Don't treat Pak as terrorist nation: Aisam

Don’t treat Pak as terrorist nation: Aisam

First, they lost the match but won many hearts. Then he took the mike and sallied forth with some poignant verbal volleys.

Pakistan’s No 1 tennis player Aisam-ul Haq Qureshi went public with an issue that’s long dogged his countrymen, pleading with Americans not to treat Pakistan as a “terrorist nation” because of the actions of some extremists.

“Since September 11, every time I come to the States or western countries I feel people have the wrong impression about Pakistan as a terrorist nation,” Qureshi told a large crowd which turned up to see the US Open doubles final, which he lost along with his Indian partner, Rohan Bopanna, against the top seeded American twinsBob and Mike Bryan. “I just wanted to declare that we are very friendly, loving and caring people, and we want peace in this world as much as Americans and the rest of the world wants,” he added.

The crowd gave the foursome a standing ovation for an outstanding game, which the 16th seeded Indo-Pak pair lost 6-7, 6-7 after playing some tough and often brilliant tennis, although they blew the big points against their more experienced and higher-ranked opponents.

Throughout the tournament, the sub-continent duo attracted wide attention in the US media for their work in promoting peace between the two countries with the Wall Street Journal grandly declaring in its headline, ‘In Men’s Doubles Final, World Peace takes Center Court.’