A celebration of peace?

The recent Indo-Pak talks were a dead giveaway. They ensured nothing more than the promise of future talks and got the required go ahead for the Test and One-Day international series between the two nations. Exactly what Pakistan was looking to achieve.

The India-Pakistan cricket series is being played for -- if the officials are to be believed -- peace and money. In the backwaters -- hidden from public view -- are the real reasons. To help keep President Pervez Musharraf in power and show the United States of America that Pakistan is still a safe place. When you have your arch-rivals touring, there are few who will suggest otherwise.

The same people who said 'don't mix sport and politics' are now doing exactly that.

Pakistan Cricket Board chief Shaharyar Khan, diplomat par excellence and a former foreign secretary, says: 'The resumption of cricket ties with India next year would help cement the peace process between the two countries.'

If cricket does indeed mean so much, then India should use it as a tool. Achieve something concrete with Pakistan and then play cricket. Let the series be a celebration, not a forbearer of peace.

What is the hurry to stage the series right away? Can it not wait until the high level talks produce something concrete?

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As Senator Gracchus said in the Oscar-winning flick Gladiator, 'I think he knows what Rome is. Rome is the mob. Conjure magic for them and they'll be distracted. Take away their freedom and still they'll roar.'

I think Musharraf knows Pakistan and its people.

The PCB is nearly bankrupt. The cancelled series in recent times have seen it lose a lot of money in sponsorships and television rights. It cannot afford to lose anymore.

But, as Rameez Raja believes, 'the sort of interest this series has generated among the sponsors and companies in both countries and even in the Gulf states, the money it would generate, the viewership and audience it will command all over the world and the packed stadiums we are expecting, this series will open a new chapter in Pakistan cricket and also give international cricket a new commercial meaning.'

If the series does take place -- the signs indicate it will -- then Pakistan stands to gain a lot more than India.

The BCCI insists security is an issue. If it really is, then it is hard to see how the BCCI, when opting for a one-dayer instead of a five-day Test in Karachi, failed to understand that one day is all that's needed to ruin the party. If we are talking about building bridges, it is a full-fledged series, not a patched up one, that needs to be played in conditions that are favourable.

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One defeat against Australia during the World Cup saw the homes of some of the players being stoned; their effigies were burnt. The matter will surely be on the players' minds as they take on arch-rivals Pakistan again. Is it fair to subject them to such inhuman pressure?

Can the players be assured that regardless of the result their families will be protected?

A BCCI official, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "The Pakistan tour will only be on once the plane carrying the team lands there. There is every chance that the plane could be asked to return after take-off."

Indeed, doubts about security in Pakistan still persist. Whether the governments of both countries like it or not, this series means a lot to its people; it certainly deserves to be fought on equal terms. That is the very least the BCCI should strive to achieve and make the tour a celebration of lasting peace.