KARACHI: Pakistani squash officials will offer to house visiting squash professionals in Islamabad’s heavily guarded ‘Red Zone’ in a bid to save next month’s Pakistan Open from falling victim to the ongoing violence in the country, writes Khalid Hussain.

Most of the world’s top professionals want to stay away from the country even though it would be staging the lucrative US$85,000 Pakistan Open from November 8-15 at the Mushaf Squash Complex in Islamabad.

The players lost interest in the Pakistan Open immediately after last month’s Marriott Hotel bombing in Islamabad and there were fears that the tournament might get scrapped from the World Tour.

But frantic efforts by the Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) forced the Professional Squash Association (PSA) to extend the entry deadline for the tournament to October 20. Initially, the deadline was October 8.

A top PSF official will now be meeting leading players and PSA officials in Manchester on the sidelines of next week’s World Championships to convince them about their safety in Islamabad.

Air Vice Marshal Asim Suleiman, PSF’s senior vice president, told ‘The News’ on Friday that he would guarantee fool-proof security arrangements for the players and officials coming for the Pakistan Open.

“I will be offering them accommodation close to where I stay in Islamabad,” Suleiman said. “Their stay will be in the Red Zone and they will be completely secure,” he stressed. The heavily guarded Red Zone is supposed to be impenetrable to terrorists.

Suleiman said that it was important for the survival of Pakistan squash that the tournament is held in a successful manner. “We suffered from a major setback when the Pakistan Open had to be downgraded to a minor event after top players stayed away from it because of security concerns,” he pointed out. “This year we expect the world squash community to be more supportive.”

Suleiman, who will be travelling to Manchester on October 15 to attend a series of crucial meetings, said that he would make a security presentation in a bid to assuage players’ fears about coming to Pakistan.

The PSF is hoping that the players will agree to feature in the Pakistan Open though so far not a single top-ten player has confirmed his participation in the tournament. Egypt’s world number one Amr Shabana, who won a historic first World Open title in Pakistan in 2003, and other top players are so far not ready to come to Pakistan. Other leading players reluctant to play in the Pakistan Open include Frenchman Gregory Gaultier, James Willstrop of England, Ramy Ashour of Egypt and David Palmer of Australia.

Pakistan are even open to the idea of switching the tournament to December with the hope that the security situation will improve by then. “We really want to host a successful Pakistan Open and show the world that our country is a safe destination for international sporting events,” said Suleiman. “Which is why we are willing to take all possible steps to avoid the tournament from falling victim to terrorism,” he concluded.