NEW DELHI, Feb 14: India said on Saturday that next month's cricket tour of Pakistan will go ahead as planned, underpinning improving relations between the two countries.
"We've decided, in the spirit of sport, that India and Pakistan will play cricket as scheduled," India's foreign minister Yashwant Sinha told reporters.
He said the tour schedule would be decided by the cricket boards of the two countries.
Vajpayee gives green signal to Indian tour of Pakistan
NEW DELHI, Feb 14: India's cricket tour of Pakistan was cleared by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee at a cabinet meeting on Saturday, leaving the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take the final decision about the fixtures in consultation with its Pakistani counterpart.
"After taking into consideration all aspects, it was decided that the two countries should go ahead with their cricket matches as proposed," Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha told reporters after the cabinet meeting.
The meeting was attended also by Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishan Advani and National Security Adviser Brijesh Mishra.
The Indian statement came a day after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said it retained the option of complaining to the International Cricket Council if India cancelled its tour.
"We were concerned about the security arrangements and whether these arrangements were adequate or not. Now that our team has assured us that the Pakistan government's arrangements are satisfactory these matches should certainly take place," said junior Home Minister Swami Chinmayanand said.
"We certainly welcome it because resumption of sporting exchanges between the two countries is something which was agreed to by the two Prime Ministers," said Pakistan Deputy High Commissioner Munawar Bhatti.
"It clears the confusion which was created by the media speculation," he said. "I am sure we are in for very exciting cricket between the two teams."
Reports said the focus was on the players themselves amid hints that some players are under pressure from their families not to go on the Pakistan tour.
A three-member BCCI team, which is in Pakistan to review the security cover for the Indian team, will return on Monday and submit its report to the cricket board.
Foreign ministry officials of India and Pakistan are to meet on Monday. The arrangements for the cricket series is expected to feature on their agenda.
India's last tour of Pakistan was in 1989-90 when the two countries played a four-match Test series. The series ended in a 0-0 draw. It was also the series in which Sachin Tendulkar made his debut.
In 1999, Pakistan toured India for a three-match Test series
AFP adds: The series was surrounded by uncertainty after media reports over the last two days suggested the home ministry wanted the tour to be postponed until after parliamentary polls expected from late April.
BCCI official Rajiv Shukla welcomed the government's decision, saying the board was expected to announce the itinerary next week.
"We wanted the tour to take place between early March and April and that is how it is going to be," Shukla said.
Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh, who will miss the tour due to a hand injury, said it will be a special occasion for both teams.
"There will be great excitement on both sides of the border," the off-spinner said. "The players were worried about the security in Pakistan but I am sure the team will be looked after well."
The Indian team, which returned from a gruelling 10-week tour of Australia earlier this week, has three weeks to rest and prepare for the tour.
The Indian government ended a three-year ban on bilateral sporting ties with Pakistan on Oct 22 last year following a thaw in diplomatic relations with Islamabad.
An opinion poll in the latest issue of the Delhi-based Outlook magazine said 77 percent of respondents favoured the Indian team playing in Pakistan.
India will also send a 400-strong contingent to the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games to be held in Islamabad from March 29 to April 7.