India head for Pakistan as planned
NEW DELHI, India (Reuters) -- India have confirmed 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.
India has not played a Test series in Pakistan in more than 14 years and the final tour schedule will now be decided by the respective cricket boards.
Across the border, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) welcomed India's decision to travel for a tour which is scheduled to comprise three Tests and five one-day matches.
"It's a positive development and we were never in doubt that they would come to Pakistan," PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said from Lahore.
"The Indian team's tour will have a very healthy effect on the ongoing peace process between the two countries."
Media reports in India this week said the tour might be stopped because of doubts over player security.
A three-member Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) team is touring Pakistan under guard to assess the situation.
"We were worried about security, but we got assurances that there would be no threat," India's Deputy Interior Minister Swami Chinmayanand told Zee News channel.
The PCB had said they would seek economic compensation from the International Cricket Council or the Indian board for any losses, which could have been about 450 million Pakistan rupees ($7.86m) had India cancelled the tour.
India's government blocked bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan three years ago following political tensions over the disputed region of Kashmir.
But ties have improved and the neighbours have re-established diplomatic relations, restored transport links and agreed to a ceasefire in Kashmir.
The PCB had said any move to cancel, delay or relocate the tour could damage the thaw in relations between the countries.
