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Asim Munir Steps In Amid Islamabad Terror Attack, Persuades Sri Lanka To Continue With Cricket Tour

TOI.in / Nov 14, 2025, 10.55 AM IST

The Islamabad suicide blast in Pakistan came minutes before Sri Lanka’s ODI match in Rawalpindi, prompting the team to consider an immediate return home. Pakistan’s military leadership scrambled to contain the crisis, with Army Chief Asim Munir personally calling Sri Lanka’s defence minister to rescue the tour. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi revealed that Sri Lanka had “decided to return” until Pakistan assured VVIP-level protection involving the Army, Rangers and Islamabad Police. With the 2009 Lahore ambush still haunting Sri Lankan cricket, the tension was palpable. At the same time, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India, Mahishini Colonne, condemned the Delhi terror attack, expressing deep solidarity with India and acknowledging Sri Lanka’s own painful history with terrorism. The convergence of the two blasts, one threatening a cricket series, the other shaking the Indian capital, has placed Sri Lanka at the emotional and diplomatic center of a turbulent terror landscape.

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