Pakistan team should not play at Himachal Pradesh: Imran Khan

03/07/2016

Former Pakistan cricket great Imran Khan has urged the Pakistan national team to not play in Dharamsala for their much-awaited match against India in the upcoming World T20. He has also accused the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh of promoting hate and being irresponsible.

“The statement by the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister is an irresponsible one and is totally against the standards of hospitality and hosting. The Chief Minister's statements clearly promote hate..

"Amid this situation, I don't believe the Pakistan team should play at Himachal Pradesh," Imran Khan was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh had said that the government will provide security to the Pakistani team, only if the martyrs' families do not oppose it. He also asked the BCCI to speak to the martyrs’ families before hosting the match.

"They are not opposing the holding of matches. They are against the Pakistan team playing in Himachal Pradesh," Virbhadra said.

Earlier, Pakistan interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had reiterated that the team is waiting for a security clearance from their government and would be allowed to participate in the T20 Cup only if that comes through.

On Thursday, the PCB chairman Shahryar Khan had also threatened to pull out of the World T20 in India with the security situation remaining unclear. Shahryar Khan called for India to provide full security to the Pakistan team and publicly acknowledge their participation in the tournament.

However, senior BCCI official Rajeev Shukla on Friday confirmed that the match will go ahead as scheduled. India’s home minister Rajnath Singh also has said that the center can provide paramilitary forces, but only if the Himachal Pradesh State government requests them to provide security to the visiting team.

"If the [Himachal Pradesh] chief minister asks for security forces, we will provide," Rajnath Singh said.

With the various parties holding on to their stances, the possibility of the match appears uncertain as of now.