“I want to say something on behalf of all Pakistanis!"- A Paki in New York

The US duo might have won the U.S Open final, but Aisam definitely won the crowd, and respect of millions.

Every time our nation is in a state of total despondency and hopelessness, something happens to make us hold our heads high and be proud of our homeland.


Pakistan’s Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi delivered his message of love and peace loud and clear, and it had nothing to do with tennis, or even the US Open doubles title for which he put his heart and soul but didn’t succeed. 

After the final on Friday afternoon, the 30-year-old Pakistani star tennis player took the microphone and addressed the estimated 15,000 at Arthur Ashe Stadium, probably the biggest crowd to watch a Grand Slam doubles final and made sure the moment wasn't lost.

“I want to say something on behalf of all Pakistanis,” he said following Friday’s 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) defeat to the Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike. “Every time I come here, there’s a wrong perception about the people of Pakistan. It is the wrong perception that Pakistan is being a terrorist country,” he told the crowd and the millions of people watching the final on television around the world.

“We are a friendly, loving, caring people and we want peace as much as you guys want it. May God love us all.” 

Later, Aisam expanded on what he had told the crowd. “There are extremists in every religion, but just because of them you cannot judge the whole country as a terrorist nation. I just wanted to get this message across as a Pakistani.” 

Aisam, Rohan, Mike and Bob Bryan pose with their trophies and Pakistani and the Indian flag are visible among several U.S flags.

The crowd jampacking the stadium responded by giving him a standing ovation and tears to Bob’s eyes. His doubles partner, Rohan Bopanna of India, stood by him. Together, they’ve formed the politically charged tandem known as the Indo-Pak Express. U.N. ambassadors from Pakistan and India—Abdullah Hussain Haroon and Hardeep Singh Puri, respectively sat side-by-side in the President’s Box, the second straight match they’ve attended together, cheering the same unexpected struggle their team brought to the greatest doubles team of all time, the Bryan brothers. 

The 16th-seeded Qureshi and Bopanna followed up their run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals with five wins in Flushing, the venue of U.S. Open tournament.

“They’ve proven that when Indians and Pakistanis get together we can raise fire,” Ambassador Haroon said. “I think on a people-to-people basis, they’re setting an example that the politicians should follow.” Prize money and rankings were never a motivating factor, Aisam said, only good news for his flood-stricken countrymen and a platform to express his message of American misunderstanding. 

He also defended the decision to build a mosque near the World Trade Center site. “For me, as a Muslim, that’s what makes America the greatest country in the world - freedom of religion, freedom of speech,” Aisam said. “If the mosque is built, I think it’s a huge gesture to all the Muslim community out there in the world. I would really appreciate it.” 

Aisam said he understands the reasons for sadness on 9/11 and that he accepts that it is when he comes to the U.S. that he has the most trouble with immigration checks. He said he had been stopped at airport immigration “every time” in New York - three hours at a time - including after his latest 15-hour flight for the Open. 

Aisam also said, “My parents are watching in Pakistan, and I love you all.”  

It was unusual that Ashe Stadium was nearly full even at noon, when the match started. “I could see a bunch of Indians and Pakistanis out there at 10:15 when we were warming up,” Bob Bryan said. “I was looking around and I’m like, ‘We’re not going to have this whole crowd on our side for sure.’” 

He also said Aisam’s statement to the crowd choked him up. “I could see him,” Bob said. “He was quivering a little bit. He was very choked up. Just to give that message to everyone was very heartfelt. What they are doing is a lot more important than winning the U.S. Open.” 

Added Mike, “A sport can bring people together. You know, these guys are going to be great for the game for a long time.” The Bryans said they are planning two fundraisers in the next month to raise more money for Pakistan flood relief.

The Champions and Runners-up of U.S Open Men's Doubles.

Aisam-ul-Haq, the bright young Pakistani tennis player, has given the nation a reason to smile this time around. Not only did he bring us honour and recognition by entering the finals of the US Open, but the way he held his ground and defended his nation is what makes him a true national hero.

No amount of diplomacy could have achieved what this tennis player did with a few simple sentences that were free of any intention of point-scoring or personal agendas.

Our political leaders should follow the example of this brave player who defended the honour of his nation on and off the turf. Keep the flag flying high, Aisam, the nation is proud of you.

