Saturday June 3, 2017
Kabul (BNA) The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced the cancellation of friendly matches with Pakistan on Thursday, a day after the terrorist attack in Kabul.
ACB Chairman Atif Mashal recently travelled to Lahore, where he met Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials and agreed on certain points, including two T-20 friendly matches in Kabul and Lahore.
But a number of Afghan social media activists opposed the ACB move and demanded the cricketing body cut off all ties with Pakistan.
After growing criticism, the ACB chairman said no agreement had been signed with the PCB. He added that only discussions on some points had taken place during his trip to Lahore.
But after the deadly attack on Wednesday, ACB said in a statement the friendlies had been scrapped.
“Enemies of peace and stability in our country have once again shown they are not worthy of friendship, and would never change their stance about Afghans,” said the statement.
According to National Directorate of Security (NDS) the deadliest suicide attack was planned by the Haqqani Network in coordination with the Pakistani Inter Services (ISI) in Pakistan, (ACB) cut off every kind of cricket ties with PCB. “No agreement of friendly and bilateral relationship is possible and unsustainable with a country where terrorists are housed and provided safe havens”, the statement concluded.
