Pakistan call off home series against Afghanistan citing safety concerns

Kabul, Afghanistan: Pakistan has called off its plans to host the Afghanistan cricket team in April following last Sunday’s suicide bombing in the eastern city of Lahore which killed 70 people. Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman, Amjad Bhatti, told The Associated Press today it was in negotiations with officials of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, “but now the tour is called off due to overall security situation in the country.” [caption id=“attachment_2559796” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File picture of Shaharyar Khan. AFP[/caption] The PCB was planning to host Afghanistan for three one-day internationals in Lahore and Karachi and also a four-day game against Pakistan A. Azizullah Fazly, the executive director of the Afghan cricket team, said Pakistan had been asked to guarantee the teams’ safety for the tour. He described the response of the Pakistan cricket authorities as “unacceptable”. “We gave them another option, to hold the championship in Dubai, which would be good because many people from both countries live there,” he said. “But we haven’t yet received any response.” No major foreign Test-playing nation has toured Pakistan since terrorists attacked the Sri Lanka cricket team bus in Lahore in 2009. Last year, Zimbabwe played a short one-day series in Lahore.