Pakistan federal interior ministry on Wednesday gave security clearance to the national cricketers to participate in the third edition of the Indian Premier League in India in March-April next year.
A senior official of the Pakistan Cricket Board said that the board had been informed by the ministry of sports that both the foreign and interior ministries had cleared the players participation in the IPL.
"The foreign ministry had already given political clearance for the players to take part in the IPL and now the interior ministry has also given its security clearance," the official said.
He said the government had told the PCB it could now issue relevant NOC's to players wishing to take part in the IPL and who get valid contracts from the IPL teams.
The government had stopped Pakistani players from taking part in the second season of the IPL this year on security grounds and because of the tense political relations between Pakistan and India after the Mumbai terror attacks.
The IPL edition was later shifted to South Africa from India due to the Indian general elections.
Sources in the PCB described the government clearance as a big step forward in paving the way for Pakistan and India to resume bilateral cricket ties as well.
But other sources cautioned pointing out that the IPL season was still a long way away and anything could happen in Indo-Pak relations in this time.
"Relations could either improve dramatically or worsen which will again put a question mark on our players playing in India," one source said.
The IPL commissioner, Lalit Modi has set a deadline of December 7 for the PCB to submit NOC's for its players but so far Modi has only asked for NOCs for five players.
According to well-informed sources, those five players include Kamran Akmal, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Misbah-ul-Haq and new signing, Abdul Razzaq. PTI
