In a bid to stop the Australian cricket team’s tour of Pakistan, threatening messages were sent to the family members of an Australian player from an Instagram account based in the Indian state of Gujarat, as reported on Monday.
On February 26, a day before the Australian team landed in Pakistan, the family of a cricket player received messages, warning them of grave consequences for playing in Pakistan.
The account jyot.isharma391 was used to send the messages and is reportedly run by a man named Mridul Tiwari, based in India’s Gujarat state bordering Pakistan’s Sindh province.
Tiwari works as an environmental health and safety officer in IMC Limited whereas his email address is [email protected].
This is not the first time Indian accounts were used to threaten cricket teams visiting Pakistan.
In September last year, New Zealand cancelled its tour and flew out of Pakistan at the eleventh hour over security concerns. In a press conference afterwards, the information minister had said that “fake news was generated by India to scuttle the tour”.
The threatening email was generated using Proton mail and Pakistan has requested Interpol for assistance in further probe, Fawad Chaudhry had said at the time.
Following the abrupt departure of the Kiwis, England had also postponed its visit to Pakistan.
Similarly, West Indies players were also threatened by India to stop them from touring Pakistan. The WI players had also shared threats of a ban from the Indian Premier League (IPL) on social media.
It is pertinent to note that Australia will play three Tests — in Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore — fresh off the back of a comprehensive home Ashes victory against England.
They will also play three one day internationals and a T20 capping the month-long tour on April 5.
“The tour will proceed for the first time in 24 years. This is a historic occasion and important for the global growth and health of the game,” according to Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley.
