ANI News High security in place at Pakistan’s Rawalpindi stadium to protect Sri Lankan cricketers

Stringent security was in place at Pakistan’s Rawalpindi stadium to protect Sri Lanka’s cricket team during their match with Pakistan on Friday (November 14) after a deadly suicide bombing in Islamabad raised security concerns during Sri Lanka’s ongoing tour

Pakistan has deployed army and paramilitary forces, the interior minister said on Thursday (November 13). Islamabad and Rawalpindi are joint cities.

The cricket stadium and the hotel where the Sri Lanka team is staying are both less than 10 km from the site of the bombing.

Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir had assured Sri Lankan Defence Minister Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon of the team’s safety, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told parliament in a live televised transmission on Thursday.

Naqvi said the Sri Lankan players had expressed serious concerns about staying in Pakistan following the bombing but those had been addressed.

The Sri Lanka Cricket Board said on Wednesday that several players had asked to return home after the blast, the first attack on civilians in the capital in a decade.

The board instructed the team to stay, saying Pakistan’s authorities had given “foolproof” security guarantees. It did not respond to a request for further comment on Thursday.

The board said players who opted to return early would face a formal review to assess their actions.

A suicide bombing outside an Islamabad court on Tuesday killed 12 people and wounded 27, one of the capital’s deadliest attacks in years. Militants also stormed a military-run school in Wana, killing three people before security forces rescued students and shot the assailants dead.

Pakistan blamed militants based in Afghanistan, alleging Indian support, accusations Kabul and New Delhi denied. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the attacks had put the country in a “state of war”.

The violence revived memories of the 2009 Lahore attack on Sri Lanka’s team, which halted international cricket in Pakistan for nearly a decade. Six players were injured in the assault, forcing Pakistan to play home matches in the United Arab Emirates for years.

#securty #pakistan #rawalpindistadium #srilanka

SOURCE: REUTERS

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