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‘Joker’: Owaisi slams Shahid Afridi for pointing fingers at Indian Army over Pahalgam attack
Owaisi lambasted Afridi for his statements and called for Pakistan to be placed back on the “grey” list of the FATF following the massacre
AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday slammed former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi for blaming India for the terrorist attack on innocent civilians in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, killing 26 and injuring many.
Citing the alleged delay by the Indian armed forces in reaching the site of attack, Afridi blamed India for making “blunders” and alleged that “India carries out terrorism itself and then blames Pakistan.”
Follow live updates on Pahalgam attack here
The AIMIM leader lambasted Afridi for his statements and called for Pakistan to be placed back on the “grey” list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) following the massacre.
“Who is he? Do not mention the names of such jokers in front of me. Forget about these people,” Owaisi said when asked about Afridi.
“It is my demand that Pakistan must be placed back on the FATF grey list. They are financing terrorism with illegal money, so it is necessary to put Pakistan back on the FATF grey list. Under international law, we can impose a naval and air force blockade. Under Article 51 of the United Nations, the right to self-defence is granted. In the Indian Constitution, Article 355 states that if there is external aggression against any state, it is the government's responsibility to counter it,” Owaisi added.
Also read | ‘Let us stay or send in body bags’: Pakistani wives of former Kashmiri militants urge govt
What did Afridi say?
During his appearance on Pakistani news channel Samaa TV, Afridi said that India tends to blame its nuclear-armed neighbour even if a firecracker is burst. He also pointed fingers at the Indian army for the attack and said, “You have an 8,00,000-strong army in Kashmir, and this still happened."
"It means you are inefficient and useless if you can't provide security to the people,” he said.
Watch the video here
Afridi's statements drew a backlash from former Pakistani cricketer Danish Kaneria, who said the former Pakistan cricket team captain has a history of aligning with extremist views.
"He has consistently aligned himself with extremist views. In my opinion, he should not be given a platform on Indian television or within the country. Additionally, he tried to persuade me to convert to Islam and declined to share a meal with me, which I found deeply disrespectful," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
