ISLAMABAD: The spokespersons of various federal ministries, the National Assembly and Senate Secretariat and other departments had a busy evening on Sunday.

While the nation`s attention was transfixed to events unfolding in London`s Oval, public relations of ficers (PROs) and media directors across the capital were preparing statements to congratulate the Pakistani team on their unprecedented victory against arch-rivals India in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.

So trigger happy were the PR men that felicitation messages started pouring in even before the last Indian wicket had f allen.

Spokespersons of some ministries that Dawn spoke to said that statements to congratulate the national team on such occasions were `ready material` which all spokespersons used.

`There is an understanding between me and my boss (the minster) that I`m supposed to run statements after every important match and incident,` said the spokesperson of a ministry, requesting not to be named.

He said that today, with the advent of smartphones, it was no problem for a spokesperson to issue such `templatebased` statements with traditional platitudes within minutes of any event, be it a national tragedy or a joyous occasion.

Another PRO said that as per standard operating procedure, spokespersons are not required to get permission from their ministers before releasing such statements.

Sometimes, he joked, ministers came to know about the development af ter their statement is run by the electronic media.

Just as Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed took the final catch of the match, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa through his spokesperson Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor`s Twitter account shared his message of congratulations over Pakistan`s victory and announced that the green shirts would be sent on Umrah pilgrimage, as a reward for their performance.

In another first, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) chief even tweeted photos of the COAS watching the game with other of ficers, as well as images of jawaans celebrating the victory in various parts of the country.

The deluge of statements began pouring into newsrooms while the players were still in the field, celebrating their victory.

Although nothing was of ficially issued by the PM Office, a short video message from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was also circulated on social media on Sunday night.

Inter-Provincial Coordination Minister Riaz Hussain Pirzada, who holds the sports portfolio in the federal cabinet, issued a congratulatory message.

In addition, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Leader of the House in the Senate Raja Zafarul Haq, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah, former president Asif Zardari and Senator Rehman Malik were among those who also issued statements congratulating team Pakistan.

Whereas, cricketing hero and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf chief Imran Khan took to Twitter to congratulate the Pakistani team while mixing the cricket with politics: `Pakistan have defeated India to become #CT17 champions. Now, the whole nation awaits the defeat of the corrupt mafia,` he tweeted, a reference to the ongoing Panamgate investigations into the Sharif family`s holdings.