England security officials to visit Pakistan

England are to send two security officials to Pakistan to assess the safety arrangements for the team's forthcoming tour.

The pair will arrive in Pakistan on Sunday to assess match venues and team hotels, an unnamed official from the Pakistan board told the Reuters news agency. The security officials will then meet with interior ministry officials to review all of the arrangements for the tour, which begins with England's arrival on October 26.

"We are going to provide state-level security to the English cricketers," said the board official. "All our arrangements and rehearsals have been completed."

England's tour of Pakistan begins with a warm-up match on October 31, and one further practice game before the first Test gets underway on November 12 at Multan, in what is their first tour of Pakistan since 2000. The tourists have already rejected a proposal a proposal to play a Test match in Karachi or any match in Peshawar for security reasons.

Abbas Zaidi, the director of the PCB, has already assured the England management that the board will do its utmost to ensure the team's security in Pakistan. "The security for them will be air tight," he said. "The interior ministry officials have been cooperative in the past and this time also they are extending all cooperation. We don't foresee any problems with the security arrangements for the visitors."