Security has been beefed up for the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team following terror attacks in Islamabad and Wana, with the island nation’s High Commissioner also given assurance that the touring players are being treated as “state guests”.
The security issue was taken up at a meeting between the Sri Lankan High Commissioner, Admiral (retired) Fred Seneviratne, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi and government officials in Islamabad.
Sources said that Naqvi, who is also the Federal Minister for Interior Affairs, had earlier met officials of the Sri Lankan team and assured them of fool-proof security.
“Security has been beefed up with Pakistan Army and the paramilitary rangers now deputed to monitor the visiting players and officials,” the source said.
During Wednesday’s meeting, the security situation was discussed in the presence of top police officials of Islamabad.
Naqvi assured Seneviratne that the visiting team players and officials were state guests in Pakistan. The High Commissioner, after the briefing, expressed satisfaction with the security arrangements.
Pakistan has blamed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for the terror attacks.
On Tuesday, a suicide bomber detonated himself outside a judicial complex in Islamabad, killing 12 people and injuring scores. At the same time, in Northern Pakistan’s Wana area, a terror attack on the Wana Cadet College was foiled by security forces and around 300 students were safely evacuated.
Federal Minister for Information, Ata Tarar, said if security forces had not acted swiftly, Pakistan could have witnessed a bigger incident like the Peshawar school attack in 2018.
