10 March 2005	Thursday	28 Muharram 1426

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NEW DELHI, March 9: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would welcome a visit by President Gen Pervez Musharraf to watch any of the cricket matches between India and Pakistan, it was officially announced here on Wednesday.

Separately, Indian communist leaders who met Gen Musharraf recently in Islamabad said they had suggested to him to consider Kolkota as the best venue to fulfil his wish to see an India-Pakistan match in this country.

The "Prime Minister would welcome a visit by the President of Pakistan to witness one of the India-Pakistan cricket matches," a foreign ministry spokesman said in New Delhi. "The governments of India and Pakistan are in touch with one another in this context," he said.

Pakistani officials said they were not aware of the move until late evening. However, Indian Foreign Minister Kunwar Natwar Singh allayed any lingering doubts on the issue.

He was quoted as telling Indian reporters in London on Wednesday that an invitation for Gen Musharraf was already waiting with the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to be delivered as soon as he returned from his visit to Central Asia.

According to Mr Shamim Faizi, a senior leader of the Communist Party of India, who was in the delegation that met Gen Musharraf, during a brief discussion on cricket, they had suggested Kolkota as the right venue.

"Kolkota is the sports capital of India. The stadium holds the maximum number of people to watch a cricket match," Mr Faizi said, quoting from memory of what was discussed. The Kolkota match starts on March 16. There have been unusual reports since Monday of 'Pakistan sponsored terrorists' planning to harm West Bengal chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee.

He has been apparently warned, according to the Kolkota-based Telegraph newspaper that the alleged terrorists were lurking in the vicinity of his official residence. The Indian prime minister's office sought to clarify that it would not be a state visit but hinted it would be warm and friendly.

"It is a friendly visit ... Every visit does not have to become a State visit," Prime Minister Singh's media adviser Sanjaya Baru was quoted as saying. "All our neighbours should feel free to come to India anytime they want," Mr Baru said.