Sporting ties with India not possible right now: Jillani

October 2nd, 2009 JOHANNESBURG - Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam has said the Wanderers pitch prepared for the Pakistan-New Zealand semifinal on Saturday would play much better than what it has seen in the past games of the Champions Trophy. "The semifinals will be played on the same pitch that was used for the match between West Indies and India.

September 16th, 2009 LAHORE - The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is hoping that the encounter between India and Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy would help improve ties between both the countries. PCB's Chief Operating Officer (COO) Wasim Bari said the match would help remove the distrust and improve bilateral relations which had deteriorated after the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

September 10th, 2009 KARACHI - Indo-Pak cricket ties seem to be heading on the right track, after the soured relationship between both countries following the 26/11 carnage saw both teams refusing to play home series against each other. According to well placed PCB sources, the Pakistan Cricket Board received some 'positive signals' from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) regarding its proposal of hosting a short series with India on a neutral venue.

August 8th, 2009 MUMBAI - Union Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor has said that the historical and treasured cricket matches between India and Pakistan would become a spectacle once again provided 'certain things' happened in bilateral relationship. Tharoor was speaking here last evening when a book titled - 'Shadow Across the Playing Field - 60 years of India-Pakistan cricket', co-authored by him and former Pakistan Cricket Control Board chief Shaharyar Khan was launched.

August 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Sports minister M.S. Gill Monday said it is necessary for all sporting bodies to adopt the anti-doping code of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

August 2nd, 2009 LONDON - World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) chairman John Fahey said the "whereabouts" clause, which was rejected by the Indian cricket board Sunday, has been accepted worldwide by 571 international sporting organisations. Addressing the security concerns of the Indian cricketers, Fahey said the 'whereabouts' information is "completely secure" with them.

August 1st, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistan hockey legend Hassan Sardar believes a successful revival of the national game can happen with regular exchanges of home-and-away matches against old rivals India. Hassan, currently serving as Pakistan hockeys chief selector, said the two former Asian giants will have to play against each other regularly to lift the profile of the sport in the region.

July 20th, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistans squash officials are hoping that their teams participation in the World Junior Individual Squash Championships in Chennai this summer will help to renew sporting ties with India. Pakistan Squash Federation (PSF) secretary Shams-ul Haq told IANS Monday that four of the countrys leading junior players will feature in the world championship to be played from July 20 to Aug 3.

July 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The next Davis Cup tie between India and Australia will be a home fixture for India, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled Thursday. The decision was taken by the ITF Board of Directors at its meeting in Madrid Wednesday after hearing an appeal by India on the choice of venue for their next Davis Cup tie against Australia.

July 4th, 2009 KARACHI - Former Pakistan chief selector Abdul Qadir has been summoned by the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Sports to explain his sudden resignation from the post. The committee has asked Qadir to appear before it on July 14 to explain the reason behind resigning suddenly from the chief selector's chair.

June 27th, 2009 KARACHI/NEW DELHI - The Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) says its national team is likely to play in a four-nation hockey tournament in New Delhi ahead of next year's World Cup while Hockey India (HI) says that's news to it. Pakistani media reports say the quadrangular tournament that is being planned by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) ahead of next year's World Cup will help break the ice between Pakistan and India, who have suspended sporting ties in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks.

June 4th, 2009 LONDON/NEW DELHI - The Indian government was "not consulted" on donating the proceeds of Wednesday's T20 warm-up game with Pakistan for the Pakistani victims of a terrorist attack in Lahore, Indian officials say. According to the International Cricket Council (ICC), the money will contribute to the education of youngsters in families whose members were killed or injured in the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.

June 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - India may have paused talks with Pakistan after 26/11 Mumbai attacks. But the two cricket-crazy nations have decided not to let their diplomatic standoff get in the way of a good cricket match.

May 27th, 2009 LAHORE - The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is still hoping that relationship between India and Pakistan would improve in near future, which would then enable Pakistan to participate in the Twenty 20 Champions League. "If political and diplomatic relations improve before October, anything is possible and we can press the Indian board to include our national champions (Sialkot Stallions') in the league as well," The Nation quoted a report submitted by a PCB official, as saying.

May 25th, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistani cricket officials are making efforts to stage an exhibition Twenty20 match against India or Sri Lanka on the sidelines of next months World Twenty20 Championship in England to raise funds for the thousands of displaced people in the Swat Valley in northwestern Pakistan. According to a senior Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has been approached to confirm a fund-raiser for the victims of the ongoing military operation in northern Pakistan against Taliban militants.