Pakistan Cricket Board CEO Wasim Khan[/caption]
PCB CEO Wasim Khan explains in detail what happened at the final moments of New Zealand tour and its aftermath
At 3 a.m. on Friday, 17 September, the day of the first One-Day International (ODI), I received a call from the Eastern Star International (ESI) Head of Security Mr. Reg Dickason, who is the Security Consultant for New Zealand Cricket (NZC), informing me that a report had landed on the New Zealand Govt. desk, through their govt. security agencies, stating that there was a threat on the New Zealand (NZ) team and that threat was direct and imminent on that particular day.
I arrived in Lahore later that day for more clarification from Dickason and he stated that information had emanated from ‘Five Eyes’ and had reached the NZ Prime Minister’s (PM) office and that it was serious and we needed to address immediately.
We then met with local security agencies and intelligence of Pakistan to ascertain if there was any threat. They made it very, very clear that, as far as they were concerned, there was absolutely nothing that they had picked up to suggest any immediate threat to the NZ team.
Report could have been shared
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Eastern Star International Head of Security Reg Dickason[/caption]
I then received phone calls from David White of NZC about the report and that the PM of NZ had directed that the NZ squad and support staff return to NZ immediately.
I can categorically tell you that, despite our requests, the report was deemed to be confidential information which couldn’t be shared with anybody which was hugely disappointing for us considering that this was now threatening the tour.
What we would have ideally liked to have done even if that information had gone to our security agencies for some intelligence to be shared and for us to mitigate any potential threats that they deemed possible within that report and try and deal with it collectively so we could keep the tour on.
Security as same as for Royal Couple
The Royal Couple, Prince William and Kate Middleton who visited Pakistan last year, had exactly the same presidential security as the New Zealand cricket squad.
There are three elements – the hotel is protected as a fortress so the players are secure, the route to and from the ground which was the one the Royal Couple and other Presidents and PMs had travelled, have received the same level of security, and the provisions that are set in place for routes that they have to travel.
Whilst the authorities had agreed that 25% of fans would be allowed in, there were nine checkpoints to get into the ground. Those checkpoints ensured the complete safety of fans even before they arrived.
No travel advisories changed
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New Zealand Cricket CEO David White[/caption]
We gave fans notice to expect two-and-a half to three hours’ delay to get into the ground so that everything could be checked out. Everything was in place from our side and those plans and protocols were given a clean bill of health by the security experts.
What happens here when threat levels increase is that Embassies and High Commissions change their travel advisory. Considering there was a supposed threat in that report, the countries that were privy to that report have not changed their travel advisories since that report was produced.
Any credible information in that report should have been shared and this is a very dangerous precedent when countries are unilaterally making decisions that can potentially have long-term consequences for countries.
Cost us millions of dollars
Had that information been shared we may have been able to enlighten the NZ Govt. a little bit on what the information on the ground here was and what we could potentially do to mitigate that.
The NZ team had been practising for three days and were happy travelling to and from the Pindi Stadium and the feedback we were getting from the players was that the security was excellent and there were no complaints there. Everything was running along smoothly as far as we were concerned.
This is going to cost us millions of dollars and this has severely affected us from a cricket-credibility perspective and has set us back.
PM to PM discussions
They are saying that Five Eyes Alliance had the security information and the report but they didn’t give the detailed information to Mr. Dickason as it was deemed highly confidential that could only be shared amongst those five countries.
Dickason spoke with the security agencies of the five countries just to verify that content was in those reports that pertained to a potential threat, because they all received the same report and he confirmed to NZC that was the case.
Then PM to PM (Pakistan PM Imran Khan to NZ PM Jacinda Ardern) spoke as a last-ditch effort to try and create some dialogue. What we were wanting first and foremost was discussions. Sure you don’t share the report with PCB but share it with our intelligence and let’s try and see whether we can mitigate any potential issues or challenges because our security had not picked up anything.
Was it not a threat to civilians?
There’s no issue about us playing NZ. Let’s also remember that NZ are saying that it was guidelines and guidance provided to them from their Govt. We’ve had a good relationship with NZC in the past but this has created potential tensions right now due to the way this was done as it was disrespectful in many ways. But there certainly won’t be any danger of us not fulfilling our obligations at the ICC (International Cricket Council) T20 World Cup.
If there was a threat, then surely that threat is also open to the civilians of Pakistan. So are we saying that the lives of the civilians in Pakistan are any less important or that the threat only applies to sports people? What we are saying is share that information and let’s work collectively as a cricket family.
No level play field
If we didn’t go to NZ after the Bangladesh attack (in 2019) and said sorry we aren’t going, what would have been the implications for NZC? The consequences of us not going to England last year (after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic), what would have been the consequences financially.
This is what I mean by inequality and making sure that everyone is on an equal field based not just on financial clout but based on the fact that there’s an equal clout and respect across all the members of the ICC.
And we (should) have an equal consistent policy and procedure that is followed when incidents like this occur again and make sure that something like this can’t happen again because if it happens again, then it’s going to continue to put those Cricket Boards in perilous positions and we find ourselves in that position today.
Won’t move home series abroad
We feel a lack of respect as a proud nation of 230 million people who love their cricket and who have sacrificed a lot over the last 12 years to get cricket back and it can be pulled from under our feet in the space of eight to nine hours without any reason, without any discussion or debate, or sharing of information. That’s the issue we have.
As it stands at the moment, we have no plans to move our home series abroad. It’s taken us a long time to return and we are adamant that we remain safe but we always have to have contingency and backup plans. But as it stands right now, there is no conversation about us playing our home series abroad.
We reached out to SLC
We have reached out to both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and there was a strong willingness to come and play but because it’s such short notice logistically, it’s very difficult for them. And Bangladesh’s players are dispersed around the country and the Sri Lanka squad are going to Oman soon.
So it’s not been possible to put anything in place in this short period of time but it has been explored by our Chairman (Ramiz Raja) and is something that has been looked into, in the last 24 hours.
(Courtesy PCB)