Sania up for Indo-Pak cricket ties to bring the countries together
The Indian Tennis star, Sania Mirza, has strongly advocated the resumption of cricket relations between the two neighboring arch-rivals, India and Pakistan.
Sania, who recently married renowned Pakistani cricketer, Shoaib Malik, thinks that cricket can play a key role in bridging the years old gaps between the two Asian giants.
Talking to the media, Sania said, “The very fact is obviously people love it. I think it can make the relations between the two countries better.”
Sania’s statement is a follow-up of the cricket diplomacy that was restarted on the occasion of the Semi-final clash between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 during the recently concluded ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.
The Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, invited his Pakistani counterpart and both the political leaders watched the match together. Referring to that game, Sania said, “It is obvious, you have the two Prime Ministers watching together, so it is good stuff.”
Sania and Shoaib married in April last year. Both the sport stars were in love with each other. The marriage drew great criticism and opposition from Pakistan and the extremist circles of India. The couple is now leading a happy and successful life.
Pakistan and India formed the Subcontinent and had been part of the British Colonial rule in the past. The partition came into effect in 1947 and since then, the two nations have been at loggers head on different issues and have even turned to war four times.
Historically speaking, the game of cricket had been playing an instrumental role in diffusing tensions and bringing the two countries close.
In order to streamline the advantages of cricket, an ex-president of Pakistan, Gen http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zia-ul-Haq-c98603, initiated cricket diplomacy in 1980s. This policy had been in operation till 2008 when the terrorist attacks in India led to the cutting off of all bilateral relations.
The ICC Cricket World Cup Semi-final gave the two sides an opportunity to hold negotiations on core issues and look towards normalizing bilateral relations.
Following the World Cup, both the countries have been engaged in diplomatic campaigns that are likely to produce some positive results.
Tags: