Everything should be kept pending until Pakistan apologizes: Hamin Ahmed

Bangladeshi musician Hamin Ahmed has strongly criticized Pakistan’s military rule and behavior with Imran Khan after the incident of tension between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and British broadcaster Sky Sports came to the fore centring the broadcasting of the interview of the two sons of former Pakistani prime minister and former cricket captain Imran Khan, Suleiman and Qasim Khan, in the Lord’s Test against England. At the same time he has also newly brought up the matter of Pakistan’s formal apology for the genocide of 1971.

In a Facebook post given at noon Hamin Ahmed wrote, ‘Nothing has changed in Pakistan. Still the same story—military rule, and killing and oppression on the people of their own country’ on Saturday.

Pulling the context of Imran Khan he wrote, ‘The government led by the extremely popular and elected Imran Khan has been removed illegally. After that he has been imprisoned in jail, whose clear objective is to remove him from politics forever.’ Writing about Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir he wrote, ‘The consequence of this criminal activity of army chief Asim Munir and his associates will ultimately rebound on them like a boomerang—exactly as it had happened in Bangladesh too!’

His comment on Bangladesh-Pakistan relations has been discussed the most. Hamin wrote, ‘Bangladesh should also not consider Pakistan as a friendly country. They are not our friends; they only pretend friendship to implement their own interests and agenda.’ Pulling the context of 1971 he further wrote, ‘Besides, Pakistan’s formal apology for the genocide committed in Bangladesh in 1971 is also still pending. Therefore other all matters with them should also be kept pending until then.’

The origin of this comment of Hamin Ahmed has been the broadcasting of the interview of Imran Khan’s two sons Suleiman and Qasim Khan in the Lord’s Test. The interview broadcast on Sky Sports was taken by former England captain and current Sky Sports broadcaster Michael Atherton. In the interview his two sons expressed concern over Imran’s physical condition and also informed about the anxiety over their father’s life in jail. Concern over the health of Imran imprisoned in jail for almost three years has also come to the fore in recent times.

According to information of cricket-based website ESPNcricinfo, PCB filed a formal complaint against Sky Sports in protest of the broadcasting of this interview. The board had even thought of not sending the Pakistan team to the field after lunch on the first day of the Test by expressing objection. After contacting Sky Sports and expressing objection before the lunch break the broadcasting of the interview was delayed a little, however finally Sky Sports broadcast that 18-minute interview. At the time the interview ended the Pakistan players were preparing to return to the field for the second session and the Pakistan team took the field at the scheduled time.