India on Saturday rejected President Pervez Musharraf's appeal to allow its team to play in Pakistan saying that "cricket and cross-border terrorism" could not go together.
"How can we send the cricket team to play in Pakistan when they are supporting terrorist activities in Kashmir," Sports Minister Vikram Verma said in New Delhi.
"I want the Indian team to visit Pakistan and entertain the public here. I am all for keeping sports and politics separate," Musharraf had told visiting International Cricket Council president Malcolm Gray on Thursday.
Verma said the joint policy formulated by the sports, home and foreign ministries forbade the Indian team from playing bilateral series against Pakistan.
Reacting to Musharraf's statement that the Pakistani side would not undertake the return tour in 2004 if India failed to tour Pakistan after the World Cup, the sports minister said, "We are least bothered if their cricket team does not tour India. We are not going to welcome them."
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