Karachi steps up the security

On December 20, 1989, an India-Pakistan one-dayer at Karachi was abandoned after just 14 overs. As Pakistan struggled at 28 for 3, sections of the crowd hurled stones on the ground and forced the game to be called off once and for all.

In the last 16 years, Indian cricket teams have visited Karachi twice - both memorable occasions that produced nail-biting contests - but security concerns have meant that the trips have been brief and over in a flash.

Karachi has also been in the eye of the storm a few times in the past, most notably when New Zealand called off their tour in 2002 after a bomb blast outside their hotel. Since then, only Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have played a Test here and several teams, including India on their previous tour, preferred to play just a lone one-dayer in the city.

That game, however - when the crowd rose to the occasion and cheered the Indians after an astonishing match - sent out a clear message: Karachi was safe, Karachi deserved more cricket.

That ODI was also a watershed moment for the Karachi Police, according to Inspector Chowdhury Mohammad Yousuf, currently in charge of the security branch. "Everything went according to plan in that game," he told Cricinfo, "and we have used that as a blueprint for every game since then. We realised that we needed to get more professional and needed to plan till the last detail."

This time too, the Indian board took great pains to ensure that all security arrangements were in place and decided to review the arrangements a couple of days before the game.

Yousuf went on to explain the arrangements in detail, talking about static pickets, mobile patrols, motorcycle patrols, intelligence division, mounted police and aerial surveillance.

"More than 3000 of the police force have been put in charge," he continued, "and we have accounted for all threat levels. A central control room has also been set up in the National Stadium, from where all security activities would be monitored."

On the surface, the security arrangements aren't different from any other Test in the series, but Yousuf insists that the "scrutiny levels" will be far greater. "After all," he adds, "even the most minor incident will be blown out of proportion."

Apart from the cricket, Yousuf has other big things on his mind. On the evening of the first day of the Test (January 29) a Bryan Adams concert is scheduled, an important occasion for the city considering that it's the first ever time that a big western pop star will perform here.

Yousuf couldn't hide his joy at Karachi getting a chance to stage two big events simultaneously and felt it was an ideal chance for the fans to prove themselves to the world community. "Karachi is as safe or as dangerous as any other city," he adds, "and within five days you will be saying the same."