Pakistan reach India as militants back off

``It's great for us to be in India,'' team manager Shahryar Khan, a former Pakistani foreign secretary, told a crowded press conference soon after Wasim Akram's men arrived here amid tight security.

The 16-man squad, surrounded by gun-toting commandos, was whisked away from the airport to a downtown hotel, which resembled a fortress.

``Never in the history of cricket has a team arrived in such a daunting atmosphere. I hope they get the welcome they deserve across India,'' Khan said.

``It is a tribute to this team to come here despite the threats against it,'' Khan added, referring to firebrand Hindu leader Bal Thackeray's call to disrupt the matches.

The threat was withdrawn a few hours before the tourists landed following an emergency meeting in Bombay with Indian Home Minister L.K. Advani.

Advani later had a half-an-hour meeting with Pakistani cricketers in New Delhi.

The home minister told reporters that he was satisfied with Thackeray's decision to call off the threat.

``I talked to those who had reservations, I had discussions with them and ultimately they agreed. They withdrew ...dropped their protest. I feel satisfied that things have been sorted out.

``These are the areas, the field of sports, of fine arts, of culture where interaction between India and Pakistan would be advantageous for both nations.''

Pakistan, who last played a Test on Indian soil in March 1987, will play a two-Test series, the Asian Test championship opener against the hosts and a triangular one-day series also featuring Sri Lanka.

Khan said Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had met him before the team's departure and urged him to ``promote goodwill between the two countries'' during the tour.

Indian cricket officials voiced delight over Thackeray's announcement not to create trouble.

``I am relieved this has happened. The game of cricket has won,'' Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Raj Singh Dungarpur told AFP.

BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele said: ``It's the best news I've heard for a month. Let everyone enjoy the cricket now.''

As late as Wednesday evening Thackeray had been insisting his Shiv Sena members were mobilising support across the country, saying Pakistan ``won't be allowed to play.''

The Shiv Sena, which is allied to the India's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, was opposed to the tour because of Pakistan's support for Moslem separatists in the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

As part of their protest, Shiv Sena activists dug up the pitch at one of the Test venues two weeks ago and ransacked the BCCI national headquarters in Bombay on Monday.

The Shiv Sena's New Delhi chief, Jai Bhagwan Goyal, promised calm after Thackeray's announcement.

``We now give full guarantee that the match in the capital will not be disrupted as our leader has given us a direction in this regard. We as disciplined soldiers of Thackeray will do what he asks us to do.''

Indian Home Secretary B.P. Singh, however, stressed there would be no relaxation of the heavy security put in place for the Test series.

A government statement released in Bombay said one of the reasons Thackeray gave Advani for calling off the campaign was that he did not want the main opposition Congress party ``to take advantage of any difference of perception'' between the Shiv Sena and the BJP.

Nevertheless, Congress party spokesman Ajit Jogi was quick to heap scorn on Advani for dashing to Bombay and ``prostrating'' himself before Thackeray.

Pakistan travel to the central city of Gwalior on Friday for the three-day tour opener against India A from Saturday.

The first Test starts in the southern city of Madras on January 28 and the second will be played at New Delhi from February 4.