Imran's bat sold for flood victims

A cricket bat the legendary Imran Khan played with to win the 1992 World Cup for Pakistan was sold for Rs.1.25 million to rehabilitate flood victims in the country's north.

The bat was sold after a special Pakistan Television (PTV) broadcast Saturday to raise funds for the flood affected in Rawalpindi, Islamabad and the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

The floods, the worst ever in northern Pakistan, have claimed some 210 lives and made 5,000 families homeless, besides causing widespread destruction.

PTV's marathon transmission, which started at 4 p.m. Saturday and continued till 4 a.m. Sunday, netted about Rs.15 million.

Imran Khan, who appeared in the programme, said it was the same bat with which he played the last tournament of his career - the 1992 World Cup.

"These are the last two things I have that remind me of cricket," Khan said, offering the bat and a pullover for sale. He said all other items from his kit were sold to raise funds for a cancer hospital he set up in memory of his mother.

The first offer for Khan's bat, Rs.100,000, came from Pepsi Cola. Later, several individuals and companies joined the bidding, taking the price to Rs.1.25 million.

The bat went to Lahore's Sheikh Mahmood Ahmad, who said he would pay the money to PTV and return the bat to Khan.

Besides donating the amount, Khan's political party, Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf, has set up relief camps in Rawalpindi and the NWFP areas of Dader and Buner.

Ahmad had earlier bought cricketer Javed Miandad's bat for Rs.1.15 million in 1998 when former prime minister Nawaz Sharif launched a fundraising campaign after the United States imposed sanctions on Pakistan following the 1998 nuclear tests.

The hockey sticks of Olympians Manzoor Junior and Islahuddin were sold for Rs.150,000 each. Cricketer Ijaz Ahmad's bat was bought for Rs.100,000.

Celebrities from the world of showbiz and sports were featured in the programme called "Baneyngey ham sahara" (We will be your support).

Special bank counters were established outside PTV centers in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar that continued to collect funds till the end of transmission.

Several people also donated in kind. A trader from Islamabad said he would provide 30 tons of iron bars for building houses. A politician from NWFP donated three truckloads of cement.

An announcer at the Islamabad PTV Center burst into tears while introducing a woman who donated all her dowry, including jewelry, to the fund, days ahead of her marriage.

Even children donated money from their piggy banks. "I collected this money to buy a bicycle but I think it's better to use it to help the flood victims," a nine-year said, dishing our Rs.2,000.

Indo-Asian News Service