Hindu militants threaten Pakistani diplomats on cricket tour
AFP
10 January 1999
NEW DELHI, Jan 10 (AFP) - A Hindu militant group vowing to disrupt
Pakistan's first cricket tour on Indian soil in 12 years has
threatened Islamabad's diplomats in New Delhi, reports said on Sunday.
The Statesman daily said police found Hindi and English pamphlets in
front of the Pakistani embassy here written by Hindu militants warning
diplomats would be targetted if the Pakistan team arrived in India.
Supporters of Hindu leader Bal Thackeray's Shiv Sena party dug up the
cricket pitch at New Ferozeshah Kotla stadium, venue of the first
Test, Wednesday in a bid to prevent the match.
A police officer said the two-page pamphlet was signed by the ``acting
president'' of Delhi's Shiv Sena unit and a former chief of the party.
Security was increased at the embassy following the threats, a police
official said.
``We will not allow any untoward incident in the area. Security has
been tightened in the area,'' said joint commissioner of police
Y.S. Dadwal.
``Appropriate measures have been taken for the security of the
diplomats and we are trying to track down the people who have signed
the pamphlets,'' he said.
Police arested eight Shiv Sena supporters overnight as a ``preventive
measure'', other newspapers said.
A police official said the chief of the Shiv Sena party, along with
some other leaders, had gone underground to evade arrest.
The police action followed a government order to ensure ``foolproof''
security for the Pakistani cricket team.
The ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, Indian
People's Party) of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said the
Pakistan team should go ahead with its programme following New Delhi's
pledge to protect the players.
``After the government's assurance, the Pakistan cricket team should go
ahead with its tour of this country later this month,'' BJP spokesman
K.L. Sharma said.
Vajpayee blamed ``a handful of people'' in India and Pakistan of trying
to sabotage efforts to normalise relations between the two countries.
``Some people (in India) are adamant they will not let the cricket
match be played in India,'' he said, without elaborating.
The Pakistani team, which last played a Test on Indian soil in March
1987, is to arrive here January 21 for a two-Test series, the Asian
Test championship opener against India and a triangular one-day series
also featuring Sri Lanka.
In 1991, Hindu fanatics vandalised the pitch at Bombay's Wankhede
stadium two days before Pakistan were to start a limited-over series
in India.
Pakistan cancelled that tour, and two more in 1993 and 1994, because
of security fears. They played in India during the 1996 World Cup and
the Independence Cup the following year without any problems.
``It is time for the Shiv Sena supporters to begin preparations for
Pakistanis' arrival ... get ready to welcome them in a big way,''
militant leader Thackeray was quoted by The Pioneer newspaper as
saying.
The police, meanwhile, urged newspaper editors to report to them any
advance information gathered on the Hindu militants.
The militants have in the past tipped off photographers and
journalists before they stage attacks.
The move sparked off a heated debate in the Indian media, with some
editors welcoming the suggestion and others denouncing it.
Chandan Mitra, editor of the Pioneer newspaper, said that while the
media has ``a legitimate interest in pursuing a story, it should inform
the police in such circumstances.'' But Sekhar Gupta, editor of the
Indian Express daily, said the pitch-digging incident ``was not a crime
in the classical sense.''
``If we are invited to cover a protest, how do we presume or anticipate
lawlessness or vandalism?''
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