Islamabad: Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday held India responsible for New Zealand's pull-out from the ODI series, saying the threat to the visiting side came via e-mail that originated in India.
Holding a press conference here with the Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed, the information minister said, "The email was generated from India through a VPN showing the location of Singapore."
The Information Minister also said that the West Indies cricket team, scheduled to arrive in December, too has received similar threats which he termed "fake".
Chaudhry apprised the reporters about the social media post that prompted New Zealand to abandon the series. The post, according to the minister, advised against playing in Pakistan to prevent a looming attack on the team.
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"The post stated that New Zealand cricket team should not go to Pakistan as Daesh would attack it," he said.
Pakistan has also accused India of terrorist activities on their soil recently which was rejected by India in July. India had termed the claims as "baseless propaganda" and asked Pakistan to set "its own house in order" as the international community is "well aware of Pakistan's credentials when it comes to terrorism".
"It is not new for Pakistan to engage in baseless propaganda against India. Pakistan would do well to expend the same effort in setting its own house in order and taking credible and verifiable action against terrorism emanating from its soil and terrorists who have found safe sanctuaries there," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in July.
"The international community is well aware of Pakistan's credentials when it comes to terrorism. This is acknowledged by none other than its own leadership, which continues to glorify terrorists like Osama Bin Laden as 'martyrs'," he said.
International cricket dried up in Pakistan as the region became a no-go zone for international teams after the terrorist attack at the Sri Lankan cricket team bus in 2009.
But the authorities have repeatedly claimed to have tightened up the security and taken adequate measures to revive the game since then which has been missed out by a generation of budding cricketers and lovers of the sport. And the recent withdrawal has riled up politicians and cricketers alike.
After New Zealand decided to abandon the series due to "security concerns", the England and Wales Cricket Board too followed suit, citing increased security concerns about travelling to the region. It also reasoned players' fatigue ahead of the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
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Firefighting a range of issues within the board itself and two high profile teams -- New Zealand and England-- now abandoning their tours, the development came as a huge reversal in Pakistan's attempt at reviving international cricket in the country that saw a ray of hope after the tours of cricket playing nations like Zimbabwe and South Africa.
