Indian security officials to visit venues ahead of series

An Indian delegation will arrive in Lahore over the weekend to assess security at the venues, especially at the port city of Karachi, ahead of India's tour next month.

"The five member security team is arriving here and will tour Karachi on December 26," Zakir Khan, the security coordinator of the Pakistan board, told AFP on Friday.

India will start their tour of Pakistan from January 6, playing three Tests and five one-day games. New Delhi has cleared the tour but concerns remain, particularly over violence-plagued Karachi where foreign teams have previously refused to play a five-day Test. India rejected the city for a Test when they toured Pakistan last year, their first tour across the border since 1989-90.

Pakistan cricket authorities were confident Karachi would get the go-ahead to host a Test and limited-overs game after England played a one-day game there without any problems early this month. Yashovardhan Azad, a senior police official and security expert, heads the visiting delegation that includes officials from the Indian board - Ratnakar Shetty, GS Walia, Rajiv Shukla and Ranghbir Singh Krishna. Azad, elder brother of Kirti Azad, former India player, managed security for the Pakistan team in 1999 and early this year.

Khan said an assessment of all the venues would not be possible because of heavy fog in the Punjab. "Besides Karachi, the next important venue is Peshawar, where the team will visit after Karachi," said Khan. Peshawar has also been rejected by foreign teams in the past because of its close proximity with Afghanistan. England also refused to play in Peshawar, but India played a one-day game in the northern city on their last trip.