British diplomat denies involvement in New Zealand abandoning Pakistan tour

The British High Commissioner to Pakistan has denied reports claiming they were involved in New Zealand Cricket's decision to abandon their tour of Pakistan due to security concerns.

Yesterday, New Zealand announced that they would "not continue with the tour" after "an escalation in the New Zealand Government threat levels for Pakistan".

However, the Pakistan Cricket Board hit back at that statement, claiming they had made "foolproof security arrangements" and that "no security threat of any kind exists for the visiting team".

A report then emerged in the Pakistan media claiming that the British High Commission had shared details of a security threat with New Zealand, prompting them to call off the tour.

However, Christian Turner, the current British High Commissioner to Pakistan, has taken to Twitter to deny those claims.

He wrote: "Speculation that British High Commission was involved in PakvsNZ tour being called off are untrue; this was a decision for the New Zealand authorities & taken independently.

"I recognise that this is a sad day for cricket fans in [Pakistan] & around [the world] who were looking forward to the series".

New Zealand's decision to abandon their tour has thrown England's upcoming trip to Pakistan into major doubt.

Should England cancel their tour of Pakistan? Let us know what you think in the comments section.

England's men are due to play two T20Is in Pakistan, while the women's team are scheduled to play two T20Is and three ODIs.

The ECB have released a statement signalling that a decision over the tour will be made "in the next 24-48 hours".

The statement reads: "We’re aware of New Zealand’s decision to pull out of the Pakistan tour due to a security alert.

"We are liaising with our security team who are on the ground in Pakistan to fully understand the situation. The ECB board will then decide in the next 24-48 hours whether our planned tour should proceed."

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