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Indian militant leader ready to scuttle Pakistan tour
AFP
5 January 1999
BOMBAY, Jan 5 (AFP) - A firebrand Hindu leader in Bombay has
reiterated his threat to scuttle a planned Pakistan cricket tour of
India this month.
``We won't allow them to play and my men are ready in Madras and New
Delhi,'' said Bal Thackeray, head of the Hindu militant Shiv Sena party
which controls the western state of Maharashtra.
Thackeray has urged all Hindus in Bombay -- the state capital of
Maharashtra and the centre of Indian cricket -- to ``rise up'' against
the 10-week tour because of Islamabad's alleged support for militant
groups in India.
Thackeray accused Pakistan of sponsoring cross-border terrorism in
Indian-controlled Kashmir and other areas through its intelligence
services.
``In such circumstances, the tour should not be permitted,'' he said.
The Shiv Sena is bitterly anti-Moslem and was accused by human rights
groups of killing Moslems during sectarian riots in Bombay in 1992-3.
Pakistan is due to play a three-match Test series and three limited
overs games against India during their tour -- the first in India for
11 years.
Pakistan cricket chief Khali Mahmood warned last month that the tour
could still be called off if the safety of his cricketers could not be
guaranteed.
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has personally pledged to
protect the visitors.
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