Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Information, Ata Tarar, has sharply criticized the International Cricket Council (ICC) for what he described as a ‘selective’ and ‘biased’ statement concerning the deaths of three Afghan cricketers.
Both the ICC and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had previously issued condolences on Saturday, October 19, 2025, after three Afghan cricketers were killed in an aerial attack in Afghanistan’s Paktika Province. Notably, neither statement made any reference to Pakistan.
These expressions of sympathy came after the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced its decision to pull its team from an upcoming tri-series scheduled in Pakistan for the following month.
In response, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) later confirmed that Zimbabwe would replace Afghanistan in the tri-series, which also features Sri Lanka.
“We unequivocally reject and condemn the ICC’s statement, which unfairly implies that three Afghan cricketers were killed in Pakistani strikes,” Mr. Tarar declared in a statement released on Sunday, October 19, 2025.
He further accused the ICC of failing to independently verify the Afghan board’s allegations before issuing a statement that pointed to a Pakistani attack.
The Minister emphasized that Pakistan has long been a victim of terrorism and called upon the ICC to retract or amend its statement.
“It is perplexing,” he added, “that merely hours after the ICC’s statement, its Chairman, Jay Shah, echoed the exact same sentiments on his social media, with the Afghanistan board then following suit with similar remarks.”
Mr. Tarar concluded that the Afghanistan board had made these statements “without presenting any real evidence.”
Prominent Afghan cricketers, including stars like Rashid Khan and Gulbadin Naib, had previously condemned the aerial attack and the resulting deaths in forceful terms via their social media accounts on Saturday, October 18, 2025.
Mr. Tarar also cited recent events, such as the widely discussed ‘no-handshake’ incident during the last Asia Cup, as further evidence of a potentially biased stance against Pakistan cricket.
“This situation gravely undermines the ICC’s perceived independence and its commitment to an unbiased approach,” he asserted. “An international sports governing body should refrain from endorsing controversial claims that have not been thoroughly verified.”
He concluded by urging the ICC to maintain its independence and avoid making inflammatory statements based on external influence.