Pakistan High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik today made a strong pitch for resumption of cricket ties with India. “This is the desire of the leaders of both the countries,” Mr Malik said in an interaction with Members of the India Women’s Press Corps. He pointed out that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani discussed the matter when the latter visited Mohali to watch the India Pakistan World Cup Cricket Semi-final. He pointed out that Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Zaka Ashraf recently visited Chennai to witness last month’s Indian Premier League (IPL) final at the invitation of Indian cricket board. Mr Ashraf met board president N Srinivasan there and also ICC chief Sharad Pawar and IPL commissioner Rajiv Shukla in Delhi. The cricket boards of the two countries are discussing the possibility of resuming the cricketing ties, he said. He also said Pakistan’s T20 tournament winners had been invited to participate in the Champions League tournament to be held in India later this year. UNI
