Ehsan Mani advises Pakistan not to play against India at Dharamshala
PCB should take the threats of Himachal Pradesh government seriously, says Ehsan Mani.
KARACHI (Web Desk) – Former president of International Cricket Council (ICC) Ehsan Mani on Wednesday advised Pakistan not to play World Twenty20 match against India in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh on March 19.
In an interview to private news channel, Mani said that Pakistan cricket Board (PCB) should take the threats of Himachal Pradesh government seriously and should not compromise on the security of the players.
"I would advise the PCB to take these threats seriously. Because it involves the security of our players, officials, people and media who will go to India for the event," Mani said.
"If this match had involved the Australian team I am sure by now they would have pulled out of the match. They made their position on security for their players clear when they pulled out of the ICC Youth World Cup in Bangladesh earlier this year”, he added.
He said that officials along with players would not be safe in India.
ICC former president said that Pakistan showed flexibility in strengthening relation with India.
Earlier, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had criticised authorities in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh after they refused to provide security for an upcoming India-Pakistan World T20 tie, citing a January attack on an Indian army base.
Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said Sunday that the match should be moved to another venue out of respect for the "martyrs" killed in the assault by Pakistani militants on an Indian air force base in neighbouring Punjab.
Indian cricket board secretary Anurag Thakur accused the state of playing politics and said the country regularly provided security for Pakistani sportsmen and women.
Pakistan have already voiced concerns about security in India, saying there were specific threats from Hindu activists who forced the cancellation of a meeting between cricket officials from the two countries in Mumbai last October.
The South Asian arch-rivals have not played a bilateral series for more than three years amid diplomatic tensions.
Those were worsened by the January attack on the Pathankot airbase, which came days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi s surprise peacemaking visit to Pakistan in December.
The raid led to the postponement of peace talks between the nuclear-armed arch-rivals, with Modi urging his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to take "firm and immediate action".
