Pakistan slams ICC’s ‘unverified’ statement on Afghan cricketers’ deaths in airstrike incident

Ata Tarar, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Information, has criticized the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) statement on the deaths of three Afghan cricketers as selective and biased. The International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) expressed condolences on Saturday for the killings of Afghan players in an aircraft strike in Paktika Province, but made no mention of Pakistan.

The remarks came after the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) decided to withdraw their squad from a tri-series set to take place in Pakistan next month. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) later stated that Zimbabwe will replace Afghanistan in the tri-series, which also includes Sri Lanka.

“We dismiss and condemn this statement by the ICC which gives the impression and makes claims that three Afghan cricketers were killed in Pakistan strikes,” Tarar said in a statement on Sunday as quoted by NDTV Sports.

“The ICC has not bothered to independently verify the claims by the Afghanistan board and issued a statement claiming a Pakistan attack,” he added.

The minister stated that Pakistan itself has been a victim of terrorism for years and urged the ICC to correct its statement.

Several Afghan cricketers, including stars such as Rashid Khan and Gulbadin Naib, strongly condemned the aerial attack and the resulting deaths in social media posts on Saturday.

“It is strange that a few hours after the ICC statement, the Chairman of the ICC Jay Shah repeated the same words on his social media account and the Afghanistan board followed with similar words. The Afghanistan board made statements without presenting any real evidence,” Tarar said.

Tarar also remarked that recent incidents, including the no-handshake episode during the Asia Cup, could be seen as evidence of a biased approach toward Pakistan cricket.