ISLAMABAD, June 21: In the wake of recent debate whether Pakistan is a ‘secure and terrorism-free’ state to hold the ICC Champions Trophy in September, Australia and New Zealand governments have termed the visit to Pakistan risky and advised their citizens to be watchful.

Teams from Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, India and the West Indies besides Pakistan are supposed to take part in the sixth edition of the ICC event.

The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade advised their citizens on its website that “there is extreme risk to travellers’ security in Pakistan and they are advised against it”.

The travel advisory further stated that “it is recommended that the New Zealanders in Pakistan who have concerns about their security should consider leaving. New Zealanders should defer all travel to Pakistan”.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs advised its citizens to reconsider their travel to Pakistan: “If you decide to travel to Pakistan, you should exercise extreme caution”.

It must be mentioned here that the cricketers from the two countries have also shown their reservations about travelling to Pakistan.

A PCB official, when contacted by Dawn on Saturday about the travel advisories’ ‘precautions’, said the advisories were meant for the general public and not for the cricketers.

“If you look at the advisory you find out that it is meant for the general public but as far as professional cricketers are concerned they follow the instructions of their boards,” the official pointed out. Regarding security concerns raised by some players of Australia and New Zealand, the official said: “It all depends on mutual understanding between the players and their boards.”

He said stringent security measures have been taken for the Champions Trophy and the ICC delegation, who recently visited Pakistan, had also shown their satisfaction.

“All the security measures have been completed for the Champions Trophy and there are simply no security concerns,” the PCB official said.

He added, “ICC President Ray Mali reiterated that the tournament will be awarded to Pakistan and the country has made good arrangements for it.”