Considerable amount of perception needs to be changed: Giles Clarke

Giles Clarke sympathised with the cricket fans in Pakistan and expressed hope that the day is not too far away when international cricket will be played on a regular basis in the country. Clarke, who is the head of International Cricket Council's special task force on Pakistan cricket, visited the country "on a fact finding mission" and also held meetings with the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and other government officials, which he said were productive.

"I am here on a fact finding mission and I have been asked by the ICC Chairman and Security Advisors to ascertain the facts about the present situation in Pakistan," Clarke, the former head of England and Wales Cricket Board, said during a media conference in Lahore on Saturday (January 28), which he addressed along with Shaharyar Khan, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, and Najam Sethi, the chairman of the PCB executive committee.

"I feel sad and can understand how the Pakistani people feel. But I am also hopeful that with the security situation in Pakistan improving, the day is not far off when the Pakistani people will be able to see their team play against overseas sides at home. Pakistan is an important member of the ICC and we want to see international cricket in the country. We are doing whatever we can towards this direction," said Clarke, following a demonstration of the security arrangements.

Following a series of presentations regarding the security measures in place, Clarke was pleased with the "significant work" being done towards the safety of players and general public. However, he tread on caution by saying that there was still work to be done to before the cricketing situation in the country - in terms of teams touring regularly - returns to normalcy.

"We've seen a series of presentations on security. We've been able to see very significant work that has been invested in, and invested very wisely in how safety and security will be made possible for visiting international cricket teams and also for the ordinary Pakistani public - who I am sure have no desire to find themselves in a ghastly terrorist incident. As we move forward to seeing what can be done, one has to note a little caution in that we all know that one terrible incident can push things backwards again. So, we are hoping to move forward constructively."

"This is not an easy road; we should not assume that it is going to be simple. There is a considerable amount of perception that needs to be changed and there is considerable amount of information that needs to be shared but I am most grateful to authorities in Pakistan for their efforts," he said.

Since the terrorist incident in 2009, when militants attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore, international teams have been hesitant to tour the country. In 2015, Pakistan hosted Zimbabwe for a historic limited-overs series, but other Test-playing nations have not shown such willingness to play a cricket series in the nation, forcing Pakistan to play their home games in the United Arab Emirates in the past few years.

Recently, their plans to host West Indies in Lahore after the conclusion of Pakistan Super League (PSL) suffered a setback. According to an AFP report, Shaharyar Khan had said: "The West Indies board have conveyed to us verbally that the thing is off. The West Indies players' union is not willing, so at the moment they have refused."

Cricket officials in Pakistan are now hoping that a successful and incident-free PSL final in Lahore will encourage foreign teams to consider playing again in the country. Clarke's visit to Pakistan comes in the wake of the PCB asking ICC's executive body for financial compensation for international teams not touring Pakistan since 2009.