Bharti agreeable to Indo-Pak cricket ties, with a rider

Sports Minister Uma Bharti today said she would not oppose the revival of cricket ties with Pakistan but demanded a reciprocal gesture from that country regarding hockey.

"If cricket figures in the proposed talks with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf during his visit later this month and it was felt it was necessary to revive cricket ties to boost relations (between the two countries), I would not oppose it," Bharti told reporters in Lucknow.

"But if we revive cricket ties, Pakistan should initiate revival of hockey ties as a goodwill gesture and request the International Hockey Federation (FIH) to change the dates of Champions Trophy that clash with the Afro-Asian Games being hosted by India," she added.

As Pakistan is hosting Champions Trophy it should request FIH to change the dates so that its team could participate in the Afro-Asian Games, she said.

Bharti said a meeting with leading industrial houses of the country would be held later this month to encourage them to adopt one sports discipline each and train sportspersons to bring them at par with international standards.