New Delhi: India on Saturday rejected President Pervez Musharraf's appeal to allow its team to play in Pakistan saying that "cricket and cross-border terrorism" cannot go together. "How can we send the team to play in Pakistan when it is supporting terrorist activities in Kashmir," Sports Minister Vikram Verma said, a day after Musharraf pleaded for Indian team to make a tour of Pakistan early next year. "I want the Indian team to visit Pakistan and entertain the public here. I am all for keeping sports and politics separate," Musharraf had told visiting International Cricket Council (ICC) president Malcolm Gray on Thursday. "Musharraf's claims to keep politics and sports separate do not matter much for India, as it was Pakistan who is targeting innocent people in Kashmir on one hand and speaking about bettering cricketing ties between the two countries on the other," Verma said. He said the policy formulated jointly by the Sports, Home and Foreign Ministries forbids the Indian team from playing bilateral series against Pakistan. Reacting sharply to the statement made by Musharraf that the Pakistani side would not undertake the return tour in 2004 if India fails to tour Pakistan after the World Cup, the Sports Minister said, "We have nothing to do with it as we have not asked it to play in India. "We are least bothered if its team does not tour India. We are not going to welcome it."
Extras:
'We'll play India at neutral venue on reciprocal basis'

Tags: cricket, new delhi, india, president pervez musharraf, pakistan, indian sports minister vikram verma, international cricket council, icc president malcolm gray.