Indian sports minister not a champion of Pakistan tour
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hurriyet Daily with wires
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 13, 2008 00:00
NEW DELHI - India's sports minister is opposed to the national cricket team going ahead with next month's scheduled tour of Pakistan in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
India's cricket board is awaiting approval from the government, but the comments Friday by Sports Minister M.S. Gill make it unlikely that will be granted.
While Gill's comments are not official government policy, they indicate strong opposition to the tour after last month's attacks in Mumbai, which killed 171 people and were blamed on militants linked to an Islamic group in Pakistan.
The minister said it was not the right time to play cricket with Pakistan when "people from their soil were indulging in mass murder in India," the Press Trust of India news agency quoted Gill as saying.
"Is it possible for one team to arrive in Mumbai and indulge in mass murder, and have another team go and play cricket in the winter afternoon sun at Lahore, immediately after?" Gill was quoted as saying.
Even before the terror attack on Mumbai, the Indian government refused permission for its junior national field hockey team to play a series in Pakistan due to security concerns.
Pakistan has arrested at least 20 people, including two extremists alleged by India to be key players in the Mumbai attacks, but India has made it clear it wants to see more action.
Pakistan Sports Minister Aftab Jilani still holds hopes of the cricket tour going ahead as schedule, but said it could ahead in a neutral country if it would help.
"Cricket has a huge popularity in both countries and it will help ease out the tension if Indian cricket team tours Pakistan next month," Jilani told The Associated Press. "I can't comment on what Mr. Gill has said, it's his opinion. I can only say that there's still a ray of hope that Indian cricketers would tour Pakistan."
Meanwhile, this year's edition of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament has been cancelled over security concerns.
The inaugural edition of the $6 million event, involving eight teams from five countries, will now be staged in October 2009, an official told Reuters.
However, league chairman Lalit Modi said various issues, including scheduling, were considered before taking the decision.
"The inaugural edition of the Champions League Twenty20 will now be held in India in October 2009," Modi, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president, said in a statement. "The governing council, comprising the founder board members, took this collective decision after taking into account all aspects."
While Gill's comments are not official government policy, they indicate strong opposition to the tour after last month's attacks in Mumbai, which killed 171 people and were blamed on militants linked to an Islamic group in Pakistan.
The minister said it was not the right time to play cricket with Pakistan when "people from their soil were indulging in mass murder in India," the Press Trust of India news agency quoted Gill as saying.
"Is it possible for one team to arrive in Mumbai and indulge in mass murder, and have another team go and play cricket in the winter afternoon sun at Lahore, immediately after?" Gill was quoted as saying.
Even before the terror attack on Mumbai, the Indian government refused permission for its junior national field hockey team to play a series in Pakistan due to security concerns.
Pakistan has arrested at least 20 people, including two extremists alleged by India to be key players in the Mumbai attacks, but India has made it clear it wants to see more action.
Pakistan Sports Minister Aftab Jilani still holds hopes of the cricket tour going ahead as schedule, but said it could ahead in a neutral country if it would help.
"Cricket has a huge popularity in both countries and it will help ease out the tension if Indian cricket team tours Pakistan next month," Jilani told The Associated Press. "I can't comment on what Mr. Gill has said, it's his opinion. I can only say that there's still a ray of hope that Indian cricketers would tour Pakistan."
Meanwhile, this year's edition of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament has been cancelled over security concerns.
The inaugural edition of the $6 million event, involving eight teams from five countries, will now be staged in October 2009, an official told Reuters.
However, league chairman Lalit Modi said various issues, including scheduling, were considered before taking the decision.
"The inaugural edition of the Champions League Twenty20 will now be held in India in October 2009," Modi, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president, said in a statement. "The governing council, comprising the founder board members, took this collective decision after taking into account all aspects."