The clarification comes ahead of India hosting two major tournaments featuring Pakistan — the men’s Asia Cup in the UAE this September and the women’s ODI World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in October.
India is also seeking to secure hosting rights for the 2036 Olympics. In this context, the government announced that visa procedures for sportspersons, team officials, technical staff, and office-bearers of international sports governing bodies will be simplified to strengthen India’s position as a preferred destination for global sporting events.
The statement follows growing calls to boycott sporting ties with Pakistan due to political tensions and past incidents. India and Pakistan, placed in the same group of the Asia Cup, are scheduled to face each other in Dubai on September 14, with the potential for additional encounters if both advance further.
The new guidelines reaffirm India’s long-held policy: no bilateral cricket with Pakistan since 2012, but continued meetings in multilateral tournaments such as the World Cup, Champions Trophy, and Asia Cup.
