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It has been over 14 years that the Indian cricket team played in Pakistan. Ironically they have never won a series in Pakistan. But now it seems times are changing, with PM Vajpayee and President Musharraf strongly backing the sporting and cultural interaction between the two nuclear rival nations.. which they hope shall facilitate in melting the ice of tense relations that has plagued this part of the world for over half a century.

Indian Cricket stars like Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly have been busy in supporting Government of Pakistan's campaign against Polio and Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar modelling for the Indian magazines. The media hype has ensured that billions of people across South Asia keep glued to their TV sets as the series gets underway. Scores of Indian fans are expected to cross the Wagah border along with dozens of Bollywood stars. Some even speculate that PM Vajpayee will be in Lahore for the fifth ODI, but neither government has confirmed this report.

What needs to be seen is whether all this hype generates some positive response on the diplomatic field as well or just turns out to be an election campaign for the Indian permier and a much needed public relations boost for President Musharraf.

Addressing a gathering of Indian elite via setallite, President Musharraf clearly explained that all future relations with India are undermined by the core problem of Kashmir and only its solution shall guarentee a permanent healthy relationship between the two countries. So this means Pakistan keeps on dragging Kashmir to each and every meeting between the two diplomacies, Indians are busy cashing in on every opportunity that comes their way, like this cricket series.

A more domestic aspect of this series being the first ODI being held in Karachi. It may symbolise the return of Karachi as an International venue but no one can be sure how long it stays this way.

What we are sure of is that people in Pakistan and India are in for some thrilling games of cricket.. something they have been longing for years.