KARACHI, Feb 28: Sohail Khan, an Islamabad-based Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), has been nominated by the Ministry of Interior to handle security needs of the Indian team during their stay in Pakistan.

A Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman told reporters on Saturday that the SSP will remain with the Indian cricket throughout the 39-day tour.

"The Ministry of Interior has informed the PCB that Mr Sohail Khan, an SSP with special training in security matters, will accompany the touring side until end of the 39-day trip. He has been specifically assigned to liaison with the other agencies which will look after security measures during the series," the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry has also streamlined the visa categories for the Indian fans who are likely to visit Pakistan during the series, the spokesman added.

"The ministry has given clear cut instructions that visas will be issued only to those cricket fans from India who are in possession of tickets for specific matches.

"In this context, the ministry has asked the PCB to coordinate to facilitate visa procedure for the visiting fans. We have decided to allocate 20 per cent seats at each centre for the Indian fans and classified them under two different categories.

"A total of 500 visas will be issued in the lower category for those with entry-cum-exit point at the Wagah border. They will be attended to by officials of the Pakistan High Commission at the border for the issuance of visas.

"In the upper category, 2000 visas will be issued for Lahore, 1,500 for Karachi, 1000 for Rawalpindi and 750 for the Peshawar match," the spokesman disclosed.

The PCB official stated that the visitors will not be allowed to enter Pakistan unless they had been verified and cleared by officials of the intelligence agencies (ISI and IB), the Interior Ministry, the Foreign Office and the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi.

"We are determined to eliminate the presence of unscrupulous elements at any of the matches to avoid unnecessary problems. That is why we have stressed the need for asking the intending fans to provide full details at the time of buying tickets on the online services. They will only then apply for visas through the offices of the Indian cricket board," he remarked.