Pakistani ministers establish a committee to decide if India will participate in the World Cup, a crucial decision
Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, has appointed a committee of ministers to determine if Pakistan would visit India for the ODI World Cup in October-November 2023. The group’s head will be Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
The committee’s main duty will be to provide recommendations about Pakistan’s itinerary during its trip to India. Based on it, the Pakistani prime minister will sanction Pakistan’s participation.
In a letter to the government last week, PCB requested clarification on whether the team could visit India and, if so, if there were any issues with any of the five places. In that letter, it was also requested of the administration if it wanted to send a security mission to India.
The committee will make the decision about Pakistan’s participation in their third league-stage encounter against India on October 15 in Ahmedabad. The committee will also make recommendations for Pakistan’s tour to the other four locations in India where they have games planned.
Pakistan’s current matches are against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka in Hyderabad, India; Australia and New Zealand in Bengaluru; Bangladesh in Kolkata; and South Africa in Chennai.
Popular members of the group include Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and Law and Justice Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar in addition to Foreign Minister Zardari. There will also be participation from Ehsan ur Rehman Mazari, Maryam Aurangzeb, Asad Mehmood, Aminul Haque, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Tariq Fatemi, the PM’s special assistant on international affairs, and others.
The foreign secretary and the heads of the security services are also members of the group, which contains representatives from all political parties. There are still 34 days left for the current administration to complete its term, and the committee includes members from several political parties to ensure that decision-making is unaffected by a change.
According to reports, this is the first time a prominent government committee has been established for this purpose. Prior to entering India, the PCB often interacts with the foreign ministry; but, in this instance, the variety of ministries highlights the higher stakes associated with the ODI World Cup in India. As with every ICC event, but especially since it requires travelling to India, Pakistan’s participation in the competition is subject to government approval.
