Dubai: Cricket tensions between India and Pakistan have been heightened by boycott calls in India ahead of their T20 World Cup clash on Sunday.
A series of killings in the disputed Kashmir region has set off the anger, even though the Indian board has insisted the national team cannot withdraw from the game.
Decades of bitter rivalry between the neighbors often clouds their cricket encounters. India has largely refused to play bilateral games against Pakistan since 2008, after deadly attacks in Mumbai which India blamed on Pakistan.
Now they only play each other in international events. The last meeting was at the 50-over World Cup two years ago but even that was at the center of boycott calls.
The killings of 11 migrant workers and minority Hindus and Sikhs in Indian-administered Kashmir have led to the latest demands made in India, which frequently accuses Pakistan of backing Kashmir militant groups. The hashtag #BlacklistPakistan was trending on Twitter Wednesday.
Rajeev Shukla, the Board of Control for Cricket in India vice president, said earlier that the country had a contractual obligation to take part.
“We strongly condemns the killings. However, under the International Cricket Council’s commitments, you can’t refuse to play any one (game),” Shukla told Indian media.
A cabinet minister, Giriraj Singh, had also urged the government to consider intervening to stop the match.
“I think if relations are not good, then this should be reconsidered,” Singh said when questioned about the match. Other politicians have also joined the calls.
However, India’s badminton great Prakash Padukone said, “sports and politics should not be mixed and according to me it (the India-Pakistan match) should go on.”
India was also urged to boycott the 2019 World Cup game against Pakistan because of a Kashmir suicide bomber attack in February of that year in which more than 40 troops were killed.
Pakistan denied any role in the assault but the two countries came to the brink of war. India won the game which went ahead in June 2019.
India and Pakistan last played a bilateral series in 2013 during a brief thaw in their rivalry.
The two countries have fought two wars over Kashmir — divided between the two nations — since their independence in 1947.
Boycott calls add to India-Pakistan cricket tensions ahead of World Cup clash in Dubai
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Boycott calls add to India-Pakistan cricket tensions ahead of World Cup clash in Dubai
- India has largely refused to play bilateral games against Pakistan since 2008, after deadly attacks in Mumbai which it blamed on Pakistan
- Indian atheletes say ‘sports and politics should not be mixed’ and the World Cup match between the two countries should go on
Pakistan’s deputy PM visits Saudi Arabia for OIC meeting on West Bank
- The session will review Israel’s land registration move in occupied territory
- Dar will present Pakistan’s stance on Israel’s settlements, annexation plan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar embarked on a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia on Thursday, where he is scheduled to attend an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah to discuss Israel’s recent measures in the occupied West Bank.
Israel decided this month to approve land registration procedures in parts of the West Bank for the first time since 1967, drawing sharp criticism from Muslim nations along with several European countries, which described it as a move to ease the path for settlement expansion and annexation.
These countries urged Israel in a joint statement to reverse its decision and end settler violence against Palestinian residents in the West Bank.
“Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar @MIshaqDar60 has departed Islamabad for Saudi Arabia to attend the Open-Ended Extraordinary Ministerial Session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (#OIC) Executive Committee in Jeddah (26–28 February 2026),” the foreign office said in a social media post on X.
“He will hold sideline meetings with counterparts from OIC Member States,” it continued. “During the visit, he will also undertake brief visits to the Holy Cities.”
https://x.com/ForeignOfficePk/status/2026920463377830237?s=20
More than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts in the West Bank, excluding Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, alongside nearly three million Palestinians.
Settlements are considered illegal under international law, a position Israel disputes.
Addressing a weekly media briefing during the day, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said the OIC conference would review Israel’s attempt to impose its sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.
“In the ministerial session of this OIC event, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister will share Pakistan’s perspective on this latest illegal measure by Israel to convert areas of the occupied West Bank into the so-called state land,” he added.
