O Woe! Pakistan loses World Cup Cricket Matches hosting

The International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Friday it had decided to move 2011 World Cup matches out of Pakistan due to security concerns.

The decision came at an ICC executive board meeting in Dubai with the international body saying it had acted after noting the "uncertain political situation" in Pakistan.

Expressing regret, Pakistan Cricket Board chairperson Ijaz Butt said, "It's a disappointing decision but it can't be helped."

"Nobody wants to play in Pakistan following the attacks in Lahore." Butt added, referring to the March 3 attack on the Sri Lankan squad in the city which killed eight Pakistanis and wounded seven Sri Lankan players and their assistant coach.

Pakistan were due to host 14 matches of the event, along with India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The country stands to lose 8 to 10 million dollars due to the cancellation.
Timeline follows:

...a huge blow to Pakistan, because cricket was the one area where Pakistan engaged with the world on equal terms; it was the strongest weapon in Pakistan's soft power arsenal.

"Pakistan is not a victim of terror. It is a victim of its own policies. The problem is not what is happening in Pakistan; it is what is happening to the rest of the world because of Pakistan."

...one has to be wilfully blind to ignore reality: the monsters which Pakistan's rulers – including the venerated Benazir Bhutto – created and nurtured have come back to consume the people of Pakistan. Repeated concessions to terrorist groups have not resulted in the recession of terrorism; they have only emboldened terrorists to carry out even more audacious attacks.

And as Mumbai demonstrates, if they are not contained within Pakistan, they will spread out and destroy the entire region.

To all those people who think that when you talk of Pakistan, you can automatically assume India and Indians will be out their bashing, abusing and blaming Pakistan on various world platforms, blogs and forum , you are wrong.

If Indians are shouting out Pakistans name in anger, it is because of the Mumbai attacks and the moral and material support Pakistan provides to various militant banned organisations in India.

Gandhi said "Do not hate the person who does wrong but hate the wrong in that person".

One way or another the terror infrastructure in Pakistan will come down now. We would have loved the terror infrastructure to be destroyed by the Pakistan Government (whoever it may be) but its not happening. So it will come down the other way. And when it does we Indians will hold no malice towards anything Pakistani.

In the Meanwhile, lets continue with "Pakistan got what it deserved". They really did, by the way.