By IANS,
Jammu : Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is excited about the World Cup semifinal between India and Pakistan but does not think the outcome of the high-voltage cricket match will have any impact on the relations and the talks between the two countries.
The chief minister said: “One of the two teams has to win and the other has to lose and one of the two prime ministers (of India and Pakistan) will have to see their team return with defeat. But I don’t think that this would affect the relations of the two countries.”
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani will be watching the match in Mohali Wednesday.
“Both of them are senior and seasoned leaders, I don’t think that the result of the match would affect the relations,” he said.
He hoped that “cricket diplomacy would have a positive impact on the relations and talks between the two countries and help in making an opening, especially after the relations slid into a frozen state after the (November 2008) Mumbai attack”.