Back to normal in Pakistan?

The first international cricket game in six years brings a sense of normality to the people of Pakistan

Zimbabwe players take part in a net practice at the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore. (KM Chaudary / AP)

Despite the massive security presence in Lahore, things seem to be returning to some kind of normality in one of Pakistan's most populous cities. As The National reported yesterday, the Pakistan cricket team will play its first games on home soil since 2009, when international matches were suspended after a group of gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus and killed eight policemen and civilians.

Tickets for the first Twenty20 game against Zimbabwe today are sold out, underlining people’s enthusiasm for the return of international games at home and their faith in the security arrangements. A further T20 and three one-day international games will follow.

Even though Zimbabwe is lowly ranked in both formats of the game, these matches will help restore a sense of mundane normality to the everyday life of Pakistanis, whose society has been disrupted by many violent events in recent years.