Pahalgam attack victims widow urges boycott of India-Pakistan Asia Cup game; Opposition slams Centre

LUCKNOW/CHANDIGARH/MUMBAI: Even as cricket enthusiasts eagerly await the India-Pakistan match in the Asia Cup 2025 championship scheduled for Sunday, there are growing calls from various quarters, including relatives of the Pahalgam massacre victims , to boycott the event. Aishanya Dwivedi, the young widow of one of the Pahalagam massacre victims, came out strongly against the championship, condemning the gesture and urging all the stakeholders concerned to boycott the fixture. Criticising the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for agreeing to play against Pakistan, who she described as a terrorist nation, Aishanya accused it of ignoring the sacrifices of 26 people who lost their lives in the terror attack on April 22, this year. The BCCI should not have accepted a match between India and Pakistan. I think BCCI is not sentimental towards those 26 families. What are our cricketers doing? Cricketers are said to be nationalists. It is viewed as our national game. Except for 1-2 cricket players, nobody stepped forward to say that we should boycott the match against Pakistan. BCCI cannot make them play at gunpoint. They should take a stand for their country. But they are not doing it, Aishanya said while interacting with media persons in Kanpur. Aishanya sought to ask the sponsors and broadcasters if their nationality for those 26 families were over. What will the revenue from the match be used for? Pakistan will use this just for terrorism. That is a terrorist nation. You will provide them with revenue and prepare them to attack us once again. I cannot understand this, added an enraged Aishanya. Calling for a nationwide boycott, she urged fans to take a stand. Dont switch on your TVs. Dont give them the numbers. Boycott this match. 'Can blood and cricket flow together?' Opposition parties, including AIMIM and Shiv Sena (UBT), among others, slammed the ruling BJP and the BCCI over the September 14 match. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray asked if blood and cricket can flow together. BJP has fogotten Pahalgam & Pulwama Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann sought to remind the BJP-led Centre about Punjabi singer and actor Diljit Dosanjh being branded a traitor when his movie with a Pakistan actor was to be released after the terror attack. Without naming Union Home Minister Amit Shah, whose son Jay Shah is the president of the International Cricket Council (ICC), CM Mann said, Now the match is being played because the big bosss son is the ICC president. Mann alleged that in this scenario, they forgot the Pahalgam and Pulwama attacks. He said that two teams play a match. The match is with Pakistan. They should clarify that sports and culture will be kept separate from the relationship between both the countries, he added. Cricket match an insult to national sentiments Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of the Shiv Sena (UBT), declared Sindoor protests throughout Maharashtra on Saturday, claiming that playing cricket with Pakistan is an insult to national feelings, given that Indian soldiers are losing their lives on the borders, and questioned how terrorism and cricket can go together now. Addressing the media, Thackeray called for the boycott of Sundays match between the two nations. He said this is the best opportunity for India to communicate and send a strong message and signal to the world about Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. He criticised the BJP-led Centre, asked if the government would declare that Operation Sindoor was halted, and urged deshbhakts (patriots) to avoid the cricket match because the scars from the Pahalgam terror attack are still raw. This cricket match is an insult to national sentiments. Should we be playing cricket with Pakistan while our soldiers sacrifice their lives on the borders? Thackeray asked. He said the cricket match was a joke on patriotism. If blood and water cannot flow together, then how can cricket and blood (go) together? he said, and alleged that they (BJP) were doing trade in the name of patriotism. Shiv Sena (UBT) will protest the game across the state. Thackeray said that sindoor (vermilion) will be collected by the partys female employees and sent to the PMO. He also questioned the Central governments stance on Pakistan, alleging that Indias foreign policy has been ineffective and that it appears the nation will not regain control of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. You were saying that Pakistan is spreading terror, and now you are playing cricket with the same country. Is Pakistan a terror state or not? Is it our enemy or not? Soldiers are getting martyred, and these people play cricket. This is not good, Thackeray added. Uddhav mentioned a previous encounter between Pakistani player Javed Miandad and Bal Thackeray in the Thackeray familys Mumbai home, Matoshree, saying, my father had told Javed Miandad that there will be no cricket till terror acts against India from Pakistan continue. We should not maintain any relations with Pakistan until terror stops. Notably, On May 7, 2025, Operation Sindoor was launched in response to the Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 defenceless civilians lost their lives.