Overview

• In a July 28 post on X, Abhishek Banerjee asserted that India must not engage with Pakistan in any sphere and should focus on military action to recover Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
• He accused Pakistan of waging a decades-long proxy war that has bled India and declared any sporting ties an insult to the blood of martyrs.
• Banerjee warned that extending a handshake to Pakistan “is not diplomacy – it’s a bloody betrayal.”
• He proposed that if a contest is to occur, it should be fought at the Line of Control, with Pakistan-occupied J&K as the only trophy sought.
• His comments follow the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, intensifying debate over the role of sports in Indo-Pak relations.