Sri Lanka High Commission, Islamabad:

Felicitates Lahore 3/3 hero Khalil

Walter JAYAWARDHANA

Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Pakistan Air Chief Marshal Jayalath Weerakkody said in Islamabad that he wanted to congratulate Mehar Mohamed Khalil for having, first of all, the courage of saving himself from a shower of bullets of terrorists and then having the presence of mind to drive Sri Lanka precious cricket team to safety in the midst of immense danger of nightmarish rockets, grenades and gunfire.

Addressing Sri Lanka new envoy Weerakkody in Urdu, through an interpreter Khalil , acclaimed as the new hero of Pakistan, replied, I received all this courage from Almighty Allah and my mother. I am so honoured of having saved the Sri Lankan cricket team, the world so fondly loves.

The two men met at a function organised by the Sri Lanka High Commission to hand over travel documents and an invitation to visit Sri Lanka to Khalil who will be travelling to Sri Lanka during the first week of April for a week holiday with his family on an invitation extended by the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. Weerakkody told this correspondent that Khalil during his holiday will visit places, take part in a banquet hosted by the cricketers and meet the President ,Prime Minister and the Sports Minister of the country to receive their gratitude and presents.

The Sri Lanka High Commission in Islamabad organised the function for Khalil , who visited the mission with a friend. They also arranged 50 students of the Public School and College of Modern Ageat Abbottabad , about 200 kilometres from the capital city ,who wished to visit the Sri Lanka High Commission to express their sympathies to the Sri Lankan people and cricket fans, to take part in the function and meet Khalil.

The students brought a huge banner expressing their concerns with their signatures.

High Commissioner Jayalath Weerakkody said since the day of the terrorist attack the High Commission has been flooded with thousands and thousands of cards from Pakistanis , most of them hand made, faxes, emails and other messages that expressed the eternal bond of the two South Asian nations cemented by cricket.

When Khalil arrived at the High Commission the first question he asked was how was cricketer Samaraweera who was ailing with injuries of the attack. He was delighted to learn that he had already left the hospital.

High Commissioner Jayalath Weerakkody even before he presented his credentials, had to be active in the crisis. Since the cricket match was handled by the Provincial Punjabi Government, and Central Government was out of it and the provincial officials were too numb with shock not knowing what to do, it was Weerakkody, who used his old Air Force contacts, and with the permission of President Rajapaksa who was in Kathmandu, got the cricketers transported to the officers quarters of the Air Force Headquarters using a Air Force helicopter. Within three hours he flew from Islamabad to Lahore using a Pakistani Air Force plane to operate from Lahore. He said, the Air Force Headquarters is a hop step and a jump from the Air Port from where the cricketers were transported by a special plane sent by President Rajapaksa. For security reasons he wanted them to avoid road travelling.

He said the Pakistani Air Force did an excellent job in helping to send the cricketers home as soon as possible.