Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday said Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir facilitated the talks with Sri Lanka, resulting in the latter’s cricket team deciding to stay in Pakistan for the ongoing matches.
Sri Lanka’s cricket board said late last night that its team’s ongoing tour of Pakistan will proceed, averting a crisis-like situation after reports about some players returning home in the wake of Tuesday’s deadly suicide bombing in Islamabad.
“Our field marshal himself spoke to their defence minister, secretary and convinced them and assured them fully of [providing] security,” Naqvi, also the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief, said while speaking on the Senate floor.
He recalled that the Sri Lankan team yesterday “decided to return after the bomb blast occurred”.
“Our interaction with them began […] their board, players and everyone decided with great bravery to stay here,” the PCB chairman added.
“They had many concerns, but we tried to allay all of those,” Naqvi said, highlighting that Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake spoke with his country’s team to convince them.
Naqvi then revealed that Field Marshal Munir had played a role in the visiting team deciding to continue their matches.
“And now, the Pakistan Army, Rangers and Islamabad police together are managing their security, and we are providing them the same kind of protocol and security as they are our state guests,” the interior minister said.
The PCB chairman noted that the Zimbabwe team has arrived in Pakistan, and the rest of the matches will be held in Rawalpindi.
The suicide blast in Islamabad on Tuesday, which killed 12 people and left 36 injured, occurred just hours before the first One-Day International (ODI) match between the Green Shirts and the Lions was set to begin in Rawalpindi.
Subsequently, there were reports of some Sri Lankan players heading back, which were initially dismissed by the team’s manager. However, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) later acknowledged that several members of its team had requested to return home, citing safety concerns.
“Following this development, SLC immediately engaged with the players and assured them that all such concerns are being duly addressed in close coordination with the Pakistan Cricket Board and the relevant authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of every member of the touring party,” the board said in a statement.
The SLC further said it would immediately send replacements to ensure uninterrupted games if any player or member of the touring party decides to return to Sri Lanka.
In the wake of these developments, the PCB has rescheduled the two remaining ODIs for November 14 and 16 — postponing both by a day each.
It has also shifted a T20I tri-nation tournament, featuring Zimbabwe too, from Lahore to Rawalpindi. The matches are scheduled from November 18 to 29.
A day after the blast, Naqvi, the Islamabad chief commissioner, and the Islamabad police chief had met Sri Lankan envoy retired Rear Admiral Fred Seneviratne.
They assured him that comprehensive security measures were in place for the players, who are state guests. According to the PCB, the Sri Lankan high commissioner had expressed satisfaction at security arrangements for his national team. (Dawn)