Felicitation richly deserved:

Hail the hero, Khalil thanks God

Chris Dhambarage and Sampath Bandara

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in collaboration with the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited yesterday paid tribute to Meher Mohammed Khalil who was at the wheel in the coach that drove the Sri Lankan cricket team towards safety at the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore when it came under terrorist fire on March 3.

Week long holiday

Khalil and his wife were felicitated by Sri Lanka Cricket and the Pakistan High Commission of Colombo along with the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited who invited him for a week long holiday in Sri Lanka following his selfless act of heroism.

His entire stay in Sri Lanka will be borne by the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited under the patronage of its Chairman and Senior Journalist Bandula Padmakumara who also attended the felicitation ceremony along with ANCL Director Finance Shan Shanmuganathan, Director Legal and Administration Rasanga Harishchandra and General Manager Abhaya Amaradasa.

Khalil also received special cash awards from Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel (Rs. 500,000), Taj Television (US $ 2500), Sri Lanka Cricket (US $ 10,000) and the Ministry of Sports and Recreation (Rs. 500,000).

These presentations were made by the Chairperson of Sri Lanka Telecom and Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel Leisha de Silva Chandrasena, Suren Amarasekera, Mark Benson of Taj Television Limited, former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardena and the present Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara.

Emotional

An emotional Khalil said that the Sri Lankan people are quite friendly and he feels very much as if he is in Lahore or in any other part of Pakistan. He also reminded that before March 3 there was only one person called Khalil but now there are more than 16 million Khalils who are willing to guide the Sri Lankan team while expressing Pakistan’s willingness to host their neighbours in the future.

Khalil thanked God for providing him the strength and the courage to perform this act of heroism and save the Sri Lankan cricketers from total disaster.

The Minister of Sports and Public Recreation Gamini Lokuge commended the brave act of Khalil while considering him as a hero of all time. The Minister also reminded the close relationships that exist between the two countries and the support provided by Pakistan to gain Test status in 1981.

The Minister further reminded the incident in which the former High Commissioner of Pakistan was saved by the Sri Lankan armed forces following a terrorists attack in Colombo in 2006.

He stated that on the field too Pakistan have been a great friend and recalled the 1996 World Cup where teams from India and Pakistan visited the country when some of the other teams refused to play in Colombo.

Meanwhile the Chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket D. Somachandra de Silva stated that Meher Mohammed Khalil was able to save the entire nation through his quick thinking and action.

“If the unexpected happened the consequences would have been beyond redemption. However you saved our cricketers from a serious repercussion for which we as a nation salute you in the warm and friendly style best known among all Sri Lankans”

Pakistani hero

“Not only you are a hero to our nation I think you are a true Pakistani hero and to the cricket loving public of the World”. De Silva also commended the efforts of President Mahinda Rajapaksa whose prompt action, support and commitment that helped the Sri Lankan team to arrive home safely, even when he was out of the country.

De Silva also thanked the Minister of Sports and Recreation Gamini Lokuge who acted calmly from the moment the team was attacked by the terrorists in helping the SLC to get the players back home on the same day.

De Silva said that it is important to forget this dreadful incident and look towards to the future with great hope. “Sri Lanka and Pakistan always had a warm and friendly relationship over the years.

But let us leave this incident behind us as Sri Lanka look forward to an even a stronger bond between the two nations.”

Skipper Mahela Jayawardena said that in the beginning they did not know much about Khalil as the players were initially getting medical treatment in the dressing room. But once they had realised his brave act they were able to meet Khalil at the Air Force Base in Lahore from which point they were airlifted to Colombo on a special flight.

Family members

Also present at this occasion were Presidential Advisor A. H. M. Azwer, Secretary to the Minister of Sports and Public Recreation S. Liyanagama, Secretary SLC Nishantha Ranatunga and many national players and their family members and relatives.