In a huge blow, the New Zealand cricket team called off the Pakistan tour citing security concerns minutes before the first game was scheduled, in Rawalpindi. The New Zealand team, which visited Pakistan after 18 long years, claimed that the safety of the players was ‘paramount’.
The New Zealand’s unilateral decision has left cricket fans, players and PCB officials perplexed and disappointed. Following the incident, the England and Wales Cricket Board is now questioning whether they should send their team to the upcoming series with Pakistan.
Even Prime Minister Imran Khan was not able to convince his Kiwi counterpart that the team was provided head-of-state level security, intelligence agencies were working around the clock, and that there was no intel of any threats. In response, the New Zealand government said they had received information that once the teams would enter the stadium, there were chances of an attack taking place.
Still, considering that the NZ security experts were satisfied with the security preparations beforehand, it is hard to reconcile with the latest pullout. Newly-appointed PCB Chairman said New Zealand would hear the board at ICC, while Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has termed the incident an international conspiracy.
Regrettably, the effort that was invested in ensuring a successful Pak-NZ tour has now gone to waste. One is reminded of the horrific 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore which resulted in a decade-long drought of international sporting events in Pakistan.
However, after restoring peace Pakistan hosted successful tours of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and South Africa and entire Pakistan Super League (PSL). The sudden panic created appears to be a part of a similar conspiracy that aims to tarnish the image of Pakistan in a nefarious bid to turn it into a pariah state.
Apparently, Pakistani officials took the whole matter very lightly. Interior Minister tried to further inflame New Zealand by making an irresponsible statement even though the Islamabad police themselves acknowledged security concerns.
It is the right of Pakistan Cricket Board to take legal action in ICC, however, Pakistan should reanalyse the case before taking it to international forums as our own institution has acknowledged the security concerns. The Pakistani government too must push New Zealand to provide more information in order to better understand what exactly happened.
