Gilani vows to help save India"s tour

KARACHI: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has agreed to get actively involved in the bid to save India"s cricket tour of Pakistan scheduled for early next year and will soon be discussing the issue with his counterpart Manmohan Singh.

Gilani told Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt that he will assure Singh that Indian cricketers will be provided with a fool-proof security blanket during their tour of Pakistan which is lined up for January-February next year, but is in the danger of becoming a victim to the prevailing security situation in the country.

Butt called on the Premier in Islamabad on Thursday in a bid to garner his support to avoid the home series against India from getting cancelled or switched to neutral venues.

The series to be played from January 5 to February 19 next year includes three Tests, five One-day Internationals and one Twenty20 International but is in doubt because the Indian government is yet to clear the tour.

Gilani told Butt and other senior PCB officials that the matter would be tackled at the highest level.

"The game of cricket is loved by the people of both India and Pakistan and the government will ensure proper security arrangements for organising the forthcoming Pak-India cricket series," Gilani said in a statement. "This is a very high-profile tour and the Indian government would be provided assurance regarding their security concerns," he added.

The PCB is making all possible efforts to save the series against India that is crucial for the future of Pakistan cricket.

Pakistan have not played a single Test in 2008 because of Australia"s refusal to tour this country on the pretext of security apprehensions earlier this year. Experts fear that if India also avoided their tour of Pakistan, then no leading cricket team will visit this country in the coming years.

Sources in the PCB said that Butt could also meet President Asif Ali Zardari the Board"s chief patron soon to seek his support as well.

A former Pakistan Test opener, Butt has intensified his efforts to keel alive the home series against India. He met the Indian High Commissioner Satyabrata Pal in Lahore and ensured him of the best possible security for the Indian players.

A senior Board official said that the "fruitful" meeting lasted for about 90 minutes.

Though the Indian cricket board (BCCI) says that the tour remains on, it has made it clear that the series in Pakistan will only be confirmed after it receives a clearance from the Indian government.

The fact that the Indian government recently blocked its junior hockey team"s tour of Pakistan on security grounds has made the PCB officials quite anxious about the series.

Pakistan cricket is still reeling from the postponement of the ICC Champions Trophy which was supposed to be played in Karachi and Lahore in September. The International Cricket Council (ICC) moved the event to next fall after five of the eight competing teams refused to travel to Pakistan, citing security fears.

The PCB officials can take some comfort in the fact that India were one of the other three nations and strongly supported the idea of having the Champions Trophy in Pakistan. India toured Pakistan this summer to play in the Asia Cup and their cricketers and officials said at that time that they felt safe in Pakistan.

But India"s next visit that is scheduled to begin on January 5 hinges on whether their security experts still believe that MS Dhoni and company would be safe here.

It is because of this uncertainty that the PCB officials have been openly talking about the option of either playing the series in India or at neutral venues like Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. However, they insist that Pakistan"s first choice is to have the "iconic" series on home soil according to schedule.