Thaindian News

New Delhi, March 25 (IANS) In an expansive diplomatic overture, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday invited Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani for a “great game of cricket” when India and Pakistani teams meet for the World Cup semi-final at Mohali March 30. India is also offering 5,000 visas to Pakistani fans.

In a statement, Zardari welcomed the move, but noted that the final decision will be taken after the Pakistani prime minister returns from his official visit to Uzbekistan Sunday.

“It gives me great pleasure to invite you to visit Mohali (in Punjab) and join me and millions of fans from our two countries to watch the match,” Manmohan Singh wrote in identical letters to both Pakistani leaders, delivered through the Pakistan High Commission.

Manmohan Singh said he and his wife Gursharan Kaur will also be at the match venue.

“I propose to be at Mohali to watch the World Cup semi-final match between India and Pakistan… There is huge excitement over the match and we are all looking forward to a great game of cricket, that will be a victory for sport,” the letter said.

Billed as the game of the 2011 World Cup, bitter rivals and cricket-mad nations India and Pakistan will fight March 30 for a place in the final. Both countries have not played each other since the Mumbai terror attack of 2008.

The prime minister has invited Gilani’s wife too.

“It gives me great pleasure to invite you and your gracious wife to visit Mohali and join me, my wife and the millions of fans from our two countries to watch the match,” the letter to the Pakistani prime minister says.

According to sources, it is likely that Gilani will accept the invitation to join the prime minister at the VIP box at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium ground. He may be joined by thousands of Pakistani cricket fans with India planning to give 5,000 visas for the match.

The gesture comes as India and Pakistan have restarted their dialogue process, which had been suspended by New Delhi following the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, in which 166 people were killed.

Prime Minister Singh had tried to get back the peace process on track at the Sharm-el-Sheikh meeting with Prime Minister Gilani in July 2009, but the public outrage over the inclusion of Pakistani concerns of India allegedly sponsoring Baloch insurgents in the joint statement effectively derailed it.

A year later, a second attempt, again led to a public fallout, when the foreign ministers of both countries met in Islamabad in July last year. The then Pakistani foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi had lashed out at the Indian Home Secretary G.K. Pillai for his remarks that the Pakistani spy agency, ISI, had a much more significant role in the Mumbai terror attacks.

Throughout, the prime minister’s strong intention for improvement of ties was evident. A US diplomatic cable dated November 2009, published by Wikileaks and The Hindu, had mentioned then National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan telling American diplomats that Manmohan Singh was a “great believer” in talks and negotiation with Islamabad.

It also recounted how the prime minister had been “isolated” in the government on this position.

“The PM certainly has a great stake.. and his approach is different from the normal bureaucratic approach. He thinks that Pakistan can’t be turned around, by stone-walling or hedging talks with them,” said Ajay Darsan Behera of Jamia Milia Islamia’s Pakistan Studies programme.

After the 2011 February Thimpu meeting of the foreign secretaries, a roadmap was announced for talks, but without the previous nomenclature of “comprehensive dialogue”.

In fact, just a day before the Mohali match, Indian and Pakistani home secretaries will be concluding their two-day meeting in Islamabad, where India is expected to raise the issue of tardy progress by Pakistani government in prosecuting the masterminds of the 26/11 attacks.

In April, the commerce secretaries will meet, followed by the foreign secretaries’ review meeting in July.

“This is good gesture… but a symbolic one. But, we should not be taken in by the hype. Remember, Pakistani leaders have come to India to watch cricket matches before,” said Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Savita Pande.

In 1987, Pakistani President Zia-ul-Haq had crossed the border to watch an India-Pakistan test match at Jaipur, during a period of high tensions over Kashmir. Therafter, in 2005, Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf had watched a one-day match in Delhi, as part of the “friendship” series.