Monday, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed said Pakistan tasked more people for the New Zealand team’s security than its forces combined. He also reiterated that there never was any security threat.
Sheikh Rasheed’s press conference comes after New Zealand decided to pull out of Pakistan at the eleventh hour on Friday amid “security threats.” The New Zealand government called off the tour on the basis of an intelligence report by Five Eyes. Five Eyes is an intelligence alliance of New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Read more: Last minute New Zealand team pull-out caused by Five Eyes
On that note, Sheikh Rasheed raised the question of the supposed threat alert to the New Zealand team.
“Where were these five countries that issued the threat alert when the security experts were visiting Pakistan and the team was practicing on the same ground?” the minister asked.
Sheikh Rasheed also lauded Pakistan’s intelligence, terming it the best and the strongest in the world.
Read more: No security threat in Pakistan: PM Khan assures New Zealand
Pakistan’s intelligence agencies say the so called threat was/is a hoax. They say they asked for evidence of the reported threat and none was provided. Pakistan sees alot of “geo-politics” at work in this episode. “This has been done deliberately”, said one official.
— Syed Talat Hussain (@TalatHussain12) September 17, 2021
Opposition is an under-19 team
When New Zealand called off the match, the Opposition criticized PM Khan’s government. As soon as the news came of New Zealand canceling the tour, PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz mocked PM Khan. In a tweet, she mocked PM Khan’s earlier statement of making the Pakistani green passport respectable and valuable in the world.
However, netizens called out Maryam Nawaz for indirectly voicing her vengeance against PM Imran Khan and not thinking about the damage caused to Pakistan.
Responding to the Opposition’s criticism, Sheikh Rashid said: “Don’t throw stones at others while living in a glasshouse. A day will come when all international teams will come to play in Pakistan.”
Answering another question related to the Opposition, the federal minister said that whenever elections take place in the country, the Opposition starts crying foul about rigging.
“Our Opposition is an under-19 team and has started preparing for the elections,” he said, implying that the Opposition is politically immature.
Read more: Opposition afraid of EVMs as govt tries to do away with “rigging”?