Political tensions have intensified ahead of India’s Asia Cup clash with Pakistan, with opposition parties questioning the timing of the match in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack.
Pakistan-backed terrorists carried out an attack at the Baisaran meadow in Pahalgam, south Kashmir, on April 22, killing 26 people, mostly tourists.
Leaders from several opposition parties, including Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), criticised the government, saying that scheduling a high-profile cricket match with Pakistan at this time sends the wrong message and hurts national sentiment.
AIMIM chief and Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi invoked the Prime Minister’s words that “blood and water cannot flow together” to question if financial gains from a cricket match outweigh the lives of 26 citizens, pledging continued support for their families.
“My question to the chief minister of Assam, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, and all of them is that you don’t have the power to refuse to play a cricket match against Pakistan, which asked for the religion of our 26 citizens in Pahalgam and shot them,” ANI quoted Owaisi as saying.
“We ask the Prime Minister, when you said that blood and water cannot flow together, dialogue and terrorism cannot happen together, then how much money will the BCCI get from one cricket match, ₹2000 crore, ₹3000 crore?” asked Owaisi.
“Is the value of money more than the lives of our 26 citizens? This is what the BJP should tell… We stood with those 26 citizens yesterday as well, we stand with them today, and we will stand with them tomorrow as well,” he added.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray announced ‘Sindoor’ protests across Maharashtra and appealed to citizens to boycott the match. Speaking at a press conference in Mumbai, he said, “Till the time terror does not stop, we shouldn’t maintain any relations with Pakistan.”
“This cricket match is an insult to national sentiments. Should we be playing cricket with Pakistan while our soldiers sacrifice their lives on the borders?” Thackeray added.
He said the party’s women workers would collect sindoor (vermilion) and send it to the Prime Minister’s Office.
AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj, along with party workers, burned an effigy symbolising Pakistani players in the national capital. He said, “This is a gross humiliation of our women who lost their husbands in the Pahalgam attack, but still our central leadership is going ahead with the India-Pakistan cricket match.”
Later, he added, “Pakistan’s cricket players mock our widows in such a dirty, disgusting way, and we will play cricket with them. Shame on the BJP government.”
Congress MP Imran Masood said the government is focused on profits while ignoring the suffering of those affected, saying, “While India-Pakistan matches bring excitement and tickets sell at high prices, no one is thinking of the sisters who lost their husbands. Their lives were shattered, and yet the government is busy making money from cricket. This is shameful.”
BJP MP and former sports minister Anurag Thakur clarified that while India may face Pakistan in multinational tournaments, India’s stand on bilateral cricket ties remains unchanged.
Speaking to ANI, Thakur said that India’s participation in such matches is driven by tournament rules, not a shift in its diplomatic and national policies.
“When multinational tournaments are organised by ACC or ICC, it becomes a compulsion, a necessity for nations to participate. If they don’t do that, they will be eliminated from the tournament, they will have to forfeit the match, and the other team will get the points,” said Thakur.
However, he was firm about India’s long-standing position on bilateral series with Pakistan.
“But India doesn’t play bilateral tournaments with Pakistan. We have made this decision for years that India won’t play bilateral tournaments with Pakistan until Pakistan stops terrorist attacks on India,” he added.
With agencies inputs
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