Renaming Gaddafi Stadium
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 6th, 2012.
COMMENTS (6)
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Ghaddafi once a friend of the West who dined with Tony Blair in his tent gone as a result of Arab Muslim Awakening.
West and other in the world who supported dictatorships in the Muslim world at the cost of letting Muslims chose their own leaders and system stand ashamed!
That's a stupid request which should not be acknowledged at all. Totally illogical and nonsensical
AQ Khan Stadium. That should be the new name. That would respect the past when Gadaffi sought and got help from AQ Khan who, all said and done, is a true son of Pakistan since fleeing from Bhopal.
When the rest of the entire planet believe that someone is a brutal mentally unbalanced dictator -- you should take the hint.
Any of the above names in the editorial are fine and we should respect the will of the people of Libya. Initially Kaddafi might be a Pakistani friend or a nationalist populist leader but the absolute power went to his head and turned into a tin pot dictator after four decades of dictatorial rule. No human has a right to continue to rule his fellow citizens for so long without open and fair elections. It is an insult to many for keeping his name alive.
Anything but Benazir Bhutto Stadium or Sharif Stadium. Should be Imran Khan stadium the only captain to win us the worldcup, and im not even a PTI supporter.