Pakistan has allowed Babar Azam-led green shirts to travel to India for participation in the ICC World Cup scheduled to start on October 5.
Pakistan will play its first match against the Netherlands on October 6.
“Pakistan 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”, stated a press release issued by Foreign Office on Sunday.
🔊: PR NO. 1️⃣6️⃣7️⃣/2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣3️⃣
Pakistan’s Participation in the Cricket World Cup.
🔗⬇️ https://t.co/FCfR33W68I pic.twitter.com/tT5fvIRUxv
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) August 6, 2023
It further stated that “Pakistan believes that the state of bilateral relations with India should not stand in the way of fulfilling its international sports-related obligations”.
“Pakistan’s decision shows its constructive and responsible approach vis-à-vis India’s intransigent attitude, as the latter had refused to send its Cricket Team to Pakistan for the Asia Cup”, the statement further reads.
The FO, however, has expressed concerns about the security of cricket team, saying that the ICC and India will be approached for ensuring foolproof security to the cricket team.
“Pakistan, however, has deep concerns about the security of its Cricket Team. We are conveying these concerns to the International Cricket Council and the Indian authorities. We expect that full safety and security of Pakistan Cricket Team will be ensured during its visit to India”, the statement reads.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had constituted a committee headed by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for taking decision on sending cricket team to India for ICC World Cup.
The other members include Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar, Information Minister Marriyam Aurangzeb, Minister for Inter-Provincial Harmony Ehsan-ur-Rehman Mazari, Foreign Secretary and heads of security institutions.
The committee met a few days back and decided to seek security guarantee from India before departure of the cricket team.
