New Delhi
25 March 2011
After Jaipur in 1987 and Delhi in 2005, cricket diplomacy between India and
Pakistan is set to take off at Mohali next week.
Come Wednesday, either President Asif Ali Zardari or Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
of Pakistan might follow in the footsteps of their compatriots and make the journey to
India for watching an India - Pakistan cricket match.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has invited them for the World Cup semi-final clash to
be played at Mohali on Wednesday.
In separate letters to President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani, Mr Singh said he
proposed to watch the encounter himself and "it gives me a great pleasure" to invite
them to watch the match.
To President Zardari he wrote: "I propose to be at Mohali to watch the World Cup semi-
final match between India and Pakistan to be held on 30th March. There is huge
excitement over the match and we are all looking forward to a great game of cricket, that
will be a victory for sport. It gives me great pleasure to invite you to visit Mohali and join
me and the millions of fans from our two countries to watch the match."
His letter to Prime Minister Gilani was identical, except for a line that read: "It gives me
great pleasure to invite you and your gracious wife to visit Mohali and join me, my wife
and the millions of fans from our two countries to watch the match."
Cricket diplomacy is not new to the Indian sub-continent. Former Pakistan presidents
Pervez Musharraf in 2005 and Zia ul Haq in 1987 visited Delhi and Jaipur, respectively,
for watching the arch rivals play against each other. While Zia witnessed a drawn Test
match played at the Sawai Mansingh stadium in Jaipur in February 1987, Musharraf
visited India in April 2005 for watching the one-dayer of a bilateral series at the Feroz
Shah Kotla ground in Delhi, which the visitors won.
Incidentally, Wednesday's match at Mohali will be played the day after the home
secretaries of India and Pakistan conclude two-day talks here. In April, the commerce
secretaries of the two countries will meet.
The foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan met in Bhutan on February 6 and four days
later, both sides announced that they had agreed to resume peace talks on all issues
that were suspended after the November 26, 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
It was also agreed that prior to the Pakistani foreign minister's visit to India later this
year, both sides would conclude official-level meetings on counter-terrorism (including
progress on Mumbai trial); humanitarian issues; peace and security, including
confidence building measures; Jammu and Kashmir; promotion of friendly exchanges;
Siachen; economic issues; Wullar barrage / Tulbul navigation project; and Sir Creek.
Meanwhile, if Indians are making last-minute enquiries about tickets for the semi - final
clash at Mohali, Pakistanis are having to contend not only with the anxiety of availability
of tickets but visas, too, for the semi-final in Mohali and the April 2 final in Mumbai.
Following the Mumbai attacks, India had introduced changes to its visa regime.
Shahid Malik, Pakistan's high commissioner to India, told a TV channel that he has been
receiving calls from his friends and others wanting to come to India and trying to find out
about visa formalities. "I have every reason to believe that [whoever] wants to come to
watch the match and has a ticket will be given the visa," the envoy said, hoping that
liberalising the visa guidelines might give peace dividends to both countries.
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