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The New Zealand tour and security considerations

MenInG

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There has been a bomb explosion in Islamabad, one policeman killed. Let's see how this is taken by NZC.

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A policeman was martyred and at least six people — including four police officers and two civilians — were injured in a suicide blast in Islamabad’s I-10/4 sector on Friday, police officials said.

Television footage showed the fiery wreckage of a vehicle with a large number of police personnel at the scene.

According to Deputy Inspector General of Police Sohail Zafar Chattha, the police spotted a “suspicious vehicle” with a man and a woman aboard at 10:15am in the area.

“When the police stopped the vehicle, the couple came out of the car. The long-haired man, while being checked by the officers, went inside the vehicle on some pretext and then detonated himself,” he said in a media briefing at the crime scene alongside Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon.

Chattha said a police officer of the Eagle Squad was martyred in the blast while four others officers were injured. He lauded the police for “saving Islamabad from a major foul play”.

Meanwhile, the joint executive director of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Dr Iqbal Durrani, told Dawn.com that two bodies and five injured policemen had been brought to the hospital.

Later in a tweet, the Islamabad police identified the slain officer as Head Constable Adeel Hussain. It said that terrorists had been targeting police for some time to demoralise law enforcement personnel.

In another tweet, the police said that diversions had been placed for both sides of traffic at Service Road East of Sector I-10/4. It advised citizens to use Service Road West of Sector I-10/4 as an alternate and stay away from the blast site.

Red alert issued
Immediately after the blast was reported, the Islamabad inspector-general issued orders for a “security red alert” across the city.

In a tweet, the police said that strict action will be taken against vehicles with “non-specimen” number plates, adding that no one will be allowed to carry arms.

It also advised residents to carry documents of identification while travelling.

A day ago, Islamabad police issued a statement, saying its Eagle Squad had checked 2,024 suspicious persons, motorcycles, and vehicles as part of a security measure, especially in the aftermath of a new wave of terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Condemnations
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari condemned the blast and expressed grief over the martyrdom of the policeman.

In a statement issued after the blast, he paid tribute to the “brave men of Islamabad police”.

Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said that Islamabad was secured from a “big disaster” today. “ Adeel Hussain and the injured comrades who sacrifice their lives in the line of duty are heroes of the nation.“

She tweeted that Pakistan’s salvation and prosperity lay only in freedom from terrorism.

PTI leader Asad Umar said the presence of a “suicide bomber” in Islamabad signified that the country was moving towards destruction at a rapid pace.

“Terrorism is already spreading rapidly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the economy and public order have been destroyed — in which direction are they leading the country in their greed for power?” he tweeted.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1727851/one-policeman-martyred-in-suicide-blast-in-islamabads-i-10-police
 
Might actually work in our favour if cricket is shifted back into the UAE
 
Might actually work in our favour if cricket is shifted back into the UAE

To even say this is low and borderline moronic. Results aren’t everything, Pakistan cricket is supplied by its young cricketers. How will they be encouraged if they can’t even watch their team in front of them.
 
[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] is right. We need to provide presidential security to foreign teams because we ourselves know things can go south anytime..
 
Everything will be fine as long as chicken Pakistani cricket followers don't panic more in comparison to the visitors
 
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Political turmoil in the country, a transition in PCB management and now a terrorist attack in the capital. NZ have every right to be concerned
 
Whole series shifted to Karachi due to fog etc - guess better that way for security agencies as less travelling etc.
 
Seems all relaxed in the Kiwi camp which is good news.

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It’s the unlikeliest of Christmas Day destinations but the Black Caps will enter into the festive spirit in Karachi with pavlova, a personal barista and some classic Kiwi fare prepared by hotel chefs.

Santa’s little helper – also known as bowling coach Shane Jurgensen – is scheduled to don the red hat and hand out presents, too, as the New Zealand cricketers try to bring a sense of familiarity on the eve of the first test against Pakistan. As familiar as you can get amid a security bubble and hotel lockdown, with no partners or children on tour.

It’s rare for the Black Caps to have Christmas away from New Zealand – only in South Africa in 2012 and Australia in 2019 in the past decade – and even rarer to be in Pakistan where they last played a match in 2003. Usually it’s a busy family gathering for all ages somewhere in New Zealand, before a Boxing Day match in places like Christchurch or Mount Maunganui.

After New Zealand Cricket abandoned last year’s Pakistan tour on security advice on the morning of game one in Rawalpindi, it agreed to this two-test, three-ODI tour at the height of the home summer.

England’s 3-0 test series victory was completed without incident last week which would have eased their minds, as new captain Tim Southee’s 15-man squad flew in under heavy guard on Thursday.

