Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry implied on Tuesday that the withdrawal of England and New Zealand teams from cricket series in Pakistan was a result of saying “absolutely not” by Prime Minister Imran Khan to the United States.
In July, the premier had categorically stated that he would not allow the US to use Pakistan as a base for its Afghan operations and the statement caused quite a stir and generated debate on mainstream and social media.
In the press briefing after cabinet meeting, chaired by the prime minister today, the information minister said that Pakistan was paying the price of saying “absolutely not” to the US, saying nations have to pay such kind of prices if they want to hold their head high, adding that this was in fact a small price to pay and proud nations keep paying such prices.