MOHALI, India (Reuters) – The prime ministers of nuclear-armed foes India and Pakistan sat side by side and clapped together as the home side won a historic World Cup cricket match packed with symbolic gestures aimed at rebuilding ties shattered by the Mumbai attacks.
As Indian players hugged each other on the pitch, the leaders applauded the two teams in the northern Indian town of Mohali after a semi-final match between the South Asian neighbors that have gone to war three times since Independence in 1947.
Such was the fervor surrounding the match that scores of Pakistanis crossed one of the world’s most militarized borders, helped by relaxed visa rules, to get to the stadium, while millions of Indians took the day off work to watch the game.
One banner in the 28,000 capacity stadium read “We have two common religions – cricket and cinema. Why then fight?”
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had invited his counterpart, Yusuf Raza Gilani, to watch the game and discuss reviving the peace process, although “cricket diplomacy” will offer more in the way of gestures than breakthroughs in the decades-old conflict.
It was the first time since the Mumbai attacks that the two teams have met on one of their
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