Pakistan wants athletes to fly direct to Guwahati for South Asian Games due to security reasons: Report

Pakistani officials prefer to fly athletes directly to host city instead of taking long detour via Delhi or Amritsar`.

New Delhi: As the South Asian Games are scheduled to take place in India next month, Pakistan showed concern regarding their players security and want their athletes to fly to the venue -- Guwahati and Shillong – in chartered flights, as per a report.

According to a report published in The Indian Express, Pakistan government and officials of its Olympic association made request to an Indian delegation that travelled to Islamabad and Lahore last week, saying they wanted to avoid “any ground route”.

Pakistani officials told the newspaper that they would “prefer to fly athletes directly to the host city instead of taking a long detour via Delhi or Amritsar”.

According to initial made plan, 444 Pakistani athletes and officials were scheduled to arrive in India via the Wagah border and then take flights to their respective destinations.

Security has been a serious concern for the organisers and the Indian government. And they have nearly doubled the budget to ensure the Games pass off smoothly.