LAHORE: While the departure of Pakistani cricket team to India to play the T20 World Cup 2016 was still uncertain at the time of filing this story at around 10:pm Thursday evening in absence of a written assurance from the Indian government about the security of the boys in green shirts, research shows that Indian governments and sports officials give written assurances and seek apologies whenever they wish.
Just to cite one example of giving a written assurance, while taking notice of hunger strike by a France-based human right organisation Aurore-Dawn in January 2014, Delhi's ruling Aam Admi Party had assured the protestor in writing that fast track court would be set up to bring perpetrators of 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims to justice.
According to the January 28, 2014 edition of the "Times of India," the protestor Iqbal Singh Bhatti had also demanded the constitution of a Special Investigation Team for investigation into the 1984 riots, release of a death convict Devinderpal Singh Bhullar and scrapping of black list that had prevented certain Sikhs living abroad to visit India.
The "Times of India" had reported: "Aam Admi Party Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a letter written to Bhatti has informed that his government was sympathetic to the issues raised by him and would takenecessary steps to ensure full justice."
The leading Indian newspaper had revealed: "However Kejriwal writes in the letter that the issues involved were very complex and required consultations at various levels. "We will try to find the solutions sooner" reads the letter. He also informed Bhatti that Delhi government had already recommended to the president for the release of Bhullar and would also be working on other issues including formation of Special Investigation Team etc. in a sympathetic and time- bound manner."
Indian governments and sports officials seek apologies too. During the October 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, the chairman of the Games' Organising Committee, Suresh Kalmadi, had to apologise to the Ugandan High Commissioner to India after three Ugandan officials were injured by a malfunctioning security barrier at the games' village, and a senior official from that country had raised allegations of discrimination by Indian officials.
Uganda's sports minister had lashed out at Indian officials and demanded an apology for the accident. The officials had cuts and bruises and were hospitalised overnight for observation.
(References: October 14, 2010 edition of the "Times of India")
It was the same Suresh Kalmadi who was later arrested in a corruption case for causing a loss of over Indian rupees 900 million to the exchequer. (Reference: The May 20, 2011 report of "NDTV")
Interestingly, a number of globally-acclaimed athletes had withdrawn from the 2010 Commonwealth Games, but the Indian Foreign Office had not threatened them with any legal action -- as it said Thursday it would do if Pakistan pulled out of the T20 World Cup 2016.
The athletes who had withdrawn included Jamaican world record holder Usain Bolt and his predecessor Asafa Powell. They had contended that the event timing was a major reason for their decisions to stay away.
Similarly, Olympic cyclist champion Geraint Thomas had also pulled out for fear of contracting dengue fever. (References: The September 2, 2010 report of the "Daily Mail London" and September 23, 2010 story of the "BBC").
It goes without saying that around 10,000 of the 22,000 of the local Indian volunteers selected for the Commonwealth Games had also quit less than a week before the event over dissatisfaction with assignments.
(Reference: The ABC News)
The Australian Commonwealth contingent had also expressed frustration over the opening ceremony, in which there were claims that the athletes and delegation support staff were "treated like cattle" and subjected to "disgraceful and unbearable" conditions. Australia's head of mission had complained about the athletes being trapped in absolute cauldron conditions under the main stadium before marching for the opening ceremony.
The Australians were stuck in a tunnel, where the temperature was said to have exceeded 40°C due to a lack of air-conditioning and ventilation. When attempting to move out, the Australian delegation was stopped by staff. When the contestants were finally able to move out into the arena, they were described as being emotionally affected.
The Indian sports officials again had to pacify and mollify the Aussies by rendering apologies. (Reference: The October 6, 2010 edition of the "Sydney Morning Herald")
It is imperative to note that just before the start of the New Delhi Commonwealth Games, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand had issued travel advisories to their citizens warning them against a high risk of terror attack ahead of the Commonwealth Games, and India had kept assuring them of complete security.
The advisories had come in view of the September 19, 2010 shooting incident near New Delhi's Jamia Masjid involving two foreigners. The UK advisory had stated: "There is a high threat from terrorism throughout India. Terrorists have targeted places in the past which westerners are known to visit including public places such as restaurants, hotels, railway stations, markets and places of worship. Two Taiwanese tourists were injured in a shooting incident near the Jamia Masjid mosque in New Delhi on 19 September."
