'Half-baked, ill-thought-out policy': Sushant Sareen on India's sports ties with Pakistan

Security analyst and Observer Research Foundation fellow Sushant Sareen has questioned the government's new sports policy on engagements with Pakistan, calling it "a half-baked, ill-thought-out policy."

In a post on Thursday, Sareen wrote, "Can GOI clarify if India will participate in international tournaments in Pakistan? Will Pakistani officials be given multi-entry visas to India? This is such a half-baked, ill-thought-out policy. Why can’t GOI say that while we will participate in international tournaments in which Pakistan is also playing we will boycott any and every match with the terrorist state?"

The criticism came shortly after the Sports Ministry announced its new approach to India-Pakistan sporting ties. The ministry stated that India would not engage in any bilateral sporting clash with Pakistan but would allow its teams to play in multilateral competitions such as the Asia Cup. "India's approach to sports events involving Pakistan reflects its overall policy in dealing with that country," the policy said.

According to the ministry, the policy takes immediate effect. "In so far 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 statement clarified.

"With regard to international and multilateral events, in India or abroad, we are guided by the practices of international sports bodies and the interest 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 ministry said.  

Accordingly, the statement added, Indian teams and individual players will take part in international events that also have teams or players from Pakistan. "Similarly, Pakistani players and teams will be able to participate in such multilateral events hosted by India."

However, officials said India would continue participating in multilateral events. "We will not stop Indian cricket team from playing in Asia Cup as it is multilateral," a ministry source told PTI. "But Pakistan will not be allowed on Indian soil for bilateral competitions. But we will not stop them from multilateral events as we will abide by Olympic Charter," the source was quoted as saying.

Asked whether Indian teams could travel to Pakistan for multilateral tournaments, the source said, "In that scenario, we will examine the case before deciding anything.” The source further remarked, "Even in multi-lateral events, we can’t leave our athletes in lurch. After all it’s a country that has no hesitation in declaring that it’s a dumpster and can hit the shining Mercedes that is India."