Pakistan PM Gilani to watch India-Pak semifinal at Mohali with PM

Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has reportedly accepted his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh's invitation to watch India-Pakistan World Cup semifinal in Mohali on March 30.

The decision, which was reportedly taken following a Saturday late night meeting between Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari, has been conveyed to the Indian government, sources told PTI.
However, there was no official word on this from the Pakistan government.
According to sources, Gilani would informally meet Singh during the match and a formal meeting would be held after the game.
The Nation newspaper quoted its sources as saying that Gilani would pay a two-day visit to India for a fresh round of "cricket diplomacy".
It said that Gilani's decision to accept Singh's invitation has been conveyed to New Delhi through diplomatic channels.
The Indian High Commission in Islamabad, however, said it has not received any information from the Pakistani side in this regard.
Till Saturday night, there were reports that Gilani and Zardari may have deputed Farooq Naek, the Chairman of Senate or upper house of Parliament, to visit India.
A day after India beat Australia to enter the semifinal to face Pakistan, Singh had written identical letters to Gilani and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari asking them to visit India to watch the match.
The text of the letters to the Pakistani leaders read: "I propose to be at Mohali to watch the World Cup semi-final match between India and Pakistan to be held on 30th March.
There is huge excitement over the match and we are all looking forward to a great game of cricket, that will be a victory for sport. It gives me great pleasure to invite you to visit Mohali and join me and the millions of fans from our countries to watch the match."
Singh's decision to invite the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan to watch the match at Mohali with him has been looked as an attempt by him to push the India-Pakistan peace agenda.
Cricket has had a chequered role in the diplomatic history of the two countries, and has been used to facilitate dialogue and bring about bonhomie. But ever since the Mumbai attack of November 26, 2008, India-Pakistan relations have been in a trough, despite Singh's valiant attempts to revive them. This cast a shadow even on cricket ties. The two sides have had just two cricketing encounters since 26/ 11, both in ICC-sanctioned events. And India has not welcomed any Pakistani player in the IPL tournament for two years.