Web Report
Dubai – Lahore is ready to host the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Sunday amid tight security.
It is estimated that 18,000 tickets have already been sold for the PSL final between Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators – a full house is expected on Sunday – as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) attempts to bring high-profile cricket involving some overseas players back to Pakistan.
The security presence in Lahore has increased significantly over the last overnight, after a spate of bombings rocked Pakistan’s second largest city and other parts of the country last month. The Gaddafi Stadium has been off limits to the general public over the last three days.
Though the PSL had maintained from the start that this year’s final would be held in Pakistan, the bombings over the last month had caused uncertainty. At least 13 people were killed and more than 80 injured in a blast near the Punjab assembly in Lahore on February 13, while 88 died after a bomb went off at a shrine in the Sindh province on February 16.
More than 10,000 security personnel have been deployed, including Punjab police, and Pakistan’s paramilitary force – Rangers. The Nishtar Park compound has been protected by huge metal gates, and spectators will be able to enter the Gaddafi Stadium only after three layers of security checks, some of which take place at a two-kilometre protective perimeter around the venue. The first layer of checks – after the five areas marked for parking – can be passed only after verification of the person’s original national identity card.
The entire complex has also been set up with a new range of scanners, high definition facial-recognition CCTV systems, and police control centres. No public vehicle is allowed within a kilometre of the sports complex, and entry will be on foot from Liberty roundabout and Ferozpur Road, through extensive security layers. Surrounding roads connected to the complex will be closed for traffic and alternative routes have been given by the Lahore traffic police.
A makeshift hospital facility has also been built within the hockey stadium adjacent to the cricket stadium in case of emergency. The opening ceremony is scheduled for 6pm and the match for 8pm.
“The entire city will function normally, and there will be less inconvenience, but for the sake of the people’s safety we have to have a tight security programme in place,” Rana Sana Ullah, the Punjab law minister, told reporters at Gaddafi Stadium.
