Pak Minister Ahmad Links New Zealand Tour Cancellation To International 'Conspiracy'

Hours after the New Zealand cricket team called off its tour of Pakistan just before the start of the first ODI in Rawalpindi, Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad said on Friday that the tour was cancelled under an international 'conspiracy', Express Tribune reported.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Ahmad said that he will not name the conspirators. However, he added that some forces want to make Pakistan a scapegoat after what has been happening in Afghanistan.

The New Zealand authorities do not have substantive proof of a threat in Pakistan, the minister said, hours after the Kiwis cancelled their tour of Pakistan, Geo TV reported. Ahmad said New Zealand took a unilateral decision to cancel the Pakistan tour despite the country's tight security arrangements for the visiting team.

The minister's press conference came following New Zealand Cricket's decision to cancel its tour of Pakistan citing a "security alert", a statement from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said.

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"Earlier today, New Zealand Cricket informed us they had been alerted to some security alert and have unilaterally decided to postpone the series," the PCB said.