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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Sunday strongly condemned the International Cricket Council (ICC) for issuing a &ldquo;selective and premature&rdquo; statement regarding the deaths of three Afghan cricketers, rejecting allegations that Islamabad carried out airstrikes targeting civilians.&nbsp;In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Tarar wrote: &ldquo;Pakistan, a prime victim of cross-border terrorism, rejects the ICC&rsquo;s selective, biased, and premature comment that advances a disputed allegation.&rdquo;&nbsp;He added that &ldquo;the ICC has cited no independent verification to substantiate these claims,&rdquo; accusing the global cricket body of echoing unverified statements from the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and its allies to create an &ldquo;orchestrated echo chamber.&rdquo;&nbsp;The minister also questioned the ICC&rsquo;s neutrality, noting that Chairperson Jay Shah, who is Indian, had &ldquo;publicly echoed the same claim within hours.&rdquo;&nbsp;Tarar said Pakistan &ldquo;strongly rejects the characterization&rdquo; made by the ICC and called for &ldquo;an immediate correction.&rdquo;&nbsp;He warned that under its current leadership, the ICC had shown &ldquo;a pattern of avoidable controversies&rdquo; aimed at undermining Pakistan cricket, citing the recent &ldquo;handshake controversy&rdquo; during the Asia Cup as an example.&nbsp;&ldquo;Politics must not contaminate sport,&rdquo; Tarar said, urging the ICC to &ldquo;restore its neutrality, uphold fair play, and avoid becoming part of political narratives.&rdquo;&nbsp;Earlier this week, Pakistan carried out precision airstrikes in Afghanistan targeting what it described as terrorist sanctuaries used for cross-border attacks against Pakistan. The military&rsquo;s media wing said the strikes followed repeated warnings to Kabul.&nbsp;In response, the Afghanistan Cricket Board withdrew from a planned T20 tri-series in Pakistan, alleging that three local cricketers were killed in a Pakistani military strike in Paktika province.&nbsp;The ICC later expressed solidarity with the ACB and condemned the &ldquo;act of violence&rdquo; &mdash; a stance Pakistan dismissed as based on &ldquo;disputed and unverified claims.&rdquo;

Foreign Affairs

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar condemned the ICC for a “biased and premature” statement on Afghan cricketers’ deaths, rejecting allegations of Pakistani airstrikes and accusing the ICC of politicizing sport and lacking neutrality

Pakistan urges ICC to maintain neutrality after remarks on Afghan cricketers

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s security forces have killed more than 100 terrorists in a series of retaliatory actions along the Pak-Afghan border over the past 48 hours, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday.&nbsp;In a statement released on social media, Tarar said the operations targeted verified camps of the Gul Bahadur Group, referred to as &ldquo;Kharjis,&rdquo; located in the border areas of North and South Waziristan.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-2&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1979480479738028164&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Flogin%2F&sessionId=a3f53bc647d1e4e740203278c506b98829f51cc6&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 345px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" data-tweet-id="1979480479738028164"></iframe></div></div>The strikes came after terrorists based in Afghanistan attempted to launch multiple cross-border attacks during a temporary ceasefire. &ldquo;These attacks were effectively countered by our security forces,&rdquo; Tarar said. &ldquo;More than 100 Kharjis were sent to hell.&rdquo;&nbsp;He also confirmed that the Gul Bahadur group was behind a recent vehicle-borne IED attack in North Waziristan that resulted in the martyrdom of a soldier and the deaths and injuries of several civilians.&nbsp;The minister noted that in a follow-up operation, Pakistani security forces carried out precision strikes last night, targeting terrorist hideouts along the Pak-Afghan border, killing an estimated 60 to 70 terrorists, including key members of the group&rsquo;s leadership.&nbsp;The minister rejected claims circulating online that civilians had been targeted in the strikes, calling such allegations &ldquo;false&rdquo; and an attempt to generate support for terrorist groups operating from within Afghanistan.&nbsp;Tarar reiterated that Pakistan prefers a diplomatic resolution to cross-border terrorism, but reserves the right to act in self-defense.&nbsp;&ldquo;Pakistan sincerely believes that the path forward lies in resolving this complex issue of Indian-sponsored terrorism emanating from Afghan soil through talks and control of non-state actors by Afghan authorities. But we will not allow terrorists to operate from Afghan soil with impunity,&rdquo; he added.&nbsp;The comments come amid heightened tensions between Islamabad and Kabul over the presence of terrorist sanctuaries in Afghanistan and a recent surge in terrorist activity targeting Pakistani security forces and civilians.

Security

Tarar says the operations targeted verified camps of the Gul Bahadur Group, referred to as “Kharjis,” located in the border areas of North and South Waziristan.

Articles tagged with "Minister for Information and Broadcasting"

Pakistan urges ICC to maintain neutrality after remarks on Afghan cricketers

Pakistan security forces kill over 100 terrorists in 48 hours: Attaullah Tarar