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Despite the political tensions, India will not bar Pakistani athletes from travelling across the border into Ahmedabad, the capital city of Gujarat, for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, a report claimed, citing a sports minister official on Tuesday. As per a report in The Indian Express, the Indian government wants to avoid any potential risk to the country’s hopes of hosting the Olympics in 2036. Recently, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) sanctioned Indonesia for banning Israeli athletes from entering the country to take part in the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta. “Government of India was always clear in its stand about playing political enemy Pakistan in multi-lateral tournaments,” the publication quoted a sports ministry source as saying. “The Government’s stand is totally vindicated now. Boycotting Pakistan would have been detrimental to our Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of hosting the Summer Olympics in 2036. We could have attracted a blanket ban like Indonesia from the IOC for hosting any international events. What happened to them could have happened to us.” “We are on course to stage the Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad in 2030, and again, if we choose not to invite Pakistan, it will only weaken our candidature for the 2036 Olympics. Government had to bear the flak of many citizens on social media after the Pahalgam Terror Attack, but the IOC’s decision to ban Indonesia for political interference has only vindicated our decision,” the source added. The relations between the two countries have been on a knife’s edge since the terrorist attack in India’s Pahalgam that resulted in the death of 26 civilians. In response, India launched a military operation targeting the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The Indian government later announced that the country will not engage in any bilateral sporting contests with Pakistan except in multi-nation tournaments. Recently, Pakistan withdrew from the FIH Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup in India after reportedly confirming their participation earlier this year.
