International Community Urged to Support Educational Projects for Deprived Afghan Children; General Richards, Toaha Qureshi MBE

International Community Urged to Support Educational Projects for Deprived Afghan Children; General Richards, FIRD Chairman Toaha Qureshi MBE

The Forum for International Relations Development sponsored the Afghan Appeal Fund (founded by Lady Caroline Richards) Day of Cricket at Burton’s Court, aimed at raising funds to build a school in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan for boys and girls. The AAF has been building schools for years and are now on their 11th school. With over 150 dignitaries in attendance on the day and the weather holding up, the day was a riveting success.

Speaking at the event, FIRD Founder Chairman Toaha Qureshi MBE said that he is supporting the building of a new school in Afghanistan to help develop the infrastructure of the country and give young children a chance of survival by educating them and inspiring them to be more than just the victims of the Afghan war. He went on to urge the British government and military officials to ensure the developmental work, with the continued support from overseas communities, to promote the peace process within Afghanistan – which is sure to help bordering Pakistan to tackle violent extremism and become even more positive voices in the international scene.Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Sir David Richards, whilst speaking to FIRD, assured that we would not be “pulling out” from Afghanistan, but would be there for years to come supporting politically and economically. The aim is to get to a point where they don’t need support and the NATO and Western forces are no longer needed. Using sports as a common ground, CDS Gen Richards said that cricket can be used to bring people of different faiths together, in particular the nations of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the UK together and that it was a natural linking mechanism between them. He congratulated the efforts of FIRD Chairman Toaha Qureshi MBE saying that he is a huge supporter of the community development work being carried out and it links well with the work being done internationally .

Chief of General Staff (CGS) General Sir Peter Wall, speaking on the exit strategy from Afghanistan, he echoed CDS Richards in saying while we will be leaving Afghanistan we will continue to provide support in development and training. To build on relations, CGS Gen Wall has been arranging cricket games between the British Army and Pakistan Army to foster openness. This, he hopes, will continue in the future with different sports, like athletics, and between the womens teams as well. He congratulated the overseas commuity in providing the much needed support to people pursuing a normal life in places like Afghanistan in areas such as schooling to broaden the charitable bases in South Asia. He applauded the determination of Mr Qureshi saying that he should be proud of what he is doing as he is setting a great example in raising the awareness on such issues.