A Sri Lankan police commando stands guard as Pakistan team members practice ahead of their Cricket World Cup match against Zimbabwe in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, Sunday, March 13, 2011. – AP

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan immigration authorities detained a Pakistani journalist with the same name as the man who staged an abortive car bomb attack in New York's Times Square last year, officials said Sunday.

Faisal Shahzad, an Islamabad-based reporter, was allowed to enter the country to cover the World Cup after spending nearly a day in detention.

“We have spoken to the CID (criminal investigations department of the police) and the matter has now been resolved,” a spokesman for the Pakistan high commission (embassy) in Colombo said.

Shahzad's name was on a watch list at Colombo airport and the authorities detained him for questioning, his colleagues said. There was no immediate comment from Sri Lankan authorities.

Sri Lanka is co-hosting the cricket World Cup tournament with Bangladesh and India.