Despite all the goodwill gestures generated by cricket officials fromIndia and Pakistan while drawing up the fixtures for the Asian TestChampionship (ATC) at Lahore on Friday, there was always the lurkingdoubt that all was not hunky dory. Some of the comments made by thePakistan Cricket Board chairman Gen Tauqir Zia, the lack of assuranceby the Indian government on a bilateral series and the long troubledhistory of cricketing ties between the two countries had all led tothere being a strong undercurrent of tension and uncertainty over notonly the ATC but also the future of India-Pakistan cricket ties.But not even the most cynical observer of the strained cricketingrelations between the two countries would have bargained for such aquick torpedo to be thrown at an already besieged boat. Within just 72hours of the announcement of the fixtures in Lahore, the Indiangovernment has thrown a heavy spanner into the works. First, theSports Minister Uma Bharti, unhappy at the `unilateral announcement’that India would play Pakistan at Karachi during the ATC in September,conveyed the government’s displeasure to the president of the Board ofControl for Cricket in India, AC Muthiah over the issue.About the same time, a second salvo was fired by External AffairsMinister Jaswant Singh who said that the Indian Government was againstcricket matches between India and Pakistan bilaterally as the onedayers between the two countries and their televised aspect made them”less cricket and more gladiatorial contests.” Replying to a questionon the government’s decision not to play cricket with Pakistan, hetold reporters in New Delhi that the Sports Ministry had sought hisMinistry’s advice and he had expressed these views to them. Singhadded that given the prevailing atmosphere, it was not advisable forextended cricket tours bilaterally of that nature.Bharti, who is known for her outspoken views, came down hard on theBCCI. Taking exception to the reported assurance given by the BCCI tothe PCB on the Indian cricket team’s participation in the ATC, Bhartisaid the Sports Secretary has already conveyed the Ministry’sdispleasure on this to Muthiah. “They (BCCI) should not take so muchliberty in making such announcements,” she told reporters in NewDelhi.Bharti went on to state that there was a certain protocol to beobserved for India to play matches in Pakistan. According to her, toplay in Pakistan, "the Board has to first give a written proposal tothe Sports Ministry which in turn would forward it to the Ministry ofExternal Affairs. The final decision rests with the MEA.” Sheclarified that no such proposal for the Indian team’s tour to Pakistanin September to participate in the ATC had been received by theMinistry.Asked about reports about India making some sort of goodwill gestureon the eve of Gen Parvez Musharraf’s visit, Bharti said “there is nosuch proposal with her Ministry now. The MEA will take a decisionabout bilateral ties in the changed scenario and obviously cricketingties would also figure in that,” she said adding “When the tiesthrough sports are to be discussed, the views of the Sports Ministrywould be taken into account."Bharti however stressed that like arts and culture, sports too had arole in promoting bilateral ties of two countries. But asked whetherthe Government’s decision not to play cricket with Pakistan in abilateral series had contributed to further souring of relations, theSports Minister snapped back “The bilateral cricketing ties hadnothing to do with the souring of the relations between the twocountries. It was the souring of the relations which resulted in thesnapping of bilateral cricketing ties,”.Interestingly enough, while discussing the agenda of the ACC meeting,Tauqir Zia said that the Indian government had issued a ‘no-objection’letter to the BCCI, supposedly lifting any sanctions whatsoever on theIndian team’s playing on Pakistan soil. However, Zia was not clear inreply to a question whether the letter authorized the revival ofbilateral ties between the two neighbours. He maintained that nothingwas yet clear about bilateral ties between India and Pakistan.However, he sincerely hoped that this ‘softening’ of the IndianGovernment’s stance would help in the re-establishment of bilateralties. Perhaps he spoke too soon!The fact however remains that the agreement at the meeting to have asystem by which a side failing to honour contractual obligations toplay in a series has to offer compensation to its rival team is boundto add to the tension. For some time now, Pakistan had been demandingsuch a compensation clause to be included in the ICC’s ten-yearcalendar for Test playing countries. After claiming that India’sdecision to cancel its scheduled tour to Pakistan last year had costsubstantial financial losses to it, the PCB had urged the ICC tointroduce such a clause to deter any country from going back onplaying commitments in future. Being a signatory at the ACC meetinghas now put India at a considerable disadvantage.The irony of the whole sorry episode is that BCCI secretary JaywantLele had stated only on Monday that in case of a clash of datesbetween the ATC and the indoor one-day series against Australia, bothscheduled in September this year, the Indian team would prefer tohonour the commitment in Pakistan. He said he would ask the AustralianCricket Board to defer the dates for the three one day games,scheduled for September 14, 16 and 18. The dates for the ATC Testagainst Pakistan are September 13 to 17. So the BCCI is now in theunhappy situation of losing out on both engagements. Worse, it hasplayed its cards so badly, it is in a no win situation. It is facedwith a government unhappy with its recent postures and an aggressivePakistan Cricket Board, besides having its hands tied by signing thepenalty clause. Where does – or where can – it go from here? Moreimportant, what happens now to the future of India-Pakistan cricketties?