PR No. 129 DINNER IN HONOUR OF THE NATIONAL CRICKET TEAM Islamabad

The Consulate General of Pakistan, Manchester and the Pakistani community hosted a reception dinner in honour of the visiting Pakistani Cricket Team in Manchester on 20 July 2016. ThePakistani Cricket Team is visiting Manchester to play the second Investec Test Match against England at Old Trafford Stadium.
The reception was attended by the Lord Mayor of Manchester Councillor Carl Austin-Behan, the Mayor of Rochdale, Faisal Rashid Mayor of Warrington, MP Yasmin Qureshi, MEP Afzal Khan, High Sheriff of Wigan, Lady and Lord Smith, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police Ian Hopkins, Chairman Overseas Pakistanis Foundation Amjad Malik, Chief Inspector Umer Khan and a large number of members of British Pakistani communities and cricket fans.
Welcoming the team, the Consul General, Zahoor Ahmed called them the national heroes of Pakistan and appreciated the superb performance of the team at the Lords cricket ground which has made every Pakistani proud. He said that the Pakistani cricket team has shown a true team spirit and through their excellence in sports has added to the positive image of Pakistan. Our cricket players have shown a great deal of discipline and sportsmanship and are role models for the youth.
Consul General Zahoor Ahmed congratulated the team on behalf of the Consulate and the Community on their historic performance at Lord’s test match and wished them best of luck for the upcoming matches. He also presented a memento shield to the Cricket team which was received by Captain Misbah Ul Haq. A short film on the annual Pakistan parade Manchester and a documentary on the history of Cricket in Pakistan were screened.
Speaking on the occasion, the Lord Mayor of Manchester appreciated the contribution of the British Pakistani community to the British society. He said that cricket is an important link between the two countries and the Pakistani cricket team’s visit to Manchester would further strengthen these linkages.
Speaking on behalf of the team, the Manager of the Pakistani cricket team, Intekhab Alam highlighted the absence of international cricket from Pakistan and said that it is high time that international teams should pay visit to Pakistan as we have achieved great success in the war against terror and Pakistan is a safe country to play cricket now.
The community was very excited to meet their national heroes and made most
of the opportunity by taking photographs and autographs with their favourite players. On this occasion, leading businessmen announced a cash prize of £10,000 on either getting five wickets or making 100 runs at the Old Trafford Test Match on behalf of the British Pakistani community.

 

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