Pakistan has deployed its army and paramilitary forces to safeguard the touring Sri Lankan cricket team after a deadly suicide bombing in Islamabad raised security concerns.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi confirmed the deployment to parliament on Thursday, stating: “Our army and paramilitary are deployed for the Sri Lankan team’s security.”
The decision follows Tuesday’s suicide bombing outside an Islamabad court, which killed 12 and wounded 27. The team’s stadium and hotel are less than 10 kilometres from the blast site.
The Sri Lanka Cricket Board confirmed players sought to return home after the blast. However, the board instructed the team to remain, citing “foolproof” security guarantees.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif stated the attacks had put the country in a “state of war”, blaming Afghanistan-based militants and alleging Indian support (claims denied by Kabul and New Delhi).
This unrest revived memories of the 2009 Lahore attack on the Sri Lankan team, which halted international cricket in Pakistan for nearly a decade, despite recent security improvements that had seen major teams return.
England have toured Pakistan twice for Test series since international cricket returned to the country in 2022 and 2024, respectively, while they also played a seven-match T20 series in Pakistan ahead of winning the World Cup in 2022.
Pakistan also hosted the majority of the matches at the Champions Trophy earlier this year, although India played all of their matches in the UAE.
India went on to win the tournament, beating New Zealand in the final, while Pakistan were eliminated in the group stages following defeats by the two eventual finalists and a no result in their clash with Bangladesh.
The Sri Lankan side is currently playing a three-match one-day series in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, before a T20 tri-series against Zimbabwe.
Pakistan won the first one-day international against Sri Lanka by six runs in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.