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs had said, "Australians in New Delhi should be aware that the Commonwealth Games will be held in a security environment where there is a high risk of terrorism. Pay close attention to your personal security at all times and monitor the media for information about possible new safety or security risks. Terrorist attacks could occur at any time anywhere in India with little or no warning. We continue to receive reports that terrorists plan to attack public places, including hotels and tourist locations, in New Delhi, Mumbai and other major cities. Terrorists may also be planning attacks against Indian political and security interests."
The Canadian travel advisory had read: "Canadians are urged to exercise a high degree of caution, monitor their surroundings and maintain a low profile."
Sports teams do pull out of events due to one reason or the other, but hosts world over give adequate assurances.
For example, Australia and West Indies had refused to play the 1996 World Cup in Sri Lanka due to threat of the Tamil Tigers despite Colombo's assurances.
Quite recently in January 2016, Australia had pulled out of the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh starting due to security concerns.
Cricket Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland had said the decision was taken after advice from the government stated that the threat to Australian interests in Bangladesh was as high as when the senior team had pulled out of their October 2015 tour.
The ICC had invited Ireland, who was runners-up in the qualifying tournament in Kuala Lumpur in October 2015, to replace Australia in the tournament. The International Cricket Council (ICC) had said it respected Cricket Australia's decision but was disappointed by it.
The David Richardson had said: "The ICC takes its responsibilities around the safety and security of its events extremely seriously."
James Sutherland had viewed: "And taking into consideration the full and unequivocal support of the Bangladesh government that has been afforded to us at the highest level and through all local security agencies, the advice we have received from our own and independent security experts, and the robust security plan that has been developed, the ICC remains of the view the it is appropriate for event planning to continue as scheduled."
Eminent Cricket website "ESPN Cricinfo" had reported: "The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) told ESPN Cricinfo that it had cooperated fully with the ICC regarding security for the event, but the final decision to visit lay with individual countries."
It had quoted BCB's head of media, Jalal Yunus, as saying: "We have given a strong security plan to the ICC and took into consideration everything it asked us to do. Whether a member nation decides on coming to Bangladesh or not, is up to them."
Meanwhile, the New Zealand Cricket Chief David White had said that while they were monitoring the security situation on a daily basis, the board was comfortable with the security arrangements put in place by the ICC and the Bangladesh government. "ESPN Cricinfo" had quoted David White as opining: "The difference [between us and Australia] is the threat is, as we understand it, is specific to Australian nationals. For the likes of us, England, South Africa and so on, there's a risk for westerners, but not specific to our nationals. That's the issue Australia had prior to Christmas as well."
As far as Pakistan is concerned, the country has solid reasons to demand a written assurance from India due to the anti-Pakistan sentiment and never-ending hostility.
The Indians should realise the situation too instead of making it a matter of prestige and ego.
The March 9, 2016 edition of the "ESPN Cricinfo" had stated: "The delay of the Pakistani teams' departures is not a trigger-happy response by the PCB to events of the last 24 hours. It has built up over several months, and reached tipping point when a scheduled meeting in October between the PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan and BCCI officials was cancelled due to anti-Pakistan in the BCCI's Mumbai office. These talks had been arranged to discuss the possibility of a long overdue bilateral series, to be hosted by the PCB. Workers from the Shiv Sena, a regional political party, stormed into the BCCI office in Mumbai, shouting anti-Pakistan slogans. It led to an embarrassing departure for the Pakistani delegation led by Shahryar."
The internationally-renowned Cricket website had added: "The incident led to the PCB losing confidence in BCCI's handling of what is always a delicate situation as well as public support against pushing for matches versus India. It made headlines in Pakistan, with the PCB being severely criticised by political and cricketing quarters. Taking note of the fiasco, the Pakistan government asked the PCB to adopt caution in travelling to India and to do so only after a favourable prior advisory from the centre."
