ISLAMABAD: A 14-member committee, headed by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari,constituted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has to consider the Pakistan cricket team’s participation in the World Cup to be held in India in October 2023.

The committee, after going through all the relevant factors, will finalise its recommendations for the PM’s consideration and approval.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), in its June 27 letter addressed to the PM, bypassing all the laid down protocols, has sought the federal government’s clearance before giving the green light to the organisers for the national team’s participation in the ODI World Cup.

The committee, headed by the foreign minister, includes the interior minister, the law minister, the Inter-Provincial Coordination minister, the information and broadcasting minister, the adviser on Kashmir affairs, the adviser on Establishment, the foreign secretary, PSPM and representatives of secret agencies and sensitive departments.

The committee has been authorised to hold its meeting and consider Pakistan’s participation in the World Cup.

India, the host of the ODI World Cup in October, has already refused to cross the border to participate in the Asia Cup, depriving Pakistan of its genuine right to host all matches. Now Pakistan will host only four matches while the rest of the Asia Cup matches will be played in Sri Lanka.

Pakistan could well reciprocate by refusing to travel to India for the upcoming World Cup and by announcing that they will also play all their matches at neutral venues.

The prime minister has authorised the committee to decide on the sensitive matter for his final approval.

In the letter written directly to the PM by PCB Chief Operating Officer Salman Naseer, the PCB has sought clearance for the Pakistan cricket team’s participation in the ICC Cricket World Cup, and in the event the government provides clearance for participation in the mega event, it wants advice in relation to the venues for the Pakistan team’s scheduled matches.

The venues at which Pakistan are to play include Ahmadabad, Bengaluru and Chennai.

“In the past when an ICC event was held in India, the Government of Pakistan had sent a security recce team to the relevant venues in India to evaluate whether the same were cleared from a security point of view to host Pakistan team matches. We understand that if such an exercise is carried out again, it will require time, and hence, this request is being made at the time when the ICC has officially announced the schedule for the 2023 CWC,” the letter says.