On Monday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) refuted claims ofdeporting Pakistani sports presenter Zainab Abbas from India, where she waspart of the World Cup 2023 broadcast team. They stated her departure fromthe country was due to “personal reasons.”
ICC official C. Rajshekhar Rao confirmed this, despite some media reportssuggesting security concerns arose following a complaint filed in Delhi bya local lawyer. The complaint accused her of posting “derogatory” tweetsabout the Hindu faith in the past. These allegations were based onscreenshots from an account with Abbas’ name on Twitter in 2014.
However, the veracity of these tweets remains unverified, and Dawn.com hasreached out to her for comment. In addition, another tweet from herofficial account was cited in the complaint, solely due to its pro-Kashmircontent.
The lawyer, Vineet Jindal, filed a cyber complaint against Abbas with theNew Delhi police’s cyber cell on Oct 4. He also sought the registration ofa first information report (FIR) against the presenter, alleging”disparaging remarks about Hinduism and anti-India statements.”
In a post on X, the advocate called for her removal from the list of WorldCup presenters, claiming that “anti Bharat people are not welcome inBharat.” On Oct 7, Vineet shared a redacted version of another letter sentto Board of Cricket Control of India Secretary Jay Shah, urging actionagainst the presenter for alleged anti-India remarks.
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Meanwhile, Samaa TV, citing unnamed sources, reported that Abbas”categorically denied the allegations” and maintained that she was”unjustly targeted.”
Sources close to her asserted that she had been falsely accused, and herpast social media activity was “taken out of context” and “unrelated to herwork as a presenter.”