‘Foolproof Security’: Pakistan To Sri Lanka After Cricketers Wish To Leave Following Suicide Blast | Cricket News

Pakistan assured “foolproof security” after several Sri Lankan cricketers asked to return home following a deadly suicide blast in Islamabad. (IMAGE: AFP)

Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir assured Sri Lankan Defence Minister Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon that Sri Lankan cricketers touring Pakistan would remain safe after several players asked to return home following a suicide bomb blast.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told Pakistan’s parliament on Thursday that Sri Lankan authorities had been given “foolproof security” guarantees, with army and paramilitary forces deployed to protect the visiting team after the deadly blast in Islamabad heightened concerns.

Naqvi said Sri Lankan players had expressed serious reservations about staying on after the suicide bombing outside an Islamabad court on Tuesday, which killed 12 people and injured 27 in one of the capital’s worst attacks in years. The attack was followed by militants storming a military-run school in Wana, killing three people before security forces intervened.

According to a Reuters report, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake “personally spoke to” the cricketers and encouraged them to continue the tour.

“Our army and paramilitary are deployed for the Sri Lankan team’s security. The Sri Lankan president personally spoke to the team yesterday and encouraged them to play,” Naqvi was quoted as saying in the Reuters report. Naqvi added that the players’ concerns were addressed.

At least eight players had asked to leave over security fears, an AFP report said.

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.

Naqvi told reporters on Monday that Afghan nationals also took part in an assault the same day on Cadet College Wana, a military-linked school in northwest Pakistan. The attack left three people dead.

The accusations come amid a sharp deterioration in ties between Islamabad and Kabul, with Pakistan blaming what it says are Afghan-based militants — particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — for a surge in attacks since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Kabul denies the charge.

Relations hit a new low last month after the worst cross-border clashes in years killed more than 70 people, including dozens of Afghan civilians, according to the United Nations.