A ‘terrorist’ suspected of planning to attack the cricket World Cup has been arrested after help from authorities across South Asia including in Pakistan, Interpol chief Ronald Noble said.
"Just last week, through the cooperation from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, we were able to identify, locate and arrest a terrorist, who had left Karachi on his way to the Maldives with criminal intentions," Noble said.
"Thanks to the cooperation of your country and other countries we were able to make sure that the World Cup remained safe," he said at a briefing on Thursday alongside Pakistani interior minister Rehman Malik.
Malik said 'there was a serious attempt of act of terrorism' being planned during the World Cup now underway in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
"I am not telling the name of the country from where the culprit was arrested," Malik said. Neither the minister nor Noble elaborated on whether the suspect was acting on his own or belonged to any militant group.
The Police in the three World Cup host countries have imposed blanket security for the tournament, and Indian police have issued a general alert for the final in Mumbai on April 2 without detailing any specific threat.
Australia on Friday put out an updated travel advisory urging a 'high degree of caution' in reference to the World Cup. It mentioned the Indian authorities' general alert, and cited an unspecified extremist threat to the Mumbai final.
Pakistan was initially meant to be one of the World Cup co-hosts. But the country lost that right when gunmen opened fire on the Sri Lankan team bus as it made its way to a match in Lahore two years ago.