KARACHI: Pakistan cricket chief Shaharyar Khan today admitted the inconclusive inquiry into the 2008 Mumbai attacks was a major hurdle in the reviving sporting ties between the arch-rivals.
India stalled all bilateral ties in the wake of the attacks on India’s commercial hub, which left 166 people dead and were blamed on Pakistan-based militants.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and its counterpart the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have signed an agreement to play six series in the next eight years, the first to be hosted by Pakistan in December 2015.
But these series are still subject to New Delhi’s clearance.
Pakistani domestic team Lahore Lions are also due to feature in the Champions League Twenty20 event in India from September 13 but reports suggest their participation remains doubtful amid recent border tensions.
PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said Mumbai remained the key hurdle.
“We usually have tension on the border but the real thing is that their public is against us because of the Mumbai attacks,” he told reporters.
“They say that there is no progress on the investigation. Until and unless the case is closed the ties will remain affected.”
Pakistan indicted seven people over the Mumbai attacks but their trial, which began in 2009, has made little headway, prompting Indian accusations that the process was a sham.--AFP