ISLAMABAD: Fawad Chaudhry, the Federal Minister for Information, addressed a news conference on New Zealand’s withdrawal from the recent ODI series in Pakistan, claiming that the Black Caps had received a threatening email from India.
The information minister, flanked by Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed, spoke about the stringent security measures in place for the visiting New Zealand team.
Pakistan is fighting a hybrid and fifth-generation war, according to the information minister.
In August, former TTP leader Ehsanullah Ehsan’s identity was used in a false social media post, according to Fawad Chaudhry, who added that the message cautioned the New Zealand cricket team against visiting Pakistan.
The communications minister confirmed, “The message stated that the New Zealand cricket team should not travel to Pakistan because Daesh would attack it.”
Chaudhry said that two days later, on August 21, the paper’s bureau head Abhinandan Mishra authored a storey in The Sunday Guardian claiming the same thing: that the New Zealand cricket team might be attacked in Pakistan.
“Ehsanullah Ehsan’s message was the focus of an article published in The Sunday Guardian,” he explained. “Former Afghan vice-president Amrullah Saleh has close ties with Indian journalist Abhinandan Mishra,” he added.
“The email said that Guptill will be killed while on tour in Pakistan,” he said. “After we investigated the ID, it was found that it was created on August 24, 2021 at 01:05am while the email was sent at 11:59am on August 25,” he disclosed.
He said the email was sent using ProtonMail, adding that those who knew about the service were aware that it is a secure email service. He said Pakistan had asked Interpol to assist it further in probing the email and the perpetrator behind it.
He said that despite “all these threats” the Black Caps did not cancel their tour and arrived in Pakistan.
“We deployed a security team for New Zealand cricket squad larger than New Zealand’s army itself. Sheikh Rasheed