The government of Pakistan handed over the security of the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team to the Pakistan military after the players agreed to continue the tour on the intervention of Pakistan army chief, Asim Munir, who promised them state-level security arrangements.
The chairman of PCB and Federal Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, said that since high-level security is now being provided to the visiting team, their security would be looked after by the army and rangers along with the police.
The cricket team had expressed concerns about their safety after the bomb blast in Islamabad, with some even wanting to return home.
“The positive outcome was only achieved through sustained engagement between Pakistani and Sri Lankan leadership,” Naqvi said.
He also told the media in Rawalpindi on Thursday night that he had met with the Pakistani and Sri Lankan players at the stadium, and that the Sri Lankan government and board had also shown “great support” for Pakistan cricket by continuing with the tour.
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Naqvi said Pak army chief, Munir, had assured the Sri Lankan Defense Minister, Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon, of the team’s safety.
“The Field Marshal himself spoke to the Sri Lankan Defense Minister and Secretary. and I am grateful the players showed great bravery to decide to remain in Pakistan,” the PCB chairman added.
“They had many concerns, but we tried to allay all of those,” he added about the players’ fears, saying Sri Lanka’s President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, spoke with his country’s team to convince them.
Additionally, the New Zealand team had abandoned their white ball tour of Pakistan in September 2021 after getting creditable intel about security threats to them in Rawalpindi.
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