In a move that defies logic, mocks national sentiment, and exposes dangerous double standards, the Indian government—through its Home Ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs—has shockingly granted clearance to Pakistan’s national hockey team to participate in two major tournaments in India. The Asia Cup in Rajgir this August-September and the Junior Hockey World Cup later this year will now see the Pakistani flag fly on Indian soil, while the blood of innocent Indian citizens, spilled by Pakistani-backed terrorists in Pahalgam and elsewhere, has barely dried. This isn’t sports diplomacy. This is diplomatic self-sabotage. At a time when India is grappling with fresh wounds inflicted by cross-border terrorism—fuelled, funded, and orchestrated by Pakistan—what message is New Delhi sending to the world and to its own people by rolling out the red carpet for a Pakistani sports contingent? This decision has rightly angered millions of patriotic Indians who expect this government to stand firm against terror, not bend over in the name of Olympic charters and sporting courtesy. It is utterly baffling that Home Minister Amit Shah, who otherwise commands a no-nonsense image on national security, has approved this clearance. Does he not see the glaring contradiction in allowing Pakistan’s athletes while our soldiers continue to fight Pakistani proxies on our soil? Does he not recall that this very government made a resolute decision to cut water to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty after the Pulwama attack? Or how Pakistani actors and musicians were rightly barred from Indian screens and stages? Are we now reversing that policy in the name of some hollow sportsmanship? More disturbingly, how did the External Affairs Ministry under S. Jaishankar—who has otherwise shown great resolve on foreign platforms—endorse this decision? Was Prime Minister Narendra Modi kept in the loop? Or worse, does this have his silent nod? The very leader who led from the front in isolating Pakistan diplomatically and calling it out as the epicenter of terrorism now risks appearing complicit in this avoidable embarrassment. This is not some minor diplomatic fumble—it is a betrayal of public trust.
History is littered with examples of how Pakistan has used every goodwill gesture by India as an opportunity to stab us in the back. Remember the Lahore Bus Yatra in 1999 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee? It was followed by the Kargil war. Every olive branch from India has been repaid with blood and deceit. The Modi government, to its credit, had so far resisted such delusions of goodwill. It rightfully refused to resume cricketing ties with Pakistan, blocked bilateral sporting events, and exposed Pakistan’s duplicity on global forums. Then why now? Why this sudden lapse? Worse, this clearance has already sparked speculation about a possible India-Pakistan face-off in the cricket Asia Cup later this year. Is this how it begins—first hockey, then cricket, then full-scale sports normalization? Will we again let emotions be exploited for TRPs and gate receipts, only to be repaid with another terrorist massacre? The Indian public has not forgotten the images of soldiers wrapped in the tricolour. The families of those killed in terrorist attacks will be forced to watch the same nation that harbours their murderers compete in our stadiums, under our flag, on our soil. Make no mistake—this is not about sports. This is about sovereignty, national dignity, and standing with the will of the people. It is imperative that Prime Minister Narendra Modi steps in and reverses this ill-advised clearance. He must send a clear signal that under his leadership, India does not play games with those who wage war on it. The Olympic Charter cannot be used as a fig leaf to legitimize sporting normalization with a terrorist state. If Pakistan wants sporting ties, let it first dismantle its terror factories. Until then, the only field they should be seen in is that of global isolation. This isn’t diplomacy. This is disgrace. Cancel the clearance. Now.
