Australian team to continue Pak tour despite Peshawar blast: PCB source | Cricket News – Times of India

KARACHI: The Australian cricket squad will continue its tour of Pakistan despite a suicide bomb blast at a mosque in Peshawar, which is about 184 kilometres from Rawalpindi, where the visitors are playing their first Test in the country after 24 years.
“Cricket Australia is constantly in touch with the Pakistan Cricket Board, their High Commission and relevant security personnel and there is no danger to the historic tour,” a source in the board, who declined to be named, said on Friday.

He said that since the CEO of Cricket Australia and the CEO of the Australian Cricketers Association were both in Rawalpindi for the first Test, they were constantly in touch with their own security personnel, PCB, and their High Commission.
“The two officials have been briefed on the incident in Peshawar and it is a process where Cricket Australia, PCB and ACA are constantly monitoring the situation as it progresses.
“But the Australians continue to be given state level security at every step of the tour and they are in a safe and secure environment,” the source said.
He recalled that even when South Africa toured Pakistan in 2007 for a Test series, a series of blasts had taken place in Karachi when former prime minister, the late Benazir Bhutto returned home from exile in Dubai.
“The South Africans continued and completed their tour. The Australians are also in sync with the security given to them and their security team is monitoring round the clock,” he said.
The Australian media also reported that team officials are monitoring the situation and in contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The attack in Peshawar happened during Friday prayers at a mosque for Shia muslims. The blast resulted in the death of 56 people inside the mosque and left scores injured.
Australia play their remaining Test matches of the series in Lahore and Karachi and return to Rawalpindi for the white-ball series. They have no matches scheduled in Peshawar.
Another source working in close proximity with Australian team security officials said Pakistan had learnt lessons well from the 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka’s team.
After that attack, the ICC moved 2011 World Cup matches from Pakistan and top international teams also refused to tour because of security concerns.
The process of international teams and Test matches returning to Pakistan began in 2019/20 when Sri Lanka and Bangladesh played Tests in Pakistan.
South Africa also toured Pakistan in early 2021 for a Test series but Australia is the first top notch side to visit Pakistan since 2009.