Renaming Gaddafi Stadium

Gaddafi might have been a friend of Pakistan’s but acceding to Libya's request would be a goodwill gesture.

One of the several despotic regimes that were swept away by the revolutionary tides of the Arab Spring was that of Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi. The dictator, who ruled his country with an iron fist for 42 years, was ousted from power in 2011 after a rebellion and was killed soon after. With his removal from power, along with other great changes that have taken place in Libya, another possible change that is being talked about is the renaming of Pakistan’s largest cricket ground, the Gaddafi Stadium. The ruling Libyan National Transitional Council has unofficially asked Pakistan to rename the Gaddafi Stadium. This message was conveyed to the Pakistani embassy in Tripoli.

The Libyan dictator had enjoyed a warm friendship with former Pakistan prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and as a mark of that friendship, the erstwhile Lahore Stadium, was renamed after Gaddafi following a speech he gave at the second Organisation of Islamic Conference summit in 1974 in Lahore, where he supported Pakistan’s right to develop nuclear weapons.

The world is changing fast and so should Pakistan. We cannot remain stranded in a 1970s ideological time warp. Gaddafi might have been a friend of Pakistan’s but we have to move on and as a gesture of goodwill to Libya, acceding to its request will not be an unwise move. Pakistan is full of heroes who served the country diligently and their contributions should be accorded the recognition they deserve. In such a scenario, it would be advisable and appropriate to rename the country’s premier Test centre after someone who has served Pakistan cricket conscientiously. Stalwarts like Justice AR Cornelius, who was the true pioneer of the country’s cricketing structure, Pakistan’s first Test captain Abdul Hafeez Kardar and Air Marshal Nur Khan could be considered for this honour. Such a gesture would be a fitting tribute to the services that the true heroes of Pakistan have rendered for the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2012.