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Cricket legend Imran Khan said on Wednesday that Pakistan was paying the price for backing the US-led “war on terror” after Australia postponed a tour of the troubled country.

Imran, who captained Pakistan to World Cup glory in 1992 and then retired to become an opposition politician, blamed President Pervez Musharraf for the Australian decision to pull out of the tour.

“Musharraf blindly follows the United States in the war against terror and we are paying the price. Because of that we are now at a stage when no one is ready to play cricket here,” Imran told AFP.

He said fans would feel deprived by Australia’s pull out from the tour, in which they were due to play two Tests and three One-day Internationals starting from March 29. “People feel the Australians are unjustified in pulling out, but Australia’s decision is understandable as everything that happens in Pakistan is magnified to larger proportions abroad,” said Imran, who played 88 Tests for his country.

Australia put off their tour to Pakistan on Tuesday over security fears on the day when two blasts left 26 dead in Lahore — a city where they were due to play a Test and one-day match. “Australians don’t live here and they don’t know that bombings are not aimed at sportsmen but terrorists’ targets are specific. No one has ever targeted sportsmen in Pakistan.”

Source:Cricket News