Pakistan security team in India to assess WT20 security arrangements

LAHORE: A three-member security delegation, headed by a senior director of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), is in India to assess the security arrangements for the Pakistan men and women’s teams for the upcoming World Twenty20 tournament.

Two members of the security delegation – FIA senior Director usman Anwar and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief security Officer Col (R) Azam – reached the Wagah border crossing Monday morning from where they crossed over into India.

The third member of the security team – Ubaid Nizamani, an official from the Pakistan High Commission – is already present in India.

The security team is expected to assess the security arrangements and take a final call by Wednesday.

The Pakistan government had initially granted the PCB permission to play in India, but the board has decided to put the visit on hold until they are guaranteed foolproof security. The PCB’s move was prompted after the Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh had expressed his state government’s difficulty in providing security for the India-Pakistan match in Dharamsala, scheduled for March 19.

“I have asked the PCB chairman to wait, and the team can wait until the security clearance is assured,” Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Khan told a press gathering in Islamabad last week. “We can delay our team’s departure until we are sure that they will be safe in India.

“If the security team’s initial report is positive, our cricket team will leave for India as per schedule on Wednesday otherwise we may delay the team’s departure. We not only want our team’s security in hotels and on routes, but want our players to play cricket without any worries in grounds where thousands of people will accumulate for the match. We will only give a green signal for the team to go to India once we get security clearance.”

PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan has said that the threats against the Pakistan team are specific and threatened to pull out of the tournament unless the PCB gets a clear message about the security situation from the Indian government.

Pakistan have returned from Bangladesh, where they failed to qualify for the final of the ongoing Asia Cup. Both the men’s and women’s teams are scheduled to depart from Lahore on Wednesday for India, subject to the security clearance.