Kolkata: Diplomatic ties between the two countries haven’t seen any marked improvement. Pakistan claims that it shot down a drone from India that tried to enter its territory. Indian forces kill one terrorist at Pulwama in Jammu & Kashmir. Tension mounts. But on the sporting front, the ice seems to melt. If the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) gets the nod to allow its women’s team to play against Pakistan in the T-20 Asia Cup to be held in Thailand, the Pakistan government has cleared its junior hockey side to participate in the FIH Junior Hockey World Cup (Under-21) scheduled for next month in Lucknow. The tournament will take place between December 8 and 18.
PTI reports that a source in the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) informs that Islamabad has agreed to give the No Objection Certificate to the team. “The PHF officials were anxious about getting the NOC to send its team to India next month as the FIH event is scheduled from December 8 to 18 and it is an important event for the future of Pakistan hockey. But now the ministry has informed the PHF that the government has given the clearance,” the source is quoted by the news agency.
There were doubts though, as per the source in view of the deteriorating relations between New Delhi and Islamabad post the Uri attack. “The PHF has already set up a camp for the junior team in Lahore under the supervision of Olympian Tahir Zaman and they have high hopes that the team would do well in India,” the source says.
The recent show of reciprocity by the two countries, comes in the wake of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor finding no fault in allowing Pakistani artistes to work in India. Rewind to pre-Diwali period this year, and the controversy around Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil haunts. The film also starring Pakistani superstar Fawad Khan ruffled ‘wrong’ feathers when the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena threatened to stall its release. It was left to Johar to reach out to Thackeray and settling to donate Rs 5 crore to the Army Welfare Fund to ensure the film’s release, though the Army refused to accepted the amount. Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees also featuring Pakistani actress Mahira Khan is slated to hit the screens next year. What will be its fate?
While the debate whether sports and culture should be separated from politics would continue, but the friendly gestures shown by the two nations on the sporting front should at least signal a new beginning.