Pakistan Accuses ICC of One-Sided Statement After Afghan Players Killed
Pakistan criticises the ICC for a “biased” statement on the deaths of Afghan cricketers, calling for a revision after Afghanistan withdrew from a tri-series.
Pakistan has criticised the International Cricket Council (ICC) over what it called a “biased” statement regarding the deaths of three Afghan cricketers in Paktika province, Afghanistan.
The comments came shortly after the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) withdrew from a tri-series with Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Information, Ataullah Tarar, said the ICC issued a “selective” statement that wrongly implied Pakistan was responsible for the tragic incident.
He claimed the ICC did not independently verify the allegations made by the ACB before releasing its message.
“The ICC failed to independently confirm the allegations and went ahead with a statement accusing Pakistan,” Tarar said.
He added that Pakistan has faced terrorism for many years and asked the ICC to revise its statement to reflect the facts.
The ICC, along with India’s BCCI, had issued condolences for the Afghan players but did not mention Pakistan.
Tarar expressed surprise that just hours after the ICC statement, its Chairman, Jay Shah, repeated similar remarks on social media, and the ACB used similar language in its announcements.
He also criticised the Afghanistan board for making claims without concrete evidence. Following the withdrawal of Afghanistan, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed that Zimbabwe would replace Afghanistan in the tri-series.
