ISLAMABAD, Jan. 30, Reuter: Pakistani President Mohammad ZiaulHaq agreed today to attend a cricket match in India as the two countries were set for talks aimed at easing border tension, the official APP news agency reported.
It said the invitation to a match during the current Pakistan tour of India was extended to him today by visiting Indian cricket officials in the Punjab province capital Lahore.
In New Delhi, the Press Trust of India reported that Zia had accepted the invitation “in principal” and would watch a game in Pakistan, either at Jaipur on March 21 or Nagpur on March, 23.
A Pakistani government delegation arrived in New Delhi today for talks due to begin tomorrow to defuse the border crisis, the worst since the two countries went to war in 1971.
The crisis developed a week ago when India ordered a military alert and sealed its Punjab state border with Pakistan, responding to what it called continuing Pakistani military deployment.
Pakistan denied deployments but later stage had also taken minimum precautionary measures after what it called Indian troop concentrations.
Zia said yesterday the two counties needed to build confidence between them and that he saw no harm going to see a cricket match in India.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 6, 1987
