NEW DELHI: Indian cricketers Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh have unleashed a social media storm by backing former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi's foundation in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
The two countries are bitter rivals and the move touched a raw nerve in India.
Afridi's appeal for donations to help people affected by the deadly virus in Pakistan has had overwhelming support from leading cricketers.
Harbhajan urged people to contribute in a video message, and called on other cricketers in the two countries to make similar appeals.
"These are testing times, it's time to look out for each other," Yuvraj wrote on Twitter in a call for funds.
While Afridi thanked the two, Indian Twitter users reacted with fury at the support for a rival player who has been a vocal critic of India's handling of the Kashmir dispute.
"Do you have any sense?" wrote one Twitter user. "Lost respect" for Harbhajan Singh, added another. "Sorry guys you lost it."
India and Pakistan have not played a bilateral cricket series since 2012-2013 and have seen a new peak in tensions over Kashmir, which has been at the centre of two wars between the neighbours since 1947.
Kashmir has been divided between the two since their independence seven decades ago and India frequently accuses Pakistan of organising "terrorism" on its side of the border.
World Cup-winning batsman Yuvraj, who made a return from cancer before finally retiring last year, has also raised money to fight coronavirus through his 'YouWeCan' foundation.
India, which has been under a 21-day lockdown since March 24, has so far confirmed more than 1,600 coronavirus cases and 38 deaths.
Indian cricketers face backlash for supporting Pakistan virus fund
https://arab.news/p6ntw
Indian cricketers face backlash for supporting Pakistan virus fund
- Former Pakistan captain Afridi's appeal for donations to help people affected by the deadly virus
- Two countries are bitter rivals and the move touched a raw nerve in India
Pakistan’s Sindh orders inquiry after clashes at Imran Khan party rally in Karachi
- Khan’s PTI party accuses police of shelling to disperse its protesters, placing hurdles to hinder rally in Karachi
- Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah vows all those found guilty in the inquiry will be punished
ISLAMABAD: The government in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province has ordered an inquiry into clashes that took place between police and supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in Karachi on Sunday, as it held a rally to demand his release from prison.
The provincial government had granted PTI permission to hold a public gathering at Karachi’s Bagh-i-Jinnah Park and had also welcomed Sohail Afridi, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where Khan’s party is in power, when he arrived in the city last week. However, the PTI cited a delay in receiving a permit and announced a last-minute change to a gate of Mazar-i-Quaid, the mausoleum of the nation’s founder.
Despite the change, PTI supporters congregated at the originally advertised venue. PTI officials claimed the party faced obstacles in reaching the venue and that its supporters were met with police intervention. Footage of police officers arresting Khan supporters in Karachi were shared widely on social media platforms.
“A complete inquiry is being held and whoever is found guilty in this, he will be punished,” Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah said while speaking to a local news channel on Sunday.
Shah said the PTI had sought permission to hold its rally at Bagh-i-Jinnah in Karachi from the Sindh government, even though the venue’s administration falls under the federal government’s jurisdiction.
He said problems arose when the no objection certificate to hold the rally was delayed for a few hours and the party announced it would hold the rally “on the road.”
The rally took place amid rising tensions between the PTI and Pakistan’s military and government. Khan, who remains in jail on a slew of charges he says are politically motivated since August 2023, blames the military and the government for colluding to keep him away from power by rigging the 2024 general election and implicating him in false cases. Both deny his allegations.
Since Khan was ousted in a parliamentary vote in April 2022, the PTI has complained of a widespread state crackdown, while Khan and his senior party colleagues have been embroiled in dozens of legal cases.
