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Kashif Siddiqi, a British-Pakistani citizen and an ex-Pakistan international footballer, recently visited Kashmir. How did a Pakistani man make it to the valley when, until recently, many Indian politicians couldn’t?
In this thread, I will look at ties between Kashif Siddiqi, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Indian government and I-League outfit Real Kashmir Football Club, co-owned by local businessmen Sandeep Chattoo and Shamim Meraj.
But most importantly, I will look at claims made by Siddiqi regarding his nationality. I will also provide some background on the organisation he heads – Football for Peace – before taking a look at his playing career.
For those who haven’t heard of Kashif Siddiqi, he is a former Pakistan national football team player who recently signed for Srinagar-based I-League club Real Kashmir, on loan from League One (English 3rd tier) side Oxford United.
Now before I start, I would like to clarify that I’m not tweeting this with any malicious intent towards any of the parties involved. I am just stating a few facts already available in public domain and seeking a few answers.
I had already sent some of the questions that I raise in this thread below to Siddiqi’s PR manager on September 23, 2019. This was after she had agreed to relay my questions to him.
Unfortunately, despite subsequent follow-up emails, I never received a response from Siddiqi’s PR manager. Siddiqi also didn’t respond to messages I sent him on his phone recently.
Nevertheless, since first announcing his move to Real Kashmir, there have been many reports across different media publications in India and the world. There are some irregularities in some of the claims made by Siddiqi.
I will go to his playing career later on. Let’s first start off with his nationality. In recent months, Siddiqi has been trying to shed all his links to Pakistan, including the fact that he has/had a Pakistani passport.
I am saying ‘has/had’ because he definitely had a Pakistan passport till at least 2011, when he was part of their national team squad. It is possible that the validity of that passport may have expired later.
He says he has no roots in Pakistan and that his father is Indian (born in Lucknow, while his mother is from Uganda). He says he was eligible to play for Pakistan as a ‘British South Asian’, which is patently false. https://www.thequint.com/sports/football/real-kashmir-british-player-not-pakistani-roots-kashif-siddiqi
You do need a valid Pakistani passport and a national ID card to play for their national team. Diaspora players who play for Pakistan do so by availing dual citizenship. https://resources.fifa.com/image/upload/the-fifa-statutes-2018.pdf?cloudid=whhncbdzio03cuhmwfxa
https://www.footballpakistan.com/faq/
https://www.footballpakistan.com/faq/
FIFA rules are clear about the fact that you need to prove your nationality before you are eligible to play for your country. In fact, FIFA has tightened passport rules in recent years. ( https://www.espn.in/football/blog/football-africa/80/post/2439816/will-fifa-passport-eligibility-rules-have-desired-effect)
There are a few different provisions to this rule in countries where nationality can be a bit complex, in terms of representing the national team. For eg: US-Guam-Puerto Rico, China-Hong Kong-Macao, the Home Nations, etc.
Just to reiterate the importance of a passport, for those who don’t follow football, FIFA members like Hong Kong, British Virgin Islands miss out on many permanent residents because they are unable to acquire passports.
https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/1780972/hong-kong-football-association-lobby-fifa-over-player-passport-issue
http://www.virginislandsnewsonline.com/en/news/fifa-president-commits-to-addressing-eligibility-rule-for-national-players
https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/1780972/hong-kong-football-association-lobby-fifa-over-player-passport-issue
http://www.virginislandsnewsonline.com/en/news/fifa-president-commits-to-addressing-eligibility-rule-for-national-players
FIFA did make a notable exception in 2011 when it cleared Weaam Amasha to play for Israel. Amasha is a Druze Arab from Golan Heights and was born there after Israel captured the region. He has no nationality. https://in.reuters.com/article/soccer-israel-druze/fifa-says-non-israeli-can-play-for-israel-idINDEE7B00GH20111201
Now just understand how ridiculous Siddiqi’s logic is. If Pakistan was doling out citizenship to Indian expats or their children because of their South Asian heritage, our folks at RAW would have a field day sending spies to Pakistan.
RAW guy: Hey guys, I live in San Francisco and my dad is from Patna. I am an American South Asian, lol. Please give me Pakistani citizenship.
Pakistan: Say no more, fam. Just fill up this form and grab your citizenship – no questions asked.
Pakistan: Say no more, fam. Just fill up this form and grab your citizenship – no questions asked.
This is not 1947 where you get to choose between playing for India and Pakistan. If your father opted to stay back in India, rejecting Pakistan citizenship, you can’t avail Pak citizenship or play for them, simple as that.
It is surprising nobody has asked him a simple follow-up question on his very clear misrepresentation of facts about his nationality. I mean, this is a basic FIFA eligibility rule and member association bye-law that you cannot circumvent.
