Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday said Pakistan’s upcoming tour to England would not be broadcast in the country due to a license issue with Indian broadcasters.
The first match of the series, an ODI, will be played at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on July 8.
The minister, addressing a press conference in Islamabad, said PTV’s request for a contract with Indian broadcasters Star and Asia — who have the rights to air the match — was rejected.
“Indian companies hold the rights to broadcast [matches] in South Asia …. and we cannot conduct business with any Indian company,” he said.
The information minister said Pakistan would approach the England Cricket Board to try and arrive at another solution, reiterating that the country would not do business with India till it takes back the August 5, 2019, decision — when New Delhi revoked occupied Kashmir’s special status.
“Normalisation of ties with India is subject to it taking back the August 5 decision,” he said.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and PTV will indeed face considerable losses as a result of this, the information minister added.
Moving on to other matters, the minister underlined that there was indeed a need to bring improvements in Pakistan Railways — a day after the Gotki train collision that took the lives of 51 and injured more than 100 people.
“Why did PML-N invest in Orange Train instead of the railways?” he asked, shifting the blame for the state of affairs in the railways on the previous government.
The information minister said PML-N’s politics is now confined to GT Road.
Then, turning his guns on the PPP, Fawad said the party thinks it can speak ill about Punjab and secure votes from Sindh. “Even the people of Sindh are sick of PPP.”
The minister advised both parties to revisit their political strategy, inviting them for talks with the government once more, but at the same time reminding them that there would be no talk about their cases in court.
He said that the government had already clarified that there is no question of US military bases operating in Pakistan.
Foreign Office responds to Indian illegal actions in IOJK
The development comes a day after the Foreign Office noted with serious concern reports indicating that India might be plotting further division, bifurcation, and demographic changes in IOJK to perpetuate its illegal occupation.
“India cannot change the disputed status of IIOJK, as enshrined in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, nor can it force Kashmiris and Pakistan to accept illegal outcomes,” the statement from the Foreign Office said.
India’s unilateral and illegal actions in IOJK remain violative of international law and the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions, the statement added.
