Mainstream political parties in India are refusing to acknowledge that Pakistan is sincere in offering its cooperation in the fight against terrorism, perhaps, because anti-Pakistan rhetoric still sells well. First it was the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh of the Congress Party who declined to provide security to Pakistan's cricket team for a T20 World Cup match in Dharmasala, asking the BCCI to either cancel the match or to shift it to a different venue (the Indo-Pak match was later eventually shifted to Kolkata).
The Shiv Sena had to be one up on the issue, and threatened to dig up the pitch, as they have done on some previous occasions, if the BJP government allowed Pakistani cricket team to play in India. Even an otherwise moderate and secular Aam Admi Party jumped on to the bandwagon, saying India should play cricket only with countries it has friendly relations with. In this case though it is not for India to decide whether or not Pakistan should play in that country, it is an International Cricket Council event, and hence as an ICC member India is duty-bound to provide necessary security to the Pakistani team.
Islamabad of course has to ensure nothing untoward happens during Pakistan matches. After all, it allowed to send team to India following firm pledges by Indian government in particular. Despite the BCCI's assurance of foolproof security, playing in Dharmasala did not seem to be a good idea as it would have exposed the players to an extremely hostile environment. Since India has politicised a sporting event, Pakistan could have decided to stay away and make that country look bad as an intolerant nation. But the larger issue of peace advises restraint.
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