LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar M. Khan on Thursday gave a briefing to the envoys of the cricketing nations as well as the head of the European Union in an informal meeting in Islamabad about the measures the PCB have taken in providing high level security to any visiting team to Pakistan.

“The PCB chairman briefed the high commissioners and other diplomatic staff from 10 nations besides the head of European Commission posted in Islamabad over the general improvement in the security situation following the Pakistan Army’s launching of Operation Zarb-e-Azab last June to eliminate the various safe havens of the terrorists in the FATA region and elsewhere,” a PCB press release issued here on Friday said.

“Chairman Shaharyar talked in detail over the steps taken and the standard operating procedures adopted by the PCB to ensure the safety, security and comfort of teams visiting Pakistan,” said the press release.

“The chairman PCB’s initiative was aimed at bringing international cricket back to Pakistan by first convincing the diplomats of the nations that the country wanted to host cricket series at the national, sub-national, age-group and women’s level before doing a similar exercise with the Board’s counterparts in those countries,” it further stated.

High Commissioners from Australia (HE Peter Hayward), Great Britain (HE Philip Batron), India (HE T.C Raghwan), New Zealand (HE Eamonn O’Shaughnessy), Sri Lanka (HE Jayalath Weerakkody), Bangladesh (HE Suhrab Hossain), Nepal (HE Mr. Bharat Raj Paudyal), Afghanistan (HE Janan Mosazai) and HE Lars Gunnar Wigmark, Head of European Union posted in Islamabad, attended the meeting.

Diplomatic representatives and others who joined the briefing were: MoinFudda (Counsel General New Zealand), a representative from the Kenyan High Commission in Islamabad, Ejaz Chaudhary (secretary federal ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination), Shakil Shaikh (member, PCB Governing Board) and Intikhab Alam (Director Domestic Cricket Operations PCB).

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2015

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