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ISLAMABAD Standoff between Pakistan and India over sports took a U-turn on Monday with the Ministry of Sports allowing an eight-member squash contingent to proceed to India to feature in international junior squash event.
India first took a hard stance on sports against Pakistan after 'Mumbai mayhem' when the Indian cricket team was not given a go ahead by their Sports Ministry and a tense diplomatic stand-off was seen between both the neighbours.
In response to Indian action, Pakistan later refused to send its hockey and squash teams to India citing security concerns after the Mumbai terror attack.
A top federal government official told Dawn 'The ministry has no objection of sending the team to India however; in a letter issued by them [sports ministry] it was clarified that the permission was subject to clearance from the Foreign and Interior Ministries due to prevailing geopolitical situation in the region.'
The PSF has selected junior squash players Aurangzeb Momand, Nasir Iqbal, Nosherwan, Farhan Zaman, Maria Toor and Zoya Khalid for ranking based junior international event.
National coach Faheem Gul will travel along with the team to India while Qamar Zaman has been nominated as the manager.
'The High Commission of Pakistan in India has also been informed about the arrival of Pakistani squash team' said the official.
'We have shown a good will gesture for resumption of sports ties with our neighbour but it must be reciprocal,' Federal Sports Minister Aftab Shah Jilani said.
He said 'The decision has been made for the development of sports in the region.'
Asked to comment about the security assurances if any provided by the Indian government, he said 'The host country will manage the security affairs of our players while the assurances are between the two federations.'
Meanwhile, senior vice president of the PSF, AVM Asim Suleman said 'There is always a certain level of security cover for Pakistani players in India and if required we can request the Indian Squash Federation for special security arrangements for our players and sort it out with the host federation.'
