Bangladesh's cricket tour to Pakistan postponed over security fears

Dhaka, Apr 20(ANI): The Bangladesh team's proposed tour of Pakistan has been postponed with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officially announcing that it couldn't tour that country at this moment.

The announcement came after the Dhaka High Court ruled that the national team's upcoming tour of Pakistan should be postponed for a month due to security fears.

A writ petition filed earlier in the Bangladesh High Court had challenged the Bangladesh team's visit to Pakistan citing 'grave security concerns'.

Additional Attorney General MK Rahman said that the Dhaka High Court had ordered Bangladesh's cricket authorities to explain why the tour should go ahead despite concerns over the team's safety.

"It asked the cricket board to explain in the next four weeks. During the four weeks, the court imposed an injunction on the cricket team's tour to Pakistan," The Express Tribune quoted Rahman, as saying.

The high court gave the order following a petition by a lawyer and a university teacher.

"We told the court that the Pakistan tour would risk the lives of our cricketers. Pakistan is not a safe place for an international sports event. No other international teams are travelling to Pakistan. Why should Bangladesh go? The decision was imposed on the cricketers," Hassan Azim, a lawyer, for the two petitioners, said.

PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf expressed displeasure over Bangladesh's decision and added that all arrangements for the tour had been completed.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesperson Nadeem Sarwar said the stay order issued by a Bangladesh High Court is aimed at escalating tensions in Pak-Bangladesh ties.

Pakistan has not hosted any international cricket tournament following the 2009 terror attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus. (ANI)