The cricket team from England arrived in Karachi on Thursday for their first trip to Pakistan in 17 years, a long gap brought on by security concerns. England last played in Pakistan in 2005, and they were scheduled to return last year before abruptly cancelling after New Zealand also postponed a tour owing to safety concerns. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which is desperately trying to repair its security reputation, was outraged by the action and labelled it “disrespectful.”

The English cricket squad, according to reports, landed in Karachi on an Emirates flight through Dubai on Thursday morning.

According to police officials, the visiting delegation was subjected to stringent security measures during their transfer from the Karachi airport to the hotel.

Following a fatal terrorist assault in 2009 on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore, Pakistan was compelled to host England for series in 2012 and 2015 at neutral venues like the UAE.

International cricket has slowly made a comeback in Pakistan over the past five years, and earlier this year, Australia completed a successful tour for the first time in nearly 25 years.

Strict security

The PCB expressed confidence that the England games will also go ahead without a hitch, noting that the Australia series had “demonstrated our event planning and operational skills.”

Roads between the England team accommodation and Karachi’s National stadium will be closed off and guarded by security personnel on game days.

Their route will be monitored by a helicopter, and businesses that have stadium views will be required to close.

The Pakistani government was fighting off militants, including its own internal Taliban chapter, when England last visited Pakistan.

Although the security situation has significantly improved since then, attacks have increased ever since the Taliban retook control of the neighbouring country of Afghanistan.

The deadliest terrorist assault since 2018 occurred in March when an ISIS suicide bomber targeted a minority Shiite mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing 64 people.

The porous border areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which have long been a hotbed of terrorism, are where the majority of violence occurs.

Rain does not stop play

Karachi and Lahore, however, have recently been the targets of Baloch terrorist attacks. Three Chinese nationals were among the four fatalities in Karachi in April.

The tour takes place as Pakistan struggles to recover from devastating flooding that has submerged nearly a third of the nation and impacted at least 33 million people.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) stated last month that despite the humanitarian crisis, the team was “desperate” to play in Pakistan.

Players and support staff from England, who last played in Pakistan in 2005, touched down in Karachi on Thursday for the seven-match T20I series#PAKvENGhttps://t.co/yp6TDb3QWE

— CricketNDTV (@CricketNDTV) September 15, 2022

“I think hopefully us going out there and playing will be a positive for what’s been a pretty harrowing time for the people of that country,”

said managing director of men’s cricket Rob Key.

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From September 20 to October 2, the 19-man England side, led by Jos Buttler, will compete against Pakistan in seven Twenty20 matches in Karachi and Lahore as preparation for the T20 World Cup in Australia that will take place the following month.

Three five-day Test matches will be played in England when they return in December.