we are still struggling to live up to what our national flag truly symbolises.

The size of the white portion on flag is one-fourth of its size and it was an accurate depiction of Pakistan at the time of partition in 1947 – almost 23 per cent of country’s population was comprised of non-Muslim citizens. Today, the proportion of non-Muslims has declined to approximately 3 per cent – an perfect display of Pakistani paradox.

Two events from the year 1979 sum up this Pakistani paradox. It was a landmark year in the history of the country as Dr Abdus Salam became the first Pakistani to win the Nobel Prize in physics for his pioneering work in developing a theory that unifies the weak nuclear force within atoms and the force of electromagnetism. In December of the same year he was prevented from speaking at Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad by extremist students who carried out a violent demonstration to protest his presence – reason being Dr Salam was an Ahmadi.

On the one hand, the country produces brilliant doctors, scientists, engineers and professionals competing with best in the world. On the other, imbecile religious extremists rampage across the country, killing in the name of Islam. A reality which is more alarming is that their supporters have infiltrated and obtained a foothold in every organ of the state, be it the media, the bureaucracy, the military, the parliament or the judiciary.

When we try to dig in and find reasons behind rise of religious extremism in Pakistan the foremost reason we come across is the kind of distorted history that is taught right from the early days of our children in schools. The effect of this brain washing is permanent as by the time they grow up they tend to become rigid in respect of distorted and tweaked facts they have been indoctrinated with. One of such tweaking of the history is the ‘Two Nation Theory’, which led to incorrect belief that Pakistan was created as a religious state.

Whenever we try to put this so-called theory to a logical test, its results always fail to evidence its ‘religious’ or ‘theological’ nature which it is portrayed as. We don’t find a single trace of two-nation theory when India was ruled by minority Muslims. If religion is not sufficient to bind Muslims living in over fifty countries as one nation, how can it bind Muslims of Sub-Continent into one? Why Muslim countries have visa requirement for one another? Why do the more wealthy Muslim countries not grant nationality to less privileged Muslims from other countries? Why did a Muslim population greater than that in West Pakistan or East Pakistan decided to remain in India after the partition? We could not even retain East Pakistan after the partition. The bitter reality of Islamic history is that Muslims have killed more Muslims as compared to non-Muslims. The theory has always failed to stand up to logical facts and evidence and been misused for religious bigotry.

When Pakistan was founded in 1947, its secular founding fathers wanted to create a homeland for sub-continent’s Muslims, not an Islamic state, along with equal rights for non-Muslims – a stark contrast to theological portrayal of the two-nation theory. Reflecting his secular views, Muhammad Ali Jinnah nominated a Hindu, several Shias (he himself being a khoja Shia) and an Ahmadi to Pakistan’s first cabinet. Jinnah’s secular views were demonstrated not only during the struggle for independence but in his famous speech on August 11, 1947, the same day when the flag was adopted:

“You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State….

We are starting with this fundamental principle that we are all citizens and equal citizens of one State….

Now I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State….”

Unfortunately, Jinnah could not live longer to provide stability and strong foundation to the country and passed away just a year after the partition. The irony is that the clergy who opposed Jinnah and creation of Pakistan later hijacked the country in the name of Islam. The roots of religiosity lie in the blueprint and arguments of Abul Ala Maududi, founder of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), to transform Pakistan into an Islamic state. The extent of Maududi’s influence became visible as early as 1949, when the Objectives Resolution, defining the foundational principle for Pakistan’s Constitution was passed by the Constituent Assembly, setting the foundation of intolerance, over-religiosity and disillusionment permeating the country in present era.

Since partition Pakistan turned into a hard core religious state over the course of time. Through the constitution of 1974 the nature of identity of Muslim was changed from an ethnic one to religious one, probably the gravest mistake by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to give in to demands of clergy.

It was exploited in worst manner by General Zia Ul Haq who ruled from 1977-88 by imposing a policy of state-led Islamization. As part of this process he brought in rules and regulations to bring Pakistani law more into tune with Sharia, ‘the Sharia as interpreted by him and his cohorts’. These laws, which included the infamous blasphemy law, had a long-term impact on Pakistan’s minorities and to-date being used to persecute religious minorities on regular basis.

Religious minorities have been on worst receiving end over last 25 to 30 years, particularly last 5 years or so, as a result of Zia’s state-led Islamization process. A large number Hindus have migrated or left Pakistan – reason being abduction, rape, coerced conversions, extortion, blackmailing and kidnapping.

In 2009, a mob of thousands, fuelled with the notion that some Christian man had ‘allegedly’ destroyed a page of the Quran, burned down 50 Christian homes in the town of Gojra. In March 2013 over 100 homes owned by Christians, as well as 2 small churches, were set ablaze by thousands of angry Muslims in Lahore over ‘alleged’ blasphemy. The deadliest attack on the Christian minority in the history of Pakistan took place in September 2013 when a twin suicide bomb attack took place at All Saints Church in Peshawar in which 127 people were killed and over 250 injured.

