On Sunday (5th May), Cricket West Indies (CWI) confirmed that West Indies has received a terror threat to the T20 World Cup tournament from North Pakistan. Notably, CWI is the governing body for Cricket in the Caribbean nation. West Indies is one of the hosts for this year’s T20 World Cup which is slated to start from 1st June. As per reports, ISIS’s Pakistan branch, the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) has sent a terror threat to CWI where it tried to incite violence against the sporting event. The IS-K terror module is also active in Afghanistan.
In a statement accessed by the Cricket news portal Cricbuzz, the CWI said, “Pro-Islamic State (IS) media sources have launched campaigns inciting violence against sporting events, which included video messages from the Afghanistan-Pakistan branch, IS-Khorasan (IS-K) which highlighted attacks in numerous countries and urged supporters to join the battlefield in their countries.”
The governing body has reassured that all safety measures are in place. Responding to the development, the ICC commented that its statement is the same as that of the CWI’s.
The Caribbean media also confirmed reports of their cricketing regulatory body receiving terror threats. Speaking with Trinidadian news outlet The Daily Express, Trinidad Prime Minister Keith Rowley asserted that security agencies have put in place plans to tackle any such threats to matches.
The report also added that Barbados regional security officials are also “monitoring potential threats to the ICC event”.
The Security officials in the Caribbean nation said, “Intelligence of a potential threat to the World Cup has been received through Pro-Islamic State (Daesh) through the media group ‘Nashir Pakistan.’” According to Daily Express, Nashir-e Pakistan is an Islamic State (IS) group-affiliated propaganda channel.
Speaking with Cricbuzz, WCI CEO Jonny Graves assured, “We work closely with authorities in the host countries and cities, and continually monitor and evaluate the global landscape to ensure appropriate plans are in place to mitigate any risks identified to our event.”
He further added, “We want to assure all stakeholders that the safety and security of everyone at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is our number one priority and we have a comprehensive and robust security plan in place.”
The development has caused concerns as Pakistan is set to host the Champions Trophy tournament in 2025. India as well as several other nations have expressed apprehensions about the security of their players in the terror-infested nation which happens to use terror as state policy. This has intensified demands to shift the venue of the tournament altogether and a decision on the same could be taken in the ICC’s Annual General Meeting which will be held in Sri Lanka in July this year.
The T20 World Cup is scheduled to take place in the West Indies and the United States from 1st June to 29th June. In the West Indies, Barbados, Guyana, Antigua and Barbuda, St Vincent, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago are scheduled to hold the matches for the T20 World Cup. The United States will host World Cup matches in Florida, New York, and Texas. There is no sign of any terror threat to the games in the United States.