Reports suggest that, despite ongoing political tensions, India and Pakistan are set to face off in the Asia Cup 2025, to be held in the UAE this September. Given the current atmosphere, the decision to proceed with this match appears increasingly tone-deaf. India has, for years, maintained a consistently antagonistic stance towards Pakistan in the realm of cricket.
It has repeatedly blocked international tournaments from taking place in Pakistan. It continues to bar Pakistani players from the IPL. And at every turn, it seems intent on undermining the growth and global standing of Pakistani cricket.
This hostility extends beyond sport. Following any military escalation or diplomatic rupture, India swiftly moves to eject Pakistani artists, sever cultural exchanges, and cancel performances by musicians. These actions are cloaked as acts of nationalist retaliation but, in effect, have cut off all meaningful cultural contact. So complete is this blockade that there is barely any Pakistani presence left in India to expel.
What’s more disturbing is the internal climate within India, where even Indian citizens sympathetic to Pakistan-or to peace-are now being targeted and ostracised. In such a climate of hostility, where hatred is actively cultivated and cheered, what justification can there be for pretending that a cricket match can exist in a bubble of sportsmanship?
This is the same country that launched an unprovoked strike inside Pakistan’s borders in the wake of a disputed and still-unexplained terror attack-an act that cost the lives of Pakistani civilians and soldiers alike. That attack was celebrated in India with grotesque delight, a chilling reminder of how the rhetoric of war has permeated the popular imagination.
Given all this, why is Pakistan rushing to the pitch as if none of it happened? At a time when India holds the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, when it continues to sponsor hostile elements like the Balochistan Liberation Army and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, and when it erodes every avenue of cultural exchange, it is time for Pakistan to reconsider. If India is using cricket as a political weapon, then so must we.
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
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