As Indian and Pakistani teams slugged it out in the middle at Mohali’s Punjab Cricket Association stadium on Wednesday for a place in the World Cup final, prime ministers of the two countries made a friendly pitch outside.
After encouraging their teams for more than two hours sitting side by side in the VVIP enclosure at the stadium, prime ministers Manmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani decided it was time for some business.
At a dinner meeting, the leaders discussed various issues, including terrorism and how to remove the trust deficit between the two countries created after 26/11. The attempt was to start from where they had left off in 2008. The two countries had come close to an agreement Sir Creek and Siachen that year but the Mumbai attack derailed further progress.
Earlier, Singh and wife received Gilani. After watching a part of the Indian innings, they left for their respective hotels to take a break.
The two leaders came back to the stadium in the evening to see Pakistan batting and had high tea together, before leaving for dinner at 7.30pm.
While Gilani and company were reportedly treated to biryani, mutton barra, roasted fish, tandoori salmon, shahi idlis, vegetable biryani, bhindi naintara and desserts gulkand ka kalakand and kesari phirni, Singh preferred a low-oil diet which included a spinach dish and dal.
Gilani’s delegation comprised defence minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, minister for information and broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan, Frontier Gandhi Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan’s politician-son Asfandyar Wali Khan, Sherry Rehman, businessmen and others.
Singh’s team had national security advisor Shiv Shankar Menon, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao, planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, information and technology minister Sachin Pilot and tourism minister Subodh Kant Sahay. Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka and Robert Vadra were also there to cheer the Indian team.
