Cricket: Conspiracy was hatched to make Pakistan’s tour of England controversial

‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’  

KARACHI: The government has less than 100 days in which it has to take the most important decision of appointment of a new army chief, said Shahzeb Khanzada on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, on Monday.

He said that previously there were some rumors that the tenure of the army chief was being extended, and now there are reports that General Raheel Sharif is being made a Field Marshal.

Shahzeb Khanzada said that the army chief has already said that he does not believe in extension in his service tenure, but a debate is still going on in this regard. The host of the programme said that this is a sensitive issue, and it should not be discussed in public meetings or rallies.

He said that Imran Khan has claimed in Islamabad that the government has been repeatedly asking General Raheel Sharif to become a Field Marshal. 

Meanwhile, Shahzeb said that a well-informed journalist, Arif Nizami, on his television programme on August 11 had claimed that General Raheel Sharif would be made a Field Marshal while the senior-most general will be appointed the army chief.

Shahzeb Khanzada said that when Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s senior ministers are asked to say something on these reports, they said that this was something that Nawaz Sharif had been keeping close to his heart and he did not discuss this matter even with his senior ministers.

Shahzeb Khanzada said that at the time of extension in the tenure of former Army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, the then Leader of the Opposition, Nawaz Sharif, had opposed an extension.

Shahzeb Khanzada said that the post of Field Marshal is a ceremonial post which is bestowed on a general who has rendered extraordinary services. A Field Marshal is a five-star general whereas an army chief is a four-star general.

­He said that a Field Marshal enjoys authority as long as he is in a commanding position, and if not then the post is merely a ceremonial post.

In a different segment of the programme, Shahzeb Khanzada, while commenting on the affairs of the inter-board Karachi, said that since the outbreak of the corruption scandal at the Intermediate Board Karachi, students are facing a dilemma. The students awaiting the results of intermediate (premedical) are wondering if the long-awaited results are going to be transparent as well.

Shahzeb Khanzada said that the anti-corruption department started its action against corruption on August 9 after having received complaints from some parents that exam results were being rigged. However, officials of the intermediate board had been alleging that the anti-corruption department had been tampering with the results.

Shahzeb Khanzada said, “Before we ran the news, we tried to obtain the version of the officials of the board, but all of them had had their cell phones switched off. Others were not willing to give their stance over the matter.

“We are presenting here on the programme a candidate’s answer sheets in various subjects to show to our viewers how a failed candidate was about to pass with flying colours and to show to our viewers how corruption prevails in the intermediate board.”

The original answer sheets of a student in various subjects and the final sheets of the board were shown on the programme, revealing that the student had secured lower marks, but the same were inflated in the final sheets.

Shahzeb Khanzada said that an inquiry report of the Sindh government about the intermediate board last year had claimed that the results of some students in the intermediate board were rigged in which the board officials were involved, and that the report had recommended action against these officials. The report also claimed that the chairman of the inter-board was involved in some illegal matters. However, no action was taken against him.

Shahzeb Khanzada said that The News had conducted a sting operation in 2008. They obtained a paper from the board against a payment of Rs20,000. The answer sheet was brought to the office of The News where it was filled, and then the answer sheet was given back. Good marks were awarded. The News published the whole story about the sting operation, but no action was taken against any official of the board.

The Sindh adviser on anti-corruption, Murtaza Wahab, while talking to Shahzeb Khanzada on the programme, said that investigations into the affairs of the intermediate board were on, and that everything will be done according to law.

In a yet different segment of the programme, Shahzeb Khanzada said that the Pakistan-England Test series was concluded without any controversy. Nevertheless, a conspiracy had been hatched to render Pakistan’s tour of England controversial, but a timely action by the PCB foiled the conspiracy.

He said that a sting operation had been set in place to deceive the Pakistani players in a story which involved money, but the board’s timely action denied the British newspaper involved in the sting operation’s success to its nefarious designs.

Moving on to a different topic, Shahzeb Khanzada said that on India’s independence day, its prime minister, Narendra Modi, remained obsessed with Pakistan. Modi discussed Balochistan and Gilgit, but he did not have the courage to comment on what was happening in occupied Kashmir. Modi is not considering even the voices emanating from India itself. There is no let-up in oppression in occupied Kashmir, but Modi is mum over it. Modi is facing criticism even in India over his statement.

The director news of Geo News, Rana Jawwad, while talking to Shahzeb Khanzada on the programme, said that harmony between the government and the army is excellent. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and General Raheel Sharif have admiration for each other. Nawaz Sharif had already said it on the floor of the assembly that General Raheel Sharif had been doing excellent work which is bringing stability to the country.

Rana Jawwad said that the talk of extension in the tenure of the army chief is because of the excellent working chemistry between General Raheel Sharif and Nawaz Sharif.

Rana Jawwad said that General Raheel Sharif had already stated that he was not interested in an extension in his service tenure. Rana Jawwad said that quarters close to Nawaz Sharif have no doubts whatsoever that the prime minister is not extending the service tenure of the army chief nor is anyone asking the prime minister to do so.

The Geo News correspondent in London, Murtaza Ali Shah, said on the programme that an English publication had contacted Pakistani journalists and other members of the Pakistani community before the Manchester Test and offered them money. The goal of the conspiracy was to have senior Pakistani players embroiled in a financial scandal.

Murtaza Ali Shah said that the conspiracy was based on the same pattern that had been used by the News of the World in 2010 in its sting operation to corner three Pakistani cricketers.

He said some suspicious people were spotted during two events in Manchester. The security management of the PCB immediately alerted the officials concerned in Pakistan after which the Pakistani players were barred from participating in different events.