* Dhaka court upholds challenge to tour
* Pakistan “disappointed and sad” about ruling
(Adds FICA comments and byline)
By Azad Majumder
DHAKA, April 19 (Reuters) – Bangladesh’s cricket team will
not go to Pakistan as planned later this month after the Dhaka
High Court upheld a legal challenge to their tour and ordered a
four-week delay, a lawyer said on Thursday.
Bangladesh had agreed to play a one-day international and a
Twenty20 match on April 29 and 30 in what would have been the
first full internationals in Pakistan since March 2009 when Sri
Lankan cricketers and officials were attacked by gunmen in
Lahore.
“The court by an order has restrained the Bangladesh
government and the Bangladesh Cricket Board from going ahead
with the national cricket team’s tour to Pakistan for four
weeks,” said lawyer Hasan Azim, representing the two people who
challenged the tour citing security concerns.
University lecturer Didarus Salam and a senior Supreme Court
lawyer Kamal Hossain had jointly filed a petition in the Dhaka
High Court earlier on Thursday, seeking an adjournment of the
tour and asking why it should not be declared illegal.
Foreign teams have shunned Pakistan since the 2009 attack,
which killed six Pakistani policemen.
Several Sri Lankan players were wounded in the incident,
which also led to matches at the 2011 World Cup being taken away
from Pakistan.
Since then, Pakistan have had to play their “home” matches
at neutral venues.
Pakistan officials said they were surprised and disappointed
by Thursday’s court ruling.
“We are surprised that a purely cricketing matter has been
dragged into the courts,” PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf said. “We are
deeply disappointed and sad that Bangladesh is not coming after
confirming the tour last week.
“It is a big setback for Pakistan cricket and Pakistani
cricket fans who were ready to welcome the Bangladesh team.”
SECURITY PLAN
Ashraf said the PCB had made a comprehensive security plan
for the tour and sent it to the International Cricket Council
(ICC) for approval.
“Everything was being put into place as far as security is
concerned,” he said.
The PCB’s chief operating officer, Subhan Ahmed, told
Reuters that if the four-week delay was enforced then Pakistan
would not be able to host Bangladesh due to other commitments.
The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations
(FICA) called for an independent report on the security
situation in Pakistan.
“What’s required is not a stumbling, non-transparent and
conflicted approach to this issue, but a proper, fully
transparent, independent report on the safety of playing in the
country,” Tim May, chief executive of the body which represents
international cricketers, said in a statement.
“Only then will players feel comfortable contemplating
whether it is time to play international cricket again in
Pakistan.”
(Editing by Amlan Chakraborty and Clare Fallon)
