Cricket tour an excellent CBM: Pakistani daily

Islamabad, July 18: The proposed tour of Pakistan's cricket team to India will be an excellent confidence-building measure, said a leading daily while recalling that cricketing ties between the two countries were suspended after the 2008 Mumbai attack.

An editorial in the Dawn Wednesday said the Indian cricket board's announcement that it has invited the Pakistan team for a tour at the end of the year will "no doubt be greeted with joy by cricket buffs".

This will be the first such tour in five years.

The daily pointed out that cricketing ties between Pakistan and India were suspended after the 2008 Mumbai attack and the two sides have only met in international tournaments since 2007.

Pakistan has also not been able to host international matches since the 2009 terror attack that targetted the Sri Lankan team in Lahore.

"Not only was the assault a death knell for international cricket in this country, it also cost Pakistan its position as one of the co-hosts of the 2011 World Cup," the editorial said.

The daily said the security concerns of foreign teams are justified and it wanted authorities concerned to convince the world that Pakistan is a safe place to play.

"In the India-Pakistan context, the proposed tour will be an excellent confidence-building measure.

"Hopefully it will pave the way for regular cricketing ties between the two countries, as few rivalries in cricket generate as much excitement as Pakistan vs India. It is also hoped the tour can open the door for India and other foreign teams to resume playing matches on Pakistani soil," said the daily.