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Gautam Gambhir tears into Shahid Afridi over Kashmir remark

SNS

Gautam Gambhir (Photo: Facebook)


Former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi raked a major controversy on Tuesday with a tweet against the Republic of India on the Kashmir issue.

Afridi, who played his last ODI on 20 March 2015, took to Twitter to comment on the shutdown in the Valley and the deaths of four civilians in clashes following anti-terror operations in Jammu-Kashmir.

“Innocents being shot down by oppressive regime to clamp voice of self determination & independence. Wonder where is the @UN & other int bodies & why aren’t they making efforts to stop this bloodshed? [sic]” wrote Afridi while tagging the United Nations in his tweet.

 

The comment offended many in India who, besides trolling him, reminded the swashbuckling cricketer that he had once praised India to the skies by saying that the “Pakistani cricket team received more love in India than they did in Pakistan”.

Yet the most scathing remark came from Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir. The southpaw, who is known to not mince words when it comes to speaking his mind, took to Twitter and tore into Afridi.

He made fun of Afridi with an “under nineteen” remark and said that the media should not pay attention to the Pakistani cricketer’s tweet.

“Media called me for reaction on @SAfridiOfficial tweet on OUR Kashmir & @UN. What’s there to say? Afridi is only looking for @UN which in his retarded dictionary means “UNDER NINTEEN” his age bracket. Media can relax, @SAfridiOfficial is celebrating a dismissal off a no- ball!!!” wrote Gambhir.

 

But Afridi was not the only one to have tweeted against India. Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan had on Monday used similar words.

 

Their remarks came as a shutdown was observed in Kashmir following a bloody Sunday in which 20 people – 13 terrorists, four civilians and three soldiers – were killed in the three separate gunfights in Shopian and Anantnag districts.

Read More: 3 Army jawans, 13 terrorists killed in south Kashmir encounters

Separatists called for a complete shutdown on Monday to protest the killings of the civilians. Clashes broke out in parts of the state which left over 60 civilians injured.

Stone pelting was reported from many areas. Police and paramilitary troops reportedly lobbed tear gas shells to disperse the protesters.

Authorities placed Hurriyat leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and JKLF chairman Yaseen Malik under house arrest in Srinagar to prevent their participation in the protest.

Stephane Dijarric, the spokesperson for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said on Monday that the deaths of the civilians in Kashmir “need to be investigated”.

“Civilians have to be protected wherever they are, whether it is in Gaza, whether it is in Jammu-Kashmir, whether it is in Yemen; it is a basic principle,” he said in reply to a reporter’s question. “Any loss of civilians needs to be investigated wherever they occur.”

The developments were followed by the US adding the Milli Muslim League (MML) – the political party of Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) – to its list of terrorist groups on Tuesday.

Seven terror leaders from the party and another front organisation, Tehreek-e-Azadi-e-Kashmir (TAJK), were also added to the list.

Read More: Hafiz Saeed’s political front MML declared terror outfit, India hails US move

Afridi had previously raised the Kashmir issue after the World Twenty20 match against Australia in Mohali in March 2016.

“I want to thank people who came and supported us from Pakistan and Kashmir,” he had said in the post-match presentation in Kolkata after losing to Australia.

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