Bob Woolmer awarded Sitara-e-Imtiaz

[apuraja]

is this pakistan's highest civilian honor??? like the bharat ratna in india??

http://www.app.com.pk/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6448&Itemid=2

Bob Woolmer awarded Sitara-e-Imtiaz
Written by pub
Thursday, 22 March 2007
ISLAMABAD, March 22 (APP): The government on Thursday announced Pakistan’s prestigious civil award Sitara-e-Imtiaz (posthumous) for the late Pakistani Cricket Coach Bob Woolmer who died in West Indies on Sunday.

The President in a message to Mrs Bob Woolmer said “Pakistan Cricket shall, forever be indebted to his services and this nation will always remember him for the joys he brought into the lives of millions of Pakistanis.”

The President said the Government has decided to honour Bob Woolmer with the civil award of ‘Sitara-i-Imtiaz’ (posthumous)in recognition of Woolmer’s valuable contribution in the field of sports.

The President in message to Mrs Gill Woolmer said “It was with immense sorrow that I learnt the shocking news of sad demise—your illustrious husband Mr. Bob Woolmer.”

“The sudden passing away of the much respected and loved Coach of Pakistan Cricket Team deeply grieved me, just as it did the entire Pakistani Nation,” the President said.

“Please accept, on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Pakistan, our heartfelt condolence at this tragic loss. We all fully share your grief and stand beside you in your hour of distress.”

The President said “I had the pleasure of knowing Bob personally, we fond him to be a though professional and above all an excellent human being.

He was and honest, sincere, and warm hearted person who took pride in with he did.”

The President said “Bob’s reputation as a great cricketing mind, an excellent player and a trainer par excellence preceded him when he was brought in to coach the Pakistan Cricket Team.”

President Musharraf said with Bob Woolmer at the helm of coaching affairs, Pakistan Cricket Team enjoyed success with unprecedented consistency and the players gelled into a winning unit.

“I must admit that he did his job with great distinction and commitment. Pakistan Cricket shall, forever be indebted to his services and this nation will always remember him for the joys he brought into the lives of millions of Pakistanis.”

“We shall all greatly miss him. The Cricketing world and Pakistan, in particular, will find it extremely difficult to fill the void Bob’s death has left behind. May God rest his soul in eternal peace and give you and the family courage and strength to bear this irreparable loss with patience and fortitude.

 

[Fusion]

is this pakistan's highest civilian honor??? like the bharat ratna in india??

Not the highest award, but certainly one of the highest. I'm glad that Woolmer was recognized this way by the government. I think it would be a good idea to name a section of the National Academy building in Lahore after him (or perhaps a section of a stadium). His contributions to Pakistan were immense and can never be forgotten.

 

[Richard]

Great to hear. It seemed to be a popular proposition, glad it's come to pass.

 

[Sanz]

One day they call for your head, next day they crown you as the king, anything to get noticed in the public, that's what they are politicians of the subcontinent, selfish opportunists.

I dont think this is right. A better tribute for Bob would have been fixing the issues in Pakistan cricket, implementing a proper system in Pakistan. This country,arguably, has the best talent pool in the world, most exciting young talents, but no system to nurture/groom them. But that's a tough task, isn't it, Mr. Musharraf takes the easy populist route. All is forgotten, sure some heads will roll, but Pakistan Cricket is back to its normal ways.

 

[Richard]

One day they call for your head, next day they crown you as the king

It's called tragic death?

 

[silentstriker]

Yea, mixed feelings about this. Not that he did not deserve it, but he would never have gotten it if he had not died. Hell, he was likely getting fired after the WC. I agree with Sanz, fixing problems would be the much better tribute.

 

[PY]

One day they call for your head, next day they crown you as the king, anything to get noticed in the public, that's what they are politicians of the subcontinent, selfish opportunists.

I dont think this is right. A better tribute for Bob would have been fixing the issues in Pakistan cricket, implementing a proper system in Pakistan. This country,arguably, has the best talent pool in the world, most exciting young talents, but no system to nurture/groom them. But that's a tough task, isn't it, Mr. Musharraf takes the easy populist route. All is forgotten, sure some heads will roll, but Pakistan Cricket is back to its normal ways.

Were you born that cynical? Jeepers.

It's a nice gesture and I welcome it but I don't think it really papers over the cracks which are obviously still there in Pakistani cricket but then again, I'd say that wasn't the point of it because I'm not a cynic.

He probably wouldn't have got it if he was still alive but it's in recognition of what he did for Pakistan as he'll not get it in person any longer.

 

[Richard]

Were you born that cynical? Jeepers.

He's certainly always been that way on CW.

And no, that's not an attack, it's saying it as I see it.

 

[Nishant]

Yea, mixed feelings about this. Not that he did not deserve it, but he would never have gotten it if he had not died. Hell, he was likely getting fired after the WC. I agree with Sanz, fixing problems would be the much better tribute.

totally agree! Its good that he's getting this, but its too blatant that a publicity stunt is being put on!

 

[Fusion]

totally agree! Its good that he's getting this, but its too blatant that a publicity stunt is being put on!

