|
|
|
| November 15, 2005 | Tuesday | Shawwal 12, 1426 |
Riots not to disrupt 2nd Test, say police
MULTAN, Nov 14: Anti-Christian riots in a town near the venue of the second Test will not affect the England tour of Pakistan, the Pakistan Cricket Board said on Monday.
Dismissing Saturday’s riots in Sangla Hill, some 45 kilometres from Faisalabad, as minor, a board official told Reuters there was no danger of the second test from Sunday being disrupted or shifted to some other venue.
“It was not a serious thing and the situation is under control now.
“There are strong security arrangements for the England team and they will face no problems playing in Faisalabad,” said the PCB official
The riots broke out after some local residents alleged that a Christian had burnt pages of the Koran.
Mobs than tried to burn down churches and ransacked a Christian school before the situation was brought under control.
A spokesman for the England team said no request had been made to the hosts for changing the venue of the test.
England, currently playing the first Test of a three-match series at Multan, travel to Faisalabad on Thursday where the second Test starts three days later.
Reports said that Christians who make up less than two per cent of the total Pakistani population, had demanded protection from the government during an open mass worship in Sangla Hill.
The England team is given stringent security cover for the tour with some 3,000 uniformed and plain clothes policemen deployed for the first Test in and around the Multan stadium.
England refused to play a test in the southern city of Karachi over security concerns but have a one-day international there on Dec 15.—Reuters
|
|
|
|
