44th Chess Olympiad
AS soon as the Modi Government came to power, India’s opposition to Pakistan intensified. Modi is an active member of the extremist RSS and a follower of the anti-Muslim agenda of Hindutva.
On various forums, Modi spewed poison against Pakistan and threatened to destroy Pakistan. Modi himself proudly said this too.
He has told that his organization and he actively participated in the separation of East Pakistan from Bangladesh and massacred Muslims.
Sports establish friendship, peace and love between countries. Therefore, the rival countries should strengthen their friendly relations as sports so that the world can live in peace and tranquillity without war and controversy.
This is very important in the current world situation. When a team from a country comes to play in Pakistan, they get to know our culture and civilization.
Similarly, the country’s economy also grows through sports. Countries develop through sports and sports pave the way for peace.
We have seen that whenever tension arises in the relationship between Pakistan and India, an attempt is made to reduce the tension by using the term cricket diplomacy.
It is through sports that a country sees and knows another country. Through sports, countries are recognized at the global level.
Sports between rival countries are the only medium in which competition and instead of rivalry and war can be achieved.
Words of opposition are used in which the death of the opponent is not necessary for victory and the flags of the two opposing teams are raised at the same time and at the end of the game, showing sportsmanship, shaking hands, and encouraging each other.
Athletes are made ambassadors of peace, that’s why April 6 is celebrated by the United Nations to promote peace and development through sports in all countries of the world.
The Games of the Commonwealth of Nations, Britain’s independent neo-demographic organization, is also a global sports competition that began in the 1930s as the British Empire Games, which changed its name several times and was renamed in 1954 and named after the British Empire and Commonwealth Games.
After that in 1970, the name was again changed to the British Commonwealth Games. But after some time, it was also changed to the Commonwealth Games in 1978 which has remained till date.
Pakistan became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations in 1947 and participated in the Commonwealth Games for the first time in 1954.
That year, Pakistan won a total of 6 medals in the Commonwealth Games, including 2 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals- The people of Pakistan are grateful to their ambassadors of the peace who, despite the inevitable circumstances, made the name of the country known all over the world.
In a developing country like Pakistan, where there is an extreme lack of resources, people are suffering from poverty and inflation.
Where the society is suffering from political disturbances, internal chaos, and terrorism, such sports competitions and then the successes of Pakistanis in them are no less than a blessing.
In such competitions, Pakistani athletes become the identity of Pakistan around the world and a peacemaker of Pakistan.
India also made sports a global political arena and left no stone unturned in making the sports field in Pakistan desolate, the attack on the Sri Lankan team in Pakistan is the biggest proof of this.
Last year the England and New Zealand teams had to cancel their tours of Pakistan due to emails sent from India.
While the hearts of the fans were hurt, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had to bear millions of dollars in losses.
While India continues to vilify Pakistan for terrorism around the world. Relations between India and Pakistan worsened especially when Prime Minister Modi’s government ended the special autonomous status of Kashmir under its administration last year and handed it over directly to the federal government.
Currently, the 44th Chess Olympiad is being held in Chennai, India from July 28 to August 10, but India has given a political colour to the game, on which Pakistan has strongly condemned India.
Pakistan had been invited by the International Chess Federation to participate in the chess tournament in the Indian city of Chennai, for which the Pakistani team was already training, but India tried to politicize the event by politicizing the event’s torch relay passed through Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the torch relay passed through Srinagar on 21 July, ignoring the acknowledged disputed status on which India has deceived the international community.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Islamabad.
