RAWALPINDI: The executive district officer for education of Rawalpindi has been tasked to sell 2,000 tickets for a fund-raising T20 match to be played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on July 18.

Even though the event may be for the good cause of raising Rs1 million for the internally displaced persons of North Waziristan, sources in the education department say teachers consider the Rs500 ticket being forced upon them as a very unsporting affair.

They said the district government had handed the tickets to EDO Education Qazi Zahoorul Haq to sell them to teachers and students of government schools in the district.

Teachers alleged that the EDO Office had been forcing them to purchase ticket for the match to be played under floodlight.

Teachers resent the unsporting aspect of raising funds for IDPs

“We are being forced to purchase tickets. This is not fair,” said Raja Shahid Mubarik, President Punjab Teacher Union, Rawalpindi.

He said earlier the government forced the teachers to deposit Rs3,000 for the IDPs.

“When we refused to surrender Rs3,000, the EDO Office is forcing us to purchase ticket for T20 match,” he said.

It is relevant to note here that the other day the EDO, while talking to Dawn, had confirmed that he had been directed by his seniors to collect Rs3,000 from every teacher.

However, due to strong resistance from the teachers, the office failed to make the collection.

On Monday, EDO Qazi Zahoorul Haq held a meeting with teachers’ representatives and told them that he had been directed to sell the tickets to students and teachers of Rawalpindi city schools.

Sources said the EDO had proposed that the schools be opened for three days to sell the tickets. However the teachers strongly rejected the move and said most of the students belonged to under-privileged families and Rs500 price for a ticket was too costly for them.

To this, the sources said, the EDO told the teachers that he was under pressure and they had to purchase the tickets.

He told the teachers’ representatives that he would sell the tickets to teachers through the heads of their respective schools.

Meanwhile, star players including Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar and Sohail Tanveer are expected to participate in the match. PML-N leader Hamza Shahbaz Sharif and Hanif Abbasi will also be attending the event.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the names of the Pakistan A team players who will take part in the match.

According to Manzhar Shah, Divisional Sports Officer, national player Nasir Jamshed, Sharjeel Khan, Samiul Islam, Babar Azam, Faisal Iqbal, Harris Sohail, Sohaib Maqsood, Fawad Alam, Anwar Ali, Bilawal Bhatti, Ahsan Adil, Raza Hassan Shah and Imran Khan (junior) will represent Pakistan A.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2014