The government’s scepticism appears to be justified after the chief minister of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh refused to provide security for a World T20 tie featuring Pakistan. However, the much-anticipated match has been thrown into jeopardy after Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said the game should be shifted out to respect popular sentiment after the Pathankot terror attacks.
Advertisement
A security team from Pakistan arrived at the Attari border post of India on Monday and headed for Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh to review security arrangements for a Pakistan-India cricket match scheduled there on March 19. “The Chief Minister’s statements clearly promote hate”, said Imran. The venues were decided a year back and all arrangements are in place to stage the matches at those two venues.
“I have asked the PCB chairman to wait, and the team can wait until the security clearance is assured”, he had said in his statement.
The team, comprising the director of the Federal Investigation Agency and a Pakistan Cricket Board member, crossed the Wagah-Attari joint checkpost (JCP) between both countries on foot before heading for Dharamsala, almost 235 km from Attari.
Pakistan will send a three-man delegation to India to assess security before allowing their team to compete in the World Twenty20.
India has issued visas to two members of security team, while the third member will join them in India.
Pakistan kick off their World T20 campaign on March 16 at Kolkata before they travel to Dharamsala for the high-profile encounter. “But their departure has now been put on hold as we are in touch with the government on the security issues in India” , he said.
“I would advise the PCB to take these threats seriously”.
We are not willing to provide security for the match, a senior state government official told on condition of anonymity.
The officials will assess whether the security situation is suitable for the visit by the cricket team, amid threats from Indian extremist and militant organisations.
Advertisement
“We not only want our team’s security in hotels and on routes, but want our players to play cricket without any worries in grounds where thousands of people will accumulate for the match”.
