Pakistan team won't travel to India for ICC women's ODI World Cup
Lahore, Apr 19 (PTI): Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Saturday announced that their women's team will not travel to India for the ICC ODI World Cup later this year and play their matches at a neutral venue, following the hybrid model accepted earlier this year.
When Pakistan hosted ICC Champions Trophy recently, BCCI had refused to send Indian team across the border due to diplomatic tension between the two nations and their matches were held in Dubai.
A hybrid model was agreed upon that allowed both India and Pakistan to play their matches at neutral venues if one of the two countries was to host an ICC event.
"Just like India didn't play in Pakistan in the Champions Trophy and were allowed to play at a neutral venue, whatever venue is decided, we will play. When there is an agreement it has to be adhered to," he said.
The PCB chief said India and ICC being the hosts of the tournament would decide on the neutral venue.
India will host the tournament from September 29 to October 26 with Australia being the defending champions.
Naqvi also expressed satisfaction over the impressive manner in which Pakistan women's team qualified for the World Cup.
Pakistan ended up winning all their five matches in the Qualifiers held in Lahore. They beat Ireland, Scotland, West Indies, Thailand and Bangladesh to qualify smoothly for the main round for which hosts India, England, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Sri Lanka have already qualified.
"The team showed how to take home advantage and play like a collective unit. I am happy that women's cricket is doing well now,” he said.
He added the PCB would definitely announce a special reward for the women's team for their outstanding performance.
Naqvi also said that he was happy that the PCB had hosted another ICC event successfully after the Champions Trophy.
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Constitution does not support forced or fraudulent conversion: Allahabad High Court
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Prayagraj (PTI): Allahabad High Court has observed that though the Indian Constitution gives every citizen the right to freely follow and spread their religion, it does not support forced or fraudulent conversions.
Justice Vinod Diwaker made the observation while rejecting a plea to cancel an FIR against four people accused under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act, 2021.
According to the complaint, the accused tried to convert people to Christianity by offering money and free medical care.
The court refused to cancel the case, stating that the charges were serious and valid enough for police investigation.
In its judgment, the court observed, "India's constitutional framework guarantees the right to religious freedom under Article 25. This Article confers upon every person the fundamental right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion, subject to public order, morality and health. The use of the word 'freely' in Article 25 underscores the voluntary nature of religious belief and expression."
"However, the Constitution does not endorse forced or fraudulent conversions, nor does it shield coercive or deceptive practices under the guise of religious propagation," it added.
The court maintained that these limitations are essential to ensure that the exercise of religious freedom does not disrupt the societal fabric or endanger individual and communal well-being.
"The presumption that one religion is inherently superior to other clearly presupposes the moral and spiritual superiority of one religion over another. Such notion is fundamentally antithetical to the idea of secularism. Indian secularism is rooted in the principle of equal respect for all religions. The state must neither identify with nor favour any religion, but instead maintain a principled equidistance from all religions and faith," the ruling said.
Commenting on the 2021 Act prohibiting unlawful religious conversion brought in by the Uttar Pradesh government, the court stated that it was enacted to maintain public order, moral integrity and health in alignment with Article 25 of the Constitution.
"The primary object of the Act is to prohibit conversions from one religion to another that are carried out through misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement, fraudulent means or marriage for the sole purpose of unlawful conversion. By targeting such methods, the law seeks to prevent exploitation and manipulation that could have broader destabilising effects on social harmony, besides disruption of law and order," the ruling said.
The May 7 judgment also looked into a legal issue as to whether a police officer can be considered an "aggrieved person" under Section 4 of the 2021 Act. This section generally allows only the victim or close relatives to file a complaint. The bench clarified that the station house officer can file such FIRs because the law must be read with the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita provisions that allow the police to act in cognizable offences.
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