No bilateral ties; Yes to global events: Indian govt clarifies sports policy for Pakistan
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "No bilateral ties; Yes to global events: Indian govt clarifies sports policy for Pakistan")
No bilateral ties; Yes to global events Govt clarifies Pakistan sports policy Photograph: (AFP)
The Indian government formalises a 'dual-track' sports policy: Bilateral ties with Pakistan remain banned, but doors open for multilateral events with eased visa rules for athletes.
The Indian government has laid out its latest sports policy for Pakistan in an Office Memorandum issued on Wednesday (May 6), where they maintained a ban on facing or hosting Pakistan across any bilateral competitions; they, however, have formally allowed the Pakistani athletes and teams to come to India and compete on its soil in international multilateral events. In a ‘dual-track’ sports policy, the ruling government stated that ‘Pakistani players and teams will be able to participate in multilateral events hosted by India,’ while also easing out the visa application regime for athletes, officials and international federation representatives.
Just more than a year after the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor that followed, the eyebrow-raising government policy draws a firm line between the bilateral and multilateral sport and engagement between the arch rivals.
“Insofar as bilateral sports events in each other’s country are concerned, Indian teams will not be participating in competitions in Pakistan. Nor will we permit Pakistani teams to play in India,” the memorandum read, while adding, “we are guided by the practices of international sports bodies and the interest of our own sportspersons.”
The statement clearly underlines that both athletes and teams from India and Pakistan can now participate in international events on Indian soil, resuming cricket and other multi-disciplinary international sports in India. Per the government’s words, ‘India’s approach to sports events involving Pakistan reflects its overall policy in dealing with that country’.
“With regard to international and multilateral events, in India or abroad, we are guided by the practices of international sports bodies and the interests of our own sportspersons. It is also relevant to take into account India’s emergence as a credible venue to host international sports events,” the memo further read.
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Moreover, this notification comes at a crucial point, when India is poised to host significant global tournaments in the next five years. Starting with the Commonwealth Games in 2030, besides being potential hosts of the 2036 Summer Games and 2038 Asian Games, for which the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) officials will visit Ahmedabad to evaluate India’s bid. On the cricketing front, India will host the ICC Champions Trophy 2029 and the 2031 ODI World Cup.
At the same time, the Indian and Pakistani athletes will face each other several times in the coming months, firstly at the Commonwealth Games in July-August and the Asian Games in September-October. Even in hockey, India and Pakistan will face off at least thrice in the next few months, in the FIH Pro Hockey League in London in late June (23 and 26) and again at the World Cup in Amsterdam on August 19.
Meanwhile, the earliest the two countries will face each other is on June 14 for their Women’s T20 World Cup group game at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
Visa applications to be simplified
The Indian government also addressed the recurring friction point: visa applications. Amid holding ambitions of hosting significant global tournaments, the government said that the ‘sportspersons, team officials, technical personnel, and office-bearers of International Sports Governing Bodies shall be simplified.’
“This (simplified visa process) shall facilitate their smooth movement into and within the country, in accordance with international norms,” the memo further read.
