Pakistan's eagerness to get India to tour their trouble-torn country has resurfaced at the wake of the tour being called off.

The Federal Sports Minister Pir Aftab Shah Jilani has yet again 'welcomed' the Indian team to tour Pakistan and has promised a safe environment for MS Dhoni and Co.

The BCCI, at the behest of the Indian government has already called off the tour of Pakistan, scheduled for early January.

"We don't believe in mixing sports and politics," Jilani, a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was quoted as saying by The News. "There may be tensions between the governments but sports shouldn't suffer. The cricket series (against India) should go on and I want assure India that if decided to send its team to Pakistan, we will host it in a befitting manner," he added.

The fact that the Sports Minister of Pakistan has tried to make a last ditch desperation for the tour to go ahead despite the firm stance by the Indian government shows how desperate the Pakistanis are to finally see an international bilateral tour go ahead as scheduled.

However, given the current scenario, where India have directly accused Pakistan of perpetrating terror activities and more so the latest Mumbai attacks, the Pakistani Sports Minister's words might well fall on deaf ears.

India did tour Pakistan in June-July for the STAR Cricket Asia Cup but the fall out of the Mumbai attacks looks set to prolong the Pakistanis' wait to host a tour.