Pakistan Rejects ICC Statement on Afghan Cricketers’ Deaths as ‘Biased, Premature’

Islamabad | 19 October 2025 — The Government of Pakistan has strongly condemned the International Cricket Council (ICC) for issuing a statement that it describes as “selective, biased and premature” concerning the alleged deaths of three Afghan cricketers in an airstrike. Pakistan says the ICC’s claim — that the players were killed in a Pakistani strike — was made without independent verification.

Background

The incident in question involved three young Afghan cricketers — identified by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) as Kabeer Agha, Sibghatullah Zirok and Haroon — who were reportedly killed in an aerial strike in the Urgun district of Paktika province after taking part in a friendly match. 
Following their deaths, the ACB announced their withdrawal from an upcoming tri-nation T20 series in Pakistan involving Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The ICC subsequently released a statement saying it was “deeply saddened and appalled” and stood in solidarity with the ACB. 

Pakistan’s Reaction

The Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Attaullah Tarar, issued a strong rebuke, stating that:

The ICC had issued the allegation without any independent evidence.

The sequencing of the ICC statement, followed shortly by the ICC Chair’s social-media posts and then the ACB’s invocation of the same narrative, looked like a “manufactured echo-chamber”. 

The incident is symptomatic of what Pakistan regards as a “pattern of avoidable controversies” under the ICC’s current leadership that “disproportionately” target Pakistan cricket. 

Pakistan demanded the ICC retract or correct its statement and urged the governing body to uphold impartiality and avoid politically-tainted commentary. 

Issues of Neutrality & Verification

Pakistan’s core objections focus on two main issues:

Verification: Pakistan claims that the ICC made definitive statements linking the deaths to Pakistani strikes without any public forensic verification or credible independent corroboration.

Impartiality: The government argues that the ICC, as the global regulator of the sport, must remain neutral and avoid appearing to side with one national board or narrative, suggesting that the ICC’s handling may undermine its integrity.

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 Implications for Cricket & Diplomacy

The controversy adds a new dimension to already strained relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan — and by extension, to the domain of international cricket diplomacy.

The withdrawal of Afghanistan from the Pakistani tri-series underscores how regional security and political disputes are increasingly interrupting sport.

For the ICC, this episode may test its ability to manage conflicts that straddle both sport and geopolitics — particularly in regions where cricket is deeply intertwined with national identity and diplomacy.

What’s Next

Pakistan has formally asked the ICC to revise its statement and called for an internal review of the governing body’s conduct in handling such incidents.

Further clarification may emerge if the ICC releases more detailed findings or evidence regarding the strike and the cricketers’ deaths.

The tri-series involving Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the replacing team (now reportedly Zimbabwe national cricket team) will proceed, but the incident has already left a mark on cricketing ties in the region.