According to the reports, India’s representatives were present at a high-level meeting of the South Asian Olympic Association, where they accepted Pakistan’s invitation to compete in the country.
Sporting relations between India and Pakistan have been at an all-time low since the Pahalgam terror attack in 2025, in which 26 Indians were brutally killed in the Kashmir Valley. In cricket, athletes from both countries have even refused to participate in the customary handshakes before and after matches.
Earlier this year, after some criticised the Board of Control for Cricket in India for participating in multi-lateral matches with Pakistan, the Union Sports Ministry issued an Office Memorandum clarifying its stance.
India maintains a clear distinction between bilateral sports ties and multilateral tournaments when competing against Pakistan. While bilateral series remain completely suspended, official sports policy allows Indian athletes to participate in multi-nation events governed by international bodies such as the International Olympic Committee or global sports federations.
“In so far as bilateral sports events in each other’s country are concerned, Indian teams will not be participating in competitions in Pakistan. Nor will we permit Pakistani teams to play in India,” the memorandum said.
“Indian teams and individual players will take part in international events that also have teams or players from Pakistan. Similarly, Pakistani players and teams will be able to participate in such multilateral events hosted by India,” it said.
However, participation in a multilateral tournament does not guarantee permission to travel across the border. Any Indian sports contingent scheduled to compete in Pakistan must first secure mandatory political and security clearances from both the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
In practice, the government evaluates such travel requests on a case-by-case basis. For high-profile sports such as cricket, authorities have routinely denied travel clearance citing security risks, prompting organisers to shift India’s fixtures to neutral locations under hybrid tournament structures.
India has never sent a cricket team for a SAF competition. The BCCI, the Pakistan Cricket Board and the International Cricket Council also have a separate agreement not to play each other apart from at neutral venues, which is reportedly valid up to 2028.
Conversely, non-cricketing disciplines facing strict international obligations have occasionally received clearance. The Indian tennis squad visited Islamabad for a Davis Cup fixture in 2024, marking the last instance of Indian athletes travelling cross-border before the terror attacks.
Therefore, even if India has agreed to participate in the SAF Games, whether its athletes will travel to Pakistan will ultimately be determined by the government’s stance at the time. New Delhi will have to manage its political position while maintaining ties with Olympic associations as it aims to host the Games in the near future itself.
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