On Friday, the New Zealand Cricket team called off the Black Caps’ tour of Pakistan, minutes before the first One Day International (ODI) in Rawalpindi, given the security threats they were receiving from the International Intelligence Alliance and Indian Disinfo Network.
The New Zealand government is also in absolute support of the last-minute decision made by New Zealand Cricket (NZC), despite facing heavy criticism by both the Pakistani social media and the international cricket community.
According to the recent news, the threat report came from the intelligence alliance, Five Eyes, comprised of New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. They stated that the threats were credible, and thus, phone calls were exchanged between New Zealand and Pakistan’s governments to ensure the New Zealand cricket team’s safety first.
However, on 21st August, a piece of disinfo was aired by The Sunday Guardian, an Indian Disinfo media outlet, following the Afghan debacle, stated that the “New Zealand Cricket team may face terror attack in Pakistan.” The credibility of the news was deemed questionable since it was backed by no solid evidence. The last relevant reported news about the unfortunate event stated that the threat alert given to New Zealand was sent by Indian and Australian intelligence and was planned by the US.
Author: Ayesha Qasim
