01 May 2004	Saturday	10 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

KARACHI, April 30: The visiting Indian children, after concluding their three-day stay in the city, left here for Lahore by train on Friday evening.

The tour of the 31 Indian underprivileged children was organized by a UK-based NGO, ActionAid, through its offices in India and Pakistan.

The children had crossed over the Wagah border on April 20. They played five tape-ball friendly cricket matches with the underprivileged Pakistani children in Lahore, Kasur, Rawalpindi, Larkana and Karachi.

They arrived in the city by road from Khairpur on Wednesday morning and played a day and night match at the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium in the city. On Thursday, they went on a sight-seeing and cultural tour of the city and also participated in various programmes, organized for them by various NGOs.

In the morning, they visited Ibrahim Haidery, an old fishing village along the coast, where an NGO Fisherfolk Forum had organized a cultural programme - that included cultural dances, folk music and songs, etc., - for visitors.

Some skits highlighting the miseries of the fisherfolk living in both the countries were also presented by artists in the street theatre performers. A boat-lunch was also scheduled for them but it could not materialize owing to rough sea and high tide.

They visited the Clifton beach in the evening and also attended a cultural function in the night at the YMCA that was organized by the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research.

The children participated in an art workshop on Friday and made posters highlighting the theme of friendship between the two South Asian neighbours. Some of the children also made a courtesy call on the Sindh ministers Shoaib Bokhari and Qamar Mansoor. They left the city by train on Friday evening and will reach Lahore on Saturday.

They will stay in Lahore for a day and visit the historical monuments before returning to India - after concluding their 13-day tour of the country - by crossing over Wagah border on May 2.