After cricket, diplomacy over Polo…

Sanket Upadhyay

After diplomacy over cricket, Pakistan and India might just enter into patronising yet another sport for diplomacy – the heritage game of Polo. Pakistan’s Minister of State for Railways, Ishaq Khan Khakwani, who is also the President of the Lahore Polo Club, said: “Why only Polo, all sports should have the ability to initiate cross border diplomacy.”

Khakwani, who was in Jaipur on Wednesday, is part of the delegation that came to India along with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf last Saturday. He said that both the countries should look forward to relax visa norms if polo is intended for diplomacy.

“Players are already playing across the border but this is on an individual level. They have to face a lot of problems, as visa norms are stringent. Big matches can be organised only if there is some relaxation,” he said. Khakwani reiterated that ferrying horses, a basic requirement for the game, faces problems due to strict visa norms.

However, he expressed hope that cross border Polo games become more frequent. “It is a heritage game. We have teams visiting each side. We would want the number of teams to increase,” he said.

President of the Rajasthan Polo Club, Colonel KS Garcha expressed his confidence in the game, saying that it had potential to initiate cross border diplomacy. “Polo is essentially a game which involves the influential class of the society. It stands a greater chance of influencing the mindsets of people,” he said.

The horseback diplomacy showed its signs in December 2003 only. The Indian contingent that went to Lahore saw supporters including Gayatri Devi crossing the Wagah border. California based Pakistan Polo coach, Podger el Effendi had then said that the “game could serve as one of the finest confidence building measures.

“Sports, especially polo, should not be restricted as a sport between two rival nations. When the Indians played in Lahore last year, there was tremendous support for them,” he said.

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