The Black Caps have arrived in Dubai after leaving Pakistan on a charter flight last night with New Zealand Cricket confirming the security threat that cancelled the tour was "a specific and credible threat" towards the team.
NZC made the call to cancel the tour just minutes before the first ODI in Rawalpindi on Friday night, following intelligence of a security threat targeting the Black Caps.
The contingent of 34 players and support staff are now settling into their Dubai hotel and undergoing their 24-hour period of self-isolation.
Of this group, 24 will return to New Zealand over the next week or so, as flights and MIQ rooms in New Zealand become available.
The MIQ arrangements initially booked for these squad members at the end of the Pakistan tour will now be cancelled.
The balance of the touring party will remain in the UAE and join up with the Black Caps T20 World Cup squad, with their first match on October 27.
New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White wouldn't go into any more details on the threat but said he hadn't heard reports of a received bomb threat to the team's hotel and flights.
White said he was grateful to the Pakistan Cricket Board for helping organise the safe departure of the New Zealand team and would work through any possible compensation over the next few weeks and months.
"We appreciate this has been a terribly difficult time for the PCB and wish to pass on our sincere thanks to chief executive Wasim Khan and his team for their professionalism and care."
White said NZC and the Black Caps had been very much looking forward to the Pakistan series but were faced with no option but to abandon the tour after receiving, on Friday, advice from the New Zealand government of a specific, credible threat.
This advice was supported by NZC's security consultants – who were on the ground in Pakistan, and by other independent sources.
'Specific and credible threat'
While the general tenor of the threat was immediately shared with the PCB, White reiterated that specific details could not, and will not, be disclosed – privately or publicly.
"What I can say is that we were advised this was a specific and credible threat against the team.
"We had several conversations with New Zealand government officials before making the decision and it was after informing the PCB of our position that we understand a telephone discussion was conducted between the respective Prime Ministers.
"Unfortunately, given the advice we'd received, there was no way we could stay in the country."
White added that a number of players received email threats on the eve of the tour but after investigation, they were considered to be hoaxes.
White said NZC remained comfortable with its initial decision to tour Pakistan, based on comprehensive assessments of the security situation, and the risk mitigation measures promised.
"Everything changed on Friday," he said. "The advice changed, the threat level changed and, as a consequence, we took the only responsible course of action possible."
White said it's too early to discuss the status of future tours to Pakistan.
"The future tours programme is pretty tight but we'll have to look at it and work through that.
"For every tour we go on we go, whether it's Pakistan, England or wherever we go through a very thorough process covering security and this was no exception. In fact, probably more in this case.
"We will access every tour on its merits.
"I'm comfortable with the decision we made. We went through thorough security checks and was assured of a very high level of security that was to be provided."
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also would not elaborate on the threats, but said today they were described as "credible" and "direct and targeted".
"We do support the decision that was ultimately made by NZ Cricket to bring the team home."
"It was a direct threat and it was a credible threat - they made the right decision," Ardern added.
'The decision had to be made to leave'
CEO of the NZ Cricket Players' Association Heath Mills said they were happy with the security measures in Pakistan but ultimately player safety has to be the number one priority.
"We have very comprehensive security measures in place with New Zealand Cricket prior going on any tour and they don't stop once the team gets to the country, they continue every day with daily risk assessments. It's not unusual to get threats from time to time and work through the appropriate channels to see if it is credible or not. This one was very quickly determined to be credible and specific to the tour so the decision had to be made to leave and we fully support that," Mills told Newstalk ZB's Jason Pine.
"The threat was specific and credible to the tour of Pakistan. When that happens and you get that confirmation you really have no choice but for the team to leave.
"It's been very disappointing for the Pakistan people and we feel for the Pakistan government and Pakistan Cricket. They have been superb. The level of resources around the team have been phenomenal. We've been very comfortable that they would be safe once we confirmed the threat on Friday. The security resources at the ground, the hotel and the airport transit have been unbelievable. They've put a lot of work into this tour so we really feel for them but ultimately player safety has to be the number one priority."
The Black Caps' next matches are set to be at the Twenty20 World Cup, which begins in the United Arab Emirates at the end of October. Their first opponent will be Pakistan.
By Niall Anderson
The New Zealand government remains steadfast in its support of New Zealand Cricket's last-minute decision to abandon the Black Caps' tour of Pakistan, despite stinging criticism from Pakistan authorities and the wider cricket community.
NZC made the call to cancel the tour just minutes before the first ODI in Rawalpindi on Friday night, following intelligence of a security threat targeting the Black Caps.
According to overseas media, the intelligence came from Five Eyes, an intelligence alliance of New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United States and United Kingdom. The threat was deemed credible before the match, and led to phone calls between NZC and their counterparts at the Pakistan Cricket Board, and Pakistan and New Zealand Prime Ministers Imran Khan and Jacinda Ardern.
Within 12 hours of those conversations, the tour was cancelled.
New Zealand had not toured Pakistan since 2003, due to long-held security concerns after a 2002 suicide bomb attack outside their Karachi hotel, while in 2009, the Sri Lanka team's bus was attacked in Lahore.
In the aftermath of the cancellation, Pakistan media reported the existence of a Rawalpindi police advisory that cited a threat to the tour, issued earlier this week.
New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson would not confirm whether that was the threat that caused the tour to be abandoned, but noted the threat was credible and action needed to be taken.
"As is normal in situations like this it is not possible or responsible to go into detail around the nature of these threats, but it was credible and had to be taken seriously.
"We support the decision made by NZ Cricket. They did so on the basis of security assessments, including by their own security advisors on the ground. There was a credible security threat and NZ Cricket has responded appropriately.
"We are grateful to the government of Pakistan for keeping the team safe while they have been there, and appreciate how disappointing this decision is for the cricket community in Pakistan. However, player safety has to be paramount. We continue to work closely with NZ Cricket to support them and the players."
The decision left the Pakistan government and cricket community in shock, with one official claiming that Ardern had told Khan that she feared the Black Caps would be attacked once they arrived at the stadium for the first ODI.
Pakistan's Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed also echoed earlier comments from the PCB that there was no security threat against the Kiwis.
"He [Khan] told her [Ardern] that the law and order situation is the best in our country and we give a guarantee that there is no security problem here, there is no security threat," Ahmed said.
"But the Prime Minister of New Zealand said that the issue is not the threat but we have such information that when the team goes out it can come under some attack."
According to Ahmed, Black Caps security advised local authorities of the security threat on Friday. When asked about the nature of the threat, Ahmed claimed the New Zealanders "did not have any".
Pakistan had deployed commandos from Pakistan Army's Special Services Group, soldiers, and 4000 policemen for the matches in Rawalpindi, Ahmed said.
He also claimed the cancellation was a "conspiracy", but declined to elaborate.
"He [Khan] called [Ardern] and assured her of complete security to the Kiwis.
"She said the [New Zealand] Government received intelligence that the team could be attacked when it steps out to go to the stadium.
"It is their decision. We had deployed heavy security for the team. Pakistan is a peace promoter in the world. And this tour was cancelled through a conspiracy. It is their problem and what they decide."
The Black Caps' next matches are set to be at the Twenty20 World Cup, which begins in the United Arab Emirates at the end of October. Their first opponent will be Pakistan.
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