ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday reached London amidst strained relationship between the two countries following the recent announcement by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to cancel British cricket team's scheduled visit to Pakistan.
According to Pakistan's Foreign Office, Qureshi is undertaking official visit to the United Kingdom from September 26-28. Besides interacting with members of the Pakistani community and British parliamentarians, the foreign minister will have broad-based discussions with his British counterpart Liz Truss at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the FO said, adding that the foreign minister would also interact with the media.
"Pakistan and the UK are close friends and long-standing partners. Earlier this month, former Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had visited Pakistan to hold consultations on bilateral relations and regional matters. The visit by the foreign minister will take forward the process of close consultation and collaboration between the two sides," the FO said.
On arrival at the Heathrow Airport, Pakistan's High Commissioner to the UK Moazzam Ahmad Khan and other senior officials of the mission welcomed the foreign minister, an official statement said.
The ECB announced last Monday that it was 'reluctantly' withdrawing both its men's and women's teams from their tour of Pakistan scheduled for next month. The ECB cited concerns over the players' mental and physical wellbeing. "We can confirm that the Board has reluctantly decided to withdraw both teams from the October trip," the ECB said in a tweet.
The announcement came days after New Zealand cricket team, citing an anonymous security threat, pulled out of its Pakistan's tour, hours before both Pakistan and New Zealand were scheduled to play their first one-day international in Rawalpindi on September 17. This drew a strong reaction from Pakistan which slammed the decision of both the countries while dismissing security concerns.
Reports suggest that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has expressed 'anger' at the ECB decision to cancel the tour to Pakistan. British High Commissioner to Pakistan Christian Turner also detached his country's government from ECB decision.
"I share the deep sadness of cricket fans that England will not tour Pakistan in October. I am sad-this was a decision made by the ECB, which is independent of the British government, based on concerns for player welfare. The British High Commission supported the tour, did not advise against it on security grounds and our travel advice for Pakistan has not changed," he said in a video message.
"I have been a champion of international cricket's return to Pakistan and will redouble my efforts in advance of England's autumn 2022 tour," Turner added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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