Hosting the Asia Cup successfully demonstrated that Pakistan can organise the Champions Trophy, says Asif Iqbal © AFP

Asif Iqbal, the former Pakistan captain, hails the ICC decision to go ahead with the Champions Trophy in Pakistan. He writes in the News:

Looked at dispassionately, the arguments were in the PCB’s favour. The successful holding of the Asia Cup in June-July this year showed that Pakistan was fully equipped to do the job. All the teams that participated in that competition went away thoroughly satisfied and had no apprehensions of any sort.

The ICC security experts also had recommended in their report that the tournament should be allowed to go ahead in Pakistan. Cricket grounds have never been the target of terrorist violence in Pakistan and given the philosophy — if one can call it that — under which the militants operate, it is difficult to see why they should target a cricket match. The idea of catching the world’s attention through high profile strikes is simply not the way they operate.

In the blog Sideline Slogger on stuff.co.nz, Paul Holden lists the reasons why the Champions Trophy should not be held in Pakistan in September.

	Feedback