AAP Protests India-Pakistan Asia Cup Match in Pune, Calls It an Insult to Martyrs
Pune, 13th September 2025: India and Pakistan are set to face each other in the Asia Cup cricket match at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, September 14. However, the upcoming clash has triggered a political storm, especially in the wake of the Pahalgam Valley terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir earlier this year, in which Pakistani terrorists killed 26 people.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has strongly opposed the match, terming it an “insult to martyrs.” Party leaders staged a protest in Pune on Saturday by burning a Pakistani cricket T-shirt at Shivajinagar Metro Chowk.
“What desperation or compulsion is there in the BJP Modi government to play cricket with the same terrorist country that raped 26 Indian women in Pahalgam? We will not accept the sacrifice of patriotism for some specific economic interests. We strongly condemn this and appeal to everyone to boycott the match,” AAP said in its statement.
AAP working president Ajit Phatke Patil led the protest along with leaders Mukund Kirdat, Sudarshan Jagdale, Abhijit More, Surekha Bhosale, Aniket Shinde, Subhash Karande, Raviraj Kale, Sheetal Kandgaonkar, Prashant Kamble, Ritesh Nikalje, Suresh Bhise, Vaibhav Temkar, and Sangram Patil.
The protest reflects a larger debate over whether sporting ties with Pakistan should continue in the aftermath of cross-border terrorism. While cricket fans await the high-voltage Asia Cup encounter, the political rhetoric around it is only intensifying.
