Despite all the goodwill gestures generated by cricket officials from India and Pakistan while drawing up the fixtures for the Asian Test Championship (ATC) at Lahore on Friday, there was always the lurking doubt that all was not hunky dory. Some of the comments made by the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Gen Tauqir Zia, the lack of assurance by the Indian government on a bilateral series and the long troubled history of cricketing ties between the two countries had all led to there being a strong undercurrent of tension and uncertainty over not only the ATC but also the future of India-Pakistan cricket ties.

But not even the most cynical observer of the strained cricketing relations between the two countries would have bargained for such a quick torpedo to be thrown at an already besieged boat. Within just 72 hours of the announcement of the fixtures in Lahore, the Indian government has thrown a heavy spanner into the works. First, the Sports Minister Uma Bharti, unhappy at the `unilateral announcement' that India would play Pakistan at Karachi during the ATC in September, conveyed the government's displeasure to the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, AC Muthiah over the issue.

About the same time, a second salvo was fired by External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh who said that the Indian Government was against cricket matches between India and Pakistan bilaterally as the one- dayers between the two countries and their televised aspect made them "less cricket and more gladiatorial contests." Replying to a question on the government's decision not to play cricket with Pakistan, he told reporters in New Delhi that the Sports Ministry had sought his Ministry's advice and he had expressed these views to them. Singh added that given the prevailing atmosphere, it was not advisable for extended cricket tours bilaterally of that nature.

Bharti, who is known for her outspoken views, came down hard on the BCCI. Taking exception to the reported assurance given by the BCCI to the PCB on the Indian cricket team's participation in the ATC, Bharti said the Sports Secretary has already conveyed the Ministry's displeasure on this to Muthiah. "They (BCCI) should not take so much liberty in making such announcements," she told reporters in New Delhi.

Bharti went on to state that there was a certain protocol to be observed for India to play matches in Pakistan. According to her, to play in Pakistan, "the Board has to first give a written proposal to the Sports Ministry which in turn would forward it to the Ministry of External Affairs. The final decision rests with the MEA." She clarified that no such proposal for the Indian team's tour to Pakistan in September to participate in the ATC had been received by the Ministry.

Asked about reports about India making some sort of goodwill gesture on the eve of Gen Parvez Musharraf's visit, Bharti said "there is no such proposal with her Ministry now. The MEA will take a decision about bilateral ties in the changed scenario and obviously cricketing ties would also figure in that," she said adding "When the ties through sports are to be discussed, the views of the Sports Ministry would be taken into account."

Bharti however stressed that like arts and culture, sports too had a role in promoting bilateral ties of two countries. But asked whether the Government's decision not to play cricket with Pakistan in a bilateral series had contributed to further souring of relations, the Sports Minister snapped back "The bilateral cricketing ties had nothing to do with the souring of the relations between the two countries. It was the souring of the relations which resulted in the snapping of bilateral cricketing ties,".

Interestingly enough, while discussing the agenda of the ACC meeting, Tauqir Zia said that the Indian government had issued a 'no-objection' letter to the BCCI, supposedly lifting any sanctions whatsoever on the Indian team's playing on Pakistan soil. However, Zia was not clear in reply to a question whether the letter authorized the revival of bilateral ties between the two neighbours. He maintained that nothing was yet clear about bilateral ties between India and Pakistan. However, he sincerely hoped that this 'softening' of the Indian Government's stance would help in the re-establishment of bilateral ties. Perhaps he spoke too soon!

The fact however remains that the agreement at the meeting to have a system by which a side failing to honour contractual obligations to play in a series has to offer compensation to its rival team is bound to add to the tension. For some time now, Pakistan had been demanding such a compensation clause to be included in the ICC's ten-year calendar for Test playing countries. After claiming that India's decision to cancel its scheduled tour to Pakistan last year had cost substantial financial losses to it, the PCB had urged the ICC to introduce such a clause to deter any country from going back on playing commitments in future. Being a signatory at the ACC meeting has now put India at a considerable disadvantage.

The irony of the whole sorry episode is that BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele had stated only on Monday that in case of a clash of dates between the ATC and the indoor one-day series against Australia, both scheduled in September this year, the Indian team would prefer to honour the commitment in Pakistan. He said he would ask the Australian Cricket Board to defer the dates for the three one day games, scheduled for September 14, 16 and 18. The dates for the ATC Test against Pakistan are September 13 to 17. So the BCCI is now in the unhappy situation of losing out on both engagements. Worse, it has played its cards so badly, it is in a no win situation. It is faced with a government unhappy with its recent postures and an aggressive Pakistan Cricket Board, besides having its hands tied by signing the penalty clause. Where does - or where can - it go from here? More important, what happens now to the future of India-Pakistan cricket ties?

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