KARACHI: India's national hockey team announced Friday that it was calling off a series against arch-rivals Pakistan planned for next month amid growing tensions between the neighbours.
Narinder Batra, the secretary-general of Hockey India, said that the decision had been made at the instigation of the government less than three weeks before the start of a five-match home series.
“The foreign ministry did not give permission (for the series),” Batra told AFP.
Pakistan, which had been due to host a return series straight afterwards, deplored India's decision and threatened to pull out of the junior world cup to be staged across the border in December this year.
“We could stop our team from participating in the junior world cup,” Asif Bajwa, secretary of the Pakistan Hockey Federation, told reporters.
The junior world cup is being held under the auspices of the International Hockey Federation, which could take action against Pakistan for not participating.
“We condemn India's policy of mixing politics with sport and if they continue to do so it will be a big loss for hockey fans and for hockey in Asia,” Bajwa said.
“We will not play the hockey series on a neutral venue and now, if they agree to play a hockey series in the future, then India will have to tour us first,” the former Olympian told reporters.
Pakistan and India were set to resume bilateral hockey ties after seven years.
Pakistan were supposed to play matches in the cities of Ranchi, Lucknow, Delhi, Mohali and Jalandhar between April 5-15 wile the Indian team were to pay a return visit and play five matches in Lahore, Faisalabad, Karachi and Sialkot from April 23.
Both countries have won 11 Olympic hockey titles between them and ruled the Games arena for decades, with India winning eight and Pakistan three.
But both have slumped at the international level in the last few years as Pakistan finished a poor seventh at the London Olympics last year where India ended at their worst 12th and last.
Pakistan and India recently met in ongoing Azlan Shah Cup where the Greenshirts were beaten 3-1.
