Pakistanis rage against New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern after team cancels tour

17 Sep, 2021
New Zealand Prime Minister is in the line of fire for standing by the cricket team's decision to abandon the series. Reuters
New Zealand Prime Minister is in the line of fire for standing by the cricket team's decision to abandon the series. Reuters

As Pakistanis reeled in the aftershock of New Zealand cricket team's abrupt decision to abandon their tour in Pakistan on Friday, many took to Twitter to slam Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

This included PTI minister for maritime affairs Ali Zaidi who said there were no security threats to the New Zealand team and that global politics won, making a reference perhaps to what interior minister Sheikh Rasheed said in his conference on Friday -- a conspiracy to defame Pakistan

Shortly after the above tweet, he tweeted another message to Ardern, asking her to watch how the Pakistan team visited survivors of the Christchurch mosque attack in 2019.

He's not alone in bringing up the Christchurch attack which was trending on Pakistan Twitter by early Friday evening.

Cricketer Shoaib Akhtar also mentioned the attack and said that Pakistan has toured New Zealand during the worst of the global pandemic and that "Pakistan has safely hosted South Africa, Bangladesh, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe & PSL."

Journalist Owais Tohid also took to Twitter to express his disappointment.

Others felt betrayed.

Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke to his New Zealand counterpart on Friday reassuring her of the country's full support and security arrangements for the team but Ardern said she stands by her team's decision to pull out.

Many thought Ardern agreed with the decision to please India.

Others recognized how quickly she will become disliked for her decision.

And one user shared an image of the heavy security contingency allegedly for the New Zealand cricket team, asking what else did they want?

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