LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shaharyar Khan said on Friday that Pakistan’s stance over security issues in the WorldT20 had been endorsed by the latest document provided by India which acknowledged that threats to Pakistan cricket team existed in the state of Maharashtra but to a much lesser extent in the other states.

Addressing a press conference here, Shaharyar defended the PCB’s stand for seeking maximum security for the players and said he had taken advice from at least ten Indian journalists over the issue who were of the view that Pakistan was justified in asking for foolproof security for their team.

To a question whether India had given security assurance in writing as the PCB had demanded, he said it was no more required as both governments were satisfied over the arrangements. He also played down the fatigue factor for Pakistan players who had to play their first match on March 16.

To a question, he said there could be some protest demonstrations against the Pakistan team in India but that was not something new for Pakistan players on Indian tours. He said the PCB doesn’t want any bad relationship with the BCCI and hopefully the two boards would also move forward to resume bilateral series at the earliest.

At the beginning of the press conference, however, Shaharyar had the media representatives guessing with his perplexing statement that the Pakistan team still required PM Nawaz Sharif’s formal go ahead for travelling to India despite clearance by Interior minister Chaudhry Nisar.

Shaharyar, who looked disturbed over Najam Sethi’s announcement after the latter’s meeting with Interior Minister, said Nisar had spoken to him after Sethi’s announcement and told him that the team would most probably go to India but he (Nisar) was waiting for a go-ahead signal from Prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

However, in the very next breath Shaharyar said he believed the matter between Pakistan and India had been resolved and that the Pakistan team will most probably be going to India for World T20.

It was quite noticeable that the PCB chief, while trying quite hard to provide some additional information to the mediamen other than what Sethi had already told them in Islamabad, failed to do so.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2016