Pakistan, a prime victim of cross-border terrorism, rejects the ICC’s selective, biased and premature comment that advances a disputed allegation, as established, that three “Afghan cricketers” died in an “airstrike”. The ICC has cited no independent verification to substantiate these claims.
Pakistan strongly rejects the characterization and contests the ICC’s claim and call for immediate correction.
“We also note a troubling pattern of amplification without any attempts at evidence gathering. Within hours of the ICC release, its Chair, Jay Shah, publicly echoed the same claim on X, and the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) then posted a statement on the same lines, explicitly invoking the ICC’s claim rather than providing details or proof. This sequencing is an attempt at manufacturing an ostensible echo chamber.
“This episode follows a pattern of avoidable controversies under the ICC’s current leadership that have disproportionately attempted to affect Pakistan cricket, including the recent “handshake controversy” that delayed Pakistan’s Asia Cup fixture until a resolution was found. These incidents have eroded confidence in ICC’s neutrality. A global regulator must not appear to push any biased narrative, nor allow match-management controversies to recur.”
Pakistan has consistently held that politics must not contaminate the sport, especially cricket, and urges the ICC to uphold its independence and the spirit of the game. The ICC should abstain from definitive attributions, avoid certifying unverified claims on the behest of others, refrain from allowing certain actors to draw political mileage, and uphold even-handed standards irrespective of the nationality of office-bearers. Pakistan expects the ICC, led by its current Chair who happens to belong from India, to restore its neutrality, international standards of fair play and unbiased conduct and address the potential precedent, perhaps a global first that embroils a sport regulator in narratives linked to violent extremists.