Ahmadis have been declared non-Muslims by the writ of state and have faced severe persecution since then. Just recently on the last night of the Month of Ramzan, a mob attacked Ahmadi houses in Gujranwala over ‘alleged’ blasphemy. Four people were burnt alive; there was an unborn child also who died in womb due to suffocation.

In January, and then again in March, 2014, two Sikhs were gunned down in Charsadda by unidentified men. A couple of days back, a trader belonging to the Sikh community was killed and two others were injured in an attack on three shops in a market in Hashnagri in Peshawar. There is a small Sikh community of 25,000 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) who is being targeted regulalry in recent years.

Until recently, Pakistan’s Shias, who make up about 20-25% of the population, did not have the self-image of a religious minority. They had joined Sunnis to declare Ahmadis as non-Muslim in 1974. But now they are deeply worried as voices from the extreme Sunni right shrilly demand that Shias also be labelled kafirs. Tribal areas are facing violent sectarian warfare: Kurram, Parachinar, and Hangu are killing grounds for both Sunni and Shia, but with most casualties being Shia. Hazara Shias have been regularly targeted and killed. Even in bigger cities Shias are facing target killing.

Irony is that even the Muslim majority represented by green colour of our flag is not safe. Ordinary Pakistanis have borne the brunt of terrorism from Taliban who want to impose their own version of Sharia. Over fifty thousand innocent Pakistani have lost their lives in last ten years or so as result of terrorism. Taliban have not differentiated Pakistani citizens on basis of religion during their terrorist activities. However, when Muslims differentiate and persecute non-Muslims using tools of flawed laws; it presents a very dangerous situation.

A really absurd display of Zia’s Islamization legacy came back to haunt Pakistan during the elections May 2013. While the nomination papers of moderate and liberal civilian politicians were rejected on regular basis on the grounds that they did not pass the ‘litmus test’ of religiosity and commitment to Pakistan’s ideology, the militant and terrorist leaders faced no such problem.

Operations like Zarb-e-Azb will certainly help in eradicating terrorism to a certain extent, being mainly limited to physical eradication of terrorists. However, the government, the intelligentsia and the leaders have to make efforts to eradicate the intolerant mind-set that is so rampant across the country, even in so called literates. We have to work on nation building and move forward from disillusioning concepts of Muslim nation and one ummah. Being Muslim is a given but being Pakistani was taken. We shall have to reimagine Pakistan as a state that treats all of its citizens equally and curb its enthusiasm for militancy. Tolerance, religious harmony and equality are the values that will make Pakistan a country as was envisioned by our Great Leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah – whose soul will be perturbed looking at today’s Pakistan.

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This article was published on Pak Tea House.

Are Pakistan and Israel Similar Ideological States?

The Israeli onslaught on Gaza enters its third week; more and more evidence of atrocities is being made public, producing widespread expressions of outrage around the world. There have been numerous protests around the world against the war crimes being committed by Israel whereas political leadership of the world, Muslim in particular, remains in slumber. The deaths hike the total Palestinian toll to 583 since the Israeli military launched Operation Protective Edge on July 8 in a bid to stamp out rocket fire from Gaza.

During this period I have been engaged in several debates on different perspectives surrounding the Palestine – Israel conflict. One of these perspectives has been ‘drawing parallels on the similarity between Pakistan and Israel’. After engaging in debates with many, I thought it would be better to put down my arguments in writing.

Pakistan is like Israel in that both countries were formed on the basis of religion as a result of partition of the countries that already existed and caused large population displacements – it is a very common argument put forward when comparing Pakistan with Israel. Also this remark of ex-ruler of Pakistan, Zia-ul-Haq is commonly referred to support this argument:

“Pakistan is like Israel, an ideological state. Take out the Judaism from Israel and it will fall like a house of cards. Take Islam out of Pakistan and make it a secular state; it would collapse.”

–       The Economist, December 1981

The above statements might have a slight degree of validity but are sweeping factual statements without giving regard to factors and facts underlying beneath these statements. If we dig in to unearth those facts, striking contrasts between two states are unveiled.

To start with, the demand of Pakistan as a separate homeland was limited to the geographical location of South Asia. The ‘Two Nation Theory’ which is commonly argued as basis for the creation of Pakistan never claimed that Muslims all around the globe were a one nation. Rather the theory is based on the premise that Indian Muslims were a separate nation on the basis of language, traditions, culture, etc. The theory being theological in nature and making a case for of religion as basis of Pakistan’s creation is a flawed argument and is a separate debate. However, the emphasis is that demand for Pakistan was a separate state for Muslims already living here.

Now if we compare this to Israel, there is stark contrast. The basic premise of the Zionist movement, founded by Theodor Herzl, highlights the difference clearly. Zionism is the founding ideology of the land of Israel. Zionism’s basic premise is that Jews irrespective of their geographic location, ethnic identity or socioeconomic background constitute a nation and thus deserve a national homeland – territory defined as the Land of Israel. Therefore Israel was a demand for all Jews everywhere in the world.

The Lahore resolution passed in 1940 called for sovereign states in the Muslim majority areas of India – areas that were going to become Pakistan was already populated by Muslims. In comparison as per the basic premise of Zionism, their homeland is to be situated in the Biblical land of Israel.  Whether that land is populated by someone else is a non-issue — a land without people for a people without land.

