Karachi: The celebrations which had followed Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup win were relived here Tuesday as Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed was given a rapturous welcome here on his return from London with the Champions Trophy.
From the moment he came out of the Karachi International Airport here in the wee hours of Tuesday, hundreds of fans surrounded him and flooded him with flower bouquets as he was taken home in official protocol provided by the Sindh government.
Hundreds of fans stayed up late and followed Sarfraz’s car from the airport to his residence where the entire streets were lined up with people eager to get a glimpse of the trophy and Sarfraz.
The scenes were similar to those witnessed when Pakistani players returned home after winning the 1992 World Cup. But whereas 25 years ago the entire Pakistan team had returned home together, Sarfraz and pacer Rumaan Raees landed here while some of the other players reached their home destination.
Later on to comply with the demand of the fans, Sarfraz had to come out on the balcony of his home holding high the trophy as hundreds of fans lined up in the streets outside and near his residence.
The captain later told the media that the team’s victory in the Champions Trophy final was one of the most memorable moments of Pakistan cricket history. “I am happy we have already created a legacy and hopefully there will be more trophies to come,” he said.
Player of the tournament Hasan Ali and others including Fahim Ashraf, Babar Azam, and Ahmed Shehzad also got a big welcome when they returned home at the Allama International Airport in Lahore where provincial ministers led by the Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif were present.
Man of the match in the final, Fakhar Zaman also got a warm welcome when he landed in Peshawar. “It is a dream come true for me to get a century against India the first time I played against them and that too in a final. We had decided before the match we would play aggressively as that was the only way to beat the strong Indian side,” he told reporters.
15-yr-old boy killed in celebratory firing
“Papa, I’ve been shot,” were the last words of a 15-year-old Syed Hussain Raza Zaidi who died after being struck by a stray bullet from aerial firing as frenzied celebrations took place Sunday after the cricket team’s Champions Trophy triumph. The incident came to light only Tuesday when a section of the local media reported it.
As the nation celebrated Pakistan’s victory Zaidi fought for his life in an operation theatre at Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC) here. The country-wide jubilation turned into a day of mourning for Zaidi’s family, who lost their eldest son, due to the aerial firing in the name of celebrations for Pakistan’s victory, ‘The Express Tribune’ reported.
It was not an isolated incident as more than dozen people were reported to have been injured here as residents resorted to indiscriminate aerial firing. Several were also reported to have been hurt in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa area where Fakhar Zaman hails from.
Zaidi was standing on the balcony of his house and watching fireworks in the area when he told his father, “Papa some men holding guns are firing (now) that Pakistan are the new champions.”
Qazim asked his son to come inside and as soon as he turned to go in his room, he heard his son scream. “He (Zaidi) shouted ‘Papa, mujhe goli lag gai (Papa, I have been shot),” Hussain’s uncle, Syed Hassan Raza Zaidi said, narrating the boy’s last words.
Zaidi’s parents rushed their son to JPMC, but he had lost too much blood by the time they reached the hospital. “JPMC doctors started operating on Hussain, but he breathed his last at 2am Monday,” Hassan was quoted as saying by the daily.
It was a victory that Pakistan will remember, but for Zaidi’s family it will always be a day of bitter grief.