Here’s a 2005 interview with The FA where Siddiqi says he is eligible to play for Pakistan because of his dual nationality.
Here’s this interview from 2007, where Siddiqi is saying a completely different thing about his roots. “Mere abbu Pakistan ke liye hockey khelte rahe.” (“My father used to play hockey for Pakistan.”)
Here’s him promoting the general elections in Pakistan in a 2013 short film made by Britain’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office. “I am really proud because our country is moving forward with the elections.” https://vimeo.com/63326458
And he has of course played in a few exhibition games for representational Pakistani teams like here:
Of course, it is possible that Kashif Siddiqi surrendered his Pakistan passport before coming to India, or that it simply expired. But the fact remains that he has been a Pakistani passport holder for quite a few years.
Now anyone living in India/Pakistan will tell you how difficult it is to get a visa to visit each other’s countries. Indian football fans will probably remember the Zesh Rehman episode from 2013, when he was visiting India with Kitchee. https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/1221646/kitchee-angry-over-india-treatment-british-born-pakistani-zesh
That an ex-Premier League player was stranded in Delhi airport for 24 hours, despite having prior paperwork, pretty much explains how things are. And this was before a right-wing party, which is very openly anti-Pakistan, came into power.
It is possible that Siddiqi has hidden his Pakistani identity to avoid harassment from militant right-wing groups and/or to help his organisation Football for Peace operate without difficulty in India. Only he can tell.
But the question that arises here is, how and why would Indian authorities allow a Pakistani national to visit Kashmir only a few months after Article 370 was rendered ineffective? Here’s Siddiqi during his visit to DPS Srinagar.
Even if, say, his Pakistani passport did expire before he visited India, everyone knows how difficult it is for anyone with Pakistan links and a Pakistani father to visit India, that too in a post-370 Kashmir. But he did. http://www.dpssrinagar.com/news/school-holds-an-interaction-session-with-kashif-siddiqi-international-footballer
Not very long ago, Indian opposition leaders were seeking permission from the Supreme Court to visit Kashmir. The last Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir is still under detention. Foreign journos haven’t been visiting Kashmir.
But a former Pakistan international footballer, who has/had a dual nationality of Britain and Pakistan and whose father, according to himself, played hockey for Pakistan, goes to Srinagar and gets to click a picture with an Indian soldier.
Of course, there is obviously every possibility he may have hidden details about his nationality from Indian authorities. But to assume that he would be able to pull it off without getting caught is underestimating Indian authorities.
And when it is known that you are an ex-Pakistan international, you won’t be allowed into India without very serious vetting in the first place. Is it possible that someone in the Indian government assisted him here?
I don’t know and I am not making any accusation here, just asking a question. In this context, it is important to look at the ties between Siddiqi, Real Kashmir and senior members of the BJP-led Indian establishment.
So, Sandeep Chattoo and Shamim Meraj are the co-owners of Real Kashmir. They are successful local entrepreneurs. Meraj runs the Kashmir Monitor newspaper from Srinagar.
Chattoo’s businesses include a four-star hotel in Srinagar and a restobar in Gurgaon. He is among a select few in Srinagar to have a liquor license. [No. 127: http://www.jkexcise.nic.in/documents/Benami.pdf]
http://www.kashmirink.in/news/coverstory/kp-businessmen-in-valley/134.html
![Chattoo’s businesses include a four-star hotel in Srinagar and a restobar in Gurgaon. He is among a select few in Srinagar to have a liquor license. [No. 127: http://www.jkexcise.nic.in/documents/Benami.pdf] http://www.kashmirink.in/news/coverstory/kp-businessmen-in-valley/134.html](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EWhh7sVUwAA5Ev6.jpg "Chattoo’s businesses include a four-star hotel in Srinagar and a restobar in Gurgaon. He is among a select few in Srinagar to have a liquor license. [No. 127: http://www.jkexcise.nic.in/documents/Benami.pdf] http://www.kashmirink.in/news/coverstory/kp-businessmen-in-valley/134.html")
http://www.kashmirink.in/news/coverstory/kp-businessmen-in-valley/134.html
Chattoo’s close ties to the establishment are not a secret. He was part of the lunch hosted by NSA Ajit Doval when a group of far-right MEPs were in Delhi ahead of a visit to Kashmir in October. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/govt-trying-to-conceal-real-situation-in-jk-pdp/article29820056.ece
In fact he has been regularly part of post-370 conferences organised by the govt for businessmen and politicians. In January, he was among the attendees who met envoys from 16 countries. http://risingkashmir.com/news/envoys-from-16-nations-visit-kashmir-assess-ground-situation
Other attendees at these events included mostly businessmen and politicians friendly with the BJP govt, like Altaf Bukhari. Chattoo also met another EU delegation that visited Kashmir in February. https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/sports-news-football-in-blood-of-kashmiris-can-bring-around-change-in-jk-real-kashmir-fc-co-owner-sandeep-chattoo/347246
Real Kashmir are also recipients of an annual grant of Rs. 2 crore for a period of three years, initiated by the previous Governor – Satya Pal Malik. https://thekashmirimages.com/2019/01/24/guv-hands-a-rs-2-crore-cheque-to-real-kashmir-football-club/
Hardly a surprise then that when asked at the club’s season launch how his players were affected by the lockdown in Kashmir, Chattoo chose to crack a joke.
