KARACHI, July 28 Cricket teams from Afghanistan and Hong Kong are to appear in a club-level event in Pakistan, in a tentative step towards reviving the sport in the violence-hit country, an official said on Wednesday.

Pakistan has not hosted any international cricket since militants attacked the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in March 2009.

Mohammad Ali Shah, the sports minister of Sindh, told AFP that Afghanistan and Hong Kong had agreed to send their teams for a tournament to mark the holy month of Ramazan.

“It may be a small effort to revive international cricket in Pakistan, but I am happy to announce that Afghanistan and Hong Kong are sending their teams and their participation will encourage other teams to come to Pakistan,” he said.

The Afghan team will include nine players from the squad which competed in the third edition of the World Twenty20.

The 16-team Twenty20 tournament will be held here from Aug 12 to Sept 6, with a total 10 million rupees (117,000 dollars) prize money on offer.

Dr Shah added security for the teams would be tight. —AFP