Mohammad Kaif slams Imran Khan, calls him "puppet" of terrorists
What's the story
The way Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan is handling varied issues has earned him flak not only from the political corridors but also from the cricketing world, to which he belonged earlier. And the latest cricketer to come down heavily on Khan is Mohammad Kaif. Kaif on Sunday called him a "puppet" of the Pakistani Army and terrorists. Here are more details.
What happened
Kaif berated Khan's speech at United Nations
Kaif tweeted a link to a news story concerning Khan's speech at United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) last month. At the UN, he said religion has nothing to do with terrorism. While agreeing with this bit of his speech, Kaif wrote that Pakistan is a breeding ground for terrorists. "What an unfortunate speech at the UN and what a fall from grace," he wrote.
Twitter Post
Pakistan is a safe breeding ground for terrorists: Kaif
Yes ,but your country Pakistan certainly has a lot lot to do with terrorism, a safe breeding ground for terrorists. What an unfortunate speech at the UN and what a fall from grace from being a great cricketer to a puppet of Pakistan army and terrorists. https://t.co/UbUVG30R11
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) October 6, 2019
Speech
So, what exactly did Khan say at UN?
In his maiden speech at UNGA, Khan devoted a lot of time to Kashmir and kept questioning his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi. He said the "inhumane curfew" in the Valley should be lifted and demanded that "all political prisoners" be released. To recall, restrictions were imposed in Jammu and Kashmir in August before New Delhi decided to revoke Article 370 and bifurcate the state.
Details
Will the world stand up for justice, Khan asked
Khan's obsession with India was reflected in his words as he took PM Modi's name at least 12 times, and mentioned RSS on nine occasions. He talked about "bloodbath" too. "What is world community going to do? Is it going to appease a market of 1.2 billion, or is it going to stand up for justice and humanity," Khan asked in his 50-minute-long speech.
Looking back
Interestingly, Sehwag also criticized Khan
As it turns out, Kaif is not the first cricketer to slam Khan, who was the captain of the Pakistani cricket team when it lifted the World Cup in 1992. Earlier, ace Indian batsman Virender Sehwag tweeted, "After the pathetic speech in the UN a few days ago, this man seems to be inventing new ways to humiliate himself."
Ganguly's tweet
Separately, Ganguly said Khan spoke rubbish at UN
Sehwag's tweet prompted a response from former Indian cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly. He said he was shocked to see Khan's conduct at the UN and reminded him that the world needs peace. "Pakistan as a country needs it (peace) the most .. and the leader speaks such rubbish ..not the Imran khan the cricketer world knew (sic)," Ganguly had tweeted.
Twitter Post
Such a speech is unheard of: Ganguly
Viru .. I see this and I am shocked ..a speech which is unheard of .. a world which needs peace ,pakistan as a country needs it the most .. and the leader speaks such rubbish ..not the Imran khan the cricketer world knew ..speech in UN was poor ..
— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) October 3, 2019