Pakistan minister says threat to New Zealand team originated in India

A THREAT to New Zealand's cricket team that prompted them to call off a tour of Pakistan came in an email that originated in India, Pakistan's information minister claimed on Wednesday (22).

Fawad Chaudhry said, "this email was generated from India through a VPN showing the location of Singapore."

New Zealand's cricket squad arrived home on Wednesday after abandoning their tour of Pakistan last week citing a security threat. New Zealand Cricket said they were aware of a "specific and credible" threat but did not give details.

India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Arch-rivals Pakistan and India regularly blame each other for acts of violence, charges each government denies.

Chaudhry said in Islamabad that the West Indies team, due to arrive in December, had also been sent a threat that he said was fake.

Shunned by all after a deadly 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore, Pakistan have been trying to woo back top international teams.

New Zealand's withdrawal dealt a massive blow to Pakistan's hopes of staging regular international cricket, with England subsequently calling off their men's and women's tours.