Danish Kaneria, former Pakistan cricket team spinner, condemned Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar for labeling the terrorists involved in the Pahalgam attack as freedom fighters. Kaneria had criticized PM Shehbaz Sharif for not condemning the terrorists act in Jammu and Kashmir, in which one of the deadliest attacks since 2019 Pulwama had taken place. He remarks that Dar’s comment is disgusting as it openly represents state-sponsored terrorism. He wrote on X (formerly Twitter),” When the Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan addresses freedom fighters as ‘terrorists,’ it is not just a disgrace-it is an open admission of state-sponsored terrorism.”
Meanwhile, Neeraj Chopra, the javelin thrower and two-time Olympic medallist, stood up against those who criticized him for inviting the javelin thrower from Pakistan, Arshad Nadeem, to the Neeraj Chopra Classic. He explained that it was simply a friendly invite among athletes, sent before the Pahalgam attack. Chopra, who bagged the gold at the Tokyo Olympics and silver at the Paris Games, said he was hurt when the matter concerning the invite dragged his family into the controversy. Chopra explains the invites were sent two days before the attack for top athletes to attend the event on May 24. Nadeem, who beat Chopra for gold in Paris, said he couldn’t accept the invite due to prior commitments. Chopra posted on ‘X’ that he generally keeps to himself but could not let the matter grow questioning his loyalty to his country and the honour of his family.
