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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf approached the Interior Ministry on Thursday for ensuring foolproof security arrangements for the visiting Bangladesh cricket team to avert 2009-like scenario when the Sri Lankan team came under attack in Lahore.
Bangladesh team is set to visit Pakistan in April this year.
Minnows Bangladesh is Pakistan’s main hope, since the PCB chairman has already failed to convince the Indian team to visit Pakistan.
“I am sure after a successful tour by the Bangladesh team, we will be able to convince more teams to tour Pakistan,” Zaka maintained in his brief talk to the media.
Zaka is yet to emerge as a strong administrator, since he is yet to succeed in changing his team within the PCB besides underperforming in sports diplomatic efforts to convince other teams to tour Pakistan.
Sharing details about Bangladesh tour with media persons, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said: “Visiting Bangladeshi team will be given ‘box security’.”
In a box security, he said, visiting team would travel in bullet-proof and bombproof vehicles. He said the PCB has been allowed to arrange two bullet and bombproof buses as part of strict security.
With regard to security both teams will maintain zero tolerance, since the government earnestly desires that foreign teams visit Pakistan, the interior minister claimed.
Malik said that to ensure coordination regarding security, a new post is being created in the PCB which will be equivalent to that of DIG.
The official will be responsible to coordinate with provincial governments, police officials, PCB and the federal government.
He said the Interior Ministry will make a committee, comprising Interior secretary, FIA director-general and National Crises Management Cell director-general, to chalk out terms of reference and standing operating procedures which will govern proposed security mechanism.
Rangers and Frontier Constabulary will provide security cover in all provincial capitals to the team. Another meeting related to security arrangements will be held in the last week of this month.
