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Pakistani cricket team will not be allowed into India, repeats Thackeray

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray today reiterated his earlier threat that the Pakistani cricket team will not be allowed to play in India.

Inaugurating the Tiger Safari at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Bombay, Thackeray said he had directed his Shiv Sena ''Tigers'' to be hardcore Hindus and prevent the Pakistani team's entry into Indian soil.

The Pakistanis are scheduled to arrive in the country to play three Tests and five one-day matches in January. State Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Gopinath Munde has stated on many occasions that the Pakistanis would be provided adequate security if they play in Bombay. Talking to the media, Thackeray said the Pakistani players should arrive first for Munde to give them security.

''There should be some amount of nationalism among our people. How can we allow the Pakistanis to play cricket here when their country has unleashed a proxy war against us and is indulging in massacre of innocent people?'' he questioned.

The Tiger Safari, brainchild of Thackeray's son Uddhav, is spread over an area of six square kilometres in the national park in Borivili, north Bombay. The main aim of the safari is conservation of the tiger which has become an endangered species.

Six tigers, two of them white, have been brought from places like Bangalore, Lucknow, Kanpur and Aurangabad.

UNI

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