Pakistan will pull out of Asia Cup if ACC shifts tournament due to India's objection: Ramiz Raja
Rawalpindi, Dec 2: Pakistan will pull out of the Asia Cup if Asian Cricket Council decides to shift the tournament, PCB chairman Ramiz Raja said on Friday.
In October, Asian Cricket Council president and BCCI secretary Jay Shah had said that India will not travel to Pakistan next year for the 50-over Asia Cup event after which PCB had threatened to pull out of the World Cup scheduled to be held in India.
Talking to the media personnel during the second day of the first Test against England, Ramiz said Pakistan would not accept the Asia Cup being moved out of Pakistan only because India could not tour the country.
"If that is the case if India cannot come to Pakistan, then we also have the option of not playing in the Asia Cup at all," he said.
India had last toured Pakistan in the year 2008 for the Asia Cup ODI event.
Ramiz had earlier threatened that Pakistan might not tour India for next year's World Cup if India continued to avoid touring Pakistan for any reason.
"Yes that is also there. We have options before us because frankly speaking, I don't see the point of Asian Cricket Council (ACC) awarding us hosting rights of the Asia Cup when India is not going to come."
He noted that the Asia Cup would lose a lot of revenue if India versus pakistan matches are not held.
The former Pakistan captain said that as a player, he had toured India and got a lot of respect and love from the Indian people and even after retirement he went there as commentator for IPL matches.
"Something needs to be done about this impasse but we look at this way that the Asia Cup is a multi-nation event and not a bilateral series between Pakistan and India. The two teams have been playing against each other in ACC and ICC events so why are there any problems for India to play in Pakistan."
He pointed out that all big teams were now playing in Pakistan and every effort was made to make them feel comfortable and give them the best state level security.
"I don't know what will happen if India will come or not but we don't want the tournament moved out of Pakistan. If that happens, we will look at pulling out of the event altogether," he added.
Ramiz also said that the BCCI started this issue by giving a statement India would not tour Pakistan and he was forced to respond.
India has not played any bilateral Test cricket with Pakistan since 2007 while their last bilateral white ball series was held in the winter of 2012.
The BCCI will need sanction from the Indian government in order to travel to Pakistan.
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SGPC writes to Mann, seeks ban on 'Emergency' in Punjab a day before release
Amritsar, Jan 16 (PTI): The SGPC on Thursday wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, seeking a ban on the release of Kangana Ranaut's movie 'Emergency' saying it "tarnishes" the image of Sikhs and "misrepresents" history.
Actor and BJP MP Ranaut's 'Emergency' is slated to release in cinemas on January 17.
In the letter to Mann, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Harjinder Singh Dhami expressed strong objection to Ranaut's film.
Dhami said that if the film is released in Punjab, it will spark "outrage and anger" in the Sikh community and therefore it is the responsibility of the government to ban its release in the state.
The SGPC, an apex gurdwara body, had earlier also protested the film.
"It has come to our attention that the movie 'Emergency' produced by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut is going to be released on 17th January 2025 in cinemas in different cities of Punjab and the tickets have also started to be booked," its letter to Mann read.
Dhami said the SGPC had also protested the release of the movie in a letter to the Punjab Chief Secretary on November 14 last year.
"But it is sad that the Punjab government has not taken any step till now. If this film is released on January 17, 2025, then it is natural to create outrage and anger in the Sikh world," the current letter read.
Dhami said the SGPC will submit a letter also to all the deputy commissioners in Punjab, seeking a ban on the film in the state.
The SGPC denounced the "character assassination" of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Khalistani militant killed in 1984 in a military operation.
"If this film is released in Punjab, we will be forced to strongly oppose it at the state level," Dhami said.
In August last year, the SGPC sent a legal notice to the producers of the 'Emergency' film, alleging that it "misrepresented" the character and history of Sikhs, and asked them to remove the objectionable scenes depicting "anti-Sikh" sentiments.
In the notice, the producers of the film, including Kangana Ranaut, were asked to remove the trailer released on August 14 from all public and social media platforms and tender a written apology to the Sikh community.
The SGPC objected to film writing separate letters to the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the Central Board of Film Certification.
