Amidst the recent spate of targeted attacks against non-native people in Jammu and Kashmir, the Aadmi Aadmi Party on Tuesday weighed in on the situation, stating that India should not be playing their upcoming world cup match against Pakistan when it is a victim of state-sponsored terrorism by Islamabad.
AAP MLA Atishi Marlena asserted that India should not be playing its match against Pakistan at a time when Pakistan-sponsored terrorism is again rearing its head in Jammu and Kashmir.
So, I am sure that not only AAP but even BJP and its leadership along with the PM will agree that unless such attacks in India and targeted attacks on Indians stop, it will not be right to play matches like this: AAP MLA Atishi
— ANI (@ANI) October 19, 2021
“We see people being attacked in Kashmir. I’m sure that even PM agrees with the stand of not conducting the match (IND v PAK) as when in opposition he used to question that when state sponsored terrorism is taking place in India why should we play cricket with them?” Atishi questioned while addressing the media.
She further added: “So, I am sure that not only AAP but even BJP and its leadership along with the PM will agree that unless such attacks in India and targeted attacks on Indians stop, it will not be right to play matches like this.”
Atishi was referring to the first group stage match India is set to play against Pakistan in the ongoing T20 world cup in the United Arab Emirates. The match is slated to take place on Sunday, October 24, 2021.
Atishi’s reservations regarding the Indo-Pak match in the T20 world cup appears to have their roots not in the recent incidents of targeted attacks against non-natives in Kashmir but on PM Modi and BJP’s opposition in the past on having bilateral cricketing ties with Pakistan.
Bilateral cricket series Vs ICC tournaments
However, the T20 world cup is not a bilateral series where BCCI can take the decision of cancelling its match against Pakistan. It is organised by the International Cricket Council(ICC), of which India is one of the members like several other cricket-playing nations, including Pakistan. It is not under the purview of the BCCI or any other individual board to cancel or rearrange the schedule of the matches decided by the ICC.
The ICC is the apex cricketing body that governs cricket tournaments around the world. It is binding on all members of the ICC to abide by the decisions taken by the council. Defiance of ICC’s authority might lead to the imposition of penalties and other disciplinary action against the BCCI.
Besides, if India chooses to forfeit its match against Pakistan, the match won’t be disqualified by the ICC. It would still be considered as an international match and India’s refusal to play against Pakistan would be akin to giving a walkaway to the opposition. Pakistan will be adjudicated as the winner of the match and India’s chances of qualifying further in the tournament will diminish.
By suggesting India not play its match against Pakistan in the T20 cricket world cup, Atishi is effectively doing Islamabad’s bidding, for the Indian cricket team is a force to be reckon with and is widely regarded as the favourites to lift the world cup. If Pakistan could avert a loss against India, their chances of progressing in the tournament will increase dramatically. This, in turn, will undoubtedly help Pakistan Cricket Board, which is battling isolation and is struggling to revive cricket tours by foreign nations since 2009.
Furthermore, if India chooses not to play against Pakistan, as Atishi suggests, it will deprive itself of the precious points it could have scored after defeating Pakistan, which would inevitably help the Indian team to advance in the subsequent phase of the tournament.
Perhaps, Atishi and AAP do not want the Indian Cricket Team to win the World Cup and instead want Pakistan to qualify for the later stages of the tournament.
AAP’s perennial love for Pakistan
As such, this is not the first time that AAP leaders have acted in favour of Pakistan. Earlier in 2016, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal raised aspersions on the authenticity of the Surgical Strikes conducted by the Indian Armed Forces in Pakistan occupied Kashmir and asked for its proof.
In the aftermath of the Surgical Strikes when the nationalist sentiments were high, Kejriwal released a rare video congratulating the Modi government and the Indian Army for avenging the deaths of martyrs in the Uri attack. However, towards the end of his video, Kejriwal sought a piece of evidence to establish that Surgical Strikes indeed happened, cunningly claiming that he is asking for evidence to bust the Pakistani propaganda that refuted the occurrence of any Surgical Strikes in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.
Delhi CM’s demand for proof was instantly lapped up by Pakistani propagandists to reinforce their narrative that the Surgical Strikes as claimed by India was nothing but a sham. During that time, Pakistan had vigorously denied the occurrence of any surgical strikes in its controlled territory to cover up its shame.
Pakistan’s denial of the incursion was on expected lines, given that the acceptance of the attack would have been tantamount to a tacit admission of the presence of terrorists at those launch pads and more importantly admission that the Indian forces carried out the attack right under the nose of its Army.
Even after the gruesome Pulwama attack in 2019, when 40 CRPF soldiers were killed in a suicide attack by a terrorist backed by Pakistan, Kejriwal tried to use the dastardly attack to peddle preposterous conspiracy theories. A couple of months after the attack, Kejriwal took to Twitter to insinuate that the Pulwama attack was carried out by Pakistan at the behest of the Modi government to help PM Modi in the forthcoming General elections in May 2019.
“Pakistan and Imran Khan are openly supporting Modi Ji. It is clear now that Modi Ji has some secret pact wid them. Everyone is asking – did Pakistan kill 40 of our brave soldiers in Pulwama on 14 Feb just before elections to help Modi Ji?” Kejriwal had tweeted.
Today, as desperate terrorists try to sow fear and panic in Jammu and Kashmir, instead of issuing an unconditional condemnation against Pakistan and calling out its support to spreading Islamic terrorism in India, Atishi is asking the Indian Cricket Team to forfeit its match against Pakistan so that India’s chances of winning the world cup becomes tougher and Pakistan can emerge victorious without actually playing the match.
