PCB to buy bulletproof buses

Karachi: Pakistani cricket chiefs on Wednesday approved the purchase of bulletproof buses as part of efforts to persuade foreign teams to return after a long suspension over security fears.

No international team has played in Pakistan since the March 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team bus in Lahore, which left eight people dead and seven visiting players wounded.

But the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) hopes internationals could be revived as early as next year following the successful staging of two exhibition matches in Karachi involving an International World XI in Karachi at the weekend.

No international team has played in Pakistan since the March 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team bus in Lahore.

The PCB governing board met in Abbottabad -- the garrison town north of Islamabad where Osama bin Laden was killed in a US raid last year -- to agree to buy the armoured transport. "To ensure best security protocols for the international teams, the board unanimously approved the purchase of bulletproof buses to enable the PCB to achieve higher security measures for the visiting teams," a PCB release said.

The board was also updated on the construction of a stadium in Islamabad, which would also have accommodation facilities for the teams in order to provide them better security. "This stadium, when complete, with a capacity of 50,000, will be the biggest cricket stadium in Pakistan. For this purpose the PCB has already taken over a piece of land measuring 35 acres (14 hectares) in Islamabad," the release said.

The board is hoping the new ground and hotel complex will be ready for use next year.

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