England reassured gunfire near Multan team hotel not related to stay in Pakistan

England have been reassured that gunfire heard close to the team hotel on Thursday morning was not related to their stay in Multan.

It is understood local police have told England it was a clash between rival gangs and that four arrests were made. A team spokesman confirmed security plans have not changed and England’s plans not affected, although the police presence in Multan is a notch higher than it was in Islamabad last week.

The team hotel is cordoned off with barbed wire and visitors have to pass through several check points to get close to the entrance.

The stadium is 30 minutes drive from the city centre, with armed police and soldiers lining the route. The roads are closed for the team buses, causing traffic chaos for locals.

Businesses, petrol stations and shops on the route are ordered to close when the teams pass through. Schools have also been closed and exams postponed during the second Test for security reasons. Bushes on the route have been removed and sweeping by bomb disposal squads conducted.

Around 7,000 police officers are on duty and the security bill for this series is expected to cost the Pakistan Cricket Board $2 million.

Bulletproof buses and a helicopter chaperone have been provided for the journeys between the ground and stadium.

There are around 150 England supporters in Multan and all are restricted to hotels, and only allowed to leave with a pre-arranged police escort, contrasting with the freedom enjoyed in Islamabad last week where most supporters stayed for the Rawalpindi Test match.

The security costs are crippling for the PCB, who paid out a similar sum for the T20 series with England in September. But they cannot take chances with international teams only just returning to Pakistan after more than a decade playing in the UAE following a terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team in Lahore.