Pakistani Soccer Fame-men

Even, though Pakistan seems to be an unknown name when it comes to football. But,there comes no doubt from the fact that "Green Shirts" lack no talent in making a mark in this sport as well. Despite, a par average record in football as a team, the Pakistanis were still able to exhibit their unique individual skills to the world. Many of our "Pakistani Proud Diaspora" generation has been a regular part of power house clubs in Europe & Asia. Below, are mentioned some huge soccer-names from Pakistan, who are waving the nation's pride in various corners of the world :-

 Zesh Rehman

Captain Zesh Rehman playing for Bradford City

Zeshan "Zesh" Rehman  is a British Pakistani football defender who plays for Bradford City. He was the first British Asian to start a Premier League match and is the first to have played in all four divisions of professional football in England. He also plays for the Pakistan national football team and was the first Pakistani international footballer to play professional football in England.

Fulham's Zesh Rehman challenges Didier Drogba of Chelsea during a match

He started his career at Fulham and made a total of 21 league appearances. During his time at Fulham he had loan spells at Brighton & Hove Albion and Norwich City. In 2005 he switched allegiances to Pakistan from England. A transfer to Queens Park Rangers followed and he went on to make 46 appearances for the West London-based club. During his three year stint there he went on loan to Brighton & Hove Albion, Blackpool and Bradford City. The third transfer of his career involved him moving to Bradford on a free transfer in June 2009.

Former Gunners Captain Thierry Henry & 'Pride of Pakistan' Zesh Rehman in a quest for the ball 

So far Rehman has made eight appearances for the Pakistan national team and has participated in the World Cup 2010 qualifiers. Outside of football he is known for being an ambassador for Kick It Out, the Asian Football Network and the Show Racism The Red Card campaign. In addition to this he has appeared on BBC Radio 1Xtra and writes a blog for Setanta Sports.Rehman has said that, his "sole purpose in trying to be a success as a professional footballer is to inspire other Asian players to follow my lead and achieve their goals."He is an ambassador for the Asian Football Network (AFN), a grassroots community-led initiative designed to support and facilitate the development of grassroots Asian football in the UK.  He has also worked with the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) to try and increase the number of British Asians taking up a career in professional football, and has attended meetings with the PFA in order to achieve this goal. In January 2007 he took part in the London 'One Game' initiative held at The FAheadquarters in Soho Square, London. He has also been involved in the Show Racism The Red Card campaign and he has taken part in Chelsea's "Search for an Asian Star" campaign. On 12 July 2008 he took part in the Islam Expo event at the Olympia exhibition centre in West Kensington, London, a four day event whose primary purpose was to build bridges between Britain'sMuslim communities and the rest of society. Rehman took part in a panel giving feedback from his own experiences about the positive use of sport.

English Legend Alan Shearer finds hard to escape from the clutches of Zesh Rehman

Adnan Ahmed

A product of Man Utd Youth Academy, Adnan Ahmed for Huddersfield Town

Adnan Ahmed is a professional footballer who plays in the Hungarian top flight for Ferencvárosi TC. Ahmed is a British Asian of Pakistani descent. Because of his Pakistani parentage he was eligible to represent Pakistan at an international level.

Initially part of Bury youth academy, as well as a two year stint at Manchester United Academy afterwards, Adnan chose to join Huddersfield Town where he turned professional.

Despite making a few appearances for the club in league and cup competitions since turning professional, Ahmed's career has been hampered by persistent injury troubles.

Ahmed has the unfortunate distinction of being the very first player to be sent off at the Keepmoat Stadium, the new home of Doncaster Rovers. He was shown the red card for a two footed challenge on Rovers' Mark McCammon, the scorer of the very first goal in the stadium during Huddersfield's 3-0 defeat on 1 January 2007.

In January 2007, Ahmed went to Lincoln City, who had shown an interest in him, on a one week trial with Huddersfield manager Peter Jackson saying "It will be a good experience for him and will hopefully make him appreciate what he's got here". However, no deal was done between the clubs and as a result the player returned to Huddersfield. On May 9, 2007, he was released from the club.

England's Joe Cole stands beside Adnan Ahmed of Pakistan

On 25 May 2007, it was announced that Adnan had joined Tranmere Rovers side on a free transfer, becoming manager Ronnie Moore's first summer signing of 2007. He made his debut coming on as a substitute in the 2nd half at home in a 1-1 draw with Yeovil Town on 1 September 2007. However, competition for places in midfield saw him make just five further appearances during his debut season with the club.

Because of lack any real first team opportunities, Adnan went on loan to Conference National side Mansfield Town at the end of October 2008, making his first team debut in a 2-0 defeat away to Torquay United on 1 November 2008. He became an instant hit with the Mansfield fans scoring a penalty in the 3-0 win against Salisbury City, also scoring a diving header against Weymouth to set up a 2-1 victory.

