Mutilated BSF Jawan's family want India Pakistan game to be stopped

While most Indians await the India-Pakistan clash in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, family members of BSF Head Constable Prem Sagar want to put a stop to it. The BSF Head Constable was killed and his body was mutilated by Pakistani forces.

Members of his family have therefore appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop the Indian cricket team from playing Pakistan in the Champions Trophy. India open their CT 2017 campaign with the encounter against Pakistan which is scheduled to take place on June 4 at Edgbaston.

“We appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BCCI to ensure that India does not play Pakistan. We are opposing the cricket match between India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy. The government must understand the pain of the aggrieved family of the martyr. India should not play the match with Pakistan in the Champions Trophy and should not have any relationship with that country,” Ishwar Chandra, son of the BSF jawan was quoted as saying by PTI.

India-Pakistan troubles at the border

Border skirmishes and ceasefire violations by Pakistani militants have become a regular issue for the Indian soldiers at the LoC. Kashmir in particular has been the hot-spot of gun-encounters and the Indian Army has suffered several losses. Earlier in May 2017, Naib Subedar Paramjit Singh and BSF Head Constable Sagar were beheaded by Pakistani forces in the Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir. Their beheading caused widespread rage across India, thus putting pressure on the Indian government to take swift action.

Bilateral cricketing ties between India and Paksitan have already been suspended. Senior BCCI official Rajeev Shukla had earlier made it clear that India will not play a bilateral series against Pakistan unless the government of India gives clearance. However, he did mention that the ICC Champions Trophy is an international tournament, and withdrawing from the Pakistan game in particular would violate their commitments. Furthermore, it would lead to penalties and cause other backlashes for India as well.

Meanwhlie, Sports Minister Vijay Goel had also reiterated this point, saying that the government won’t have a say in India playing Pakistan in a multilateral tournament overseas such as the ICC Champions Trophy.