New Zealand’s tour of Pakistan is set to commence on 14 April as the two teams face off in the first T20I at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
While the visiting team has been provided with state-level security in Lahore, the status of the security in Rawalpindi and Islamabad is still under consideration, with talks between Islamabad Police and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) still ongoing.
With the BlackCaps set to arrive in the capital on 18 April, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered state-level security measures to be implemented as the team’s security has been a top priority for the Pakistani government.
The Chief Commissioner of Islamabad called a meeting with officers from both cities to discuss a joint security plan with all law enforcement agencies. The police were directed to create a daily security plan report to be submitted to the Commissioner’s Office and the Ministry of Home Affairs by the Additional Commissioner.
The officers from Rawalpindi and Islamabad will participate in the meeting to formulate the security plan. The New Zealand cricket team is considered VVIP, and as such, their security has been given the utmost importance by the Pakistani government.
New Zealand will play two T20Is and the same number of ODIs at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, before traveling to Karachi for the remainder of the ODI series.
