KARACHI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) said talks were continuing to settle uncertainty around next year’s Champions Trophy, sources told AFP, after India refused to travel to host nation Pakistan.
The event’s fate has been hanging in the balance since earlier this month, when the ICC said India had declined to visit Pakistan for the eight-team tournament.
The nuclear-armed neighbors have fought three wars since being carved out of the subcontinent’s partition in 1947 and that rivalry is often reflected on the cricket field.
A meeting by the Dubai-headquartered ICC was held briefly on Friday but adjourned without a decision, according to several sources with knowledge of the talks who were not authorized to speak to media.
“All parties continue to work toward a positive resolution,” said one source, adding that “it is expected that the board will reconvene in the next few days.”
The Pakistan Cricket Board has previously ruled out proposals allowing India to play in a neutral third country, insisting the full schedule from February 19 to March 9 must be staged on their turf.
Another source said the “Pakistani stance remains the same” following Friday’s brief meeting.
ICC talks continue on fate of Pakistan Champions Trophy
https://arab.news/6zsny
ICC talks continue on fate of Pakistan Champions Trophy
- Event’s fate has been hanging in the balance since India declined to visit Pakistan
- ICC meeting adjourned without a decision but will reconvene ‘in the next few days’
Pakistani party announces countrywide protests on Friday against US-Israel strikes on Iran
- Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party chief urges Pakistan to withdraw from Trump’s Board of Peace body
- Calls for transparent probe into deaths of 10 protesters who stormed US consulate in Karachi
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani religious party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) announced it would hold countrywide protests against US and Israel’s aggression against Iran, calling on Islamabad to withdraw from US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace body.
Tensions have surged in the Middle East ever since Saturday, when US and Israel launched surprise airstrikes against Iran after months of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Iran confirmed on Sunday its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in the strikes, retaliating with drone and missile attacks against US military installations in the Gulf.
“The Jamaat-e-Islami chief expressed solidarity with the Iranian government and people and announced nationwide protests on Friday against what he described as US and Israeli aggression,” the JI said in a statement on Wednesday.
It quoted party chief Naeem ur Rehman as saying that the Board of Peace formed under the leadership of US President Donald Trump was a “sham.”
“He demanded that the Government of Pakistan immediately withdraw from the so-called Gaza Peace Board and urged both the government and opposition to openly condemn the US and Israeli attacks on Iran,” the JI added.
Rehman said it was necessary to defeat the “nefarious” plans of the US and Israel, warning that Israel could target Pakistan next.
The JI chief reiterated his demand for a transparent investigation into the killing of 10 protesters who had stormed the US consulate in Karachi on Sunday to protest Khamenei’s killing.
A Reuters report cited two American officials as saying that US Marines had fired at the demonstrators. However, the US officials said it was unclear whether rounds fired by Marines struck or killed anyone.
“The Jamaat-e-Islami chief appealed to protesters to remain peaceful and urged people from all walks of life to participate fully in Friday’s demonstrations,” the JI said.
The JI has regularly held large public rallies in Pakistan’s Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad cities against Israel for its military operations in Gaza.
