Source: BBC
Bangladesh has indefinitely postponed a cricket tour by Pakistan because of security concerns, officials say.

The tour was scheduled to begin at the end of this month.

The Bangladesh government says it is still coping with the aftermath of last month’s border guard mutiny and cannot guarantee security for Pakistan’s team.

The decision to cancel all visits by foreign sports teams comes two weeks after an attack on Sri Lanka’s cricket team in the Pakistani city of Lahore.

‘Hunting rebels’

At least 74 people were killed in the mutiny. Hundreds of guardsmen were later arrested, but hundreds more are still sought.

Sports Minister Ahad Ali Sarkar said late on Tuesday that the government had put on hold tours by foreign sports teams because all security resources were focused on the investigation and manhunt after the mutiny.

“We have had to suspend the tour for the time being because of security concerns,” the AFP news agency quoted Mr Sarkar as saying.

“Our law enforcement agencies are at the moment hunting rebels wanted for last month’s mutiny in Dhaka so it’s not possible for us to give fool-proof security to the Pakistani cricket team,” he said.

The Pakistan team was scheduled to play two Twenty20 matches and five one-day internationals in Bangladesh.

“The Bangladesh Cricket Board is trying to work out a new schedule with the Pakistani cricket authorities,” board spokesman Rabeed Imam told AFP.

Bangladesh’s government says it suspects that the mutiny by the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) was not a simple revolt over pay, as the mutineers themselves said, but perhaps part of a wider conspiracy.

The mutiny began on 25 February at the BDR annual meeting at its headquarters in Dhaka but briefly spread to other barracks across the country.

The rebels surrendered after 33 hours but they killed at least 56 of their officers, including their commander. His wife and a number of other officers’ wives were also killed.

Many of the bodies were found to have been mutilated. A handful of civilians died in the crossfire.

Blow

Correspondents say the government has undoubtedly been shaken by the mutiny.

The army has stepped up security at about a dozen strategic buildings in Dhaka, including the official residence of the prime minister.

The BBC’s Mark Dummett in Dhaka says the decision to postpone the Pakistan tour is another blow for cricket in South Asia following the Lahore attack.

Up to 14 militants shot dead six policemen and a driver and injured eight Sri Lankan Tour members in the attack.

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Tags: Bangladesh government, cricket tour, security concerns