Indian Muslims oppose cricket ties with Pakistan until terror machine is dismantled

War on Terror

19 Dec 2008, NewAgeIslam.Com

Indian Muslims oppose cricket ties with Pakistan until terror machine is dismantled

Until Pakistan government succeeds in demolishing the terror machines on their soils, India should have nothing to do with that nation. How can our team of eleven contemplate playing cricket in Lahore within weeks of their team of ten invading our country to kill our people so mercilessly? Dr A R Mookhi, columnist, Mumbai *** NO FUTURE SPORTING TIES WITH PAK UNTIL PAK DISMANTLE ALL INFRASTRUCTURE OF TERROR OPERATING FROM THEIR SOIL We do not need such contacts with those people who come and enjoy our friendship and hospitality but behind the back, plan terrorist attacks. jamsheed basha abumohammed, columnist, Chennai -----------------------------    Indian Muslims oppose cricket ties with Pakistan until terror machine is dismantled   Date:      Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:58:05 +0000 [07:28:05 AM IST] From:    Dr A R Mookhi To:          Sultan Shahin <Editor@NewAgeIslam.com>   Until Pakistan government succeeds in demolishing the terror machines on their soils, India should have nothing to do with that nation   How can our team of eleven contemplate playing cricket in Lahore within weeks of their team of ten invading our country to kill our people so mercilessly?   I t is strange that the sports people are still considering playing cricket with Pakistan. How can our team of eleven contemplate playing cricket in Lahore within weeks of their team of ten invading our country to kill our people so mercilessly? The outrage of the players as well as sports authorities is nowhere near the outrage expressed by general public especially Muslims of India at the atrocity of their coreligionists. Not to let the killing Pakistanis be buried on the soil of India is a bold and extraordinary decision Muslims of India have taken with such spontaneity must be matched by the nation as a whole. There should be no cricket with Pakistan. Not in Pakistan. Not even on a neutral soil.   Until Pakistan government succeeds in demolishing the terror machines on their soils, India should have nothing to do with that nation. The peace process may be suspended. All confidence building measures may be put on hold. There should be a pause button on all trade initiatives, people to people contacts, cultural exchanges and all dialogues. All borders should be sealed. Excepting the engagement of armed forces India should declare itself at war with Pakistan. Pakistan either curbs terrorism or asks India or UN to help them do so. As Pranab Mukherjee [India's external affairs minister] rightly said on the floor of the parliament "We are ready to help them."   Dr A R Mookhi Sushama, Dadabhai Road, Santacruz west, MUMBAI 400054 171208 ----------- Date:       18 Dec 2008 11:47:18 -0000 [12/18/2008 05:17:18 PM IST] From:      jamsheed basha abumohammed <baasha123123@rediffmail.com>   To:          Sultan Shahin <Editor@NewAgeIslam.com>   NO FUTURE SPORTING TIES WITH PAK UNTIL ALL INFRASTRUCTURE OF TERROR DISMANTLED   By jamsheed basha abumohammed on Dec 18, 2008 05:12 PM    India did well in averting a crisis of war following the dastardly attack on Mumbai on 26/11. Now it is time to teach Pakistan a lesson. No future ties with the merchants of death. No sporting and cultural ties. This may sound hawkish but then it is necessary to tell the people across the border that India would be serious about snapping all ties with them as long as the terror camps exist there. Until Pakistan completely dismantles all the terror camps, arrests all the leaders of the banned outfits, and dismantles all the infrastructure of terrorists, India would not agree to any ties, leave alone cricketing ties. All other sporting and cultural ties would also be snapped. We do not need such contacts with those people who come and enjoy our friendship and hospitality but behind the back, plan terrorist attacks. India should also ban all Pak players from participating in IPL and ICL also. Such pressures are essential to force Pak to see the reason and the gravity of the situation. The public anger in India is such that we would not like any kind of ties with a nation that harbours so much ill will and animosity against India. Moreover there is no point in sending a team to play, when their non-state actors are busy planning terror attacks in India. Apart from loss of life and property, it has shaken the very conscience of the nation. Indians have demonstrated unprecedented unity in aftermath of the attack. It is therefore advisable to Pak to come out clean with more actions to win India's friendship and sporting ties as well. This is the strongest message India would like to send to Pakistan. We do not want them to take India for granted. ------ Background Story: India's tour of Pakistan officially called off 18 Dec 2008, 1517 hrs IST, PTI    NEW DELHI: India's cricket tour of Pakistan was on Thursday officially called off with the government refusing permission to the team to travel across the border in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, putting an end to the prolonged uncertainty on the fate of the series.   The Government's decision was conveyed to the BCCI President Shashank Manohar on Thursday through a letter which cited "recent developments as well as the overall circumstances prevailing at present" as the reasons for calling off the high-profile tour.   "The final decision has been taken. We have got the letter from the Sports Ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs not to proceed with the tour", senior BCCI official Rajeev Shukla said.   "The government has declined permission to go ahead with the tour taking into account the recent developments in Mumbai as well as the overall circumstances prevailing at present", Shukla said.   He said the External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and the Sports Minister M S Gill had also personally called up Manohar to convey the decision.   India were scheduled to play three Tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 match during their tour of Pakistan from January 4 to February 28 but the tour had been thrown into jeopardy in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks.   The BCCI had all along maintained that it was upto the government to decide on the fate of the tour.   "Now that we have received the letter, we will intimate it to the Pakistan Cricket Board," Shukla said.   There was intense speculation that the tour will be called off in the aftermath of the Mumbai carnage and top BCCI officials had privately admitted that there was no chance that the team will travel to Pakistan.   Even the Sports Minister Gill had gone on record last week that the team should not tour Pakistan under the circumstances, which was seen as a clear indication of things to come.   Even before the Mumbai carnage, some of the senior Indian cricketers were apprehensive of travelling to Pakistan because of the security scenario in the strife-torn country.   The cancellation of the tour has not only put a question mark on the sporting ties between the two countries but will also have a bearing on the 2011 Cricket World Cup being jointly hosted by the four Asian countries.   Pakistan was keen to play the series at a neutral venue in case the tour was cancelled but the BCCI said it had not taken any decision on such a possibility.   BCCI's Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty said that the government's decision will not have any impact on the 2011 World Cup.   "It will not affect the 2011 World Cup, that's a different tournament," he said.   "We'd written to the government about the tour and we've just got the letter from the government that in the present circumstances the tour is not possible.   Asked if it was because of the fact that senior players were not ready to play in Pakistan, Shetty said "I am not ready to comment on that. It was upto the government to decide and it was not for the BCCI to decide.   Shetty did not feel it would create an uncomfortable atmosphere for the BCCI and PCB.   "No, I don't think so. PCB is aware of whatever is happening at the moment."   He said there was no discussion on the two teams playing the series at a neutral venue.   "We've not discussed anything on this," he said and added there would be "no tour to replace the Pakistan series".   The Sports Minister gave the first indication of the government view when he sent out a strong message by bluntly suggesting that the team's tour of Pakistan should not go ahead.   The Minister had said it was not the right time to play cricket with Pakistan when "people from their soil were indulging in mass murder in India".   "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," he had said.   The cancellation of the tour will hit Pakistan hard with the cash-starved PCB having already suffered with many teams calling off tours in the recent past.   Hit hard by teams after teams refusing to tour the country because of the volatile security situation there, Pakistan has not hosted a major international tournament since the Asia Cup in June this year.   The high-profile Champions Trophy, which was originally scheduled to be held in Pakistan in September this year, had to be deferred with most teams refusing to tour the country. The Indian junior hockey team's tour was also cancelled last month.   Desperate to salvage the series, PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt had decided to tour India to convince the BCCI top brass and also offered to shift the series to a neutral venue, possibly Abu Dhabi or England, but after the Mumbai attacks, even that possibility had become non-existent.   INDO-PAK CRICKET HISTORY   The history of Indo-Pak cricket ties has seen a series of ups and downs. With the two countries having fought 4 wars, cricket has often suffered over the years.   1 1960-61: India and Pakistan did not play any cricket after 1960-61 till 1978-79 as relations deteriorated between the neighbours, resulting in wars in '65 and '71   2 1978-79: Bishan Singh Bedi led India on the ice-breaking series against Pakistan, the first cricket tour between the two countries in nearly 18 years   3 1984: During India's tour of Pakistan, the second ODI was in progress when the news of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination reached the stadium. The match was abandoned as a draw and the rest of the tour was called off.   4 1989-97: After India's tour of Pakistan in 1989, relations soured between the two countries and there was no bilateral series till India toured Pakistan in September-October 1997.   5 1999: Relations between the two countries hit another low after the Kargil war in 1999. It wasn't until 2003-04 that India could again tour Pakistan.   6 Dec 2008: India's tour to Pakistan called off as a result of heightened tensions due to the Mumbai terror attacks. http://newageislam.org/NewAgeIslamArticleDetail.aspx?ArticleID=1061