Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has made an explosive statement about the Indian Army, keeping in mind the recent terror attacks that took place in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir. The former all-rounder shockingly stated that it was irresponsible by the Indian Army not to provide security to their people despite having 8 lakh people in their ranks.
With at least 28 tourists losing their lives and several others injured, Pakistan's militant groups have been accused of causing the attack on Indians. However, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stated that they are ready for a neutral investigation about the tragic incident.
Speaking on a talk show, here's what the retired cricketer stated:
"Tum logon ki 8 lakh ki fauj wahan baithi hai yaar Kashmir mein aur yeh incident ho gaya hai. Iska matlab yeh hai nalayak nikamme ho tum log ki security aap de nahin sakte."
(You have an army of 8 lakh which is placed in Kashmir and the incident took place. What it means is the Army hasn't been responsible enough to give their people enough security)
It is not the first time that Afridi has brought up the long-standing Kashmir issue, accusing of innocents getting shot in the region. When Pakistan were in India to play the 2016 T20 World Cup, the 48-year-old had said, as quoted by India Today:
"A lot of people, a lot of people are here from Kashmir as well (to support him)".
Notably, Afridi's cousin Shaquib, had been killed in an encounter by the Border Security Force (BSF) on September 7, 2003. The BSF had revealed that Shaquib was a battalion commander of the Harkat-ul-Ansar, which later came to be known by the name of Lashkar-e-Taiba. Shaquib, who hailed from Peshawar, had connections with Afridi's family, as claimed by the BSF after retrieving some documents from him.
Despite that, Afridi suggested that he had no connections with him as he said the below, quoting one of the newspapers, said by India Today:
"Pathan families are very large and I have literally lost track of the many cousins I have."
Mumbai Indians and SunRisers Hyderabad paid tributes to the terror attack victims
A day after the terror attack, players of Mumbai Indians and SunRisers Hyderabad alongside the umpires and match officials observed a moment's silence over the victims losing their lives during the incident ahead of their IPL 2025 game. Additionally, the BCCI had announced that there will be no cheerleaders and fireworks for the match between the two sides.
A host of former and current Indian cricketers including Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Suresh Raina and several others came forward to condemn the incident.
