Presence of Pak teams in Bangladesh has civil society up in arms

The presence of Pakistan cricket and hockey teams on Bangladeshi soil has pitted the country’s civil society with a Minister as well as senior officials with key intellectuals demanding the removal of these figures for diluting 50 years of the creation of the country that was achieved through the defeat of Pakistan Army.

Bangladesh Muktijuddha Mancha (Freedom Fighters platform) staged a protest rally at Dhaka’s Central Shaheed Minar on Monday demanding the removal of state minister for youth and sports, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) chairman, and president of hockey federation for conspiring to dispute the existence and sovereignty of Bangladesh during the golden jubilee celebrations of independence in 2021.

The protest was organised in solidarity with the demands raised by 40 prominent citizens of the country. President of the organization Aminul Islam Bulbul presided over the protest rally conducted by the general secretary of the organization Md. Al Mamun. Retired Justice Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik of the Appellate Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court, journalist Abed Khan, political and security analyst Major General (Retd.) Mohammad Ali Sikder, Prof. Dr. Nim Chandra Bhowmik, Prof. Dr. Mamun Al Mahtab Swapnil, Prof. Dr. Uttam Kumar Barua, Barrister Turin Afroz, Kabir Chowdhury Tanmoy, Sculptor Shilpa Rasha and other prominent leaders were present.


Speaking on the occasion, Justice Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik said that during the celebrations of Bangabandhu's birth centenary and the golden jubilee of independence, the defeated forces of 1971 brought the Pakistan cricket and hockey team to Bangladesh. He demanded to cancellation of the Pakistan Hockey Tournament on December 16. “Pakistan, including the Pakistan Cricket Board must formally acknowledge and apologize to the people of Bangladesh for flying the Pakistani flag in violation of the flag law at the Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium in Mirpur. Otherwise, all diplomatic relations with Pakistan must be severed. General Niazi's nephew and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, the mastermind of the 1971 genocide, is trying to visit Bangladesh. We will not allow him to come to the land of independent Bangladesh. If necessary, We will carry out a strong program in front of the airport.

Barrister Turin Afroz said, "Recently, 40 prominent citizens of the country have demanded the resignation of the Minister of State for Youth and Sports, President of the BCB and Bangladesh Hockey Federation and an immediate apology from the Pakistan Cricket Board and their government." The BCB and the Hockey Federation have committed serious crimes by bringing the cricket and hockey teams of those who are still conspiring against Bangladesh to avenge their defeat in the 1971 war, he alleged.

Abed Khan said, "The most glorious month of Bengalis is the month of victory, December. I am amazed to see that in this month of victory our spirit of the liberation war, all our achievements are being tarnished. We see the country celebrating Father of the Nation Bangabandhu's birth centenary and independence."

Professor Swapnil said, "The Pakistan cricket team showed the audacity to fly the national flag of Pakistan at the academy ground in Mirpur in independent Bangladesh. It is not possible to say that they did not do it intentionally, because they have tried in various ways to show that Pakistan, the defeated power in '71, did not accept our independent Bangladesh even today and has done so in the past as well. I have seen Imran Khan's audacity in Bengal even in the last decade! The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) is completely silent! We are surprised to see the government's silence on this matter. "

Prof. Barua said, "The Pakistani flag has been flown in Mirpur in violation of the flag rules. The BCB has not yet taken any action against the Pakistan cricket team which is very shameful. Condemning and protesting. "

Rasha said, "I condemn the BCB for flying the Pakistani flag in Mirpur. Doesn't silence in such an incident indicate our weakness as a nation and timelessness in our consciousness? Is our consciousness so eroded and lost in the abyss of oblivion? There is no other place in the world where there is a more tragic lifelessness and bankruptcy than this. In this situation, we think that the Minister of State for Sports cannot avoid his responsibility, nor can the government avoid its responsibility. We strongly condemn the Minister of State for Youth and Sports, the Hockey Federation and the BCB and demand their resignation. "

Major General (retd) Mohammad Ali Sikder said, "This behavior of Pakistani cricketers is a clear violation of Bangladesh's state flag law and through this incident, Pakistan has deliberately and deliberately insulted Bangladesh's independence and sovereignty. We

Aminul Islam Bulbul, president of the organization, said, "We strongly condemn and protest against the flag-waving of defeated Pakistan in 1971 by violating the flag rules. We demand exemplary punishment for the Pakistani cricket team."


"According to ICC rules, the flags of the two countries are flown during the match. But this is the first time in practice that the flags of two countries have been flown during practice session. This is an unprecedented event in the history of cricket. The ICC and the BCB must be held accountable to the people of Bangladesh for such a heinous act. The perpetrators should be given exemplary punishment. It should be ascertained whether such incidents took place on the orders of Prime Minister Imran Khan, nephew of General Niazi, the mastermind of genocide in the Great Liberation War, to discredit the ongoing golden jubilee of Bangladesh's independence…We have not forgotten the atrocities committed by the Pakistani aggressors in 1971. It was in Mirpur that the Pakistani aggressors carried out infernal genocide, looting and rape in 1971. On the golden jubilee of independence, the allies of the Pakistani aggressors showed extreme audacity by flying the Pakistani flag in Mirpur which is extremely insulting for the great liberation war and Bangladesh. BCB chairman Nazmul Hasan Papon should be removed immediately for the silent role of BCB.”