Team News Riveting
Raipur, September 22
Frustrated by losing huge revenue and reputation, desperate Pakistan has blamed a young Indian journalist whose report allegedly alerted New Zealand and England to cancel the trip.
Abhinandan Mishra, a journalist who quit cream jobs to join journalism, had been reporting in series about the developments unfolding in Asia after the Taliban took over Afghanistan. Presently posted as Chief of Bureau with the Sunday Guardian based in New Delhi, Abhinandan’s father Law Kumar Mishra is also a renowned journalist and has covered many states across the country.
What devastated Pakistan was Abhinandan’s report a week after the Taliban captured Kabul. It hinted at the possible threat to the visiting cricket team in Pakistan as uncertainty prevailed in the neighbouring country with militants advancing to Kabul and people fleeing the country in panic.
Two senior ministers of Pakistan, Fawad Chaudhuri (I&B) and Sheikh Rashid (ministry of interiors) on Wednesday blamed Abhinandan Mishra for the cancellations of the New Zealand and England teams tour to Pakistan. Addressing a joint press conference in Pakistan capital, the two ministers alleged Abhinandan Mishra had published a report in the Sunday Guardian, projecting threats to the visitors.
They distributed photos of Abhinandan Mishra who according to them was in constant touch with the former vice president of Afghanistan, Amanullah Saleh.
Abhinandan said he had been interacting with the Afghan leader as a professional journalist. “My report was based on the statement made by former Taliban commander Ehsanullah Ehsan, who by multiple independent, local, published accounts, has been very close to the Pakistan army and its intelligence agency, the ISI,” he said.
This is also evident from the fact that after he ‘surrendered’ he was kept in an army safe house for more than 2 and a half years before he escaped.
He had shared his recent statement publicly on his Facebook profile. “I also verified through common sources that Ehsan has indeed written about an imminent ISIS attack on the New Zealand team. I also confirmed the possibility of an ISIS executed attack on the cricket team through independent sources in Pakistan and in Afghanistan,” Abhinandan said.
Following this, he reached out to the International Cricket Council and New Zealand Cricket for their response on the claims made by Ehsan, a former prominent Taliban leader with a history of close ties with the Pakistan army. “The response that I received from New Zealand cricket was duly incorporated in the story. I understand that after the press conference done by the Pakistan Interior minister and Information minister on Wednesday afternoon in Islamabad, Ehsanullah Ehsan has issued an audio recording reiterating that he had made the statement through his Facebook profile and that he did this for the ‘protection of New Zealand cricketers’.”
It is in public domain that the New Zealand cricket team landed in Pakistan on 10 September, more than 20 days after the article was published. “Hence, it is clear that the New Zealand cricket team took the decision to not play in Pakistan after spending almost a week there, not after reading my article,” Abhinandan said.
“As for the claims made by the Pakistan interior and information ministers that I have ‘close ties’ with Afghanistan vice president Amrullah Saleh, all I could say is that I know him in a professional capacity, just like any other journalist would know him,” he added.
