Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Thursday that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir personally intervened to address Sri Lanka’s security concerns after the visiting cricket team expressed apprehensions about continuing their tour in the wake of the Islamabad suicide attack.
“Our field marshal himself spoke to the Sri Lankan defence minister, secretary and convinced, reassured them of [security arrangements],” said Naqvi while speaking in the Senate.
Naqvi’s remarks came after Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed continuation of the ongoing Pakistan tour after fears arose following Tuesday’s suicide bombing in Islamabad, which killed 12 people and wounded 27 outside the district court.
The interior minister, who is also the PCB chairman, said that the Sri Lankan president also contacted his players to persuade them to stay and continue the tour.
“The Sri Lankan president personally spoke to [cricket] team yesterday and encouraged them to play,” the security czar added.
Naqvi said all concerns raised by the Sri Lankan side were addressed. “The team had serious concerns about staying here, but we managed to remove all of them,” he said.
“[Sri Lankan] players are our state guests, and we are giving them the same level of protocol and security,” he said, adding that the Pakistan Army, Rangers, and police were jointly overseeing security arrangements.
On internal security matters, Naqvi said the main suspect behind the Islamabad judicial complex blast had been traced, and the attacker involved in the Wana cadet college bombing came from Afghanistan.
“Afghan nationals are involved in both the Islamabad and Wana college attacks,” Naqvi added.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) rescheduled the remaining ODIs and shifted the T20I tri-nation tournament to Rawalpindi from Lahore.
Announcing the revised schedule, the PCB chief said that the remaining ODI matches between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be played on November 14 and 16 in Rawalpindi.
A day earlier, the SLC in the statement clarified that if any player wants to return to Sri Lanka despite the assurance, he will be replaced in a bid to ensure the continuation of the ongoing series without interruption, but the player would have to undergo a formal assessment by the cricket board over his actions.
The Sri Lankan cricket board said the team management had informed the board earlier in the day that some members of the national squad had requested to leave Pakistan.
The board said it had immediately engaged with the players, assuring them that all safety concerns were being addressed in close coordination with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and relevant authorities.
The board directed all players, support staff, and team management to remain in Pakistan and proceed with the tour as planned.
