NEW DELHI, May 7: The Indian government has ruled out immediate resumption of bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan despite signs of a thaw in relations between the two countries.

“It won’t happen overnight,” federal sports Minister Vikram Verma told Reuters.

“It is not that the train service is resumed today and we can start playing (bilateral cricket) tomorrow,” Verma said, adding that a friendly atmosphere must be created first.

India and Pakistan have announced restoration of diplomatic ties and transport links as a prelude to talks to resolve their differences after being on the brink of a war over the disputed state of Kashmir.

The government banned bilateral games with Pakistan in 2000 because of political tension, but has not opposed playing each other in multilateral events of the International Cricket Council (ICC) like the World Cup.

Indian cricket officials last week appealed to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in an attempt to take advantage of the changing political climate.

But Verma said bilateral cricket would not be allowed until diplomatic and cultural relations improved and that any future decision would be taken only after an assessment of fan behaviour in the two cricket-mad countries.

“The Pakistan government backs normal sporting ties, but there are hardliners in that country also,” he said.

“What if such people demonstrate on the streets and react violently against our team. Such an atmosphere can also develop in India if the Pakistan team comes.”

Crowd violence marred India’s last two trips to Pakistan for the 1989-90 test tour and during its three-match one-day series in 1997 and during Pakistan’s last tour of India in 1999.

The two teams last met in a bilateral series in 1999 and India called off its Test tour in April after the government refused to review its ban.—Reuters