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Queen’s Baton hosted in Lahore at Minar e Pakistan
Meri dua he ke Pakistani sportspersons aur youth Glasgow games mein kamyab houn” said by the Mrs Louise Martin, Honorary Secretary General of the Commonwealth Games Federation and the Vice Chair of the Organising Committee of the Game in his speech at QBR reception.
While the entire nation was busy celebrating Eid-ul-Azha, Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) led by Lt. Gen. (Retd) Syed Arif Hasan and his companions hosting to the Queen’s Baton along with its Team for the Commonwealth Games 2014 at Glasgow on October 16 and 17 at Lahore.
The Queen’s Baton – the Commonwealth Games’ equivalent of the Olympic Torch – is a prestigious affair in all the member countries. The Queen’s Baton was reached Pakistan as a part of 190,000 kilometers journey which makes whistle-stops in 70 countries and territories in all five continents over 248 days in a celebration of sport, diversity and peace, culminating at Glasgow at the opening ceremony of the prestigious Games on 23 July 2014 – the second largest sporting event after the Olympic Games.
The IOC member in Pakistan Mr Syed Shahid Ali’s and no official representative of Government of Pakistan was present in the ceremony.
The IOC member in Pakistan Mr Syed Shahid Ali’s and no official representative of Government of Pakistan was present in the ceremony.
The QBR was taken to Minar-e-Pakistan, Badshahi Masjid and Lahore Fort, and afterwards to a tour of the whole city of Lahore. the two generations of medal winners of the Commonwealth Games. The father, Abdul Ghafoor, won the Gold Medal in Weightlifting in the Edinburgh Games in 1970, while his two sons namely Ishtiaq Ghafoor and Abdullah Ghafoors won medals in the last edition of the Games at New Delhi also took part in the ceremony. He mentioned that his third son is now being prepared.
A most poignant moment came when during the speech at the ceremony Mrs Louise Martin, Honorary Secretary General of the Commonwealth Games Federation and the Vice Chair of the Organising Committee of the Games in her address spoke a few lines in Urdu: “Meri dua he ke Pakistani sportspersons aur youth Glasgow games mein kamyab houn”. Her thoughtfulness was much appreciated by the audience.
Gen. Arif, in his capacity as President Commonwealth Games Association, Pakistan as well as President POA addressed the ceremony. “The city of Lahore welcomes the Queen’s Baton. The Glasgow Games 2014 have a special significance for Lahore. Although separated by thousands of miles, the links between the two cities are strong, as many thousands of British Pakistanis live and work in Glasgow. These strong links were further cemented when Lahore and Glasgow officially became sister cities in 2006. It is for this reason that we chose the city of Lahore for the QBR. The Lahorites want to build on these links further by inviting Glaswegians through the QBR to be a part of the spirit of Lahore.
“The Queen’s Baton Relay offers an unparalleled opportunity to showcase our nation and our territory to the Commonwealth family. The QBR brings with it a message of peace. It also brings with it a message for the Youth – the leaders of tomorrow. It tells them to rise above for the development of humanity, for the development of the values so essential to mankind. So to our athletes, to our youth I say develop yourself, your passions, and your talents. Think what you would like to do with yourself, and set goals for yourself. Learn through sport and through sports develop in yourself the leadership qualities so essentially required for our tomorrow. You, are our tomorrow,” said the POA/CGA President
The ceremony was attended by a large number of Pakistani origin people and businessmen from Glasgow, including Mr Hamza Yousaf, who happens to be government of Scotland’s minister for external affairs and international development.
