Pakistan concerned at anti-country banners, scuffles

RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday voiced ‘deep concern’ over what it described was the unruly conduct of certain spectators during the cricket match between Afghanistan and Pakistan played a day earlier on Saturday in England.

“The flying of anti-Pakistan banners, unruly conduct of certain group of spectators toward Pakistan team players, and scuffles during the Pakistan-Afghanistan World Cup cricket match are a matter of deep concern,” said a statement issued by Pakistan’s Foreign Office.

“Use of sports venues for such malicious propaganda is unacceptable. We expect all relevant authorities, both sports and law enforcement, to thoroughly investigate the matter and bring those responsible to account. The matter is also being taken up through diplomatic channels,” the statement said.

The FO statement came in the backdrop of certain incidents, televised on electronic and social media, involving groups of men in England who were apparently supporting Afghanistan’s cricket team and physically assaulting Pakistani fans before the cricket match.

The international cricket’s top regulatory body; the International Cricket Council (ICC), has said it will take action against any fans involved in scuffles before the Cricket World Cup match between Pakistan and Afghanistan at Headingley on Saturday.

“We are aware of some scuffles among a minority of fans and are currently working with the venue security team and the local police force, West Yorkshire Police, to ensure there are no further incidents,” a foreign news agency quoted an ICC spokesperson as having said.

“We do not condone this type of behaviour, and will take appropriate action against any anti-social behaviour that spoils the enjoyment for the majority of fans,” the spokesperson said.

Reports suggested that a plane was seen flying around the cricket ground, where the match was played, carrying the message ‘Justice for Balochistan,’ which drew a strong reaction from Pakistan.

The development involving attacks on Pakistan’s cricket team supporters apparently by Afghanistan team fans has ignited public outrage in Pakistan. Scores of Pakistanis have taken to social media to express their anger and have condemned the one-year extension in stay granted to the Afghan refugees by the federal government, saying that Kabul was responding to Islamabad’s decades-old hospitality towards Afghan refugees by hostility and humiliation.

Earlier on Friday, the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) had notified to allow those Afghan refugees, who were registered with United Nations and hold Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, to stay in Pakistan till June 30, 2020.

The decision followed a two-day visit (June 27-28) to Pakistan by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on the invitation of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Despite economic constraints and reports suggesting the involvement of Afghan nationals in heinous crimes in Pakistan including terrorism, Pakistan, over the years, has been allowing Afghan refugees to stay in Pakistan through successive extensions in the respective terms of their legal stay as a result of a tripartite agreement signed between UN Refugee Agency—UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Pakistan had won the Saturday cricket match against Afghanistan by three wickets in a nail-biting contest to strengthen its position in the World Cup. Pakistan would face Bangladesh on July 5, in another crucial encounter of the cricket’s top tournament.