Braving the storm
Pakistani official gives go-ahead for Indian tour
Posted: Thursday January 14, 1999 11:40 AM
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Officials examined the pitch in New Dehli to make sure this venue is a secure place to play AP |
NEW DELHI, India (AP) -- A Pakistani official touring India to decide whether an India-Pakistan test could be held despite strong opposition by Hindu right-wingers has given the go-ahead for the matches, the president of India's cricket board said Thursday.
Saeed Ahmed Rafiq has expressed satisfaction over the security arrangements for the tour, Board of Control for Cricket for India chief Raj Singh Dungarpur was quoted as saying by United News of India. A formal announcement will be made later, he said.
Members of the radical Hindu Shiv Sena party dug up the pitch in New Delhi, one of the venues for the matches, and have threatened to storm the stadium during the match.
Thackeray says India should have no sports and cultural ties with Pakistan until it stops training and arming Muslim guerrillas fighting a separatist war in Kashmir. Pakistan says it provides only moral support to the guerrillas.
India and Pakistan have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir, in their 50 years of nationhood.
Organizers announced Tuesday they would hold the first test match in Madras instead of New Delhi as earlier planned from January 28-February 1. The second test will now be held in New Delhi February 4-8.
It has been over a decade since Pakistan played cricket in India, and almost as long since India has played in Pakistan. Cricket is the most popular sport in both India and Pakistan.
India's law and order ministry has promised full protection for Pakistani players.
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