British boxer of Pakistani-origin, Amir Khan, visited the Line of Control (LoC), in Pakistan occupied Kashmir, on Tuesday and met the families living there. The Pakistan Army had arranged the tour for the boxer. Khan thanked the Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor for organising his visit.
“My heart beats with the people of Kashmir. I condemn India’s actions” the boxer was quoted as saying by Geo TV.
Khan’s visit came three weeks after New Delhi scrapped Article 370 and divided the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories.
“I will continue to be the voice of Kashmiris. I will tell people back in Britain about the situation here,” Khan was quoted as saying by Geo TV.
The 32-year reached the pinnacle of his amateur career as a boxer when he won the silver medal in the lightweight category in the 2004 Athens Olympics while representing Great Britain. He went down in the final to Cuban two-time gold medallist Mario Kindelan.In professional boxing, Khan has a 34-5 record to his name.
“I’m visiting Pakistan, Line of Control( LOC), to make my voice heard, bring greater awareness to the terrible situation in Kashmir and call for peace @UN charter Thank you @officialdgispr for the opportunity,” Khan wrote on Twitter earlier.
{{/usCountry}}“I’m visiting Pakistan, Line of Control( LOC), to make my voice heard, bring greater awareness to the terrible situation in Kashmir and call for peace @UN charter Thank you @officialdgispr for the opportunity,” Khan wrote on Twitter earlier.
{{/usCountry}}He has been in the news of late for challenging Indian professional boxer Vijender Singh for a match. He has expressed a desire to lock horns with Olympic bronze-medallist Vijender a number of times but the bout has not materialised yet.
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During the announcement of his last bout, Khan had also claimed that Vijender was scared of him. Replying to his challenge, the Haryana-boxer said it was Khan who picked juniors to fight against.
“I am ready to fight with Amir. He picked a junior boxer to fight. Neeraj Goyat is way junior to me. I had said before and I am saying it again I am ready to fight whenever he tells me to. He should stop fighting kids,” Vijender said on the sidelines of a felicitation event organised by Platinum Heavy Duty Cement.
A bout between the two prolific boxers may, however, be a long shot as Khan competes in the welterweight category (63.5kg-66.7kg) while Vijender contests in the super middleweight division (73kg-76kg) but the Indian was quick to come up with a solution for the problem.
“I can reduce my weight a little and he can increase it and we can agree on a mid point. He has done it before.” Vijender, who is still unbeaten in the professional arena, prevailed in his US debut against Mike Snider with a Technical Knockout to notch his 11th consecutive victory in the circuit.
(With IANS inputs)