Pakistan lashes out at ICC for "biased" statement in solidarity with Afghanistan
Lahore (PTI): Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Information, Ata Tarar has dismissed the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s statement on the deaths of three cricketers in Afghanistan for its “selective”, “biased” nature.
The ICC and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had on Saturday condoled the death of Afghanistan cricketers in an aerial attack at the Paktika Province without mentioning Pakistan in their respective statements.
The governing bodies reacted after the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) decided to withdraw its team from a tri-series in Pakistan next month.
Pakistan Cricket Board had later announced that it will replace Afghanistan with Zimbabwe for the tri-series that also involves Sri Lanka.
“We dismiss and condemn this statement by the ICC which gives the impression and makes claims that three Afghan cricketers were killed in Pakistan strikes,” Tarar said in a statement on Sunday.
“The ICC has not bothered to independently verify the claims by the Afghanistan board and issued a statement claiming a Pakistan attack,” he said.
The minister said Pakistan itself had been a victim of terrorism for years and demanded the ICC correct its statement.
“It is strange that a few hours after the ICC statement, the Chairman of the ICC Jay Shah repeated the same words on his social media account and the Afghanistan board followed with similar words.
“The Afghanistan board made statements without presenting any real evidence,” he added.
Several Afghan cricketers, including stars such as Rashid Khan and Gulbadin Naib, had condemned the aerial attack and the subsequent deaths in strong language through their social media posts on Saturday.
Tarar said the recent happenings, including the no-handshake episode in the recent Asia Cup, could be taken as a biased approach towards Pakistan cricket.
“This seriously raises questions on the ICC’s independence and unbiased approach. An international sports governing body should not be promoting a controversial claim yet to be verified.
“The ICC should remain independent and avoid making contentious statements on the incitement of others,” he said.
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Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
