'If India can play cricket with Pakistan, why can’t...': Jailed activist Sonam Wangchuk's wife asks amid Asia Cup final
Activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was detained on Friday under National Security Act (NSA) after September 24 violence in Ladakh, was accused of links with Pakistan.
Gitanjali J Angmo, the wife of arrested climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, questioned India playing rival Pakistan in the Asia Cup on Sunday, September 28, while addressing accusation against her husband that he has “Pakistan links.”
She asked on X, “If India can play cricket with Pakistan, why can’t one of its heroes, @Wangchuk66, attend a UN conference there?”
Sonam Wangchuk accused of having 'Pakistan links'
Angmo's reaction came after Ladakh Director General of Police (DGP) SD Singh Jamwal said earlier in the day that Wangchuk is being probed for allegedly having links with Pakistan.
On Friday, Wangchuk was detained under National Security Act (NSA) and sent to a jail in Jodhpur in Rajasthan. His arrested came as police alleged Wangchuk was the key person behind September 24 violence that claimed the lives of four people and injured scores of others.
The police chief cited some of Wangchuk’s “suspicious” foreign trips, including to Pakistan to attend an event by The Dawn. "He attended an event by The Dawn in Pakistan and also visited Bangladesh," Jamwal was quoted by PTI as saying.
Sonam Wangchuk's wife clarifies: ‘We attended UN conference’
In an interview with news agency PTI, Angmo clarified that their recent visit to the neighbouring country was purely professional and climate-focused.
She denounced the allegations of Pakistan links involving her husband, and said all of Wangchuk's overseas visits were made on the invitation of reputed universities and institutions.
"We attended a conference organised by the United Nations, and it was on climate change. The glacier on the top of the Himalayas is not going to see whether I'm flowing into Pakistan or India," she told PTI.
She said the ‘Breathe Pakistan’ conference held in February was organised by the United Nations Pakistan and Dawn Media, and involved multinational cooperation.
“There are organisations like the ICIMOD, which bring together all the eight Hindu Kush countries and work on different issues. We are part of the ICIMOD’s Himalayan University Consortium," Angmo said.
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a Nepal-based organisation founded in 1983 comprising eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region – India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.
“I was also there to present a paper on women's role in climate change... In fact, he (Wangchuk) praised Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi on stage at the event.
India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2025
India and Pakistan clashed in the Asia Cup 2025 final on Sunday, September 28. It is the first India-Pakistan final in Asia Cup history, which started in 1984. The two sides have already met twice earlier in this tournament – in group play and Super Four. India won both games comfortably.
The Asia Cup has marked a resumption of cricket ties between India and Pakistan only months after the neighboring countries were engaged in a tense border situation in May that disrupted the IPL and the Pakistan Super League.
India's cricketers refused to shake hands with Pakistan after their first and second games at the Asia Cup.
There were no handshakes at Sunday's toss where India skipper Suryakumar Yadav spoke with former India cricketer-turned-broadcaster Ravi Shastri and Pakistan captain Agha talked with former Pakistan cricketer-turned-broadcaster Waqar Younis.
Pakistan named an unchanged team for the match while India all-rounder Hardik Pandya missed out owing to a niggle, replaced by Rinku Singh. Bumrah and Shivam Dube returned for India with Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana out.
(With inputs from PTI)