KARACHI: Pakistan on Monday welcomed the Queen’s Baton Relay for next year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Having arrived from Seychelles, the Baton embarked on its three-day sojourn in Karachi for the Pakistan leg of its relay after it was handed over to Pakistan Olympic Association president retired Lt Gen Arif Hasan by Deputy British High Commissioner Martin Dawson during a ceremony at the British Deputy High Commission.

For the next two days, the Baton will be displayed at various locations across the city starting with the Sindh Madrassahtul Islam University and the Mausoleum of the Quaid-i-Azam on Tuesday before travelling to the Karachi Grammar School and the Kakri Ground in Lyari on Wednesday.

“The Baton has twice been to Lahore in the past but it’s the first time it has come to Karachi,” Arif, who also heads the Commonwealth Games Association Pakistan due to his role in the POA, told Dawn on Monday.

He said that the locations for the Baton’s display had been chosen due to their “historic significance”.

“Karachi is the city of the Quaid-i-Azam and so we’re taking it to the school of the Quaid [Sindh Madrassahtul Islam University] and his mausoleum,” he added. “The aim of such an activity is to project the country and we collectively decided that we needed to also portray the Quaid.”

On Monday, several prominent sports personalities carried the Baton including squash legend Jahangir Khan, hockey greats Hasan Sardar and Rasheed-ul-Hasan, and karateka Kulsoom Hazara.

The next destination for the Baton after Pakistan is the Maldives after which it will go to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India as it traverses South Asia.

The Queen’s Baton Relay is similar to the Olympic Torch Relay with the Baton carrying the message of the Queen to commonwealth countries. The message is read at the opening ceremony of the Games.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2021