ICC World Twenty20: Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit to send safety assurance recommendations to Islamabad

An important meeting is to be held in Pakistan today deciding on their participation.

New Delhi: The ongoing saga of Pakistan's participation in the ICC World Twenty20 could come to an end with latest developments suggesting that the national teams are likely to get cleared by the government on Friday.

Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit said that the Home Secretary has given assurance of safety, so he will send the recommendation to Islamabad.

He also said that he would not divulge anything and would submit the recommendation to Islamabad.

"I would not divulge anything, I will submit my recommendation to Islamabad," said Basit to ANI. 

He also said that it is up to the Pakistan government to decide as he will be sending the recommendations.

"I will be sending my recommendations to Islamabad and its for the Govt (Pak) to decide," said Abdul Basit.

Meanwhile, the Kolkata police has written to Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) assuring full security to Pakistan team on Friday.

Also Pakistan's warm-up match against Bengal, which was slated to be held on Saturday has been cancelled.

Earlier, speaking to english news channel CNN IBN, Najam Sethi stated that the decision isn't yet taken and that the board is going to put the assurances in front of the Home Minister.

He also said that the transcripts of all statements will be shown as an important meeting is going to be held between the PCB and the government on Friday.

The Indo-Pak match was supposed to be held at Dharamsala but the clash got shifted from to Kolkata on Wednesday citing security reasons after protests by former Army personnel. 

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee assured on Thursday, that foolproof security will be provided to the Pakistan cricket team. Concerned with security arrangements in India, Pakistan had demanded security assurance before letting their teams fly out to India.

According to reports, on Friday, Kiren Rijiju, the Minister of State for Home Affairs has said that security is in place for all teams but no written assurance will be given to Pakistan.

"We are there to protect all the teams who are participating in the World Cup and it is our obligation and sovereign duty to secure everybody who is in Indian territory. It is our duty to provide security to each team. CISF will be the provided security at the venue," Rijiju said.  

Earlier, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Shahryar Khan had said that conflicting signals originating from India over Dharamsala have forced them to seek a change in location for the mega battle.

After days of speculation and following pressure from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the ICC announced its decision to shift the venue to Eden Gardens citing security concerns.

Meanwhile, the prospect of the Indo-Pak battle in Himalaya's own lap has consistently been threatened by the Shiv Sena. Also the state's Chief Minister had stated he will not provide security for the match.

The BCCI was forced to shift the match and Anurag Thakur lashed out at the people who are responsible for polarising cricket.