Sawt Falasteen - Proud Pakistan hails Champions Trophy as homecoming of cricket

The eight-team Champions Trophy launched in the southern city of Karachi with the home side facing New Zealand at a sell-out 29,300 National Bank Stadium.

Pakistan, a cricket-mad nation where the sport is played on almost every street corner, are the defending champions.

"Pakistan are unpredictable, they can surprise anytime," said 24-year-old Kashif Khan, queueing in the morning with his 5,000 rupee ($18) ticket.

Long lines snaked outside the stadium from four hours before the match, with a smattering of New Zealand fans outnumbered by hordes of chanting and flag-waving Pakistanis.

The Champions Trophy will take place in three cities in Pakistan, while India will play their fixtures in Dubai after refusing to visit its neighbouring arch-rival.

Among Karachi's population of more than 20 million, fans were adamant India would have been welcomed.

"If India were here I would arrange a trail of rose petals leading them to the stadium," Khan said. "We love the Indian team in the same way that we love the Pakistani team -- because it's all about cricket."

Pakistan last held a major international tournament as World Cup co-hosts with India and Sri Lanka in 1996.

Sofia Babar, 45, was in the stands in Karachi during that tournament. Queueing on Wednesday, she said: "I want my daughter to experience what I did all those years ago."

Security concerns in the years following the 9/11 attacks kept away international tournaments, then a deadly 2009 Islamist attack on a bus carrying Sri Lanka's team in Lahore scared off teams.

"It's my first international match," said Abdul Latif, 29, whose age matches the hiatus global tournaments have taken from Pakistan.

"I didn't want to miss it," he said, queueing with friends.

- Success, win or lose -

More than 6,000 police officers and paramilitary Rangers were deployed around the stadium -- in addition to 1,000 traffic police -- senior police official Muhammad Anwar Khetran told AFP.

The officer overseeing security at the front gate said fans went through three checks -- on roads leading to the stadium, at the stand entrance and each enclosure.

Although militancy is still a threat in Pakistan, the violence is nearly entirely limited to the remote border regions from north to south, far away from the stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi.

Cricket is deeply entwined in Pakistan's sense of pride and the return of a big tournament promises to boost the national mood.

"We want to show the world that Pakistan is safe," said 53-year-old Asif Majeed, a third generation Pakistani migrant who travelled from his home in Britain to watch the match.

"Win or lose, this event will do wonders for Pakistan's image globally."

The country's most loved cricketing legend Imran Khan, who led Pakistan to World Cup victory in 1992, is however currently locked up in prison for graft, charges that the former prime minister says are politically motivated.

Giant placards celebrating the Champions Trophy in Karachi display the gleaming trophy with the caption: "All on the line."

"Everybody's excited and expecting good cricket because it's happening in Pakistan," Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab told AFP.

But 65-year-old fan Muhammad Yaseen struck a far more relaxed tone. "We don't feel any tension," he said. "Our hearts are alive."

Among Karachi's enormous population there were minor gripes -- about road closures, onerous security measures and logistical problems buying tickets.

"There is also less work as people prefer to stay at home and watch the match," said Muhammad Arif, who works with a ride-hailing service.

"But I know how important it is for Pakistan's image, so it's a small sacrifice on the part of people like us."

Z.AbuSaud--SF-PST