Agence France Presse

New Delhi, March 14:

Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf may travel to Cochin in southern India to attend the one-day international between the two nations on April 2, a cricket board source said. “There are indications that he may come to Cochin,” the source said. “We should have a confirmation in the next few days.” Cochin will hold the first of six one-dayers between India and Pakistan on April 2 at the conclusion of the ongoing three-Test series. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week invited Musharraf to watch one match during Pakistan’s first tour of India since 1999 after he publicly expressed an interest, but did not name a venue. Pakistan’s foreign office said on Friday that Musharraf had accepted Singh’s invitation but was still to confirm which match the president will attend.

The Pakistani president earlier this month told the Al-Arabiya television network that he would consider going to India to watch his country’s cricketers, if invited. “I love watching sports and I also love cricket, but I would not go anywhere where I am not invited,” he said.

India has insisted that Musharraf’s trip to India will be to watch the cricket and would not be a “state visit” although media reports said Singh may host the Pakistan president for lunch. Pakistan’s late military dictator General Zia-ul Haq visited Jaipur in 1987 to watch a cricket match between the two countries.