Pakistan has strongly criticized the International Cricket Council (ICC) for what it terms a "biased" statement about the tragic deaths of three Afghan cricketers in Paktika province. The comment came on the heels of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) withdrawing from a tri-series involving Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Federal Minister for Information, Ataullah Tarar, stated that the ICC's statement was selective and falsely implied that Pakistan was responsible for the incident. He emphasized that the ICC failed to independently verify claims made by the ACB before releasing its statement.
“The ICC did not confirm the allegations and issued a statement blaming Pakistan,” Tarar noted. He added that Pakistan has been a victim of terrorism for many years and urged the ICC to reconsider its statement.
The ICC, along with India's BCCI, expressed condolences for the Afghan players but notably did not include any mention of Pakistan in their statements.
Furthermore, Tarar expressed astonishment that shortly after the ICC's initial remarks, Chairman Jay Shah echoed similar sentiments on social media. He also criticized the ACB for making accusations without concrete evidence. Following the pullout of Afghanistan from the series, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed that Zimbabwe would replace them in the tri-series.