- India and Pakistan will play a group stage match on September 14, per the Asia Cup 2025 schedule
- The match fixture had triggered a pushback, reflecting a call to boycott Pakistan in all fields
- Asaduddin Owaisi questioned how the match could be allowed in the Pahalgam aftermath
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has joined the opposition clamour against the upcoming India-Pakistan match, voicing his discomfort with watching the Asia Cup match scheduled to be played five months after the Pahalgam terror attack.
India and Pakistan will play a group stage match on September 14, per the Asia Cup 2025 schedule released three days ago, putting on display the greatest rivalry in cricket's history for a Sunday watch. The fixture has triggered an Opposition pushback, reflecting the general public sentiment to boycott Pakistan over its terror nexus.
Raising the matter during the special discussion on Operation Sindoor in Lok Sabha, Mr Owaisi said that his conscience won't allow him to watch the India-Pakistan match.
"When Pakistan's aircraft cannot come into our airspace, their boat cannot come into our water, trade has ended, how will you play a cricket match with Pakistan? When we are not giving water, we are stopping 80 per cent of Pakistan's water, saying that blood and water will not flow, you will play a cricket match," said the 56-year-old MP.
"My conscience does not allow me to watch that match," asserted the Hyderabad MP, who has also been part of the government's outreach initiative following Operation Sindoor. Speaking on the floor of Lok Sabha, he asked if "the government has the courage to call those 25 dead people and say that we took revenge in Operation Sindoor and now you watch the Pakistan match."
Eight countries will take part in the Asia Cup 2025 from September 9. The India-Pakistan clash in the group stage is set for September 14. Both teams are favoured for the Super Four stage and may meet again during the tournament. If both teams manage to get to the finals, a third clash is also likely.
Recently, an India-Pakistan match in the World Championship of Legends, being held in England, was cancelled after several Indian retired players -- Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, and Shikhar Dhawan -- withdrew, citing the Pahalgam attack.
Twenty-five tourists and a local pony ride operator were among the civilians killed by Pakistani terrorists in the April 22 attack. In response, Indian forces had struck terror targets deep inside Pakistan's territory and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK), killing over 100 terrorists at nine terror hubs.
Returning to sporting fervour barely five months after the attack was unacceptable, the Opposition argued, slamming what they called a "rush to earn blood money".
"Stop your profit over the blood of Indians and Armed Forces. On one hand, India's CDS has said Operation Sindoor is ongoing, and on the other hand, you'll rush to earn your blood money," said Priyanka Chaturvedi, Rajya Sabha MP from the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena.
