Pakistan Ready to Host England

Pakistan has chalked out a top-level security programme for a tour by England's cricket team, with a special emergency evacuation plan in case of an earthquake, an official said today. The England team is set to arrive in Islamabad early Wednesday, some two and a half weeks after a 7.6-magnitude quake killed more than 53,000 people in the north of the country. "We have chalked out a comprehensive plan of security which also includes an emergency evacuation plan in case of certain natural eventualities," Tour Security Chief Sohail Khan said. Hundreds of aftershocks have shaken the country since the October 8 quake. The latest on Sunday measured 5.9 on the Richter scale. "Our plan constitutes crisis management and since the Pakistan government has assured England the same level of security which was provided to India last year we are leaving no stone unturned," said Khan, a police superintendent. Khan also briefed two English security experts, Andy Allman and Faisal Nigel, about the arrangements yesterday. "There will be extensive security with no parking on the road when the team moves and the plans for the movement of the convoy to and from the stadiums are ready," said Khan. "Teams have not been willing to come here and we are willing to concede on any ground because we want them here and we want to prove the point that we can provide flawless security."