Pakistan still has \u201cdeep concerns\u201d about security; no decision yet on Ahmedabad fixture vs India
\nISLAMABAD
\nPakistan cricket team will participate in the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup in India, the Foreign Office (FO) announced on Sunday, ending uncertainty over the team\u2019s participation because of the current state of ties between the two neighbours.
\n\u201cPakistan has consistently maintained that sports should not be mixed with politics. It has, therefore, decided to send its Cricket Team to India to participate in the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023,\u201d FO said in a statement.
\nThe decision was taken by the government on the recommendation of high-powered committee headed by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.
\nThe committee met on Thursday at the foreign office and linked Pakistan\u2019s participation with ICC providing foolproof security to its team.
\nThe Express Tribune first broke the story that the majority of the committee members were in favour of dispatching the team to India. Some members of the committee pushed for a hybrid model envisaging Pakistan to play its matches at a neutral venue.
\nThe proposal didn\u2019t get much traction as most members of the committee were of the view that ICC would never accept such a suggestion.
\nHence, the committee decided with consensus that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would write a letter to the ICC seeking firm guarantees of the team\u2019s security.
\nThe proposal was discussed with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who formally approved Pakistan\u2019s participation. Official sources said all stakeholders including the security establishment were on board and the decision to send team to India was unanimous. Meanwhile, the official readout explained the rationale behind Pakistan\u2019s decision.
\n\u201cPakistan believes that the state of bilateral relations with India should not stand in the way of fulfilling its international sports-related obligations,\u201d the FO said.
\n\u201cPakistan\u2019s decision shows its constructive and responsible approach vis-\u00e0-vis India\u2019s intransigent attitude, as the latter had refused to send its Cricket Team to Pakistan for the Asia Cup,\u201d it added.
\nThe statement, however, expressed deep concerns about the security of its cricket team.
\n\u201cWe are conveying these concerns to the International Cricket Council and the Indian authorities. We expect that full safety and security of the Pakistan Cricket Team will be ensured during its visit to India.\u201d
\nThe Cricket World Cup is scheduled to be played in India in October and November. The high-voltage cricket match between Pakistan and India will be played on October 14 at the world\u2019s biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
\nGujarat is the home state of current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pakistan still has \u201cdeep concerns\u201d about security; no decision yet on Ahmedabad fixture vs India ISLAMABAD Pakistan cricket team will participate in the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup in India, the Foreign Office (FO) announced on Sunday, ending uncertainty over the team\u2019s participation because of the current state of ties between the two neighbours. \u201cPakistan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":347532,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-347525","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n