A Pakistani minister on Sunday accused the International Cricket Council (ICC) of issuing a “selective, biased” statement on the deaths of three cricketers in Afghanistan, claiming it was presented without any real evidence.
This comes a day after ICC chairman Jay Shah and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) condoled the death of three promising cricketers in Afghanistan who lost their lives in an airstrike in Argun and Barmal districts of Paktika province. without mentioning Pakistan in their respective statements.
The governing bodies reacted after the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) decided to withdraw its team from the tri-series in Pakistan next month.
The Pakistan Cricket Board later announced that they would replace Afghanistan with Zimbabwe for the tri-series, which also includes Sri Lanka.
Here is what the Pakistani minister had to say:
Pakistan’s federal information minister, Ata Tarar, said his country rejects and condemns the ICC statement, which he said “gives the impression that three Afghan cricketers were killed in attacks on Pakistan”.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Tarar said: “The ICC did not bother to independently verify the claims of the Afghan council and issued a statement claiming it was a Pakistani attack.
The minister said that Pakistan itself has been a victim of terrorism for years and demanded that the ICC correct its statement.
“It is curious that hours after the ICC statement, ICC Chairman Jay Shah repeated the same words on his social media account and the Afghan council followed suit with similar words,” he said.
“The Afghan council made a statement without presenting any real evidence,” he added.
Several Afghan cricketers, including stars like Rashid Khan and Gulbadin Naib, condemned the airstrike and subsequent deaths in strong terms through their social media posts on Saturday.
Tarar said recent events, including the no-handshake episode at the recent Asia Cup, could be taken as a biased approach towards Pakistan cricket.
“This seriously raises questions about the independence and impartiality of the ICC. The international sports governing body should not promote a controversial claim that has not yet been verified,” he said.
“The ICC should remain independent and avoid making controversial statements about inciting others,” he said.