In National Colours

Following his return to Tranmere, he joined Port Vale on trial. He went on loan to Vale on 21 January 2009. Ahmed opened his account with the Valiants by scoring the match winner in a 2-0 win at Macclesfield Town on February 25, 2009. He returned to Tranmere in late March after Vale manager Dean Glover rejected the opportunity to extend his loan, despite impressing fans with his performances.

In July 2009, having impressed coaching staff during pre-season trial matches at Hungarian team Ferencváros TC, Adnan Ahmed signed a two year deal with the team to play in Hungarian National Championship I. He played his first competitive game for the team in a 2-0 win over Diósgyőri VTK in the 2009-10 Hungarian League Cup on July 29, 2009.

Shabir Khan

Shabbir Khan for Worcester City

Shabir Khan  is an English-born Pakistani international footballer who plays for Worcester City, having progressed through their youth system.

Khan was called to represent the Pakistan national football team for the SAFF Cup 2009 inBangladesh in December 2009.

Playing for National Team

Amjad Iqbal

A 'lethal sprint' by Amjad Iqbal

Amjad Iqbal  is a professional footballer who plays for Bradford Park Avenue. He has been capped by Pakistan.

Born in Bradford, England, Iqbal started his career at youth level with Bradford City before moving to local non-league club, Thackley in the Northern Counties East Football League and signed for Farsley Celtic in 2002.

Iqbal helped Farsley achieve three promotions in four years, the last promotion being in the 2006–07 season when they were promoted to the Conference National with Iqbal as club captain. Iqbal played 20 consecutive games for Farsley in their 2006–07 promotion season in which they finished in fifth place in the Conference North and beat Hinckley United in the play off final to earn promotion to the Conference National. He has twice won the Farsley Player of the year award. He remained with Farsley until March 2009, when he rejoined his former manager Lee Sinnott at Bradford Park Avenue.

During the match

Reis Ashraf

Young Reis Ashraf for Buckingham Town

Reis Ashraf  is an English-born Pakistani international footballer who plays for Buckingham Town in the United Counties League Division One. Ashraf played for Pakistan in all three of his country’s group matches against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bhutan in the SAFF Championship 2009 in Bangladesh, scoring in the team's 7–0 victory over Bhutan.

Duing a match in progress

Atif Bashir

Atif Bashir in-chat with the referee 

Atif Bashir Qureshi is a German Turkish-Pakistani footballer, who plays for Barry Town in the Welsh Football League First Division.

Born to a British Pakistani father and a Turkish German mother, Atif could have theoretically played for Germany, Turkey, any of the British Home Nations, as well as Pakistan.

Although initially part of the 2008 AFC Challenge Cup squad, he could not join the team because of his Pakistani passport had not been made yet. Few months later, he made his International Debut for Pakistan in the 2008 SAFF Championship against the Maldives then encountering India and Nepal in the first round.

Atif had spent seven years as a youth in professional clubs such as Hertha Berlin and Cardiff City.

Adam Karim

Adam 'Luke Docker' Karim playing for FC United of Manchester

Adam Luke Docker is an English-Pakistani footballer. He currently plays for FC United of Manchester. In 2007 he was called up for Pakistan, where he used the name of Adam Karim.

Born to a Pakistani father and English mother, Karim began his professional football career with Bury, later joining Altrincham for a few months but then joined Bangor City in the 2005-06 season. He was released at the end of the 2006-07 season despite being a fairly impressive performer. He joined Chorley, but in September 2007 linked up again with his former Bangor manager Clayton Blackmore when he joined Porthmadog. At the same time he was playing for Rochdale club Asia F.C.

He parted company with Porthmadog in 2008. In late 2009 he was playing for Canaries FC in the Lancashire Evening Post Sunday football league and captained them to victory in the Asian Community Cup final held at Stamford Bridge.

In February 2010, he joined Salford City but after a short period asked to be released and subsequently joined FC United of Manchester.

Away from football he is Director and Co-Owner of Rosso Restaurant on King Street in Manchester.

Celebration after a goal

Muhammad Essa

Essa in action in a match against Asian Giants Japan

Muhammad Essa Khan  is a Pakistani footballer playing currently for KRL FC. The striker is also the captain of Pakistan national football team and is one of the most talented football players Pakistan has seen in recent times. He can be used as a playmaker particularly in support of a striker, or a genuine centre forward because of his ball holding and passing skills. He is also a left-footed free-kick specialist. Essa has become one the most well known faces in Pakistani football, due to his regular goal scoring at international level.

Hand-Stitched Footballs - Pride of Pakistan

Soccer or football is the most popular sport in the world. And for many reasons, this means great economic opportunity. Pakistani footballs, of course, have a long history of being kicked around in Football World Cup tournaments.