Real Kashmir seem to be drawing support from influential leaders of the establishment as well. Here’s Ram Madhav – BJP national general secretary, ex-RSS spokie and an RKFC ‘fan’ ( https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2019/dec/26/internet-being-restored-in-j-k-in-phased-manner-says-real-kashmir-fan-ram-madhav-2081248.html) – watching a game at the TRC Stadium.
Of course, I am not accusing Real Kashmir of being a BJP proxy. I completely acknowledge and understand how difficult it is to run a club in Kashmir, particularly at this point. Being close to the government probably helps.
And how close is Kashif Siddiqi to the Indian establishment? We don’t know. But in 2018, he came to India to announce the launch of FfP India. The organisation said it would also invite PM Modi, David Beckham for a ‘peace match’. https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/football/story/prime-minister-modi-david-beckham-likely-to-be-part-of-football-for-peace-match-in-delhi-1176769-2018-02-24
The founding board member of FfP India is an Australia-based Gujarati businessman named Nirav Tripathi. He reportedly signed a ‘multi-million dollar partnership’ with George Weah before the latter came to power in Liberia.
But here’s the interesting bit about Football for Peace India. Another board member of the organisation is Kailash Vijayvargiya, who, like Ram Madhav, is a BJP national general secretary.
Before moving this forward, let me just take a break here to acknowledge the irony of Kailash Vijayvargiya working as a peace activist for an organisation run by a half-Pakistani Muslim man.
I mean, even pre-MVA Shiva Sena had to ask Vijayvargiya to tone down his Islamophobia. Two of his own BJP colleagues had to disassociate themselves from his views. Great choice, Football for ‘Peace’!
Siddiqi himself has been very careful with his public utterances on Kashmir, although his comments do not show a great deal of understanding about the region. Listen to his podcast with @GrantWahl here: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/sports-illustrated/planet-futbol-podcast/e/64811440?autoplay=true
“At this time, unfortunately, when things were looking good between India and Pakistan…” – It wasn’t. India and Pakistan came close to war less than six months before Article 370 abrogation, following the Pulwama terror attack.
“It’s a kind of a positive shift, in the sense of, for the Kashmiris to be part of India.” – Music to the ears of the Indian govt of course. But why is an ex-Pakistan international speaking on behalf of Kashmiris?
“The future generations, they don’t really understand, they’re just stuck in there.” Well, to say the Kashmiri youth don’t understand what the conflict is, while you’re sitting in New York, is a bit rich, isn’t it?
“I think gradually the things are definitely improving. This week only, phone lines were back on, internet is coming on.” (Misleading: phone lines were partially restored at the time of this podcast; & wrong: internet hadn’t been restored.)
And no, I am not saying the BJP government is using Siddiqi in some form of propaganda war. But given his interests in India and his and Real Kashmir’s ties to the BJP govt, should be expect some form of objectivity from him?
Some questions that arise here – what kind of visa has Kashif Siddiqi been given? Has he officially disclosed his links to Pakistan in his visa application? How, why and who has helped Siddiqi get an Indian visa on multiple occasions?
What kind of work is BJP’s Kailash Vijayvargiya doing for Kashif Siddiqi’s organisation in India? What does Football for Peace India specifically do, in terms of peace activism through football in the country?
Anyway, let’s move to Football for Peace. I have no idea what kind of peace activism it actually does on the ground. Apart from PR events involving elite footballers, politicians, there’s very little information out there.
I mean, if you have a network that helps you reach the Pope, the British royal family, many powerful politicians, famous footballers, the UNGA, etc, there should be comprehensive information about the work you do on the ground.
The organisation has, on occasions in the past, announced it would hold peace matches, although I can’t seem to find much information about what a ‘peace match’ is or find one taking place.
For example, this UAE-Pakistan match ( https://www.thenational.ae/uae/uae-to-play-pakistan-for-malala-charity-1.358111) that was supposed to raise money for the Malala Fund never took place. Neither did this India-Pakistan game ( http://www.catchnews.com/football-news/after-ronaldinho-visit-football-for-peace-sets-sights-on-india-pakistan-football-friendly-1453907430.html)
Anyway, I don’t really know how someone who never quite played professional club football (more on that later) became the face of an NGO and suddenly had this remarkable network of contacts across the world.
