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Cricket Diplomacy: Expect The Usual Hand Shakes And Nothing More

March 29th, 2011 | 13 Comments

By D. Asghar

Of course no one knows, what will happen in Mohali on March 30. The World Cup semi final between Pakistan and India will indeed be a nail biting and nerve pounding match, as many are predicting.

Indian Prime Minister Singh’s invitation to his Pakistani counterpart, our PM Gilani to watch the match live from the stadium is a welcome gesture. Many are trying to call it “Cricket Diplomacy” and expecting, way too much from this. Our media has dug into the previous such “Cricket Diplomacy”, of General Zia and Musharraf. To say the least, it turned out to be a good photo opportunity and some temporary news blip. Everyone knows that it was nothing more than that.

The idea of this write up is to remind us of ground realities. Both India’s Cricket team and its leadership enjoy competitive advantage over Pakistan. Mohali is home turf for their players and our boys will be under extreme pressure. The Indian leadership on the other hand, is enjoying the “shining India” label to the fullest. Yes there are some internal challenges, that Dr. Singh’s government is facing. But even with those dark clouds over him, the Indians, as a whole are moving in the right direction.

At this juncture, Pakistan is undoubtedly lagging behind India. If anything it is the need of the hour to seize the opportunity and “repackage” Pakistan into a “Growing Pakistan.” The first move towards that daring policy, would be to bury the hatchet for good. This would be a major paradigm shift and Pakistan’s security establishment has to accept this reality. Hostilities towards the Eastern neighbours, have been extremely detrimental for the nation as a whole. The hawkish religious right has to get pragmatic.

It is not in India’s best interest either, to engage with Pakistan in a military conflict. The bone of contention, the infamous Kashmir issue which by the way is not even on the agenda of bilateral talks, will remain at status quo.

Only at a time when the bilateral relationship between the two become cordial and normal, the Kashmir discussion may go somewhere. India has repeated its stance, that it may grant greater autonomy to the embattled state. Speaking of autonomy, Pakistan should be seriously pondering on that idea within its territory as well.

So enjoy the game on both the Cricket and Diplomatic front. The outcome of one is rather predictable than the other.

Written by dasghar

D. Asghar is a Pakistani American. A Mortgage Banker by profession who loves to write as well. He blogs frequently at popular South Asian websites. A repository of some of his scribbles is http://dasghar.blogspot.com/. He can be reached at dasghar@aol.com.

Filed under: Cricket, Pakistan-India Peace Process · Tags: Cricket Diplomacy, India, opportunity, Pakistan

13 Responses to "Cricket Diplomacy: Expect The Usual Hand Shakes And Nothing More"

Ahmed says:

March 29, 2011 at 9:02 am

Well, the only reason Manmohan is big on this cricket match is that he is hoping the Indian public will forget his astounding corruption in the cricket mania. For India’s sake, I hope it looses so that Manmohan cannot escape the truth behind his scamming coalition. India does not need any more cricket wins. It needs good governance so that its people can be lifted out of poverty.
Cricket Diplomacy: Expect The Usual Hand Shakes And Nothing More | Tea Break says:

March 29, 2011 at 3:12 pm

[...] Cricket Diplomacy: Expect The Usual Hand Shakes And Nothing More [...]
censor says:

March 29, 2011 at 5:10 pm

Except for MMS and his few cronies everyone in the subcontinent knows that this is nothing more than a gimmick. Hardly anyone in young India cares about ties with Pakistan and even fewer have the type of emotional bond with Lahore or pind the way sardarji has.

I would humbly request PM Gilani to take MMS and Sonia with him to Lahore and keep him there. As a bonus you can take Rahul G also. They can certainly teach each other the tricks of making multi billion dollar scams and shamelessly denying it.
Maleeha Khan says:

March 29, 2011 at 8:01 pm

fingers crossed!!!! hope every thing gona go smooth…. yoo Pakistan go n win! this world cup is urs!!! INSHALLAH!
TYPE_NOONE says:

March 30, 2011 at 1:05 am

WRONG TIME FOR THE GAME. THE SCARS OF KARGIL AND 26/11 HAVE NOT HEALED …..PAKIS DO NOT CONSIDER INDIANS TO BE HUMAN BEINGS.
censor says:

March 30, 2011 at 6:11 am

I am very happy today. Gilani has agreed to take MMS and Congress party to Lahore after the match. Please keep them forever.
Kashifiat says:

March 30, 2011 at 7:02 am

Pls read

http://kashifiat.wordpress.com/wp-admin/index.php?page=stats
Ranger says:

March 30, 2011 at 9:29 am

So which team will Indian muslims cheer for ? Just curious.
Mahatma1 says:

March 30, 2011 at 9:48 am

“So which team will Indian muslims cheer for ?
Just curious?

Can you make your insinuation more clear than that!
Just curious?
Bin Ismail says:

March 30, 2011 at 12:12 pm

“…..So which team will Indian muslims cheer for?…..”

Gentlemen, this is a game – G. A. M. E. – “game”.
censor says:

March 30, 2011 at 11:29 pm

@Ranger,

Ha ha ha ha…
It seems most of them prayed for India.
Bakiakl says:

March 31, 2011 at 4:32 am

Ranger writes: //”So which team will Indian muslims cheer for ? Just curious.”//

Obviously for the team, in which they themselves play!
Mehwish Khan says:

November 11, 2011 at 11:53 pm

its really nice post…. thnxs for posting dear