The federal government of Pakistan has ratified the use of personnel from the Pakistan Army and Rangers to provide security during season 8 of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
The governments of Punjab, Sindh and the administration of Islamabad had requested Interior Ministry to seek approval from the federal cabinet to okay the deployment of Army and Rangers personnel for security during the PSL which is scheduled to begin tonight.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had previously written to the interior ministry as well, seeking the same outcome.
After the ratification, Army and Rangers will join the Pakistan police and other tiered security personnel to furnish protection during the entirety of the PSL 8.
The Pakistani government has also granted all the participating teams and match officials the status of state guests while all the foreign dignitaries, commentators and production crew have been accorded VIP status.
Foreign nationals constitute a solid chunk of each team’s squad putting the eyes of the world on Pakistan which merits the use of the highest level of security arrangements for PSL.
Pakistan has also seen an increase in visits from foreign teams and another successful staging of PSL will go a long way in helping the country get even more teams to agree to visit.
PSL 8 begins tonight with Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans in action.
