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NEW DELHI (India): Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani said he would be "happy" to visit Pakistan after national polls in India due April-May.

Often labelled a "hawk" for his hardline approach towards Pakistan, Advani told reporters he would be happy to visit Pakistan if "there is an official invitation", newspapers quoted him as saying.

A Movie-Lover

But Advani, known to be a movie-lover, said he would have to watch the forthcoming India-Pakistan cricket series on television, rather than attend in person, because he was preoccupied with national polls here.

"I am very excited about the cricket matches, but I cannot go to Pakistan to watch them because of ensuing parliament polls. I will watch them on the TV," he was quoted as saying.

Last Visit

However, he added: "I will feel happy to go to Pakistan after the elections if there is an official invitation."

Advani recalled that his last visit to Pakistan was in 1978 when Islamabad invited him to Karachi to watch an India-Pakistan cricket match. "I was the Information and Broadcasting minister then and I met the then Pakistan President Zia ul-Haq."

Advani also recalled that during that visit he had expressed a wish to visit his school and to see his home in Karachi and how Pakistani officials had gone to great lengths to find some of his old school teachers.