'Pakistan have no desire either…'—Mohsin Naqvi responds to India, BCCI's no-handshake policy

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday hit back at India and the BCCI over the no-handshake policy, saying politics and cricket should be separate, and that Pakistan had no desire to extend the courtesy either.

The no-handshake policy was started by the Suryakumar Yadav-led Men in Blue side at the Asia Cup in September, in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist attack in April.

It has been followed since, with the two teams not shaking hands in the Women's World Cup. India also refused to shake hands at the U19 Asia Cup earlier this month, and the Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament in November.

"And you will see, this approach will continue going forward. It’s not possible for them to do one thing and for us to back down — that simply won’t happen," he added.

The PCB chief went on to emphasize that Pakistan's "belief" was to keep politics and cricket apart.

"Our belief remains the same even today, and believe me, the Prime Minister himself has told me twice that we shouldn’t let politics come into all of this. From day one, our stance has been that cricket and politics should remain separate," Naqvi said, before referencing a recent U19 Asia Cup incident.

During the final of the recently concluded U19 Asia Cup, India was accused of "unethical" behaviour by former Pakistan captain and current mentor of the U19 side, Sarfaraz Ahmad, with a viral video showing him asking Pakistan's players to not be uncivil towards the Indian team.

Commenting on the video after the match, which Pakistan won, Ahmad confirmed its authenticity, saying, "I have played against the Indian team before. But that Indian team respected the game. But I realized while sitting outside that this team's behaviour regarding the game was not good, and the Indian team's conduct in cricket was unethical."