Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamshala decided to drop Imran Khan's photo from the venue.
The recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama that took the lives of over 40 Indian soldiers has lead to rage and protests in the country. Pakistan based terror outfit Jaish-E-Mohammed took responsibility for the attack, and the nation was looking forward to hearing how the Government of Pakistan reacted to it. Pakistan Prime Minister, Imran Khan, however, dismissed his country's association with the attack and also sought evidence from India. Khan's remarks were another straw on India's already straining equation with Pakistan.
The sports fraternity is vehemently condemning the attack and his remarks. The Cricket Club of India earlier chose to cover a portrait of Khan, who also happens to be a former cricketer. As a recent development, the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) Stadium in Dharamshala has also removed his photo now. This is not the only stadium to do so, though. The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium in Mohali and the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur also took similar moves.
The latest addition to this is also Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy stadium, which pulled off photos of Imran Khan and other Pakistani cricketers to show solidarity. "To show our solidarity and support to our armed forces and to express our strong protest against the recent terrorist bombing at Pulwama, we have brought down all photographs of Pakistan cricketers including Imran Khan," a statement from the stadium's cricket body read.
The attack clearly seems to have impacted the sporting ties between the two nations. The two shooters representing Pakistan for the Shooting World Cup to be held in New Delhi weren't granted Visa. However, India is expected to play Pakistan as usual, for the Cricket World Cup 2019.