Pakistan seeks information of terror risk to Elections of India

Islamabad said Saturday it had sought details from India on the perceived terrorist threat to its general elections.

'We have made a request to the Indian government for intelligence sharing so that all necessary steps could be taken,' Interior Minister Rehman Malik said at a press conference, noting that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had spoken of the threat.

He sharp out that it was for the Indian administration to provide information about the threat. 'We are facing a common enemy,' Geo TV quoted Malik as saying.

'If you give us an opportunity at the centre, I will prove that the 21st century belongs to India just as the 20th century was dominated by western countries,' the veteran leader told the well-attended rally.

'We don't want recurrence of incidents like the Mumbai attacks,' Malik added. Dr. Manmohan Singh's remarks had come during an interaction with women journalists in New Delhi Friday.

The IPL drama

The next term of the Indian Premier League will be held outside India, the BCCI announced in Mumbai on Sunday. The BCCI's determination to shift the tournament out of the country came at an emergency meeting comprising its office-bearers and the eight franchise owners in Mumbai.

IPL commissioner Lalit Modi said the timing of the matches would remain the same, with the first game scheduled at 1600 IST and next at 2000, no matter which venue they will be played at. Basically, it would mean that the Twenty20 tournament, scheduled to be held between April 10 and May 24, would essentially become a television event.

South Africa and England are being talked about as possible venues but the BCCI is still in talks with other boards to finalize the venue. "We will let you know about the new venue in two or three days," BCCI president Shashank Manohar said. The BCCI made it clear that the last straw that made them decide to shift the venue out of India was the last-minute reversal of stand by Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh governments, which had earlier given clearance for the tournament.

"The BCCI is not in a position to either play a truncated IPL or cancel the second edition of the IPL. It is a matter of great regret that, in the prevailing atmosphere, where the government is expressing concern for providing security to the IPL matches, the BCCI is left with no other option but to conduct the Indian Premier League in another country," the BCCI said in a statement.