Troubled Pakistan cheers World Cup victory

By Faisal Aziz

KARACHI (Reuters) - Troubled but cricket-crazy Pakistan celebrated on Monday victory in the Twenty20 World Cup 3-½ months after an attack on the Sri Lankan team appeared to drive a nail into the coffin of Pakistani cricket.

Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in the final at Lord's in London on Sunday to win its first major trophy since former captain Imran Khan's side won the 1992 50-over World Cup.

"It's time to cheer," said Sajid Bhanji, a dealer at stock brokers Arif Habib Ltd in Karachi.

His comments were echoed by the market, with the benchmark Karachi Stock Exchange 100-shared index up 0.66 pct by 11 a.m. (0500 GMT).

"We've had bad news all around for quite some time now and this victory has definitely resulted in a feel-good effect," said Bhanji.

"The market is all about sentiment and this has definitely helped change the mood, which was visible in the positive opening."

The KSE-100 index has gained about 21 percent this year, after a 58.3 percent drop in 2008. But it is trading about 12 percent lower than the highest level set this year.

Pakistan is beset by problems with the military battling an expanding Taliban insurgency in the northwest which has forced nearly 2 million people from their homes.