If we look at the historical geography of the current territory of Pakistan, (West Pakistan before separation of East Pakistan), it has always been a distinct, unique territory with regions being always bound together by mighty ‘Indus River’. As Aitzaz Ahsan explains in his book ‘The Indus Saga’:

“Indus (Pakistan) has a rich and glorious cultural heritage of its own. This is a distinct heritage, of a distinct and separate nation. There is, thus no fear of any other country devouring or destroying the state. During the last 6000 years Indus has, indeed, remained independent of and separate from India for almost five and a half thousand years. Only the three ‘Universal States’, those of the Mauryans, the Mughals, and the British, welded these two regions together in single empires. And aggregate period of these ‘Universal States’ was not more than five hundred years.

For the remainder, from prehistory to the nineteenth century, Indus has been Pakistan. 1947 was only a reassertion of that reality. It was the reuniting of the various units, the Frontier, the Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Kashmir once again in a primordial federation. The mohajirs, who reverted to the Indus in 1947 and thereafter, were the sons and daughters returning to the mother. As such, ‘Pakistan’ preceded even the advent of Islam in the subcontinent. It was not merely ‘a chasm that one people created for themselves in the ten short years from 1937 to 1947’, as some Indians may like to believe.”

Source: ‘Indus Saga’ by Aitezaz Ahsan

Source: ‘Indus Saga’ by Aitezaz Ahsan

In contrast, as explained above, Herzl called for an establishment of a home/state for the Jewish people in Palestine, to be called Israel. In World War I, the Ottoman Empire sided with Germany. As a result, it was embroiled in a conflict with Great Britain. Under the secret Sykes–Picot Agreement of 1916, it was envisioned that most of Palestine, when freed from Ottoman control, would become an international zone not under direct French or British colonial control. Shortly thereafter, British foreign minister Arthur Balfour issued the Balfour Declaration of 1917:

“His Majesty’s government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”

The British captured Jerusalem a month later, and were formally awarded a mandate which was approved by the League of Nations in 1922. The 1922 census of Palestine recorded the population of Palestine as 757,000, of which 78% were Muslims, 11% were Jews, 10% were Christians and 1% were Druze. After the World War II and the Holocaust of Jews, the British Government terminated the mandate and United Nations voted to partition the territory. So clearly here a state was developed for people who were not inhabitants of the region.

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Israel#mediaviewer/File:UN_Partition_Plan_For_Palestine_1947.png

In case of creation of state of Pakistan, there was political consultation. The partition was accepted by political stakeholders who represented the people of this very region. The provinces or regions that were to form Pakistan were those presented in the Lahore Resolution of 1940. The elections of 1946 were a de-facto referendum on it.

On the other hand, there was nothing similar in case of Palestine and Israel. No one consulted inhabitants of Palestine before deciding that their town, village or city was going to become Israel.

Another angle few argue about is the migrations and displacements of mass scale of people. The displacements in case of Pakistan and India were in both directions, People migrated from Pakistan to India and vice-versa. However, probably a greater population of Muslims as compared to those in Pakistan decided to remain in India. The migration and effects of partition were bloody which could have been avoided. Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs; all suffered and lost in the disaster.

Displacement in Palestine was and is one directional i.e. Jews in and Palestinians out. Nearly all the population of the Israel is migrated whereas in comparison the migrant population in Pakistan was roughly around five to six percent.

Although, Jinnah announced, in August 1947, that Pakistan would be a secular state, it became a hard core religious state only after 1970s. Through 1974 constitution the nature of identity of Muslim was changed from an ethnic one to religious one. The roots of this religiosity, however, date back to the Objectives Resolution of 1949.

Ben Gurion, first prime minister of Israel, declared Israel a secular liberal democracy in 1948 and Israel has stuck to it to-date. Israel has not defined its Jewish identity on religious grounds rather ethnic and cultural grounds.

Last but not the least, any Jew born anywhere in the World, is eligible to become an Israeli citizen. As explained above, Israel by its very nature and design is a homeland for the Jewry of the world. Pakistan, however, is a homeland for people of Pakistan. It was not envisioned to make a homeland for all of the Muslims of the world. Anyone can become a citizen of Pakistan if one desires.

Pakistan is bigger and far more diverse state with plethora of complex problems as compared to Israel. Pakistan consists of diverse ethnicities and cultures and populations of various religions and sects. Israel’s identity is one i.e. Jewish. Therefore, Pakistan and Israel being similar is factually incorrect sweeping statement.

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This article was published on Pak Tea House.

‘Tackling TTP, Lessons from History’ published in Prabhat Khabar

How should we tackle the menace of terrorism plaguing ‘The Land of Pure’?. My article, ‘Tackling TTP, Lessons from History‘ , on this issue was published in Pak Tea House on June 16, 2014.

The article has also been carried in ‘Prabhat Khabar‘ a leading Hindi Newspaper. Here are the screenshots of the article published in its weekly magazine.

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You can visit the e-paper here Prabhat Khabar Magazine.

You can also read the original article on my WordPress post ‘Tackling TTP, Lessons from History‘.