It’s safe to turn on the telly again: there’s some good news at last. Heart-wrenching images of suicide bombings, IDP camps and protests against electricity black-outs have dominated television screens for so long that we had almost forgotten that it could provide good, solid and healthy entertainment as well.
It all came flooding back though on the night of June 20, 2009, as Pakistan played Sri Lanka in the final match of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup. Many people stayed home, glued to their TV sets. Others invited friends and family to watch the game together. And at a time when gathering at public places is considered risky, large screen TVs were put up in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Men, women and children thronged the roads in the summer heat: counting each run, watching each ball, and praying desperately that their side would win.