NEW DELHI: The Pakistan Hockey teams for the forthcoming Asia Cup tournament in Bihar’s Rajgir and FIH men’s Junior World Cup later in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai are going to be allowed to participate, sources in the government confirmed, while stating that any attempt to block participation would lead to contravention of the Olympic Charter.The sources said that the clearance for allowing the Pakistani teams to come to India was given by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the visa process for the players has been initiated.A high-level source in the government said, the decision has been communicated to the host federation – Hockey India (HI) and in turn it has informed the same to its counterpart in Pakistan.“The decision was part of the Government of India’s (GoI) efforts to keep politics and sports separate, while following the statutes of the Olympic Charter, which calls for inclusion and harmony among the participating nations despite their political difference,” said a source.Experts say that had India blocked the Pakistan teams’ participation for the two hockey events, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) would have faced sanction from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
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