New Delhi, Feb 20: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee called a high-level security meeting on Friday to discuss the Indian cricket team's upcoming tour of Pakistan, news reports said.
The Cabinet Committee on Security was to discuss a report prepared by an Cricket Board delegation that visited Pakistan to assess security arrangements at proposed match venues, a television news channel said. A spokesman for Vajpayee confirmed the meeting to the media, but declined to disclose its agenda. India is to play three Tests and five one-day internationals in March and April. The itinerary for its first Test series tour of Pakistan in 14 years was expected to be approved by the Indian Cricket Board after the security meeting. The tour was approved in October as part of India's efforts to normalize relations with Pakistan. Some cricketers, and officials in the Home Ministry, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, have expressed concerns about security in certain Pakistani cities, such as Karachi and Peshawar. Advani's people had suggested the tour be postponed until the summer, after India's elections. But Vajpayee said last week the tour will go ahead on time, as he is determined to keep the recent peace process on track. The South Asian, nuclear-armed rivals have a stormy cricket history, due to their bitter political feuding. They have fought three wars since their independence from Britain in 1947. India had prohibited its cricket team from touring Pakistan since 1989, saying it was against national interests. Bureau Report