Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has appreciated the Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's decision to send the Indian cricket team to resume Test series and One Day cricket matches with Pakistan's cricket team, which was suspended in 1989.
Official sources told APP that keeping in view the significance of this positive development in normalisation efforts between the two countries, Prime Minister Jamali has directed all the relevant ministries and organisations to make foolproof security arrangements for the forthcoming tour of the Indian cricket team to Pakistan.
According to the sources, Jamali has directed that the security arrangements for the tour of the Indian team should be at a level even higher than the South African cricket team's visit.
In every city that the Indian team visits (Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi and Peshawar), the primary responsibility for security will rest with the police, while the other law enforcement agencies would assist the police in the performance of its duties.
The premier directed that the governors or chief ministers of the three provinces - NWFP, Punjab and Sindh - should head the provincial ad hoc committees to oversee security as well as administrative and other arrangements.
Each provincial committee should have separate sub-committees for security, administrative and media matters.
The Pakistan Cricket Board should provide necessary assistance to these committees, the prime minister directed.
CONTROL ROOMS: In order to ensure round-the-clock assistance to the arrangement committees, the prime minister asked the Pakistan Cricket Board to set up a control room at its local headquarters for the duration of the Indian team's tour. These control rooms will cope with all kinds of emergencies, he added.
The sources said that in view of the expected rush of cricket spectators wishing to come to Pakistan from the neighbouring country, Prime Minister Jamali has also directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior to prepare appropriate plans for issuance of visas to the Indian nationals before the tour begins.
"There should be no free entry into cricket stadiums and it should be strictly through tickets only. A special team should be appointed to monitor the stadium entrance to prevent ticket-less persons to avoid any chaos and confusion," the prime minister directed.
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