ISLAMABAD: The “fake threat” to New Zealand’s cricket team that prompted them to call off the tour of Pakistan minutes before the first game came in an email that originated in Mumbai city of India, a preliminary investigation found.
New Zealand’s cricket squad arrived home on Wednesday after abandoning their tour of Pakistan last week citing a security threat. New Zealand Cricket said they were aware of a “specific and credible” threat but refused to give details.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry said the threat had come via an email.
“This email was generated from India through a VPN showing the location of Singapore,” Chaudhry, who was flanked by Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed, told a press conference.
Pakistan unveils systematic plan to sabotage #blackcaps tour – #fake FB post of ex TTP threatens not to go for #NZvPAK
Indian paper warns abt #terrorist attack
2nd threat email sent from Indian mobile phone on SIM issued by Reliance JIO @fawadchaudhry @ShkhRasheed #APPNews pic.twitter.com/eGSJbCK4xR
— APP 🇵🇰 (@appcsocialmedia) September 22, 2021
Chaudhry added that the West Indies team, due to arrive in December, had also been sent a threat that he said was fake.
Shunned by all after a deadly 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore, Pakistan have been trying to woo back top international teams.
New Zealand’s withdrawal dealt a massive blow to Pakistan’s hopes of staging regular international cricket, with England subsequently calling off their men’s and women’s tours.
Chaudhry said a fake social media post with former Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan commander Ehsanullah Ehsan’s name on it was shared with NZC in August, warned it against touring Pakistan.
“The post stated that New Zealand cricket team should not go to Pakistan as ISIS would attack it.”
The minister warned that Pakistan was facing an intense hybrid and fifth-generation warfare through a network of Indian propaganda-peddling entities targeting Islamabad.
An article was published in The Sunday Guardian, a New Delhi-based publication and no connection with Guardian newspaper of the United Kingdom, two days later on August 21.
Authored by one Abhinandan Mishra, the paper’s bureau chief, revolved around Ehsaas’s post and propagated the same fake threat: The New Zealand team might come under attack in Pakistan.
“Interesting, this Mishra has close connections with former Afghanistan vice president Amrullah Saleh whose anti-Pakistan views are no secret,” he said.
On August 24, five days after the publication of the article, a threatening email was sent to cricketer Martin Guptill’s wife from an account posing to be Tehreek-e-Labbaik [the hardline religious group].
The email delivered a death threat to Guptill’s spouse, warning that he would return “in coffin”. “Prepare for funereal [sic].”
After we investigated the account, we found that it was created on August 24 at 1:05 am while the email was sent at 11:59 am the following day, he said.
The email was sent using ProtonMail, an encrypted email service. Chaudhry said Pakistan has asked Interpol to assist it in probing the email and apprehending its sender.
However, despite the “fake threats”, the visitors did not cancel their tour and arrived on September 11.
It was not until 10:30 am on September 17 that the Black Caps received information about a potential threat from their government. “The New Zealand team itself was not influenced by the threat as the ground [Rawalpindi Stadium] and the hotel were secure.”
Chaudhry then revealed the contents of a second email that was sent to the touring team at 11:25 pm the same day, after the tour was cancelled, from an account posing to be one Hamza Afridi.
Its content read: “Dear New Zealand cricket, you did wrong to Pakistan and now see what happens to you.”
“Your cricket team is not going anywhere now […] in every places the bombs will be placed from the hotel to your flight. And my men’s [sic] will not forgive you […] they are coming [to] New Zealand.” “#PakistanZindabad […] Allah hu Akbar.”
The Afridi email was traced to a “device based in India”, he said. “The IP address was changed through a VPN to show the location in Singapore.”
“Further probe revealed the device was being used to operate 13 other email accounts.” “All accounts were generated on the names of Indian [film] and television [actors],” he added.
— With additional input from Reuters
