All of us will make Karachi a seat of learning, cradle of peace: CM Murad Ali Shah

Back in 2017 the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had turned down the Sindh chief minister’s request to hold at least one Pakistan Super League (PSL) match in Karachi, but now the situation has improved to such an extent that eight matches will be played in the city.

“This is the success of our people,” said CM Syed Murad Ali Shah on Tuesday as he addressed the media during his visit to the National Stadium to check the arrangements for holding the matches of the PSL’s fifth edition that will be played in the metropolis.

The chief executive said that in 2017 the PCB was not ready to give any PSL matches to Karachi and now the whole event was being held in Pakistan, which was a great success of the people of the country who had defeated terrorism.

He said law and order has been restored in the metropolis and now Karachi is a peaceful city where all activities, including sports and literary, musical and educational programmes, have been thriving. “All of us will make Karachi a seat of learning and cradle of peace.”

Replying to a question, Shah said that in 2018 the condition of the National Stadium was poor, so his government renovated and repaired the stadium and turned it into a beautiful place to enjoy matches.

“The National Stadium is one of the biggest stadiums in the world but its capacity is now falling short than the public’s requirement, so we will talk to the PCB to enhance its seating capacity.”

The CM reviewed the security arrangements at the stadium and visited the Command & Control Centre. He was briefed about the security arrangements by Sindh Rangers Director General Maj Gen Omer Bukhari. Shah thanked the Rangers, the Sindh police and the divisional and district administrations for the arrangements.

Niaz Stadium

The chief executive regretted that he could not keep his promise that he made last year of arranging any PSL match to be played at Hyderabad’s Niaz Stadium.

“Actually, the condition of the Niaz Stadium is quite critical and it needs major overhauling and renovation,” he said, adding that the government could not undertake the repair work due to financial constraints, but the stadium will be revived soon for future matches.