Jammu, Feb 10: Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet Minister Satish Sharma on Tuesday called for an end to cricket ties with Pakistan, linking sporting engagement to ongoing diplomatic and military tensions between the two countries.
Speaking to reporters outside the Assembly, Sharma questioned the rationale for playing against a country he accused of backing violence against India. “Why are you playing with a country that is stabbing you in the back? We should not play with them,” he said, referring to the scheduled India-Pakistan cricket match.
The minister cited the loss of lives in Kashmir and Jammu as part of his argument. “They are martyring our soldiers. So many Kashmiri people have been martyred. So many Jammu people have been martyred. These are the people who are robbing us day and night,” Sharma said.
He also stressed a philosophy of principled resistance. “We are people of love. We know that whenever hatred is defeated, it is defeated by love. Hatred does not defeat hatred. But anyway, let’s talk. This [engagement] is wrong,” he added.
On the domestic political front, Sharma demanded a written apology from the Leader of the Opposition and invited them to join the fight for statehood, asserting, “I am ready to give my life.”
He also criticized some BJP ministers for taking U-turns on political issues but said he would remain firm. “Even if I lose my life, I will not take a U-turn in this war,” he said.(KNS).
