Champions Trophy: Pro-terror rallies cast further shadows on Indian Team’s Pak tour

Amid reports of BCCI’s reluctance to send the Indian cricket team to Pakistan for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, videos have emerged of widespread pro-terror rallies in Karachi and Islamabad commemorating Burhan Wani’s death anniversary. Wani, the poster boy of Hizbul Mujahideen, is part of a militant organisation designated as a terror outfit by the European Union, Canada, the United States, and India.

Coinciding with the death anniversary, a terror attack killed five Indian Army personnel on July 8 after Pakistan-sponsored terrorists ambushed an Army convoy in Badnota village in Jammu division. Support for the violence in Jammu and Kashmir extends beyond Pakistan’s ignominious intel agency to multiple pro-terror elements in various Pakistani cities.

Evidence of organised gatherings supporting Burhan Wani were found across social media platforms like Facebook, X and Instagram.

India Today’s OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) team discovered more than a thousand X(formerly Twitter) posts with hashtag #BurhanWani mostly from Pakistan-affiliated accounts. Additionally, there were a total of 843 posts containing the keyword “Shaheed Burhan”(martyr Burhan) featuring pictures and videos paying tribute to the Mujahideen leader.

Scouring through hundreds of posts, at least 20 locations of pro-terror rallies were identified in Karachi, Islamabad, Muzaffarabad, and Neelum Valley. The close proximity of some of these protest sites to the ICC Champions Trophy venues causes legitimate security concerns for the Indian cricket team.

In Karachi alone, scores of protesters can be seen shouting anti-india slogans approximately 6 km from National Cricket Stadium, one of the three proposed venues of the tournament.

Similar scenes were observed on the streets of capital city Islamabad where the Indian High Commision became the target of the anti-India gatherings. This venue is roughly 8 km from Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, another ICC Champion trophy site.

While former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi has urged the Indian cricket team to visit Pakistan, pleading that “sports should be kept away from politics,” the ongoing terror attacks and pro-terror rallies makes it unlikely. Afridi tried to make a case by floating Virat Kohli’s massive fan following in Pakistan, claiming, “He will forget the love he has for India when he comes to Pakistan.”

Pakistan observes the 8th of July as “Resistance Day” owing to the death anniversary of Burhan Wani. As per the reports, over 300 Kashmiri youths in Muzaffarabad, a district of PoK, were seen saluting his photo, chanting pro-freedom slogans, and pledging resistance against India.

The All Parties Hurriyat Conference Azad Jammu and Kashmir (APHC-AJK) also organized protest rallies in Islamabad, where participants marched towards the Indian High Commission holding portraits of the deceased Mujahideen leader. Many joined the protest from districts of Kotli and Neelum Valley. Pro-terror rallies were also held from Arts Council to the Karachi Press Club, as seen in X(formerly Twitter) videos.

At least five major terror attacks have been reported in Jammu in the first six months of 2024, in which over a dozen security personnel and civilians were killed. Such incidents of recurring security concerns coupled with pro-terror gatherings makes it unlikely for the BCCI to send the Indian cricket team on the tour.

Due to rising cases of cross-border terrorism in recent times, India has not played cricket in Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup. The Pakistan Cricket Board proposed that India play all its matches in Lahore due to its close proximity to India, but the BCCI is not keen on Team India touring Pakistan.

Earlier this year, BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla said that the Indian team would visit Pakistan for the tournament only if the Central government allowed it.

“In the case of the Champions Trophy, we will do whatever the Government of India tells us to do. We will send our team only when the Government of India permits. So we will go according to the decision of the Indian government,” Shukla told ANI in May 2024.

EMBED: https://x.com/ANI/status/1787429473479995427

The likelihood of the Indian team traveling to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy is slim, pending a final decision by the Indian government. In such a scenario, a hybrid model is likely to be considered, as per reports. India might play their matches in the UAE or Sri Lanka, similar to the Asia Cup. The ICC’s position on this matter will also be pivotal.

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