Pak to intensify military operations across Punjab province, no announcement on PSL final

Lahore [Pakistan] Feb. 26 (ANI): Pakistan has decided to strengthen the military operations across the Punjab province. The decisions were taken after a high-level meeting of the civil and military officials on Sunday which was chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, reports Dawn. The top officials along with the Chief Minister will review law and order in the province and would try to resolve the issue of extremism, sectarianism, militancy and terrorism. The decision was taken to enhance the recently launched country-wide military operation Raddul Fasaad and to widen the scope of Rangers, police and Counter-Terrorism Department. The committee also directed law enforcement agencies to provide adequate security to mosques, imambargahs and other places of worship in the region. However, no official announcement was made regarding the venue of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) final which was expected to come by the end of this day. Earlier, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan, while remaining keen on staging the high-profile PSL final in Lahore, had insisted that the final decision in this regard would be made by the federal government. Earlier, there were doubts whether the PCB would hold the PSL final in Lahore on March 5 following the February 13 suicide bombing in which 13 people were killed, the Dawn reported. However, in a meeting held last week between the PSL management and the five franchise owners in Dubai, it was decided the summit clash of the tournament would be held in Lahore as per schedule. It should be noted that Pakistan have not hosted any international cricket tournaments since the terror attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009,when six Pakistani Policemen were killed and some of the visiting players were injured. (ANI)