No tour: Pakistan-Bangladesh series postponed
PCB says stay order aimed at straining Pak-Bangladesh ties.
DHAKA:
The Bangladesh cricket team cannot tour Pakistan at the moment, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officially informed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday.
PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf expressed displeasure over Bangladesh's decision and said that all the arrangements for the tour had been completed.
The announcement came after a Bangladesh high court ordered the national team's upcoming tour of Pakistan to be postponed for at least four weeks due to security fears.
A writ petition was filed in the Bangladesh high court challenging Bangladesh’s visit to Pakistan citing ‘grave security concerns’.
Additional Attorney General MK Rahman told AFP that the high court in Dhaka had ordered Bangladesh's cricket authorities to explain why the tour was scheduled to go ahead despite concerns over the team's safety.
"It asked the cricket board to explain in the next four weeks. During the four weeks, the court imposed an injunction on the cricket team's tour to Pakistan," he said.
The high court gave the order following a petition by a lawyer and a university teacher.
"We told the court that the Pakistan tour would risk the lives of our cricketers," Hassan Azim, lawyer for the two petitioners, told AFP.
"Pakistan is not a safe place for an international sports event. No other international teams are travelling to Pakistan. Why should Bangladesh go? The decision was imposed on the cricketers."
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Spokesperson Nadeem Sarwar said that the stay order issued by Bangladesh High Court is aimed at straining ties between the two countries.
International cricket was banned in Pakistan when Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked in Lahore in 2009 and Bangladesh will be the first Test-playing nation to tour the country since the attack.
The Bangladesh team had accepted Pakistan's offer to tour the country for a short tour consisting of one 50-over match and one Twenty20 International. Bangladesh cricket coach Stuart Law had expressed his reservations with Pakistan's security situation.
Pakistan, in efforts to revive international cricket, vowed to provide ‘presidential-level security’ to Bangladesh team during its tour and dispatched a 70-page security plan to International Cricket Council (ICC), according to a report by Cricinfo.
According to the plan, 2,000 policemen will be patrolling the route from the hotel to the stadium, and about 1,200 policemen will be present at the stadium when the team is there.
The Bangladesh cricket team cannot tour Pakistan at the moment, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officially informed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday.
PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf expressed displeasure over Bangladesh's decision and said that all the arrangements for the tour had been completed.
The announcement came after a Bangladesh high court ordered the national team's upcoming tour of Pakistan to be postponed for at least four weeks due to security fears.
A writ petition was filed in the Bangladesh high court challenging Bangladesh’s visit to Pakistan citing ‘grave security concerns’.
Additional Attorney General MK Rahman told AFP that the high court in Dhaka had ordered Bangladesh's cricket authorities to explain why the tour was scheduled to go ahead despite concerns over the team's safety.
"It asked the cricket board to explain in the next four weeks. During the four weeks, the court imposed an injunction on the cricket team's tour to Pakistan," he said.
The high court gave the order following a petition by a lawyer and a university teacher.
"We told the court that the Pakistan tour would risk the lives of our cricketers," Hassan Azim, lawyer for the two petitioners, told AFP.
"Pakistan is not a safe place for an international sports event. No other international teams are travelling to Pakistan. Why should Bangladesh go? The decision was imposed on the cricketers."
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Spokesperson Nadeem Sarwar said that the stay order issued by Bangladesh High Court is aimed at straining ties between the two countries.
International cricket was banned in Pakistan when Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked in Lahore in 2009 and Bangladesh will be the first Test-playing nation to tour the country since the attack.
The Bangladesh team had accepted Pakistan's offer to tour the country for a short tour consisting of one 50-over match and one Twenty20 International. Bangladesh cricket coach Stuart Law had expressed his reservations with Pakistan's security situation.
Pakistan, in efforts to revive international cricket, vowed to provide ‘presidential-level security’ to Bangladesh team during its tour and dispatched a 70-page security plan to International Cricket Council (ICC), according to a report by Cricinfo.
According to the plan, 2,000 policemen will be patrolling the route from the hotel to the stadium, and about 1,200 policemen will be present at the stadium when the team is there.