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What’s the story?
In light of initiatives by the Indian government to isolate Pakistan in international sporting events, the Pakistan government has formed a committee to take action against it. The nation’s top sports federations have been advised by the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Sports to take collective action.
It has asked the individual authorities to collectively launch a campaign in order to stop Indian from being given hosting rights of international sporting events. It also pointed out that Pakistani sportspersons have been deprived of a chance to compete in events due to India.
At a hearing in Islamabad on Thursday, the head of the committee Mushadullah Khan noted that the Indian authorities have “exposed themselves” by denying visas to Pakistani teams and athletes for events held in India.
He said, “We need to collectively launch a campaign to make the world aware that international sporting events should not be given to India because they are mixing sports with politics.”
In case you didn’t know...
Tensions have been escalating between the two neighbouring countries and the Indian authorities have taken a host of actions, including a withdrawal from the Sultan Johor Cup where Pakistan were also participating, in order to isolate them internationally.
The heart of the matter
Shaharyar Khan, the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, also appeared before the committee where he said the PCB have finally decided to stop the damage caused to them due to the aggressive tactics of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
He said that they had sent a Notice of Dispute to the BCCI under the terms laid down by the ICC, in which they had made it clear that they suffered losses of around $60 million for each series India refused to play with them.
He also said that the BCCI have a week's time to respond and that if they do not accept their demands, the PCB will start legal proceedings against the BCCI before the Dispute Resolution Committee of the ICC.
Last week, India’s sports minister Vijay Goel had said that they will continue to deny visas to Pakistani athletes and stated that terrorism and sport cannot go hand-in-hand.
What's next
It remains to be seen when and how the Pakistani authorities will take action and whether it will affect India in any way.
Author’s take
It is clear that India’s actions are working and have caused panic within the Pakistan government. Whether or not Pakistan will be able to retaliate remains to be seen in the coming future.
