India should not play cricket with Pak: SS(UBT) MP Arvind Sawant in Lok Sabha

New Delhi, Jul 28 (PTI) India should refrain from playing cricket with Pakistan in view of the ongoing tension with the neighbouring country, Arvind Sawant (SS-UBT) said on Monday in the Lok Sabha.

His statement assumes significance amid the upcoming Asia Cup 2025 to be held in the UAE from September 9 to 28. The tournament sees India and Pakistan once again drawn in the same group.

Participating in the special debate on Pahalgam terror strikes and Operation Sindoor, Sawant wondered why India stopped the war with Pakistan without imposing any conditions when the neighbouring country was on its knees begging for a ceasefire.

"If India was in the vantage position, then what stopped the country from reclaiming Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK)," he said, adding this was the opportune time to teach Pakistan a lesson like what India Gandhi had done during the 1971 war.

Making an appeal, he said it would be inappropriate for India to play cricket with Pakistan which has wounded India many times.

The Asia Cup will be played in the T20 format, acting as a precursor to the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

Expressing anguish, Sawant said not a single nation stood behind India when Operation Sindoor was carried out while China and Turkiye backed Pakistan.

Despite India's resistance, he said, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a loan to the debt-ridden neighbouring country. PTI DP DP KSS KSS