Every time a touring side bypassed Karachi it would serve as reminder of the volatility and precariousness of life in the city; the lack of cricket became symbolic of the absence of peace and security. In one of those vicious ironies of life the people who most needed escapism (from a city in flames) were the ones denied it (precisely because of those flames). Because, of course, nothing says escapism in Pakistan quite like a day at the cricket ground, where everything else is blocked out in a way that simply isn’t possible when you’re watching at home on TV.

If the absence of cricket was symbolic of violence, then a return to cricket was symbolic of the restoration — or at least the promise — of peace. I was at the National Stadium in 2004 for India’s first ODI in Pakistan during that historical tour. Many people on either side of the border remember the rousing reception Karachi gave to the Indian cricketers and spectators; fewer realise the extent to which cricket and security had become entwined in the minds of Karachiwallas, and how much a part that played in the atmosphere of the day (which is to take away nothing from the genuine warmth the crowd extended to the visitors). We knew we still weren’t entirely in the clear, though — after all, the Indian teams had decided that Karachi wasn’t safe enough as a Test venue, and could only be risked for a single day. But at the end of that ODI Indian cricketing officials publicly said they would certainly play a Test in Karachi next time round — and so they did. Peace seemed within our grasp.

... contd.