Pakistan news March 3, 2016 PCB threatens pulling out of World T20UMAR FAROOQ
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has threatened pulling out of the World Twenty20 if they did not get a clear message about the security situation from the Indian government. Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, called for India to publicly acknowledge Pakistan's participation in the tournament and to also promise full security to their cricket team.
No Plan B - Anurag Thakur
BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur is confident that the India-Pakistan match on March 19 will take place in Dharamsala. Thakur said that Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh had, on Wednesday, assured him that he would facilitate the staging of the marquee match of the tournament.
According to Thakur, Virbhadra assured him that he would speak to families of the martyrs who lost their lives fighting in the Pathankot terrorist attacks recently as well as in Jammu & Kashmir in the past. "I am very hopeful [of the match taking place]," Thakur said at a media briefing while announcing a BCCI tie-up with a sponsor in Delhi. "The meeting [with the CM yesterday] was held in a very positive atmosphere. The state government will also try and speak to those [families and few others] who have raised concerns. I am very hopeful of a positive outcome. The state government have to announce that the match is on. From the BCCI's side, the match is on," Thakur said.
Thakur pointed out that while he "condemned" the Pathankot attacks, it was not appropriate to mix politics and sport. Even though Virbhadra had sent a missive to the Indian Home Minister few days ago stating the Himachal government was not in a position to provide security for the match, Thakur said the chief minister had told him the state had an adequate safety mechanism in place. "I asked the CM that if there is a shortage of security personnel in HP, you can also take the help of the central government. But he has assured that the state has enough policemen to provide security," Thakur said.
Thakur made it clear that that the BCCI had no back-up plan or venue for the match. "There is no Plan B. It is anyway not easy to make changes at the last moment."
The Pakistan government had initially granted the PCB permission to play in India, but the board has decided to put the visit on hold until they are guaranteed foolproof security. The PCB's move was prompted after the Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh had expressed his state government's difficulty in providing security for the India-Pakistan clash in Dharamsala, on March 19.
"We have concerns and the threats are Pakistan-specific. Even now, the Himachal Pradesh chief minister has also said that they will not guarantee the security," Shaharyar said during a press conference at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. "We have been informing the ICC on a daily basis about these threats which is not encouraging for us.
"Although our government has already given permission, these latest threats need to be taken seriously. Political parties like Shiv Sena [threatened us], now even the Congress has also said they will not let us play along with some other groups. Those are the ones creating agitation."
It has been reported that Virbhadra, who heads the Congress government in the northern state, wrote to the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) saying that the match should not be played in Dharamsala. Virbhadra's concerns were regarding the prevailing local sentiment in Himachal over recent terrorist attacks in Pathankot, which lies close to the Pakistan border near the intersection of the states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir.
"We have told the ICC that there is only one step that the Indian government needs to take and that is to issue a public statement that they are ready to welcome Pakistan and ensure full security for our team, which hasn't come as yet," Shaharyar said.
"We have already been given permission [to travel] and we want to come, but we need reassurance and they should give a statement that will create a sense of security among us. I spoke to the BCCI and they are giving us a private assurance, claiming that it's all about internal politics, nothing else, and that Pakistan should come.
"But a public statement is important and it should come, as there are threats and we can see them. We have written to the ICC that they should come forward and we've asked the Indian government to assure us and give a statement. If they won't give the statement, then I see it's very difficult to go to India. There is no deadline in making the decision but we will have to monitor till the end and can even pull out at the eleventh hour."
Pakistan are currently in Bangladesh, where they failed to qualify for the final of the ongoing Asia Cup. They are set to return to Lahore on March 5. Nisar Ali Khan, Pakistan's interior minister, said that a report about the team's visit to India will be presented to the Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif after consulting with Shaharyar.
Umar Farooq is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent. @kalson
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