Overview:
The minister noted that Pakistan has endured terrorism for many years and called on the ICC to revise its statement.
Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Information, Ataullah Tarar, has criticised the International Cricket Council (ICC), accusing the body of issuing a “selective” and “biased” statement about the deaths of three Afghan cricketers.
On Saturday, both the ICC and India’s Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) expressed condolences over the deaths of the Afghan players who were killed in an airstrike in Paktika province, Afghanistan. However, the organisation didn’t make any reference to Pakistan in their messages.
The statements came shortly after the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced its withdrawal from a tri-series involving Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Following the withdrawal, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) revealed that Zimbabwe would replace Afghanistan in the tournament.
“We reject and strongly condemn the ICC’s statement, which falsely implies and suggests that the three Afghan cricketers lost their lives in Pakistani attacks,” Tarar said.
“The ICC failed to independently confirm the allegations made by the Afghanistan board and went ahead with a statement accusing Pakistan of the attack,” he added.
The minister noted that Pakistan has endured terrorism for many years and called on the ICC to revise its statement.
“It is surprising that just hours after the ICC’s statement, its Chairman, Jay Shah, echoed the same remarks on his social media, and the Afghanistan board also repeated similar language,” he mentioned.
“The Afghanistan board issued claims without providing any concrete evidence,” he concluded.