‘Stay silent, stay safe’: Kashmiri parents anxious ahead of Indo-Pak match

Nasir Khuehami, JKSA spokesperson said , 'Even a casual status update can be twisted. Our appeal is simple - watch the game quietly and don’t make yourself vulnerable.'

Srinagar: As the much-awaited India-Pakistan T20 Asia Cup showdown draws near, living rooms in Kashmir are filled less with cricket excitement and more with quiet prayers and anxious phone calls.

For parents whose children study in colleges and universities across the country, the match is not just a sporting contest - it is a moment of fear.

Past memories haunt them: Kashmiri students detained, suspended, harassed, or even assaulted simply for cheering at the wrong time or putting up a social media post during Indo-Pak matches. Families are determined that this time their children should stay safe, no matter what.

“We know how charged these matches get. But for our children, one cheer, one emoji, even a forwarded message can snowball into a nightmare,” said Tariq Ahmad, whose son is pursuing engineering in Punjab.

“I told him clearly - watch the match if you must, but don’t post, don’t argue, don’t even react. These days, silence is safer than words.”

The Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) on Saturday issued a formal advisory to Kashmiri students across the country, asking them to stay away from social media commentary during the match.

“Even a casual status update can be twisted. Our appeal is simple - watch the game quietly and don’t make yourself vulnerable,” said Nasir Khuehami, JKSA spokesperson.

For parents, the advisory only reinforces their daily phone calls. “Every morning I call my son and remind him - study, keep to yourself, avoid debates in the hostel,” said Shamina Bano, whose son is studying agriculture sciences in Uttar Pradesh. “Cricket is just a game. But one small controversy can destroy your future. That thought doesn’t let me sleep.”

The fear is not unfounded. In previous years, dozens of Kashmiri students faced police cases or college suspensions for allegedly supporting Pakistan during cricket matches. Others became soft targets for mobs, accused merely because of their identity.

“Other students can scream, celebrate, taunt each other - it ends there. But when our children do the same, it becomes a crime,” said Shahid Ahmad, a father from Srinagar whose son studies in Dehradun. “That’s why we beg them - don’t react, don’t even answer provocations. Just keep your head down.”

For Kashmiri families, the cricket rivalry has long stopped being about sport. It has become about survival, about ensuring their children come back from college safe and unscarred.

“Sometimes even when our children stay quiet, they are dragged into trouble just because they are Kashmiri,” rued Shamima. “We live in fear every time these matches come.”

On Sunday evening, as millions cheer in stadiums and streets across India and Pakistan, many Kashmiri families will sit glued not just to the television, but to their phones—waiting for that call, that message, that sign that their child is fine. For them, the biggest victory is not on the scoreboard, but in their children staying safe and untouched by the storm of emotions that the game unleashes.