New Delhi: World championship medallist pugilist Gaurav Bidhuri gave a fiery reply to former Pakistan cricket captain Shahid Afridi, whose comments on the Pahalgam terrorist attack have left many Indians infuriated.
After the attack, in which 28 civilians tragically lost their lives, Afridi appeared on Pakistani television and blamed India’s security forces, questioning their efficiency while also throwing negative light on India’s sportsmanship.
Bidhuri, who won a bronze medal at the 2017 World Boxing Championships in Germany, defended the Indian forces and drew comparison between the state of sporting affairs in both countries while taking the example of the Indian Premier League and Pakistan Super League.
“The entire country is still in shock over the attacks in Pahalgam and the steps taken by the Indian government have driven Pakistanis crazy. The interview by Shahid Afridi in which he talked about how 8 Lakh Indian soldiers could not do anything to stop the attacked, I would like to remind you that in 1971, 93,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered to our army so please don’t try to teach us about capability.
“When asking for proof, why should we prove anything to you. The entire world knows that Pakistan is supporting terrorist organisations. The proxy group of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba ‘The Resistance Front’ has claimed responsibility for the attack.
“You were talking about sports diplomacy, so I would like to point out how recently Neeraj Chopra himself invited your Olympic champion Nadeem, so don’t talk to us about sportsmanship. You have your PSL; we have IPL. Please see where the world is playing; you talked about how you received threats in India. Please realise the world is playing here while no one is coming there. You’ve obviously gone crazy, but the world knows what Pakistan is,” Bidhuri told IANS.
The terrorist attack in Pahalgam has been one of the deadliest in Kashmir since the 2019 Pulwama incident. The attack triggered global condemnation, and India has pointed towards Pakistan-backed terror outfits being responsible.
Speaking to Samaa TV, Afridi said, “Tum logon ki 8 lakh hi fauj hai Kashmir mein aur yeh ho gaya. Iska matlab nalayak ho, nikamme ho na tum log security de nahi sake logon ko (You have an 800,000-strong army in Kashmir and this still happened. It means you are inefficient and useless if you can’t provide security to the people).”
