KARACHI: The Pakistan government has in principle cleared the national cricket team to fly to India for the ICC World T20 after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was contacted in Saudia Arabia for the final approval.
Reliable sources confirmed that a decision has been taken in principle in the meeting between the Interior minister, Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan and a senior official of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Najam Sethi in Lahore.
The sources said the meeting was still in progress and a formal announcement would be made after it was over.
After days of uncertainty and statements and counter statements the decision to send the team came after getting direct assurances from the Indian government for providing top security to the Pakistani players, officials, media personnel and fans who visit the country.
The positive development came after Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh said earlier today that Pakistan team would be given full security and that the World T20 would be held smoothly and teams should travel to India without any security concerns.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee also tweeted and sent a message to the Pakistan Cricket Board that top security would be provided to the visiting team in Kolkata.
The ICC has already shifted the Pakistan and India match on March 19 to Kolkata from Dharamsala due to security concerns.
Pakistan interior minister Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan has given the clearance in principle after speaking to the PM on telephone and updating him about the assurances coming from India.
Earlier PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan had said that if Pakistan didn’t go to India for the World T20 it could incur losses of around USD 15 million. (AGENCIES)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
