ID :
170882
Fri, 03/25/2011 - 20:37
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/170882
The shortlink copeid
Manmohan's cricket diplomacy, invites Pak Prez, PM to Mohali
New Delhi, Mar 25 (PTI) Launching cricket diplomacy to
give a fresh impetus to bilateral ties, Prime Minister
of India Manmohan Singh Friday invited Pakistan President and
Prime Minister to watch the Indo-Pak cricket encounter in
Mohali on March 30 when he will also be present.
In an identical letters to President Asif Ali Zardari
and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, he said he proposed to
watch the Indo-Pak World Cup semi-final and "it gives me a
great pleasure" to invite them to watch the match.
"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," he said in the letters to both
the leaders.
Singh's cricket diplomacy will be the first major
bilateral event at the summit level between the two sides
either in India or Pakistan since 26/11 attacks when relations
between the two countries plunged to a new low.
Cricket diplomacy between the two countries, which
have often witnessed acrimonious ties in the last over two
decades, had brought the late President Zia-ul Haq and former
President Pervez Musharraf to watch cricket matches in India.
Haq, a former alumini of St Stephen's in Delhi, had
come to watch a test match in Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur
in February 1987 at the invitation of late Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi. The two met and held discussions after the event
in Delhi.
Musharraf, who also has his origins in Delhi, also
came to watch an Indo-Pak encounter at Ferozeshah Kotla
ground here in 2005 when he was in power.
In the last over two years, Prime Ministers of India
and Pakistan have met in third country locations on the
margins of NAM conferences in Bhutan and Egypt.
Foreign Ministers of the two countries have also met
in between but the last meeting between them in July last year
turned out to be a fiasco.
However, the two countries had recently decided to
intensify contacts and a meeting between Home Secretaries of
the two countries is slated on Monday and Tuesday here.
give a fresh impetus to bilateral ties, Prime Minister
of India Manmohan Singh Friday invited Pakistan President and
Prime Minister to watch the Indo-Pak cricket encounter in
Mohali on March 30 when he will also be present.
In an identical letters to President Asif Ali Zardari
and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, he said he proposed to
watch the Indo-Pak World Cup semi-final and "it gives me a
great pleasure" to invite them to watch the match.
"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," he said in the letters to both
the leaders.
Singh's cricket diplomacy will be the first major
bilateral event at the summit level between the two sides
either in India or Pakistan since 26/11 attacks when relations
between the two countries plunged to a new low.
Cricket diplomacy between the two countries, which
have often witnessed acrimonious ties in the last over two
decades, had brought the late President Zia-ul Haq and former
President Pervez Musharraf to watch cricket matches in India.
Haq, a former alumini of St Stephen's in Delhi, had
come to watch a test match in Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur
in February 1987 at the invitation of late Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi. The two met and held discussions after the event
in Delhi.
Musharraf, who also has his origins in Delhi, also
came to watch an Indo-Pak encounter at Ferozeshah Kotla
ground here in 2005 when he was in power.
In the last over two years, Prime Ministers of India
and Pakistan have met in third country locations on the
margins of NAM conferences in Bhutan and Egypt.
Foreign Ministers of the two countries have also met
in between but the last meeting between them in July last year
turned out to be a fiasco.
However, the two countries had recently decided to
intensify contacts and a meeting between Home Secretaries of
the two countries is slated on Monday and Tuesday here.
