ISLAMABAD—New Zealand abruptly abandoned their tour of Pakistan on Friday citing a security alert in a massive blow to the South Asian country’s hopes of staging regular international cricket. The tour was due to get underway with the first of three one-dayers in Rawalpindi on Friday but New Zealand did not travel to the stadium. New Zealand Cricket (NZC) then issued a statement announcing their decision to call off the tour. “Following an escalation in the New Zealand Government threat levels for Pakistan, and advice from NZC security advisors on the ground, it has been decided the Blackcaps will not continue with the tour,” it said. NZC declined to share details of the security threat and said arrangements were being made for the team’s departure. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told her Pakistan counterpart Imran Khan that the cricket team could have been attacked, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed …