Nothing wrong in Pak cricketers playing in IPL: Gadkari

New Delhi, Jan 21 (PTI) Apparently new to nuances of
Indo-Pak issues, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nitin
Gadkari Thursday said there was nothing wrong in Pakistan
cricketers participating in Indian Premier League (IPL) but a
little later he clarified that such ties are not possible till
cross-border terrorism is put to an end.
"I feel what is the fault of the cricketers in this. We
also feel a cricketer is not an extremist nor is he a
supporter (of terrorism).
"Not all (Pakistani) citizens are like that or whole
government is like that...this is not the case," he told
CNN-IBN, when asked about Pakistani cricketers being kept out
of the IPL bidding.
He said, "I think we should play. I am telling you
repeatedly that we should make all efforts for a smooth
relationship. But at the same time, this will be fruitful only
if Pakistan makes a commitment that we will not do this
(cross-border terrorism) and will prove this," Gadkari said.
The BJP president asserted that once this was done some
good will come out of our efforts.
However, later Gadkari clarified that BJP was not against
cricket or sports or against talks with Pakistan. (MORE) PTI