Gilani congrats Manmohan on India's World Cup

**R. M. Dixit** · 03-04-2011, 08:38 PM

Islamabad, April 3(ANI): Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has congratulated his Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh on the Indian cricket team's victory in the ICC World Cup 2011.

India, which had reached the final stage after defeating Pakistan on March 30, won the World Cup for the first time since 1983 with a six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka on Saturday.

Gilani commended the excellent performance of the Indian team throughout the tournament as well as in the final match, the Dawn reports.

In his message, Gilani said that the World Cup successfully brought the cricketing fraternity even closer and made the game more popular around the world.

He also expressed the hope that the sports links between India and Pakistan would be fully restored in the near future, and that the sportsmen from both sides would continue playing their important role for peace, friendship and amity between the people of the two countries.
The Pakistan premier had visited India last Wednesday to watch the Indo-Pak World Cup semi-final match in Mohali, accepting the invitation of his Indian counterpart, who had also invited Pakistan President President Asif Ali Zardari as part of his 'cricket diplomacy'.