Indian PM Vajpayee in Lahore

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
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Lahore abuzz with Vajpayee visit

NEW DELHI, March 15 (UPI) – Lahore has been abuzz with news that Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will visit to watch an India-Pakistan cricket match later this month.

India’s Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishan Advani Sunday said Vajpayee’s Lahore visit to witness the one-day cricket match would further normalize relations between the two countries.

“If there is any such move, it will be a further step in improving ties between the two countries,” Advani told reporters during his election tour.

Vajpayee had traveled to Lahore in a bus in 1999 to launch peace process with Pakistan.

Pakistani media reported that India’s opposition leader and Congress Party president Sonia Gandhi is also likely to watch one of the two matches scheduled in Lahore later this month.

Gandhi’s two children, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, were in Karachi to cheer the home team on Saturday. The Indian team won the match to lead the five match series by 1-0.

http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040314-095444-5060r.htm

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I liked Vajpayee’s message to the Indian cricket team.

Win hearts in Pakistan …

Vajpayee’s good wishes read: " Khel hi nahi, dil bhi jitye. Meri shubkamana apke saath " (Besides the game , also win hearts. My best wishes are with you).

School children lined up at the Prime Minister’s official residence here with placards to wish the Indian team good luck, before the team called on Vajpayee hours before leaving for Lahore for the historic series.

The placards had messages like ‘Best of Luck’ and ‘Atal ne diya cricket ka uphaar , India-Pakistan sadbhavana ka prachar’ (Atal’s cricket gift spreads harmony in India and Pakistan).

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow/550902.cms