“Obviously the Black Caps environment is very family-orientated and we’re quite a tight-knit group. I guess it'll be pretty low key, and different to Christmas at home, but at the same time, I know the boys will be getting together and we'll have a few gifts for each other,” said Black Caps spinner Ajaz Patel on departure.

“It'll be different, but it'll be interesting. It'll be exciting. It'll probably be a bit of fun, some funny business and all that kind of stuff.”

So, how do you celebrate Christmas in Karachi? For the Black Caps, Sunday will mean training from 10am-1pm local time (6pm-9pm NZT) before Southee conducts his pre-match press conference and joins Pakistan’s Babar Azam for the obligatory trophy shots at the National Stadium.

The team will return to their hotel in the now-standard presidential security motorcade for the traditional capping ceremony, where the playing XI are presented with their black caps on match eve.

Christmas dinner will be traditional fare, with chefs preparing a menu including roast chicken, turkey, lamb, seasonal vegetables, Christmas pudding and rice pudding. Jurgensen also provided the home-made pavlova transported in their considerable bag of goodies from home – also including marmite, peanut butter, sourdough and Christmas cake.

Then there’s the coffee. Bowler Blair Tickner runs his own cafe and a coffee machine was seen being squeezed into luggage as they departed Auckland. “There’s a lot of coffee lovers… so he should certainly be supplying a lot for us,” said Jurgensen.

Presents will then be dished out by a bloke in a red hat after the team followed Secret Santa tradition with names drawn out at random.

Said Jurgensen: “We'll certainly celebrate the day accordingly. It'll certainly be different, but a good opportunity for us as a team to bond. It will probably be a bit like bubble life again for a few weeks.”

And a welcome return (for some) to test cricket, six months since the Black Caps’ previous series, a rollicking 3-0 defeat in England.

New Zealand have won just two of their 21 tests in Pakistan. Their last one, in 2002, saw a hefty defeat in Lahore via an Inzamam-ul-Haq triple-century and a Shoaib Akhtar bowling demolition, before the second test in Karachi was abandoned on match morning after a fatal bomb blast outside the team hotel.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/crick...he-black-caps-celebrate-christmas-in-pakistan
 
You're not an expert in security, Kiwis don't agree with you.

Easy to say such things when you are living in the US.

I live in Peshawar cantonment, we have been warned by the army to avoid crowded places over the next few days because there is a very strong possibility of a suicide attack.

There are multiple checkpoints in Peshawar & today the level of security & checking was extremely high.

What happened in Islamabad the other day was not an isolated incident - the country is on the brink of a new wave of suicide bombing if the security forces are not able to avert the threat.

In addition to what happened in Islamabad & what is happening in Peshawar right now, US embassy & Marriott Islamabad are on alert as well.

Eventually, the NZ intel could pick up on these threats too & they would be justified to cancel the tour if it comes to that.
 
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Security situation worsening again in Pakistan. There was a blast in Islamabad the other day.

And people want internationals staged in KPK and Balochistan ?
 
Security situation worsening again in Pakistan. There was a blast in Islamabad the other day.

And people want internationals staged in KPK and Balochistan ?

It’s mainly Javed Afridi putting unnecessary pressure on PCB
 
Security situation worsening again in Pakistan. There was a blast in Islamabad the other day.

And people want internationals staged in KPK and Balochistan ?

It's a political thing, nothing more.
 
Easy to say such things when you are living in the US.

I live in Peshawar cantonment, we have been warned by the army to avoid crowded places over the next few days because there is a very strong possibility of a suicide attack.

There are multiple checkpoints in Peshawar & today the level of security & checking was extremely high.

What happened in Islamabad the other day was not an isolated incident - the country is on the brink of a new wave of suicide bombing if the security forces are not able to avert the threat.

In addition to what happened in Islamabad & what is happening in Peshawar right now, US embassy & Marriott Islamabad are on alert as well.

Eventually, the NZ intel could pick up on these threats too & they would be justified to cancel the tour if it comes to that.

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The US embassy in Islamabad on Sunday prohibited its staff from visiting the city’s Marriott Hotel due to concerns of a “possible attack”.

A security alert issued by the embassy said the US government was “aware of information that unknown individuals are possibly plotting to attack Americans at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad sometime during the holidays”.

The embassy also urged all its personnel to refrain from “non-essential, unofficial travel in Islamabad throughout the holiday season” due to the red alert declared in the city and the ban on public gatherings.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1728195/u...amabads-marriott-hotel-citing-possible-attack
 
For now, our guests are enjoying Christmas away from home

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The Saudi Arabian embassy in Islamabad issued a security alert for the kingdom’s citizens in Pakistan on Monday, advising them to remain “careful and limit their movement” amid rising terror threat.

DAWN
 
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