Pakistan assures maximum security for SL cricket team as players decide to stay

• Around 500 security personnel deployed for SL team

By Kelum Bandara 
Pakistan has assured maximum security for the Sri Lankan national cricket team who are presently in Islamabad for an ongoing ODI series after concerns were raised by some Sri Lankan players over their safety.   
Sri Lanka’s cricket team, which initially planned to cut short its tour of Pakistan and return home, has changed its decision following assurances of security from Pakistani authorities, including Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who personally contacted the players, an informed source told the Daily Mirror last evening.  
The team insisted on returning following the suicide bombing outside a courthouse in Islamabad, that claimed 12 lives on Tuesday, just hours before the first ODI between the two teams took place in Rawalpindi. In light of the incident, Mr. Naqvi who is also the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman confirmed on social media platform X that the second and third ODIs had been rescheduled for Friday and Sunday instead of their original slots on Thursday and Saturday.  
The source said that the Pakistani Minister contacted the Sri Lankan team and assured maximum possible security. Afterwards, the team had a change of mind and decided to play the remaining matches according to the rescheduled plan.   
According to the source, security had been tightened at the hotel where the team is staying. It is learned that a security contingent of around 500 personnel had been assigned for the security of the team.   
Sri Lankan authorities have also taken the view that they should express solidarity with Pakistan, a country that stood by Sri Lanka during its trying times. Pakistan supported Sri Lanka during the wartime extending military assistance to eliminate terrorism. Also, Pakistan voted for Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).   
In 1996, a combined team of players from India and Pakistan played a solidarity match against Sri Lanka to protest the refusal of Australia and the West Indies to play their World Cup matches in Colombo due to security concerns.