It had maintained: "The list of Pakistan's disenchantment over cricketing relations with India stretches back beyond cricket over almost a year. The Shiv Sena's protest in the BCCI office was preceded by the cancellation of concerts in India by two Pakistani singers, Atif Aslam and Ghulam Ali, in April and October 2015. A launch of a book written by former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, also in October, was disrupted by right-wing activists attacking one of the organisers with black ink.
After more Shiv Sena protests, which occurred during South Africa's tour of India, Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar and commentators Shoaib Akhtar and Wasim Akram did not travel to Mumbai for an ODI and left the country instead. All of these events have led the PCB to be more stringent about its security demands on the BCCI and the ICC about the World T20. In such a scenario, if these demands are not met, there is every possibility the PCB may consider pulling both squads out of the tournament."
During the history of sports, as research shows, numerous untoward and deadly incidents have haunted countries like Pakistan, Germany, Britain, United States, Spain, Sri Lanka and Colombia etc.
We can all recall the March 3, 2009 incident when the bus of the visiting Sri Lankan Cricket was attacked by terrorists in Lahore. Eight people were killed and six, including players and umpires, were injured in this attack.
According to the prestigious "Time magazine," the Palestinian militant group Black September had taken the Israeli national team hostage during the 1972 Munich Olympics.
During the 1972 Munich Games, the Palestinian militant group Black September took the Israeli national team hostage, eventually slaughtering 11 athletes and coaches and one German police officer after a 16-hour standoff.
For the first time in modern Olympic history, competition was suspended for a memorial service held in the Olympic Stadium attended by 80,000 spectators and 3,000 athletes.
Then in July 1996, three bombs planted underneath a bench had killed two people and had injured 120 at Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park, which was designed as the "town square" of the 1996 Olympics.
Eric Rudolph, a former explosives expert for the United States Army, had confessed planting the bombs. He said he wanted to embarrass Washington DC in the eyes of the world for its abominable sanctioning of abortion on demand.
The then US President Clinton had denounced the explosion as an "evil act of terror" and the Games had continued as planned.
The "Time magazine" had reported: "New Zealand nearly suffered at the hands of terror too. In 2002, a suicide bomb blast outside the team's hotel in Karachi left players unhurt but killed 11 French Navy experts, two Pakistanis and the team's physiotherapist."
The American magazine had gone on to write: "During the 1994 World Cup, the Colombian team lost 2-1 to their American hosts, with Escobar scoring in his own goal, leading to their elimination. Upon his return home he was shot and killed. The murder is widely believed to be a punishment for the own goal, though it may well have been linked to heavy gambling losses accrued by drug lords who bet on the team."
The magazine had then talked about the 2002 car bombing close to Madrid's main stadium, just hours before the start of Real Madrid's Champions League semi-final against arch rivals Barcelona.
It further wrote: "Security has been beefed up at major sporting events following the events of 9/11. Indeed, there's a case to be made that the threat of terror has almost been as pronounced as the actual attacks themselves. Shortly after the attacks, the United States Ryder Cup team pulled out of the bi-annual fixture due to be held in Britain.
In general, most of soccer's major tournaments have seen an "intensive exchange of ideas" on counterterrorism efforts. And both post-9/11 Olympic Games have been prime examples of increased security at sporting events. Ahead of the Beijing Games, for example, China deployed a massive security presence, saying it had foiled a terrorist hijacking plot, yet warning it faced further threats in its Muslim-majority northwest. Just five days before the flame was lit, there was an attack by Muslim separatists in the city of Kashgar in China's far western Xinjiang region that left 16 policemen dead and an equal number badly wounded."
Research shows that the "Grand National," the most famous horse race in the United Kingdom was abandoned in 1997 after two coded bomb threats were reportedly received from the IRA. Some 60,000 spectators (including Princess Anne), jockeys, race personnel and local residents were evacuated, and the course was secured by police.
In 2008, a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber had detonated a device at the start of a marathon celebrating the start of Sri Lanka's New Year, killing a dozen people and injuring almost 100. Highways minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, former Olympic marathon runner KA Karunaratne and the national athletics coach, Lakshman de Alwis, were among the dead.
In 2008 again, the famous Dakar Rally was cancelled for the first time in its 30-year history due to al-Qaeda threats.