This kind of reach and PR machinery would be the stuff of dreams for many higher-profile celebrities. What we do know is that Siddiqi and FfP do know some highly influential people.
For example, the organisation’s filings from February 2019 list former Man United, Everton and France forward, Louis Saha, as one of its trustees. https://beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?subid=0®id=1146442
http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends42/0001146442_AC_20190228_E_C.PDF
http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends42/0001146442_AC_20190228_E_C.PDF
Zaki M Nuseibeh, vice chairman of Kashif Siddiqi’s parent club Oxford United, is also now a trustee of the organisation.
Zaki Nuseibeh has a more famous brother, Ghanem Nuseibeh, who also met Siddiqi a few months back.
Who is Ghanem Nuseibeh? He is the head of the powerful global PR firm Cornerstone, which has been accused of running a smear campaign, backed by the anti-Qatar GCC bloc led by UAE and the Saudis, against Qatar’s World Cup.
Read this NYT piece by @tariqpanja and @JamesPiotr for more details. Ghanem Nuseibeh denies that reports critical of Qatar, produced by Cornerstone Global Associates, have been influenced by others. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/01/sports/world-cup-2022-qatar.html
Finally, let’s move to Siddiqi’s career as a professional footballer. Siddiqi hasn’t played football for many years now. In fact, can’t find any record of him playing a competitive game in the last decade, or in any major professional league ever in his career.
And no, I am not saying this just off his Wikipedia page. All records available online show that the only games Siddiqi played in club football, came in amateur leagues in the U.S.
Real Kashmir never included Siddiqi in the list of foreign players they have registered with the I-League. In order to register him, they would have had to remove one of the six foreigners already registered.
And the announcement of the ‘signing’ actually came after the season was suspended due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. Siddiqi is reported to have suffered an injury just before the season began.
Real Kashmir’s press release has no mention of the fact that Kashif Siddiqi played for Pakistan. In fact, you won’t find a single mention of the word ‘Pakistan’.
Also, Real Kashmir’s co-owners seem to have been associated with Siddiqi and FfP for some time. Here’s a picture of the three together, posted by Sandeep Chattoo on his Facebook account in November, 2018.
Siddiqi’s entire senior Pakistan career spanned a total of 10 minutes, as a substitute in a dead rubber vs Nepal at the 2008 SAFF C’ships. He replaced teammate Muhammad Irfan for the last 10 minutes.
He has moved to different clubs without playing a single game (Al Wasl, Northampton, now Oxford United and Real Kashmir, among others).
Many news reports call him a former Arsenal youth/academy player. However, there is no record of him ever playing there. Long-serving members at Arsenal’s academy also seem to be unaware of him.
I am not saying he is lying or that the news reports are wrong, just that there doesn’t seem to be any documentation of this. I can’t find any record of Siddiqi’s transfer to Al Wasl either. Did he really sign for the club? I don’t know.
Being of South Asian descent, some clubs seem to have associated with him in some form to meet community outreach objectives. Here’s Chelsea, for instance, reaching out to the Asian community through him. https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2015/04/08/siddiqi-outlines-asian-star-benefits
In some interviews, he has attributed his lack of games to injuries. Alright, fair enough. But it’s still quite bizarre for a player to not play for a decade, stay completely out of the game for half a decade, and suddenly sign for a club.
I mean, if you suffered a career-threatening injury long back and you have been unable to play competitively for more than a decade, why would you still be pursuing a playing career in your mid-30s?
Some more questions for @iamkashsiddiqi: When and for what period were you part of Arsenal’s academy? How do you manage to sign for clubs and almost always end up playing zero games for them?
When was the last time @iamkashsiddiqi played a competitive game of football? For which club? And in which league? You said in 2007 that your father used to play hockey for Pakistan. Can you elaborate a bit on this?
I hope I do get a few answers or clarifications to the questions I have asked. Also, I hope fellow journalists are a bit careful when reporting on Kashif Siddiqi in future. Is it just well-run PR that we are falling for?
I mean, John Abraham said he used to be an ‘A-Division’ footballer in India, ‘on course to represent the India national team’, and his claims were printed as facts in one of the UK’s most renowned and credible newspapers.
So, just reiterating again, this thread was not meant to malign anyone. But to put out a few facts already available in public domain and to seek answers about the irregularities that cloud Siddiqi’s nationality and playing career.
To the questions raised in this thread, I hope we get answers from @iamkashsiddiqi, BJP’s Kailash Vijayvargiya ( @KailashOnline), @FfP_Global, the Bureau of Immigration under @AmitShah’s Union Home Ministry, and other relevant authorities.
With that, I am ending this thread here. Thank you to everyone who invested their time in going through all my tweets.
