March 20, 2024
ISLAMABAD – After being snatched away from several fans at the entry gates and in the stands, Palestinian flags were finally waved in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and the symbol of protest against Israel’s atrocities in Gaza was carried freely at Karachi’s National Bank Stadium on Monday night.
The flags were carried by the players of Islamabad United — who won their third PSL title after beating Multan Sultans by two wickets in the final — in their victory lap right after the match, as the crowds rose to laud them.
The gesture comes after several incidents in which fans were disallowed from taking Palestinian flags and banners with messages of solidarity with Gazans into the stadiums.
A woman was intimidated by security officials in Lahore to let go of such banners during the early days of the ninth season of the PSL. Meanwhile, in Karachi, two videos went viral of police personnel snatching Palestinian flags from supporters who were displaying them in the stands.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had remained silent over the issue since it emerged on social media for the first time and its newly-elected chairman Mohsin Naqvi deflected it to provincial governments.
“Anything related to law and order is a subject of the provincial government, who are entitled to whatever action they may take,” Naqvi said when enquired about the incidents in a press conference during the final. “I can’t even direct the interior minister on how to go about it.
“We can discuss law and order, but I can’t give them a policy. It’s the province’s policy, I can’t intervene in it,” added the PCB chief, who is also the federal interior minister.
In contrast to Naqvi’s take on the issue, Islamabad United captain Shadab Khan did not hold back from expressing what the gesture of carrying Palestinian flags in the team’s victory lap meant to them.
“It was very important for us,” he said in the post-match presser. “All of us decided it together.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity that God gave us to do the things that we can do [about the Palestine issue].”
United’s gesture wasn’t too different from that of several sports fans in the world, who have officially recorded their protests by displaying banners and fans in arenas.
Such protests were seen during Scottish Premiership matches by Celtic fans last month and also in the recently-held Asian Cup in Qatar.