Pakistanis find Beijing air ‘much cleaner’ than home

Karachi: As athletes from around the world complain about the Beijing pollution, Pakistani sportsmen training there for the Olympic Games are wondering what’s all the fuss about. “We find the Beijing air to be quite clean,” said Pakistan’s hockey coach Khawaja Zakauddin. There isn’t any unbearable pollution. In fact it’s much better as compared to back home,” he was quoted as saying by ‘The News’ Wednesday. Western media has been constantly bombarding China with stories claiming that Beijing is too polluted to hold the Games in spite of the fact that the hosts have spent a staggering $18 billion to make the city clean for the quadrennial spectacle. Pictures of some members of the US cycling squad that arrived in Beijing Tuesday wearing black respiratory masks were splashed by wire services. The cyclists were apparently concerned over reports of unhealthy levels of air pollution in Beijing. Such sights have become quite a routine in the lead up to history’s most expensive Games. IANS