Stadium's name changes, its state doesn't

Express Tribune

23-03-2025

As the locals of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) continue their struggle of survival in a province with measly health and education facilities amidst a tense law-and-order situation, the ruling party has come up with an ingenious way of killing precious time. Instead of devising ways to introduce new endeavours for the betterment of the people, the administration has chosen to simply change the names of existing facilities.
Recently, the K-P government announced its decision to rename the Arbab Niaz Stadium to the Imran Khan Stadium. In 2006, the last international match at this stadium was played between Pakistan and India, after which it was rejected by the ICC due to its measly facilities. Even after the passage of 18 years, reconstruction work on the ground could not be completed. In this scenario, the K-P government's attempt at political rebranding has received immense backlash from critics.
Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, a former federal minister and central leader of the ANP from Peshawar, opined that the Arbab Niaz Stadium was a symbol of Peshawar's identity. "The politics of changing the name is not acceptable in any way. PTI could not build a stadium in the province during the past 13 years. If the name is changed today, tomorrow, when someone else will rule the province, they too will come up with a new name," warned Bilour.
Commenting on the matter, Mushtaq Afridi, a cricketer associated with the sport since the past 20 years, felt that if the Arbab Niaz Stadium had been reconstructed 10 years ago, today, new talent would have emerged in league matches, international cricket and the PSL. "The fresh batch of players could have become a part of the national team," claimed Afridi.
Similarly, Former PPP federal minister Arbab Alamgir was of the opinion that political parties should come together and unite to improve the law-and-order situation in K-P.. "At the moment, renaming the old ground in Peshawar will change regional politics. The K-P government should focus instead on governance," opined Alamgir.
Earlier, the Peshawar International Airport, which is officially known as the Bacha Khan International Airport, was also proposed to be renamed as the Imran Khan International Airport during the tenure of former Chief Minister Mehmood Khan. However, this decision was withdrawn after objections from political parties, especially the ANP. Similarly, the provincial government faced similar criticism for renaming the Nawaz Sharif Kidney Hospital in Swat.
Ghulam Ali, former Governor of K-P and the leader of the Peshawar-based central committee of the JUI-F, condemned the renaming of the Arbab Niaz Stadium. "The provincial government should bring new plans and projects to the province. Instead of changing the name of the existing stadium, a new international ground should be built, which will bring public recognition to the province," said Ali.
It is worth mentioning that Aleema Khan, the sister of the founder of PTI, claimed that Imran Khan was not in favour of changing the name of the Arbab Niaz Stadium. As of yet, the provincial government has not withdrawn the notification for the renaming however, the PPP has decided to go to court if this decision is not reversed.
Reportedly, the initial cost for the construction of the Arbab Niaz Stadium, which was to be built for 30,000 spectators, was set at Rs1.5 billion. This was later increased to Rs2 billion. Now, the K-P government has announced that the stadium will be completed by next month for the upcoming PSL matches.