I don't understand this logic. Yeah they were calling for his head the day before, but those were degenerates who aren't really representing the whole of society. Besides, you can honor a man for the sum of his contributions. Just because he was going to be fired, doesn't mean his overall contributions were not appreciated. Everyone eventually moves on in sports. Very rarely do people in sports leave on a high, this is specially true in coaching. In the case of Woolmer, there is no question that he had great success (along with failures) in Pakistan. Yeah the politicians are opportunist. Perhaps they are doing this just for the publicity. So what? It's a nice gesture, and one that the majority of people in Pakistan approve of. Of course it would be better to honor Woolmer by fixing the larger issues plaguing Pakistan cricket. I hope that new Chairman/PCB leadership do that as well. They would be wise to take advice given by the likes of Woolmer and other experts (Imran Khan for one). I just don't see why awarding Woolmer with this honor would be wrong or cause any harm.

 

[Sanz]

Were you born that cynical? Jeepers.

It's a nice gesture and I welcome it but I don't think it really papers over the cracks which are obviously still there in Pakistani cricket but then again, I'd say that wasn't the point of it because I'm not a cynic.

He probably wouldn't have got it if he was still alive but it's in recognition of what he did for Pakistan as he'll not get it in person any longer.

PY - Do you remember the names of last 5 Pakistani coaches ? Let me list some of them :- Miandad, Pybus, Miandad, Simmons, Intikhab. Do you think any of them are known/appreciated in Pakistan of their coaching exploits ? That's probably would have happened to Woolmer.

I dont have a problem with the award if they are awarded with some sort of sincereity, but these awards have become a joke in Pakistan and carry no respect as far as I am concerned, hence my views.

 

[Sanz]

I just don't see why awarding Woolmer with this honor would be wrong or cause any harm.

Because
a. Bob didn't, as Pakistan coach, deserve the award.
b. These awards have become a symbol of political swings and manipulations by the political party in power.

 

[Fusion]

PY - Do you remember the names of last 5 Pakistani coaches ? Let me list some of them :- Miandad, Pybus, Miandad, Simmons, Intikhab. Do you think any of them are known/appreciated in Pakistan of their coaching exploits ? That's probably would have happened to Woolmer.

I dont have a problem with the award if they are awarded with some sort of sincereity, but these awards have become a joke in Pakistan and carry no respect as far as I am concerned, hence my views.

Sanz - these coaches were nowhere near the caliber of Woolmer. They were a joke compared to him. So hence they are remembered poorly and get no accolades. I do not think the same fate would've fallen to Woolmer. Like I stated before, he may not have had the complete success everyone was looking for, but he achieved enough to be remembered fondly. As for the awards being a joke, that's your opinion and you are entitled to it. However, most civilian awards in the world are given at a whim of the politicians and usually are publicity events. Pakistan is no worse, or better, than other countries in this regard. I value these awards because they personally mean something to me. It doesn't matter what the true intention of the people giving these awards are. The awards signify respect to many people, like me, and I'm glad that Woolmer is being accorded this respect.

 

[Sanz]

FYI - I never questioned Bob Woolmer's caliber, everyone knows his caliber, I was talking about his achievements which aren't better than some of his predecessors. Besides You should read about Intikhab Alam's coaching credentials before calling him a 'Joke' as a coach. Javed obviously led Pak to a WC final. They may not have the professionalism or Drawing book Ideas of Woolmer, but they possessed things Woolmer didn't and they succeeded to a better extent than Woolmer.

 

[Richard]

However, most civilian awards in the world are given at a whim of the politicians and usually are publicity events. Pakistan is no worse, or better, than other countries in this regard.

Absolutely. Over here, obviously, cricket is rarely, as Matthew Engel so succinctly put it, "a vehicle for the Prime Minister to show how cool he is". It was, of course, in 2005 (and in the long-run that did more harm than good, along with being wholly questionable at the time) but mostly the thing's confined to footballers and football managers.

Civilian awards are rarely, on the part of the givers, anything more than a publicity stunt.

 

[Trigger_Tiger]

.....

Well-deserved indeed !!!!!

 

[Richard]

Didn't I say the same thing about 10 posts and 4 hours ago ?

You made it sound like such a thing was unique to Pakistan, or at least more prominent there than anywhere else.

I pointed-out that it was equally true everywhere. But I for one am not exactly keen on stripping our country of MBEs, OBEs, CBEs, Knighthoods and Peerages. Most people who get one are pretty damn proud, regardless of whether it's just a publicity stunt by the Govornment.

 

[Langeveldt]

One day they call for your head, next day they crown you as the king, anything to get noticed in the public, that's what they are politicians of the subcontinent, selfish opportunists.

I dont think this is right. A better tribute for Bob would have been fixing the issues in Pakistan cricket, implementing a proper system in Pakistan. This country,arguably, has the best talent pool in the world, most exciting young talents, but no system to nurture/groom them. But that's a tough task, isn't it, Mr. Musharraf takes the easy populist route. All is forgotten, sure some heads will roll, but Pakistan Cricket is back to its normal ways.

Totally agreed..

Perhaps if he had taken them to number 1, or performed some sort of miracle with their cricket, then maybe he'd be worthy of the award.. Had Woolmer not died in such shocking circumstances, he would have recieved nothing from the Pakistani government, surely thats not how it should be done?

 

[Richard]

And... he's been awarded it because of his tragic death? No?

I don't think anyone's shirking that fact.

 

[IndianByHeart]

One thing is clear, atleast all the Pak players and the PCB chairman (both present and past one) have/had (even b/f his death) more respect for BOb than previous Pak coaches like Pybuss,Miandad or Intikhab.