'Karachi has earned a Test'

The security arrangements and crowd behaviour during Saturday's ODI have proved that the city can successfully host a Test match, says an Indian security official.

The security arrangements and the crowd behaviour during the Saturday's one day international between India and Pakistan have proved that the city can successfully host a Test match, Indian Security Agency chief, IGP Yashorwardhan Azad, who deals with the VIP Security Division, has said.

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"Karachi has earned a Test match. The security arrangements made by the Karachi Police are a clear mark of high-grade professionals. The DIG and SP deserve kudos, congrats, and good luck," he said according to a report in The News.

In his remarks in the visitors book during the match, Azad reportedly wrote: "It was indeed a unique opportunity to visit the Command and Control Room set up by the Karachi police at the National Stadium, where the first one-dayer was scheduled; the aspects of details gone into have been a revelation. Communication, area security, proximate cover and chain of command have all been defined."

Meanwhile, according to the paper, after the match Azad came to Singh IGP Syed Kamal Shah and said: "Karachi has earned a test match".

"Today a message was delivered to the whole world that the people of Karachi are peace-loving and disciplined citizens and they have a sense of responsibility," Shah said while commenting on the crowd behaviour.

Meanwhile, another report in the paper quoted the country's Information and Broadcasting Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmed as saying: "The discipline the crowds exhibited is worth appreciation, and it nullifies the propaganda by Western media against conditions in Pakistan."