Key points
- No independent verification of airstrike claims
- Islamabad accuses ICC, ACB of echo chamber
- Cites pattern of controversies targeting Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan, a prime victim of cross-border terrorism, has rejected what it described as the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) “selective, biased and premature comment” that advances a disputed allegation that three “Afghan cricketers” died in an “airstrike.” The ICC, according to Pakistan, has provided no independent verification to substantiate these claims.
Pakistan’s Information Minister, Attaullah Tarar, noted a “troubling pattern of amplification without any attempts at evidence gathering.” He pointed out that “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.”
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…
— Attaullah Tarar (@TararAttaullah) October 18, 2025
“Pakistan strongly rejects the characterization and contests the ICC’s claim and call for immediate correction,” he said.
Avoidable controversies
He added that the 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 reached. “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,” he stated.
Pakistan reiterated that “politics must not contaminate the sport, especially cricket,” and urged the ICC “to uphold its independence and the spirit of the game.” He further called on the council “to 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.”
