**Pakistan President in security guarantee pledge **
KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has assured International Cricket Council (ICC) chief Malcolm Gray over security for visiting teams, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman has said.
Gray, along with ICC vice-president Ehsan Mani and PCB chairman Lt. Gen Tauqir Zia, met Musharraf in Islamabad on Thursday.
“President Musharraf has assured the ICC President that he was willing to give security guarantees to any team visiting Pakistan,” PCB spokesman Samiul Hasan told Reuters.
The PCB says it has lost millions of dollars in revenue because of international teams refusing to tour Pakistan, with series either being cancelled or relocated to neutral venues.
Hasan said Musharraf also discussed India’s scheduled tour of Pakistan next year. India are due to play three tests and three one-day internationals in April and May.
“The President said he wanted the Indian team to visit Pakistan and entertain the public here,” Hasan said.
The Indian government has not allowed its team to play Pakistan since April 2000 claiming the Pakistan government promotes cross-border terrorism in disputed Kashmir, a charge denied by the Pakistan government.
Gray told President Musharraf that he was impressed with the security detailed for him, part of a PCB statement said.
It added: “Gray told Musharraf he believes the perceptions of people (outside Pakistan) are wrong about this beautiful country and the ICC will continue to play its role in convincing member countries to resume tours to Pakistan.”
Hopefully this will help in bringing international cricket back to Pakistan and its cricket loving people.
NEW DELHI: India on Saturday rejected President Pervez Musharraf’s appeal to allow its cricket team to play in Pakistan saying that cricket and cross-border terrorism cannot go together.
“How can we send the cricket team to play in Pakistan when they are supporting terrorist activities in Kashmir,” Sports Minister Vikram Verma said, a day after Musharraf said Indian cricket team should make a tour of Pakistan.
“I want the Indian team to visit Pakistan and entertain the public here. I am all for keeping sports and politics separate,” Musharraf had told visiting International Cricket Council President Malcolm Gray on Thursday.
Verma said that Musharraf’s claims to keep politics and sports separate do not matter much for India as “it was Pakistan who is targeting innocent people in Kashmir on one hand and speaking about bettering cricketing ties between the two countries on the other.”
He said the policy formulated jointly by the sports, home and foreign ministries forbids the Indian cricket team from playing bilateral series against Pakistan.
Reacting sharply to the statement made by Musharraf that the Pakistani side would not undertake the return tour in 2004 if India fail to tour Pakistan after the World Cup, the sports minister said,** “We have nothing to do with it as we have not asked them to play in India. We are least bothered if their cricket team does not tour India. We are not going to welcome them.” **
On Musharraf’s suggestion of holding cricket series between the two sides at neutral venues, Verma said, “India won’t play against Pakistan on a one-to-one basis.”
Well if the Indian government has even an ounce of self respect then after making such silly comments they should not ** play Pakistan in the world cup or at anyother sports**. After all they will be playing the same "terrorists". Hypocrites.
What a bunch of hypocrites.
“Ooh look at me we are the world’s biggest democracy and we don’t deal with terrorist in sports but yet we play them in every single sports besides cricket.”
In case your feeble minded self couldn’t figure, that was sarcasm.
"How can we send the cricket team to play in Pakistan when they are supporting terrorist activities in Kashmir," Sports Minister Vikram Verma said, a day after Musharraf said Indian cricket team should make a tour of Pakistan.
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Damned Hindus... Keep hiding behind their tails AQ... If you believe in what this idiotic moron called Vikram Verma says, why do you play hockey, boxing etc with us?
Damned Hindus... Keep hiding behind their tails AQ... If you believe in what this idiotic moron called Vikram Verma says, why do you play hockey, boxing etc with us?
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because NOT PLAYING CRICKET hurts.. who care about boxing and hockey ;)
:hehe: 
