Security concerns again threaten South African tour

The status of South Africa's tour to Pakistan was thrown into doubt with the news that the South African foreign ministry has advised the side against going to Karachi, Peshawar, and any areas near the Afghanistan border.

"We will not be sending a team anywhere where there is a threat to security," Bronwyn Wilkinson, the communications director for the South African board (UCB), told the BBC. "We have been told there is a minimal risk of a premeditated attack and because of this we need to ensure no stone is left unturned.

"We will still need advice from foreign affairs on whether they want us to go at all or to avoid Karachi and Peshawar, or to go under special conditions," Wilkinson explained. "We asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to alter the itinerary, but they were reluctant to do that because of the planning that had gone into the tour."

Last week the UCB formally asked the PCB to move the matches at Karachi, which is due to host the tour-opener, a Test, and an ODI, and Peshawar, which will stage the third Test. The PCB expressed reluctance because of the planning that had already gone into the matches, and it added that it believed its security measures - which are those normally reserved for state visits - were more than adequate.

Security experts appointed by the UCB will leave for Pakistan on Sunday, and they will meet with the PCB and local police before returning to South Africa on Thursday (September 18) to deliver their report. The squad is scheduled to leave for Pakistan on the following Sunday.

Rashid Latif, Pakistan's captain who is currently sitting out a five-match suspension, urged the South Africans not to cancel any part of the trip. "There is absolutely nothing wrong in these two cities," he said. "We have just played Bangladesh in Tests in Karachi and Peshawar and everything was fine. I don't think the South Africans should expect any problems."