Popular Pakistani sports journalist Sanaullah Khan, who, it is understood was forced to flee the country after a ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has made an impassioned plea after the kidnapping of his brother.
Sanaullah, when he was in Pakistan, criticised PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, also the country’s interior minister, many times for the way he was running the board. Soon after, he was banned by the PCB Director of Media, which meant he couldn’t cover matches from ground zero; which meant he couldn’t go to press conferences; which meant many big cricketing names in Pakistan, current as well as former, were not willing to work with him anymore.
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As a result, a frustrated Sanaullah, who is very popular on YouTube and other social media platforms for his call-a-spade-a-spade style of journalism, decided to leave the country for Dubai in the UAE.
The PCB continued to harass him there. During the Asia Cup in Dubai last year, which India won, in Sanaullah’s own words, “the PCB called the cricketing authorities in Dubai and asked them to deny me permission to cover matches. The local authorities said we are okay with your covering matches, but your country is not.”
What may have gone against Sanaullah was that he also made a lot of pro-Indian cricket content. He often praised the Indian cricket team no end, and credited the BCCI for the effective way it was running the game.
Shehbaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz urged to take action
Anyway, after the kidnapping of his brother, Sanaullah, now in Australia, has urged Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to look into the matter and help his brother, who had gone to school to pick up his kids when the kidnapping happened. Sanaullah didn’t go into the details, but it appears, going by his video on X, that he may have been forced to leave the UAE too.
“I request the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. Six hours ago, my brother was kidnapped. I am in Australia, and I don’t want to delve into the reasons for my travelling here.
“My brother had gone to the school to pick up his kids. When he was going to school, he was kidnapped. Six hours have passed since the incident. The police have reviewed the footage and traced one car. Nothing concrete has been found out about the incident. I urge the authorities to look into this matter,” said Sanaullah in a video shared on X.