Pakistan �not optimistic� about playing India

AFP, NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s cricket chief said Tuesday he was not optimistic about resuming ties with India after hardline Hindu activists sabotaged talks between the two sides.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan was due to meet Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Shashank Manohar on Monday but the meeting was cancelled after far-right activists stormed the Mumbai office in protest at the dialogue.
Khan said his hopes of talks being rescheduled on Tuesday in the Indian capital were dashed after he failed to hear from the BCCI bosses.
“I came here to engage with the BCCI (but) there has been absolutely no word as to how they intend to move forward from here,” Khan told reporters in New Delhi.
“It is very clear there are pressures here that are preventing the BCCI from taking a position vis-a-vis the series.
“I am not optimistic now after what has happened here,” he said, referring to the storming of BCCI premises by activists of Shiv Sena, a junior ally of the ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party.
India and Pakistan have not played a full series since 2007 after New Delhi halted all bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan following the 2008 attacks in Mumbai.
India had blamed militants based in Pakistan for the attacks which left 166 people dead.
Pakistan did tour India for two Twenty20 and three one-day internationals in December 2012 but even that tour failed to revive the full series.
Relations have been strained, with continued border ceasefire violations from both sides, leading to the cancellation of a meeting between their security advisers in August.
The arch-rivals, however, signed a Memorandum of Understanding under which they agreed to play six series between 2015-2023, all pending clearance from the two governments.

Pakistan �not optimistic� about playing India

AFP, NEW DELHI: Pakistans cricket chief said Tuesday he was not optimistic about resuming ties with India after hardline Hindu activists sabotaged talks between the two sides. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan was due to meet Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Shashank Manohar on Monday but the meeting was cancelled after far-right activists stormed the Mumbai office in protest at the dialogue. Khan said his hopes of talks being rescheduled on Tuesday in the Indian capital were dashed after he failed to hear from the BCCI bosses. I came here to engage with the BCCI (but) there has been absolutely no word as to how they intend to move forward from here, Khan told reporters in New Delhi. It is very clear there are pressures here that are preventing the BCCI from taking a position vis-a-vis the series. I am not optimistic now after what has happened here, he said, referring to the storming of BCCI premises by activists of Shiv Sena, a junior ally of the ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party. India and Pakistan have not played a full series since 2007 after New Delhi halted all bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan following the 2008 attacks in Mumbai. India had blamed militants based in Pakistan for the attacks which left 166 people dead. Pakistan did tour India for two Twenty20 and three one-day internationals in December 2012 but even that tour failed to revive the full series. Relations have been strained, with continued border ceasefire violations from both sides, leading to the cancellation of a meeting between their security advisers in August. The arch-rivals, however, signed a Memorandum of Understanding under which they agreed to play six series between 2015-2023, all pending clearance from the two governments.