The Indian Cricket Team led by Virat Kohli yesterday donned camouflage caps instead of regular Indian team caps in their match against the Aussies as a mark of solidarity with the 40 CRPF soldiers who lost their lives in a ghastly attack in Pulwama last month. The team also donated their match fees for the welfare of the families of the paramilitary personnel.
But this gesture by the Indian Cricket Team has rattled Pakistan so much so that it has approached the International Cricket Council demanding stern action against the Indian Team for wearing military caps. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, recently in the news for his confession of Pakistan government’s links with Jaish-e-Muhammad terror group, has urged the ICC to initiate action against the Indian Team without PCB’s involvement in it.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry seemed to echo Qureshi’s sentiments. Chaudhary tweeted that Indian Cricket team is responsible for politicising the Gentleman’s game and If ICC fails to act against them, Pakistan Cricket team should wear black bands to highlight India’s purported atrocities in Kashmir.
“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
Ever since the Pulwama attack, India has intensified its efforts to corner and isolate Pakistan internationally. All the world powers, including Pakistan’s all-weather ally China had condemned the attack which was planned by a terror outfit based out of Pakistan. Pakistan has been compelled to act against Jamaat-ud-Dawa and other terror outfits proliferating in its backyard.
The mounting pressure on Pakistan from the international community to act against the terrorists operating on its land has perturbed it and cast it in the bad light. It is desperately trying to shift the focus and somehow pin the blame of aggression on India. Pakistan should, perhaps, take sustained action against the terror outfits acting from its land with impunity rather than waste their resources in pursuing a case against the Indian cricket team, which in all likelihood will result in another snub to Pakistan by yet another international organisation.
