Islamabad: Smarting under the Indian air strike on its soil to eliminate Jaish-e-Mohammad terror elements, Pakistan has now focussed its radar on Team India which went to the fields on Friday against Australia in Ranchi donning the camouflage military cap.
The Imran Khan government has sought the attention of the International Cricket Council, arguing that sporting of military caps spoils the image of the gentlemen’s game.
The government there seems to have run of ideas to run its propaganda campaign against India. Attacking Team India the way they carry on in the fields is none of Pakistan’s business, said a BCCI official to the media here.
The Virat Kohli’s team had decided to sport the military cap as a mark of respect to the martyred soldiers of the Pulwama terror attack during the Friday’s one day international match against Australia.
Taking an exception to the gesture, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the ICC must do something about it.
“The world saw that the Indian cricket team wore military caps instead of their own, did ICC not see this? We think that it is the ICC’s responsibility to take notice of this without the Pakistan Cricket Board bringing it up,” Qureshi was quoted as saying by Pakistan media.
Qureshi, however, is no stranger to making controversial comments that have put his own government in a bind. Recently, he had told CNN in an interview that JeM chief Masood Azhar was in Pakistan. Going to step further, he told BBC that his government was in touch with the JeM leadership, causing much inconvenience to the dispensation. But his comments against Team India has found support within the administration.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry echoed Qureshi’s sentiment.
“It’s just not Cricket”, I hope ICC ll take action for politicising Gentleman’s game … if Indian Cricket team ll not be stopped, Pak Cricket team should wear black bands to remind The World about Indian atrocities in Kashmir… I urge #PCB to lodge formal protest pic.twitter.com/GoCHM9aQqm
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) March 8, 2019
The minister urged the PCB to lodge a formal protest against India with the sport’s world governing body.
