For Pakistan, the visit by a top-flight team is the first since May 2002 when New Zealand went home after a car bomb outside their hotel in the southern port city of Karachi killed 11 French engineers.

Since then Australia and the West Indies have refused to visit the country which is still struggling to shed its image as a hotbed of Islamic militancy and sectarian violence.

The importance of a tour without incident is not lost on President Pervez Musharraf, the military leader whose support for the U.S.-led "war on terror" triggered a backlash from extremists.

"President Musharraf has been very keen to see this series held in Pakistan. He has given out clear instructions to the home department that VVIP security is provided to the South Africans," the PCB chief executive Rameez Raja said on Wednesday.

"The government and board sees the series as very important for the image of the country. We need to tell the world that they can come to Pakistan without any security fears and there is a need to clear some misconceptions," he added.

The presence of 150 elite commandos at Lahore airport for the arrival of the South Africans early on Tuesday backed up his comments.

Pakistan's cricket-mad public breathed a collective sigh of relief when the South Africans reversed an initial decision not to tour based on general security concerns and a bomb blast in Karachi in mid-September that caused no injuries.

The decision to drop Karachi and Peshawar, a city close to the Afghan border, from the itinerary was enough to convince South Africa to travel, although the exclusion of the venues is an issue that continues to vex Pakistan players and fans alike.

While touring captain Graeme Smith seeks to focus on winning games as much as his players' safety, the security issue will play a part even on the field.

"I think two weeks of discussing security and administration is definitely going to play on our mind," he said in Lahore on Tuesday. "But now we are here to play and all that is behind us."

"CHOKERS" TAG

In cricketing terms, the five-match one-day series will be a litmus test for new Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and his team as they seek to rebuild after the World Cup.

Pakistan coach Javed Miandad set the tone for some needle contests by playing up plans to take advantage of South Africa's reputation for being "chokers" in the big matches.

South African coach Eric Simons replied that "chokers" was too strong a word to use for his team and promised to try to shake off the tag through performances on the pitch.

"We played decent cricket in England (a 2-2 Test series draw). We have come here to win and grow as a team," he said.

"They (Pakistan) are obviously pumped up as they are playing a big series at home after a long time. They have the home advantage but it is going to be a tough one."

Pakistan go into the one-day series starting on Friday after a clean sweep over Bangladesh in both the test and one-day series just ended, but historically South Africa have the clear edge with 25 wins in one-dayers against Pakistan out of 36.

When the two teams met in South Africa last winter, Shaun Pollock was captain and led his side to a crushing 4-1 victory.

Inzamam is not unduly put out.

"For the first time since the World Cup, we are fielding our strongest side with everyone available," he said.

Pakistan have also included Rashid Latif, who resigned as captain recently after serving a five-match ban for claiming a questionable catch against Bangladesh in September.

Paceman Shoaib Akhtar is also available and "spin twins" Mushtaq Ahmed and Saqlain are back together for the first time since last bowling together in a Test against New Zealand at Auckland in February 2001.

The one-day series is followed by a curtailed two-Test rubber during the latter half of October.