Pakistan is preparing to show the cricketing world it is safe to play international matches in the country by staging a three-game Twenty20 international series against a World XI in Lahore [this] week. Only Zimbabwe has toured Pakistan — for a short, limited-overs series two years ago — since terrorists attacked a Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in 2009. The World XI tour is a major breakthrough for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which had been working to attract international cricket to the country.

Dealing with Pakistan is one of the most formidable challenges that has confronted Indian administrations over the last 30 years. For the governments led by both Atal Behari Vajpayee and his successor Manmohan Singh, relations with Pakistan were the most insoluble conundrum they encountered.

Terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi's sudden stopover at Lahore to greet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on his birthday as innovative diplomacy, home minister Rajnath Singh said: "It is our Indian culture that for the first time during swearing in of the new government, head of states of various countries were invited."

Differences between nations and people are being bridged at the Venice Biennale, where India's Shilpa Gupta and Pakistan's Rashid Rana have come together for a unique art project, says Farah Siddiqui.