Amid doubts over its withdrawal from the ICC World Cup 2023, the Ministry of External Affairs has said it is “reviewing all aspects” of Pakistan’s participation in the 50-over mega-event in India this year.
Despite the end of the deadlock over the venue of the Asia Cup 2023, there are still doubts about Pakistan’s participation in the World Cup 2023 to be held in October-November.
India’s insistence on Pakistan hosting Asia Cup 2023 hung in the balance for over a month, as it refused to visit the country for the regional cricket tournament. In response, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) threatened to withdraw from the World Cup 2023 scheduled in India.
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) earlier this month green-lighted the PCB’s hybrid model for the Asia Cup, while the Ministry of External Affairs said Pakistan’s participation in the World Cup was under review. Is.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan’s position is that “politics should not be mixed with sports”.
“India’s policy of not playing cricket in Pakistan is disappointing,” Baloch said in Islamabad on Thursday.
“We are observing and evaluating all aspects related to our participation in the World Cup including the security situation of Pakistani cricketers and we will present our views to the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) in due course.”
Doubts over Pakistan’s participation mean that dates and venues for the World Cup are yet to be confirmed with just three months to go before the tournament begins.
It should be noted that the Man in Blue has not visited Pakistan since 2008 due to strained relations between the two countries. The last bilateral series between the arch-rivals was in 2012, when Pakistan toured India for limited-overs matches.
Since then, the two countries have only played each other in multi-team competitions at neutral venues over the past decade.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was among the foreign ministers who traveled to Goa, India to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting last month, the first senior Pakistani leader to visit India in nine years.
