Do not leave New Zealand alone..!

Terrorism is the scourge of the world and must be eliminated with all the strength at our disposal.

The decision of the some of the ICC members not to play cricket in Pakistan (on the pretext of security situation) after the 2009 incident of attack on the bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore, was a signal of weakness and helped playing straight into the hands of the terrorists, which not only gave a sense of a victory to the criminals, but was also a message that terrorism, pays.

Whereas, on the other hand, the world never stopped visiting Germany for tourism and sports after the:

~ 1972 Munich Olympics bloodbath (17 people killed including 6 Israeli Sports coaches and 5 Israeli athletes.)

~ The Oktoberfest bombing was a terrorist attack with a right-wing radical background. On 26 September 1980, 13 people died and 211 were injured after the explosion of an improvised explosive device (IED) at the main entrance of the Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. The attack is considered to be the deadliest attack in Germany since World War II. The attack was attributed to the right-wing extremist and geology student Gundolf Köhler who was killed while placing the explosive device; however, doubts remain as to whether he acted alone.

~ On 22 July 2016, a shooting occurred in the vicinity of the Olympia shopping mall in the Moosach district of Munich, Germany. Ten people, including the perpetrator, were killed and 36 others were injured. The shooting took place at a McDonald’s restaurant near the shopping mall, in front of a Saturn electronics store nearby, and in the mall itself. The gunman, later identified as 18-year-old David Sonboly, died nearby from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. His motive was unclear, but thought to be political due to his right-wing extremist stands, which would also explain the chosen date. The investigation concluded at first it to be an apolitical mass-shooting motivated by xenophobia, mobbing, and psychological issues. After publication of three individual assessments in 2017, which concluded that there was a political motivation to the shooting, and the perpetrator’s links to other school schooters became known, the investigative authorities reopened the investigations in April 2018, which continue.

~ Similarly, no one stopped for a moment, visiting Vienna (Austria) after the OPEC siege on December 21, 1975, when six militants attacked the semi-annual meeting of OPEC leaders in Vienna, Austria; the attackers took more than 60 hostages after killing an Austrian policeman, an Iraqi OPEC security officer, and a Libyan economist. Several other individuals were wounded. The self-named “Arm of the Arab Revolution” group was led by Carlos the Jackal. The siege resulted in complex diplomatic negotiations. It ended two days later, after flights to Algiers and Tripoli, with all the hostages and terrorists walking away from the situation. The fact that this was one of the first times that Arab states were targeted by terrorists. Saudi oil minister Zaki Yamani and the other OPEC ministers were taken hostage by notorious terrorist Carlos (the Jackal) in Vienna, Austria. The hostages were released after two days riding an airplane across North Africa, even though Carlos was ordered by his superiors to execute Yamani and his Iranian counterpart Jamshid Amouzegar.

~ Also no one ever stopped visiting Britian for sports and tourism despite bombings that took place in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain since 1969. There were at least 10,000 bomb attacks during the conflict (1969–1998).

~ During the 27 years civil war in Sri Lanka (1983-2009) over two hundred thousand people were killed but normal sports activities and tours of foreign cricket teams continued. Even Cricket World Cup matches were held in Sri Lanka without any untoward incident.

~ In India during huge terror incidents, never once, any sporting team cancelled or shortened its tour from the country. Here it may not be out of place to mention that in the World’s list of terror incidents India has been always ranked among the top ten countries, but no sporting team declined to tour India.

~ It is very satisfying that since 2017 national cricket teams of Zimbabwe, West Indies, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh (ladies) plus the World X1 players have toured Pakistan and found it the most peaceful and secure place to play sports in any city of the country. Moreover, since 2017 many foreign cricketers, umpires and other officials (retired and active) have been to Pakistan in connection with Pakistan Super League cricket matches and confirmed that Pakistan was the most secure and comfortable country for cricket, other sports and tourism throughout the length and breadth of the country.

In view of the foregoing, it is earnestly hoped that the all sports organisations of the world, particularly, the ICC members will fully support New Zealand in its resolve to remain steadfast in defeating the terrorism; and keep on playing in New Zealand all the scheduled sports events and matches in the country despite today’s (Friday 15 March 2019) most abhorring and dastardly terrorism incident in their city of Christchurch, where almost 50 peaceful Muslims offering Friday prayers in two different mosques of the city, were most brutally massacred (which was also telecast live over the Internet in most gruesome manner which ashamed even the holocaust).

It is earnestly hoped that the ICC members must not make the same mistake with New Zealand, which they made with Pakistan, by declining to send their teams, which in fact, was the fulfilment of the aims of the terrorists, to isolate this country (Pakistan), which was the flag bearer of the fight against the world’s longest war on terror, ever fought over this planet.

Pakistan should be rewarded not punished for steadfastly and alone fighting and winning the war on terror for 18 continues years, where troops and resources of 49 NATO countries led by the full might of the USA, failed to defeat the scourge of terrorism and left Afghanistan, one by one, after even paying money to the enemy, to not to attack their soldiers.

Pakistan (which is as safe as any other country of the world but where world’s best Presidential style security is provided to the visiting sports teams) has been unnecessarily made to suffer by the policies of the some ICC members, which obviously played into the hands of the Indian propaganda) who on one hand, admit committing terror activities in Pakistan, as part of the Indian defensive offensive doctrine of their National Security Advisor Ajit Doval; and on the other hand, leave no opportunity for using sports, as a political tool, about which now IOC has already very swiftly and strictly taken action against entire sports bodies of India; and forthwith banned holding of any sports events to be organised in India, under the auspices of the IOC. It is high time now for the ICC to take the same punitive action against the BCCI for politicising the glorious game of cricket, in line with the policies of the International Olympic Committee and charter of the ICC, as well.

In view of the foregoing, now a time has come for the major ICC members like ECB, ACB, Cricket SA and NewZealand Cricket Board to immediately resume sending their teams to play in Pakistan, which as explained above, is comparatively much more secure country than Germany, Austria, France, UK, Ireland, India, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & even the USA (remember terror strike bombing in the Atlanta Olympics USA of Centennial Olympic Park which was a domestic terrorist pipe bombing attack on the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 27 during the 1996 Summer Olympics. The blast directly killed 1 person and injured 111 others; another person later died of a heart attack).