National

Decision on tour only after security evaluation

NEW DELHI: The Indian establishment is yet to make up its mind on sending the cricket team to Pakistan despite Islamabad’s belief that the tour will be a vote of confidence in the country’s security situation.

A few days before a team of Indian security officers is scheduled to visit the match venues, sources were apprehensive of the impact on bilateral ties if “even a scratch comes to a player like Sachin Tendulkar.”

The final decision will be taken in a fortnight but the sources here wondered whether the “risk was worth running” and felt that the government would be put in a very difficult situation if “something goes wrong.” Despite these apprehensions, India will conduct a “professional evaluation” of the security provided and the risks to the cricketers, who are scheduled to be in Pakistan from January 6 to February 19.

The issue is expected to figure during next week’s high-level visits. Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta will be in Islamabad for a Joint Anti-terror Mechanism meeting and Pakistan Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi will be here to complete the engagements he had to abandon in June following the death of his mother-in-law.

Though the government will take a final call after the security team makes the standard evaluation — done in countries where the potential for a terrorist attack on Indian citizens is high — the sources here felt that bilateral ties would invite adverse public opinion in case of a mishap.

Meanwhile, India took umbrage at comments made by the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson on the ongoing elections in Jammu & Kashmir.

In a statement, the official spokesperson said: “It is most unfortunate that Pakistan has commented on an internal matter of India. We strongly object to these remarks. It is in Pakistan’s own interest to play a responsible role in the region. Comments such as these hardly suggest that it is prepared to do so.”

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