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Pak fans carry home message of love
After spending some "memorable" days in Mohali during the first Indo-Pak Test, hundreds of Pakistani fans left for home on Sunday.
After spending some "memorable" days in Mohali during the first Indo-Pak cricket Test, hundreds of Pakistani fans left for home on Sunday but not without the message of love, peace and friendship.
"Our visit to India has been a memorable one and the love and hospitality we received here has simply overwhelmed us," said Mohammad Sharif, a retired Pakistan government official, who had come to watch the Mohali match along with his relatives.
"We will pray that India and Pakistan become permanent friends so that we can have peace and achieve progress in the region," the 65-year-old said as he prepared to go back to his home town Lahore.
Ahmed Farooq of Gujranwala said he would never forget the trip and remember it for the rest of his life.
"This was my first visit to India. For decades, a different image of India had been in our minds. Here, I found that the Indians are our best friends in the world and we should not listen to anybody who breeds hatred against India," Farooq said.
A few hundred Pakistani fans left Chandigarh on Sunday morning in four buses specially arranged for them.
The Mohali Test provided a perfect opportunity to people from across the border to witness some exciting cricket besides meeting their relatives, living in India, after decades.
It was a nostalgic moment for Mohammad Sharif when he visited village Kalara Kalan, where he spent his childhood. He was just eleven when his family migrated to Pakistan from a small village in Patiala during the time of partition.