From the iconic Telstar (which was the first designated official game ball, at the 1970 Mexico World Cup and then at the 1974 World Cup in Germany) to the even more iconicTango (the official ball of the 1978 and 1982 World Cups in Argentina and Spain), and even at the last World Cup in 2006 in Germany, hand-stitched, high-performance from Pakistan - really from Sialkot - have been the preferred choice for Adidas, the official providers of match balls to the FIFA World Cups.  

Sialkot made headlines all over the world for its very high quality footballs. As per an estimate approximately 80-85% high-quality hand-stitched inflatable balls production of the world originates from Sialkot. The local football industry earned $164 million in export earnings in the financial year 2009. 

The most successful sports manufacturing firms now have international collaborations with the well-known sports brands like Adidas (Germany), Puma (Germany), Nexo Sports (Canada), Nike (USA), Dita (UK), Mikasa Sports (Japan) and Slazenger (UK). In the recent past, however, lack of modernisation and allegations of child labour usage have resulted in a loss of market share to the new entrants in the business like Thailand, Korea and China. A workforce of 85,000 was employed to produce 60 million balls per year worth $210 million. In Fifa World Cup years the demand for stitched balls rises by 70 per cent. Consecutive governments however, ignored this industry and failed to plan ahead to tackle the growing competition from China, India and Japan.

For a long time this vital industry also faced criticism from European countries and especially from United States with allegations of using child labour. The Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry took prompt measures to curb child labour from the soccer ball industry in accordance with the Atlanta Agreement signed with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Unicef in February 1997.

It is estimated that some 93 per cent of child labour was progressively eradicated from this vital industry and necessary steps were taken to provide social protection to children and their families. The children who were associated with this industry were provided with good schooling. The vital steps taken by the soccer manufacturers and exporter were highly praised by the then United States President Bill Clinton in the address at the ILO convention at Geneva in June 1999.

The Sialkot football industry has been contributing millions of export dollars to the national kitty but in the year 2006 the industry's share in the international market took a significant hit with the entry of new players in the market, notably China and India. Manufacturers from these countries were able to supply balls at a much cheaper rate.

According to industry sources, local soccer ball manufacturers have been able to grab around 30 to 40 per cent of the total orders floated globally for the upcoming Fifa World Cup. This is a sharp decline from the 70-80 per cent bagged during the 1998 and 2002 World tournaments. The local football industry earned $164 million in export earnings in the financial year 09, as against an average of $221 million per annum earned during financial years 2005-08. Power and gas shortage are not making it any easier for the industry, and sources say that a number of business have failed to meet deadlines which has dented their reputation.

Technology was also a major factor in tilting the balance against the local industry. The penetration of machine-made balls hit the Sialkot hand made stitched soccer industry.

And in the present scenario of fast growing globalisation hand-stitched balls will not be able to compete with machine-made footballs. It is important that the local industry moves forward and embraces new technology to meet the needs of the international market.

Industry sources also say that China has received large export orders of footballs from a number of countries ahead of the June 2010 Football World Cup. Pakistan Sports Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association is rightly concerned over this state of affairs.

According to Arif Mehmood Sheikh, a former chairman (PSGMEA) the shift of a large number of orders to China should serve as an 'eye opener' for every one. He said that the factors behind the diversion of export orders to China was a combination of rising cost of production and inability to meet deadlines, which in turn were caused by rising POL prices and unreliable power supply. This has made it difficult for Sialkot exporters to compete with manufacturers in China, India, Nepal and Thailand.

With the government looking for new avenues to bridge the fiscal deficit and the trade deficit, it is very important that measures be taken to build upon the advantages that Pakistan holds in the global market, and not allow others to encroach upon them. The Sialkot exporters have urged the government to come up with some sort of trade related package to stop the diversion of football export orders through the Trade Development Authority, likewise enforcing suitable measures to encourage the export of hand stitched fooballs.

Outdated manufacturing techniques still in use by the local industry is a major hurdle in enhancing exports. This industry for its survival is in dire need of advanced technology and early provisioning of skilled labour. The Sialkot manufacturers and exporters have realised that in the event of a change in the global trend from hand stitched balls to mechanically stitched balls they will also need to make the shift.

In order to cope with the menace of machine made balls, the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority has at put in place the final steps for the establishing of the Sports Industries Development Centre. It is expected that this project worth Rs435 million will enable the Sialkot sports manufacturing industry to adopt modern technology, without which there is no going forward.

Unlike the 2006 and previous FIFA World Cups, when Pakistan was represented in each and every game of the world's premier sporting tournament - in the shape of Pakistani manufactured footballs - Pakistan is missing in action at the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup in South Africa.