Even after failing to gain any support over its objection to the proposed G-20 schedules in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan has withdrawn from the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad citing the passing of the torch rally through Kashmir on June 21. This crass politicisation of sports has yet again isolated Islamabad in the domain of world diplomacy.
Over a month after the Chess Olympiad torch passed through the valley of Kashmir, Islamabad came out with its characteristic reaction and put the blame of the politicisation of sports on India. “Pakistan condemns India’s attempts to politicise the 44th Chess Olympiad being held in Chennai, India. Pakistan was invited by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) to participate in the 44th Chess Olympiad scheduled to be held in Chennai from 28 July to 10 August 2022. A Pakistani contingent was already training for this event. Regrettably, India has chosen to politicise this prestigious international sporting event by passing the torch relay of this event through … Jammu and Kashmir. The torch relay passed through Srinagar on 21 June 2022", said an official statement from Islamabad.
While calling Jammu and Kashmir "disputed", it added: “As a protest, Pakistan has decided not to participate in the 44th Chess Olympiad and will also raise the matter with the International Chess Federation at the highest level.”
The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson in New Delhi Arindam Bagchi in his quick reaction on Thursday dismissed Pakistan's statement as "unfortunate". He said it was surprising that Islamabad had chosen to raise objections when its team was already in India. He asserted that Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh were and would always remain part of India.
The players from all the 187 participant countries, with the exception of Pakistan, gathered at the Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai where Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 44th Chess Olympiad on Thursday. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M.K. Stalin and Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand were among the dignitaries who attended the grand inaugural.
The Olympiad is being held in India for the first time ever, after being moved out of Moscow in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. With participation of teams representing 186 countries, the world's biggest chess championship has formally commenced at Hotel Four Points by Sheraton at Mamallapuram on Friday. It is scheduled to conclude on 10 August.
Pakistan, in fact, has a long history of the politicisation of sports with reference to Jammu and Kashmir, even as it always boomeranged in the diplomatic domain. It was only once, over 20 years back, that a team of athletes, comprising sportspersons from Pakistan and Pakistan occupied Kashmir visited Srinagar. It immediately generated a controversy in Pakistan as the political parties asserted that General Parvaiz Musharraf's government was "weakening Islamabad's stand on Kashmir".
Previously, Pakistan attempted to sabotage the first international cricket match in Kashmir when, in September 1983, some of her staunch supporters and agents created a scene during the test match between India and West Indies at Sher-e-Kashmir International Cricket Stadium at Sonwar in Srinagar. Then pro-Pakistan Peoples League chief Shabir Shah led the saboteurs. Most of the saboteurs, including Mushtaqul Islam, became full-time terrorists in 1990.
Organising anti-India and pro-Pakistan demonstrations at the end of every cricket match between India and Pakistan has been a known agenda of the Pakistan supporters. Some of such celebrations, for Pakistan and against India, occasionally created disturbance at some colleges in India.
However, the situation has drastically changed after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. Almost all the traditional pro-Pakistan demonstrations have disappeared in the last three years. One-odd incident was reported from the Government Medical College Srinagar when the authorities filed a criminal case against the female students who allegedly raised pro-Pakistan slogans and sung that country's national anthem at a hostel in 2020. However an in-house inquiry exonerated the participants, apparently taking a lenient view and giving them a chance to reform.
