India will go ahead with the Asia Cup fixture against Pakistan next month, but will not engage in any bilateral sporting clash with the neighbouring country, the sports ministry said on Thursday while unveiling the new policy on India’s international engagements with emphasis on Pakistan.

“India’s approach to sports events involving Pakistan reflects its overall policy in dealing with that country. In so far as bilateral sports events in each other’s country are concerned, Indian teams will not be participating in competitions in Pakistan. Nor will we permit Pakistani teams to play in India,” the ministry policy stated.

However, multilateral engagements will not be affected. “We will not stop Indian cricket team from playing in Asia Cup as it is multilateral,” said a ministry official. “Pakistan will not be allowed on Indian soil for bilateral competitions. But we will not stop them from multilateral events as we will abide by the Olympic Charter,” he said.

Asked if Indian teams will be allowed to travel to Pakistan for any multilateral competitions, the official said, “In that scenario, we will examine the case before deciding anything. Even in multilateral events, we can’t leave our athletes in the lurch,” he said.