Daily Times

Shahid Afridi is being subjected to a continuous barrage of abuse from Indian trolls – including some known personalities – lately, for posting a tweet in solidarity with the Kashmiris who were martyred in the recent wave of Indian aggression in the region.

Earlier this week, Indian troops martyred at least 20 people and injured more than 100 in cordon and search operations in Held Kashmir’s Islamabad and Shopian districts, triggering a new round of anti-India protests and clashes, according to the Kashmir Media Service.

The Pakistani cricketing heartthrob said in a Twitter message that Indian aggression in Occupied-Kashmir is a worrisome situation, while he had also questioned the United Nations and other international bodies over their silence.

The tweet attracted thousands of Indian trolls who abused Afridi in the worst ways possible. This, however, did not bother neither the recipient nor the media because, let’s be honest, who cares about what a common troll has to say on Social Media?

Things took a dramatic turn when a more prominent troll in cricketer Gautam Gambhir slammed Shahid Afridi. The disgruntled Indian cricketer termed Afridi’s remarks as ‘retarded’ and added that Afridi was celebrating a wicket off a no-ball.

Gambhir was followed by several other former/current cricketers, including 1986 World Cup winner Kapil Dev, who let their nationalism overpower conscience. Kapil questioned the trolls asking “who is he? (Afridi) Why are we giving importance to him? We should not be giving importance to certain people.”

In another similar case, former cricketer Muhammad Kaif said that Afridi would never have said so-and-so if he was part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) because ‘Paisa Bolta Hai’ e.g. money speaks. Additionally, he said that the reason Pakistani players are not part of India’s league is due to ‘the country’s sponsorship of terrorism’.

Afridi was also called for a telephone interview by an Indian journalist named Aditya Raj Kaul. Aditya asked “what was the exact reason for tweeting that?”, to which Afridi responded “the exact reason, my dear, was to speak out against the loss of innocent lives. The people of India and Pakistan are educated and should understand that this could only be solved through peace. Let the people of Kashmir decide their fate.”

And just when you thought the India media could not stretch their imaginations any further, they come up with a ‘Shahid Afridi is an ISI agent’ ‘news’ that profusely backfired. Even Indians did not believed such an out-of-box sham.

Props to Indian skipper Virat Kohli for handling the situation with sheer grace. When asked about the the pro-Afridi tweet, Kohli said “If anything opposes my country, of course I would not support it, but having said that, it’s a very personal choice for someone to comment about certain issues.”

The worrying thing, however, is that people like Kohli or Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who have refused to jump onto the anti-Afridi bandwagon are few and far between. The likes of Gambhir and Kaif, who are influential opinion leaders, need to adopt a decent and sane approach to things. Calling someone ‘retarded’ and boasting about the IPL-money sends a dangerous message to the masses.

Having a different opinion than someone else does not necessarily mean you have to abuse or curse to prove a point.

Nevertheless, Afridi – by refraining from replying in a similar manner – has set an example for everyone to follow. He said “I’m not worried about the response to my tweet from some. I believe I spoke the truth and I have the right to speak the truth. I am a soldier of my country and will keep on working for its good.”

The Pakistani star has said it out loud and clear. He is not worried about the hateful comments hurled his way and would not back from his stance due to pressure.