After terror attack, India-Pakistan sports ties hit new low
As tensions continue to escalate following terror attack, even sports—once a reliable channel of diplomacy between the nuclear-armed neighbors—no longer offer a path to reconciliation.
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On April 22, a terror attack took place in the Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam in Indian-controlled Kashmir, claiming the lives of 26 Indian tourists.
Some survivors recounted the harrowing events of that day, where armed militants in camouflage uniforms approached tourists asking them to identify themselves as Hindu or Muslims, before shooting the ones who identified as Hindu.
“He wanted to kill men and leave women behind to mourn, cry and narrate the dastardly ordeal,” Aishanya, whose husband was shot in the head by one of the terrorists, told the Associated Press.
The Pahalgam incident is considered the deadliest event of its kind in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, where more than 175 people were killed. The Resistance Front (TRF), an alleged offshoot of the Pakistan-based UN-designated terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, initially claimed responsibility for the attack but retracted their claim days later.
The terror attack rekindled the simmering tensions between India and Pakistan, leading to a tense stand-off between the two nuclear powers. India accused Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism, while Pakistan has denied any involvement in the attacks. The two countries have since close their airspace and suspended their peace agreement, leading to sporadic cross-border fire between the Indian and Pakistani troops.
On Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly told his country’s armed forces they have "operational freedom" to respond to the deadly attack. Within a matter of hours, Pakistan’s information minister Attaullah Tarar warned his government had “credible intelligence” that India was planning an imminent military strike, adding that Modi planned to use the tragedy as a “pretext” for more conflict.
“Pakistan reiterates that any such military adventurism by India would be responded to assuredly and decisively,” Tarar wrote on Twitter. “The International community must remain alive to the reality that the onus of escalatory spiral and its ensuing consequences shall squarely lie with India.”
As tensions continue to escalate, even sports—once a reliable channel of diplomacy between the nuclear-armed neighbors—no longer offer a path to reconciliation.
In the aftermath of the attack, India withdrew from the Central Asian Volleyball championship set to take place in Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, later this month. The South Asian (SAAF) Senior Athletics Championships, which was set to take place in India this month, was also postponed, reportedly due to issues in granting visas to the Pakistani contingent. Olympic Javelin champion Arshad Nadeem was among the names being sent by Pakistan, though it now appears that his Instagram account is being blocked in India.
Even cricket has not been spared from rising tensions. Shahid Afridi, the former captain of the Pakistan cricket national team, and Shikhar Dhawan, a former Indian cricketer, traded barbs over the terror attack, after Afridi blamed the Indian army’s incompetence for the attack. (Afridi’s YouTube channel is now being blocked in India).
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly also called for the compete severing of cricketing ties with Pakistan. "100 per cent, cricketing ties should be severed with Pakistan. Strict action is necessary. It is no joke that such things happen every year. Terrorism cannot be tolerated," Ganguly told reporters.
The India-Pakistan cricket rivalry is arguably one of the most watched sports rivalries in the world. The fierce rivalry is rooted in the conflicts between the two nations, which originated during the partition of British India in 1947, leading to the establishment of India and Pakistan, the Indo-Pakistani wars, and the dispute over Kashmir. The two nations, who share a cricketing heritage, began playing in 1952 but have gone through periods where no cricket was played, including the 1999 Kargil war and the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.
Cricket has long been viewed as an avenue for diplomacy. It offered opportunities for the two rivals to improve relations, with former Pakistani president General Mohammed Zia ul-Haq calling the matches “cricket diplomacy.” Relations between Pakistani and Indian fans has mostly been civil in more recent times, including at the 1999 World Cup in England, which coincided with the Kargil war.
Nevertheless, political tension has continued to impact the rivalry. Last year, India announced that it would not send its team to Pakistan for the 2025 Champions Trophy because of security fears and political tension. The match was moved to Dubai. Team India has not visited Pakistan since 2008, and last played a bilateral series in January 2013.
Cricket has also fuelled nationalism. Bal Thackeray, the far-right founder of a Hindu nationalist party, once said he wanted to see Indian Muslims, “with tears in their eyes every time India loses to Pakistan”, to prove their loyalty to India.
Given the fierce rivalry, it seemed inevitable that cricket would take centre stage following the latest flaring of tensions between the two nations. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) not to group India and Pakistan together in future tournaments.
“Whatever our government will say, will do,”BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla told Sports Tak. “We don’t play with Pakistan in bilateral series because of the government’s stand. And we will not play with Pakistan in bilaterals going forward.”
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