Champions Trophy moved from troubled Pakistan
Friday, 14 September 2007
KARACHI, Sept 13 (AFP): The International Hockey Federation is to move the Champions Trophy away from Pakistan because of security fears, officials said today.
Australia-the Olympic champions-Spain and South Korea had already pulled out of the event due to be held in Lahore from December 1 citing instability in the country.
"With regret we announce that Pakistan has been told that the Champions Trophy has been shifted from Lahore over security fears after some teams refused to tour and some showed reservations over coming to Pakistan," Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) spokesman Altaf Sabir told AFP.
An upsurge in suicide bombings since the Pakistani government's raid on a radical mosque in the capital Islamabad in July has left nearly 250 people dead.
There has also been political violence and mass civil unrest in the wake of President Pervez Musharraf's botched attempt in March to sack the country's chief justice.
Australia-the Olympic champions-Spain and South Korea had already pulled out of the event due to be held in Lahore from December 1 citing instability in the country.
"With regret we announce that Pakistan has been told that the Champions Trophy has been shifted from Lahore over security fears after some teams refused to tour and some showed reservations over coming to Pakistan," Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) spokesman Altaf Sabir told AFP.
An upsurge in suicide bombings since the Pakistani government's raid on a radical mosque in the capital Islamabad in July has left nearly 250 people dead.
There has also been political violence and mass civil unrest in the wake of President Pervez Musharraf's botched attempt in March to sack the country's chief justice.