But he will not land in Delhi.
A special plane which would be carrying him will land directly in Chandigarh on Wednesday, the March 30 morning.
According to sources, Gilani will not be received at the Chandigarh airport by the Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh at whose invitation he is coming. He will he received by the Punjab Governor, Shivraj Patil who would escort him to Mohali, the venue of the match.
The Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh would fly to Chandigarh in a special plane and would join Gilani at the semi-final match which is scheduled to start at 2.30 pm.
Tight security arrangements have been made for both the leaders. UAV and anti-aircraft guns will be deployed during the India-Pakistan match.
India’s cricket diplomacy seems to have worked with Pakistan. After a nine-month long hiatus, the Interior Secretary of Pakistan, Chaudhary Qamar Zaman has come down to India for a two-day discussion with the Indian Home Secretary, GK Pillai. This is the first ever structured talks at the secretary level of the home/interior ministries of the two countries since the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.
With the Prime Ministers of the two countries all set to meet on the sidelines of India Pakistan Cricket Match at Mohali on Wednesday, the expectations from the talks have increased. Pakistan has appreciated Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s invitation to President Zardari and Premier Yusuf Raza Gillani to witness the World cup semi final.
This is the first structured dialogue between the two countries after the Mumbai terror attacks in November, 2008. The two countries held discussions at the level of Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister in 2010 but there was no communication after the talks between the Foreign Ministers in July last year in Islamabad. India decided to resume peace dialogue with Pakistan last month at Thimpu to discuss all issues.
The talks in the nature of a Composite Dialogue will be concluded on Tuesday, the March 29. This Composite Dialogue would cover a wide gamut of bilateral issues including terrorism and narcotics smuggling. The Commerce Secretaries and Water Resources Secretaries of the two countries are scheduled to meet next month.