New Zealand Cancels Pakistan Cricket Tour
Recently, New Zealand has canceled a scheduled Pakistan cricket tour, scheduled to be held from September till October. Reasons for the cancellation have not been disclosed. But it is obvious that New Zealand is unhappy with the way Pakistan has conducted itself on its soil.
They have consistently prevented the players and officials from touring Pakistan even when it was necessary for them to do so. It seems as if they are trying to push the New Zealand team away from playing in Pakistan. It appears to be a double standard, but it doesn’t make sense only because Pakistan is doing the same thing on their soil.
In short, the entire tour is now off the table. The reasons why New Zealand cancels Pakistan cricket tours are obvious. Either they are scared of terrorist activities in Pakistan or they are simply unable to secure enough security arrangements for the players, officials, and support staff. If there was any uncertainty about the safety of the tour, it is obvious that the government would have made security arrangements well in advance.
Reason for New Zealand Cancels Pakistan Cricket Tour
The truth is that the current administration in Pakistan is unable to handle the security threat posed by International terrorism or the instability in Baluchistan. Besides, the government there is unable to provide a timely response to the security threats or to restore the confidence of the citizens of Pakistan due to New Zealand’s consistent warnings about the risks of traveling to Pakistan.
The past record of New Zealand’s foreign minister John Key highlights his concern about security threats in Pakistan. As early as January, he had conveyed his fears to his counterpart in Pakistan and hoped that all possible efforts would be taken to prevent international terrorists from carrying out an attack on New Zealand or its citizens.
There is no doubt that New Zealand will miss attending the annual world cup tournament in Pakistan but the fact that the team management made a last-minute withdrawal from the tour shows that things are not going as planned between the two sides.
In this context, it is obvious that both the governments of Pakistan and New Zealand need to find a way to restore the normal relationship between their respective cricketing communities. Only then can they resume the previous level of cooperation that existed before all the problems in Pakistan and New Zealand took place.
As per a source close to the situation, the cancellation of the tour was done because of the security alert in Pakistan that was released just before the scheduled tour was to start. The security alert included multiple attacks on several places in Pakistan including the blasphemy case against the governor of Pakistan and an attack on the house of an Indian doctor in Karachi.
Despite the massive support from the Pakistan cricket fans and other supporters, the cancellation of the tour by the New Zealanders is viewed negatively by Pakistan cricket fans as well. They believe that New Zealand has failed to make the necessary improvements to the security situation in Pakistan and has not offered any guarantee for the safety of the players who had been scheduled to play in Lahore.
What is Future for both teams
The current political scenario in Pakistan is quite troublesome and worrying for cricket lovers. Lack of proper security arrangements, insecurity in Baluchistan and attacks on minorities have made fans of all ages scared. Therefore, it is natural for the teams to take the safer route rather than playing at a venue that is considered to be insecure.
However, things do not seem to have been improving for the players and their families who have to face many problems due to the political turmoil in Pakistan. Hence, if the New Zealanders want to resume their scheduled series with Pakistan in2021, they need to find ways to improve the security arrangements for the trip.
