Pakistan to host first Davis Cup tie in 13 years

Islamabad: Pakistan will host its first Davis Cup tie in 13 years against Iran in February, the country's tennis federation has said.

"The International Tennis Federation has considered that security has improved," Pakistan Tennis Federation Secretary Khalid Rehmani said on Wednesday, reports Efe.

The matches will be held from February 3-5 in Islamabad, Rehmani said, adding that the Iranian team would be provided the same level of security as visiting foreign leaders. Pakistan has hosted few international sports events since 2001 due to high levels of extremist violence. Pakistan last played in the Davis Cup on its soil in 2004, when it took on New Zealand. Since then, Pakistan has only played in other countries.

In the case of cricket, the national sport, an attack in 2009 on the Sri Lankan team that left nine people dead forced Pakistan to play all home matches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), except for several matches against Zimbabwe in 2015.

The level of violence, however, has decreased considerably since an army operation was launched in the tribal regions in June 2014. Recently, Pakistan has hosted several international squash tournaments and acquired four armoured buses to transport visiting cricket teams.