Asia Cup Hockey Under Cloud After Pahalgam Terror Attack, Pakistan Visa Denials

Uncertainty looms over the Men's Hockey Asia Cup, scheduled to be held in Bihar's Rajgir from August 27 to September 7, as India denied visas to Pakistani citizens as a measure against terrorism following the Pahalgam terror attack, which left 26 Indians dead.

With three foreign nationals, whose Urdu accent was akin to the one spoken in Pakistan, suspected to have crossed the border to carry out the attack on the tourists, India snapped all types of relations with Pakistan, leaving the future of the hockey tournament in limbo.

India had earlier urged all Pakistani nationals to leave the country by the end of this month and revoked their SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme (SVES) visas.

But on April 24, in a separate statement, the Ministry of External Affairs stated: "All existing valid visas issued by India to Pakistani nationals stand revoked with effect from 27 April 2025. Medical visas issued to Pakistani nationals will be valid only till 29 April 2025. All Pakistani nationals currently in India must leave India before the expiry of visas, as now amended."

The move has cast doubt over Pakistan's participation in the Asia Cup, a FIH World Cup qualifying event, with the winner earning a direct spot for next year’s mega-event that will be co-hosted by the Netherlands and Belgium.

Pakistan's participation in the FIH Junior World Cup, which will take place in Chennai and Madurai later this year, has also become uncertain.

In the recent past, the Pakistan hockey team travelled to India in 2023 to participate in the Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai. They also competed in the 2018 World Cup and the 2021 Junior World Cup in India.

In 2023, Pakistan’s football team played the South Asian Championship in India, whereas India’s tennis players made the trip to Islamabad last year for the Davis Cup.