Pakistan rejects ICC’s selective comment regarding Afghan cricketers' death in airstrike

Islamabad: Pakistan has rejected the International Cricket Council’s selective, biased and premature comment regarding the death of three “Afghan cricketers” in an “airstrike”.

In a post on social media platform X, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said Pakistan, which is 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”.

He said the ICC cited no independent verification to substantiate these claims. He said Pakistan strongly rejects the characterisation and contests the ICC’s claim and calls for immediate correction.

The Information Minister said 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 then posted a statement on the same lines, explicitly invoking the ICC's claim rather than providing details or proof.

Attaullah Tarar said this sequencing is an attempt at manufacturing an ostensible echo chamber.

He mentioned this episode follows a pattern of avoidable controversies under the ICC’s current leadership that have disproportionately affected Pakistan cricket, including the recent “handshake controversy" that delayed Pakistan's Asia Cup fixture until a resolution was found.

Attaullah Tarar made it clear that these incidents have eroded confidence in the ICC’s neutrality. A global regulator must not appear to push any biased narrative, nor allow match-management controversies to recur.

He said 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 Information Minister said 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.

He said Pakistan expects the ICC, led by its current Chair, who happens to belong to 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.