Hitting back at Shahid Afridi for his controversial comments on Kashmir, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar on Wednesday said that "India can very well manage its internal affairs" while batsman Suresh Raina asked the former Pakistan captain to advise his country's army that it stops supporting extremists for maintaining peace in the Valley.
In a surprise comment, Afridi on Tuesday expressed concerns about "worrisome" situation in Kashmir. "It is obvious that we have capable people to manage our country, run our country. No outsider needs to tell us what we need to do," said Tendulkar at an event in Mumbai.
Raina, who has roots in Kashmir, took to twitter to offer advise to Afridi.
"Kashmir is an integral part of India and will remain so always. Kashmir is the pious land where my forefathers were born. I hope @SAfridiOfficial bhai asks Pakistan Army to stop terrorism and proxy war in our Kashmir. We want peace, not bloodshed and violence," Raina wrote on the social networking site.
Kashmir is an integral part of India and will remain so always. Kashmir is the pious land where my forefathers were born. I hope @SAfridiOfficial bhai asks Pakistan Army to stop terrorism and proxy war in our Kashmir. We want peace, not bloodshed and violence. 🙏
— Suresh Raina (@ImRaina) April 4, 2018
Shikhar Dhawan joined many Indian cricketers in slammimg former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi for his comments on Kashmir. Dhawan said that Afridi should not interfere in what is happening in India and instead should look at his own country's situation first.
Dhawan asked Afridi to keep his opinions to himself.
"Pehle khudke desh ki haalat sudharo. Apni soch apne paas rakho. Apne desh ka joh hum kar rahe hai woh acha hi hai aur aage jo karna hai woh humein ache se pata hai. Zyaada dimaag mat lagao (Improve the state of affairs in your country first. Keep your views to yourself. Whatever we are doing in our country is good for us and we know what we will do in the future too. You do not need to worry about that)," Dhawan tweeted.
Pehle khudke desh ki haalat sudharo. Apni soch apne paas rakho. Apne desh ka joh hum kar rahe hai woh acha hi hai aur aage jo karna hai woh humein ache se pata hai. Zyaada dimaag mat lagao @SAfridiOfficial
— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) April 5, 2018
India captain Virat Kohli said being an Indian, country's interest was paramount to him.
"As an Indian you want to express what is best for your nation and my interests are always for the benefit of our nation. If anything opposes it, I would never support it for sure," Kohli told reporters on the sidelines a training session at Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru.
Former India player Mohammad Kaif said Afridi would not have made the comments had Pakistani cricketers were still playing in the Indian Premier League.
Dear Afridi , we wish peace and love but Peace is a two way street. pic.twitter.com/1oonVHQMqP
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) April 4, 2018
"'Paisa Bolta Hai'. Can't imagine Afridi making these comments if Pakistani players were still playing in the IPL. Rather, what's needed to be condemned foremost is the reason because of which Pakistani players are not allowed to play in the IPL - Infiltration from Pakistani terrorists and Pakistan's support to separatists," Kaif wrote on his Twitter handle.
"We wish peace and love but peace is a two way street," he added.
Former India captain Kapil Dev said that Afridi's comment does not even deserve a reaction.
"I have no time for him. Who is he? Why are we giving importance to him? We should not be giving importance to such people. If somebody sitting in one corner of the world says something, I think the best thing is not to react to it," Kapil Dev said in Mumbai.
Renowned lyricist Javed Akhtar also expressed the same sentiments.
Appalling and worrisome situation ongoing in the Indian Occupied Kashmir.Innocents being shot down by oppressive regime to clamp voice of self determination & independence. Wonder where is the @UN & other int bodies & why aren't they making efforts to stop this bloodshed?
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) April 3, 2018
“Dear Mr Afridi , since you want to see a peaceful JK sans any human rights violations could you please see to it that pak terrorists stop infiltrations n pak army stops supporting the separatists by closing down the training camps. It will greatly help in solving the problem," wrote the veteran artist.
Pak Court Refuses To Lift Ban On Hafiz Saeed's "Social Welfare Activities" Lahore High Court issued a notice on the petition of Hafiz Saeed challenging a government's notification to ban social welfare activities of his JuD and FIF and freezing of their accounts.
A Pakistani court today allowed Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's two organisations Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD) and Falah-i-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) to work under the ambit of law but did not set aside the government's ban on their 'social welfare activities'.
Justice Ameenuddin Khan of the Lahore High Court issued a notice to the interior ministry to file its reply on April 23 on the petition of Hafiz Saeed challenging a government's notification to ban social welfare activities of his JuD and FIF and freezing of their accounts.
"The LHC today allowed Saeed's JuD and FIF to work under the ambit of law but did not lift the government's ban on their social welfare activities," a court official told after the hearing.
"The two organisations will have to work according to the law after imposition of ban on them by the government," he said, adding the court would hold next hearing on April 23.
Hafiz Saeed's counsel Advocate AK Dogar requested the court for a full bench hearing since this case is of "sensitive nature".
Justice Khan responded that the decision to constitute a full bench will be made in the next hearing.
AK Dogar told the court that the interior ministry on February 10 issued a notification with regard to freezing bank accounts and taking over assets associated with JuD and FIF under the Anti-Terrorism (amendment) Ordinance 2018.
"The government of Pakistan acted under the pressure of foreign powers including United Nations and India. Pakistan is a sovereign independent state and makes its own laws to govern its citizens. If there is a conflict between the laws of the land and any provision of United Nations Security Council Act, 1948, the law of the land shall prevail," he said.
AK Dogar argued the FIF owns 369 ambulances, helped 72,000 persons to charity hospitals and treated 600,000 patients only in 2017. "JuD dug out 2000 wells for supplying water in Tharparkar, Baluchistan and Balochistan," he said.
The petitioner pleaded the court to declare the impugned notification of the interior ministry null and void with regard to taking over the assets of the two organisations.
Separately, Hafiz Saeed had challenged the presidential ordinance under which his group has been banned for being on the watch-list of the UN in the Islamabad High Court.
In February, President Mamnoon Hussain promulgated an ordinance amending the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 with regards to proscription of terrorist individuals and organisations to include entities listed by the UN Security Council in a move to declare Hafiz Saeed-linked JuD and FIF as proscribed groups.
The JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the LeT which is responsible for carrying out the Mumbai attack that killed 166 people. It has been declared as a foreign terrorist organisation by the US in June 2014.
