New Delhi:
Tomorrow, after the Mohali match, one country will be heart-broken.
But today was ear-marked for a new spirit of cooperation. The talks between the Home Secretaries of India and Pakistan concluded with significant progress.
That good news comes ahead of tomorrow's meet between the Prime Minister of both countries who will be seated next to each other as their countries battle it out in a stadium filled with impassioned fans.
GK Pillai and his counterpart, Chaudhary Qamar Zaman, wrapped up 12 hours of talks with an agreement that allows India to send a commission to Pakistan to collect more evidence against those India holds responsible for 26/11. The composition and the modalities of the committee will be worked out later, said officials from both countries. India has been hoping to access people like Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, a Lashkar commander who is being tried by a Pakistani court for his role in the 26/11 attacks.
In the carefully navigated spirit of reciprocity, a Pakistani judicial commission will visit India by May 15 to interview key witnesses in India's trial of Ajmal Kasab, the only terrorist caught alive during the 26/11 terror strike in Mumbai in which 166 people were killed.
Both countries have also agreed to make it easier for businessmen, journalists and senior citizens to get visas.
And in a sign that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's initiative for cricket diplomacy has paid off, Pakistan has surprised India by suggesting a hotline to link the Home Secretaries on both side of the border. Sources say that while Pakistan had floated this proposal earlier, it was Dr Singh's invite to the Pakistani Prime minister for the match that sealed the deal.
But today was ear-marked for a new spirit of cooperation. The talks between the Home Secretaries of India and Pakistan concluded with significant progress.
That good news comes ahead of tomorrow's meet between the Prime Minister of both countries who will be seated next to each other as their countries battle it out in a stadium filled with impassioned fans.
GK Pillai and his counterpart, Chaudhary Qamar Zaman, wrapped up 12 hours of talks with an agreement that allows India to send a commission to Pakistan to collect more evidence against those India holds responsible for 26/11. The composition and the modalities of the committee will be worked out later, said officials from both countries. India has been hoping to access people like Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, a Lashkar commander who is being tried by a Pakistani court for his role in the 26/11 attacks.
In the carefully navigated spirit of reciprocity, a Pakistani judicial commission will visit India by May 15 to interview key witnesses in India's trial of Ajmal Kasab, the only terrorist caught alive during the 26/11 terror strike in Mumbai in which 166 people were killed.
Both countries have also agreed to make it easier for businessmen, journalists and senior citizens to get visas.
And in a sign that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's initiative for cricket diplomacy has paid off, Pakistan has surprised India by suggesting a hotline to link the Home Secretaries on both side of the border. Sources say that while Pakistan had floated this proposal earlier, it was Dr Singh's invite to the Pakistani Prime minister for the match that sealed the deal.
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